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February 11, 2025 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 11 February 2025

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General Debate

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Benedict Yu

I have a tip for the Taxpayers Union. You are welcome.

Of all government regulators, you would think that the Financial Markets Authority would be guided primarily by OECD experience in the operations and regulation of financial markets. No.

The FMA has launched “Matangirua”, its te ao Maori strategy. A dedicated team is working to implement te ao Maori in the oversight of financial markets.

The FMA is now recruiting a “Pou Ahurea”, paid between $157,000 and $174,000 to help implement the strategy.

https://www.seek.co.nz/job/81940410?type=standard&ref=search-standalone#sol=5fb5fd3e7a2affca8b779ee7380db383b5231c05

The job advertisement presents a “day in the life of Pou Ahurea”. I’m serious.

“As a recently created role, you’ll still be breaking new ground and leading the application of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori across FMA. The role is broad and varied so you’d be engaging with different teams across the business…..”

Why does the FMA need a te ao Maori strategy? What will it ever achieve? Do Maori actually have different experiences in financial services than everyone else? Will these experiences be improved by using te ao Maori to oversee financial services?

I should not be surprised any more.

The FMA is an independent Crown Entity. The Minister responsible is Andrew Bayly. He cannot order the Board to stop this but he can tell them and the public that he is unhappy.

Details of the Board are here..

https://www.fma.govt.nz/about-us/governance-and-board/

I’m not sure if the Taxpayers Union folk read Kiwiblog. If they do, this could be a little project for Tuesday. 😀 I am sure that this job advertisement is the metaphorical tip of the iceberg.
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February 11, 2025 8:02am
- Chuck Bird
  
  I would be pretty sure the Taxpayers Union folk read Kiwiblog.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:04am
- Yabster
  
  its so entrenched in all Government departments, entities etc -it is depressing really. I am sure the minister will say its “operational… blah blah blah”
  
  and National wonder why they are behind in the polls- clearly haven’t learnt a thing from the Conservatives “talk right, govern left” shit show.
  
  Reform NZ coming soon… ?
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:16am
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    I cannot see how National’s being behind in the polls can possibly be ascribed to this sort of thing. Do we really think that people are thinking, I don’t like the way “te ao Maori” is getting into everything – so I’m going to vote Labour, or the Greens, or TPM, instead?
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:18am
    - Tom Hunter
      
      Well there’s an example of missing the point.
      
      They’re not going to vote for them any more than British voters went for Labour last year (20% of the total, less when all potential voters are counted).
      
      But the real story of that election is that Tory voters just quit on their party.
      
      The same thing may happen here with National in 2026.
      
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      February 11, 2025 10:09am
    - cmm
      
      It is not just necessarily voters shifting from National to TPM.
      
      TPM have done a lot of rabble rousing which has probably swelled their support (at least short term).
      
      It could be that:
      * National are losing support which is just disappearing.
      * TPM are gaining support from previous non-voters.
      
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      February 11, 2025 10:50am
    - Phronesis
      
      I think most people can still tell the difference between answering a polling question and voting in an election.
      
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      February 11, 2025 10:54am
    - kowtow
      
      They’re not going to vote Labour, Green, Maori.
      
      They are voting with their air tickets to Oz .
      
      In the hundreds of thousands .
      
      And the ‘going for growth’ model of the Permanent Political Class’ answer is to continue to fly in hundreds of thousands of low or unskilled migrants to replace them.
      
      If they do vote as a block it will be for the traditional left as that’s where the majority of easy hand outs are .
      
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      February 11, 2025 10:56am
      - Notsofast
        
        And here is the thing.
        Australia can afford the idiocy of fake indigenisation and anti white rhetoric, New Zealand cannot.
        Their primary industry, mining, accrues 5 times the gdp per capita per worker that dairy farming does here.
        I stand to be corrected with better analogies.
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:05pm
    - Quail
      
      DQQ
      Another major reason for Nationals poor polling is their failure to do things properly,or at the very least try.
      In contrast Trumps ratings, so far ,shows his intent to follow his manifesto.This suggests integrity.
      National on the other hand only timidly address the fringes. A major example is the RMA which adverse influence permeates all corners of the economy.
      National promised for three elections to change this but have still failed to honour their promise. If they had tried and lost at least they would have been respected.(The fast track changes are laughable applying only to a select few and requiring even more bureaucracy. )
      The natural environment and the individuals working there have had no relief.
      All that is sustaining National now is corporate NZ. Individuals support is tanking.
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:21am
      - Ghost
        
        They’ve been upfront with the rma. It was being done in 3 phases, the first phase was passed last year.
        
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        February 11, 2025 11:51am
      - Gravelroad
        
        Nailed it, Quail.
        
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        February 11, 2025 12:05pm
      - Quail
        
        Reply to Ghost.
        FYI Mr Luxon already,on record ,has ruled out any change to the RMA Natural Environment,in particular recognising Maori as having special interest
        
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        February 11, 2025 6:04pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      It’s all coming from sulky Act voters who now see Act are not getting support, but as I said they would lose the centre over one issue
      
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      February 11, 2025 8:52pm
  - cas
    
    It’s not just Government entities. Surf Lifesaving NZ has a person whose title is Kaihautu Maori. Not sure what he does.
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:11am
    - Paulus
      
      He or she control the Sea which Maori own and created.
      
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      February 11, 2025 2:01pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Reform, and regulations, is that not Seymour the minister?
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:27pm
- pdm
  
  They have a `Strategic Adviser” Maori already according to the position details.
  
  Why – what on earth does he/she do?
  
  No wonder management fees are so high because Fund Managers will be paying for this tokenism – which means Investors pay more too.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:18am
  - 70andstilllearning
    
    “Why – what on earth does he/she do?”
    Recommend they appoint a “Pou Ahurea” to implement “Matangirua” – that’s $500k thanks 🙂
    
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    February 11, 2025 8:39am
    - pdm
      
      70etc.
      
      These grifters sure know how to rake in other peoples hard earned dosh don’t they.
      
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      February 11, 2025 8:53am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      These things pop up all the time, it’s some arrogant amuck flicking the bird at government
      
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      February 11, 2025 12:28pm
- kowtow
  
  Yet NZF ( and Luxon) make big balls noises against “wokeness” in the banks .
  
  Now NZF have a private members bill against bank wokeness. Hear we go , target the banks.
  
  As always , NZF is ‘aving a larf , at their own voters’ expense , they’re actually taking the piss .
  
  Peters has Luxon’s ear , but the wokeness and waste of our precious dollars in bureaucracy is not declining , it’s increasing .
  
  Is it any wonder the polls show “country wrong direction” and Luxon not popular .
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:27am
  - pdm
    
    Peters brings `getting on with Prime Ministers to an art form’. Even if he had previously been at war with them – think Bolger, Clark, to a lesser extent Luxon and to some extent Ardern.
    
    Ardern was probably not the success of others but that was more to do with her than Peters. When he whispered strategy in her ear there was nothing to stop the whisper going straight through and out the other side.
    
    Plus she `kicked him to touch during covid’ and that would have got right up his nose.
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:47am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Peter’s was never ever at war with Luxon, I fact I think because he was out of parliament as he headed into politics Luxon is the only pm not to be at war with Peter’s, I don’t think I have ever heard any thing disparaging by either men to each other
      
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      February 11, 2025 12:31pm
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    How is reining in the banks “having a larf”? Surely it’s a good idea, considering the Nigel Farage debanking episode in the UK.
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:48am
    - kowtow
      
      Your Holiness , you entirely miss the point. I recommend more silent meditation and more careful eschatalogical examination of my scripture .
      
      You might eventually become inspired .
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:01am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      I thought this started again because banks had been again caught out ripping off customers
      
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      February 11, 2025 12:32pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Polls are saying the centre has gone back left, I wonder why that would be
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:29pm
- cmm
  
  BY: As you say, this is the tip of the iceberg.
  
  The job itself is not really the problem.
  
  The real problem is that after 15 months of being “tough on waste”, National still has not got a rope on the beast and the situation is still getting worse.
  
  I really think that the only thing we can reasonably conclude here is that NZ politics is as fake as professional wrestling. It is all to put on a show to the NZ people that they have a choice and have influence. In reality the Labour/National duopoly seem to be putting up a distraction to screen what is really happening.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:27am
  - RoboRob
    
    You nailed it. National want to talk tough but aren’t actually taking the actions they promised. Two pieces of legistation with the treaty principals removed in over a year. Mandate to end Maori first naming and communications, almost no change and no action from the minister.
    
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    February 11, 2025 8:33am
    - pdm
      
      RR in fact the Public Service seems to be running riot with the continuation of Maorification.
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:49am
      - Quail
        
        PDM,
        Maorification of Corporates including Government corporates may bring with it the expectation/ possibility of some Taxpayer paid benefits from Government .
        Perhaps the grants, tax relief and handouts similar to Maori corporates benefit from now could be accessed?
        It is time all New Zealanders were treated the same!
        
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        February 11, 2025 11:38am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Whats the bet this job is gone by the end of the week, as the stupid whale music for Kauri, they e we ont know this shit is going on, but they will cut the flowers off the stem as it’s found
      
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      February 11, 2025 12:35pm
      - RoboRob
        
        Sure hope your right 🙂
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:11pm
    - Paulus
      
      Still appears to be increasing and not decreasing.
      
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      February 11, 2025 2:04pm
- Swifty
  
  How does the New Zealander in the street benefit from this? How is their life improved?
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:34am
  - Gravelroad
    
    Trying to force people to speak a language foreign to them is hard work.
    However, if people are paid, or are uplifted to a higher rung on the pecking order of entitlements, then some will take it on.
    It is all about emotion, status, and money.
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:10pm
- RoboRob
  
  ‘The Minister responsible is Andrew Bayly. He cannot order the Board to stop this but he can tell them and the public that he is unhappy.’
  
  I mentioned this sort of thing yesterday. Many on the right seem to think the government is powerless and can only issue statements. National either believe this too or are happy to let people think they are powerless.
  
  Of course Bayly can tell the board to remove this role and end this stuff. Sure legally they are independant and dont have to follow the instruction but if they dont Bayly can remove the board and replace them with one who will implement the governments agenda. The board knows this too.
  
  Before anyone says, the board is appointed by x not the Minister, I am sure the minister can remove x with someone who will remove the board.
  
  We need to end this whole belief that the government is powerless to control these organisations. We pay for them, we control them.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:37am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Isn’t it odd that the politicians campaign on changing the system, but when they get elected they tell us they can’t, because it’s an “operational matter”.
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:22am
  - RoboRob
    
    See my post below. Just discoverred that Bayly instructed them to increase Maori culture in the organisation. The board are following his instructions.
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:24am
    - pdm
      
      Bayly has lost the plot then!!!
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:51am
      - Ghost
        
        No, robrob has posted a letter from Dr Duncan Webb and claimed it is bayly
        
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        February 11, 2025 9:53am
      - RoboRob
        
        @Ghost
        
        Thanks for pointing that out. It was not intentional.
        
        I am happy to discover that was a Labour letter.
        
        I assumed it was Bayly without checking as it is the most recent on their website and the link is called 2024. Either they haven’t updated their website OR Bayly hasn’t issued a letter of expectation.
        
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        February 11, 2025 10:37am
      - Ghost
        
        I agree the way it was posted with 2024 looked wrong. Especially when bayly’s letter has his name in the link
        
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        February 11, 2025 10:42am
      - kowtow
        
        Ghost
        
        Clearly a forgery.
        
        If that was written by Duncan “Gaza” Webb it would have been in Arabic.
        
        (sarc , for the slow ones here)
        
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        February 11, 2025 11:06am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Your first intention was to attack Nats as expected, you were wrong yet people believe the shit they read, reading his requirements there is nothing suggesting a continuation of this crap
      
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      February 11, 2025 12:44pm
      - RoboRob
        
        If you check the site you will find the link is very misleading. It says its the latest and has Baylys name right beside the link.
        
        I opened and read it, assuming it was Bayly. I didnt pay attention to the header and signature, I was interested in the content.
        
        I have appologised twice and even posted that the real Bayly letter is pretty good. What more do you want G?
        
        Yeah I have been on the attack re National, thats becuase I haven’t seen any recent good news from them. No major new policy, it seems they are sitting on their hands after a good first 100 days.
        
        You will also note I complain about Seymour below too.
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:18pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      How many of NZ’s part Maori population “really” follow “Maori culture”? Very few it would appear. So who really is pushing all this stuff and to what end?
      
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      February 12, 2025 5:57pm
  - cmm
    
    The government can chop the whole snake’s head off if it wants.
    
    Don’t piss around trying to fix a broken board. Just eliminate/restructure the FMA.
    
    It will be these “advisors” that are spreading this woke bollocks to the banks too by setting expectations that if the banks don’t self-woke they will have wokeness thrust upon them.
    
    The threat of policing is far more intimidating than actual policing.
    
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    February 11, 2025 11:50am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    They will kill this off if they see it, like the whale music
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:38pm
- Yvette
  
  From your link Benedict Yu …
  
  What attributes will I have? …
  • Able to demonstrate rangatiratanga, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga to promote and protect authentic cultural engagement and uphold the mana of Te Ao Māori and the FMA.
  • Can demonstrate effective cross-cultural communication, clearly communicating ideas, mātauranga and tikanga for a diverse staff.
  • Can provide a cut lunch for any tamariki you have at school
  
  See? – I may express sorrow that this divisive exceptionalism appointment is happening –
  but it will still happen
  
  Where is a representative for Amish bank users? – linked to Bird-in-Hand (named after a swinging pub sign), Pennsylvania
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:39am
- NoFax
  
  I have had more than my fair share of dealings with the FMA. They are completely useless. They seem proud of their ignorance of basic finance. The entire thing should be closed – there is no need for it at all. Normal consumer law, i.e. Fair Trading Act does most of the heavy lifting anyway. When it comes to attracting high value businesses to NZ the FMA is a major barrier – all in the name of some mythical consumer who has never read a Product Disclosure Statement in his or her lift. There is a tip for Seymour – close the FMA!
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:43am
  - Tauhei Notts
    
    I have had dealings with the Financial Markets Authority about a gentleman whose truthfulness I now doubt a bit.
    What was astonishing to me was how absolutely far kin useless the FMA was.
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:02am
- artemisia
  
  Most of the FMA Board is bedded in for another 2 years or more. A couple have terms ending 2025. Minister Bayly will no doubt be having a chat, maybe with Elon.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:49am
  - RoboRob
    
    Ok. Just checked out the board and how appointments work. Heres the bombshell…..
    
    The Minister, Bayly, sets out a letter of expectations that the board follows. Here is this years letter of expectations…
    
    https://www.fma.govt.nz/assets/Minister/Letter-of-expectations/FMA-Annual-Letter-of-Expectations-for-2024.pdf
    
    Here are the sections of interest in this discussion…
    
    I also expect you to assist in building capacity and diversity in public sector governance, for example, by mentoring emerging talent and including emerging talent in board activities
    
    In particular, I ask to you to continue to strengthen your efforts to partner with Māori organisations to improve services and outcomes for Māori.
    
    I expect you to continue to actively promote and develop the diversity of your workforce for the long term to encompass a broad spread of experience, culture, perspective and lifestyle of those who live in New Zealand.
    
    The bold sections added by me.
    
    So you have specific instructions TO encourage diversity (Equity and Inclusion – DEI) and the board must do MORE to include Maori culture. So the board, IS ACTING CORRECTLY ON THE MINISTERS INSTRUCTIONS.
    
    We may as well had a Labour government, the instructions would have been the same.
    
    You will also note no mention of English dominent naming and messaging. We all wonder why its not happeing, its because the govt isn’t asking for it!
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:21am
    - Ghost
      
      Try again, dr Duncan Webb, whose letter you posted is not the current minister.
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:46am
      - Ghost
        
        For anyone that wants to see bayly’s letter of expectations
        
        https://www.fma.govt.nz/assets/Minister/Letter-of-expectations/Annual-letter-of-expectation-from-Hon.-Andrew-Bayly.pdf
        
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        February 11, 2025 10:03am
      - RoboRob
        
        Thanks Ghost. My appologies for the mixup. The letter I linked was the latest shown on the FMA website.
        
        https://www.fma.govt.nz/about-us/governance-and-board/
        
        Baylys letter is MUCH better and asside from not explictly stating the governments English first priority, its pretty good. I like the emphasis on fiscal responsibility.
        
        Clearly Bayly should have some beef with the board on this one with regards to this new appointment.
        
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        February 11, 2025 10:42am
      - Ghost
        
        What a cock up. It says Andrew bayly then links to Webb. Let’s see how long after being mentioned here until it’s fixed
        
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        February 11, 2025 10:52am
      - pdm
        
        RR and Ghost
        
        For some inexplicable reason Bayly’s Letter includes reference to `climate-related disclosure’.
        
        That makes no sense either.
        
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        February 11, 2025 12:33pm
  - hookerphil
    
    Why will he be having a chat with anyone, let alone Elon Musk.
    He is totally complicit with the appointment – as per RoboRob 8.37. National are doing very little to turn back the tide and letting all the deep seated Government employees continue on their leftist, DEI, Maorified ways while lifting their finger to them.
    I spent 20 minutes yesterday with my local National Party suggesting to him that they were squandering all the good will earned at the 2023 election. The softly softly little bits, perhaps, at a time will continue to earn them lower and lower poll results.
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:28am
    - artemisia
      
      That letter was from the Labour Minister.
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:53am
    - pdm
      
      hp – what was the National MP’s response?
      
      Did he/she agree or is he/she a compliant toady?
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:54am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        Read his expectations linked by Ghost. Instead of suggesting a Nat no maybe implicit, it’s all there signed by Bayly, so sick of this innuendo bullshit
        
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        February 11, 2025 12:49pm
      - hookerphil
        
        pdm – Rural South Island – felt was quoting a Party Line Response 101 and all good things would come to pass and the results would start to be notice during the year – mortgage rates would go down and “the people” would jingle the extra coins in their pockets and be happy.
        I pointed out the the speed restrictions were all done in 5 minutes with no “consultations” but that National have taken almost a year from announcement and have now even put some in the local “consultation” bucket. That will result in no change for those ones.
        Personally I am really unhappy with the state of play in New Zealand at this time and the lack of apparent drive from the Government. They shouldn’t be so worried about the Left changing things back because they are not changing anything themselves.
        
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        February 11, 2025 2:17pm
  - Mark Hanley
    
    The “why hasn’t it happened yet” KB crowd can’t grasp the difficulty and complexity of managing large scale change in an organisation full of staff selected largely by Labour politicians and supporters.
    
    Luxon is managing the change in a measured and effective manner.
    
    Boards and ceos are being replaced as contracts allow (health and police spring to mind), ministers are being re-allocated to place the best talent on the priority jobs, new organizational structures are being established to side step the public service (fast track rma and infrastructure), and laws are being changed to address major problems (gangs, sentences)
    
    All while taming inflation…. no small feat.
    
    Attracting foreign investment and economic growth is next on Luxons plan.
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:27am
    - kowtow
      
      Mark H
      
      Reading the script of Luxon’s Waiatngi speech , it is clear he’s wedded to “partnership”.
      
      What more needs to be said .
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:12am
    - Quail
      
      MH,
      Wondering how National manage to tame inflation with their continued deficit budgeting and increased spending ?
      The Reserve Bank is independent, er perhaps not?
      
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      February 11, 2025 1:34pm
    - Mark Hanley
      
      Are you sure you read luxons speech kt?
      
      Here are the priorities luxon repeats in his speech…..
      – get the Government’s books back in order.
      – restoring law and order
      – delivering better public services
      – Education.
      
      No mention of partnership or special privileges for maori… just a goal to improve the lives of.maori and non Maori.
      
      Adern fooled you into thinking race is a big issue in nz, and you and many others fell for it, that is how she disappeared with all your money.
      
      Think about that….. you were Fooled by Adern.
      
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      February 11, 2025 3:37pm
      - Mark Hanley
        
        Quail, have you forgotten it is the same reserve bank governor who under adern printed money, reduced interest rates unwisely, oversaw multi-year hyper inflation and a subsequent cost of living crisis?
        
        Given the recent history, Your independent claim is somewhat farcical..
        
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        February 11, 2025 7:38pm
      - Quail
        
        No ,not Ardern , try MSM or Willie Jackson telling NZ all about three waters ,He Pua Pua and other proposed associated takings.To name just a few.
        It is not about what Nationals says it is about what they do —- or rather don’t do!
        
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        February 11, 2025 9:00pm
- Matt Long
  
  It’s absolutely no wonder why the government is unable to make significant spending cuts.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:57am
  - kowtow
    
    ML
    
    ACT wanted to cut cut cut .
    
    And I believe would have.
    
    Held back by the Nats and perhaps NZF .
    
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    February 11, 2025 11:13am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      You believe do you? What rubbish, Seymour is minister for regulation, yet nothing delivered, no plan of attack on the very regulations he was pissed off with, he has the opportunity to me Musk, but no he would rather look stupid driving a bloody land drover up the stairs of parliament
      
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      February 11, 2025 12:52pm
      - RoboRob
        
        Yes, very poor outcomes from the ministry for regulation so far. Disappointing.
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:21pm
      - kowtow
        
        Don’t be silly , that was a charity fund/ awareness raising event.
        For what could be an incredibly amazing medical breakthrough for young’uns.
        
        Instead Luxon and the media have politicised and misconstrued things.
        
        Seriously , if Seymour walked on water , they’d slag him off for not being able to swim.( yeah I know)
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:21pm
      - Ghost
        
        No, it’s just people like you refuse to hold Seymour to the same standards as other mp’s. You are simply hypocrites
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:50pm
      - ISeeRed
        
        If Seymour is our Musk, sadly Luxon is no Trump.
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:31pm
      - Ghost
        
        You have to understand G, people on this blog are delusional and disconnected from the reality outside of this blog. Seymour’s stunt yesterday only goes down well on here, outside of this blog people saw it for the stupidity that it was. He had to be stopped by a security guard. His letter to the police outside of this blog is seen as interfering in a police case. Outside of this blog people are worried about their jobs, the cost of living, the economy, crime, health, education, on this blog they sit trying to work out why Seymour isn’t more popular and why treaty and Māori affairs isn’t ranking well in polls, completely detached from the reality outside of the blog.
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:45pm
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        @kowtow
        
        Not being silly, no problem with the charity fund racing, but all Seymour did was make an absolute dick of himself, scurried to speaker to apologise
        
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        February 11, 2025 9:04pm
- In Vino Veritas
  
  “He cannot order the Board to stop”. No, but he can cut Crown funding. The FMA is funded part by Crown and part by market participant levies. And the participants will then have to decide whether they want to pay higher levies.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:19am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    I bet this is gone by weeks end
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:52pm
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Man you are so wrong.
      
      Right now there are over 100 ads for senior jobs on Seek. Government jobs that require a knowledge of te ao Maori. With an average salary of 150 k do the maths.
      
      I searched for all government jobs in New Zealand with “Te ao Maori” in the selection criteria.
      
      You seem determined to defend the government even when presented with evidence of failure on a large scale.
      
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      February 11, 2025 8:13pm
- rangitoto
  
  Can he not sack the board? Or maybe cut their budget.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:27am
  - artemisia
    
    The Minister effectively appoints / reappoints FMA Board members.
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:19am
- trout
  
  This is a good example of the push to install ‘commissars’ (a common feature of the Communist Party; officials responsible for political education and organization.) in the public service, local bodies, and private business to make sure ‘tikanga’ and the Maori world view take precedence in decision making and communications. We are told that Local Body productivity is already handicapped by the necessity to consult on all matters to ensure that decisions conform to the nebulous requirements of the TOW.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:41am
- Yvette
  
  Benedict Yu
  
  The banking opportunity you refer to –
  “Matangirua”, its te ao Maori strategy. A dedicated team is working to implement te ao Maori in the oversight of financial markets.
  
  – is equal perhaps to one I have mentioned before –
  Governance Charter, Te Pou Whakamana Kaimatū o Aotearoa
  The Pharmacy Council of New Zealand
  https://pharmacycouncil.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Pharmacy-Council-Charter-Document-2023-Website.pdf
  
  These are both entities beyond Government control – as private business entities.
  
  But if the Government secularised their departments and services to remove all te ao Maori strategy (the Maori religious worldview) so that Government departments become easier and less racially-based to work with, those private concerns left overburdened with te Ao o Maori religious worldview would likely follow not too long after – if common sense and business sense prevail.
  
  AI – “It’s not about displacing humans, it’s about humanizing the digital experience.”
  They talk of, not too far off, there being two types of businesses – those in business, having adapted to AI, and those that aren’t because they didn’t.
  Returning to a 1840s culture and constraints is not moving in the right direction.
  Especially when less than 1.3 percent of the population profess (last Census) that they have Maori religion affiliations.
  
  NZF could wrought a miracal – put Government departments and services out ahead of private “enterprize”
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:50am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  But this can’t be true. We’ve been confidently assured by a certain Kiwiblog commentator that co-governance is gone.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:52am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    This job has not been advertised by members of this government, it will be a deluded ex Labour appointment
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:54pm
    - Benedict Yu
      
      What?There are hundreds of such jobs. Do you actually believe your defence of the government?
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:29pm
- Scooter
  
  Maybe Michael Laws could ask Craig Stobo the new Chair of the FMA, he interviews him every week and he seems very experienced in various roles, upfront and honest. No, I’m not being sarcastic, but wonder how he got the role.
  
  https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/craig-stobo-appointed-chair-fma
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:01am
  - pdm
    
    Scooter – when I was in the Financial Services Industry (1986 to 2009) Craig Stobo was a big name and recognised as a good, up front man. I attended two or three seminars where he was one of the main speakers.
    
    Bankers Trust I think.
    
    Unless things happened since I retired he would be there on merit.
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:43pm
- Scooter
  
  BY maybe you can forward this to Michael Laws at The Platform who has Craig Stobo the new chair of the FMA on every week. Maybe something he could ask him.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:09am
  - Dougal10
    
    Old school mates?
    
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    February 11, 2025 11:29am
- thirteenstars
  
  I heard it this morning from David Seymour, and I’ve heard it from him before. And from Shane Jones, Winston Peters and numerous other ministers when they are told of this ongoing race hustling dressed up as cultural equity, as partnership, and what they say is all these entities are independent, that they have boards and that the only real opportunity for change is when vacancies appear on the boards and the minister can put in more suitable people.
  
  Yet while we wait for these changes the money continues to flow, the corruption grows, and the distortion of science and history is unhindered.
  
  Over decades we have built a vast, complex and deadly machine that defends itself from attack and churns slowly through our culture grinding down all before it.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:37am
- sungsamning
  
  Thanks for this. Its time for KB readers to email the minister.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:48am
- geoff3012
  
  Can hardly wait for this crap to be dumped on Advisors….
  
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  February 11, 2025 11:33am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Won’t belong and TPM will be ministers of Maori affairs, you can bet your boots He Puapua will be delivered in full with the treaty commissioner and Hipkins will sit back and let it happen
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:56pm
- Inandout
  
  BY, used to be involved with the FMA by holding a license to operate as an insurance broker. As the years went on the license fees were becoming excessive and in the end I just sold up. Taking on an ‘adviser’ means adding at least $150k which gets paid by every bank, insurance company, broker and financial adviser in NZ. I still get FMA emails from time to time and I have noticed increasing wokeness.
  
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  February 11, 2025 12:41pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    That’s strange, because all woken, DEI and Māori greetings have completely disappeared from health in my visit, still get NGA Mihi at the end of a letter for an appointment, but I guess that will never change
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:58pm
    - Inandout
      
      G, yes that disappearance may be so but some legal letters do still have (him/he) after the signature. If the writer uses Clive (as an example) I sort of expect it is a male.
      
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      February 11, 2025 2:38pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Thanks Bene
  Took a peek at the members of the “bored”.
  Ye gods, they are involved in so many non mainstream entities.
  
  She is on the board of Food Standards for Australia NZ and chairs the Grocery Action Group. She chairs the Elizabeth Fletcher Foundation, the investment vehicle which provides funding for the charity Share My Super.
  
  Looking at them collectively, I am not surprised at high level wokeness.
  
  I am sure that if a hord of KBS wrote to each board member, the wokeness temperature could be dialled back.
  
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  February 11, 2025 1:37pm
- DimChappie
  
  I have just emailed Andrew Bayly about this using subject line “FMA waste.”
  
  I ended with this: “ You did not mention the need to adopt Maori methods in your latest letter of expectations to the FMA. Even if the FMA claims to be following earlier instructions, I believe this is money-wasting nonsense and needs to be stopped. ”
  
  Here is his email address: [email protected]
  
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  February 11, 2025 2:56pm
- Countrygirl
  
  I note that if you are having trouble filling out the application for the role, let them know and they will help you. That suggests you don’t need strong skills other than knowing a bit of Maori hogwash.
  
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  February 11, 2025 2:59pm
- kevn
  
  BY… I would hope a new Ford Ranger is part of the package.
  
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  February 11, 2025 6:15pm
- Scooter
  
  So part of the role is…
  “supporting the learning of te reo Māori in priority teams in the upcoming year.
  
  So I suppose employees at the FMA have to learn Maori, how much time does this take out of their usual work? No wonder NZ has a problem with productivity. I really feel sorry for the people that work there.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:34pm
pdm

Hansard and the Civil Service are nuts and flick a middle finger at the Government.

Is the objective to have Hansard only in Maori?

Homepaddock has a Post on it:
https://homepaddock.wordpress.com/2025/02/11/oversight-or-deliberate/

Here is my take:
https://nominister.wordpress.com/2025/02/11/hansard-flicks-a-middle-finger-to-the-government/
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February 11, 2025 8:12am
- Benedict Yu
  
  I made a phone call to a government agency yesterday. I asked for the name of a team I should deal with on a question I had on a discussion document. The team only had a Maori name which I could not understand over the phone. I asked her to spell it. I could then pronounce it phonetically but of course I had no idea what the team does.
  
  Does this make life impossible? No.
  
  Is it yet another source of stress? Yes.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:25am
  - RoboRob
    
    Did Winston and National promise English names for government departments? Yes
    
    Have they followed through on it? No
    
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    February 11, 2025 8:40am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      English first
      
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      February 11, 2025 12:59pm
      - RoboRob
        
        Strawman. English first implies that a govt department will, at a minimum have an English name.
        
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        February 11, 2025 3:08pm
      - PurplePen
        
        And if they were scared of saying that, they could just say ‘most commonly used language first’.
        
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        February 11, 2025 6:20pm
  - penguincouple
    
    … and we are suppose to aim at increasing productivity.
    
    How much time and limited resources are wasted on trying to create a Maori view on anything and everything as we go, invent Maori names, spell out Maori terms over the phone, correct understanding because of mispronunciation, put macrons on every document and road sign etc.
    
    We are so doomed.
    
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    February 11, 2025 8:42am
    - kowtow
      
      The public service no longer exists to serve the public .
      
      It serves itself and it serves the govt’s social policy of Maorification .
      
      The votes and taxpayers of New Zealand,the people who actually ‘constitutionally” own the govt have never been asked specifically , and never will be, about this appalling, undemocratic and radical departure from the traditions of the public service.
      
      It is tantamount to a bloodless , silent coup d’etat.
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:20am
      - AitchW
        
        The public service is intractably opposed to the government. Labour led governments grow the public service and create do nothing jobs.
        This government has promised to shrink the public service and make it productive. That means the hordes of jobsworths “working” from home 4 days a week have to turn up at the office and actually do some work!
        Is it any wonder the government has a fight on its hands to get the public service to implement its policies?
        
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        February 11, 2025 7:13pm
  - pdm
    
    By – you should have asked them to get someone to call you back.
    
    Then again could you rely on them to do so?
    
    So more stress.
    
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    February 11, 2025 8:56am
  - JackRabbit
    
    “….but of course I had no idea what the team does.”
    
    That is the agenda behind renaming things in Maori. Obfuscation.
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:40am
- Tom Hunter
  
  We’re seeing the same sort of resistance from the bureaucrats in the US to Trump’s policies and decisions.
  
  The difference is that he is most definitely in charge of those assholes and that is going to be made clear in court appeal decisions, preferably all the way up to the Supreme Court.
  
  Either that or it will become clear that elected politicians really are not the ones in charge, at which point things will degrade slowly, then quickly.
  
  As for NZ all this reveals that we are past that point.
  
  Even so, firing people won’t work. It’s institutions that need deleting and since most of them are either neutral evil or outright screwing up our everyday lives I’d suggest that deleting them would be popular.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:26am
- Dave
  
  The link at homepaddock takes you to the Maori language option rather than the English language option, so not entirely surprising that the headings (but not the text) are in Maori.
  
  When I used Bing to take me to the parliament web site, it took me to the English language version, so my delicate language sensibilities were not trampled on, but one does wonder just what has been achieved by inserting a few Maori dates and headings, some of which are clearly transliterations.
  
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  February 11, 2025 11:37am
  - pdm
    
    Why on earth would Hansard need to be transcribed into Maori.
    
    It would seem to be for no useful purpose.
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:47pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      They certainly don’t translate Hansard into sign language.
      
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      February 11, 2025 3:53pm
    - PurplePen
      
      Someone has to be paid to do it. Follow that money.
      
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      February 11, 2025 6:21pm
Cassandra

Former Us (Trump) National Security Adviser John Bolton must be doing something right – he’s derided by the Left and by Trump!
His proposal for Palestine: change the way Palestinians have been treated for over seven decades. UNRWA, the UN’s Palestine relief agency, effectively an arm of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, should be abolished, and responsibility for Palestinian refugees transferred to the UN High Commission for Refugees. In turn, the UNHCR should follow its basic humanitarian doctrine, under which refugees are either repatriated to their country of origin or resettled in other countries. There is nothing forcible about UNHCR resettlement, since both refugees and recipient countries must agree. But unlike UNRWA, UNHCR refugee camps do not last forever. It means Palestinians will receive the same treatment as every other refugee population since World War II. It’s the sort of game changer that only Trump could do and it might just work. Anyone with a better idea – and lots of money – is welcome to step up.
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February 11, 2025 8:13am
- kowtow
  
  The “Palestinians” could help themselves these past 80 odd years , not to mention the wealth the Arab world holds . Embrace peace and prosperity.
  
  No , it’s all about “resistance”.Not to mention their international enablers .
  
  Peter Davis on x questions the gaunt look , which decent people are shocked by especially given the recent Holocaust commemorations , of the last 3 released kidnapped Israelis , which he tries to link to Isreali action in Gaza.
  
  No mention of the Oct 7 outrages , the systemic torture and mistreatment of the kidnapped ( ongoing) not to mention rape !
  
  btw It appears that now that the IDF has withdrawn from the Netzarim corridor , Hamas is reneging on more kidnapped releases .
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:36am
  - Manu-Rau
    
    Having been married to Helen Clark for 40 plus years, Peter Clark would be an expert on gaunt looks.
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:25pm
    - kowtow
      
      There’s been evidence recently that Hamas murdered its own terrorist members who they alleged to be homosexual .
      
      I haven’t seen any signs that “progressives” are outraged by that intolerant ,’othering’ and cruel behaviour .
      
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      February 11, 2025 1:16pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    Kowtow,
    Dont forget to mention the rape and torture carried out by Israelies.
    
    Cant be having a one eyed view.!!
    
    A balanced approach is always preferable, otherwise many will maybe consider it a vindictive rant?
    
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    February 11, 2025 1:44pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      When & where did that happen – haven’t seen/heard anything on the news.
      
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      February 11, 2025 3:14pm
      - Matt Long
        
        Pallywood is now showing a cancer sufferer as “evidence” of Israel starving their “hostages”, I’m sure those who want to believe, will.
        
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        February 11, 2025 4:34pm
- NoFax
  
  Palensitians are those very rare creatures that are refugees and in their ancestral homeland at the same time. Further, they are the only refugee which such status gets passed down generation to generation. It’s time to find the people of Gaza a permeant home and I don’t think these “refugees” should stay in an “Open Air Prison” or “Refugees Camps” forever. Unless, of course, there is another reason for all this? A more cynical man than myself might think so.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:49am
  - Matt Long
    
    The various countries that have accused Israel of genocide are now obligated to take Gazans as refugees or say they were lying about it.
    Good times for Ireland, SA etc
    
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    February 11, 2025 4:32pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  1. Just about every part of the world that has achieved a decent level of civilization after starting from where Palestine is now, has got there by having European (usually English) systems of law, government, and education imposed on them at some point.
  
  2. The attacks on Israel would not be happening without funding from Iran.
  
  Any solution should involve addressing those two points.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:55am
- Handyman
  
  The condition of the hostages is decreasing with each release. There was widespread surprise because the Red Cross has not been allowed access to the hostages.
  
  I have a suspicion that that Israel has been played mightily by Hamas.
  
  In phase one all the Palestinian prisoners will be released and the IDF fully removed from Gaza. In return Hanas will release one third of the Israeli hostages. Hamas front loaded all its gains while backloading the Israeli releases.
  
  What if it is a bluff? What if there are no more healthy hostages to release?
  What if public opinion turns against Hamas with pictures of emaciated tortured hostages being carried out on stretchers? Kill the remaining hostages that are not photogenic?
  
  Hamas will find ways to delay the phase 2 releases as long as possible while it re-arms and re-establishes control of Gaza with the thousands of recruits released from Israeli prisons.
  
  The world should demand Red Cross access to photograph all remaining hostages before phase 2 starts.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:40am
  - kowtow
    
    73 remaining kidnapped .
    
    IDF know 34 are dead .
    
    Not sure if those figures include a number of dead that Gaza has been holding for years !
    
    These ‘people’ are evil ghouls .
    
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    February 11, 2025 11:24am
    - Matt Long
      
      Trump is giving Hamas until Saturday to release the hostages or face unspecified consequences, to keep his credibility he’ll have to act decisively.
      
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      February 11, 2025 4:39pm
      - marcw
        
        Listening to the full statement, Trump said he would give the decision making to the Israeli’s on where to progress. So the US has not made any decisions “to keep [his] credibility [he’ll have] to act decisively.” Whether he supports Israel in whatever their decision is, we will have to wait and see.
        
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        February 11, 2025 7:49pm
Yvette

Care-less caregivers?

From te Páti Máori website –
OUR TAMARIKI DESERVE BETTER THAN SEYMOUR’S SLOP
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government’s blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike.
… “It’s time for these Ministers to stop passing the buck. They must apologise- publicly and without delay- to all the tamariki, mātua, and kura affected by this. They must own their mistakes and fix the system, because right now, it is failing the very people it was supposed to help”, said Ferris.
https://www.maoriparty.org.nz/our_tamariki_deserve_better_than_seymour_s_slop

“They must apologise – publicly and without delay” – to the parents, or caregivers, who have not provided for their children in the first place?
This is where Dame Jacinda Ardern’s co-governance pretentions and He Puapua, moving beyond the Treaty (UNDRIP implications) foundered (filled with water and sank – in the meantime) because, levered by the Maori caucus to lift their race up above all others as exceptionalists, the wheels fell off (even although they had never invented wheels) since we all now know they can’t even organise a cut lunch for their children to take to school – as racist as that may be to point out.

– and also, a quote, quoted on the same te Páti Máori website –
“Take care of our children. Take care of what they hear, take care of what they feel. For how the children grow, so will be the shape of Aotearoa” – Dame Whina Cooper https://www.maoriparty.org.nz/hands_off_our_babies_stop_the_repeal_of_section_7aa

“For how the children grow, so will be the shape of Aotearoa” – all being born with a clear slate, until others write on it for them

( How different my life might have been, had my father the care to make my school lunch to me to take, but thinking back I am glad an grateful that my mother did )
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February 11, 2025 8:16am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  “How different my life might have been”…..if I hadn’t been the child of a POW.
  
  My father ate everything that was ever prepared for him and always thanked the ones who had cooked/prepared his food.
  
  I don’t for one minute think that most of those receiving “Seymour’s slops” have any concept of going hungry.
  
  If the Maori Party are so convinced that tamariki are consistently being sent to school hungry, then they need to consider whether the tamariki are safe in such a neglectful home environment.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:15am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Seymour’s biggest mistake was showing them how to achieve better food for less money.
    He addressed the wrong problem and at the same time whetted their appetites.
    Its not about food, its about responsibility.
    Schools aren’t responsible for feeding children.
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:56am
    - Dougal10
      
      Lots more kids are taking lunch to school now , some of Seymour’s goals have been achieved
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:36am
    - cmm
      
      ” Its not about food, its about responsibility.”
      It’s the trough too.
      No doubt there are many people making good coin who were making even better coin before this.
      
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      February 11, 2025 12:00pm
- Eastlander
  
  “For how the children grow, so will be the shape of Aotearoa”
  
  Pear-shaped then.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:46am
Ehlana

That’s a very well paid job. How does one qualify to be a Pou Ahurea? Is there a course at the local University? A professional association with a Code of Ethics, standard setting and disciplinary processes?
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February 11, 2025 8:19am
- rjay
  
  Presumably they will have to an on line course of at least 90 minutes on pain of being de-registered by their professional body.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:36am
cmm

I see Luxon has a new plan for Big Investment: opening up the door to non-English speakers etc so long as they bring $5M.

“And if we get another Xero, for example, that is what the country is looking for ”

Is it really what we’re looking for?

To make a Xero does not need $5M. It needs highly skilled people. These are skilled people that have options and are not attracted to NZ.

Throwing water onto a dried out river bed just makes wet rocks – it doesn’t build a thriving ecosystem. Same here: $5M invested in NZ does not build companies – people do.

And it is extremely difficult to see how a non-English speaker (by implication from a non-Western culture) is going to be able to build a successful company in NZ.

Stop trying to make NZ attractive to Uber drivers and non-English speaking people with $5M. Rather try to make it attractive to young families earning $100-$150k a year who enable the building of these countries. If the skills are here then the venture capital will sniff them out.

NZ immigration makes it very hard for skilled people to enter NZ. This is completely wrong. NZ should have the policies it had when I came here 33 years ago – roll out the red carpet to skilled people.

Luxon is a corporate type. He sees brands as being important. To him, Brand Xero is part of Brand NZ. Another hand to shake in the First Class lounge.
Sure, brands are important, but what is far more important is the capability. From what I see, most Xero developers are based outside of NZ. Every day Xero is getting less and less Kiwi and more and more international (American flavour) corporate.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360575350/new-zealands-investor-visa-changes-explained
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February 11, 2025 8:20am
- Luke Piewalker
  
  I tried watching Luxons ‘big speech’ … so boring I fell asleep after two minutes.
  
  Come on National. Lift your PR game. Seriously.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:27am
- BananaLlama
  
  He has one right now (another Xero) but is too busy with his Taniwhas to see it, Grinding Gear Games.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:37am
  - cmm
    
    Grinding Gears does even less for the NZ economy than Xero.
    
    GGG is now 100% owned by Chinese company Tencent and pretty much all GGG product is exported directly via the internet creating extremely few down-stream jobs in NZ.
    
    Benefit to the NZ economy as a whole is extremely low. Apart from the programmers and a few marketing people etc, the only real job creation is an extra barista selling coffee.
    
    This is exactly the worst type of deployment of talent. I suspect though that Luxon loves it because it is high profile.
    
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    February 11, 2025 11:02am
    - BananaLlama
      
      They are about 80% owned by Tencent iirc and have made half a billion in taxable revenue to help pay for all the smiley glad hands at the Koru lounge.
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:47am
      - cmm
        
        They are now fully owned by Tencent.
        
        “In 2018, Tencent became a majority holder in GGG, acquiring 86.67% of the company’s shares. Three of the co-founders hold the remaining 13.3%. Two of the co-founders also sit on the board of directors, alongside 3 appointed by Tencent in April 2018.[8] In March 2024, the remaining three co-founders sold their remaining shares to Tencent, which made the company the sole owner. [9]”
        
        wikipedia.
        
        Sure they no doubt pay a chunk of tax (quite possibly less than they did), but tax does not build a thriving economy.
        
        I saw a report of $49M of profit in 2022. 28% of that is around $14M in company tax. Hardly covers a round of sausage rolls at the Koru Club.
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:25pm
      - BananaLlama
        
        If you are reading Wikipedia then you know they went on to sell up to 7 million copies for a live service game over December so why leave that out.
        That may not even include sales for China btw which is why Tencent brought them but you should also know this.
        
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        February 11, 2025 2:50pm
      - cmm
        
        Banana – 7 million copies or 70 million copies doesn’t really change the picture. The way software scales, that does not result in 10x more local jobs.
        
        Yes, they are a successful games company that has been bought out by a foreign entity. Yes they paid some company tax in NZ, but they are far from building depth in the economy.
        
        Another successful (for a while) foreign-owned Auckland games company was Gameloft that shut its doors after absorbing $3M of taxpayer hand outs.
        
        Less than 5% of the population are intelligent enough to be games developers. We can’t build an economy on games and taxes.
        
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        February 11, 2025 4:50pm
- kiwikidsnz
  
  High net worth individuals are going to think twice about coming to NZ in any case because of the clear sovereign risk – eg. Labour/Greens/TPM’s wealth & racist ethnostate.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:41am
- artemisia
  
  Xero started with just a big idea and a passionate idealist. It has been a runaway success, but that’s not what usually happens.
  
  Xero was hugely risky for investors in the beginning – IPO listed at $1 per share, and actually fell from there. Easy to forget that Xero could easily have folded its tents right then, and many enterprises would have done just that.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:56am
  - cmm
    
    Yup, it is the survivor bias at work. If you go onto youtube or tiktok or whatever you will only see a few successful channels and not the thousands of times more that fail.
    
    Some of that depends on what you call a runaway success.
    They laid off 800 people a couple of years ago. Most of the employees are outside NZ.
    
    While it is easy to see Xero as a successful brand, it is not clear that it is highly beneficial to the NZ economy.
    
    The companies that really benefit NZ have a deep footprint within the country and employ people in the wider industry.
    
    For example, Skope, Scott Technology and Hamilton Jet have a bunch of very skilled engineers, but also employ many blue collar people and have very deep supplier chains (metal supply, electronics manufacturing etc etc) as well as requiring a bunch of truck drivers etc to do delivery and such.
    
    Such industries build deep and healthy economies using relatively few high-end engineering resources (or, in other words, the jobs created per engineer is very high).
    
    The Xeros of the world might look flashy, but they do little to build the economy – other than serving coffee to programmers and shiny-pants marketing people.
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:23am
    - artemisia
      
      Xero HQ is still in New Zealand, as are over 600,000 Xero subscribers.
      
      If their staff can work remotely, and many would be able to, no reason skills can’t be made here, or brought in ready made.
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:58am
      - cmm
        
        They seem to have a few offices dotted around NZ (as well as in Melbourne etc). Some of these are support, but typically this means that the company is resource constrained and is picking up programmers in other locations.
        
        Being HQ’d in NZ does not create downstream jobs in NZ. Most of those downstream jobs will be created where they are cheapest, or close to the customers.
        
        It makes for great headlines, but the actual benefit in NZ is low.
        
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        February 11, 2025 11:06am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Sounds like Nett Xero.
        
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        February 11, 2025 11:39am
  - Tauhei Notts
    
    My accountant friend could see at the time of Xero’s initial public offering that it was a great investment. She borrowed $1000 on her student loan, at an interest rate we all like paying, viz zero, and bought up. The shares dropped from $1.00 to 80 cents and she was sad.
    Now they are over NZD200 each she is no longer sad.
    I think that was one of the best uses of the student loan scheme that I have ever seen.
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:44am
    - cmm
      
      No it was a terrible use of the student loan scheme.
      It is not there for speculation.
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:07am
  - NZL Fusion
    
    Xero is not a poster child. We and a large percentage of Xero users a looking for another option. After 12 years it has got worse and worse. No real support for customers. It no longer offers value. They have been pitching 75 – 90% discounts for new customers. I can see an AI coded option make a huge dent in its customer base. 90% of their customers are on monthly contracts. High Risk of exiting quickly.
    
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    February 11, 2025 4:38pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Heard of the term “enshitification”? Look it up.
      
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      February 12, 2025 6:01pm
- pdm
  
  `Luxon is a corporate type. He sees brands as being important. To him, Brand Xero is part of Brand NZ. Another hand to shake in the First Class lounge.’
  
  That explains why he has been sliding down since July 2024 in the Preferred Prime Minister stakes. He has nothing in common with `the working man or woman’ so a proven incompetent like Chris Hipkins is matching him.
  
  What happens when Hipkins heads him off? I asked that question last evening here:
  https://nominister.wordpress.com/2025/02/10/christopher-luxons-slippery-slope-continues/
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:01am
  - cmm
    
    Unfortunately I think you are right.
    
    John Key might be a multi-millionaire but at least he had the “boy from Aranui with a single mum” card to play.
    
    Luxon is just the perfect caricature of the out of touch CEO that everyone deals with (either in the corporate job or when the they see a Spark CEO on TV or whatever telling you why prices must go up).
    
    The Big Kiwi Question: would you want to have a beer with Luxon?
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:38am
    - Chuck Bird
      
      Like Trump, he does not drink. I think that is the only thing he has in common with Trump.
      
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      February 11, 2025 10:02am
      - cmm
        
        Of course “having a beer” is just a saying. I don’t drink either.
        
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        February 11, 2025 11:09am
      - pdm
        
        Almost a teetotaller myself these days.
        
        Very occasional beer socially and an even rarer Whisky for medicinal purposes when feeling `peely weely’.
        
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        February 11, 2025 12:53pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        @pdm
        that’s the first time I’ve ever seen this expression…
        
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLmBlI5WP7Q
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:14pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Hshshahaha, Luxon came from a suburb in CHCH and came up from nothing as well ffs, god I live where the shit is coming from these days
      
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      February 11, 2025 1:07pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Of course Hipkins will head him off, as I stated the centre are heading back left, take a wild guess what scared the troops
    
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    February 11, 2025 1:05pm
- Gravelroad
  
  Surely any non-English speakers (even wealthy ones) will have to learn te Reo before they come here?
  Likewise all the people coming for Mr Luxon’s big hui re investment (as announced yesterday) will be required to “embrace the Maori language” on their arrival so they can respond to the haka groups appropriately.
  I don’t think speaking English proficiently matters here anymore.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:15am
  - cmm
    
    Isn’t embracing the koha sufficiently cultural?
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:39am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Oh ffs, there is no requirement for anyone to speak Māori ffs, and if some very wealthy wants to come they will not be required to be fluent in English, great it is over subscribed, and great the announcement the other day has already seen huge interest
    
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    February 11, 2025 1:09pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      Whoosh !!
      
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      February 11, 2025 3:17pm
    - cmm
      
      “there is no requirement for anyone to speak Māori ffs”
      Yet.
      
      Of course there is interest. There is always interest. Turning those into useful actions that result in attracting The Right Sort is another matter entirely.
      
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      February 11, 2025 4:54pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  If someone wants to invest $5 million is New Zealand, why would you want to stop them? Essentially, one (or more) of four things will happen:
  
  1. They will start a successful company, providing jobs to NZers.
  2. They will start an unsuccessful company, and lose their money after spending $5 million buying goods and services from NZers.
  3. They will invest in an existing successful company, providing capital that company needs for growth.
  4. They will buy a successful company, allowing the (highly skilled) former owners to spend the $5 million starting a new venture.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:04am
  - kiwikidsnz
    
    Nothing of the sort, its a virtue signalling con job
    “…My opinion is that lobbying has featured in this announcement. It smacks of a dirty deal whereby local Fund Managers have got around the PM to make this change – so they can slice commissions off their managed funds by telling offshore clients that now an NZ passport will be thrown into the party bag. The PM has trashed the integrity of our passport. These portfolio funds do not constitute direct investments – they bring no technology or skills, contrary to Immigration Minister Stanford’s fake assertions – and NZ already has no problem attracting them.”
    
    https://www.downtoearth.kiwi/post/pm-luxon-nicola-willis-investor-visa-announcement-is-a-disgraceful-con-job-nz-already-has-4th-hi
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:21am
    - Grunter
      
      Rob McCulloch has nailed it in his Blog today.
      
      Luxon is a complete con job. His foreign investment big announcement, or as he called it on Hosking this morning “…rolling thunder” is a joke.
      
      He’s the link to the Govt Fact Sheet
      https://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2025-02/Unlocking%20investment%20in%20NZ%20Factsheet.pdf
      
      So, it is NOT about Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) at all. Under this new arrangement, you could buy say $10 million of NZ Govt Bonds (passive) and you’re in – you get a NZ passport. Or managed funds, or stocks on the NZX, whatever….and you don’t have to speak a word of English.
      
      Does Luxon not understand? Or is he being ill-advised? Or have his rich mates/lobbyists got to him?
      
      Luxon’s getting wierder every week. I wonder if Seymour senses the poison and is staying clear?
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:37am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        What absolute hogwash, this was also delivered by Key yet everyone thought this was great, no wonder the left will win the next election ffs
        
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        February 11, 2025 1:12pm
      - Grunter
        
        G
        Maybe try and explain why it’s “hogwash” instead of just the straight-out repeated trash talk…..
        
        Explain in simple terms why Rob MacCulloch is wrong. Have you even read the Govt ‘Fact Sheet’ on the link?? It is clearly a PR stunt by your beloved Luxon, and MacCulloch has caught him out for the BS it is.
        
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        February 11, 2025 4:26pm
  - artemisia
    
    Now and then media reports that if / when Mt Churchill volcano in Alaska erupts it could bring a halt to the northern hemisphere. Sounds like a bolt hole at the other end of the world could be a plan.
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:25am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Exactly, but it’s more about we must hate Luxon
    
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    February 11, 2025 1:10pm
- kowtow
  
  International capital does not need residency in order to invest .
  
  This is yet more Cargo Cultism , New Zealand Style in the hopes the good times will roll again .
  
  It’s been done time over and over , always with the same shit result . Which we are told is the definition of lunacy ie expecting a different result.
  
  These people are no economic geniuses , they’re not even good managers .
  
  It’s actually as simple as “get rid of all the suffocating regulation, the heavy hand of the state , the climate bullshit , the race bureaucracy , the bloated public service” and let the economy thrive .
  
  Good things will follow and you won’t have to jump off a ricketty bamboo lookout tower to achieve that . Mind you in the current NZ climate would they even be able to build the tower.
  
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  February 11, 2025 11:34am
  - imalwaysright
    
    “These people are no economic geniuses , they’re not even good managers .”
    
    Correct, we are the idiots who fund their game of politics. Its the same every time, same crap- different day.
    
    If the government and the media would piss off we would probably have a decent wee country.
    
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    February 11, 2025 5:09pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Sadly CMM i suspect you have no idea about starting a company.
  To get all those highly skilled people you need to be able to pay a good salary!! ergo a chunk of money in the bank on day one.
  
  Those highly skilled people do not generate dosh on day one as they are setting up infrastructure, systems.
  
  Of course, any major startup needs to tell the world they exist and will solve problem x!
  
  Yep need a promotional budget.
  
  Just a point of reference. Xero had a multi million $ startup fund, and it was years and years of eating money before they made a profit.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xero_(company)
  
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  February 11, 2025 1:51pm
  - artemisia
    
    Xero could have made a profit earlier, but they had an actual plan that they followed for years. The plan was growth. And so it came to pass.
    
    (Zero and Sage are similar in revenue and functionality. There is a massive difference in share price. Make of that what you will.)
    
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    February 11, 2025 2:15pm
  - cmm
    
    I have a lot of knowledge of this industry – having been in it for over 40 years, mainly consulting to all sorts of different companies – seeing some thrive and some fail.
    
    You are correct that those highly skilled individuals do not generate revenue on day one – normally it takes a year or two for a modest successful project to generate revenue and longer to actually be profitable. Many projects fail and are never profitable.
    
    Yes, that needs capital but I think you are missing the main points I was trying to make:
    1) NZ makes itself extremely unattractive to skilled people in various ways (which I have covered often).
    2) Putting $5M into managed funds could potentially be used to start a start up that “could be the next Xero”, but that’s just wishful thinking like believing the next $1 you put in the cancer society tin could be the $1 that funds a cancer breakthrough.
    3) Xero looks nice in headlines, but it does not build depth in the economy. It does not result in blue collar employment.
    
    A company like Xero has little impact on the economy further than the barista downstairs.
    
    What we really need are more Scott Technologies, Skope Industries, Hamilton Jets and similar – companies that are “high tech” but have depth in the economy creating blue collar jobs, supply chain jobs etc.
    
    Unfortunately it is the flash companies that get the main press and hand outs.
    
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    February 11, 2025 5:09pm
    - Quail
      
      cmm,
      Agreed == plus real productivity using local resources and people not just a property go round or selling the family silver.
      
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      February 11, 2025 7:00pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Surely you realise the $5 million is minimum and not a rounded total spend
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:09pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Shell Lane (The Terrace) bike rack report:

At 8.20am two bikes. Twenty two slots available.

An overcast, coolish morning in the Capital, pretty good for cycling.
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February 11, 2025 8:24am
- pdm
  
  Have you borrowed one to use to get to, so called, `Superior’ Hutt to check on Biscuit.
  
  The poor man will probably kick the cat if left to his own misery.
  
  What is more `misery begets friends’ so an epidemic could now be raging throughout `Superior’ Hutt.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:08am
wairarapapaul

The push to attract investor visa money may attract those interested in investing in Fast Track projects.
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February 11, 2025 8:27am
- greybeard
  
  Who in their right mind would invest in NZ when they know that they would have to contend with constant maori “interests” ? Presumably people overseas have access to news reports about life and times in NZ and the sort of stupidity which prevails. The embedded language and “culture” nonsense in the Public Service and councils, the extraordinary time it takes to get anything past the “iwi”, the need for bribes, etc etc.
  
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  February 11, 2025 11:09am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Greybeard
    Living overseas, I suggest nobody cares or reads about the unhappiness of Maorification in a large portion of the population.
    
    The money men look at the opportunities and numbers.
    
    PS. I am over the woke stuff hence money men, not money persons.
    
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    February 11, 2025 2:00pm
- kowtow
  
  The big money ( seeking residency) has long gone .
  London , NY , Sydney , Paris, Malta, Cyprus and a long list of other tax havens offering “Golden Passports” .
  
  What we might get here will be 6th or 7th tier.
  
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  February 11, 2025 11:37am
BananaLlama

Top 5 issues for voters from the latest Curia Poll.

24.5% Cost of Living
17.0% Economy
13.9% Health
7.6% Maori
4.7% Poverdy

Right direction vs Wrong direction 34% vs 50% O_O

https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/poll_feb_25_basjfgas
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February 11, 2025 8:28am
- rockape
  
  The right/ wrong question is a poor one. Most lefties will say the wrong direction for obvious reasons. Many from the right will say the wrong direction too. I am one of them and will only say the government is moving in the right direction when the benefit gravy train is stopped, when we pull out of climate accords and when we treat all Kiwis the same with no special privilege for those with a bit of Maori blood in their veins.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:51am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Notice the centre are moving to Labour Rockdale, this was always going to happen, and yesterday’s stunt by Seymour will make things worse
    
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    February 11, 2025 1:15pm
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    I agree the right/wrong direction question is poor. Two people could vote “wrong” for very different reasons, but the libby media will interpret > 50 % “wrong” as evidence that voters want Labour back in power.
    
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    February 11, 2025 7:31pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  And see where Māori issues is sitting? Virtually hardly mentioned
  
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  February 11, 2025 1:13pm
  - wsk12345
    
    Basically 3rd given economy and cost of living are the same thing to most people. So very very important.
    
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    February 11, 2025 2:34pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      4th, but just 7.6%
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:11pm
  - BananaLlama
    
    I agree with you G it is like the environment for the left, not a really an issue if people can’t afford to eat (just an example). I actually think right voters are getting played by our MSM who constantly report on Maori issues to rile everyone up when the real focus should be on the economy so that coalition supporters don’t appear to be out of touch.
    NZ Voters are concerned about their economic prospects first and foremost so Luxon is right to focus on that.
    
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    February 11, 2025 3:29pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Yes, and treasury predicts a turn around first half of the year. Sadly the centre is moving left and as stated several times they are not going to act
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:12pm
- PurplePen
  
  Climate doesn’t even rate. Interesting that poverdy does. We ARE a caring nation. Noice.
  
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  February 11, 2025 6:29pm
Paulus

It looks as though Maori supported by the slime media are continuing with great sucess for 16% of the population in achieveing everything and more in New Zealand.
They are continually winning Battles daily and fully expect to win the War with this Goverenment.
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February 11, 2025 8:32am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  They will be in cabinet in 2026.
  
  CGT, wealth tax, halting interest deductibility, banning oil and gas, banning all mining, far harsher measures on farming, returning to selling farms for planting pines on, treaty commissioner who can over rule parliament, possibly tax cancellations for iwi, and the scary one will be SNA on private farm land.
  
  Good luck ya gunna need it
  
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  February 11, 2025 1:20pm
Maggy Wassilieff

The media is making a big story about David Seymour contacting the Police during the preliminary stages of an investigation (and before charges had been laid).

So how does the MSM handle the fact that the co-leaders of the Maori Party contacted the police over the Manurewa Marae investigation?

Is their demand that they be investigated (especially at the start of an investigation) interference?

On June 7, 2024, Te Pāti Māori leaders wrote to then-Police Commissioner Andrew Coster, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Police Minister Mark Mitchell asking for their party to be investigated.

“We write on behalf of Te Pāti Māori, requesting that the New Zealand Police launch an official investigation into the allegations that have been raised against Te Pāti Māori,” the letter said.

“These allegations have seen Te Pāti Māori, its president, and its MPs deemed guilty in the court of public opinion.

“It is our firm view that the allegations are baseless innuendo. We are yet to see a shred of evidence to support these claims.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/manurewa-marae-data-misuse-claims-top-police-detective-ross-mckay-leading-investigation-into-te-pati-maori/KAW4JBMTNZGSHFMICNC6OGMXBA/
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February 11, 2025 8:37am
- Swifty
  
  Please don’t expect consistency or adherence to principle from these people Maggy.
  
  Those concepts are as foreign to them as personal responsibility.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:50am
  - Paulus
    
    Consistancy be damned –
    Last evening I watched the TVNZ News – what a mistake
    – the concentration was on the so called TVNZ somebody poll taken during the so called Waitangi Week, which put the so called left wing into poilitical power. Fine if that’s what they think, but some of the results are spurious to believe.
    Which fine but it was that way that the Maori political reporter Sherman scremed abuse at the Government on everything.
    I was going to turn over but could nor believe that TVNZ allows such a diatribe by her, and followed by her wimpish male mate assistant.
    TVNZ I would sell you. if I could -it is a disgrace.
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:31am
    - john1234
      
      Had to laugh as Sherman proceeded to list things that National and Luxon “need to do”.
      Yes folks. A journalist is directing the government on how to run the country. Because this journalist really knows about all that stuff.
      
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      February 11, 2025 10:15am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      One thing I did notice that did catch my ear. Last few polls have had no answer at 6%, this poll was huge at 12% , if next time those extra 6% s as newer I very much doubt the numbers will be the same
      
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      February 11, 2025 1:24pm
    - Burtland
      
      TVNZ is the result of DIE employment policy
      – its unfit for purpose
      
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      February 11, 2025 2:32pm
- kowtow
  
  Yep , today for the 3rd day running the Herald is still beating this letter thing up.
  
  Claire Trevet has now jumped on it.
  
  Doubling down .
  
  I reckon the NZME , including with the ambush /gottcha questions to the PM ( which he keeps mishandling) are trying to stir up trouble within the coalition , they’d love that . But that is not the media’s role .
  
  ps Talking of the PM and media handling . He called Seymour’s landrover thing a political sideshow . It was anything but , it was a charity promotion for an amazing bit
  of health innovation . That’s what the media ( and PM) should be talking about.
  
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  February 11, 2025 8:59am
  - Grunter
    
    Yesterday Luxon fell into the trap set by the useful idiots in mainstream media. Twice he sided with the leftist-idiots. Twice he lost out to Seymour.
    
    If you watch the video of the Seymour charity stunt on the steps of Parliament, he literally drove up 2 steps only, hoped out and delivered a pitch to help out a charity that most people would never have heard of. Luxon called this a sideshow.
    Score: Seymour 1; Luxon 0
    
    Then the Polkinghorn letter beat-up. Luxon stated it wasn’t something he would have done. Seymour explained it is exactly what the Police themselves encourage MP’s to do (yes, it’s on the Police website).
    Score: Seymour 2; Luxon 0
    
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    February 11, 2025 11:53am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    He said it was a side show to draw media attention and he knows that’s what small parties do, to me it was pathetic, and his stupidity is why the centre are heading back left
    
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    February 11, 2025 1:26pm
    - kowtow
      
      Yes it was a very stupid thing for Luxon to say and yes his stupidity and embracing of “partnership” is taking us to the left , undermining democracy and the constitution.
      
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      February 11, 2025 3:54pm
    - Grunter
      
      In that case the country is doomed.
      
      Anyone who thinks Luxon’s National Party is the answer is simply deluded – socialism fails 100% of the time. Watered-down socialism (where we are right now) just takes longer.
      
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      February 11, 2025 4:21pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Doesn’t seem to be mishandling it at all, he said this was done in 2022 how can this have anything to do with him as a minister from late 23
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:15pm
- Taieri
  
  So how does the MSM handle the fact that the co-leaders of the Maori Party contacted the police over the Manurewa Marae investigation?
  ———-
  
  That’s different…
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:02am
- peterwn
  
  David Seymour contacted the Police in 2022 so it seems strange that someone is making a big issue of it now. The media are like the picador in the bull ring inciting the bull into a rage. Seems the media are doing similar in politics by trying to lead David Seymour and Chris Luxon to have a big ding-dong leading to an election.
  I thought right from the beginning that there were going to be times when relationships between the three coalition leaders would get torrid. However at the end of the day they are very unlikely to fall out so badly as to deliver an election to Labour etc. on a plate.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:19am
  - Philview
    
    The fact that a journalist was doing a double hit on Seymour today with the Jago story as well makes me think this had a bit of planning.
    
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    February 11, 2025 2:50pm
    - kowtow
      
      They are always planning a hit on their favourite target ; the blue or yellow teams.
      
      Recall when Nats were in opposition . The media had the Uffindell non story , they kept that in their grubby mits till the time they thought it would do the most damage and dropped it right after the Nats’ then succesful annual conference .
      
      In order to derail any posidividy and to re shape the narrative back to the “nasty Nat party” .”Full of bullies” or “crap selection processes” etc
      
      Never forget , never forgive .
      
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      February 11, 2025 3:52pm
RRM

My first day back on the train, now that Remutaka tunnel has re-opened.

Thorndon Quay roadworks, young guy walking ahead of me walks down a lane of cones as directed by an arrow sign.

The sign was probably pointing the wrong way, as a cyclist coming the other way thought the lane was for cyclists like him.

WHAT YOO DOING? FOOK SAKE! screams the aging pom cyclist.

Why are people like this?

Why are so many Wellingtonians such miserable, hostile, stone-faced assholes?
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February 11, 2025 8:55am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  Wellingtonians who are not cyclists are nicer than average.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:07am
- Eastlander
  
  Cycling as a method of transport is not only awkward and inefficient for the user, it creates aggravation for other road users and pedestrians alike. Now it’s not illegal to use your bike on the road and footpath, but if you have any regard at all for other people you’ll feel bad about creating strife for them when there are much better ways of getting around – so only extremely rude and selfish people are likely to do it.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:55am
  - RRM
    
    Heh, in the summer I frequently bring my bike to town, if I know I’ve got a meeting in the CBD. Biking along the waterfront on a good day is the best.
    
    Never felt the need to scream obscenities at anybody though… what am I doing wrong?
    
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    February 11, 2025 1:13pm
    - Eastlander
      
      Suffice it to say that the archetypal Wellington cyclist is a confirmed misanthrope perpetually incandescent with rage at a world which refuses to reshape itself to benefit him personally. Again, since Wellington is not a good city for cycling making it one’s primary mode of transportation selects for low agreeability, and is probably not conducive to equanimity either.
      
      I imagine it’s different in a smaller town with wide roads.
      
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      February 11, 2025 3:00pm
  - kiwikidsnz
    
    “Now it’s not illegal to use your bike on the road and footpath…”
    
    It’s illegal to ride a cycle on footpaths unless you’re delivering mail or the cycle has very small wheels (wheel diameter less than 355 millimetres).
    
    https://www.nzta.govt.nz/roadcode/code-for-cycling/paths-cycle-lanes-and-bus-lanes/#:~:text=It%27s%20illegal%20to%20ride%20a,similar%20ways%20of%20getting%20around.
    
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    February 11, 2025 5:13pm
- lifesgood
  
  Because they live there. I’d be grumpy too.
  
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  February 11, 2025 12:49pm
RoboRob

Did a Roy Morgan survey yesterday. Lovely lady did the questioning but I’m not so sure the questions will give the right view of things.

As many here will know I am not particularly impressed with Luxon or his performance but my answers to the following questions might show otherwise

Q: Who would you prefer the next government to be, National or Labour?
A: National

Q: Right track, wrong track
A: Right track (very timidly right track though)

Q: Economy to improve in the next 3yrs
A: Yes (Interest rates are going down, economy will improve)

Q: Good time to buy major purchases
A: Yes (lower interest rates and competitive pricing due to downturn, good time to buy if you have the money)

Q: House prices to increase in the next few years?
A: Yes (lower interest rates again and house prices have come well back in a number of markets)

So looking at the above I appear to be pro National and happy with the economy and direction of the country. In reality I’m pretty disappointed with financial handling, government agencies, Maori relations and some other specific policies (Uni 3rd year free, Labour Google tax, tax payer paid lunches – Looking at you her Seymour).

No wonder National is doing well in some of these polls if this is the line of questioning.
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February 11, 2025 9:00am
- Morgan H
  
  And when National see the results they will use it as proof they are on the right track and don’t need to change.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:14am
  - kowtow
    
    I suspect their focus groups will be very important to them.
    
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    February 11, 2025 11:43am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      And Act will be down further and blame who?
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:16pm
- cmm
  
  I think this is part of what is broken in polling.
  They try to slot you into simple A/B boxes when often what you really want is C.
  
  It is challenging to think that this sort of polling can ever provide a result that is actually informative.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:43am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Rubbish, he will have been asked who he would vote for, he has conveniently left that question off his list
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:19pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  We are on the wrong track. ‘Economy to improve’ is meaningless without a basis for comparison. If the comparison is to the OECD average, it will not improve.
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:10am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  So you are telling me they never asked you which party you would vote if an election were held today? Part of the story aye
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:18pm
Sparrow

Government wants to attract overseas investors with as little as $5million. What’s that going to do? I remember all the publicity around Peter Thiel he planned to do this and that but its seems little actually happened. He invested in an audio book company whose studio is in Manila and not Mangere. The Pacific Cable never happened. He invested in Xero which undoubtedly helped it to go offshore. Many countries have turned away from attracting overseas investors, so why are we? Has this government like the ones before them run out of ideas or never had any. Looked up the new Ministry of Regulation that’s very Stalanist name the executives are recycled public servants. No wonder the young enterprising Kiwis are going offshore.
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February 11, 2025 9:07am
- cmm
  
  For 31 of my 33 years in NZ I have worked for large tech companies that were started in NZ and then bought out by overseas interests.
  
  This does not really build the local economy. All it really does is bulk exports skills in raw form with no value-added in NZ.
  
  The only benefit to the economy is earning in NZ saving and spending locally – and of course paying tax. My skills do not go into improving the NZ economy or really helping employ others.
  
  This is very much the way the Xeros of the world operate.
  
  Luxon has this entirely wrong. We don’t need more Xeros. We need more local manufacturing companies.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:50am
  - Chris Nisbet
    
    Local manufacturing? Doesn’t that require cheap energy? Ours is on the expensive side, isn’t it?
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:11pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      Australia is more expensive.
      No NZ is not expensive.
      
      https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-electricity-by-country
      
      However this table is all USD per KWH and doesnt take in to account local economic conditions. Tax/Rebates/Bul rates etc
      
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      February 11, 2025 2:13pm
      - Chris Nisbet
        
        22nd out of 147 doesn’t seem that cheap, relatively speaking.
        Being less expensive than Aus doesn’t mean much nowadays- they’ve set about ruining their nice, cheap, system.
        
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        February 11, 2025 4:32pm
- Taieri
  
  Has this government like the ones before them run out of ideas or never had any
  ———
  
  Never had any. And not just this government, every other government since the hey days of mid 1980’s…
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:21am
  - cmm
    
    Yup, it is just recycled Cindy-talk.
    Lots of feel-good marketing terms, but very little practical action.
    
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    February 11, 2025 11:39am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  The investor category is a very small part ffs
  
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  February 11, 2025 1:30pm
Morgan H

Why isn’t Act rising in the polls like it should?
The last four polls:
1 News – 9% (Up 1)
TU – 10% (Down 0.8)
Talbot Mills – 9% (Down 1)
Roy Morgan – 9% (Down 4)

Seymour and Act have been campaigning like campaign season has started but there hasn’t been a signification shift in the polls. These polls are too early to see if the public have heard Act’s privatisation policies.
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February 11, 2025 9:09am
- Philview
  
  Most of the country still get their News from TVNZ which as we know isn’t impartial. They are going to throw everything they have to take down Luxon and Seymour in the next 12 months.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:28am
  - imalwaysright
    
    If the media want to destroy Luxon then they should do a couple of long form interviews on the treaty and climate.
    But, then again, Luxon is in lockstep with the marxist media on both subjects so won’t be quizzed too hard.
    
    A very strange relationship.
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:41am
    - Steve Otto N Shore
      
      Luxon will not talk about the Treaty or the Principles Bill.
      He will tell you what others say, but he will never give his opinion.
      
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      February 11, 2025 3:00pm
- RoboRob
  
  I think its that Seymour doesn’t appear to be fighting for more govt cuts. He is associate minister of education yet has
  
  1) Failed to remove fees free uni
  2) Failed to remove tax payer funded lunches. Making them cheaper doesn’t count for shit as they will slowly rise back.
  3) Actively limited the number of partnership schools.
  
  So just looking from the outside, he has failed. Now I suspect that National has blocked him on these things, but becuase of the coalition agreement we cant know.
  
  One might wonder why National would want to block these things as they would normally be traditional National policy (Individual responsibility, less govt etc).
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:36am
- Gravelroad
  
  “ Why isn’t Act rising in the polls like it should?”
  Perhaps because New Zealanders in general have become too accustomed to being “looked after” by the government.
  They don’t want their privileges interfered with.
  They want free stuff to be kept on tap eg school lunches.
  They want the judiciary and accompanying supporters to keep being lenient with criminals.
  They don’t want any taxpayer funded benefits and subsidies to be diminished.
  We all want a soft, easy life – eh?
  Added to which, Mr Seymour and some of his associates in ACT, are not the right sort of Maori………
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:47am
  - Taieri
    
    Mr Seymour and some of his associates in ACT, are not the right sort of Maori
    ——-
    
    David Seymour had a Maori great-great-great-grandmother. This makes him 1/64 Maori. Or expressed in another way 1.56% Maori.
    Perhaps, it’s the time to end all this Maori/non-Maori nonsense…
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:27am
    - David Garrett
      
      Taieri: I suspect that Seymour has a chuckle every time he is described as “Maori”.
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:09am
      - Chuck Bird
        
        Why? That is how he describes himself.
        
        6 1
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        February 11, 2025 11:47am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        That is how he describes himself.
        
        Not exactly; he made it clear at Waitangi last week that he didn’t need to bow down and accept the views of his hapu just because one of his ancestors belonged to it.
        
        “If the proposition is that being Māori means I have to bow down and follow leadership, then that’s not a very attractive proposition.
        
        “The idea that I have to think the same as every ancestor I have.”
        
        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/david-seymour-wont-bow-down-to-his-hapu-leaders-over-treaty-principles-bill/6JB7ATGZQZB5JAE252OTJHG3D4/
        
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        February 11, 2025 12:31pm
    - Paulus
      
      Winston said a few years ago said that to be on the Maori roll pou could be 1/512 proportion.
      Likewise accepting that the Maori, via the Pacific Islands, have the same DNA as people from the Tribes today in South West Taiwan.
      
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      February 11, 2025 11:50am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  I told you why the centre is going back to the left, and they won’t want Seymour to have strength, just like many won’t greens and TPM to have strengt. It sticks out like dogs balls but act supporters believed the bullshit they were feed, you will never get a huge support for act, they are seen as divisive
  
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  February 11, 2025 1:32pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Suggest its all about Seymour and the Treaty Bill generating MSM negative stories, then the pile on about school lunches.
  
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  February 11, 2025 2:15pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    They tried that with Chloe law breaking in parliament with stolen food today, only for emails suggesting the food was great and warm and on time, this is a union hit job tied with rotten media
    
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    February 11, 2025 9:22pm
NothingLeft

Lots of earthquakes just north east of Santorini (it’s Minoan eruption 1600 BC likely responsible for Atlantis and other classical and biblical flood/deluge myths as well as wrecking Minoan civilization), might be another volcano/island brewing.
http://www.geophysics.geol.uoa.gr/stations/maps/recent.html
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February 11, 2025 9:29am
- rangitoto
  
  There is a lot of discussion about whether it is tectonic, volcanic or both. Seems to be an unprecedented swarm. Several thousand earthquakes in less than two weeks.
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:52am
  - kowtow
    
    Quick , plant more pines and build more solar farms ……..that’ll fix it.
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:01pm
Scooter

Are Media hiding stories that don’t fit the “narrative”?. I saw this article on Ani O’Brien’s X post about the latest baby death in NZ Jan 10, Massey Auckland. Yet it doesn’t show on their website unless you specially Google search it. No wonder MSM is dying, for their lack of any transparency and covering up the facts. Also still no word either on the sudden death in Papatoetoe.

https://x.com/aniobrien/status/1888769018422812861?t=Iob54xm4iXZ5KBRL6f3SXw&s=19
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February 11, 2025 9:31am
- Ghost
  
  That death happened on the 10th of February, not January. It was top story on news sites yesterday. Let the police do their work
  
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  February 11, 2025 9:43am
  - Scooter
    
    My mistake I meant Feb, it’s still hidden. Notice how many articles just have a cursory article then no follow up, no asking questions or interviewing people. I thought they were journalists, reporting facts etc.
    
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    February 11, 2025 10:19am
    - Ghost
      
      Journalists can only report the information given to them
      
      Last paragraph on the Massey death
      
      A further update would be provided when police were in a position to do so.
      
      It’s not hidden. It’s yesterday’s news, nothing new to report.
      
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      February 11, 2025 10:36am
      - imalwaysright
        
        “Journalists can only report the information given to them”
        
        That’s true, but the problem is that they are selective of what they decide to publish.
        That which is problematic to their ideology seems to get lower priority.
        
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        February 11, 2025 11:04am
      - kowtow
        
        Given to them ?
        
        Rubbish !
        
        There was a time they went out and got the news.
        
        Now they just interview their key boards.
        
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        February 11, 2025 11:48am
      - Ghost
        
        No, the rubbish is people who expect the media to report details on a case when the police have not released any information.
        
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        February 11, 2025 12:02pm
      - Paulus
        
        What a laugh –
        Journalists can only report the information given to them.
        Not New Zealand ones – thy make up whatever they want to get paid.
        In reality a bag of modern day liars.
        How over recent years it has got so sad by the so few, mainly left wing aspirant women now.
        
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        February 11, 2025 11:54am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  It’s mentioned in the ODT today, so it will be in other papers as well, fact is the baby was left outside the police station was it not? It makes it very hard to set any conclusions apart from the baby was smothered
  
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  February 11, 2025 1:36pm
rangitoto

Hei Tiki arms race

“The bigger the tiki the smaller the dicky”

https://x.com/MatuaKahurangi/status/1888641471907312097
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February 11, 2025 9:42am
- Blog-aholic
  
  He is correct, if you go back through the media pics you’ll see that the adornments have got progressively larger as the egos of supremcism have grown……
  
  Lets face it Packer has gone from a chubbly white girl with blue eyes with an Irish mother to the slightly slimmer (tummy tucked?) black eyed, very darker skinned, tattooed, colonialist styled dresser we see today…..
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:06am
  - imalwaysright
    
    They are getting so big that some have started wearing them sideways.
    I reckon there have been groin injuries when they race to sit down at Bellamy’s.
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:00pm
- sungsamning
  
  That was really funny; and likely true.
  
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  February 11, 2025 11:21am
- kowtow
  
  Great post .
  
  There’s hope for the country yet ……along with a bit of fun.
  
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  February 11, 2025 12:02pm
- Steve Otto N Shore
  
  I have a large bone fish hook – hei matau. 30mm shank, about 300mm high and 100mm wide.
  One hell of a laugh at parties!
  
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  February 11, 2025 3:12pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  These people are beyond satire
  
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  February 11, 2025 4:07pm
Chuck Bird

I heard Luxon talking with Hosking this morning. He seemed to think that the economy was the only thing that mattered. Sadly, we do not have a PM or potential PM with principles.

I am past 80 and am comfortably off so I can care about other things.

I do not like my taxes go to support Hamas vie UNRWA. Gaza was given a 2 state solution in 2005 and we got 7 Oct. There is no way they should be allowed to rearm and regroup.

I believe like President Trump that men who claim to be women should be allowed to play against women in sports or go in their changing rooms.

I am against our hard working farmers being shafted and the rural towns destroyed by pine trees being planted on farmland.

These are some of the reasons I am voting for Act.
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February 11, 2025 10:23am
- surfing
  
  Voters expected Luxon to address wokeness! Maori getting 4 million to play whale music to trees enrages people who can’t pay their weekly bills.
  
  The Hosking/Luxon interview discussing the Solicitor general’s sentencing guidelines was the day I stopped supporting Luxon. Luxon ceded his leadership of the nation to the solicitor general!
  
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  February 11, 2025 10:43am
  - kowtow
    
    if you haven’t seen it , look up Luxon’s Waitangi speech this year .
    He’s nailed his colours to the mast . Partnership.
    
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    February 11, 2025 12:04pm
- Paulus
  
  As an 85 year old I agree to Party vote ACT.
  – if I make it to the next election – so there is hope.
  
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  February 11, 2025 11:55am
  - pdm
    
    79 in a couple of months.
    
    I have been Party Voting ACT since the advent of MMP – with the exception of one election, 2014.
    
    Electorate vote usually to National but ACT had a good candidate in Tukituki last time and if he shows or they match his capabilities they will get my electorate vote too.
    
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    February 11, 2025 1:04pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      And that helps deliver another useless Labour mp
      
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      February 11, 2025 9:26pm
- Tom Hunter
  
  He seemed to think that the economy was the only thing that mattered.
  
  He does, but nobody should be surprised for that is what the rest of National think as well, including many of their supporters: “bigger fish to fry” and all that. They’re convinced that as long as the economy can be revved up all will be forgotten and forgiven in other areas, and worse, that those areas don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
  
  And this has been a long-standing aspect of them: recall that Muldoon said voters only cared about the pay in their wallet – and got runover by the nuclear issue, plus other things.
  
  Same with the Tories in Britain and the pre-Trump GOP in the US. In 2017 great things were expected by GOP voters when they unexpectedly held the Presidency to add to the Senate and House. Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, talked of having bills “lined up like planes on a runway”, but in the end merely squeezed out a tax cut bill (although it was a decent bill, unlike our pitiful “tax cuts”).
  
  Even then it came only after passing not one but two “omnibus” bills so laden with Democrat pork that Pelosi and Schumer were openly laughing at him in their press conferences.
  
  Ryan thought it would clear the decks so everybody could down to some really meaningful debates. Instead Pelosi took the money and went right back to shafting him on everything else until she took power two years later.
  
  Although we should have known after seeing him get beaten up by Biden in the 2012 VP debate. And of course his Catholicism meant he loved illegal immigrants and lifted not a finger to help Trump on that issue. The real irony is that despite being a policy wonk it’s certain that all the shit that Musk and company have discovered was happening under Ryan’s watch, the very area he boasted about knowing and trying to fix.
  
  Plonker!
  
  Like Romney, McCain, Graham and a host of go-along-to-get-along others.
  
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  February 11, 2025 11:59am
- lifesgood
  
  I think you meant to say “should NOT be allowed to play sport etc”
  
  2 0
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  February 11, 2025 12:54pm
- MCōs
  
  The economy may not be everything, but it’s a long way ahead of whatever is in second place.
  I’d stop short of the Shane Jones kill the last moa to make a buck train of thought
  
  1 0
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  February 11, 2025 2:38pm
- Steve Otto N Shore
  
  72 young fella here. For me it will likely be two ticks Act. Had enough of the ignorance of Luxon and National. I rarely get ant replies to emails and those I do get are from BOTs.
  
  4 1
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  February 11, 2025 3:15pm
  - Jethrod
    
    There is approximately 611 days until the next election, so if you are deciding your vote now, you are in a rut and really have had your head turned.
    If you are living, as you claim in your nom de plume, then voting Act in that seat is really another wasted vote, and reconsideration is definitely an option.
    I would expect someone as erudite as you to think again.
    
    1 0
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    February 11, 2025 4:48pm
    - Steve Otto N Shore
      
      I said “likely” not confirmed.
      
      0 0
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      February 12, 2025 7:45am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  The 2 biggest issues are economy and COL he is dead right to suggest the economy is the big issue, polls again this week should race issues very low
  
  0 0
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  February 11, 2025 9:24pm
kevn

Chuck… ‘not be’.
7 0
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February 11, 2025 10:34am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Probably need to indicate which sentence needs negation:
  
  I believe like President Trump that men who claim to be women should be allowed to play against women in sports or go in their changing rooms.
  
  4 0
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  February 11, 2025 12:42pm
sungsamning

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/02/trump_s_chess_game_is_improving.html
Trump’s Chess Game Is Improving.
Does Chucky Schumer really believe that $20 million for Sesame Street in Iraq will somehow benefit the U.S.? Or $7 million to promote LGBT advocacy in Jamaica and Uganda? Uganda enforces the death penalty for gays.
The list goes on and on and on. I don’t need to bore you with the recitation. But it is extremely important to understand that $1.5 million promoting DIE in Serbia isn’t about DIE. It’s about something much more sinister.
President Eisenhower coined the term “military-industrial complex,” referring to a revolving door between the Defense Department and manufacturers of bombs and bullets. This revolving door saw the DoD ask for munitions and shovel the money to manufacturers, and those manufacturers made handsome profits. Gratitude for those profits led the war industry to reward its patrons with campaign contributions and other “private” benefits. [Time to ensure the Deep State wing of Gitmo is ready to receive guests. It also looks like property prices around DC might drop soon.]
9 1
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February 11, 2025 10:46am
- imalwaysright
  
  Chuck plays The Count on Iraqi Sesame Street.
  He counts out the tens of
  millions he and Nancy have made as public servants.
  
  3 1
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  February 11, 2025 2:16pm
- Steve Otto N Shore
  
  Sesame Street!.
  I did read that “The Flintstones” would never be shown in the Middle East because they would not understand the humour.
  But we do know Abu Dhabi do!
  
  5 1
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  February 11, 2025 3:21pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    Orhoho Steve – very good. 😆
    
    1 0
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    February 11, 2025 5:12pm
    - Steve Otto N Shore
      
      It is old Don, but still a goodie.
      
      0 0
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      February 11, 2025 5:37pm
sungsamning

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/02/the_musk_eteers_reveal_you_ve_been_living_in_a_simulated_reality.html
The Musk-eteers Reveal You’ve Been Living in a Simulated Reality.
Over the past two weeks Elon Musk and his cadre of young computer geniuses have cracked the code. Like Toto pulling the curtain on the Wizard of Oz, they’ve pulled back the cover on government secrecy. They’ve shown how oceans of tax revenue have flowed through Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), charitable-sounding foundations, the UN, and others to fund terrorists, disrupters like BLM, and reporters to promote Democrats and censor the opposition, most often to enrich Democrat politicians and their friends, families, and allies. The news you thought was news wasn’t independently and honestly generated. The charities you thought were genuine, weren’t. It’s one big gaslighting grift and you paid for it. [Its time to start filling the Deep State wing of Gitmo.]
9 1
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February 11, 2025 10:46am
Gravelroad

Did anyone else view the posse of elderly Democrat politicians , one of them an 86 year old woman senator, who tried to break into the Department of Education building ?
They screeched at and made demands of the man guarding the entrance (who didn’t seem to be a professional security person) and he just didn’t know where to look.
On a smaller scale than what happened at the Capitol building, but intent was the same.
Hypocrisy is definitely different when the left do it.
15 1
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February 11, 2025 11:20am
- Steve Otto N Shore
  
  Crazy Maxine Waters!
  
  5 1
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  February 11, 2025 3:23pm
sungsamning

Yeah, I saw it on YouTube. The security guard did a good job keeping his cool. Maybe, he’d just arrived, and didn’t have time to put on his uniform. Anyhow, he deserves to be Employee of the Week.
12 1
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February 11, 2025 11:24am
- Blog-aholic
  
  The cackling geriatric asked for his ID which he provided and she dismissed without really looking at it….as the time went on and her ranting went on she demanded it again and he said no, you’ve already had that opportunity……of course these are the same cackling harridans that don’t believe in ID for voting LOL…..
  
  9 0
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  February 11, 2025 12:35pm
- MCōs
  
  Don’t you worry about the shambles in America
  I didn’t envy the security guard on minimum wage, or not much more more, having to hold the line at parliament while being brow beaten by the grandstanding Minister of Tough on Crime
  
  1 3
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  February 11, 2025 4:10pm
  - Steve Otto N Shore
    
    Best you have a cup of tea and a lay down.
    It is only Tuesday.
    
    1 0
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    February 11, 2025 5:55pm
Jack5

Bugger-all discussion of Commerce Minister Andrew Bayly’s radical shake-up of the financial system.

This is a momentous change that’s draw little media interest since it was announced a year ago.

Some good points:

– Get more, much more, Kiwisaver capital invested in NZ.

– Enable some of this to go into infrastructure pojects.

Risker points include:

– Ease rules on financial disclosures, risk assessment, liability.

These have been built up after decades of rip-offs of investors – ultimately Mum and Dad investors, the voters. Each financial crash reminds people of the need for rules and watchers of rules, then this is gradually forgotten until the next stampede.

What Bayly and National propose:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/536523/commerce-minister-proposes-capital-market-shake-up

The details – where the devils will be plotting:

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/business/financial-markets-conduct-regulation/2024-financial-services-reforms

What of Bayly himself?

He’s an accountant, a merchant banker, and adventurer – as well as politician – his Wikipedia entry says. It notes he accidentally shot his brother in the leg while climbing a fence while carrying a gun.

Mmm, a guy who climbed a fence with a loaded gun, about to reform our savings and general financial set-up?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Bayly
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February 11, 2025 11:41am
- imalwaysright
  
  Not sure about financing infrastructure with Kiwisaver funds.
  Lots of corruption in NZ. We seem to be charged magnitudes more than similar overseas projects.
  I heard Wayne Brown say a new harbour bridge could cost between $20 and $60 billion!
  For a 1.6km long bridge.
  $12,500,000 per metre- starting price?
  
  4 1
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  February 11, 2025 2:55pm
  - rouppe
    
    Agree. Plus, as an investor, I’m not interested in investments that return 2.5%
    
    0 0
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    February 11, 2025 3:30pm
  - MCōs
    
    America has the advantage of all those illegal immigrants prepared to work their arses off on low wages.
    
    0 2
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    February 11, 2025 4:33pm
    - Tom Hunter
      
      Which has seriously fucked up their construction industry. Ask any American builder, whether working on constructing houses or warehouses.
      
      3 0
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      February 11, 2025 4:38pm
    - Steve Otto N Shore
      
      Who told you this?? TV1 or CNN?
      
      0 0
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      February 11, 2025 5:57pm
kowtow

jamie Mckay , the country , just had an impromptu interview with Luxon.

He asked him two things about relationship with Seymour .

First was about the landrover . Luxon said “when you’re the leader of a minor party”…….

Then Mckay put it to him that prior to election you were ‘great pals’

Luxon didn’t agree but was at pains to say “we were neighbours”.

I know I’m reading tea leaves ,but this does not augur well.
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February 11, 2025 12:33pm
- pdm
  
  kowtow – hard to see them as bosom buddies.
  
  Two completely different personalties and aims for the country.
  
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  February 11, 2025 1:07pm
  - kowtow
    
    I understand Peters and Luxon have become “bosom buddies” .Likewise 2 totally diff personalities and aims.
    
    I suspect Act is showing the Nats up and making life hard for them and that’s niggling Luxon . A public stoush .And Lux wants to put Seymour in his “place”.
    
    Luxon doesn’t seem to get this is a coalition and he’s not Seymour’s boss.
    
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    February 11, 2025 1:28pm
    - Ghost
      
      I understand you like to make things up, but hey, it’s the way of this blog. Just yesterday you tried to tell us that Willis had said something she hadn’t, that she had denied ever being said and that the Aussie red baiter had already deleted from his x account.
      
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      February 11, 2025 1:49pm
      - kowtow
        
        No . You’re straight up lying saying that I’m making things up .
        
        I supplied in good faith a quote from another widely reported blog post .
        
        0 0
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        February 11, 2025 2:59pm
    - Steve Otto N Shore
      
      There will be some arm wrestling going on with those two. Luxon will be saying, do what I want or your Ministers will have no portfolios in the next Govt.
      Luxon won’t be there anyway, or we get Lab/Greens/TPM.
      
      3 1
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      February 11, 2025 3:38pm
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        He is full of crap, he is like the dead beat media trying to suggest a rift, both have suggest it is nothing
        
        0 0
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        February 11, 2025 9:34pm
- MCōs
  
  If you want a friend in politics, get a dog.
  I would suggest Luxon, Seymour & Peters have an arranged friendship at best, like strangers triple bunking in prison
  
  8 0
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  February 11, 2025 1:25pm
- Quail
  
  Luxon appears to be undermining the deputy prime minister in waiting,
  Is Luxon getting nervous or something?
  
  9 0
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  February 11, 2025 2:12pm
  - Steve Otto N Shore
    
    Lost kiddie. He does not know what to do.
    A leader would know.
    
    5 1
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    February 11, 2025 3:50pm
- Jack5
  
  David Seymour speaking to the media mob this afternoon.
  
  On Luxon-Seymour relations in the coalition: “Our relationship is strong.”
  
  It’s a coalition, and as long as MMP is the system, the Centre-Right will be out of power.
  
  https://youtu.be/Su8KCZ5M5fU?si=JBFF1HPRI_MNVJIS
  
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  February 11, 2025 4:23pm
Chris Nisbet

Is this a sign that the house of cards is about to come tumbling down?…

https://www.sustainableviews.com/governments-urged-to-submit-first-rate-climate-plans-later-as-most-miss-deadline-d007213e
12 out of 195 countries have submitted their updated climate targets on time. USA was one of them, but they’ve wisely shed themselves of the shackles, leaving 11.
The good little do-bees, NZ, are resolute in their determination to ruin themselves in the goal to fix this massive non-problem.
Are we seriously concerned that Europe will punish us for pulling out of some agreement that they themselves are apparently having trouble staying focused on?
16 1
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February 11, 2025 12:50pm
- Tom Hunter
  
  Nope. I’m sorry to say it’s going to take blackouts and brownouts.
  
  Even so, reality may be creeping in, judging from the rather somber reaction of the crowd in this BBS debate as Peter Hitchens spoke about the insanity of Net Zero in Britain.
  
  https://x.com/wideawake_media/status/1885278368901275654
  
  6 1
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  February 11, 2025 4:40pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    What, Brownouts ?Not that pesky Rawiri Waiteti again ? 🙂
    
    1 1
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    February 11, 2025 5:16pm
Pope Punctilious II

It must be so much fun working for the Babylon Bee these days. Here are some
foolproof ways to avoid getting deported.
10 0
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February 11, 2025 1:25pm
- kowtow
  
  UK Daily telegraph yesterday reported that an Albanian criminal has avoided deportation from the UK because his 10 year old boy wouldn’t be able to get the chicken nuggets he likes abroad .
  And today’s headline is a paedophile can’t be deported because it would harm his children.
  
  Reality is stranger than satire !
  
  We really do lived in an inverted , non common sense universe .
  
  11 1
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  February 11, 2025 2:56pm
In Vino Veritas

I see Sean Plunkett has given Luxon a good slapping on his show (not that Luxon was on the show, as it appears he keeps not appearing). Pretty much everything Plunkett said was on the money.
15 0
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February 11, 2025 1:57pm
- hookerphil
  
  Luxon – “A John Key Tribute Band with a Playlist from Jacinda Ardern”
  Sean Plunket. A 6 and out of the park.
  
  2 0
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  February 11, 2025 3:18pm
- Steve Otto N Shore
  
  I posted the video below.
  
  6 0
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  February 11, 2025 3:53pm
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  OK, but I’m not sure calling Luxon an “idiot” will persuade him to appear on the show. And as for Plunkett’s desperate suggestion that self-serving opportunist Judith Collins should lead the Nats … Not a great outing by Plunkett.
  
  3 0
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  February 11, 2025 7:36pm
Jack5

Stuff smacks Invercargill …

Stuff can’t be making much progress with its newspaper Southland Times.

It’s resurrected for the umpteenth time its report of the rockers the Rolling Stones half a century ago calling Invercargill the arsehole of New Zealand.

The full story: the Rolling Stones, very early in their career, got a rough reception from the Invercargill audience. The Southlanders had been misled into expecting a country and western show.

Then the after-visit state of the motel where the rockers stayed was beaten up in a Wellington weekly newspaper. The headline read: The Rolling Rubbish Heap.

No wonder the rock musicians were pissed off with Invercargill.

The “arsehole” was a nickname for Bluff among UK seamen. It was where the ships completed their loading down the country and then headed home to Britain.

Crews were keen to be homeward bound by then, and impatient to get to sea. Bluff was a quiet small town without night life, the weather was often cool, and there was at least one dust-up between UK crews and local fishermen, oystermen, and wharfies.

However, some UK seamen jumped ship in Bluff as the last chance to merge into New Zealand. There were unprosecuted UK ship jumpers in occupations in Southland, ranging from farm hands to newspaper workers.
3 0
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February 11, 2025 2:26pm
- Don Beckett
  
  I know one of them, who now lives at Mt.Maunganui – really good bloke in his 80’s.
  
  4 1
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  February 11, 2025 3:30pm
- fightingtemeraire
  
  In the days of the Pommie Meat Boats, it was very common for seamen to jump ship in Oz and NZ and disappear and get jobs on the coast, as wharfies etc.
  
  The crew were then made up of Kiwis/Aussies wanting to go to the UK and on many occasions these were made up of young professionals going to the UK to further their professional training!!!
  
  4 0
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  February 11, 2025 4:03pm
  - MCōs
    
    Back in the fifties until I’m not sure when Brits were automatically citizens of NZ.
    Jumping ship therefore meant breaking a contract with the ship owner and was not a major offence.
    
    1 0
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    February 11, 2025 9:02pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  Bluff is known as the asshole of the country, but let’s get Sir Mick Jaggers art correct. He stated Invercargill is the asshole of the WORLD
  
  0 0
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  February 11, 2025 9:38pm
Steve Otto N Shore

Even Sean Plunket has woken up about Luxon. He is correct.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOvimz5khDQ
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February 11, 2025 2:55pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Luxon seems unaware of the magnitude of our predicament, and even less aware of the cause and potential solutions.
  His Polkinghorne slapdown from Seymour today could be the trigger to see Luxon replaced.
  He may be head of a governing coalition, but only 22% consider him a leader.
  The only people who get jobs with that sort of number are DEI hires.
  
  4 0
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  February 11, 2025 3:06pm
- Blog-aholic
  
  A John Key tribute Band with the Ardern playlist….lol.
  
  3 0
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  February 11, 2025 3:53pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    You won’t be laughing when Labour get back in with greens and TPM in cabinet and a treaty commissioner who can over rule parliament
    
    0 0
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    February 11, 2025 9:41pm
rouppe

Democrats introduced a bill to ban erections. Seriously.

Our bill would make it illegal to discharge semen or genetic material without the intent to fertilise an embryo.”
2 0
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February 11, 2025 3:24pm
- MCōs
  
  You don’t think there might not be a hint of ridicule involved?
  
  0 0
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  February 11, 2025 9:16pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Oh Dear…

3 little kiddies are going hungry at lunch today…
Chlöe knicked their cooked lunches.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360577331/chloe-swarbrick-questions-government-over-school-lunches

(watch from 4:25)
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February 11, 2025 3:52pm
Sparrow

I very seldom watch Plunket frankly he is not my cup of tea, but I can’t help but agree with his utter destruction of Luxon. I have a mix group of friends with views from the right and left and without exception they all have no time for Luxon that don’t hate him they just think he is colourless blob who has no opinions. Sad really we thought Muller was bad but Luxon is worse.
I remember my old Dad would have a simple opinion of a boss ” would you go over the top with him” with Luxon like f…. There were no female bosses in my Dads day.
3 0
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February 11, 2025 3:58pm
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  Worse than glass-jaw Muller? Hardly. Muller allowed himself to be cowed by an Islamist who was never going to vote for him anyway, and lasted just 7 weeks as leader of the Nats.
  
  3 0
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  February 11, 2025 7:40pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  You will be fine with Labour greens and TPM
  
  0 0
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  February 11, 2025 9:42pm
Steve Otto N Shore

Confusion over “bought” and “brought.”
If Chloe “bought” the lunches for Luxon and co, she did not nick them at the PM said.
Where did she buy them from?
Now if Chloe “brought” the lunches, she may have nicked them.
Disclaimer, I am not a toxic Green!
4 2
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February 11, 2025 4:05pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Listen to the entire Q.9.
  
  Chloe states that they are “lower quality lunches “procured” by his Government.
  
  i.e. They are tax-payer funded lunches for school children…. They are not tax-payer funded props for a Green MP.
  
  7 1
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  February 11, 2025 4:59pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  She broke the law and was put in her place
  
  0 0
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  February 11, 2025 9:43pm
Burtland

Chris Findlayson shows his partisan colours representing Ngai Tahu in a 15 lawyer High Court stouch in Christchurch, claiming enduring “rangatiratanga” over fresh water in the SI …

The iwi does not seek money or ownership of the South Island’s water. Rather, rangatiratanga was defined as “sovereignty, chieftainship, right to exercise authority [and/or] chiefly authority”.

The issue is whether Ngai Tahu has enduring “rangatiratanga” over fresh water that gives the tribe a much greater say in how water is “allocated, used, managed and traded, and by whom”.

The case will be decided by Justice Melanie Harland – will this be another landmark case ?

https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360574806/song-and-prayer-ngai-tahu-freshwater-case-opens-christchurch-high-court
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February 11, 2025 4:15pm
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  And Finlayson wonders why he gets vilified. He seems to take every opportunity to whine about the mean things people say about him.
  
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  February 11, 2025 7:44pm
Swifty

Fair question – you never can tell these days!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360577393/watch-womens-football-star-accused-inappropriately-touching-rival-during-heated-clash

🤣
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February 11, 2025 5:09pm
Swifty

Chloe Swarbrick has stolen the lunch from three kids!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JIRpnJHjC9w
3 0
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February 11, 2025 6:27pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Check out the comments…. not much sympathy for our “hungry kids” (who can’t make a sandwich or a kimbap roll)
  
  1 0
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  February 11, 2025 7:25pm

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