NZ Politics

Budget documents show the government was told of “profound” wellbeing benefits from the free school lunch scheme months before it decided to trim its funding.

Unfortunately that’s behind a paywall, but there’s ways and means of reading it, eg via RSS subscription to NZ Herald.

"More people are going to have to rely on cars and trucks to get around because we don’t have a pipeline of alternatives like rapid transit, inter-city passenger rail, public transport and safe walking and cycling in our communities”

I make no secret of how much I disagree with the Governments policy choices but this takes the award for making me apoplectic.

I’m sure it was just a poorly thought out choice of words, but the Tsunami remark is kinda hilarious.

Good on the postal union to tell them where to stick their pamphlet, I say.

A leaked document from tobacco giant Philip Morris says the company should target political parties including NZ First to get more favourable regulation for its Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs).

Ground-breaking work on fairness and equity within New Zealand's police force has quantified for the first time the gap between Māori and Pakeha when it comes to how they're treated.

Tougher rules are needed to combat the risk of political corruption in New Zealand, according to the Helen Clark Foundation.

The government aims to test just over 3.3 million drivers a year in its plan to increase roadside tests for drink and drug-impaired drivers.

It follows Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford's selling their new maths policy at the National Party conference over the weekend, claiming just 22 percent of Year 8 students were at the expected standard for maths.

The truth is, political parties probably aren't getting a whole lot more in donations than they have in the past. It's just that they're now required to tell us much more about what's coming in.

This is just an amazing series of events, with the greens now being forced to threaten to use the Waka Jumping legislation in order to try and make her do the right thing.

Chris Penk is kind of a dumbass, isn't he? The amount of things he's been completely wrong about is a very long list.

What do we think, will she resign? Will the greens use the Waka jumping law?

The NZ Media Council has upheld a complaint against a RNZ story on accuracy.

On Saturday, Tauranga City Council will have its first election since 2019. In February, 2021, a central government-appointed commission replaced a dysfunctional mayor and councillors.

I must admit, I don't fully understand the green party's objection to this piece of legislation, a party is elected with a mandate to represent the wishes of the people who voted for them. If an MP doesn't want to do that, then they should indeed resign, at least as a list MP.

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters has alleged a cover-up at KiwiRail over the grounding of the Aratere last month.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop has told real estate agents that the government wants to "flood the market" with opportunities for housing development.

The government has announced mandatory reading, writing and maths tests for primary schools.

The 41-year-old man was initially charged with unlawfully being in a building and on 1 March, he appeared in the Nelson District Court before a community magistrate who convicted and discharged him.

Former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman has given her first in-depth interview after her arrest for shoplifting and subsequent resignation from Parliament, telling 1News it was an act of "self-sabotage."

so I just read this and I'm absolutely disgusted. honestly who do these pricks think they are?? how do we show them this is not to be tolerated in a welcoming safe public space, or anywhere for that matter! fucking bigots spreading fear and hate and misogynistic bullshit. just fuck these guys we need to get an exclusion order against them from being within 100m of a library. we need to stand up to these bullying cunts how? writing to Rachel Boyack hardly vents my spleen enough thanks for listening 🤬🤬🤬🤬

Paying people in cash, hiring workers not allowed to work for them on the visa they have, paying people late, there's a lot of dodgy stuff here actually.

What got me the most was:

So two points here, first, didn't this dingus promise to take commercial flights to save money anyway?

The infrastructure minister wants more private sector financing, such as public-private partnerships (PPPs), to pay for major projects.

Analysis - "Boot camps" for young people who commit serious offending are coming back. The coalition government has promised to pilot "military-style academies" by the middle of the year - despite a wealth of international and New Zealand evidence that boot camps do not reduce reoffending.

A group of former workers at Manurewa Marae said private data from census forms was photocopied and entered into a database they believe was then used to target voters in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate.

ACT leader David Seymour is playing down reported complaints from volunteers about his party's culture.

Cutting part time workers' sick leave entitlements from the 10 days everyone currently gets to being pro-rated based on how much they work.

A Ministry of Education official has admitted the alternative model for the government's free school lunch programme is unlikely to be as nutritious as the previous programme, RNZ understands.

Budget Day 'carkoi' protests delayed traffic on Auckland and Tauranga motorways ahead of a hikoi on Parliament.

The Reserve Bank says that from 1 July, banks will only be able to lend about 20 percent of their new lending to owner-occupier borrowers with a debt-to-income ratio of more than six. That means, if your household earns a combined $100,000, your loan will be limited to $600,000.

I am saying this unironically.

Your tax dollars are going to John Key folks. This is how the privatisation of state housing is going.

A bill designed to give consumers more control over their data will be introduced into Parliament tomorrow, the minister of commerce and consumer affairs says.

Surely all these people losing decent paying jobs will have no impact on the economy right? Definitely not a recession right?

Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has used her first “State of the Planet” speech to accuse the coalition Government of privileging lobbyists and the wealthy, at the expense of workers’ health and the environment.

The important thing to keep in mind is that there is a significant proportion of the population that wants this and is going to vote for right wing parties in order to stop the "trans agenda"

Jones is a controversial force in the new Government, with his nakedly pro-mining stance criticised for being anti-environment. His meetings with industry heavyweights, including those in the commercial fishing sector, have led to accusations of conflicts of interest.

"New Zealand will make a clear statement to the UN later this morning explaining its vote, indicating that while it supports enhancing Palestine's status at the UN, this does not amount to recognition of Palestinian statehood.

If there are any doubts this government is taking marching orders from the American right wing they can safely be put to bed.

More than 4000 people have already been laid off as a result of the austerity measures imposed by the NACTF government.

More austerity for the government. Lucky for all the people who lose their jobs the government is going to make them go to seminars before they do on the benefit.

I am sure this will be super effective and will not cost any money at all.

A super security and intelligence agency recommended four years ago and said to be "not too far away" last August, is under "active consideration" by Cabinet.

Add voter suppression to the list of disasters

In Parliament last Wednesday, Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi said the government "will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori".

Wellington City Council have put plans to build a permanent cycleway in Brooklyn on hold after losing over half of its funding. Waka Kotahi was expected to fund 51 percent through the Transport Choices fund, however Transport Minister Simeon Brown confirmed there would be no funding for the project in December.

what a disappointment. I really expected better from Jack.

Who is going to listen?

Jamie Arbuckle, the Marlborough councillor who became an MP, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both salaries after all.

She sounds absolutely unhinged, going into someone's business just to pick a fight with them is straight up bullying behaviour.

International testing indicated New Zealand had more bad readers among its 10-year-olds than other developed nations, but the picture improved for teenagers.

Man, Wellington shop owners must dread seeing a green MP walk in the door at this point.

I guess housing and urban development is not a priority after all.

You could call it a 'mask off' moment, although VFF have never been keen on masks.

Lol. Q3 here sets out what he (edit: allegedly) said (anything said in the House is protected by Parliamentary privilege)

Corrections has spent over $305,000 on slushy syrup and maintaining frozen ice machines in the past six years.

Wow, turns out being jerks to kids is really unpopular......better backpedal as fast as possible.

She added: "Perhaps I was a little slow, what I can say is I tried my very best ... and I respect the prime minister's decision."

Lol

This government doing it's best to ruin the country and our reputation overseas. Having said that I have witnessed too many acts of corruption to every buy that we were somehow more honest than other countries.

Analysis: Burning less coal to make electricity helped New Zealand achieve its biggest official annual drop in planet-heating gases since records started in 1990.

Now is time to change Te Papa's Treaty of Waitangi display, the museum's co-leaders say.

Among the list of organisations that have been invited to apply are organisations associated with projects that would destroy a pristine mountaintop and rip up the seafloor.  

$10 billion for one tunnel, or three times what the scrapped ferries were going to cost. And that's just the initial estimate.

This would be amazing for anyone heading out to the bays or Wellington Airport, no intersections or lights to worry about, and it would make life so much easier for the CBD as well, not having so much through traffic in the CBD.

"He's blaming the boards and principals and schools for the problem we have, yet he's the one that says, 'Listen we are going to cut lunches'. How the hell is that going to get people into school? He says, 'We are going to cut back the public transport subsidies'. How the hell is that going to get people into schools?

Common sense, really.

Seymour pointed to New Zealand's attendance rates having fallen from 69.5 percent in term 2015, to 39.9 percent in term two 2022.

Posting mainly for the very good first comment on this article, which queries how they might actually achieve 50,000 fewer jobseeker recipients in six years when the population will grow, many recipients are either already working and can't get more hours, or have health conditions limiting or preventing them from working.

From Whangārei to Invercargill, thousands are expected to take to the streets in Friday's climate strike.

"Our government has signalled changes to the plan, including a reduced focus on institutional racism and colonial racism against Māori, which would render the plan pointless *as all instances of personal racism result from the institutional racism of our society," Ngata said.*

The government's transport plan is at odds with economic growth and a step backwards for the climate, a group of 88 academics says.

Why would you want sickness to spread at schools? This will get kids sick, it will get their teachers sick, kids will take it home to parents and get them sick. What’s the impact to education but also to the wider workforce and productivity?

Sounds like the condition of the building is indeed very poor, to be honest.

Vandalised would be a more accurate description.

Cool cool cool

I am sure this will have no effect on healthcare delivery in the country right folks?

Another body blow to public services.

Austerity is going to hit hard.