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September 5, 2024 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 05 September 2024

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General Debate

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NeverMindTheBollocks

Meh. I’m less concerned about competition among supermarkets than I am about competition between Councils.

When is the Commerce Commission going to recommend that new entities be encouraged to enter the Council market?

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/526985/stiff-penalties-proposed-for-supermarkets-as-commerce-commission-finds-no-improvement
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September 5, 2024 8:02am
- cmm
  
  This is just yet another witch hunt which will result in the same conclusion as the last 5 such investigations: nothing.
  
  Supermarkets generally exist on thin margins made even thinner by shoplifters.
  
  What’s the bigger issue – that never gets proper attention – is the inflation behind the scenes that is really driving up prices.
  
  Much of that is from varios government bodies (central and local).
  
  If you’re going to increase rates by 10% or more then why be surprised when that ends up on your supermarket till slip?
  
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  September 5, 2024 8:46am
  - pdm
    
    I heard the Supermarket Commissioner interviewed by Heather DPA yesterday evening.
    
    He did not impress me one bit.
    
    The Government could save at least $1million by closing his office down.
    
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    September 5, 2024 8:54am
    - PurplePen
      
      Agree. Toothless and merely another expensive paper doorstop manufacturer.
      
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      September 5, 2024 9:30am
    - imalwaysright
      
      His appointment is window dressing.
      How can he track tens of thousands of prices daily and then judge whether or not they are excessive?
      The only way to get fair prices is by competition.
      
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      September 5, 2024 9:42am
    - sherp
      
      Yea shut them down and ignore them… love how these idiot pinkos think more regulations and cost in the food supply chain are going to somehow reduce prices
      
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      September 5, 2024 2:59pm
  - AitchW
    
    Wait till Labour gets back in, they’ll fix it with Kiwishop! Well they’ll announce Kiwishop at least.
    
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    September 5, 2024 9:24am
    - David Garrett
      
      Aitch: Kiwishop!! Brilliant Sir/Madam…and it will be as efficient as Kiwi Rail … shades of East Germany in the early 70’s…
      
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      September 5, 2024 10:22am
      - AitchW
        
        If it were to happen I wonder if the purchasing officers would be more diligent than those in KO were when building state housing, paying a long way over the market price.
        I suspect that they would not be, ending in huge losses for Kiwishop as it cut pricing across the board in order to justify its existence. The inevitably multimillion dollar loss would of course be covered by the long suffering tax payer.
        I remember a long time a go a politician (and I forget who) questioning the need for a Minister of Racing. He went on to ask what might be next, a minister of Supermarkets? For God’s sake, don’t tell Hipkins…
        
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        September 5, 2024 11:12am
    - sherp
      
      Remember when egg prices skyrocketed because if bs high regulations leading to producer uncertainty…. how is it that the left just can grasp basic supply demand economics
      
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      September 5, 2024 3:01pm
      - Ghost
        
        No, the problem was that supermarkets went beyond the regulations. Farmers had spent tens of millions changing their set up to the new regulations. Then the supermarkets decided that they would only sell free range or barn raised
        
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        September 5, 2024 3:07pm
  - Grunter
    
    More competition in the supermarket space would help prices, but only by a little amount. NZ is a very unattractive market for international supermarket players, so not likely to happen;
    – Small population, spread across a long, narrow country cut in half by an expensive piece of water
    – Two very good existing operators by world standards, one of which has passionate local operators as owners – the existing competition would react strongly to a new player (good for shoppers in the medium term, bad for the new entrant in the long term)
    – The socialist NZ Govt can not be trusted to not intervene. So if a new entrant is successful what’s stopping a future Govt whacking them with some new law/reg
    – Existing consenting regs in place right now essentially block most new entrants, and of course we now have aggressive Maori activists stopping most developments.
    
    Any new entrant would almost certainly be a global multi-national. So market share and profits move from the local Foodstuffs owners to say Aldi (Germany).
    
    If you want to save money on groceries, shop at Pak’n Save. They are significantly cheaper than New World and Woolworths. Not everyone wants to save money (obviously). If Aldi came in they would be a little bit cheaper than Pak’n Save until Pak’n Save matched them (which they could and would). But more than half the population would still shop at New World and Woolworths.
    
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    September 5, 2024 9:32am
    - pdm
      
      We prefer New World.
      
      Until recently we were travelling about 15ks each way from Hastings to Greenmeadows because it was a better shop. Did it for about 2 and a half years.
      
      Hastings NW ownership changed and they offer a 5% Gold Card discount on Pension Tuesdays so we are back there now. Greenmeadows don’t have that discount unless they have very recently introduced it.
      
      Win win for us with the discount and reduced travel although they still do not stock some of our essentials.
      
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      September 5, 2024 9:51am
      - Harlequin
        
        Greenmeadows introduced the Gold Card discount last week. Might see you there sometime. H
        
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        September 5, 2024 10:06am
      - Jethrod
        
        We prefer NW also.
        But Foodstuffs should do a customer survey to consider the vibe that their new shops give off. The black ceilings/roofs makes for a dull and grungy feel. I have seen at least 2 of their new supermarkets, Ormiston in Auckland and Havelock North . Botany NW was getting a makeover, after presenting as a warm sort of store, now reverting to the present model
        
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        September 5, 2024 10:53am
      - Colville
        
        pdm.
        I go to Hastings NW (but dont get the 5%!) as it has a great butchery.
        I am not allowed into the Greenmedows one as I keep buying their custard squares… mmmmmm!
        
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        September 5, 2024 11:03am
      - Jethrod
        
        Bother…. should have put Havelock North instead of Hastings.
        
        [Mod – fixed]
        
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        September 5, 2024 2:44pm
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Christchurch is fortunate in having several fruit and vegetable shops, butchers, seafood shops, and specialist Asian grocers. Even a fantastic Italian food shop. Based on price and quality, you would never go to a supermarket to buy the products available at these specialist outlets, especially for fruit and vegetables where the prices are much lower and the quality higher.
      
      I assune that Auckland has the same variety of specialist shops. Wellington does not, or at least nothing like Christchurch.
      
      Of course I recognise that many people just don’t have the time to do this. Or they live in places beholden to one or two supermarkets.
      
      The supermarket commissioner thing is bullshit legacy from the last government.
      
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      September 5, 2024 10:27am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Asian shops are always the best value and also the veg are fresh and tasty. The best products are the sauces and condiments. Cheap, and last a long time.
        
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        September 5, 2024 11:04am
      - Weyland - Yutani Corporation
        
        Yes and no.
        The Prebbleton F&V shop is on par, or more expensive then the closest New World for many items, and not always of greater quality…
        
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        September 5, 2024 12:22pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Remember Jacinda Ardern made it very, very difficult for Asian supermarkets , Vege-Fruit shops and owner butchers to survive during her Covid lockdowns.
        
        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-auckland-greengrocer-slams-unfair-forced-closure/HFNOMBTINICLITT6DVMDOMLKFI/
        
        https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/449498/grower-says-crops-will-be-left-to-rot-due-to-closed-fruit-and-vege-stores
        
        Packnslave and Woolies (Countdown) had a captive market.
        
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        September 5, 2024 1:15pm
      - sherp
        
        More subdivisions in Marshlands turning the best vegie production soil into housing and paddocks of weeds with a single horse is sure to help…. weird how we have land that is zoned for commercial industrial or residential use but no zones for food production
        
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        September 5, 2024 3:04pm
      - Benedict Yu
        
        “The Prebbleton F&V shop …”
        
        It is not yes and no. All you have reported is that the “Prebbleton F&V shop” is more expensive than the nearest New World.
        
        Try here:
        
        https://g.co/kgs/vXFZF6F
        
        … and others in the vicinity.
        
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        September 5, 2024 4:01pm
      - Benedict Yu
        
        “Remember Jacinda Ardern made it very, very difficult for Asian supermarkets ,…”
        
        Yes it was shameful. What was worse is that the Government initially announced that butchers would be able to remain open during the L4 lockdown. It was reported that a number of butchers then got in stock, only to be told ‘no’. One owner of a butcher shop killed himself, widely reported at the time.
        
        The lockdown rules IMO were implemented by brain dead people in wellington who had never bought food anywhere but the Thorndon New World and were ignorant of the real world.
        
        In the second lockdown, at least one fruit and vege shop in Christchurch simply opened up. Of course it was heavily supported by folk who cheered them on. AFAIK they were not shut down.
        
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        September 5, 2024 4:05pm
    - NothingLeft
      
      The disruption will come in 5-10 years with the AI/robot revolution that will make it possible to dramatically undercut the labour and capital/infrastructure intensive operations of supermarkets with more direct deliveries/sales from warehouses etc using robot delivery vehicles and humanoid robots bringing stuff to your front door direct from distribution centers at very low cost cutting out a layer of middle-men and making it possible for new entrants to overcome site monopolies of urban sueprmarkets.
      
      Another humanoid robot company showcasing how close we are to domestic robot servants that coast about the same as a car:
      https://youtu.be/sr4TPtxLRc4
      
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      September 5, 2024 10:58am
      - artemisia
        
        Some cool vids showing Ocado robots picking and packing grocery orders. Been happening, and improving, for years. Hard to see it getting traction here though, v different economies of scale.
        
        We are good at robotic fruit packhouses though, and some fruit picking.
        
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        September 5, 2024 11:25am
      - sherp
        
        Yea no the left will see that as their chance to invent a whole new list of regulations on primary producers to increase cost… how else would they create GDP growth without causing catastrophic inflation
        
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        September 5, 2024 3:06pm
    - Burtland
      
      hows competition working in the power market ? – lots of players there
      
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      September 5, 2024 12:22pm
  - John Loveridge
    
    I have good inside knowledge of the supermarket industry. The idiots demanding their heads on plates don’t. They have no idea of what it takes to get all those groceries on the shelves, in one convenient spot where you can just park your car, walk in, and buy everything you need. It is an immensely complex operation. At the retail end the margins are thin, the owner-operators are highly leveraged, and they work extremely hard.
    
    It’s just like you say, cmm, it is just another witch hunt and nothing will happen. Nothing can happen. The Grocery Commissioner was announced with great fanfare last year and then went deathly silent. I expect he’s suddenly realised he’d better make some noise to justify his enormous salary.
    
    The Commerce Commission’s threats, if carried out, would stifle competition, not encourage it.
    
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    September 5, 2024 4:22pm
- kowtow
  
  it didn’t take long for the Establishment that only a short while ago , during their created existential threat to humanity , the supers were Essential Services ( as per war time rhetoric) and we were all kommanded to ‘Be Kind’ to them.
  
  Now , like Big Oil , they find themselves being put up against the wall by the Comrades who no longer find them useful.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:06am
  - AitchW
    
    I wonder if, as a result of their elevation to an essential service, they suddenly had effectively a captive market and were emboldened to act more like a monopoly than a duopoly, hiking prices well above cost.
    Did they then use covid as an excuse for the continuation of their price gouging as I suspect many companies did?
    
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    September 5, 2024 11:16am
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  New entities are encouraged to enter the Council market every three years. Just as it’s not a business’s fault if its customers are too dopey to make the effort to see if they can get a better deal elsewhere, so it’s not a Council’s fault if voters are too dopey to vote them out and better people in
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:18am
- Bobba Fret
  
  I expect the petrol stations are pleased to see the spotlight on the supermarkets instead of them.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:39am
  - kowtow
    
    Half the price at the pump goes to the gummint .
    
    It’ll be the gummint who’s happy .
    
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    September 5, 2024 9:50am
    - Bobba Fret
      
      Yes I reckon Z and BP should change their bill board price per litre signs to “Price before Taxes” and “Price including Taxes”
      
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      September 5, 2024 11:46am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        All of the petrol “tax” is spent on transport. My concern under Jacinda was that much of it was wasted. The current government has substantially reversed that concern.
        
        If you get rid of petrol excise, transport needs to be paid for in some other way. I get the impression that many folk think that petrol excise is just another form of general government taxation.
        
        It would be quite nice to see the petrol station bill boards break the price down:
        
        – wholesale petrol price
        – Retailer margin
        – ACC Levy
        – ETS
        – Petrol excise
        – Petrol monitoring levy
        – GST
        
        ……
        
        The reality is that manned petrol stations make more money selling you over priced chocolate, drinks, and pies than their margins on petrol.
        
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        September 5, 2024 4:13pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      A kblogger a few days ago said the government employs 500,000 kiwis over 1400 organisations.
      There’s the problem.
      
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      September 5, 2024 12:00pm
    - Paulus
      
      If as assumed the Government do go to a full user pay basis for petrol motor vehicles, like diesel and now EVs, then we can see that costs of the petrol reduced, and our costs per km (or as sold in 1,000kms units) reduce to a user only basis.
      The current fuel taxes will be dropped.
      
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      September 5, 2024 2:12pm
      - Benedict Yu
        
        “The current fuel taxes will be dropped”
        
        Tax singular. All these will remain:
        
        ACC Levy
        ETS
        Petrol monitoring levy
        GST
        
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        September 5, 2024 4:15pm
artemisia

There are two common but related themes coming through in response to various government initiatives announced.

1. We can’t cope with change.

2. OK we might be able to deal with a bit of change provided we get more money, more resources and if that intervention doesn’t work well enough, law changes please. Noting that ‘resources Is just another name for money, preferably OPM.

Pharmacists, grocery sector, tourism businesses, community and iwi social services, teachers, media, GPs, councils….

Question. Did any of these businesses and sectors only survive on ideology and taxpayer funding from the once-was magic money tree, but made robust contingency plans in case of real world change? Seems not.
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September 5, 2024 8:03am
- Gravelroad
  
  No, they did not make any contingency plans to adjust to change.
  For six years, many individuals and “businesses” were looked after by a paternalistic government with loads of money to dish out.
  It’s not surprising that the cosseted are having trouble coping with change.
  Just a shame that apparently not enough of them voted for the money tree to keep producing to maintain their needs.
  
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  September 5, 2024 8:14am
  - AitchW
    
    Gravelroad, you’re quite right. I suspect that some of the loudest complainers are those who would have gone under regardless of Covid etc, and have survived because of Labour’s largesse over the years.
    Now we have a government which rewards hard work not indolence and the indolent don’t like it!
    
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    September 5, 2024 8:24am
- Paulus
  
  I am told to be a rich person own a Pharmacy.
  
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  September 5, 2024 2:12pm
peterwn

So a union boss (who is “disgusted and angry”) and Tova O’Brien has criticised Chris Luxon’s not to be involved with the ferries cancellation on his forthcoming trip to Korea. It has nothing to do with the union boss who should calm down for the sake of his health (or is he ‘acting’ like a Regimental Sergeant Major does).
The negotiations for cancellation compensation which may or may not involve the possibility of the Korean company building smaller ships are proceeding with the aim of reaching a fair cancellation deal. It seems to be nowhere near the time for either party to raise it with their respective governments. As long as a fair cancellation deal is reached it is unlikely that the Korean Government would need to get involved. Therefore it would be inappropriate for Chris Luxon to get personally involved in the cancellation negotiations as he would have nothing to contribute at this stage. Similarly there is no need for him to raise the matter with Korean ministers while he is in Korea, but there would be nothing to stop Korean Ministers raising the matter if they chose to. No doubt Chris would be provided with a briefing on the current situation in case the matter did arise.
The Government and Kiwirail would accept that the cancellation needs to settled fairly to maintain NZ’s commercial and trading reputation and this would be recognised all round.
Of course nothing has been mentioned about the ferries being ‘turkeys’ in that they are not fit for purpose in that they are too large to properly navigate the Tory Channel or the final approach to Picton. This was nor recognised in the initial design of the ferries (incompetence) or if recognised was glossed over (misleading the Government). The union boss either still cannot see this as an issue or has his head deeply buried ….. .
Then the matter of how the cancellation decision was conveyed to the shipbuilders. Ideally a delegation from Kiwirail should have gone to Korea to break the bad news. However the National Cabinet had been forced into a corner on this. Kiwirail effectively had pointed a gun at Grant Robertson and the Labour Government for more money (with no guarantee that this was the final request) some months before the last election. Robbo and co did not want to make a decision on this before the election and the delay meant that Kiwirail would need to stop work when the existing money had run out. As it was Kiwirail was probably having to use accounting tricks (with Robbo’s acquiescence) to keep the job moving. This meant the new Finance Minister (Nicola Willis) and other relevant Ministers had a red-hot issue to handle as soon they were sworn in and needed to take quick and decisive action so immediately took a proposal to Cabinet to can the whole deal which Cabinet agreed to (so it is unfair to heap the blame on Nicola for the situation). The decision then had to be made public very quickly which then left a one or two hour ‘window’ to advise Kiwirail and the shipbuilders. Hence the email sent to the shipbuilders advising cancellation which would have been sent to the usual email address used for communications on the contract. This was less than ideal, but was the best that could be done in the circumstances.
Incidentally, Grant Robertson as caretaker Finance Minister and Chris Hipkins should have raised the matter with the Chris Luxon immediately after the election so urgent action could have been taken. This is especially as Labour had conceded defeat and was not making any move to try and form a left wing coalition government
So the Government’s opponents and elements of the media (eg Tova O’Brien) continue to look for any reason to put the boot into the Government.
Apologies for being long winded. This turned out to be much longer than I had anticipated.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/527022/maritime-union-disgusted-and-angry-ferry-talks-not-on-christopher-luxon-s-agenda-during-south-korea-trip
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350401826/pm-avoid-any-talk-cancelled-korean-ferry-deal-while-south-korea-despite-official
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September 5, 2024 8:04am
- nathie
  
  Peter – no need to apologise for being long winded, thank you for carefully and clearly explaining the situation.
  
  It’s such a pity Stuff would rather publish Tova’s childish and opinionated disinformation, in comparison to your well articulated and reasoned viewpoints.
  
  Frankly I’d rather pay my $1 (or whatever it costs nowadays – $3?) to you and be informed, rather than Stuff and be none the wiser!
  
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  September 5, 2024 8:56am
  - Paulus
    
    I hope that Tova will cease to be so opinionated when her first child is born shortly.
    But if not we can feel sorry for the child before its is born.
    Some women usually change with birth of a first child but Tova would not know how, to as she is so self opinionated.
    
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    September 5, 2024 10:38am
- AitchW
  
  Just another frustrated lefty having another pointless and ill-informed crack at the government.
  The government is showing Labour up for the hopeless and ideological mob of seat warmers that they were in government and the lefties aren’t happy about that or the fact the the gravy train has slowed abruptly!
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:14am
- Ian Boag
  
  How do we know that the big ships were to be banned from Tory Channel? If coming in from the North added an hour, who cares? They would have been carrying a whole lot more people/freight than the current little ones. It’s a bit like comparing an ATR that can land on a short runway with a 777 that needs a longer one.
  
  I have a prediction. In about 12 months time we will have a decision on the number, size and function of the (3?) new ferries required. They will be delivered about five years after that. The big ferries were ordered at a time when shipbuilding was very depressed and the price would have reflected that. The three (?) new ones will be ordered at a time when the shipping market has recovered so the price will reflect that.
  
  I don’t have the numbers to know whether the new ferries should be rail-enabled or not. AFAIK neither does anyone else on this blog. Given the numbers I could be convinced either way I suppose.
  
  The Wellington shore facilities are built on the fault line and will need a major spruce up sometime.
  
  Many of us KBers will likely be dead by the time this ferry thing all plays out. We might still be here in three years time when the big roading thing actually gets started. The “social providers take over new builds from KO” thing should get off the ground about then too …
  
  I guess good things are worth waiting for …. 🙂
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:48am
  - peterwn
    
    The Picton harbourmaster advised Kiwirail that the new ferries would not be allowed to use Tory Channel for the first six months of operation when the decision would be reviewed in the light of operating experience. He indicated it is possible that they may never allowed to use Tory Channel. The extra journey time would be a gross inconvenience, require more energy and reduce the number of potential journeys. This matter was not put on the table at the time of purchase decision. Perhaps Kiwirail thought it could ask the Government to over-rule the Harbourmaster’s decision. Then there is the small matter of insufficient turning room near Picton which would require the ferry to reverse for a significant distance in busy waters.Presumably Kiwirail would have either gone cap in hand for more $$$ to add a second bridge at the stern of the vessel together with another set of controls, electronics, etc. Or again perhaps the Government would be requested to kick all the smaller boats out of that area. As for the ATR v 777 comparison, Kiwirail was proposing the equivalent of 777’s when it was physically very difficult for the aerodrome to accommodate them even if was extended at vast expense.
    As for the time taking things to play out – matters concerning the cancellation and smaller ferries are highly commercially and politically sensitive (think coalition government), so nothing can be expected for the moment. The National government is not going to be panicked into decision making and has determined that there is sufficient breathing space to make a considered and realistic decision.
    If Kiwirail had not been so greedy and arrogant, it would have recommended rail enabled ferries to suit existing terminals and most people would have been happy. As they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
    
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    September 5, 2024 11:00am
    - Taieri
      
      Then there is the small matter of insufficient turning room near Picton which would require the ferry to reverse for a significant distance in busy waters.
      ———–
      
      I didn’t think much of the design with the vessels being grossly over-engineered with too many prototype solutions, but “turning room” was actually not going to be a problem as these vessels can do 360 degrees turn withing their own length.
      
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      September 5, 2024 12:11pm
      - peterwn
        
        You get the potential space problems at 90 and 270 degrees. Look what happened to the Aratere some months back. Fortunately it ran aground at the onl place around where there was a sandy area.
        
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        September 5, 2024 2:46pm
  - grumpy
    
    This, for a start…. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/511412/maximum-ship-size-set-for-vessels-using-tory-channel
    
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    September 5, 2024 11:23am
    - peterwn
      
      And Kiwirail took this with a pinch of salt, probably presuming the Government would overturn this presumably by legislation.
      
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      September 5, 2024 12:13pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    “How do we know that the big ships were to be banned from Tory Channel?”
    Mainly due to new current meters and live data showing it is not safe to transit over a certain tonnage due to extreme tidal influences.
    With new Pilotage Routes they are often proven with Simulator and vessel sizes / Types/ Power etc.
    With the new Current data, I am surprised even the size currently transiting would possible be banned from Transiting.
    Oh,
    And Common Sense.
    
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    September 5, 2024 1:14pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      It’s not as if there wasn’t a fair bit of homework done with advice from people who know about this sort of stuff …
      
      https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/07-04-2023/the-battle-over-the-interislanders-new-mega-ferries
      
      If Kiwirail were contesting the harbourmaster ruling I imagine they would be talking to the Maritime Safety Authority or looking for a judicial review or something like that. Gummint would never get involved in this sort of issue.
      
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      September 5, 2024 6:09pm
      - peterwn
        
        I call complete bullshit on the suggestion that proper homework was done and from ‘experts’. Well, the opinion of one expert was not taken into account – the Harbourmaster.
        OK, so Kiwirail and its Minister could go opinion shopping until it found an expert who would support its view and then arm-twist MSA into compliance. A judicial review would not be appropriate as judges are expert in the law, and are not mariners (admittedly retired High Court Judge Ailsa Duffy was a keen boatie). as for the Government not getting involved – that pack of clowns around the Cabinet table 2017-2023 would soon get involved if it was politically expedient.
        
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        September 5, 2024 9:46pm
Simon

Why is Hipkins & Labo so useless? Labo could start outflanking the National led govt with various viable policy. National have been in govt for about one year. The Nat led govt cards are on the table and one year should be long enough for Labo to reflect.

Managerial state inertia. In that Labo don’t have open access to the main sources of policy which are govt departments. Labo, which are supposed to a political party, struggle with policy hence messes like Auckland light rail & Kiwi build. Their signature headline policies leading up to the 2017 election written out on the back of an envelope. Then in govt after 2017, dozens and dozens of reports about what should be done, that went nowhere.

Labo, NZ’s second largest political party, are just such weak garbage, the managerial state, unelected and unaccountable call a lot of the shots. More reasons why NZ is in such decline.
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September 5, 2024 8:07am
- AitchW
  
  If this Labour opposition is anything like the last one, and there is nothing to suggest it won’t be, it’ll spend it’s years in opposition whining ad nauseum about the government and doing very little else.
  It’ll throw together some poorly thought out policy just before each general election until eventually there is a mood for change and National loses the election.
  Once in power it’ll implement some of the easier and more populist (ie hand out lots of cash for nothing) policies, set up a huge trough for ‘working groups’, make a handful of grandiose announcements for projects that will never get off the drawing board then sit back and bask in the adulation of the woke, the feckless and the bewildered. God help us….
  
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  September 5, 2024 8:47am
  - Bobba Fret
    
    Yes I agree with you. When Winston put Labour in to power in 2017, they were simply not ready and not qualified for government. Most mistakes were blamed on ‘learning on the job’. But there should be no learning, they should be ready from day one. Unfortunately I too can see when the public finally decide to vote for change, (hopefully after 9 or 12 years and not before), we will again get a load of ‘student politicians’ in government.
    
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    September 5, 2024 11:50am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Labour folk like to be in power when they can cream off the cake icing for themselves… but since we’re all currently dining on hardtack, they’ve lost interest.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:23am
- PurplePen
  
  It’s odd. They were out of govt for 9 years and then when they got the benches they had no policy. They set about paying for 100’s of reports at 100’s of millions of dollars which for some reason were mostly ignored and resulted in little or no action. Now they’re in opposition, with the huge resource of all those reports at their disposal and with lots of time on their hands as they don’t need to govern and yet still they don’t have any pragmatic, achievable policy. Just hopeless. My guess is it’s because they mostly don’t have anyone that’s had what I would call a real job or actually worked in the private sector. They’re all pretty much policy wonks and report writers themselves.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:38am
  - AitchW
    
    PP, and they had a large number of inexperienced and naive MPs who didn’t realise that they would be expected to word hard and long once in government.
    Instead they delegated a lot of work, set up working parties and spent their time looking for photo opportunities, especially the list MPs.
    
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    September 5, 2024 11:20am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    “They were out of govt for 9 years and then when they got the benches they had no policy.”
    
    A good example is Kiwibuild. I know first hand that their only knowledge was “Build 100,000 houses at X price.” Nothing beyond that. Then when the public service could not make it work, they got blamed. Eventually the senior Ministers gave up and dumped Twyford. “Kiwibuild” was then a banned word. In the mean time it too a severe toll on several public servants who had attempted to make it work.
    
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    September 5, 2024 4:19pm
- newview
  
  Maybe too early to show their cards Simon, however we know they are incapable of implementing any worthwhile policy in general terms. They will take the easy route and track National in the shadows until this time next year. They will be hoping to get more Maori aboard with divide and conquer tactics centred around the Treaty and they will hoping for more discontent at council level. If chippy is still low in the polls McAnulty will secretly test support. I personally dislike him but see him as their only chance.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:45am
- Paulus
  
  With the new Maori Queen, the new Maori Party will arise very soon, and challenge all Maori to be one Party.
  That is why a Wahine was chosen as she is one of the new breed of Maori women.
  Tough and uncompromising for Maori only.
  New Zealand is feminised already, and this will help cement that factor.
  Suggested that she has been in “Training” for some 6 months for the job.
  
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  September 5, 2024 10:43am
- Paulus
  
  With the today’s appointment, and a huge Coronation for us to pay for, I can envisage with the appointment of a young attractive University educated, in Maori affairs, Tainui Queen that this may well bring Maori closer, to get this under a one Maori Party banner.
  The appointment of Ardern did just that, like Harris in the USA, despite Ardern destroying the fabric of New Zealand Society.
  Handled properly her appointment could be seen as a positive step for New Zealand.
  
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  September 5, 2024 2:27pm
Damocles11

The rabidly left wing New Zealand Herald is running many ‘Kingi’ stories, including one about the (taxpayer funded) NZDF helping to feed the mourners on the marae. Free speech has been cancelled on their Facebook feed for all these stories, with the following deeply offensive excuse being given –

‘Kia ora e te whānau, we appreciate that there is considerable interest from across the motu in the passing of Kīngi Tūheitia and the historic events at Tūrangawaewae but we need to make sure that comments stay respectful.

It was the wish of the late Kīngi that we all move forward in the spirit of kotahitanga and we know that there is always a noisy minority that will seek to disrupt and divide. So, for that reason, we’re closing comments here.

Ngā mihi, Herald Social’
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September 5, 2024 8:09am
- PurplePen
  
  It would have been open if the noisy minority was one that said what they wanted said.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:40am
Chuck Bird

This is not paywalled. It sounds like victim blaming to me.

Police charge Ponsonby CEO over alleged road rage incident involving North Shore pensioner and $430k European supercar

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/police-charge-ponsonby-ceo-over-alleged-road-rage-incident-involving-north-shore-pensioner-and-430k-european-supercar/2LYLXHBL5VHIPL64O7UKUC4JZQ/?lid=7tu0fqm6erig
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September 5, 2024 8:09am
- kowtow
  
  NZME’s unhealthy obsession with rich males.
  
  Weird or woke , or both.
  
  17 2
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  September 5, 2024 8:19am
  - Paulus
    
    Sorry, NZME nationwide’s unhealthy obsession with all males and has been since Ardern and Clark before her.
    New Zealand is changing fast, and not in a health way.
    
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    September 5, 2024 10:46am
    - Bridgenag
      
      Yes A nasty little corrupt maxist state
      
      8 1
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      September 5, 2024 1:02pm
      - sherp
        
        Come on now every civil project would fail without paying thousands to local iwi for their blessings
        
        4 0
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        September 5, 2024 3:10pm
Yvette

Speaking yesterday, Luxon expressed his condolences and credited Tūheitia’s ability to bring people together and his focus on kotahitanga (unity), which was a central theme of his recent public addresses.

The death of Kīngi Tūheitia has seen vast acclamation of his drive for kotahitanga (unity) – but without saying unity “against what” – unity “for what agenda“?

• Kiingi Tuheitia has issued a royal proclamation calling for a national hui for Māori to unite over ensuring “all voices are heard when holding the new coalition government to account”.
Māori leaders and others are expected to attend a rare national meeting due to concerns about the new government’s policies on indigenous rights
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/12/06/maori-king-calls-for-national-hui-on-unity-holding-govt-to-account/

• An estimated 3,000 Māori leaders, tribal representatives and a number of politicians are expected to meet this week, after the Kiingitanga* – the Māori king movement – called for a rare national meeting amid simmering tensions over the new National-led government’s direction for Māori.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/19/new-zealand-maori-king-nationwide-meeting-rare-why-news-details-indigenous-rights

• Kiingitanga chief of staff Ngira Simmonds said there was a lot of divisive rhetoric during the election campaign which was being felt by many New Zealanders – both Māori and non-Māori.
“There’s strong opposition to the government’s statements on the Treaty of Waitangi which could undermine decades of hard-fought justice and equality for our nation.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/504018/kingi-tuheitia-issues-call-for-national-hui-for-unity.

So, Luxon expressed his condolences and credited Tūheitia’s ability to bring people together and his focus on kotahitanga (unity) – against the proposed policies of the Government which Luxon leads?

It’s irony that makes the world go around
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September 5, 2024 8:11am
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  A funeral is not the place for uncomfortable truths, no matter how uncomfortable they are.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:20am
- Philview
  
  The King seemed like a nice Man and I am sure the word Mana applies fairly as well. It has been interesting to see the media use words like ‘greatness’ and show images of Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. The cynic in me thinks the media is up to something. I give credit to Iwi that they organise these sorts of occasions well.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:37am
  - pdm
    
    Phil his mother achieved greatness when Maori Queen I believe.
    
    He as King maybe not so much.
    
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    September 5, 2024 9:58am
    - Grunter
      
      pdm – what did his Mother specifically do (not say) to achieve your accolade of ‘greatness’?
      
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      September 5, 2024 10:39am
- grumpy
  
  This may come as a surprise to the New Zealand MSM but the No.1 head of Tainui is in no way the “Maori King”.
  Ngai Tahu and the Far North Iwi have much more clout in Maoridom.
  
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  September 5, 2024 11:30am
Damocles11

‘There is always a noisy minority that will seek to disrupt and divide.’
– A phrase to describe outspoken Maori activists pursuing a separatist agenda.
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September 5, 2024 8:13am
AitchW

Chuck, on the face of it it would appear that the elderly gentleman was assaulted by the CEO who sounds like a real piece of work!
The charge of fighting on a public place sounds very lazy based on what the story says.
We don’t have the other guy’s side of the story..
What I found more depressing was the laundry list of lowlifes and losers beneath the story in question. Reports of ex partners attacking their former partner with a knife, kidnapping, drive by shooting and the seemingly interminable Polkinghorne trial.
What a nasty, vindictive, moronic class of people we seem to be developing…
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September 5, 2024 8:34am
- Chuck Bird
  
  AFAIK, even if you are assaulted you can use reasonable force to defend yourself. However, you cannot boot someone when they are on the ground.
  
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  September 5, 2024 8:54am
Matt Long

Say Mr Kim, we have an organisation called NIWA that according to Ian Wishart ignored historical data because of their obsession with their climate narrative, and contributed to the deaths of eleven people due to flooding.
Would you be able to look into that?
https://www.foxnews.com/world/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-reportedly-ordered-dozens-officials-executed-after-deadly-floods
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September 5, 2024 8:43am
- Ian Boag
  
  according to Ian Wishart
  
  The ultimate dog-whistler who reveals scandal after scandal. There must be a conspiracy that prevents his revelations from getting much air ….
  
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  September 5, 2024 10:42am
Matt Long

Canada joins the US of A in saving the planet with EVs by putting a one hundred percent tarrif on Chinese EVs, if only left wing activism wasn’t so complicated.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2n091v4m5o
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September 5, 2024 8:46am
- PurplePen
  
  I was at Horny mall in CHCH yesterday. In the car park out the front there were 12, I think, EV parks all with chargers. Not a single one occupied. The rest of the car park, and it’s big as it’s for the mall, was full.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:43am
  - pdm
    
    Do you have to pay to use those chargers pp?
    
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    September 5, 2024 9:59am
    - PurplePen
      
      Don’t know. I should have a look next time. I’m assuming yes. And I’m assuming that whomever is the fuel (electricity) provider, they pay to lease the car park spaces. I suspect there will be some taxpayer funding in their somewhere tho. Likely some setup capital.
      
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      September 5, 2024 10:12am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Yes
      
      3 2
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      September 5, 2024 10:51am
  - Skippytony
    
    My wife and I have both joined the EV cult.
    Our power retailer gives us 3 hours of free power per night. Thats enough to keep both our cars charged up.
    We have found when we are travelling now that with careful planning you can always find a motel that offers free charging.
    Consequently in two years we have not used a public pay-to-charge station once! In fact have not directly paid for power once. Of course, lets not talk about depreciation lol
    
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    September 5, 2024 10:37am
  - Grunter
    
    PurplePen – next time park your car there, put the charging cord loosely under your bonnet, go shopping…..
    
    Works everytime!!
    
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    September 5, 2024 10:43am
    - PurplePen
      
      Excellent! I’ll travel now with an extension cord in the boot and some gaffer tape.
      
      3 0
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      September 5, 2024 5:51pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Will it work for my ‘73 Holden?
      
      1 0
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      September 5, 2024 7:33pm
      - alloytoo
        
        Yes, create a lightning logo and stick it over your fuel cap.
        
        Claim retrofit.
        
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        September 6, 2024 7:14am
Matt Long

Climate alarmism is no longer the sweetest deal in town, as serial publicity whore Thunberg turns her attention to anti semitism.
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240904-greta-thunberg-arrested-pro-palestinian-protest-denmark
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September 5, 2024 8:51am
- kowtow
  
  There’s a very odd intersection of climate nuts , pro Hamas/anti Semite and ‘gender’/ identity activists.
  
  I suppose it could be summed up as “extremists”.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:02am
  - Grunter
    
    I prefer the term ‘Leftards’.
    
    Also, add socialist-communist.
    
    Essentially any odd-ball theory that has zero connection to the real world and is easily proven wrong.
    
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    September 5, 2024 10:48am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    No not at all. Greta has chanted “climate justice for Palestinians”. Seriously.
    
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    September 5, 2024 10:53am
  - grumpy
    
    Better summed up as “F**kwits”
    
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    September 5, 2024 3:22pm
- AitchW
  
  How DARE you? Greta is committed to saving the planet by flying round the world to give Big Business a jolly good telling off at every opportunity.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:26am
Matt Long

Candace Owens is drawing an audience of increasingly demented Jew haters as she adds her voice to those calling Churchill a criminal and supporting NAZI Germany.
It’s interesting in the war that Poland won over the Bolsheviks, atrocities increased on both sides, and both sides attacked the Jews, because to the Polish Nationists the Bolsheviks were Jews, and to the Stalinists the Jews were filthy bourgeoisie.
https://x.com/RealCandaceO/status/1831105833188348282
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September 5, 2024 8:59am
- grumpy
  
  Why were the worst of the extermination camps in Poland and the most enthusiastic “guards” Polish or Ukrainian? Funny old world….
  
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  September 5, 2024 3:25pm
Matt Long

Tim Walz’s estranged brother named Jeff (pictured left with wife Laurie) said on Facebook last week that the Minnesota governor is ‘not the type of character you want making decisions about your future’
Walz’s For Trump, get the T Shirt
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13812837/Tim-Walz-family-brother-Trump-Kamala-campaign.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton
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September 5, 2024 9:02am
pdm

An impertinent question.

Which is the most important announcement today?

1. Naming the successor to the late Maori King.
2. Naming of the All Black team for the second test v South Africa.
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September 5, 2024 9:03am
- AitchW
  
  Like a great many New Zealanders I really don’t give a hoot about either.
  The new Maori monarch has no bearing on me or mine, and the test is just another in a long, long list of rugby games this season.
  I’m pretty confident that there are lots out there like me. Both items may cause some discussion over the lunch table, but neither is life changing.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:18am
  - Skippytony
    
    From now on I will refuse to discuss NZ becoming a (Kingless) republic unless doing away with the maori King is on the same ticket.
    
    This should make for an interesting discussion over Christmas dinner
    
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    September 5, 2024 10:39am
- Nobby2
  
  Not impertinent. Most important is naming AB’s Test team. Bugger the maori king who does nothing for NZ.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:19am
  - kowtow
    
    They make of Bigly Play of all things Maori these days , including the King of Huntly.
    
    Nothing to do with the vast majority of NZ or rugby for that matter .
    
    They should re brand themselves the Woke Blacks.
    
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    September 5, 2024 9:48am
    - Paulus
      
      It is said that there are not enough Maori in the All Blacks which is why they keep losing.
      
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      September 5, 2024 2:31pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Said by whom?
        
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        September 5, 2024 7:35pm
- Cassandra
  
  Tainui King is more accurate, so for Tainui women it’s No. 1 and Tainui men it’s No. 2.
  
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  September 5, 2024 9:39am
NeverMindTheBollocks

The Well of Idiocy that is Wellington City Council continues to plumb new depths.

On the front page of today’s Post is the headline ‘Spending soars at Councils’.

On p3 is an article outlining a series of options presented to Council for restoring the wasteland that is Civic Square.

My preferred option, which is to demolish the lot, does not appear.
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September 5, 2024 9:40am
- Blog-aholic
  
  I like your play on words using plumb…lol
  
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  September 5, 2024 10:09am
Maggy Wassilieff

Here’s the reality of secondary school teaching for some teachers…

You give up your lunchtime break and after- school prep time to do the teaching that was neglected by primary/intermediate schools.

“We have to do quite a bit because a lot of students come below the expected level of knowledge to the school and we have to get them up to speed,” he said…..

Carter said starting a sentence with a capital letter and finishing it with a full stop might seem obvious, but over the years that knowledge had dissipated and schools had to focus on it again.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/527082/we-have-to-get-them-up-to-speed-extra-lunchtime-studies-for-ncea-tests

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/527082/we-have-to-get-them-up-to-speed-extra-lunchtime-studies-for-ncea-tests
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September 5, 2024 9:48am
- Swifty
  
  For years and years as, generally by lefty do-gooders, more and more has been loaded on schools to teach (indoctrinate) I’ve frequently wondered if the length of the school day does not increase then what will have to be sacrificed to make the room?
  
  Well as we could reasonably predict – it was the absolute basics. Reading, writing and arithmetic. The very stuff we send our kids to school to learn.
  
  More betrayal of us by the our own politicians and institutions.
  
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  September 5, 2024 10:13am
- cmm
  
  but, but, but according to the teachers’ unions, failing them and keeping them back would be terrible…
  
  8 2
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  September 5, 2024 10:20am
- lifesgood
  
  I remember when primary school teachers said that punctuation and spelling didn’t matter as long as you wrote a good story. And my grandson was never taught times tables at primary school so his Intermediate teacher had to teach a whole class something they should have learnt at primary school.
  
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  September 5, 2024 10:42am
  - mogg
    
    Yes believe it or not my wife was criticised for teaching punctuation and spelling, to seven and eight year old children. The mantra was ‘it’s all about the content, teach them how to think not what to think’. Being a teacher who always gave 110% to the children she left soon after that with her many years of contributions to GSF.
    
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    September 5, 2024 12:06pm
    - Swifty
      
      I just don’t understand that logic.
      
      I generally agree with the sentiment of ‘teach them how to think not what to think’ but good punctuation and grammar is concerned with communicating your ideas to others clearly and concisely – a completely different matter.
      
      Good on your wife by the way.
      
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      September 5, 2024 2:46pm
  - Paulus
    
    My children were taught by their mother, their tables whilst driving to Primary School, and back, to shops, and both were very good at it all their lives.
    Same to their own children.
    
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    September 5, 2024 2:35pm
    - MCōs
      
      I was always very good at sums due to hard graft at school
      Mother never drove us anywhere; she couldn’t drive
      
      1 1
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      September 5, 2024 5:52pm
lifesgood

Anyone else astonished by the over the top commentary on the death of the Maori (fake) king?
From all acounts a not very bright man who we never heard anything about or from until he died and who was only respected by a small handful of tribes.
Honestly it’s a load of nonsense. I bear him no ill will and I hope everyone that goes to the funeral gets something from it but I do have to wonder why Chris Luxon was tearful at the marae.
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September 5, 2024 10:05am
newview

I believe the appointment of the new Maori Queen is significant. Imagine if Debbie Packer was running the show. With the differences between Maori and Pakeha that are currently being acted out, a level head that can influence at least part of the Maori population has to be beneficial to both the Maori and Pakeha of this country.
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September 5, 2024 10:44am
- imalwaysright
  
  Apparently the new queen is somewhat of an activist herself.
  But, on the other hand, why should she suppress her priorities and opinions. It might be helpful, freedom of speech is freedom only when it applies to everyone.
  
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  September 5, 2024 10:56am
  - kowtow
    
    Freedom ?
    
    I wonder how a queen will fit in with all the ancient marae customs and practises.
    
    5 3
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    September 5, 2024 3:18pm
    - Ghost
      
      As easily as her grandmother did.
      
      4 4
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      September 5, 2024 3:22pm
Damocles11

‘Police are making inquiries into an unexplained death at a property in Christchurch.
Emergency services responded to an incident on Barrington St, Spreydon, about 2.30pm yesterday. About four detectives arrived on the scene half an hour later.
It is understood that the incident involved a child. Kāinga Ora, which owns the property, said media “will need to contact police”.’
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September 5, 2024 11:06am
- Bobba Fret
  
  Oh no. Not another one.
  
  6 0
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  September 5, 2024 12:17pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Kamala Harris pressed the panic button. Had to happen. The fake news are running out of news and the truth supersedes it.
I remember the same in 2015/16. The media ran out of material for Hillary. She was so angry that she lost a rigged Election, and still is angry.
The polls are close, but Kamala is not going ahead in leaps and bounds as the media expected. “No matter what we do, no matter what we say……..”

https://patriotpulse.net/kamala-harris-pressed-the-panic-button-over-this-trump-poll-surge/?
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September 5, 2024 12:24pm
- Notsofast
  
  The Donald has just surged to the lead, stampeded to the front.
  On Ladbrokes
  5 to 6
  Harris
  Evens
  
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  September 5, 2024 2:42pm
Damocles11

‘Watercare agreed additional payments of $20m related to its water take from the Waikato River, without the knowledge of ratepayers.

Watercare has quietly agreed to the $20 million worth of payments, negotiated with iwi, which some ratepayers say secure only vague benefits for water services customers.’
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September 5, 2024 12:39pm
- Swifty
  
  This encapsulates one of my big fears for New Zealand.
  
  1. That we see more and more of this – Maori clipping the ticket on more and more of essential services while not adding any value in return.
  
  2. And at a cost to, in this case, consumers of that water in the form of increased water consumption charges etc.
  
  3. That money doesn’t reach coal-face Maori but is instead consumed at the upper-tribal levels.
  
  4. Over time, Maori become fat and lazy living off this ticket clipping rather than learning to live off the fruits of their own education, resourcefulness, risk-taking and labours.
  
  5. This all results in a large parasite forever living off the rest of the community, demanding to be cared for, fed and looked after through a permanent tax on everyone else’s endeavours.
  
  This is something I’d object to doesn’t matter who was the parasite.
  
  I’d add that is now very easy to see why some have argued so passionately, strongly and for so long for ‘ownership’ of our rivers and lakes etc rather than just input into their management. Management doesn’t allow you to charge royalties – but ownership does.
  
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  September 5, 2024 3:31pm
  - Ghost
    
    The money is going towards cleaning up and restoring the river. I’m not sure but think the $2 million is an error as the article states elsewhere $1 million over 20 years
    
    The consent stipulates that Watercare pay $2m per year for 20 years to the Waikato River Clean-Up Trust, controlled by the Waikato River Authority, which is co-governed by the iwi of the region and the Crown. The funding is for river clean-up and related projects.
    
    Paywalled article
    
    1 6
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    September 5, 2024 3:43pm
    - Swifty
      
      Thanks but it’s just not clear to me if this is the same dough.
      
      That $20M that Damocles refers to is labelled ‘additional’ so it looks like payments on top on the previously-negotiated river clean up money.
      
      But again, it’s not clear.
      
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      September 5, 2024 5:35pm
      - Ghost
        
        I’ve just gone through the article again, there is no other money but this $20 million.
        
        0 2
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        September 5, 2024 6:46pm
      - Swifty
        
        Not according to the interview with HDPA below.
        
        This money is on top of the two million required for clean up as a consent condition.
        
        2 0
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        September 5, 2024 8:43pm
Bridgenag

Coming here soon…..

The Persecution of Dr. Reiner Fuellmich
A POLITICAL PRISONER

Really bad stuff in Germany Had too much practice…..

https://www.malone.news/p/the-persecution-of-dr-reiner-fuellmich?r=1aj1bv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
3 2
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September 5, 2024 12:58pm
Swifty

A totally damning report into the Grenfell fire:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/grenfell-final-report-london-fire-was-caused-by-systematic-dishonesty-of-cladding-firms/PAKWX3AZENCBJI4BE4B7Z7F7MQ/

What a mess. What a tragedy.
4 0
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September 5, 2024 1:01pm
AitchW

There are lots of posts critical of the left left unticked. Who’s not here?
6 3
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September 5, 2024 2:10pm
- kevn
  
  Aitch… With Maggie Pie gone (it seems) blog site interest in general, has waned somewhat.
  
  7 5
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  September 5, 2024 3:22pm
  - lifesgood
    
    Suspect Maggie is at the high court every day.
    
    3 1
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    September 5, 2024 4:20pm
  - Benedict Yu
    
    Yes well Maggie only has herself to blame. She posted comments almost daily that violated the comments policy. Eventually she was given a 24 hours holiday by the moderators, only to (apparently) not return.
    
    Unlike Twitter, Kiwiblog is (lightly) moderated. That is a decision of the owner of the blog. His blog, his rules. You cannot post racist comments (and no they were not jokes), or comment on the families of other commenters, knowing that such comments could cause serious problems.
    
    7 7
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    September 5, 2024 4:26pm
    - Biscuit
      
      Have to agree, Bene.
      
      I read some of the comments in here and think ‘Sheesh, I’m glad I’m not DPF!’ … meaning that it’s his neck (and dangly bits!) and not mine at risk of the ‘serious problems’ you cite.
      
      4 4
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      September 5, 2024 4:42pm
    - Rex
      
      This person (a male according to Bob Jones) was simply a troll acting as a provocateur to reinforce support for homophobia, racism etc from some folk on a right leaning blog.
      
      3 2
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      September 5, 2024 5:19pm
      - kowtow
        
        Was Bob Jones involved ?
        
        1 2
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        September 5, 2024 6:41pm
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      I agree, moderation on Kiwiblog is light. The Standard is at the other end of the spectrum. I’ve been temporarily banned twice from the Standard – the reason given for my most recent ban was “not reading the room”. Which I suppose translates as “writing things people didn’t want to hear”.
      
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      September 5, 2024 5:46pm
    - lifesgood
      
      I’m not a fan and felt she/he was edging more and more into dangerous waters. Getting smarter and smarter ( not clever)
      
      3 2
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      September 5, 2024 9:13pm
- Biscuit
  
  AitchW, the left are doing a fabulous job of running themselves down of late … why need I bother adding fuel to the conflagration, heh.
  
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  September 5, 2024 4:44pm
nova

I found this article interesting. Police found cannabis and large amounts of cash, and are seizing the cash, but the article implies the police are letting them off for the drugs, as “the threshold required to pursue criminal charges against McEnteer and Pohatu was not met”.How can this be? They had well over 500g of cannabis, and I thought 28g was the level that dealing was presumed. Has the legal system really swung this far in favour of the criminals?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350403979/112000-cash-was-flipping-cars-haircuts-and-baking-says-gang-member

Relevant excerpt:

“In the cabin, police found a white bucket containing bags of cannabis and cannabis utensils. The cannabis was individually packaged, and in total weighed 598 grams, well over the quantity at which cannabis is presumed for supply. In what appeared to be a child’s bedroom in the main dwelling, they found a bucket containing multiple bags of dried cannabis, and in a wardrobe shelf in the bedroom of McEnteer and Pohatu they found $112,097.30 in cash hidden inside three money tins, a hat box, and a shoe box. The threshold required to pursue criminal charges against McEnteer and Pohatu was not met, but the Police Commissioner applied for an asset forfeiture order against the pair under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009.”
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September 5, 2024 2:32pm
- Swifty
  
  It could be that there were multiple adults living in the house and the prosecution was unable to pull together a strong case as to exactly who’s it was.
  
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  September 5, 2024 3:18pm
  - kevn
    
    Swifty…. The old ‘cone of silence’ caper. Again. Maybe.
    
    4 0
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    September 5, 2024 3:52pm
  - cmm
    
    Easy:
    If it was in a bedroom – charge the adult responsible for that room.
    If it was elsewhere in the house: charge the person on the tenancy agreement.
    
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    September 5, 2024 4:34pm
    - Bobba Fret
      
      Too easy for a defence lawyer to get them off. It was always one of the others and you cant prove nuffin!
      
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      September 5, 2024 5:03pm
    - Swifty
      
      Cleary it was not easy cmm, otherwise they would have done it.
      
      So, your daughter’s tenancy is in her name and drugs are found in a spare bedroom by the cops, investigating another matter. Both your daughter and her useless boyfriend deny the drugs are theirs – and you know damn well your daughter has never touched the stuff.
      
      You’d be perfectly fine with your daughter being charged as she’s the head tenant, would you?
      
      You’d be on KB the next day praising the cops would you?
      
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      September 5, 2024 5:25pm
- peterwn
  
  Criminal convictions need to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and presumably Crown Law considered the evidence though convincing did not stack up sufficiently.
  Asset forfeiture need to be proved on the balance of probabilities and that places some onus on the owner of the assets in question ie reasonably explaining how they came to be in possession of the assets and ‘fell of the back of a truck’ or a good night at the casino do not cut it.
  
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  September 5, 2024 5:05pm
nova

Stuff reports on Du Val that house manager, cleaner and nanny were paid for by the company. Unsure why they picked that as the lead factoid, when they also report that “Du Val Group purchased “intellectual property” from a trust associated with Charlotte and Kenyon Clarke for $15 million”. I’m unsure how much the cleaner was paid but this feels like a much bigger financial irregularity, amongst several others in the report.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350404422/du-val-linked-company-paid-house-manager-cleaner-nanny
6 0
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September 5, 2024 3:19pm
BeaB

RNZ has gone overboard with the Maori monarchy. Of course show reverence and mark the occasion but this has been beyond absurd with their Māori reporters assembled to burble on about ‘once in a lifetime’ (actually at least 3 in mine), ‘everybody’ is in mourning, the incredible humility and influence of the late king in uniting the whole country!
9 0
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September 5, 2024 4:22pm
Chuck Bird

Did anyone else hear HDPA talk about race based health care? I hope Act and NZF have something to say about this outage.
5 2
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September 5, 2024 5:06pm
- kowtow
  
  It won’t be on the front page and nor will the millions going from Auckland to Waikato maori ( which they tried to keep secret).
  A funeral will be.
  
  I hope everyone is pleased with this treaty principlism that’s destroying this country.
  
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  September 5, 2024 5:50pm
AitchW

Crikey, that 20 million for Tainui from Watercare seems like a great deal for Auckland ratepayers\\\
No wonder it was meant to be kept a secret.
New Range Rovers for the Mahuta family?
7 2
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September 5, 2024 5:43pm
Damocles11

They are talking of a ‘new Maori uprising’ during todays Maori propaganda broadcast on TVNZ’s 6 pm ‘Iwi News’ programme. Looks like most of the bulletin will be given over to the Kiingitanga movement.
3 1
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September 5, 2024 6:12pm
- graham
  
  “Looks like most of the bulletin will be given over to the Kiingitanga movement.”
  
  I was out but according to my wife it was. As she said, it made the news really quick as she just skipped through it all. I think she said there was only one item of news in the whole news program last night that she watched.
  
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  September 6, 2024 8:00am
Tasman devil

Iwi never had a monarchy until they got the idea from learning about Queen Victoria.

That is why the Kingitanga movement
(the name is a dead giveaway) was formed 18 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi when they copied the idea.

Like the abolition of slavery and more than doubling the life expectancy of iwi colonialism was ok, eh?

Just asking for revisionist woke liberals.
6 2
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September 5, 2024 6:32pm
Scooter

HDP interview with Watercare CEO was a doozy, boy she wasn’t going to give up on getting an answer as to why he and the Waikato Iwi wanted to keep the $20million bribe oops payment out of the news.

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heather-du-plessis-allan-drive/audio/dave-chambers-watercare-ceo-on-watercare-s-secret-20-million-deal-with-waikato-tainui/
2 1
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September 5, 2024 7:52pm
- AitchW
  
  I love HDPA when she smells blood!
  
  3 1
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  September 5, 2024 8:32pm
- Swifty
  
  What a terrible interview for Watercare.
  
  Refused to give a straight answer to the most important question put to him. And repeatedly refused. So much for his integrity as a public SERVANT.
  
  5 1
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  September 5, 2024 8:40pm
  - Scooter
    
    This what happens when you have good journalism, holding the people in power to account. He might think twice next time or at least be up front to begin with. I’m sure he wouldn’t want round 2 with Heather.
    
    3 1
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    September 5, 2024 8:58pm
  - Scooter
    
    He better start looking for a new job.
    
    “Watercare chief executive officer Dave Chambers will be staying in his role under a new flexible fixed-term contract through to June 2025. Chambers, who has been serviing as interim chief executive officer since February 2023, was appointed when former chief executive Jon Lamonte resigned.”
    
    3 1
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    September 5, 2024 9:08pm

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