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6:00 am, November 17th, 2025 - 32 comments
Categories: open mike -
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Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
NACT vs the nation state.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/business/360882098/societies-are-unwilling-or-unable-meet-costs-sovereignty-lose-it
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Such brevity! A moderator may reprimand you. I like the way he offered kiwis a choice between between frying pan and fire:
Being a non-standard kiwi, I'll naturally choose the competence option which he, as a loyal establishment rep, feels constrained to eliminate.
[brevity’s not the problem, it’s how you do it. I haven’t had time yet to respond to the mod conversation from the other day, so I’m giving you a break for a few days to stop issues compounding. I haven’t looked properly at Incognito’s moderation yet, but you do seem to want to be here, so I’m at a loss as to know why you don’t take moderation seriously. But now’s the time to do that – weka]
Are you inferring
1.a greater connection to competence than the standard kiwi?
2.that those that demonstrate actual knowledge on a topic who disagree with you, are representatives of an establishment trying to silence you?
Is this why you bring moderators into it?
Nah, just a typical kiwi male reaction to establishment influencers trying to frame us as binary morons. Being sensible instead will always be popular…
Ye gods, man.
I suspect we agree on about 90% of most debates, but your literary style makes it surprisingly hard to tell.
Normally straights would prefer to put it down to acid-dropping way back when, yet I have found the elliptical style of discourse in literature too.
Recently, in the early 18th century by the Dutch immigrant who wrote political satire for the gentry in London. https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691165448/man-devil
This political refugee formed the intellectual basis for the later theoreticians Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Immanual Kant and Baron Keynes (they all cited him as a primary source).
The common bloke and blokette perspective.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691257563/on-pedantry
Hardly I would have thought most males and females of the public could note, the two choices proffered were both meant to be seen as ridiculous.
mod note.
If only you had added a brief elaborative comment of your own to that link, you would not have opened the door wide for moronic replies from others that have zero relevance to the OP. With your omission, you displayed little competence in online debate and a no actual topical knowledge. In other words, if/when you lower the bar, it can easily slide down to the shit-in-shit-out quality of social media exchanges. I presume that you don’t particularly wish for that to happen, so why do it?
If? That risk is existential and cannot be avoided.
Any debate involves the risk of bad actors.
In this case someone making an attack on the "CCC" by misrepresenting something said in the opinion linked to.
Indeed, the door is always unlocked here (bar first-time commenters and commenters under probation (aka Pre-Mod) or serving temporary or permanent ban) hence my wording “opened the door wide”.
You’re completely missing or ignoring (and deflecting) the point about building a strong debating culture here through your own actions (i.e., comments) – vigilance and a healthy dose of self-reflection go a long way.
Dumping links to opinion pieces without even stating the core element of it and without adding your own thoughts & arguments about it is not conducive to building a robust debating culture and more like yelling slogans using baiting headlines written by Editors with/without AI. Pick and state your lane, use your indicator, and anticipate the behaviour & actions of others. Rhetorically, why make it easy/easier & assist trolls & morons to have their way?
Moving goal-posts in politics is a fine art, and Trump's style is random:
I get that uncertainty as to where the goal-posts are on any particular day is a useful way for Trump to destroy faith in neoliberalism, so he can tell the world "Hey look, I'm combining macroeconomic policy with foreign policy with geopolitics with light entertainment. I'm not juggling those 4 balls, it's pure fusion." Confounding rationalists is fun, he thinks. Seymour probably goes cross-eyed in response.
NACT and NZF have successfully branded themselves "a law and order government" (now that by all other metrics their regime is held in public contempt).
Labour and Greens now need to focus some of their attention to the lowering of standards on protection of the environment/conservation/global warming action and for the regulatory processes that were designed to prevent downside risk from fast track development.
Thus ensure this regime is removed from our horizon.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/579035/government-performance-rating-hits-new-low-in-survey
Agree 100% SPC…see my comment on standalone buildings below.
A must read:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/16/how-government-repression-is-born-resistance
There is a huge lesson in there for all of us. There will come a time when all decent folk, no matter their political persuasion, will have to work in tandem if we wish to retain our democratic institutions.
NACT and NZF disagreement on asset sales.
Not covered so well is
1.the dependence of NACT for budget purposes unrelated to debt reduction (asset stripping for revenue)
2.the importance of having assets to reduce risk to lenders (thus lower debt cost)
3.the reality that the rising value of the power company assets (51%) retained since 2013-14 has reduced our net debt.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360886191/winston-peters-fans-coalition-flames-asset-sale-rebuke
Also not covered well is the fact that NACT are financing the budget by largely abandoning state house building (apart from some of that that which was already in train when Labour left power, which Willis has claimed to be built by the Nats) and selling off a number of high value state houses.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/564594/kainga-ora-halts-hundreds-of-housing-developments-sells-vacant-land
The Minister of Finance's love of higher prices for our edible food exports, cheese and butter and kiwifruit and apples is not unrequited.
Storing more coal of dry winter and planning on bringing in expensive imported gas is not placing any restraint on the rise and rise of year in and year out power costs.
Then there is rates (or water charges) and insurance.
The difficulty of climbing over the 4 bills of the millennial apocalypse is making paying off a mortgage difficult
(thus the PM begging the RBG to do something)
For the renters, food and power and rent and student debt – their 4 bills of the millennial apocalypse, makes the choice to sign up to KS a difficult one (yet it is a/the path to home ownership).
Is there another government that could make this easier (like one not involving NACT)?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/360888332/milk-and-cheese-prices-soar-power-prices-continue-climb
Blame it on AI
In New Zealand ACC being directed by its Minister to reduce cost – so fewer staff (and less trained staff) and resort to use of AI.
This is what happens when government is unwilling to increase charges/premiums on business.
There also seems to be poor data being used by AI.
The numbers long term are a function of an aging pool of labour (poor health management through COVID) – transfer to benefits will not make them work capable just add to its long term numbers.
Then long term poverty will have its own consequences (loss of housing etc).
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/579083/acc-s-use-of-ai-to-help-decide-who-gets-help-shocks-advocate
Its's unlikely given the Labour Party's timidity in such things, but arguments can be made for a Windfall Tax on the banks and power companies.
Both have made obscene profits in the recent past. Banks mailnly off the back of the COVID spend, and power companies because of their own pricing practices.
Banks in particular should be hit with a slegde hammer.
I'm very pleased to see that Dr Gary Payinda has been selected by Labour to stand against Dr Shane Reti in the next election. I've been reading and liking a lot of his posts on X for quite a while now. He's a strong, knowledgeable and articulate advocate for public services, especially the public health system.
I hope his views get a lot of positive attention leading up to the election.
Hmm. Only a handful of his posts are showing on X today.
The "Small Standalone Dwellings Bill" (wrongly often referred to as the "granny flats bill") has become law and will come into effect early in 2026.
This means that all properties with an existing dwelling on them can build a small house (70m2) on the property anywhere** without the need for consent. It means these small houses can be sited in visually intrusive locations within Outstanding Natural Landscape; many will entail visually intrusive access roads.
How to fuck-up NZ's landscapes in one easy lesson-thank you Mr. Bishop.
Labour should commit to making these small houses subject to District Plan rules within a 100 days of assuming power. I'm waiting Mr. Hipkins.
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/about/news/granny-flats-exemption-in-place-from-early-2026
**but must be at least 2 metres from the existing dwelling.
Zone standards, overlays and covenants still apply. In QLDC land, not much changes, apart form a simplified building consent process for commercial builders who are seeing it as potentially profitable business. We'll see.
QLDC, and other TAs, used to get hung up on the accessory kitchen, which was the intent of the reform. QLDC changed tack a while ago and allowed self contained second units
Come off it Graeme. The District Plan objectives, policies, rules and assessment matters will not apply. Neither will the DP's recently introduced Landscape Schedules.
These are the provisions which control the effects of development in the rural areas of the Queenstown Lakes District.
The legislation is yet another planning disaster from this government.
Sure.
Most of the advantage of the small builds is in urban areas (where the land would otherwise be used for infill) – enabling inter-generational housing and providing housing for children/siblings saving up for their own homes.
As per consent, the issue is not for the building, but its location – planning rules.
Yep my gripe is that the small standalone building legislation applies to rural zones where it will cause significant adverse effects. I submitted to the select committee (on behalf of the environmental society I run) on this issue. It was ignored of course.
I have little or no issue with the effects in urban areas.
But there will be the odd idiot who tries to stick a 70m square building in a daft place or with a daft design even in urban areas, so they should be subject to the District Plan provisions.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/579103/labour-selects-dr-gary-payinda-to-take-on-former-health-minister-dr-shane-reti 17.11.25
"A high-profile emergency doctor has been selected to stand for the Labour Party against the incumbent Whāngarei MP, former Health Minister Dr Shane Reti.
Dr Gary Payinda said he felt compelled to do something about what he saw as the government's ongoing attack on essential public services.
"I've been working in the public health sector 18 years, and understaffing and infrastructure problems come and go – but an assault on a broader array of public services is a new thing.
"We've got a government that's bent on tearing up the social structure."
This is great news for Labour. Dr Payinda has strongly expressed his serious concerns to media over time, about the demands and stresses at Whangarei Hospital and other public hospitals in Northland, due to staff shortages and funding cuts.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northernadvocate/news/doctor-shortages-delays-spark-healthcare-concerns-in-northland/CDI6RHBJ3FAWLIUB3YLWG3ITXU/ 22.04.25
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/531940/northland-ed-doctor-gary-payinda-speaks-out-on-dire-state-of-whangarei-hospital 25.10.24
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/top/523419/far-north-doctor-shortage-now-acute-clinical-manager-warns 29.07.24
Having a candidate who is a public hospital doctor, with direct experience of the negative effects of the Coalition's policies on staffing and funding, will hopefully swing more voters to Labour.
The government is choosing to not collect $264M from the importing of cars with high emissions.
To reduce the cost for buyers (after representations from those selling cars).
https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360888824/government-slash-emissions-charge-imported-vehicles
Does it have a plan to afford this?
Ending our ability to meet our commitments via a change in our car fleet.
It began by change in policy in support of EV (and dual-fuel). This impacted on car importers and retailers.
All this government knows how to do is, dig a hole. Leave them there.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/579158/nz-will-be-dumping-ground-for-high-emission-cars-ev-advocate-warns
What is going on?
A timely question! There's a clue here though: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/579035/government-performance-rating-hits-new-low-in-survey
So I suspect that the answer to your question is that the Nats are trying to educate the public into believing that Labour should be returned to power. Clever buggers, eh!
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[Here again you add nothing of substance and relevance. Most of your comments are a bag of irrelevant white noise that is uninterpretable but some commenters still make an attempt to waste their time on responding to you and that usually leads to even more ridiculous comments from you in some outlandish gibberish language. In other words, it’s diversion trolling. When challenged, you often hide & excuse yourself that it’s not your thinking or you resort to some AI gizmo, which is equally inane. If you don’t lift your game soon, you will spend a long time off the reserve – Incognito]
Mod note