Chris Lynch: Labour distances itself from Green MP’s police comments as National warns of ‘radicalisation’

Labour MP Megan Woods has rejected comments by Green MP Tamatha Paul suggesting a move towards “radical police abolition,” but said it would be a stretch to claim the remarks would damage public confidence in the justice system.

The Green Party has come under heavy criticism in recent days following Paul’s remarks questioning the value of police patrols and calling for a rethink on the role of police in social issues.

Robert MacCulloch: Labour Party contradictions

David Parker Contradicts Megan Woods who Contradicts Andrew Little on Foreign Buyers

There's nothing wrong with National's proposed 15% tax on foreigners buying houses in this country selling for over $2 million. But Labour's propaganda machine & our mainstream media's quoting of so-called "top economists" and "leading academic tax experts" to discredit National has gone into overdrive.

Graham Adams: The stealth manoeuvre taking Three Waters to Five Waters

Adding coastal and geothermal water at the last minute seriously undermines democratic process. Even Cabinet may have been kept in the dark.

Asked in an interview last Friday on The Platform whether he agreed that Three Waters had indeed become Five Waters, Winston Peters quipped: “It’s not Five Waters; it’s Six Waters now. The sixth one is they’re pissing down your back and telling you it’s raining.”

That graphic image was just part of his criticism of the last-minute manoeuvre to extend the reach of Te Mana o Te Wai statements to cover not only freshwater but coastal and geothermal water too — as well as pointing out the mainstream media’s willingness to ignore it.

John Porter: Are We Going to Be Able to Keep the Lights On?

The government has set a target for 50% of total energy consumption to come from renewable sources by 2035.

“Thanks to our strong economic management and our readiness to do things differently we are well positioned to slash our energy emissions and create a sustainable energy system for generations to come.” So said Megan Woods, Minister of Energy and Resources.

Point of Order: Government wants to make the Fuels Sector more resilient

Having done nothing as the oil majors closed down the Marsden Point refinery, the Ardern government is now belatedly moving into the market to ensure what it calls “supply resilience”.

Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says she wants “to strengthen NZ’s fuel sector” through a suite of initiatives to encourage more competition.

She doesn’t say why suddenly there should be a need for more competition, but implicitly there is criticism of the big petroleum companies for their high prices – as if government taxation wasn’t taking more out of motorists’ wallets than the actual cost of the petrol.

Mike Hosking: Why can't the Government make a simple apology?

I asked a simple question of Megan Woods yesterday on the programme. Does this Government apologise for anything?

She went on to not apologise. She referenced Carmel Sepuloni, who also hadn't apologised. And by days end, no one seems to have apologised for the Northland cock up.

Not the Prime Minister, who referred questions to Chris Hipkins in yet another sign that she has basically checked out and essentially just lives for the overseas trips.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: Are we running this country on Blu-Tack and paperclips?

 

Are we running this country on Blu-Tack and paperclips?

We almost had power cuts again this morning and apparently we need to get used to it because this is just the way our winters are going to be from now on.

So what happened was that Transpower issued a grid emergency just before 8am warning that we might not have enough electricity to power the country.

Reporters were on the radio telling people to delay charging laptops and cell phones and consider turning off unnecessary lights.

Point of Order: Ministers bray about the millions being dispensed for housing (subject to ethnicity) and cultural venues

While the Minister of Housing and her Māori Housing associate were dispensing favours as part of a race-focussed housing initiative for which they are responsible, Kiri Allan was inviting appropriately cultured oinkers to a trough replenished with $13 million of slops.

She described it as a contestable fund, which means there will be some jostling for a share of the goodies, but first in will not necessarily be served.

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan was of a charitable disposition, too. She announced that following a comprehensive review of the Charities Act, the Government is moving ahead with changes to modernise the legislation that will increase transparency for the public, improve access to justice services and reduce the burden on smaller charities.

Point of Order: Megan Woods signals no retreat from plans to incorporate mātauranga Māori in NZ science system

The news media have made much of the government’s firing a shot across the bows of the supermarket duopoly.

The Government has put supermarkets on notice that they must change at pace to increase competition and be prepared for regulation.

It will introduce an industry regulator, a mandatory code of conduct, compulsory unit pricing on groceries and more transparent loyalty schemes.

Point of Order: The govt knocks down old state houses and builds new ones – but the net result is a waiting list that cries out for demolition

It was a simple question about housing and Point of Order listened closely to Housing Minister Megan Woods’ response.

Alas, we are none the wiser on one part of the question, about advice on how long it will take to get the waiting list down to around 5844. But – if we have done our sums correctly – we can tell readers there has been a hefty increase in the numbers of people on the state housing waiting list over the past five years.

We took a crack at working this out after Parliamentary questions were put by National MP Chris Bishop to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing), who presumably was not in Parliament at the time. Megan Woods did the answering.

Bishop asked:

Point of Order: Megan Woods’ challenge – she has plenty of advice from champions of matauranga Maori

The Government received 901 submissions in response to its green paper on the future of the country’s research, science and innovation system – and the role to be played by matauranga Maori. can play a rolebe merged with it.

But for now, the submissions are being kept confidential because several submitters have requested anonymity. Submissions and submitter information are being reviewed against privacy and confidentiality obligations.

The Minister in charge of this reshaping of our science system is Dr Megan Woods, whose CV includes work for Crop & Food Research and Plant & Food Research. But she was a business manager, rather than a researcher, it seems. Her PhD is in history, obtained at the University of Canterbury with a thesis titled Integrating the nation: Gendering Maori urbanisation and integration, 1942–1969.

Whatever happened to the commas?