Bob McCoskrie: Bob fails to help media with their wokeness

Uh Oh - The Media have failed in their Darleen Wokeness

Last week I told you all about of Green MP Darleen Tana who the Greens are trying to remove from their party.

And I tried – I really did – I tried to help both the politicians and the media with their wokeness – but the misgendering has continued. And it’s not becoming real confusing. I’m hoping you can help clear things up for me

Suze: The MSM Think We’re Stupid

The projected cost blowout of $775m to $3.2b for two interisland ferries.

This Government has its work cut out making decisions and legislative changes to counteract the appalling financial legacy of the previous Labour Government’s loose spending habits, increases in public debt, budget deficits lasting years and poor commercial decision making, without the media running interference for the opposition.

John McLean: Key indicators

Inconvenient truths about the former New Zealand Prime Minister

Aotearoa is a strange and changeable lady. In her youth, she didn’t take herself too seriously. New Zealand satirists A. K. Grant and Tom Scott, in their superb early 80s mock history of New Zealand The Paua and the Glory: the story of New Zealand's rise to international insignificance, amusingly speculated on the origin of “Aotearoa” …without being cancelled. (Their thesis was that, on arrival of the first Polynesian canoe on New Zealand shores, one of the Tānes instructed one of the Wāhines, “Out eh Aroha”.)

Brendan O'Neill: We need more anger about Islamist terrorism, not less

After Solingen, it’s time for a fightback against both the Islamo-fascists and our complacent elites.

The wisdom of the late Norm Macdonald has rarely felt so prescient. ‘What terrifies me’, the Canadian comic once tweeted, ‘is if ISIS were to detonate a nuclear device and kill 50million Americans. Imagine the backlash against peaceful Muslims.’ It was a perfectly aimed jab at those who fear the public reaction to terrorism more than terrorism itself. At those leftish talking heads and phoney liberals who see people in Manchester, Paris or Brussels being blown limb from limb by radical Islamists and instantly think: ‘Oh no, the Islamophobia is going to be terrible.’ These cowards and fainthearts have been out in force once more following the ISIS knife atrocity in Solingen.

Kerre Woodham: Reverse the ban, but is anyone interested in coming here?

Yesterday the Prime Minister announced what we all know to be true, that we have an energy security crisis.

We seem to have been having them for a while now, every winter there are concerns about brownouts. The Electricity Authority put it into plain English on their website - winter sees the highest demand for electricity, obviously, also when it's unseasonably cold in autumn or spring, that can cause high demand periods. The winter peak capacity reflects the ability of the electricity system to meet high winter demand. So typically, solar doesn't produce electricity during peak demand periods in winter because it's dark. Wind generation, which is 10% of New Zealand's electricity generation capacity and growing, isn't reliable because, who knew, but cool temperatures bring low wind speeds. So solar is out, wind generation is out during winter.

Tuesday August 27, 2024 

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David Farrar: Alcohol consumption plummeting

The chart below is from Stats NZ data. Despite what some alarmists would claim, the level of alcohol being consumed in NZ is plummeting, not increasing. There are problems with a minority who abuse alcohol and cause harm, but that doesn’t mean that there is an overall problem.Since 1986, alcohol available for consumption per capita has dropped by a massive 29%

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 27/8/24

Putting the foot down on the highways – and on driving towards more renewable electricity generation

The Cabinet in the past few days has stepped up a gear to recommend changes to the Fast-track Approvals Bill, not to stall progress with the 384 projects that have applied to be listed in the Bill but to remove ministers from the decision-making element of the fast-tracking process

Mike's Minute: Uber decision could have a chilling effect

The New Zealand Uber drivers have won their case in the Court of Appeal. It agrees with the Employment Court that Uber drivers should be employees, not contractors.

Other courts in other countries have broadly come down on the same lines.

But not in California. The other day, the court there agreed with the people. And the people had voted in a proposition that drivers should be contractors because that’s what drivers signed up to.

So you can ask, is democracy right? Or is a court right?

Viv Forbes: Green Foods Fail Olympics

The first occupants of the Olympics village in Paris quickly taught the caterers that athletes did not favour their “climate-friendly” diet of things like avocados on toast plus almond-milk coffee. The athletes demanded more meat and eggs.

Paris Olympics CEO, Etienne Thobois, told reporters they suddenly needed more animal protein, causing them to order “700 kilos of eggs and a ton of meat, to meet the demands of the athletes.”

Rex Ahdar: A Judicial Slap and Tickle?

In a case that will not be forgotten quickly, if only for its bizarre name, the Federal Court of Australia on 23 August 2024 upheld a claim of discrimination by a transgender woman against a social network app catering solely for women and intended to be an “online refuge” and “safe space” for women. The transgender woman, Roxanne Tickle, after initially being accepted (by AI facial recognition software) onto the mobile phone app, was later taken off it by its CEO. The written judgment in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd (No 2), or Tickle v Giggle for short, is lengthy (86 pages and 283 paragraphs).

Simon O'Connor: Worlds Apart? - Part Two

Events across the UK, and also more locally, highlight how fundamental rights are being consistently challenged. This is the second of a two-part Substack looking at the concerning dynamics in play.

To read Part One of ‘Worlds Apart?’, please click here.

David Farrar: Fast-track changes

Chris Bishop and Shane Jones announced:

Cabinet has agreed to recommend a suite of sensible changes to the Fast-track Approvals Bill, say RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones.

Clive Bibby: “You will know them by their fruits”

It would be a mistake to assume my use of scripture in this column is an indication of a wide knowledge of biblical texts. Sadly, that is not the case in this instance. I wish it were. 

In fact l had to look it up in order to make sure l had the right verse.

However, l am pleased that l did because, as l suspected, the quote uses only a few wise words to describe the appalling behaviour of people who are abusing the position of influence they occupy throughout the western world. They need to be exposed!

Alwyn Poole: The Desperate need to a huge focus on Parenting in NZ

From Radio NZ:

“More than a quarter of teachers in schools in poor neighbourhoods said most of their pupils had oral language below the level expected of them, compared to just 3 percent of new entrant teachers in schools in rich neighbourhoods.

Mike Grimshaw: She’ll be right…? Is New Zealand stuck in the churn of complacency?

In 1944 poet and critic A.R.D. Fairburn felt moved to write a long essay critiquing and evaluating New Zealand society as it looked toward a possible post-war future. 80 years on it is hard not to read it and wonder how little we have really changed. Is New Zealand actually like the lightbulb in the old joke: how many social workers does it take to change a lightbulb? One – but the lightbulb has to want to change…

Kerre Woodham: On the Governments fast track approvals bill - Do we trust ministers to have that level of power?

It was interesting seeing the Governments backed down on the Fast-track Approvals Bill.

And that's the thing about being in government, isn't it? Well, really any position of authority. You will be criticized whatever you do. It's a truism that you cannot please all of the people all of the time, you just simply can't. So when the government announced it would introduce the Fast-track Approvals Bill that would give final sign off on infrastructure projects to just three ministers, without the usual consent process, there was squawking.

Bob Edlin: Project Tāwhaki space project is named for a tenacious demi-god...

Project Tāwhaki space project is named for a tenacious demi-god – but it has bumped into Collins in its quest for a funding boost

Point or Order first heard of the Ardern Government’s helping to fire up an “exciting multi-pronged aerospace project” on the Kaitōrete Spit on 1 June 2021.

The Crown at that time had contributed $16 million to secure the land. The Crown and a Rūnanga will would each own 50 percent shares in the land and project.

Kevin: Media Projection?

If collectively journalists have a problem with alcohol, then it must mean the whole country has a problem, right?

Let me start by saying I’m not a big fan of alcohol. Apart from the odd Guinness now and then, or a sweet liqueur, I don’t drink. In my experience the vast majority of psychoactive substances aren’t worth the bother, especially if you factor in the next day ‘hangover’. In fact I would count only two, or three if you count caffeine, and one of those is borderline.

Monday August 26, 2024 

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