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Open mike 01/07/2025

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 1st, 2025 - 33 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:


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 …

33 comments on “Open mike 01/07/2025 ”

  1. Todays Posts 1
    1 July 2025 at 6:00 am

    Today's Posts (updated through the day):

    We Have a Human Right to Water, and to Democracy

    Reply
  2. gsays 2
    1 July 2025 at 6:22 am

    So.. In the latest update on nurses bargaining with the state.

    From an enail to members:

    "Last week, NZNO agreed to take an improved offer by Te Whatu Ora to members for ratification.

    After reaching that agreement last Thursday we were surprised to hear Te Whatu Ora was no longer prepared to make that offer after consultation with the Public Service Commission.

    Te Whatu Ora said they wanted to reach an agreement by 30 June and so your bargaining team made themselves available over the weekend to continue negotiations. On Sunday, both teams met, but no bargaining occurred. When we met Sunday morning, Te Whatu Ora said they were unable to say anything until later that afternoon. Later in the afternoon we were informed they were unable to meet for bargaining.

    We do not yet understand why Te Whatu Ora took these actions, or what the remaining barriers are to further bargaining. We understand Te Whatu Ora has also cancelled bargaining with another union today.

    It appears there is a great deal of confusion within Te Whatu Ora."

    At first blush this is far from good faith bargaining. The tables have been tipped so far away from workers.

    Does Brown have a plan?
    Edit this is the first episode of Frontline with the excellent Dr Gary Payinda talking about nursing levels, 3/4 hour.

    Reply
    • gsays 2.1
      1 July 2025 at 6:33 am

      Oops forgot link.

      Dispelling the many fibs, lies, obfuscations and distractions from Reti and Brown.

      Reply
      • ianmac 2.1.1
        1 July 2025 at 12:44 pm

        Well worth the watch thanks Gsays.

        So there is no freeze on recruitment. But we need to appoint 32 nurses to bring up to quota. You say Simeon that there is no freeze but we are only allowed to recruit 2 nurses per week. Two! The gap just gets bigger. And all because Willis demands less and less money for our Health system.

        Reply
  3. Phillip ure 3
    1 July 2025 at 8:47 am

    Old man's (ultimately futile) attempts to stave off the ravages of old age: update..

    My explorations into the world of moving heavy things to gain fitness…and also seeking minimalism..has led me to a conclusion..

    IMHO the most effective exercise you can do…in that it deals to pretty much everything in one go ..and if you only did one…this would be it ..

    Get dumbells as heavy as you can handle . .hold them extended out in front of you…and then do as many squats as you can …rest and repeat ..

    (I struggled to do 5..on my first go..)

    It's a killer..!.. everything burns..!

    (This has been a public service announcement..)

    Reply
  4. SPC 4
    1 July 2025 at 11:08 am

    Home and community support workers (90% female workforce) have a vehicle use for work arrangement that is below the standard.

    This should be seen as evidence of deliberate discrimination and cited as part of a pay equity claim (which should go ahead).

    It would certainly result in a batter outcome on their travel payments.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/565563/community-support-workers-among-nz-s-lowest-paid

    Reply
  5. Ad 5
    1 July 2025 at 11:34 am

    If anyone was in any doubt that Chris Bishop is now at least as powerful as Stephen Joyce, check out the impending merger of the Ministries of Environment, Transport, Housing, and Urban Development:

    https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/politics/merger-of-ministry-for-the-environment-ministry-of-transport-and-ministry-of-housing-and-urban-development-on-the-cards?utm_source=nzh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=nzh-home

    For watchers of The Terrace, this will make a super-Ministry with something of the heft of MBIE and MPI. No one has any patience for MoT, the Environment task will decrease a lot once the new versions of the RMA are through, and Housing is really just a reporting office.

    All of them have Agencies that do 95% of the actual work.

    Honestly no one in the actual Agencies will miss them.

    Future governments of any hue, I would hope, would appoint similarly integrated appointments like Bishop that integrate housing, transport, and environment into fully integrated policy approaches.

    Reply
    • Res Publica 5.1
      1 July 2025 at 1:29 pm

      Although I’m no fan of New Public Management and its obsession with KPIs, outsourcing, and artificial separations between policy and delivery, I’m equally sceptical of a push toward super-ministries with massive remits.

      When an agency becomes too broad, it often loses the ability to stay focused, build deep domain expertise, and cultivate the kind of institutional memory and specialist skillsets that high-quality public services depends on.

      There’s also a very real political economy problem: one function almost always ends up “winning”. It draws the lion’s share of leadership attention, resourcing, and ministerial interest, while other crucial areas are sidelined. Are we comfortable prioritising more car-dependent suburbs or low-benefit motorways over serious climate mitigation and emissions reduction, simply because one part of a ministry has more pull than another?

      Good public delivery isn’t about scale for its own sake. It’s about alignment of mission, resources, and deep understanding of the people and problems you’re there to serve.

      Reply
      • Ad 5.1.1
        1 July 2025 at 2:22 pm

        If only that logic were applied to local government. We'd have about 7.

        The entities listed as I read them have very good alignment, irrespective of any government policy direction.

        I don't know why MoT exists and honestly neither do they. Same for the others. At least the MBIE merger encompassed regulatory and enforcement functions, and individual disciplines have been retained.

        It was necessary with MBIE, and Health. Same integration is necessary here.

        Reply
        • Res Publica 5.1.1.1
          1 July 2025 at 3:31 pm

          Totally agree that better alignment between housing, transport, and environment is needed. But structural consolidation doesn’t necessarily equate to policy coherence.

          Take the old Department of Labour, for example. Since being folded into MBIE, its core functions: employment standards, labour market policy, workplace health and safety, have been steadily deprioritised.

          WorkSafe NZ still exists, but it operates at arm’s length and often lacks the institutional clout it would’ve had within a more focused department.

          The broader labour mandate has been diluted inside a ministry increasingly driven by economic and business development priorities. There’s a lot of “B” — but not much “I” or “E.”

          That’s not an argument against integration. It’s an argument for being careful and intentional about how and why we merge institutions.

          Without strong internal boundaries and clear ministerial mandates, these large super-ministries tend to prioritise what’s most politically expedient or well-resourced, and neglect everything else.

          So yes, these areas are connected — but that doesn’t mean one mega-ministry is the best way to serve them.

          Especially if it comes at the cost of depth, focus, and institutional memory.

          Reply
  6. joe90 6
    1 July 2025 at 12:26 pm

    Thin-skinned authoritarians have thin skin.

    //

    Some Youth MPs have been told by the event's organisers to remove criticisms of the government in their speeches.

    Labour says the move is out of step with the spirit of the Youth Parliament, and risks further discouraging young people from having their voices heard.

    The event is organised by the Ministry for Youth Development. RNZ has approached the ministry for comment.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/565610/youth-mps-told-to-remove-criticisms-of-government-from-speeches

    Reply
    • bwaghorn 6.1
      1 July 2025 at 12:38 pm

      Holy fuck starting to sound like planet trump over here.

      Reply
    • Drowsy M. Kram 6.2
      1 July 2025 at 1:00 pm

      Some Youth MPs have been told by the event's organisers to remove criticisms of the government in their speeches.

      Don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill, but this is a disappointing slippery slope 'development'. Will the muzzling of young critics extend to the 20 Youth Press Gallery members? Perhaps any such editorial ‘direction’ reflects recent media developments, such as the reduced funding for RNZ – careful now!

      I’m sure Minister for Youth Meager has clean hands, but what might he make of it all.

      Announcing the awesome Youth Parliament 2025 participants!
      [28 April 2025]
      123 Youth MPs and 20 Youth Press Gallery members have been selected to take part in Youth Parliament 2025. This unique four-month youth development programme is taking place from Monday 28 April to Friday 29 August, with the two-day event occurring on Tuesday 01 and Wednesday 02 July 2025 in the Parliamentary precinct in Wellington.

      Reply
    • Obtrectator 6.3
      1 July 2025 at 1:05 pm

      'Twas ever thus. Many years ago I heard about a schoolboy who'd had some letters printed in the local paper criticising the council. Rather than respect his arguments, the "stupid little tin-pot kings" (as they were afterwards dubbed by one columnist) wrote to his headmaster asking him to gag the letter-writer.

      Reply
  7. Drowsy M. Kram 7
    1 July 2025 at 1:31 pm

    Official Documents Reveal Widespread Opposition To Seymour’s Regulatory Standards Bill [1 July 2025]
    Treasury and MfE [Ministry for the Environment] are the latest to join a growing list of governmental agencies issuing warnings over the bill. The Ministry of Justice has warned it’s not in line with the NZ Bill of Rights Act and "fails to recognise the constitutional significance of the Treaty of Waitangi." While Parliament’s legislative watchdog has cautioned that the Bill could lead to "significant unintended consequences,"…

    Disturbed, unhinged, maniacal, not in one's right mind – pick a Seymour synonym – nuts!

    Reply
    • Bearded Git 7.1
      1 July 2025 at 4:33 pm

      I can't understand why NZF hasn't pulled the plug on it….they usually do the populist thing.

      Reply
  8. SPC 8
    1 July 2025 at 1:36 pm

    The Aratere is ending services in August to prepare the way for work at Picton (new ferries in 2029).

    What this involves is becoming clearer.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360741843/winston-peters-says-new-foundations-set-interislander-ferry-infrastructure

    Reply
    • Bearded Git 8.1
      1 July 2025 at 6:48 pm

      Still not a word on how much the two ferries or the land infrastructure changes will cost.

      But the expensive Dublin Street over-bridge in Picton proposed by Labour is to go ahead.

      As many on TS have already said, we are going to end up with two ferries that will be inferior to those agreed to by Labour, these inferior ferries will arrive two years later than Labour proposed, and the overall cost (including cancellation costs) will be more than the Labour proposal.

      Well done indeed no-boats Willis (sarc).

      Reply

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