The secret diary of . . . the struggles of the right
It seems to have pages in it, quite a few pages, and that's a sure sign, isn't it, of a narcissistic disorder.
And these pages have words. You guessed it — a lot of words. I said to my wife, "Kate," I said, "what are we supposed to make of it?"
I owe it to my Newstalk ZB audience of hundreds of thousands to make sense of the book.
And so we picked it up, and we shook it, wondering whether the words would fall off the page. But they seemed to be stuck there with a black viscous substance which resembled ink. I said to Kate, "Wife," I said, "what kind of witchcraft is this?"
She brought out her phone, and showed me a video of Ardern talking about her book to Oprah.
"Oh dear God in heaven," I said. "So that's what this book is about. Kindness. That's rich coming from a terrorist! She wrecked the joint then collected the dough in Boston."
We sat and brooded on it for a while and then it got dark. And cold.
"I don't know how we're going to afford the power bill," Kate said.
Times are tough thanks to Ardern. Families are doing it hard. Electricity is a luxury few of us can afford. I went outside to chop the firewood, and brought in a heavy bag of coal. I got the fire going and slung a billy over the flames. "This'll help," I said, and threw in the book.
I have to acknowledge that it burned quite nicely. So she can take credit for that.
I'm struggling to take Greta Thunberg seriously.
She claims she and her crew were kidnapped by Israel authorities when their protest yacht was intercepted on its way to Gaza.
I owe it to my Herald Now audience of several dozen to explain how protests work.
Because there are rules about protesting. Right? You have to obey them or otherwise you risk looking ridiculous, such as going to sea on a boat. Look what it did to the Rainbow Warrior. Ka-blooey. Up in smoke. And for what? Nothing. Same with Thunberg, an attention-obsessed Swede who reminds me of John Minto. He's always protesting, isn't he? I think he doth protest too much. She's the same. Right? But that's what happens when you're on drugs. And they're both on drugs. The drug of attention. They'll do anything to get it. They're strung out on it. Junkies. Losers. Awful people. Just the worst. Right?
Join me tomorrow when I have an opinion on how good Christopher Luxon is.
I struggled in my interview with Jack Tame.
I struggled in my interview with John Campbell.
I struggled in my interview with Mike Hosking.
By Steve Braunias
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NZ Herald
25 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
Prime Minister Chris Luxon faces questions on building product investment, immigration numbers
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The Spinoff
4 days ago
- The Spinoff
What did Nicola Willis's cost-of-butter meeting with Fonterra actually achieve?
The butter price crisis prompted a high-profile meeting at the Beehive – but global markets, not politicians, are still calling the shots, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. Was the butter meeting a damp squib? Finance minister Nicola Willis says she was surprised by 'the almost breathless excitement' around her Tuesday evening meeting with Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell, reflecting a week of coverage perhaps more suited to a major sporting event than a wonky meeting about dairy economics. The Post dubbed it 'the butter meeting heard round the country' while news sites ran red breaking news banners as Hurrell and Willis sat down to talk. With 500g blocks of butter topping $11 in some supermarkets, the stakes, at least symbolically, were high. Willis said the conversation covered many topics, but she did ask Hurrell to clarify how butter is priced and why New Zealanders often pay more than overseas consumers. The main outcome, according to the Herald's Thomas Coughlan? A suggestion that Hurrell will publicly explain the breakdown of butter pricing later this week. 'He was so good at communicating about [butter prices], I have encouraged him to provide that information to New Zealanders,' Willis said. Labour smells spin The political optics of the meeting have raised eyebrows, particularly given Willis's own six-year stint in senior roles at Fonterra, reports Bridie Witton in Stuff. Labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds questioned whether the meeting was more about performance than policy, arguing Willis should already understand how butter is priced. Willis pushed back, saying she worked in government relations and environmental strategy – not pricing – and refused to 'pre-judge' Fonterra's explanations. Her office also noted she meets with the dairy giant regularly, and the discussion this week wasn't solely about butter. Still, the intense buildup and media framing gave the impression of a high-level intervention, when in fact the levers to influence pricing remain limited. 'The lesson here is that performance politics doesn't work,' Newstalk ZB's Heather du Plessis-Allan said. 'In fact … it runs the risk of backfiring, which is exactly what's happening here.' So why is butter so expensive? As Blayne Slabbert explains in The Press (paywalled), 95% of our dairy products are exported and domestic prices reflect what those products earn overseas – a model known as export parity pricing. Recent Stats NZ data shows butter prices, driven by the global market, have surged 46.5% in a year, reaching an average of $8.60 per 500g. While world dairy prices dipped slightly in July, they remain far above historical levels. Global supply is tight, and demand – especially in China and Southeast Asia – continues to climb. 'You get to the situation we're in now where butter is at extraordinary heights and everyone wants their butter on toast,' High Ground Dairy consultant Stu Davison tells Newstalk ZB's Michael Sergel. 'We don't see it running right back to where we were five years ago.' That international appetite for grass-fed butter benefits our farmers and boosts export revenues, but leaves local consumers squeezed at the checkout. A changing role for Fonterra As butter becomes a lightning rod for public frustration at the cost of groceries, Fonterra may soon exit the retail fray altogether. The co-operative plans to sell off consumer-facing brands like Anchor and Mainland, focusing instead on its business-to-business operations. Writing in The Conversation, agribusiness professors Alan Renwick and David Dean say the move makes commercial sense. While some fear an overseas owner could lead to higher prices for consumers, they think it could help disrupt the current 'cosy' relationship between Fonterra and the supermarkets – potentially even bringing prices down. In the Herald, Clive Elliott, a barrister specialising in intellectual property, argues that the sell-off is a strategic error. 'Our prosperity and ability to remain a first-world economy depends on our ability to add value,' Elliott warns, arguing Fonterra is abandoning decades of brand equity. Regardless of who ends up owning the dairy brands, the butter pricing system is unlikely to shift dramatically. For now, New Zealanders will have to settle for an unsatisfying explanation rather than meaningfully lower costs.
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- NZ Herald
Reserve Bank chairman Neil Quigley responds to allegations around Adrian Orr's resignation
When Newstalk ZB asked Quigley about the alleged 'Statement of Concerns' on Tuesday night, he said, 'I can't go into that'. When it asked Quigley about the swearing allegation, he responded, 'I can't comment on that. That's a matter of privacy that I don't think I should discuss.' On the day Orr resigned, Quigley refused to elaborate on what led to the surprise decision, hurriedly announced the day before the Reserve Bank hosted an international economics conference. Quigley said it was a 'personal decision' that Orr made. Then in June, the Reserve Bank issued a more detailed statement saying Orr resigned because he disagreed with the board over the amount of government funding the bank should pitch for. However, Reddell's source suggests there was an element of Orr being pushed to resign. When Newstalk ZB quizzed Quigley on Tuesday over his explanations for Orr's resignation, he made the point that Orr did not have to resign over the funding disagreement. 'There was nothing about that, that required Adrian to resign. He chose to make it a personal decision that he would resign at that point,' Quigley said. A Reserve Bank spokesman told the Herald the bank didn't plan to release any more information about Orr's resignation in addition to its June statement and accompanying documents released under the Official Information Act (OIA). 'The Reserve Bank believes that we have provided what information we can within our legal obligations, noting that the Ombudsman is investigating a complaint related to our handling of these information requests,' the spokesman said. Orr declined the Herald's request for comment. Willis prepped to answer questions about raised voices Reddell – who is often critical of the Reserve Bank – said, in his Croaking Cassandra blog post, he did not know the identity of his source and could not independently verify their claims. However, he believed the source's tone and the way their claims aligned with material in the public domain, gave them credibility. For example, it is known that Willis' press secretary warned her journalists might ask about Orr's conduct. A document released to the Herald under the OIA in April shows that on the morning of Orr's resignation, the press secretary jotted down several answers Willis could use in response to questions she might be asked be journalists. One question he suggested Willis might be asked was: 'Did you ever have disagreements with Adrian Orr?' The press secretary advised Willis to respond: 'I'm not going to discuss what happens in meetings that discuss confidential and sensitive matters.' He suggested a follow-up question could be: 'Did the Governor ever raise his voice with you?' Willis was advised to respond: 'As I've said, my relationship with Adrian Orr was professional. It's not appropriate for me to comment further on meetings that discussed sensitive and confidential matters.' When the Herald asked Willis on Tuesday whether Orr raised his voice with her during the meeting they had on February 24, she said, 'As I've said previously – not that I recall.' Put to her that she surely did remember what happened, Willis said Orr did not raise his voice with her. She distanced herself from the issue, saying it was an employment matter between Orr and the Reserve Bank board. The Herald has asked Treasury to comment on the allegation Orr lost his cool during the February 21 meeting. A copy of the meeting minutes has also been requested. Reserve Bank chairman Neil Quigley says he can't comment on allegations around what led to Adrian Orr's resignation. Photo / Mark Mitchell February 27 board meeting pivotal The Reserve Bank, in its official June explanation for Orr's resignation, said that by the time the board met on February 27, it was clear that it and Willis were willing to agree to a 'considerably lesser amount' of funding for the bank than Orr deemed necessary. 'This caused distress to Mr Orr and the impasse risked damaging necessary working relationships, and led to Mr Orr's personal decision that he had achieved all he could as Governor of the Reserve Bank and could not continue in that role with sufficiently less funding than he thought was viable for the organisation,' the Reserve Bank said. Secretary to the Treasury Iain Rennie texted Willis during the evening of February 27 to say he had spoken to Quigley. Details of the exchange were redacted, but Willis responded, 'Thanks for the update.' February 27 is also the day Reddell's source alleges Quigley sent Orr a 'Statement of Concerns'. The Reserve Bank said that following the board meeting, Orr and Quigley 'entered discussions, which led to Mr Orr's decision to resign. Both parties engaged senior counsel to negotiate an appropriate exit agreement.' Quigley involved in appointment of new Governor Orr hasn't spoken publicly about his resignation. His concerns over funding for the bank are detailed in an email, released under the OIA, which he sent board members on February 14. He noted the tension between submitting a funding proposal the Government wanted to hear, versus one that supported the bank's goals. 'The importance and clarity of operational independence for central banks is judged by global financial markets now and in the future. Not by any current Government,' Orr told the board. Since Orr's departure, the Reserve Bank has embarked on a major restructure that has involved several executives leaving and senior roles being cut. The board is in the process of finding someone it will recommend Willis appoints as Governor. In the meantime, Orr's former deputy, Christian Hawkesby, is acting Governor. When in Opposition, Willis was unhappy Quigley recommended Orr be reappointed Governor for a second term. However, last year, she reappointed Quigley chairman until June 2026. Jenée Tibshraeny is the Herald's Wellington business editor, based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. She specialises in government and Reserve Bank policymaking, economics and banking.
