Govt feels NZ migration settings are about right, PM English says, after figures show record net inflow; PM re-raises drug test hurdles for employment of locals


The government feels it has the balance of migration settings “about right,” although a decline in the net number of Kiwis leaving New Zealand compared to previous cycles is challenging that, Prime Minister Bill English says.

Speaking Monday afternoon after figures earlier showed record net migration to New Zealand in the year to January 2016, English said the economy required current migration settings to fill skills shortage gaps.

Business leaders in the hospitality, horticulture, agriculture and IT industries, in particular, were constantly telling the government they were facing skills shortages among the local population, English told media at his post-cabinet press conference.

“They really are going to struggle to get the people they need, particularly in the regions. This is the type of balance we’re trying to [reach],” he said.

A rise in local wages could help fix that problem, and certain businesses may have to re-evaluate pay settings to entice Kiwis into work, English said. However, when put to him that businesses might not need to do that because owners were able to hire cheaper migrant labour, he replied that there was a balancing act required.

Meanwhile, returning to a favourite anecdote from his days as Finance Minister, English said business leaders were telling him two-to-three times a week that part of the struggle hiring local labour was potential employees could not pass a drugs test.

“A lot of our younger people can’t pass that test,” he said. “Either they change their habits or they’re not going to be able to get a job.” English cited the government’s Tackling Methamphetamine plan as one example of how it was trying to reduce this problem.

Businesses did want locals to fill vacancies, he said. He cited the Hawke's Bay 1,000 project as an example of businesses organising to try and fill 1,000 full time jobs expected over the next four-to-five years. But businesses were finding the task challenging, he added.

The government would also like to be able to match up unemployed people with jobs on the shortages list, although this was “quite a challenge,” English said. In theory this sounded easy, but was different in practice, he said.

In all, these were good problems for New Zealand to have, he said. “We’ve got Kiwis coming home. This is what it feels like to be in a growing economy with some confidence and some direction. And the government is focussed on supporting that growth, not trying to shut it off.”

“This is all a matter of balance. We think the balance is about right, bearing in mind that the biggest single change is Kiwis not leaving,” English said. “It’s really important that we understand that.”

We welcome your help to improve our coverage of this issue. Any examples or experiences to relate? Any links to other news, data or research to shed more light on this? Any insight or views on what might happen next or what should happen next? Any errors to correct?

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Let the bashing commence...


Because most New Zealanders disagree with Bill English's spin. Election soon!

The level of complacency this government has achieved receives complete support of wealthy home-owners and businesses that continue to suppress the will of the common man.
But you cannot blame Bill for his "care a damn" attitude. The Nationals can count on middle-class New Zealanders not getting off their asses for once to wander into a polling booth on election day.
That, my friends, is the sad truth.

Right now one cannot help but feel like we are being treated like mushrooms .............. kept in the dark and fed a load of BS

I am not unduly concerned about inward migration , there are many pluses to immigration , BUT .........

Why does the Government state catagorically what the desired numbers are for 2017, 2018 , 2019 , etc ?

Then we would know and be able to plan all manner of things such as provision of housing , schools , healthcare facilities and other services , and also plan for such things as the future cash requirements of the NZ Super , ACC and Pharmac .


Get your head out of your arse Bill, and get some real information on the drugs. First, let's have a long look at who's dominating the import and manufacture of methamphetamine now. And get some real information. Anecdotes don't cut it, especially when they're coming from the people benefiting from slave labour.

And if you genuinely give a damn about drugs, why eight years of running the Police down and starving them of resources?

While we're at it, what are the drug test results on foreign tourists working in hospitality, or the poor exploited bastards doing 16 hour shifts on farms? Hmmm? No testing has been done, you say?


Exactly and why don't we replace the test with help to manage off the habit, work out of it. Rather than have immigrants bring it in, or even take it up the habit once citizens.
Government needs replacing or turn the immigration tap off and develop internally.


Good point, Bill's attitude shows a scary abandoning of New Zealand's youth.

Before Trump I read an article about suicide increasing amongst white American males.

"we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate"


Yes. So why are you wasting our time with passive-aggressive contentless bleating?


Bit hard to be respectful when challenging outright lies being promulgated by the PM.


I would hope that robust strong criticism - even disrespectful - of our leaders is welcomed. That's the point of democracy. It's always been part of the public discourse, witness biting and satirical and disrespectful and often scathing cartoons that have always been part of the western public discourse on politics.
Obviously that does not mean we should resort to calling them dirty names.


I was wavering after the smiley trader was sent off shore, to voting for Bill, but not now,the lies on drugs, in addition to the lies they tell us on immigration. "Chasing the Scream," Hari's book tells about the bullshit and the misery of the futile war on drugs, originally started because of US racism, initially against the Chinese in the 19th century with opium, then against "blacks" almost a century ago, "A cocaine nigger sure is hard to kill" is one official quote. Billie Holiday an addict but clean at the time was framed in her death bed in hospital by the FBI planting drugs, to teach "blacks" a lesson, so as to not to forget their place in society. The details in the book will make your eyes water. New Zealand lost the moral leadership some years ago to break the cycle on the "drug prohibition" to places like Portugal, Uruguay, Norway and a few states in the US.



What????????? Given the data released by WINZ on drug testing, Bill's assertion is an outright fabrication. Coming from the PM, that is a disgraceful slur on youth.

Here are the facts for you, Bill.

In 2014, WINZ reported that:

The first batch of results are in and the figures are shocking. Of 8,001 beneficiaries sent for testing only 22, yes 22, either failed the test or refused to take it. This is a fail rate of 0.27%. It appears that the state has paid in the vicinity of $1 million on testing beneficiaries who have given clean results.

Granted, these won't all be young people, but they are/were all unemployed people at the time of testing.

Then in 2015, in response to an OIA request, it was reported over the 2014/2015 year, WINZ tested 29,049 applicant referrals, of which 159 failed or refused testing... or .005% failures or refusals.

What "alot" is Bill talking about?

It's a dangerous PM that relies on anecdotal evidence when his own officials produce real facts to the contrary.


And they knew when they instituted the drug test policy that it was going to be an expensive failure, as it has been in places such as Florida with far better, cheaper, and easier access to drugs than NZ. It had been thoroughly proven before they even began that the beneficiary=drug user stereotype has very little basis in reality.

At least, it's a failure if regarded as an attempt to find drug users. If regarded as propaganda designed to demonise local job-seekers, then it's working well. But personally, I'd prefer that the National Party paid for their own propaganda campaigns out of donated funds, rather than soaking the taxpayer for it.


I have 25 students in Year 13 with aspirations of employment this year. I might as well show them this video of our PM and explain how so many are all tarnished with the same brush..

Here's a thought...why didn't they drug test the youth in the 1960's and 1970's?

After tonights news bulletin linking the housing crisis to tourism infrastructure pressures to migration records to low wage growth and to many kids too doped up to work - we are a country out of control... the proverbial is about to hit the fan!

The govt appears to be so behind the 8-ball on so many issues that Donald Trumps antics are barely making the news..

Bill English to exit stage left after the election?

Might have to also tell them that while many of the older generation like to hark back to their hard-working old days when they went "straight from high school into a job!" and never got to go to university, they won't consider anyone without a degree these days, and they're certainly not going to hire irresponsible young high-schoolers!

I'm off to teach 20 undergrads this afternoon and am opening the lecture with this case study lesson in "alternative facts" from the NZ Prime Minister. Will then get a raise of hands for how many are registered to vote - and how many subsequently intend to register to vote.

You only have to look at the Ice problem in WA mine workers, drug use among professional sportsmen (not the performance enhancing ones), to see how easy it is to pass a test, particularly when a test only occurs at certain times. e.g. work days, tuesdays, when I go to WINZ, etc...

Personally I don't trust "reports" and "Stats" coming out in official reports. I have written enough of these to know that they really only report what they are told, not what is happening. There is also a lot of "massaging" that goes on behind the scenes to ensure certain KPIs are met.

Anecdotally I know a lot of recreational drug users (including alcohol) and yet not one of them has ever failed a test. The worst example knows that "random workplace testing" only happens on a Monday, so stays clean over the weekend, then hits it hard Monday night.

Okay then - so why then are they failing workplace tests en-masse, as Bill claims?

You saying that you have no faith in ""reports" and "Stats" coming out in official reports", but you'll happily listen to BE's anecdotes?

Again, your comment is another example of you baselessly and blindly arguing for argument's sake.

The fact is they aren't failing as Bill English is reporting anecdotes rather than real information. I've seen a surprisingly low failure rate on building sites. Many of the workers on the sites you'd expect would consume a bit more recreationally.

Bill English is lying because National's tank is empty.

Exactly my point.

I am not listening to BE anecdotes. I am using my own experience from when I lived in Perth, and also here in NP.

Of course you must be right though, no one in NZ does drugs, NZ is drug free, no P, no weed, nothing. We are as clean as the water flowing down our rivers.

I didn't say that no one is doing drugs. Hell, I wouldn't even say that I am clean.

I merely pointed out that your logic was in conflict with itself and the context of the article.

I would say the logic is there to support my point.

Lots of recreational drug use in NZ - Yet no one is failing tests? Something has gone wrong somewhere.

As before, I would suggest it is because people know how to workaround the tests. So the official stats are pretty much meaningless.

I apologise.
I thought you were defending BE's absurd comments.

I disagree that that stats are meaningless in this circumstance because, gamed or not, they unequivocally contradict BE's comments.

Apology accepted, I can see that I am walking a fine line re the appearance of defending him, hence the confusion.

For clarity I am not defending him or the rest of the garbage he spouted in this article.

I am merely trying to show why he will be reliant on anecdotal evidence in the case of drug use inhibiting employment. I honestly think any politician would be stuck doing the same (it would be interesting to see Labours take on this given they are pro the working man)


I have worked in both the health and Oil and gas industries in New Plymouth. I have a pretty good knowledge of pre-employment testing, as well as the ongoing workplace testing.

Due to its illegal nature, drug use is very, very, hard to show officially. If they did have official evidence of it, then there would be a lot more people waiting in line at the courthouses around the country.

For example I know of two companies that are having/had issues pre-qualifying (vetting) local companies, solely due to the local's refusal to take sign up to drug testing conditions. One of said companies ended up bring in an Aussie company to do the work (so that was 13 jobs no longer available to locals)

I also know of one person that failed a pre-employment alcohol test, knowing full well the exact date and time they would have it a week in advance. They blew 3x over the legal limit, acknowledged it, and said they had a big party last night as it was their anniversary, but could they take the test again at another date.

On the flipside,

I have also seen abuse of the policy by one company, that imposed deliberately strict testing regimes (Daily testing before workers were allowed on site) but I should note absurdly low wages given the work in question) with the sole purpose of awarding to a pre-determined overseas company (the whole tender was essentially an unprovable sham)

I also know of two people that use while working and manage to pass the tests as they know the tests only ever happen on Mondays, if the company sprang a Tuesday/wednesday test they would fail.

Obviously this is all my own anecdotal evidence, but that is my point - try officially documenting/recording/reporting any of the above. Confidentiality, privacy, reputation, and potential legal issues are all reasons why none of this gets into the official domain.

I mean can you really see a person admitting to an official, that "Yeah, um, I didn't get the job cos I refused to take the drug test"? The natural assumption is that they are clearly using.

Agreed, it is a perfectly good reason as to why he relies on it.
But, ultimately, he relies on any data that supports his rhetoric, which is the issue. When the numbers suit them, they use them exclusively and in an exceptionally righteous manner. When they don't, they advocate anecdotal junk. In this case, he also gets away with slandering a whole demographic of New Zealanders with no repercussion.
Sure, I'll agree, the WINZ data is not going to be 100% reliable. But c'mon, it still beats the "you know, just the other day..." crap that we let them get away with.

The Methanex monday morning ball grab, by any chance?

No not Methanex in this instance.

THis place has the Midday Monday Munchies, as once lunchtime hits the testing is finished.


To think I once quite liked the guy. He's proving as sneaky with the truth and as disingenuous as his predecessor.
The Nats are acting like a party near the end of their stint in power.

I thought Bill English is a good Catholic. Why is he promulgating what would appear to be outright lies?

Wrong spot

For the full 2015 year 1Jan 2015 to 31Dec 2015

31,791 Drug tests were done via WINZ job seekers, Only 55 sanctions occured (1 person could in theory have 20 sanctions, so its not 55 people that failed)

I'll bet a look at who owns shares in the drug-testing companies would be quite instructive. Cross-ref it with the National donors list.

I'd shudder to think what results of drug testing would have been back in the 70s and 80s and further, when getting trolleyed at lunch was the order of the day and it was perfectly normal to call into the pub after work, drive home three sheets to the wind, then turning up to work in the a.m. hungover to beat the band, totally open about it and finding the boss possibly wasn't much better. There was plenty of the green stuff around as well.

And don't forget your normal occurrence like driving on 1 hours sleep.

I thought it went without saying :D

The PM forgot about the drug testing because he smokes way too much weed to be leading a country.


Anyone got a DeLorean they could send him out for a test drive in?
Right spot

Coincidentally, we're already in a Back to the Future 2 world: lucky-rich Biff Tannen is in the White House.


What a load of bullshit.... I thought he would bring some credibility to the National party after mr. Key departed.. but he's even worse


Well, he's always tried to push that image of boring, honest and reliable. But should we believe it? Don't forget this was the guy perfectly happy to fraudulently claim allowances for personal gain until he was caught.


He is saying absolutely, just about word-for-word what Key has been saying all along, only difference is, he cannot do it in such a smiley, wavy, jokey-blokey way his predecessor did, therefore suddenly people have been rendered able to see through the whole bluff.

Bill is a PM with vision. I also feel NZ migration settings are about right. A lot of the left wingers fail to see that immigration actually boosts economic growth, meets skill shortages, and helps create a more dynamic society. Each and every year I'm always looking forward to attending many cultural celebrations Auckland has to offer such as Lantern Festival, Diwali, St Patrick Day, Bastille Day etc etc. So guys, it is actually a very positive news that we have a net migration gain of 71,300. We are blessed and we should celebrate!



But all I want to do is to celebrate Christmas.

Yes and Christmas too, and also Chinese New Year, Pasifika, Treaty of Waitangi Day, Thanks Giving Day and many many more! Having a dynamic society is good for each and everyone of us. I am very proud of Auckland, the most diverse city in NZ.


Joke of the day.

Good to see an optimist of national policy

Not to mention a bit odd on the whole.

This is the same fellow who proclaimed on this forum that it's good that Chinese migrants all settle together in neighbourhoods so they're comfortable having other "ching chong eyes" around. (direct quote)

I'm wondering whether he likes migrants for the property price rises, but likes having them at a comfortable distance - only coming out for cultural festivals and the right number of well-placed ethnic restaurants... As in "Harrumph, well, yes, we want them in New Zealand but can't they be over there, not here?" (drops monocle from eye)

I agree, I believe there is a shortage of real estate agents . Measuring economic growth strictly in terms of headline GDP, is somewhat flawed. Thankfully migrants will not consider drug use, only lazy Kiwi youth.

Cowpat, no I don't agree that we have a shortage of RE agents. Look at this guy, he is selling his own house without disclosing it (well, at least not in his Youtube clip or any marketing materials). In his Youtube clip he also fails to mention that the crown land across the road on Puroto Street has been approved for SHA. When you have desperate RE agents selling their own properties there is no shortage of them!

All under the umbrella of Ray White. The agent is obviously comfortable among the water rats down there.

Selling your own house as a RE agent is not a good look end of story.

Its been done before and will be done again....


I can only admire your grasp of irony.

Why mention cultural celebrations? Of course they can be a nice addition to a multi-cultural society, but that is not the point here.

Mass immigration, above and beyond what New Zealand's infrastructure can cope with reduces the standard of living for every person here! Including immigrants.

Case in point;

But I'm guessing you have private health insurance.

Yes, downright tunnel vision.

I too have no problem with extra demand, especially in a functioning free market, that's where you get the economic growth you claim to experience. The New Zealand property market is not such a market. And now banks are credit 'rationing', which is going to make thing interesting.

Productivity is the best indicator for increased standard of living, not number of cultural celebrations. And the evidence says that our productivity is low among developed countries and slipping further.

Try looking at this data with the US dollar option selected, and compare us with anyone else in the OECD.

Rock Star economy! I will let myself out

"A lot of the left wingers fail to see that immigration actually boosts economic growth" well, actually what you should have said is, "Left wingers can see that using immigration as a means to display growth is an unsustainable ponzi scheme" you could have also added "That ability to see the truth is not necessarily confined to left wingers"


Let the election year commence

When Kiwis leave they leave from all over NZ. When immigrants come, they primarily come to Ak...

Do you have to submit to a drug test to become a citizen?

Do you to become a resident, or even get a student or work visa? There's a medical for residency, but no idea if drug testing is involved.

Off to google ...

OK, back from google. Apparently they don't test for it. So that proves it isn't a problem, in the twisted backwards if-you-don't-look-for-it-you-can-pretend-it-doesn't-exist world of Planet National. But there are plenty of convictions for use, distribution, manufacturing and sales once people are here, so there must be something about New Zealand that turns innocent people into druggies. But it's only a reason not to hire locals. How convenient.

To become a citizen you need to import $1m worth of methamphetamine and invest it locally. Welcome to your new home citizen!


I am a Bill English supporter, but he's wrong on immigration 'settings'.
As for employers not being able to get staff. Yeah they can't and nah. They 'won't pay enough. When they bleat to Bill they are just trying on the old battle. Drive down wages.
Why would Bill be playing with this one? I thought it was an objective to build a high wage economy ? Musta missed something.

Time for change


I have no problem with the govt bringing in immigrant workers for horticulture and agriculture in the regions, if it is required.
However the stats suggest most immigrants are settling in Auckland.
Also, no problem with immigrants who plug holes that kiwis can't fill. But why then is there plenty of evidence in the finance, architecture, engineering and construction sectors of a desperate lack of options for employers?
Three townhouses are being built next to us in Remuera. Most of the workers are Indian. Nothing against Indians. But I frequently have a coffee out on the deck and being easily able to hear their conversations, you wouldn't believe how clueless the workers are with the instructions being delivered by the supervisors.
Anecdotal, i know, but still evidence of a total lack of immigrants with the right skills and experience.
This country and its leadership is a total joke!


I agree about people coming in for fruit picking and such, especially those coming in from the islands, as it is far better than just firing aid off to them. That scheme is a good one, so long as we are careful to see that they are not being ripped off.

According to the PM, there is a serious labour shortage in the regions. How to address this .....hmmm. Fly planeloads of work visa migrants in and settle them in ......... Auckland!

The Govt says high levels of drug use among welfare beneficiaries is preventing employers from hiring them. But official records show there were only a few beneficiary drug test failures per week over the course of 2014. Must have been a catastrophic deterioration in two years.

and how do you force people to move to the regions ?

Simple: you make it a condition of residency, such residency lost if they move to Auckland within X years.

we don't want your 70,000 immigrants in the regions. We already work for minimum or at best living wage and thats if you can get a job. But we can still get a feed of mussels off the rocks so you keep your immigrants in Auckland please. Or better still, shut the door.

Or catch a few waves on the way to or home from work.

Well, you're going to need to vote for someone other than National then. Because that's their plan.


Employers want migrants as they can work them to the bone and pay minimum wage, and btw you'll now find a hefty proportion of employers are fairly recent immigrants themselves, bringing with them a culture of all but slave labour. They do not want NZers as they aren't able to rip them off to the same degree.
Bill English, the game is up.

Unsupported sweeping generalizations add nothing to the discussion.

You denying its happening, then? We already have had court cases proving that it is, and as in other crimes, it will be only the tip of the iceberg.


The truth comes out - it really IS about wage suppression then.

All people of New Zealand who do not support Bill English statement on migration should keep this in mind while voting.

Imagine what they can do if given power for 4th term. Think and vote.

Who needs opposition when national ministers are themselves capable of self goal.

Keep going with such policies and statement.................

I'm an employer, I don't have any immigrants working with me but I wouldn't mind having one if I thought he/she was the right person. I base my criteria for hiring on suitability for the job, not on on ethnicity

There's migrants then there's a stampede of migrants, no-one is anti immigration, well pretty much no-one, but most of us are against wholesale immigration.


Bill English is so out of touch with typical NZers. Does he even talk to everyday NZers? Doesn't he understand one of the largest expenses of a company is the cost of labor so the so-called business leaders have a vested interest to continuously complain about the skills shortage to keep the wages low by selling PR visa? Does he know what's happening to our standard of living due to immigration? Unelected PM putting down NZ citizens, promoting treasonous acts that doesn't have NZer's best interest at heart. This guy is basically pulling a middle finger to the younger generation.


I wonder what National think our target population is? 10 million? 15 million?
Our export earnings are down so the population growth isn't helping the country to pay for imports like cars and computers.
We now have a deficit of infrastructure needed to support the enlarged population, that creates jobs but who pays for that?
Pressure on housing has pushed prices through the roof which has excluded young people and wage earners from the market, they can rent forever and the government even subsidizes the rent and contributes to the landlord. Much of our housing is owned by foreign investors so that money is leaving the country.
Our productive industry like farmland and processing, forestry, fishing, power generation, steel mill and fresh water are being sold to foreign investment.. NZ'ers are employed with profits going off shore.
What a mess!!!!! What political party would want to try and sort this out?
Our only success is selling our low population statistic as the immigrants bring in foreign currency. But so doomed to failure as a generator of long term wealth. When we do get the odd immigrant like Dot Com who generates export earnings we treat him badly.
The only good thing is that our young people don't know what NZ used to be like, they don't know what they missed out on. This for them is normal. And us oldies got rich selling their birth right! Selling their future!


Among all the rhetoric and spin, the truth has been revealed, where you find, almost as an afterthought, English stating that immigration drives growth. Listen to him, you will hear it, yet he is not really being picked up on that. It IS a ponzi, nothing more, nothing less, it is fairly disgusting. I look forward to hearing from potential leaders who are prepared to admit that the world is coming to the end of growth and starts coming up with or listening to, ideas about how we prosper without it. I admit it is going to probably take the whole world to be on board with this one for it to really work,but a start somewhere is going to have to be made.

Indeed. A population ponzi with falling resources per person. It cant end well.
World growth is dead, basically because China is hitting (debt) growth problems ...

"Ideas to prosper without it..."

You cant. We have already used plan B which was put growth on the credit card. The consumption has been done ... the debt obligations live on. Without more debt (and more demand from somewhere ....) the financial system implodes & thats the end of supply chains and the good life.

With a will there is a way, but then there always is the old tried and true, blow each other to bits for a while till we've had a gutsful of that, then set about putting everything back together and replacing the people we culled, swearing we will never, ever do that again. Hmm, putting on the thinking cap looks more appealing. I know how I think it could be done, it would scare the bejesus out of people attached to current economic thinking, but I think, in the end, we will come to it.

The debt buildup is really the work round to OVERSHOOT the world's viable resources ... so to believe we can prosper without further debt build-up (aka "growth") ignores the overshoot already embedded in the pie...

These are PHYSICAL resource limits.

The whole world cant get on board ... everyone will do the opposite .. close ranks and scrap over leftovers

Thats why Obama and Hillary attacked Libya. Gudafi was organizing the Africans to create a gold based African currency and stop using the American dollar. This would have given them control of their resources. The Western World couldn't have that so US and NATO and CIA destroyed Libya. The most progressive country in Africa. Obama got a Nobel Peace Prize? No wonder America has voted in a businessman who can't string two sentences together to be president. It turns out they have a conscience. Politicians tell you what you want to hear. A businessman says how it is.

NH, NZ is about the size of Italy, so I'd say about 45 Million is reasonable

Why did you immigrate to NZ Yvil?

Here is the - you dropped, that's better, isn't it, 4-5 milliion?

poll on newshub this morning running at 76% saying its too high, albeit it is a social media poll and not run by a polling company
are national ignoring the groundswell of feeling by kiwis
will this be our brexit trump moment where social media polls are more attuned to the feelings of the majority of the population

Does he know how many entering the country are dragsters?

Wouldn't that mean Meremere would be getting overpopulated?



Hon Prime Minister Bill English. "Immigration settings are about right. No housing crisis. No infrastructure crisis"
Well there you go folks, vote National, everything is about right, nothing to see here.

Have any of these clowns ever run a successful business?

The clowns have realised that the easiest way to business success is increase turnover i.e. more customers. High immigration is the great business pro Nat Party solution. How they can claim to represent the business savvy and ridicule the likes of the greens for having none is laughable.

Everyone must vote specially young generation or this is what you will get as a PM.

Everyone must encourage youngster to go out and vote.

Bill English may we'll end up at the helm of another embarrassing election outcome. Key read the signs of frustration in the population and did a runner. Bill is playing it like he's been thrown a 'gimme', but in all reality it's a hospital pass.

That is unless he really ups his game.


And television news keeps repeating the PM's statement without any qualification/correction. So the PM can take a cheap shot at youth in this country and go virtually unchallenged. Sad state of affairs.


TV1 News has been shocking recently.

For example, on the recent water quality issue, Newshub reported the fact that the standard for swimmable had been changed from 260 parts of E coli per 100ml to 540, doubled.

TV1 News reported that "Environmentalists claim the government is merely shifting the goalposts. But Minister Nick Smith says the environmentalists are using junk science." TV1 News steered clear of reporting the factual change in standard.

And recently, again, you had Corin Dann claiming on TV1 that "the government has invested massive effort into cracking the housing crisis over the last year", when within the last year National has been claiming that 1) there's no crisis, 2) it's a good problem to have and 3) they don't want to see prices come down.


I emailed Winston Peters' office. Hopefully they will put out a press release calling the PM out. To me this kind of slur on our youth based on anecdotal evidence as a means to legitimate a flawed immigration scheme is beyond the pale.

This is the PM we got by default who blames environment for housing and young kiwi for drugs to pass the blame when have nothing to respond.

Have totally lost and the election fever has not yet started.

Think and vote.

And bird poop for unswimmable rivers, the Nats tried to blame birds instead of dairy.

Because up till we started intensive dairy farming the birds were doing their ablutions elsewhere.

Rick..Jessie Mulligan covered the water on Nat Radio...then on the new TV3 show that night it was an issue. For a laid back magazine style program jessie actually managed to get some good facts in that did make the Nick Smith approach look stupid. So thumbs up for Mulligan, he had educated himself on the issue and wasnt going to be suckered.

Thai is one reason WHY Social media has become important - though it has its minus but more of plus.

Everything has its plus and minus but it is a good tool to fight vested media and politicians. Many are and will not be happy with technology as are no longer able to manipulate the news and views.

The media are the ears and voice of the nation. Busy people rely on the media to inform and educate them. Our media is as inept and corrupted as that of the American nation. Our media is a disgrace to democracy.

Social media. One should use social media and all forums to discuss and share their view and importantly to expose the people in power.

Good idea?!? Then you can just focus on 'views' and dispense with verifying facts altogether. Social media is brilliant at amplifying b-s.

I have to agree. Socia media is its own echo chamber. No one is influenced by opposing views because they do not see them. The circle jerk of social media led a lot of people in the US to believe that Hilary would win but they had their blinkers on the whole tie.

On the other hand, a problem we have is young people not voting yet.

It may be that all is required is them gaining visibility of what more National rule for their future chances at life (especially if they've grown up in Auckland). If the fear that comes from recognising they're losing their chance to remain in their city of birth doesn't motivate them, perhaps nothing will.

Some felt it was futile to vote, which plays into National's hands, during the last election. I'll be pushing the message that the time to vote is when the Government is at its weakest, and that not voting is destroying any hope of a future by handing everything to retirees.

I've started pushing the message that National are the enemy of the 90%.

Where else in the world does a top official elected by the general public have the audacity to turn around and label the same voters as " drug-addled and widely incompetent" mutts?
It scares me to see what our nation has amounted to? NZ is just a machinery chugging money for the rich and the others are either seen as expendable resources or lousy degenerates. What's worse is the public, well-aware of this situation, has no intention to change much of it.

You are correct Advisor Where in the world..... but also where in the world do we elect such leader.

All Kiwi should give befitting reply during next election or it is shame on us as a people. Most youngesters are hard working and trying hard to achieve made difficult by the national government.

And now the Herald piles in with no fact checking whatsoever either.

Labour states in the article above "A huge proportion of our new migrants, 56,231, are moving straight to Auckland, which is an 8.5 per cent lift from last year."

Meanwhile Otago has had a 44% increase in migrants. And yet not a word from anyone........
"Net migration to Otago increased by 44% on the previous year to January,....."

Well, yeah, I think Kiwis are realising that Queenstown and parts of Central Otago are going to be taken over by foreign buyers looking for a bolthole. Kiwis will increasingly need to move elsewhere.

News hub Poll

I imagine HRC, National Party, RE industry etc are tweeting it?

75% disagree with the current levels... so 75% of kiwi's are wrong mr. English?

Okay I am willing to give Bill English the benefit of my doubts about the numbers of migrants , and assuming this rate of inward migration continues , I would really like to know is how we plan to house them, and how we are going to build enough schools , hospitals , roads and and infrastructure to cope with this influx .

Its all very well having a liberal open-door immigration policy , but when we dont have the ability to cope its problematic .

We should plan better for the anticipated immigration , and the Governments proposed / expected migration numbers for say 2017 , 2018 and 2019 should be more transparent

It hasn't appear for the last nine years they've had any plan beyond "watch our property portfolio prices go up".

And now - they contact head cheerleader, Hosking to front foot the lie for them;


The BSA ruled Nigel Latta's The New New Zealand did not breach broadcast standards. They say Latta's program was "authorial documentary " and to be seen as from "Mr Latta's perspective ". Therefore the need for balance isn't so strong. In fact Latta lines up the usual suspects (Paul Spoonley Ganesh Nana, head of immigration at MBIE) to produce a very one sided program.
They say that in the current period people would be aware of other views. I would dispute that. On Mediawatch Latta crows about the size of TVNZ's audience and you have RNZ's The Panel, Voices, Ninetonoon. Where would you get the nitty-gritty of Treasury paper 14-10 and how many read Croaking Cassandra?
The BSA think coverage of immigration has been largely negative (adding links to an opinion piece on stuff and article about Indian students). Latta's program they say, therefore provides balance in an unblanced context.

What is important is that the viewing public is presented with competing arguments on matters of importance, in as fair a way as possible. In determining whether programmes breach this standard, the BSA takes particular note of the way in which a programme or item is presented (did it purport to be a balanced examination of an issue, or was it clearly signalled as a personal perspective, or narrowly focused on one aspect of a larger, complex debate?); the type of programme (if factual, was it presented as a documentary, a travelogue, or an entertaining reality programme?); and the nature of the discussion (was it a serious examination of an issue, or was the issue raised in a brief, humorous or peripheral way?). The question for the BSA is how viewers would reasonably have perceived or understood the programme in question, and whether they were likely to have been deceived or misinformed by the omission or treatment of a significant perspective.

Nigel Latta doesnt have a clue

I lost all respect for his thinking ability when he was hoodwinked by some charlatan doing a bit of bog-level cold reading on Sensing Murder.

Why is Mike Hosking disgusting?

I wouldn't say disgusting, formulaic perhaps. He's the fox news of New Zealand, it is extremely easy to predetermine what his viewpoint will be, because his views are based on a set value system, which is not altered by new information, and always backed up by his own confirmation bias.

Bill English is disgusting - Hosking is just a mouthpiece.

Queenstown : "tourism is our largest pie" ; "we are doing everything right from top to bottom"
He's like a Roman Nobel who only sees the good life but ignores the slaves.
"Everything is just fantastic! He's propaganda chief for TVNZ'S corporate clients (non tradeables ).

what a load of tosh there are not eight or nine jetboats doing parasailing, even if you add in the white water ones you still don't get to that number at the waterfront
what he also forgot to mention is when you get served a large percentage don't have a kiwi accent and yes it is expensive but those doing the work are not reaping the rewards.
there are plenty down there making a bundle of money off foreign cheap labour and selling NZ as a great destination .
don't get me wrong I love queenstown and have enjoyed many a visit and learned off the locals how and where to make my money go further.
classic mike wait in line at fergburger have you not heard of a phone and kiwi accent

Informed journalism on the drug testing subject - with a host of links, backing up the commentary with associated sources;