Sitemap - 2023 - The Kākā by Bernard Hickey
Dawn Chorus for Friday, December 29
Dawn Chorus for Thursday, December 28
Dawn Chorus for Wednesday, December 27
A yawning gap opens up between climate advice and Government action
Auckland's double-cab utes and yoga pants drive massive ocean micro-pollution
A smoking gun without smoke or a barrel
Top 10 for Wednesday, December 20
What to look for in the ‘mini’ Budget
Resend: Infrastructure & planning pipelines deep-frozen
Top 10 for Monday, December 18
Govt bans cycling & walking projects to help fund tax cuts
The Hoon around the week to Dec 15
We cooled our jets. So where's our rate cut?
Join us for 2023's last weekly Hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Government chooses slower economic growth
Record high net migration now deemed “unsustainable”
Top 10 for Monday, December 11
So much noise and so little signal
The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
The very opposite of social investment
Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
Coalition Government details policies & ministers
The Hoon around the week to Nov 24
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Pressure growing on banks to cut mortgage rates
MBIE ignoring energy poverty report
Talks to form Government drag into sixth week
The Hoon around the week to Nov 18
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
An ugly fight for African forest offsets NZ may have to buy
Ask Me Anything about the week to Nov 17
Vacuums forming without a sworn-in Cabinet
NZ Inc churning and burning faster than ever
Auckland fires up congestion charging debate
Luxon's ‘hustle’ to ‘open up NZ’ losing its 'mojo'
A stronger case for welfare debt relief
The Hoon around the week to Nov 11
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Aotearoa's energy and housing poverty crisis
2023 set to be hottest year in 125,000 years
Can Chris Hipkins credibly campaign for a wealth tax now?
RESEND: The $1m deposit only a landed gentry can afford
The $1m deposit only a landed gentry can afford
Councils refuse to go out. Or up.
The Hoon around the week to Nov 4
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Thursday's Chorus: Less stressed than most
Wednesday's Chorus: An impossible trinity
Tuesday's Chorus: Visas for sale in our churn and burn economy
Monday’s Chorus: Inside Simplicity's 25k home building fund
Friday's Chorus: 'Squashed Bottom' waaaay more stressed than the 'Squeezed Middle'
Thursday's Chorus: Exhausted ED staff warn of safety breaches
Tuesday’s Chorus: S&P's warning to National
The Hoon around the week to Oct 21
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to Oct 20
Friday’s Chorus: 600,000 now use food banks
Wednesday’s Chorus: Higher for longer
Tuesday’s Chorus: The return of the wink?
Monday’s Chorus: The missing 1,060,038 voters
A closer look at Labour's shattering defeat - and the likely importance of Winston Peters
A post-election chorus: winners, losers, what it means and what happens next
The Hoon around the week to Oct 14
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to Oct 13
Friday’s Chorus: TOP says Labour & National not trying in Ilam
Guest column by Peter Bale: The talkback election
The Kākā Project: Our anti-clima(c)tic election
Thursday’s Chorus: Record population growth without enough building or any real debate
Wednesday’s Chorus: Tax cuts for mega-landlords to average $1.3m. Each.
Tuesday’s Chorus: National set for 'freebie' MP
Monday’s Chorus: 'Oops. I opened the door for Winston. Quick. Shut it.'
The Hoon around the week to Oct 7
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Friday’s Chorus: Tax cuts (not) for everyone*
It's always, always about land, land, tax and tax
Wednesday’s Chorus: The problem with big projects
NZ scientists alarmed by Antarctic sea ice slump
Election 2023: Big on marketing, short on vision
Tuesday’s Chorus: When it's ok to borrow to invest
The Kākā Project: The economics of sufficiency
Monday’s Chorus: Richie Poulton's lament
The Hoon around the week to Sept 30
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
Friday's Chorus: Penny wise and pound foolish
Thursday's Chorus: GDP up an extra 33c per person per week
Wednesday’s Chorus: Biggest insurer starts targeted climate retreat
Tuesday’s Chorus: Landlords lick their lips
Monday’s Chorus: National's tax hole widens to $2.44b
My Sunday Pick ’n’ Mix for Sept 17
The Kākā Project: An interview with ACT's David Seymour about housing
The Hoon around the week to Sept 16
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Friday’s Chorus: 'Show us the costings, Nicola!'
National still working on fiscal plan
Thursday’s Chorus: Brace for a 20% price jump
Wednesday’s Chorus: The PREFU's missing debt
Tuesday’s Chorus: Labour set to lose
Monday’s Chorus: Way behind on climate action
Repeat: The Hoon around the week to Sept 9
The Hoon around the week to Sept 9
Join us on the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 8
The Kaka Project for Election 2023: An interview with PM Chris Hipkins
Thursday’s Chorus: More nudges, fudges & kluges
The Kaka Project for Election 2023: Universal dental care
Deep doubt over National's foreign buyer tax
Labour promises some free dental for some people in a couple of years
Resend: What a real climate dividend looks like
What a real climate dividend looks like
The Hoon around the week to Sept 2
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Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 1
Friday's Chorus: Tears appear in National’s Budget plan
Breaking: National's $14.6b tax, cut and tax plan
Wednesday: National's 4 tax cuts & 4 tax hikes
Budget cuts to beat profit-driven inflation
Breaking: Labour slashing $4b in 4 years
Monday: Hipkins goes even more negative
The Kaka’s weekly diary to Sept 3 and beyond
The Hoon around the week to Aug 26
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to Aug 25
Introducing The Kākā Project for Election 2023
Making up our climate response as we go
Monday’s Chorus: National's transport potholes
The Hoon around the week to Aug 19
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to Aug 18
A deliberate population growth strategy
'Welcome to our Churn and Burn economy'
Monday's Chorus: Flattering to deceive
The Hoon around the week to Aug 12
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Consents galore, but where's the power?
How $45b of tunnels could actually cost $65b+
The Hoon around the week to Aug 5
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The 'fiscal black hole' talk actually is a joke
Pro-roads National in pole position to win
Tuesday’s Chorus: Climate debt ignored
Monday’s Chorus: Labour adds to housing buyer demand
The Hoon around the week to July 29
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to July 28
Will The Day After Tomorrow happen sooner than we think?
Friday's Chorus: A wealth tax policy and a possible GST change
Repeat of Wednesday's Chorus: Kainga Ora development torched
Wednesday's Chorus: Kainga Ora development torched
Welcoming Cathrine Dyer to The Kākā
Monday's chorus: Kiri Allan charged; Emissions down, but not enough
The Hoon around the week to July 23
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480 families living in their cars in June, up from 102 in October, 2017
Skilled migrant visas go to 34 aromatherapists, 10 acupuncturists and one herbalist (western)
Performative, gimmicky and distractionary policies
When debt reduction trumps cash for renters
The Kaka’s weekly diary to July 24 and beyond
The Hoon around the week to July 15
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Matariki special interview: Danyl McLauchlan on our captured state
Leaning back for the Matariki long weekend
Dawn Chorus: National's lead over Labour widens
'Put up taxes on the rich to cut inflation'
Aotearoa just quietly bolted its trade with Europe to delivering on emissions reduction
Substacks of the week in the global political economy
Substacks of the week off my beaten track
The Hoon is back: Wagner, NATO+ & housing
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to July 7
Why all the 'mortgage bomb' talk is reckless hyperbole
Dawn Chorus: Human rights breached in housing crises
Dawn Chorus: Migration scams emerge as migration surges
Substacks of the week off my beaten track
Substacks of the week on climate change
Substacks of the week in the global political economy
Substacks of the week on housing and transport
Five things that mattered in the week to July 2
NZ eyes thousands more migrants from central America
Bipartisan reform hopes fading even faster
Dawn Chorus: Govt to announce Unis rescue
Dawn Chorus: Austerity for unis and climate
Substacks of the week off my beaten track
Substacks of the week in the global political economy
Substacks of the week on climate change
Substacks of the week on housing and transport
Dawn Chorus: The climate change cost is arriving now and everyone wants someone else to pay
Dawn Chorus: ‘Shut down youth residences’
Why the banking study was needed and where it should look
Dawn Chorus: Take Pine out of ETS?
Dawn Chorus: Ethnicity a factor in surgery decisions
My weekend reading and listening
Real GDP per hour worked stagnated since 2012
ETS auction fails again as global temperatures soar
Govt & RBNZ adding up to $4.75b in firepower for first home buyers to push up house prices
National's delay-and-hope policy for farm emissions
A Green smorgasbord of wealth taxes
The State of The Kākā nation in 2023
Dawn Chorus: Finally, the rainy day option appears
The holes (still) in National's (not so) new infrastructure policy
Dawn Chorus: Conflicting airport interests
Dawn Chorus: Call to lower voting age renewed
Six things that mattered this week, plus my Sunday reads
The Hoon: On the China Tightrope; Cycleways vs drivers
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to June 2
The climate change bill arrives and the grown-ups don't want to pay
Brighter signs from our pre-election housing-market-with-bits-tacked-on
House prices primed to surge 10-20% if National wins
NIMBYs push to dump MDRS totally and stop greenfields' houses too
Inside National's housing backflip + twists & rolls
Six things that mattered this week, plus my Sunday reads
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to May 26
Dawn Chorus: National/Act edge ahead
Luxon kills the hopes of Townhouse Nation
Recycle the ETS cash++ into emissions cuts here
Why Budget 2023 is more austere than it appears
$140m well spent at $16.20/tonne
Four things that mattered this week, plus my Sunday reads
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to May 19
Dawn Chorus: Interest rate warnings after Budget 2023
Budget 2023: Some rabbits, a few more houses and a higher trust tax rate
What to look for in Budget 2023
Join my chat today on Budget 2023 after 2 pm
The fire fueled by our housing and poverty crises
Dawn Chorus: Migration surge seen adding to inflation and interest rate pressure
Dawn Chorus: Luxon painting himself into an unpopular and power-less corner
Four things that mattered this week, plus my Sunday reads
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to May 12
Repeat: Dawn Chorus: ETS backsliding backfires into Budget
Dawn Chorus: ETS backsliding backfires into Budget
What a bank profits market study should focus on
Dawn Chorus: Health system in crisis
Five things that mattered this week, plus my weekend reads
The hoon: Railmageddons; climate politics, tax and drone strikes
Jump onto the weekly hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to May 5
It’s official: our banks are profitability world-beaters
RBNZ stresses few borrowers stressed
Govt throttles rebate scheme for electric cars
My diary for the week ahead, and beyond
'It's medicine or food. We can't afford both'
My weekend reading, listening & watching
The hoon for the week that was to April 29
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PM goes back to the old favourites: high migration, low investment & reigniting the housing market
Ask Me Anything about the week to April 28
Hipkins rules out capital gains or wealth tax
PM to downplay capital tax hole and instead signal post-flood austerity
Richest families' effective tax rate is 9.5%
'OK. That's enough. Here's the floor.'
Interview: Inside Wellington's local government democratic deficit
Dawn Chorus: What the untaxed wealth looks like
Dawn Chorus: PM flying blind into brain drain
My weekend reading, listening & watching
The hoon for the week that was to April 22
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Ask Me Anything about the week to April 21
Interview: Rod Carr warns Govt is falling behind on climate
Govt defends NZ Steel's 25-year extension
Dawn Chorus: Cars win again in Auckland back-tracks on parking
Finally, real data to know if our tax system is fair
Lobbyists jujitsu climate law for more free credits
Councils' staff go rogue on densification
The hoon for the week that was to April 15
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Ask Me Anything about the week to April 14
Join me on Notes and find a nice surprise
Bad weather delays emissions-cutting plan
Three Waters watered down to 10 Waters
Dawn Chorus: A Three Waters rebrand
Accelerating our churn and burn economy
Dawn Chorus: Climate credits liability up to $24b
Why the RBNZ hiked so much, and what it means
A financial reckoning of a departing PM's legacy
Dawn Chorus: Mortgage arrears up, but still very low
Dawn Chorus: Treasury's Wellbeing approach
The hoon for the week that was to April 1
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Ask Me Anything about the week to March 31
Bridges, tunnels (& CO2) galore for Ford Ranger Man
Dawn Chorus: Govt’s latest climate back-tracks
Dawn Chorus: Councils set to dump Wellington Light Rail
The climate landmine under our economy (a housing market with bits tacked on)
RBNZ paying billions to banks in interest, plus lending $19b cheaply to banks
The hoon for the week that was to March 25
Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to March 24
Is bundling restricting electricity competition?
What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
The hoon for the week that was to March 19
Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
Labour's climate policy bonfire just blew up the ETS
A challenge to Wayne Brown's debt crisis excuse
Wasn't this the rainy day we saved for?
What SVB's collapse says about our world
The hoon for the week that was to March 12
Jump onto the weekly hoon at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to March 10
Dawn Chorus: Finally, Labour is eyeing a market study of banks
Young prefer wealth tax to fuel tax, while the old oppose such taxes
Ford Ranger Man drives over Michael Wood
Dawn Chorus: Let the bidding (and inflation) begin
The hoon for the week that was to March 4
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Ask Me Anything about the week to March 3
Dawn Chorus: Courts, PCE fear RMA v 2.0
Inside Christchurch's passive-aggressive 'sunlight access' clause
Dawn Chorus: Australia's Labor hikes tax on richest 0.5%
Dawn Chorus: Call to forgive welfare debt
Interview: How to look through inflation shocks
National chooses to think just as magically as Labour on water infrastructure, taxes and debt
The hoon for the week that was to Feb 26
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Ask Me Anything about the week to Feb 24
Dawn Chorus: Recovery work visa launched
Govt backed into a corner on Gabrielle spending
Dawn Chorus: Bi-partisan borrowing support
What building back better could look like
Dawn Chorus: Rewriting Budget 2023 for the post-Gabrielle rebuild
Jump onto the weekly hoon at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to Feb 17
Dawn Chorus: Massive flood repair bill looms
A glimmer of bi-partisan hope for climate adaptation investment
National emergency declared for Gabrielle
Will this climate crisis event be wasted too?
Jump onto the weekly hoon at 5pm
The Ask Me Anything about the week to Feb 10
Friday’s pick ‘o the links: Flooding backlash
Hipkins clears the decks and crouches down low
When a $5 fee costs us all $2.65 billion
Tuesday's Dawn Chorus: The escape valve
My weekend reading and listening
Jump onto the weekly hoon at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to Feb 3
The stagnant debates in our hermit kingdom of a political economy
Pick o’ the links: Brown vs Fish; Brown vs everyone
Dawn Chorus: Classic middle class welfare to win 'Ford Ranger Man'
Dusk Chorus: ‘Bread and butter’ chosen over cutting emissions
Isn't this the rainy day we're supposed to be saving up for?
Dusk Chorus: Mahuta and Little demoted
Tuesday's pick o' the links: Wayne Brown's WTF moment
Dawn Chorus: Why 2023 will be a year of indecision & delay
Dusk Chorus: Auckland schools closed til Feb 7
Monday's pick 'o the links: How to make Auckland 'spongier'
Dawn Chorus: 'Atmospheric River' swamps Auckland, its Mayor and our climate debate
Ask Me Anything about the week to Jan 27
Hipkins eyes cheap & fast growth lever
Inflation's Wile-E-Coyote moment?
Wednesday's pick 'o the links: NIMBY North Shore
Dawn Chorus: A backward looking lagging indicator
Tuesday’s Dawn Chorus: Tighter? Or looser?
Monday’s Dawn Chorus: ‘Chippy’ starts work
The new 'bread and butter' PM from the Hutt
It’s going to be PM Chris Hipkins
Jump on the first ‘hoon’ webinar for 2023 at 5pm
Ask Me Anything about the week to Jan 20
Shocked caucus to decide on next PM
The meaning and tragedy of Jacinda Ardern's time as PM
On hold for a change of Government
Business 'jets' cooled, but consumer spending still warm...for now