Bernard Hickey
@bernardchickey.bsky.social
Podcaster and newsletter writer about housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa. Free and paid versions here: https://open.substack.com/pub/thekaka?r=akd4&utm_medium=ios
🚀 ROCKET LAB JUST WON A $397M SPACE FORCE CONTRACT. $RKLB will build, launch and operate multiple Flatellites for the SB-AMTI tracking program, with Neutron handling deployment. Rocket Lab is becoming a defense space prime, not just a rocket company.
Free & open for all: Unemployment rate up to 11-year high of 5.6%; Underutilisation rate up to 13-year high of 13.8%; Youth underutilisation up to 37% of workforce; Yet 111,000 work visas were granted & the RBNZ hiked to take 'heat' out of the economy. #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...
Unemployment worse than forecast & real wages fall
Unemployment rate up to 11-year high of 5.6%; Underutilisation rate up to 13-year high of 13.8%; Youth underutilisation up by 21,500 in a year to 37% of youth workforce; Yet 111,000 work visas granted
open.substack.com
Sauce. This was the solution considered. Give me strength.
BusinessDesk@businessdesknz.bsky.social · 23h agoAs schools reported throwing out nearly one in three Compass lunches late last year, the Ministry of Education looked into adding sauce to make the meals more appealing but shelved the idea over cost.
So the RBNZ printed $60b to buy freshly-minted Governnent bonds off banks, then has accepted the cash back from the Government as the bonds have matured and have sold a few still-to-mature bonds back into the market for cash. 1/2
Musical Chairs@musicalchairs.bsky.social · yesterdayNotice that RBNZ have not exactly shrunk their balance sheet in the last few years - they have just gone from holding Govt bonds to holding piles of foreign currency assets (grey). They are using that $33 billion(!) stash to intervene in currency markets every now and then to protect the $NZ. [5/n]
This. Something to ask the PM on bridge run.
2covet @2covet.bsky.social · yesterday#nzpol In light of the -10⁰C predicted for tomorrow, can the Aotearoa NZ Govt press pool ask the PM and his many ministers what is being done for the thousands of homeless around the motū who are now forced to sleep rough, in bushejs, under bridges, or in garages, or in their cars. #MontageTime
That’s a heck of a lot of advanced weaponry to use up while losing a war in record time…. www.reuters.com/world/us-has...
EXCLUSIVE: US has used 'virtually all' of its long-range precision missiles during Iran war, sources say
The U.S. Army has used up much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its five-month war with Iran, according to three people familiar with the data, raising concerns about the...
reuters.com
The Syrian army has declared a state of military alert without announcing the reasons, sources tell Al Arabiya, as pro-Iranian media report on significant military mobilization of Syrian government forces near the Syria-Iraq border.
Wednesday's Early Bird out in full for paying subs. Just the top for free subs: Govt under fire from small & big business; Opportunity at 8%; Labour MPs discuss ruling out NZ First; Removing Auckland's viewshafts estimated to reduce land values by a net $67b. #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...
Wednesday's Early Bird: Govt under fire from small & big businesses; Opportunity hits 8% in Roy Morgan poll
My Picks n' Mixes of today's news, scoops, deep-dives, commentary, front pages, charts & cartoons, including: Removing Auckland's viewshafts estimated to reduce land values by a net $67 billion
open.substack.com
Nicola Willis and Mark Mitchell suggested this morning that firing Winston Peters would bring down the Government. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361...
Nicola Willis suggests firing Winston Peters would bring down Government
National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis says “no-one would thank us for breaking up the coalition” when asked why Winston Peters still in a job.
thepost.co.nz
📢 ANZ follows Westpac with rate rises for fixed home loans, and in most cases, larger rises than Westpac made. ANZ also raises term deposit rates
ANZ pushes through higher interest rates
interest.co.nz
Open and free for all. Enrolment of 18-24 year olds for Nov 7 election collapses to 53% from 70%; Over 200,000 young people not enrolled = more than voted NZ First in 2023; Auckland Council vote turnout under 20% for young. #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...
A generation being disenfranchised in plain sight
Enrolment of 18-24 year olds for Nov 7 election collapses to 53% from 70%; Over 200,000 young people not enrolled = more than voted NZ First in 2023; Auckland Council vote turnout under 20% for young
open.substack.com
The Electoral Commission has told staff to turn away voters who aren't on the printed roll and who say they're unenrolled, but has no plans to count how many people will be affected. newsroom.co.nz/2026/08/03/t...
Tens of thousands could be turned away from voting – but no one is counting them
The Opposition says people who think they're not enrolled should lodge special votes rather than being turned away from voting entirely.
newsroom.co.nz
Early Bird out now for subscribers only and online only: Census overhaul in doubt; Enrolment for 18-24s slumps to 53%; Nearly 1m cancer screening notices not sent; Commercial construction hits 11-year low; The Post-$ writes PM now impotent #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...
Tuesday's Early Bird: Census overhaul in doubt; Enrolment for 18-24s slumps to 53%; Nearly 1m cancer screening notices not sent; Commercial construction hits 11-year low
My Picks n' Mixes of today's news, scoops, deep-dives, commentary, front pages, charts & cartoons, including: The Post-$ writes PM now impotent; NZ First youth wing exec likes Hitler; PM apologises
open.substack.com
A big old scoop: an Ombudsman investigation into a refused OIA request has helped shed light on just how much AI the Ministry of Education is using to create the new school curriculum www.emilywrites.co.nz/the-ministry...
The Ministry of Education is using so much AI it can't tell us how much AI it's using
The Ministry doesn't seem to want the public to know exactly how much AI it's using - or what it's using AI for.
emilywrites.co.nz
Second part: a senior figure in Young New Zealand First has ties to a neo-Nazi group and online accounts that praised Adolf Hitler www.thepress.co.nz/politics/361...
NZ First youth leader linked to neo-Nazi network
A senior figure in New Zealand First’s youth wing has links to neo-Nazi groups and online accounts praising Adolf Hitler, an investigation by The Press has found.
thepress.co.nz
Charlie Mitchell @comingupcharlie.bsky.social · 5d agoPart one of my investigation into a group of young men trying to import “remigration” into New Zealand politics www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3610...
Winston Peters described him as a “member of the public” the party had no responsibility for. He is in fact an executive committee member of Young NZF (at least he was described as such in 2024) and spoke on behalf of the group at the party convention last month.
A senior figure in New Zealand First’s youth wing has links to neo-Nazi groups and online accounts praising Adolf Hitler, an investigation by The Press has found.
NZ First youth leader linked to neo-Nazi network
A senior figure in New Zealand First’s youth wing has links to neo-Nazi groups and online accounts praising Adolf Hitler, an investigation by The Press has found.
dlvr.it
Not sure how much attention this will get, but it’s quite a big deal - Labour has pulled its support for the Govt’s controversial census ‘modernisation’ plans, meaning it no longer has the 75% majority it needs in Parliament: newsroom.co.nz/2026/08/03/g...
Govt’s census overhaul thrown into doubt after Labour pulls support
Opposition parties warn relying on government agency data instead of a full census risks undercounting Māori and minority groups.
newsroom.co.nz
New from me: Until recently, the gap between comfortably-off and just-getting-started could plausibly be crossed in a decade or two of hard work. Growth in asset prices means that’s no longer true: even a lifetime of striving doesn’t offer a realistic prospect of feeling you’ve “made it”.
