When Arnold Schwarzenegger became the governor of a bankrupt California. This widely popular actor, but conservative politician was expected to choose one of two options, either raise taxes or cut services.
Schwarzenegger caught everyone by surprise by going for a surprise third option. Borrowing heavily to keep the State running.
The same tactic is being followed by the widely populist John Key like Swartzeneger Key refuses to tax the wealthy, and like swartzeneger he has got into power on his populist image, which he doesn’t want to dent.
But sooner or later the Nats will have to make the hard decision to reverse this cop out.
At present John Key is borrowing $300 million a week from overseas rather than make the hard decision between taxing the rich or cutting services, and he will keep doing this until National gets their second term. Then they will feel they have the mandate to make the choice either way, on how to address this deficit.
So we re introduce the 39% tax bracket. Now if there are opportunities left open (just like Lab did last time) for the targeted wealthy to redivert their earnings to some other vehicle to miminise tax then we do not achieve the desired results. But that aside the result would be instead of borrowing $300m/mth we borrow $290-295m. That also does not take into consideration GST on F&V and the $5k tax free income. Does not change the issue that with all this debt something will have to give, be it reduced govt services, asset sales (But this does not solve the problem) or further tax changes. Under the current financial philosphy we operate under only options as you mentioned cut or increase revenue. Less stressful is to increase NZ ltd GDP. But as we have seen under Lab this in optium times is difficult, especially as this growth was not based on continual substainable growth.
Something dramatic has to occur.
There was a table produced by income bands and no of earners within the band sometime ago on this site. Also looked in Treasuy/Dept Stats and IRD could not locate.
Joky Hen was so keen to get on our screens and tell New Zealand that the world is now a safer place because of the assassination. Seems today’s online poll in the Herald suggests that a massive 77 percent don’t believe him (and that is on 14,000 respondents).
Yeah, this man really has a handle on international affairs. Wonder when his next around-the-barbecue-discussion is scheduled so he can formulate more foreign policy expertise.
Maybe he didn’t hear the news correctly and thought his “advisory paper” was referring to Brash’s disposal of Hide. Yeah that’s it.
He flip-flopped on that particular piece of wisdom within 24 hours, Logie97.
What I noticed was that we kept getting the flip-flopped version repeated to us by the media and no-one was willing to pick up on the fact that he had contradicted himself. There was a moment there that I experienced a degree of doubt as to whether I’d picked up his screamingly ludicrous initial ‘assessment’ correctly.
A public-private hybrid will oversee rebuilding Christchurch’s quake-battered infrastructure, spending an estimated $2 billion and employing up to 2000 workers.
Yesterday, government ministers, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker and other officials gathered to sign an “alliance” agreement with five private contractors charged with rebuilding the city’s infrastructure.
Profit rules, yeah we are all safe, in the market we trust. (which translates to saying we are totally fekked).
Just wondering if the North Shore might come under a state of emergency, the law suspended and the whole rebuild of tornado damage given to Bechtel Corp or similar?
To be fair, Carol, a certain government that shall remain nameless decided in their infinte wisdom to kill the old Ministry of Works, and wipe out the engineering and construction expertise that had been built up since 1870. The following decade, local bodies euthanised their public works departments as well.
The reality is, that we have no option but to go cap in hand to the private sector for the aforementioned expertise as we decided that we didnt need them any more, and now it is too late to get them back without paying *a lot* of money.
and now it is too late to get them back without paying *a lot* of money.
Come now it’s not that difficult, just requires a bit of imagination. Here is one scenario out of a million:
1) Government starts up a highly independent works business unit under the auspices of an existing SOE. Hires new staff, gives it new budget, brings in experienced managers from around the public and private sector. Might even pull back a few specialist Kiwis from Australia *gasp*.
2) Announce that there is $2B of work to be done in Christchurch. Any private sector firm which wants a piece of it needs to enter into joint venture with the SOE’s new works business unit, and agree to share knowledge, technology, methods, etc.
3) Do the work in Christchurch. Massive work, essentially building a new city from the foundations up. Over the next 5 years rapidly build up the capabilities and staffing of this “Works Business Unit” and its Christchurch rebuilding joint venture.
4) Finish building Christchurch, collapse the massive experience, expertise hardware etc from the joint venture back into the SOE business unit, the private sector elements can go on their merry way, then spin the business unit off into a standalone publicly owned Works, Environmental and Advanced Developments SOE.
Voilà a fully reformed Government infrastructure arm based on money that you mostly would have had to spend any way to rebuild Christchurch.
…a certain government that shall remain nameless decided in their infinte wisdom to kill the old Ministry of Works…
Corporatised in 1988 by Douglas and Prebble.
Assets sold in 1996 under a National government.
The government still owns the Works and Development Services Corporation, which is the shell company that owned the construction arm and the design and management arm of the Ministry of Works.
R corporation Ltd (Works and Development Services Corp) was struck off in 2005, after 4 years in liquidation – I presume that it was wound up after historical ‘loose ends’ were tied up.
A classy, diplomatic way for the Brits to get out of the constitutional nightmare of Key’s invitation to visit in an election year (bet William doesn’t go to the Falklands, but)
A Royal visit to New Zealand is on the cards for the couple whose wedding stopped the world, but fans of the newlyweds will have to wait until next year for their arrival.
Prince William looks unlikely to make it to this year’s Rugby World Cup, as was previously tipped, because Buckingham Palace says he will be posted to the Falkland Islands for two months.
What’s the update on the privacy case against darling Paula Bennett?
The last that I heard many moons ago, the Director of Human Rights Proceedings was supposed to make a call on that?
The comment from one that implied that Obama didn’t want to take out bin Laden because he was a “brother” Muslim. Wonder if there is any truth in the coup report? A bit dodgy?
Even if Obama secretly felt that he was a “brother Muslim” and therefore shouldn’t be killed, there’s no way he’d ever ever say that to anyone else, either in public or private, simply because of the amount of shit it would stir up should it become known (he’d come up with some other reason). Obama isn’t an idiot.
Therefore, it’s just a crank story by the birthers who are wildly trying to latch on to their next conspiracy theory.
I reckon they’re so fearful and/or outraged that a black man from a single parent family was actually elected to high office and they so much want to believe that it’s all a bad dream, ‘a black man as our president’, noooo…., anything goes and the nuttier the better.
If Obama has managed to retain a moral compass, despite the nature of his job, he may well have argued in favour of capturing Osama and bringing him before the courts. However, this too seems unlikely. As Fisk puts it, “But a court would have worried more people than Bin Laden. After all, he might have talked about his contacts with the CIA during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, or about his cosy meetings in Islamabad with Prince Turki, Saudi Arabia’s head of intelligence. Just as Saddam – who was tried for the murder of a mere 153 people rather than thousands of gassed Kurds – was hanged before he had the chance to tell us about the gas components that came from America, his friendship with Donald Rumsfeld, the US military assistance he received when he invaded Iran in 1980.”
Still no word from Mana as to whether they stand for a separate Maori Parliament, or setting up separate Maori states for the likes of Tuhoe. For me personally this is unacceptable. These lands should never have more than one state, and in realistic terms, it should be unacceptable for NZ to have a neighbouring state on it’s border.
I think we should also make our National Day October 28, as it was on this day that New Zealand’s independence was declared in 1835 (He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tirene).
Where do you get the “separate Maori Parliament” or “separate Maori states for the likes of Tuhoe,” from Samuel? Nothing like what the Mana Party stands for. Not very helpful old chap.
Hone Harawira is the leader of the party is he not? I have already posted links up here in the last couple of day’s where he has been quoted in the past making these kind of statements. Now if you want me to post it again I will, but I will ask you this question. If we are to forget what Harawira has said in the past, should we give Don Brash the same lee-way as to what he said in the past whilst leader of the National Party?
I don’t think so.
I really hope you guys who are supporting Mana wake up and smell the coffee.
For fuck’s sake, if you makes factual claims it is entirely up to you to provide teh evidence, not anyone else’s, especially given the search function on this site is pretty good.
And I quote this from a conversation I had with ‘Te Mana’ on Facebook. Its on their wall for everyone to see.
“Constitutional transformation consistent with Te Tiriti guarantees and he whakaputanga”
“Specific issues of institutional reform of parliamentary system is part of larger debate”
“We have asked Moana Jackson and group lead by him to develop a paper to be discussed at inaugural conference after hone confirms his mandate to lead MANA after by election”
So? Mana makes me sick. I have no doubt their rallies will include people waving Tino Rangatiratanga flags. As a New Zealander I find their Maori populist rhetoric only causes more racism and scepticism. Wake up.
Translation: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, teh Maori’s are gettn upitty! Waaaaaaaaaaa*.
Because pointing out the Crown still has obligations to fulfil under Te Treati O Waitangi = racism. Instead of say a factual statement, driven by long term socio-economic issues stemming from colonialism and Crown reluctance to honour their legal Treati obligations.
Shit, you’d think that people might be able to realise that it’s quite possible to move beyond semi-racist mainstream NZ nationalism that tells Maori to effectively ignore their Treati rights to a mind set that sees Maori nationalism as just a movement within NZ that seeks to deal with historical wounds that despite myths otherwise, are still yet to fully heal.
___________________________________________________________
*Nothing like my fellow Pakeha’s whinging over someone pointing out their privileges involve shitting on others.
We should ignore the treaty, it is a load of fucking shit. They had a war for 20 years after that.
And then there are those who say they didn’t sign the treaty.
I know my privileges involved not only shitting on others, but raping and killing them. But what privileges do I have that Maori don’t? My ancestors came here in the 1880s, what privileges do I have that Maori don’t? My great-great grandfather put in railroads and then cut down forest to have his own farm. 110 years later I was being raised by a solo mother subject to the whims of Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson’s welfare cuts.
You tell me what privileges I have that Maori don’t?
We should ignore the treaty, it is a load of fucking shit. They had a war for 20 years after that.
Except of course the major conflicts with in that time frame where pretty much all to do with treaty violations and the Crown seizing land illegally, as documented under later Waitangi Tribunals. Along with the usual ethnic tensions that come from colonisation and white dudes thinking they have a god-given right to teh land.
@Samuel: “You tell me what privileges I have that Maori don’t?”
You tell me what privileges Maori have that I don’t Samuel?
I have asked before but it seems to be taken for granted that they do have plenty. (One chap told me that Maori are accepted into Medical School over the heads of those with higher quals and could qualify as Doctors with lower rquals.. But it turns out that the Selection process has flexibility in choosing students who show promise but have had fewer opportunities. eg Pakeha girl from Rangitata District High. But once in they all have to pass the grade.
So you tell me what privileges Maori have that I don’t Samuel?
I don’t know. I don’t think they have any. Maybe if they are like some of my friends they get cash injections from tribes such as Tainui to go to University. But thats the tribes money, I have no problem with that.
This isn’t an issue over what Maori have that I don’t, this is about Maori saying that they don’t have the same rights as Pakeha.
Maori have privileges to the beaches for free, fresh country ear, oodles of prime beachside property, first dibs on any resource consent application, cushy contracts with the local councils which mean you can’t really do anything without the blessing of kaumatua when it comes to anything political, more weight when it comes to protesting against the rape and pillage of our seabed, a deeper connection with the earth, a great collective culture, wonderful stories, a beautiful unique language (when it’s not being shouted and mangled).
If you want to go on about so called “special treatment” we’ve all got our own sectors. Everyone is accepted to university on their own merits. People that selectors know will eventually end up supporting the family financially, the last thing they need to hinder them in supporting anyone other than just themselves, is a crippling loan.
It’s a two way street.That being said, we have had an increasing talent in making things as complex as possible for ourselves. It doesn’t have to be.
I am calm you douchebag, and you have no right to police my state of mind, especially when you should be more focused on arguing your points more effectively.
From a 2005 article in the Northern Advocate;
/sigh
Aside from the fact they’re drawing off the Maori version of Te Treati O Waitangi, which iirc did allow for Maori self-governance, which is the legal basis for the make do Maori Seats in Parliament if memory serves me right. So Hone was, and still is fully reasonable to be after a separate Maori Parliament, which would probably work alongside the one in Wellington given Te Treati, that is unless it proves constitutionally unworkable. However, that’s a future goal, rather than a current one. And besides that, NZ is overdue for a much more in depth discussion of the role of Te Treati in terms of shaping NZ’s constitution, instead of sorting out land seizures in the hope questions of Maori sovereignty slide beneath the surface.
Besides, that is only one aspect of Mana’s platform, and a myopic focus on it seems a mite trite and somewhat narrow focused, on top of appearing rather ignorant about the Crown’s obligations under Te Treati O Waitangi. Then again, there’s nothing like uppity minorities to get teh middle and lower classes all worked up and making twits out of themselves. Per all the “fun” over beach access…
Lastly, given what the Crown has done to Tuhoe, they’re fully within their moral rights to withdraw and create a separate microstate. However they what they’ve made clear is that they don’t really want that, and rather what they want is greater rights and responsibilities to do with Te Urewera National Park and former lands not inside there returned to them. Hardly asking for all that much, and well within their rights under Te Treati.
Oh the crown is so bad. How did these Maori tribes get there land in the first place? Oh thats right, they fought, killed, and ate people. British colonisation is just a natural progression of humanity. There was no such thing as ‘Maori’ until the tribes realised that those muskets they had received in exchange for land weren’t as valuable as they first hoped.
Maori Parliament? Are you crazy.
They should be worrying about getting a sustainable economy where skills and education for out youth are our priority, increasing our ability for innovation and research which will create new jobs.
But I’m sure they had it all sussed before the white man arrived.
Sorry, what did you say? Because all I can see is a bunch of racist bullshit that denies the well documented past douchebaggery by the Crown over Te Treati that could be summarised in one line of*;
WHAAAAAA, TeH Maori’s are gettin uppity!
Instead of say a reasoned counter argument that outlines why the Crown perhaps doesn’t have to deal with the issue of Maori Sovereignty via creating a new House of Parliament on the basis of Land ownership and “self determination”. For example. Which I just thought up. In less time that it took you type the above tripe.
As for this:
But I’m sure they had it all sussed before the white man arrived.
Te Treati O Waitangi mo-fo, do you know what it is? Because if the Crown had kept it’s end of the Treati, much of the present socio economic problems might not have been such of an issue for Maori as the Tribes adapted rapidly in peace time to providing a large volume to trade to European settlements.
Would there still be poverty? Of course, because current economic systems presently guarantee it, but with ownership maintained over their lands and resources, Maori would obviously be in a much better situation than today. Not that I’m idealising here, because of issues of slavery in tribes and tribal warfare have feed into some of the current issues.
Umm. You seem to be ignoring the fact I have mentioned that THERE WAS A WAR FOLLOWING THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY.
Which you didn’t think about the reasons for, let alone deal with the historical context and legal and constitutional rulings since then. So perhaps you could try thinking?
lawl, I do love it when people make statements utterly divorced from reality, but just for fun, would kindly outline your reasons and facts supporting your claim? Because at present I don’t quite get how Maori nationalism is going to be a trigger for a civil war without having to ignore quite a few bits of the present reality of the state of NZ…
No, I’m saying. What are you gonna do about it? Are Maoris gonna start taking their land back if we don’t give it back? Let them try. Come back to reality where the British Empire could do what they want.
Are Maoris gonna start taking their land back if we don’t give it back? Let them try.(1) Come back to reality where the British Empire could do what they want.(2)
(1) And if they try, then what? Fine them? Imprison them? Shoot them? Not really helpful to any one; I guess you are taking the standpoint that no Maori in NZ has any legitimate grievances or claims to NZ land.
(2) You understand the the British empire lost its grip on many territories because the “natives” decided that they had enough of colonial injustices and that the British were not welcome or needed any more?
I wonder, is what you are saying descriptive of core NZ First policy around Maori and around the Treaty?
What would you do to me if I tried to take some land back from you that my Great-grandfather was forced to hand over to another farmer for some reason?
Get over it. I don’t own any land. Should I go back to Britain and Holland and spout my historical grievances?
If I sign a treaty with you, and then you break the deal… Why should I abide by the agreement?
What would you do to me if I tried to take some land back from you that my Great-grandfather was forced to hand over to another farmer for some reason?
Ummmm…it would depend how you tried to take the land back. If you turned up with mates and baseball bats that’s clearly a police matter. However if you were following a process in the courts, thats another issue.
In NZ, providing a process is one reason that the Waitangi Tribunal was set up.
And to answer your question – if one side of a treaty or agreement breaks that treaty or agreement, there is still legal due process to follow. That’s another reason that the Waitangi Tribunal was set up. Acting out wildly just because the other party has broken the agreement is very likely to cause your own legal position to degrade.
Many contracts state that the breaking of one clause of a contract does not make null and void the rest of the clauses of the contract.
It seems to me like you just want to screw due process and go straight to guns. But that’s not what we do very much in civil society today, although your great grandfather might have done that in the late 1800’s.
You could go back to Britain and Holland and spout historical grievances. Of course, unless there was a process and mechanism all set up ready to receive you, you are not likely to get very far.
In NZ we have those processes and mechanisms already well established.
Thank you Colonial Viper for engaging with me without getting emotional.
What I want for this country is to move forward together. Now if people are coming out speaking in favour of separatism, then I am not interested. If we are going to continue along the path of legally getting land back to Maori, thats fine.
But when will it end?
Do you not see the frustration of people who simply want to get NZ moving forward. What is happening in this country today is going to see not only Maori land sold to foreign corporates, but the land of ALL New Zealanders.
I see October 28 1835 as the day New Zealanders should recognise as the starting date of this country. Not February 6 1840.
It’s not “softer” as it changes the focus away from users to the suppliers, thus leading to lower wastage on court costs etc, potentially providing more resources to be put towards going after black market suppliers and actually making much greater gains against Class A (and B) drug suppliers. However, given the police’s attitudes towards arming them, instead of making sure there’s two cops in every police car, it comes as not much of a surprise they can’t get their heads around such a simple idea.
Though personally the reform suggestions should also extend to medical usage of cannabis for long term pain and terminal illness suffers as synthetic cannabinoids for strong pain relief are still in the human testing stage. While some have been cleared for human use, they’re more targeted towards anti-emetics and controlling spasticity and though they do reduce pain they are not yet as effective as the rather addictive opiates or plain old cannabis. Thus I find it ethically a colossal douchebag move to deny those with serious pain a potent and rather less addictive means of controlling pain that opiate pain killers on the basis of cannabis being a “drug”, especially in contrast when considering harm levels to already legal non prescription drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco.
As for Family First’s claim cannabis is a “gateway drug” a quick perusal of wikipedia shows that they have no fucking idea what they’re talking about as per usual, as the role of cannabis in leading to harder drugs is not clear cut. Of course it’s Family First, who couldn’t science to save their patriarchy loving, child thrashing lives.
John Key put on a terrible show in parliament yesterday.
Fumbling his words, talking too fast, tripping himself up and admitting to things he didn’t mean to, whining voice getting ever higher and more shrill.
In short he was scared. Totally defensive. His only attempt to give some back fell flat.
His leadership has been called into question by having Brash calling the shots in his cabinet. He looked weak. He felt weak.
Yeah I got e-mailed about that yesterday. They were on Mac/Safari. Looks like something broke and it isn’t obvious. I’ll be trying to look at it again tonight.
You can e-mail me at lprent [at] primary.geek.nz as well
While they both scored some hits and had some strong points there were weaknesses and duds as well.
Brash has to lean not to slouch and back away, Harawira looked skyward with seeming disinterest.
I didn’t learn much new from the “debate”, except that Harawira talks with passion about Maori issues but talks in slogans when he switches to the activism of convenience, helping the poor and the workers (and I have no idea how he will help them).
Brash seemed to tack on the ETS as an afterthought, maybe he didn’t have the time or opportunity but it is something he didn’t try and explain at all.
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The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
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‘
Hone Harawira and Hone Heke.
John Key and Arnold Schwarzenegger
When Arnold Schwarzenegger became the governor of a bankrupt California. This widely popular actor, but conservative politician was expected to choose one of two options, either raise taxes or cut services.
Schwarzenegger caught everyone by surprise by going for a surprise third option. Borrowing heavily to keep the State running.
The same tactic is being followed by the widely populist John Key like Swartzeneger Key refuses to tax the wealthy, and like swartzeneger he has got into power on his populist image, which he doesn’t want to dent.
But sooner or later the Nats will have to make the hard decision to reverse this cop out.
At present John Key is borrowing $300 million a week from overseas rather than make the hard decision between taxing the rich or cutting services, and he will keep doing this until National gets their second term. Then they will feel they have the mandate to make the choice either way, on how to address this deficit.
The Harawira Hone Heke Tax
The Key Arnold Schwarzenegger borrowing plan
But at least these two leaders have a plan.
So we re introduce the 39% tax bracket. Now if there are opportunities left open (just like Lab did last time) for the targeted wealthy to redivert their earnings to some other vehicle to miminise tax then we do not achieve the desired results. But that aside the result would be instead of borrowing $300m/mth we borrow $290-295m. That also does not take into consideration GST on F&V and the $5k tax free income. Does not change the issue that with all this debt something will have to give, be it reduced govt services, asset sales (But this does not solve the problem) or further tax changes. Under the current financial philosphy we operate under only options as you mentioned cut or increase revenue. Less stressful is to increase NZ ltd GDP. But as we have seen under Lab this in optium times is difficult, especially as this growth was not based on continual substainable growth.
Something dramatic has to occur.
There was a table produced by income bands and no of earners within the band sometime ago on this site. Also looked in Treasuy/Dept Stats and IRD could not locate.
Joky Hen was so keen to get on our screens and tell New Zealand that the world is now a safer place because of the assassination. Seems today’s online poll in the Herald suggests that a massive 77 percent don’t believe him (and that is on 14,000 respondents).
Yeah, this man really has a handle on international affairs. Wonder when his next around-the-barbecue-discussion is scheduled so he can formulate more foreign policy expertise.
Maybe he didn’t hear the news correctly and thought his “advisory paper” was referring to Brash’s disposal of Hide. Yeah that’s it.
He flip-flopped on that particular piece of wisdom within 24 hours, Logie97.
What I noticed was that we kept getting the flip-flopped version repeated to us by the media and no-one was willing to pick up on the fact that he had contradicted himself. There was a moment there that I experienced a degree of doubt as to whether I’d picked up his screamingly ludicrous initial ‘assessment’ correctly.
Joky Hen! luv it logue, inspires Honky Je (sus?)
Thin end of the wedge?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/4957994/Public-private-deal-struck-to-repair-services
Profit rules, yeah we are all safe, in the market we trust. (which translates to saying we are totally fekked).
Just wondering if the North Shore might come under a state of emergency, the law suspended and the whole rebuild of tornado damage given to Bechtel Corp or similar?
To be fair, Carol, a certain government that shall remain nameless decided in their infinte wisdom to kill the old Ministry of Works, and wipe out the engineering and construction expertise that had been built up since 1870. The following decade, local bodies euthanised their public works departments as well.
The reality is, that we have no option but to go cap in hand to the private sector for the aforementioned expertise as we decided that we didnt need them any more, and now it is too late to get them back without paying *a lot* of money.
Come now it’s not that difficult, just requires a bit of imagination. Here is one scenario out of a million:
1) Government starts up a highly independent works business unit under the auspices of an existing SOE. Hires new staff, gives it new budget, brings in experienced managers from around the public and private sector. Might even pull back a few specialist Kiwis from Australia *gasp*.
2) Announce that there is $2B of work to be done in Christchurch. Any private sector firm which wants a piece of it needs to enter into joint venture with the SOE’s new works business unit, and agree to share knowledge, technology, methods, etc.
3) Do the work in Christchurch. Massive work, essentially building a new city from the foundations up. Over the next 5 years rapidly build up the capabilities and staffing of this “Works Business Unit” and its Christchurch rebuilding joint venture.
4) Finish building Christchurch, collapse the massive experience, expertise hardware etc from the joint venture back into the SOE business unit, the private sector elements can go on their merry way, then spin the business unit off into a standalone publicly owned Works, Environmental and Advanced Developments SOE.
Voilà a fully reformed Government infrastructure arm based on money that you mostly would have had to spend any way to rebuild Christchurch.
Only takes 5 years and $3B-$4B.
A complete bargain at that price.
…a certain government that shall remain nameless decided in their infinte wisdom to kill the old Ministry of Works…
Corporatised in 1988 by Douglas and Prebble.
Assets sold in 1996 under a National government.
The government still owns the Works and Development Services Corporation, which is the shell company that owned the construction arm and the design and management arm of the Ministry of Works.
R corporation Ltd (Works and Development Services Corp) was struck off in 2005, after 4 years in liquidation – I presume that it was wound up after historical ‘loose ends’ were tied up.
OK – not enough googling on my part.
Not google, old chap – Coys.co.nz
Information on all registered and unregistered companies in NZ, and their shareholders.
Yeah, I know, you’ll find me in there if you look hard enough.
A classy, diplomatic way for the Brits to get out of the constitutional nightmare of Key’s invitation to visit in an election year (bet William doesn’t go to the Falklands, but)
How long is it going to take the police to make decisions in the Darren Hughes investigation.
Dunno, with any luck they will arrest Goff for aiding and abetting by dint of bad management practices.
Hell, I said I would sleep through this Goff business, apologies, back to soporific viewing of paint drying.
What’s the update on the privacy case against darling Paula Bennett?
The last that I heard many moons ago, the Director of Human Rights Proceedings was supposed to make a call on that?
RWNJobbery of the day. A coup made him do it.
The comment from one that implied that Obama didn’t want to take out bin Laden because he was a “brother” Muslim. Wonder if there is any truth in the coup report? A bit dodgy?
Even if Obama secretly felt that he was a “brother Muslim” and therefore shouldn’t be killed, there’s no way he’d ever ever say that to anyone else, either in public or private, simply because of the amount of shit it would stir up should it become known (he’d come up with some other reason). Obama isn’t an idiot.
Therefore, it’s just a crank story by the birthers who are wildly trying to latch on to their next conspiracy theory.
I reckon they’re so fearful and/or outraged that a black man from a single parent family was actually elected to high office and they so much want to believe that it’s all a bad dream, ‘a black man as our president’, noooo…., anything goes and the nuttier the better.
It’s on atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com so it must be true!
I’m off to the KB sewer to see if Fletch has posted:
“Whitehouse Coup”,
….see, I was right, the military always knew he was a secret mooslem
If Obama has managed to retain a moral compass, despite the nature of his job, he may well have argued in favour of capturing Osama and bringing him before the courts. However, this too seems unlikely. As Fisk puts it, “But a court would have worried more people than Bin Laden. After all, he might have talked about his contacts with the CIA during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, or about his cosy meetings in Islamabad with Prince Turki, Saudi Arabia’s head of intelligence. Just as Saddam – who was tried for the murder of a mere 153 people rather than thousands of gassed Kurds – was hanged before he had the chance to tell us about the gas components that came from America, his friendship with Donald Rumsfeld, the US military assistance he received when he invaded Iran in 1980.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-was-he-betrayed-of-course-pakistan-knew-bin-ladens-hiding-place-all
Still no word from Mana as to whether they stand for a separate Maori Parliament, or setting up separate Maori states for the likes of Tuhoe. For me personally this is unacceptable. These lands should never have more than one state, and in realistic terms, it should be unacceptable for NZ to have a neighbouring state on it’s border.
I think we should also make our National Day October 28, as it was on this day that New Zealand’s independence was declared in 1835 (He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tirene).
Where do you get the “separate Maori Parliament” or “separate Maori states for the likes of Tuhoe,” from Samuel? Nothing like what the Mana Party stands for. Not very helpful old chap.
Hone Harawira is the leader of the party is he not? I have already posted links up here in the last couple of day’s where he has been quoted in the past making these kind of statements. Now if you want me to post it again I will, but I will ask you this question. If we are to forget what Harawira has said in the past, should we give Don Brash the same lee-way as to what he said in the past whilst leader of the National Party?
I don’t think so.
I really hope you guys who are supporting Mana wake up and smell the coffee.
Sorry mate what Hone said before does not make it Mana policy today, nor did it make it Maori Party policy when he was with them.
Could easily take the same tack with Winston where he said a lot of shit before but that does not mean that it is NZ First policy for this election.
I still think you are being disingenuous with this tack.
For fuck’s sake, if you makes factual claims it is entirely up to you to provide teh evidence, not anyone else’s, especially given the search function on this site is pretty good.
Alright calm down NickS.
Tino Rangatiratanga insists on Maori governance.
From a 2005 article in the Northern Advocate;
“Meanwhile, Mr Harawira has already broken ranks, saying during Saturday’s victory speech he wanted to reinstate a separate Maori Parliament.”
http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/from-maori-radical-to-key-player-in-parliament/3653236/
Watch this, Harawira says that a separate government has been the “dream of our tipuna for a long time”
http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=WIftCtWNSEM
And I quote this from a conversation I had with ‘Te Mana’ on Facebook. Its on their wall for everyone to see.
“Constitutional transformation consistent with Te Tiriti guarantees and he whakaputanga”
“Specific issues of institutional reform of parliamentary system is part of larger debate”
“We have asked Moana Jackson and group lead by him to develop a paper to be discussed at inaugural conference after hone confirms his mandate to lead MANA after by election”
So? Mana makes me sick. I have no doubt their rallies will include people waving Tino Rangatiratanga flags. As a New Zealander I find their Maori populist rhetoric only causes more racism and scepticism. Wake up.
Translation: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, teh Maori’s are gettn upitty! Waaaaaaaaaaa*.
Because pointing out the Crown still has obligations to fulfil under Te Treati O Waitangi = racism. Instead of say a factual statement, driven by long term socio-economic issues stemming from colonialism and Crown reluctance to honour their legal Treati obligations.
Shit, you’d think that people might be able to realise that it’s quite possible to move beyond semi-racist mainstream NZ nationalism that tells Maori to effectively ignore their Treati rights to a mind set that sees Maori nationalism as just a movement within NZ that seeks to deal with historical wounds that despite myths otherwise, are still yet to fully heal.
___________________________________________________________
*Nothing like my fellow Pakeha’s whinging over someone pointing out their privileges involve shitting on others.
We should ignore the treaty, it is a load of fucking shit. They had a war for 20 years after that.
And then there are those who say they didn’t sign the treaty.
I know my privileges involved not only shitting on others, but raping and killing them. But what privileges do I have that Maori don’t? My ancestors came here in the 1880s, what privileges do I have that Maori don’t? My great-great grandfather put in railroads and then cut down forest to have his own farm. 110 years later I was being raised by a solo mother subject to the whims of Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson’s welfare cuts.
You tell me what privileges I have that Maori don’t?
Ye Eldar Things, The Stupid, It Burns.
So much so, I think I’m going to get off my well padded arse and get some thankfully non-stupid infested air…
As for white dude privileges, I’ve given more than a few blunt hints so make use of your brain and work it out.
Except of course the major conflicts with in that time frame where pretty much all to do with treaty violations and the Crown seizing land illegally, as documented under later Waitangi Tribunals. Along with the usual ethnic tensions that come from colonisation and white dudes thinking they have a god-given right to teh land.
@Samuel: “You tell me what privileges I have that Maori don’t?”
You tell me what privileges Maori have that I don’t Samuel?
I have asked before but it seems to be taken for granted that they do have plenty. (One chap told me that Maori are accepted into Medical School over the heads of those with higher quals and could qualify as Doctors with lower rquals.. But it turns out that the Selection process has flexibility in choosing students who show promise but have had fewer opportunities. eg Pakeha girl from Rangitata District High. But once in they all have to pass the grade.
So you tell me what privileges Maori have that I don’t Samuel?
I don’t know. I don’t think they have any. Maybe if they are like some of my friends they get cash injections from tribes such as Tainui to go to University. But thats the tribes money, I have no problem with that.
This isn’t an issue over what Maori have that I don’t, this is about Maori saying that they don’t have the same rights as Pakeha.
Maori have privileges to the beaches for free, fresh country ear, oodles of prime beachside property, first dibs on any resource consent application, cushy contracts with the local councils which mean you can’t really do anything without the blessing of kaumatua when it comes to anything political, more weight when it comes to protesting against the rape and pillage of our seabed, a deeper connection with the earth, a great collective culture, wonderful stories, a beautiful unique language (when it’s not being shouted and mangled).
If you want to go on about so called “special treatment” we’ve all got our own sectors. Everyone is accepted to university on their own merits. People that selectors know will eventually end up supporting the family financially, the last thing they need to hinder them in supporting anyone other than just themselves, is a crippling loan.
It’s a two way street.That being said, we have had an increasing talent in making things as complex as possible for ourselves. It doesn’t have to be.
I am calm you douchebag, and you have no right to police my state of mind, especially when you should be more focused on arguing your points more effectively.
/sigh
Aside from the fact they’re drawing off the Maori version of Te Treati O Waitangi, which iirc did allow for Maori self-governance, which is the legal basis for the make do Maori Seats in Parliament if memory serves me right. So Hone was, and still is fully reasonable to be after a separate Maori Parliament, which would probably work alongside the one in Wellington given Te Treati, that is unless it proves constitutionally unworkable. However, that’s a future goal, rather than a current one. And besides that, NZ is overdue for a much more in depth discussion of the role of Te Treati in terms of shaping NZ’s constitution, instead of sorting out land seizures in the hope questions of Maori sovereignty slide beneath the surface.
Besides, that is only one aspect of Mana’s platform, and a myopic focus on it seems a mite trite and somewhat narrow focused, on top of appearing rather ignorant about the Crown’s obligations under Te Treati O Waitangi. Then again, there’s nothing like uppity minorities to get teh middle and lower classes all worked up and making twits out of themselves. Per all the “fun” over beach access…
Lastly, given what the Crown has done to Tuhoe, they’re fully within their moral rights to withdraw and create a separate microstate. However they what they’ve made clear is that they don’t really want that, and rather what they want is greater rights and responsibilities to do with Te Urewera National Park and former lands not inside there returned to them. Hardly asking for all that much, and well within their rights under Te Treati.
Don’t be so pathetic.
Oh the crown is so bad. How did these Maori tribes get there land in the first place? Oh thats right, they fought, killed, and ate people. British colonisation is just a natural progression of humanity. There was no such thing as ‘Maori’ until the tribes realised that those muskets they had received in exchange for land weren’t as valuable as they first hoped.
Maori Parliament? Are you crazy.
They should be worrying about getting a sustainable economy where skills and education for out youth are our priority, increasing our ability for innovation and research which will create new jobs.
But I’m sure they had it all sussed before the white man arrived.
Sorry, what did you say? Because all I can see is a bunch of racist bullshit that denies the well documented past douchebaggery by the Crown over Te Treati that could be summarised in one line of*;
Instead of say a reasoned counter argument that outlines why the Crown perhaps doesn’t have to deal with the issue of Maori Sovereignty via creating a new House of Parliament on the basis of Land ownership and “self determination”. For example. Which I just thought up. In less time that it took you type the above tripe.
As for this:
Te Treati O Waitangi mo-fo, do you know what it is? Because if the Crown had kept it’s end of the Treati, much of the present socio economic problems might not have been such of an issue for Maori as the Tribes adapted rapidly in peace time to providing a large volume to trade to European settlements.
Would there still be poverty? Of course, because current economic systems presently guarantee it, but with ownership maintained over their lands and resources, Maori would obviously be in a much better situation than today. Not that I’m idealising here, because of issues of slavery in tribes and tribal warfare have feed into some of the current issues.
____________
* please note this is satire,
Umm. You seem to be ignoring the fact I have mentioned that THERE WAS A WAR FOLLOWING THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY.
Do you want another one?
It takes time to think and type you fool.
Which you didn’t think about the reasons for, let alone deal with the historical context and legal and constitutional rulings since then. So perhaps you could try thinking?
LOL WUT?
lawl, I do love it when people make statements utterly divorced from reality, but just for fun, would kindly outline your reasons and facts supporting your claim? Because at present I don’t quite get how Maori nationalism is going to be a trigger for a civil war without having to ignore quite a few bits of the present reality of the state of NZ…
No, I’m saying. What are you gonna do about it? Are Maoris gonna start taking their land back if we don’t give it back? Let them try. Come back to reality where the British Empire could do what they want.
(1) And if they try, then what? Fine them? Imprison them? Shoot them? Not really helpful to any one; I guess you are taking the standpoint that no Maori in NZ has any legitimate grievances or claims to NZ land.
(2) You understand the the British empire lost its grip on many territories because the “natives” decided that they had enough of colonial injustices and that the British were not welcome or needed any more?
I wonder, is what you are saying descriptive of core NZ First policy around Maori and around the Treaty?
No this is my personal view.
Fine them? Imprison them? Shoot them?
What would you do to me if I tried to take some land back from you that my Great-grandfather was forced to hand over to another farmer for some reason?
Get over it. I don’t own any land. Should I go back to Britain and Holland and spout my historical grievances?
If I sign a treaty with you, and then you break the deal… Why should I abide by the agreement?
Ummmm…it would depend how you tried to take the land back. If you turned up with mates and baseball bats that’s clearly a police matter. However if you were following a process in the courts, thats another issue.
In NZ, providing a process is one reason that the Waitangi Tribunal was set up.
And to answer your question – if one side of a treaty or agreement breaks that treaty or agreement, there is still legal due process to follow. That’s another reason that the Waitangi Tribunal was set up. Acting out wildly just because the other party has broken the agreement is very likely to cause your own legal position to degrade.
Many contracts state that the breaking of one clause of a contract does not make null and void the rest of the clauses of the contract.
It seems to me like you just want to screw due process and go straight to guns. But that’s not what we do very much in civil society today, although your great grandfather might have done that in the late 1800’s.
You could go back to Britain and Holland and spout historical grievances. Of course, unless there was a process and mechanism all set up ready to receive you, you are not likely to get very far.
In NZ we have those processes and mechanisms already well established.
Thank you Colonial Viper for engaging with me without getting emotional.
What I want for this country is to move forward together. Now if people are coming out speaking in favour of separatism, then I am not interested. If we are going to continue along the path of legally getting land back to Maori, thats fine.
But when will it end?
Do you not see the frustration of people who simply want to get NZ moving forward. What is happening in this country today is going to see not only Maori land sold to foreign corporates, but the land of ALL New Zealanders.
I see October 28 1835 as the day New Zealanders should recognise as the starting date of this country. Not February 6 1840.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/police-against-softer-drugs-approach-4153968
It’s not “softer” as it changes the focus away from users to the suppliers, thus leading to lower wastage on court costs etc, potentially providing more resources to be put towards going after black market suppliers and actually making much greater gains against Class A (and B) drug suppliers. However, given the police’s attitudes towards arming them, instead of making sure there’s two cops in every police car, it comes as not much of a surprise they can’t get their heads around such a simple idea.
Though personally the reform suggestions should also extend to medical usage of cannabis for long term pain and terminal illness suffers as synthetic cannabinoids for strong pain relief are still in the human testing stage. While some have been cleared for human use, they’re more targeted towards anti-emetics and controlling spasticity and though they do reduce pain they are not yet as effective as the rather addictive opiates or plain old cannabis. Thus I find it ethically a colossal douchebag move to deny those with serious pain a potent and rather less addictive means of controlling pain that opiate pain killers on the basis of cannabis being a “drug”, especially in contrast when considering harm levels to already legal non prescription drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco.
As for Family First’s claim cannabis is a “gateway drug” a quick perusal of wikipedia shows that they have no fucking idea what they’re talking about as per usual, as the role of cannabis in leading to harder drugs is not clear cut. Of course it’s Family First, who couldn’t science to save their patriarchy loving, child thrashing lives.
‘The Stroppery’ all stropped out already! Short lived fiesty women blog is no more.
🙁
Bugger.
Yeah I went there too late and missed out on a clean fight with a fiesty sheila meself. Mind you, don’t have to look too far for more ha ha.
John Key put on a terrible show in parliament yesterday.
Fumbling his words, talking too fast, tripping himself up and admitting to things he didn’t mean to, whining voice getting ever higher and more shrill.
In short he was scared. Totally defensive. His only attempt to give some back fell flat.
His leadership has been called into question by having Brash calling the shots in his cabinet. He looked weak. He felt weak.
Smell his fear.
…And yet he keep on smiling for the media about it like nothings wrong.
I think I need a better nerf gun for shooting politician’s images on the TV. However, The Witcher 2 is out this month…
‘Smell his fear’
felix, where can I get this perfume?
Links on Parliament TV up yet?
Wonder what English is thinking?
The rise of Brash – has been engineered by forces in National without Key’s consent???
That would be an interesting development. The struggle within National continues.
‘Wonder what English is thinking?’
Good point CV – was wondering that myself. Bill must be wondering if he’d be safer in Fukushima at the moment.
Can’t decide who’s going to best the other in the ultimate hollow-out.
Look out Key, remember what happened to Rodders when he courted the serpent.
Shonkey going weak at the knees … at the thought that head office might be making up their mind that the time is nigh to move him on.
And it is now reconfirmed. Brash is a climate change denier.
God help New Zealand if he gets his hands on the levers of power.
I wanted to contact you Lynn but send button is stubbornly blocking me.
Yeah I got e-mailed about that yesterday. They were on Mac/Safari. Looks like something broke and it isn’t obvious. I’ll be trying to look at it again tonight.
You can e-mail me at lprent [at] primary.geek.nz as well
John Cole at Balloon Juice is correct insofar that this is pure win:
http://theopeninghours.com.au/2011/05/02/cause-and-effect/
Well I never thought it would happen but compared to the Don and Hone on Closeup, Phil and John are looking quite statesman like.
Fucking politicians in this country what a pack of chimps.
While they both scored some hits and had some strong points there were weaknesses and duds as well.
Brash has to lean not to slouch and back away, Harawira looked skyward with seeming disinterest.
I didn’t learn much new from the “debate”, except that Harawira talks with passion about Maori issues but talks in slogans when he switches to the activism of convenience, helping the poor and the workers (and I have no idea how he will help them).
Brash seemed to tack on the ETS as an afterthought, maybe he didn’t have the time or opportunity but it is something he didn’t try and explain at all.
Brash saying he ‘believes in the Treaty’ and property rights.
Crazy old coot was going nationalise the F&S just because a court said iwi might own some of it.
And that was thing that made him get his precious 39.1 percent of the vote that he’s so proud of.
Shit doesn’t add up.
his precious 39.1 percent
He keeps repeating that as if he earned every one single handed, it’s wearing thinner than a Warehouse négligée.
This has my nomination for The Standard commentator’s metaphor of the month!!!!
“négligée” with all the cute french accents too, what a treat! 😀
Agreed. I’ve never seen one. But knowing what some of their other products are like…
PeteG
Your bon mots gem is much appreciated by this word-addled Celt.
Finance Hub worth $B to NZ
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10723244
What a joke, this takes prostituting ourselves to the financial markets to John Key’s level.
But I guess Ireland has done real well out of it.