Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern receives giant Valentine card
Thursday, 14 February 2019, 3:03 pm
Press Release: SAFE For Animals
Three of Jacinda Ardern’s constituents and SAFE delivered a giant Valentine’s card to the Prime Minister’s Mt Albert electorate office this morning. Inside were hundreds of messages and signatures from caring Kiwis, all calling for Ms Ardern to have a heart for mother pigs this Valentine’s Day.
In New Zealand, thousands of mother pigs are confined in metal cages called farrowing crates for up to five weeks, from just before they give birth until their babies are weaned. This is repeated two to three times a year.
SAFE Head of Campaigns Marianne Macdonald says these Valentine’s messages reflect how strongly New Zealanders feel about this important animal welfare issue.
“A mother pig trapped in a farrowing crate is stripped of her ability to care for her piglets. At her most vulnerable time of motherhood, she desperately wants to protect and nurture her babies. Instead, she is trapped behind bars. She can’t build a nest for her piglets or even turn around,” says Ms Macdonald.
“This is no way to treat a mother. A mother pig wants to love her piglets and keep them safe. It’s only right that we show pigs love in return and free them from cruel farrowing crates.”
“Hundreds of Kiwis have signed this card asking Jacinda to show compassion for mother pigs and end their suffering in farrowing crates.”
Last year SAFE delivered a petition containing 122,844 signatures to Parliament demanding a ban on farrowing crates, which the Primary Production Select Committee has since taken submissions on. Ms Ardern has remained silent on the subject since being elected.
Yesterday SAFE and the New Zealand Animal Law Association announced they had filed legal proceedings against the Government for their failure to ban farrowing crates.
“The Prime Minister stated when she was sworn in that she wants to transcend politics and bring kindness back to Government. It’s time that kindness was extended to mother pigs,” says Ms Macdonald.
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) welcomes the The Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report “Are You Well? Are We Safe?” released today, which provides an overview of how New Zealand is doing for the wellbeing of its citizens. The report has a particular focus on children, including comments on child poverty, care and protection as well as educational achievement.
The latest report shows incremental policy changes over the past few years have done little toward providing the substantial improvements which current and future generations of children need, to have equitable opportunities and to sustain good outcomes. In particular there are still large gaps for Māori children who are disproportionately represented across multiple statistics, including youth offending, education, and those in state care, compared to non-Māori.
CPAG Co-Convenor Janfrie Wakim says, “It seems clear that there have been no real successes in ameliorating the social inequities and associated health issues that are experienced by families and whānau, and it is critical that a more radical approach is needed to address reform of welfare and justice systems as well as education in Aotearoa.
“Changes need to be robust enough to have longevity, or they risk fragility and failure.”
CPAG says it is vastly concerning to see there been little in the way of change over the past four years in the nature and extent of adult violence toward children, while the number of children in state care has reached the highest ever recorded.
The increased number of children in care is only partially explained by the extension of the age of care from 17 to 18 years.
“It’s critical that we hear from Oranga Tamariki why there should be such an increase,” says Wakim.
“Is it due to changing operational priorities or increased levels of neglect and abuse of children, and are there sufficient resources within the service providers to meet the need?”
The Salvation Army report highlights consistently wide gaps between Maori and non-Maori in terms of social outcomes, a concern highlighted by the United Nations in the recent Universal Periodic Review of how New Zealand is performing on human rights issues. The UN draft outcomes report included a recommendation that New Zealand should “continue to work to enhance the rights of Māori and other indigenous minority groups in New Zealand, and provide increased rehabilitative support for Māori prisoners”.
CPAG says that as a Nation, Aotearoa should be working hard to close these gaps completely over the next 10 years.
New minimum wage legislation, the Winter Energy Payment and the Families Package have been helpful to many who have low incomes, and the report notes a slight reduction in income inequality. However, the picture is uneven, as the reduced food bank demand outcome reported is for the Salvation Army alone while other charities, such as the Auckland City Mission, report figures that show demand increasing.
“While things may have improved for those on low incomes in paid work, little has changed for people who have need of a benefit, or for their children,” says Wakim.
“The Government has placed a commendable focus on the interests of low-income working families, through recent increases to the Working for Families maximum payment threshold and the minimum wage. But many of our very worst-off children – those in families whose income is primarily from benefits, remain in severe hardship.”
CPAG believes a meaningful reduction in child poverty rates is not attainable unless the harmful inadequacy of benefit levels is addressed, and the application of harmful sanctions is abolished.
“Budget 2019 should prioritise at least a 20 per cent increase in all core benefits, and a removal of the paid work criteria from the portion of Working for Families that children supported by benefits are currently denied,” says Wakim.
Take some time and broaden your horizons.
At least the T.D.B is available to give us the facts we don’t get with our MSM.
I know it is hard reading these reports and where i can i will provide a link so you are better informed.
Great picture of Key and the sausage, pity there wasn’t a shot of his face at that time………oh, hang on will try turning the screen upside down…..crikey he’s legless!!
Gosh he eats a sausage like any ordinary person. I feel he has lost some of his charisma now I’ve seen that. It’s like he has taken his mask off – the one with the pleasant. smiling face that makes you feel warm and trusting.
/sarc
I guess a promo for a short film about the perils of populism might upset some very fine people.
Fox News has rejected a national advertising buy for a 30-second spot that warns viewers about the potential dangers of American fascism after an ad sales representative said network leadership deemed it inappropriate, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The spot was to double as a promotion of this year’s Oscar-nominated documentary short A Night at the Garden, which recounts a 1939 Nazi rally in New York City, and a warning — “It Can Happen Here” — to Sean Hannity’s largely conservative viewers about the potential dangers of President Donald Trump’s brand of populism.
[…]
“The film shines a light on a time when thousands of Americans fell under the spell of a demagogue who attacked the press and scapegoated minorities using the symbols of American patriotism,” Night at the Garden director Marshall Curry said in a statement to THR.Very fine people” might get upset about airing an anti-Nazi movie.
Jeez these guys have a real shit disaster over there with this. Kia kaha.
In northern Queensland, record rain has created an instant “mega river” so immense it can be clearly seen on satellite imagery.
In parts, the Flinders River is now so swollen with floodwater it’s expanded to a width of 60 kilometres from bank to sodden bank, news.com.au reports.
Marty Mars
I think that something could be done in NZ quite soon to promote that Mulloon Institute idea Marty. Are you interested in picking up the ball and thinking if something can happen as a result of all the talking and chewing over things that we have been doing? Okay if you can’t – just asking. Can you say yay or nay in the next day.
I am pretty organised (in the Key sense) but if I wait till everything is perfect it will always be tomorrow to do something. Then I will work out how to exchange phone numbers emails etc so we stay private.
I have wanted to contact WtB through the standard admin but getting nowhere and have thought up a way, but then I thought of you also. Maybe we could be a loose collection of distance neurons focussing on various possibilities? Could give it a try.
Okay thanks for reply. I am thinking of something for around Motueka – do you want to hear about it, and offer suggestions if I get something worked out myself?
The Opposition attack line is that China/NZ relationships are in trouble.
Audrey Young:”Foreign Minister Winston Peters has rejected claims by National that New Zealand exporters are experiencing delays at Chinese ports.
Peters challenged deputy National leader Paula Bennett to show some evidence after she made the suggestion in Parliament but none was forthcoming.
“There are no delays on our ports or Chinese ports at this point in time,” Peters said. “In fact if you look at the growth in exports, the growth in inter-country travel, the growth in expenditure between China and New Zealand, it’s all gone up in the last year dramatically.”
“Peters said suggestions that Chinese authorities had turned back an Air New Zealand plane at the weekend were wrong and there had been no communication with China before the decision was taken.
Air New Zealand itself took the decision to return the plane to Auckland when it realised mid-flight it did not have proper permission to land the plane, rather than risk being turned back from Shanghai.”
“Some of those who bought land that was formerly Crown leases include Peter Thiel, Graham Hart, and Sir John Key. Some of the most expensive properties advertised for sale in New Zealand are on former pastoral leases.”
A very very sad obituary for the the death of that most hated of National Party creations; tenure review.
Instead of ensuring sustainable farming could continue for the public benefit, the Crown allowed the value of that land to be appropriated by a select few, at the taxpayer’s considerable expense. Land that was owned by no-one, then owned by everyone, is now owned by the lucky few who can afford it. Some parts of the landscape have been all but destroyed.
The creation of five conservation parks is significant, and public access to the high country has undoubtedly improved. Despite its flaws, the tenure review at Alphaburn allowed for the creation of the overwhelmingly popular Roys Peak trail overlooking Lake Wanaka.
They are dwarfed, however, by what has been lost. The repercussions of this wave of privatisation, which the public paid for, are ongoing, and will continue long after tenure review is finally dead.
National government changed the rules barely 6 months after gaining power back in 2009 ….instead of concentrating on GFC… to allow 43 lakeside properties that had been banned from tenure review to go ahead.
Funny that , these were the same properties where huge financial windfalls for the new ‘owners’ occurred.
From the beginning I thought the ballot idea was gross. There’s no place for random chance when housing young working families. And now it looks like the ballot system is being shelved in many if not most developments. I’d say this is less to do with outright non-interest as Jenna Lynch suggests and more to do with the fact that the people who are interested in these houses (and there are lots of them) are unable to go to the bank in these restrictive times for approval.
So what happens when you remove the ballot? They get sold direct to whoever is eligible and can access the money – quite a small pool of people as I have always said, and that is now clearly apparent. I had a massive rant about this a couple of months back. You’ve basically got to have a household income of between about $120K and $160K. Anything outside those parameters and you can’t get in. People on those incomes probably have the time to pick and choose what is currently being offered at this very early stage so they’re in no hurry.
So they get sold direct and this is where the equally gross incentives such as $5000 cash back for white-ware start popping up. This is how the private sector markets and sells things. It’s how they roll. Totally looks like a bribe, as Lynch says, and when it’s pegged to a government scene it looks doubly gross.
This government should have looked, and should be looking, at ways to get that $80K – $120K band into these houses. By that I mean shared equity schemes which Twyford has mildly hinted at after being prompted by the media and the various trusts who do that already. But he is not driving those ideas in any way shape or form which is a real shame.
Next step for the government is to admit the issues with the discrepancy between people who can afford them and how much they cost (you can’t really bring the cost down and keep the quality). Apologise and admit you’re not going to get the numbers originally stated in the conditions, then shave some of the original budget to throw at actually building some fucking communities by helping working people get into homes.
They are going to have to attempt to regain the narrative somehow, and soon. It’s running away from them big time.
“But he is not driving those ideas in any way shape or form which is a real shame.”
A possible explanation is to avoid attack on ideas that are not yet workable proposals. Kiwibuild is an all out challenge to the way the property and construction sectors work and will be attacked vigorously by those sectors, which they are. To the government’s credit they have bent over backwards to involve the existing industry, and some industry players are getting heavily involved.
To regain the narrative these naysayers should be asked what their solution would be. Collins is all criticism of KB, but no alternative proposals. OK, it’s putting the narrative into her court but she won’t have anything that will do anything but further increase housing costs, which is the gnat objective
To get the 80-120K lot, but really 60K, into home ownership an option that’s worked before is to capitalise an existing benefit. It was done in 70’s with the Family Benefit, a qualifying young family could convert their future benefit payments into a cash deposit on a qualifying new house. Worked well then and could work now with WFF. It’d just move the current WFF subsidy from employers to the property sector which should have greater economic benefit from actually producing something rather than increasing individual employer profits.
He understands why the cull was necessary, but is blunt when it comes to his assessment of the process: “Shambles.”
“[It’s been] pretty chaotic really, and really lacking on the human front,” he said. “Their shortcomings on human welfare and farmer welfare is just abysmal.
Farmer welfare – they have done themselves in, they needed no help; the behaviour of some of their own has been ‘abysmal’ and that is from – politicians off farms who haven’t learned how to be decent people apparently, and people who own farms and haven’t learned how to do the job as decent people. There are many who do farm and live the life themselves trying to be good and responsible, and are suffering because of the lack of respect that their fellows show for all around.
And as for the rest of us, what do the farmers in prominent positions and leadership roles care about us. I think they have a herd mentality to everyone outside of their elite stud.
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The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...
A $1.8b funding boost for Pharmac still won’t enable it to buy more drugs, raising questions about the Government’s approach to the agency The post Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern receives giant Valentine card
Thursday, 14 February 2019, 3:03 pm
Press Release: SAFE For Animals
Three of Jacinda Ardern’s constituents and SAFE delivered a giant Valentine’s card to the Prime Minister’s Mt Albert electorate office this morning. Inside were hundreds of messages and signatures from caring Kiwis, all calling for Ms Ardern to have a heart for mother pigs this Valentine’s Day.
In New Zealand, thousands of mother pigs are confined in metal cages called farrowing crates for up to five weeks, from just before they give birth until their babies are weaned. This is repeated two to three times a year.
SAFE Head of Campaigns Marianne Macdonald says these Valentine’s messages reflect how strongly New Zealanders feel about this important animal welfare issue.
“A mother pig trapped in a farrowing crate is stripped of her ability to care for her piglets. At her most vulnerable time of motherhood, she desperately wants to protect and nurture her babies. Instead, she is trapped behind bars. She can’t build a nest for her piglets or even turn around,” says Ms Macdonald.
“This is no way to treat a mother. A mother pig wants to love her piglets and keep them safe. It’s only right that we show pigs love in return and free them from cruel farrowing crates.”
“Hundreds of Kiwis have signed this card asking Jacinda to show compassion for mother pigs and end their suffering in farrowing crates.”
Last year SAFE delivered a petition containing 122,844 signatures to Parliament demanding a ban on farrowing crates, which the Primary Production Select Committee has since taken submissions on. Ms Ardern has remained silent on the subject since being elected.
Yesterday SAFE and the New Zealand Animal Law Association announced they had filed legal proceedings against the Government for their failure to ban farrowing crates.
“The Prime Minister stated when she was sworn in that she wants to transcend politics and bring kindness back to Government. It’s time that kindness was extended to mother pigs,” says Ms Macdonald.
Source Scoop news.
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) welcomes the The Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report “Are You Well? Are We Safe?” released today, which provides an overview of how New Zealand is doing for the wellbeing of its citizens. The report has a particular focus on children, including comments on child poverty, care and protection as well as educational achievement.
The latest report shows incremental policy changes over the past few years have done little toward providing the substantial improvements which current and future generations of children need, to have equitable opportunities and to sustain good outcomes. In particular there are still large gaps for Māori children who are disproportionately represented across multiple statistics, including youth offending, education, and those in state care, compared to non-Māori.
CPAG Co-Convenor Janfrie Wakim says, “It seems clear that there have been no real successes in ameliorating the social inequities and associated health issues that are experienced by families and whānau, and it is critical that a more radical approach is needed to address reform of welfare and justice systems as well as education in Aotearoa.
“Changes need to be robust enough to have longevity, or they risk fragility and failure.”
CPAG says it is vastly concerning to see there been little in the way of change over the past four years in the nature and extent of adult violence toward children, while the number of children in state care has reached the highest ever recorded.
The increased number of children in care is only partially explained by the extension of the age of care from 17 to 18 years.
“It’s critical that we hear from Oranga Tamariki why there should be such an increase,” says Wakim.
“Is it due to changing operational priorities or increased levels of neglect and abuse of children, and are there sufficient resources within the service providers to meet the need?”
The Salvation Army report highlights consistently wide gaps between Maori and non-Maori in terms of social outcomes, a concern highlighted by the United Nations in the recent Universal Periodic Review of how New Zealand is performing on human rights issues. The UN draft outcomes report included a recommendation that New Zealand should “continue to work to enhance the rights of Māori and other indigenous minority groups in New Zealand, and provide increased rehabilitative support for Māori prisoners”.
CPAG says that as a Nation, Aotearoa should be working hard to close these gaps completely over the next 10 years.
New minimum wage legislation, the Winter Energy Payment and the Families Package have been helpful to many who have low incomes, and the report notes a slight reduction in income inequality. However, the picture is uneven, as the reduced food bank demand outcome reported is for the Salvation Army alone while other charities, such as the Auckland City Mission, report figures that show demand increasing.
“While things may have improved for those on low incomes in paid work, little has changed for people who have need of a benefit, or for their children,” says Wakim.
“The Government has placed a commendable focus on the interests of low-income working families, through recent increases to the Working for Families maximum payment threshold and the minimum wage. But many of our very worst-off children – those in families whose income is primarily from benefits, remain in severe hardship.”
CPAG believes a meaningful reduction in child poverty rates is not attainable unless the harmful inadequacy of benefit levels is addressed, and the application of harmful sanctions is abolished.
“Budget 2019 should prioritise at least a 20 per cent increase in all core benefits, and a removal of the paid work criteria from the portion of Working for Families that children supported by benefits are currently denied,” says Wakim.
Posted on T.D.B
if it was posted there – why not trying using a link like a normal person.
Take some time and broaden your horizons.
At least the T.D.B is available to give us the facts we don’t get with our MSM.
I know it is hard reading these reports and where i can i will provide a link so you are better informed.
show us the sausage Simon! your glorious ex leader Mr Key certainly knew what to do with a good sausage…
issues of the day; Nats threatening to sabotage the Representation Committee on Electorate Boundaries quoting the dodgy census…
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2019/02/national_calls_for_existing_boundaries_to_remain_for_next_years_election.html
and Tenure Review aka “the great land grab” is being scrapped…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/110557002/the-multimillion-dollar-public-land-sales-scheme-tenure-review-will-be-stopped
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/105162657/the-case-for-an-inquiry-into-tenure-review
now if those resorts, gated developments and golf courses could just be vested with HNZ as stock…
Great picture of Key and the sausage, pity there wasn’t a shot of his face at that time………oh, hang on will try turning the screen upside down…..crikey he’s legless!!
Gosh he eats a sausage like any ordinary person. I feel he has lost some of his charisma now I’ve seen that. It’s like he has taken his mask off – the one with the pleasant. smiling face that makes you feel warm and trusting.
/sarc
Fucked if I know why the king derp still gets space her at all .# key who
Key Derangement Syndrome alive and well on the left
Totally – but then how can someone who looks so stupid have been such a vicious panderer to wealth? D’ya want a foreign trust with ya snarler?
That explains it then, anyone that takes a sausage like that would definitely be exhibiting some form of derangement.
Valentines day, some administrator at TS still has a little crush…..
I wonder what SHG stands for? Intriguing.
I guess a promo for a short film about the perils of populism might upset some very fine people.
Fox News has rejected a national advertising buy for a 30-second spot that warns viewers about the potential dangers of American fascism after an ad sales representative said network leadership deemed it inappropriate, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The spot was to double as a promotion of this year’s Oscar-nominated documentary short A Night at the Garden, which recounts a 1939 Nazi rally in New York City, and a warning — “It Can Happen Here” — to Sean Hannity’s largely conservative viewers about the potential dangers of President Donald Trump’s brand of populism.
[…]
“The film shines a light on a time when thousands of Americans fell under the spell of a demagogue who attacked the press and scapegoated minorities using the symbols of American patriotism,” Night at the Garden director Marshall Curry said in a statement to THR.Very fine people” might get upset about airing an anti-Nazi movie.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-rejects-national-ad-oscar-nominated-anti-nazi-documentary-1186379
edit:
Thanks for sharing this joe.
Jeez these guys have a real shit disaster over there with this. Kia kaha.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12203900
I put some links up about the flood and looked at what the Mulloon Institute might do about it over on Open Mike 25.
Can’t give you the comment link – it just goes to the post link.
But the No. will help.
Thanks I missed that.
A case of great minds think alike!
Marty Mars
I think that something could be done in NZ quite soon to promote that Mulloon Institute idea Marty. Are you interested in picking up the ball and thinking if something can happen as a result of all the talking and chewing over things that we have been doing? Okay if you can’t – just asking. Can you say yay or nay in the next day.
I am pretty organised (in the Key sense) but if I wait till everything is perfect it will always be tomorrow to do something. Then I will work out how to exchange phone numbers emails etc so we stay private.
I have wanted to contact WtB through the standard admin but getting nowhere and have thought up a way, but then I thought of you also. Maybe we could be a loose collection of distance neurons focussing on various possibilities? Could give it a try.
Thanks but I feel over committed already and I really can’t take on more. I wish you success.
Okay thanks for reply. I am thinking of something for around Motueka – do you want to hear about it, and offer suggestions if I get something worked out myself?
Nice.
https://twitter.com/metrolinaszabi/status/1094728274608119808
https://spacestationguys.com/iss-extremely-good-lunar-transit/
The Opposition attack line is that China/NZ relationships are in trouble.
Audrey Young:”Foreign Minister Winston Peters has rejected claims by National that New Zealand exporters are experiencing delays at Chinese ports.
Peters challenged deputy National leader Paula Bennett to show some evidence after she made the suggestion in Parliament but none was forthcoming.
“There are no delays on our ports or Chinese ports at this point in time,” Peters said. “In fact if you look at the growth in exports, the growth in inter-country travel, the growth in expenditure between China and New Zealand, it’s all gone up in the last year dramatically.”
“Peters said suggestions that Chinese authorities had turned back an Air New Zealand plane at the weekend were wrong and there had been no communication with China before the decision was taken.
Air New Zealand itself took the decision to return the plane to Auckland when it realised mid-flight it did not have proper permission to land the plane, rather than risk being turned back from Shanghai.”
What is sad is that MSM have bee accepting the Opposition lies in spite of no supporting evidence.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12204005
Why is no-one making more noise about this.
What a dodgy prime minister.
Glad he’s no longer in charge.
“Some of those who bought land that was formerly Crown leases include Peter Thiel, Graham Hart, and Sir John Key. Some of the most expensive properties advertised for sale in New Zealand are on former pastoral leases.”
From
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/110557002/the-multimillion-dollar-public-land-sales-scheme-tenure-review-will-be-stopped
I’ve made a couple of comments on this sad story today and several over the last months.
Charlie Mitchell is I think New Zealand’s most important journalist right now.
John f’ing Key profitted from buying and then selling cheap Government sell-off, high country land!!?
WTF – do we know the details of this?
A very very sad obituary for the the death of that most hated of National Party creations; tenure review.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/110587602/the-slow-sorry-end-of-tenure-review
At least this government has had the guts to shoot this cancerous monster in the head. Too late but at least it’s done.
National government changed the rules barely 6 months after gaining power back in 2009 ….instead of concentrating on GFC… to allow 43 lakeside properties that had been banned from tenure review to go ahead.
Funny that , these were the same properties where huge financial windfalls for the new ‘owners’ occurred.
heh
https://twitter.com/David_Cormack/status/1095803936445886464
edit: oh the replies
https://twitter.com/dpfdpf/status/1095802372985565184
teachers have been offered pay rises …just not to make up for the deals they didnt get when national was in power
Fascinating to see the developments in Kiwibuild.
From the beginning I thought the ballot idea was gross. There’s no place for random chance when housing young working families. And now it looks like the ballot system is being shelved in many if not most developments. I’d say this is less to do with outright non-interest as Jenna Lynch suggests and more to do with the fact that the people who are interested in these houses (and there are lots of them) are unable to go to the bank in these restrictive times for approval.
So what happens when you remove the ballot? They get sold direct to whoever is eligible and can access the money – quite a small pool of people as I have always said, and that is now clearly apparent. I had a massive rant about this a couple of months back. You’ve basically got to have a household income of between about $120K and $160K. Anything outside those parameters and you can’t get in. People on those incomes probably have the time to pick and choose what is currently being offered at this very early stage so they’re in no hurry.
So they get sold direct and this is where the equally gross incentives such as $5000 cash back for white-ware start popping up. This is how the private sector markets and sells things. It’s how they roll. Totally looks like a bribe, as Lynch says, and when it’s pegged to a government scene it looks doubly gross.
This government should have looked, and should be looking, at ways to get that $80K – $120K band into these houses. By that I mean shared equity schemes which Twyford has mildly hinted at after being prompted by the media and the various trusts who do that already. But he is not driving those ideas in any way shape or form which is a real shame.
Next step for the government is to admit the issues with the discrepancy between people who can afford them and how much they cost (you can’t really bring the cost down and keep the quality). Apologise and admit you’re not going to get the numbers originally stated in the conditions, then shave some of the original budget to throw at actually building some fucking communities by helping working people get into homes.
They are going to have to attempt to regain the narrative somehow, and soon. It’s running away from them big time.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/02/revealed-no-one-entered-kiwibuild-ballot-for-waikato-development.html
“But he is not driving those ideas in any way shape or form which is a real shame.”
A possible explanation is to avoid attack on ideas that are not yet workable proposals. Kiwibuild is an all out challenge to the way the property and construction sectors work and will be attacked vigorously by those sectors, which they are. To the government’s credit they have bent over backwards to involve the existing industry, and some industry players are getting heavily involved.
To regain the narrative these naysayers should be asked what their solution would be. Collins is all criticism of KB, but no alternative proposals. OK, it’s putting the narrative into her court but she won’t have anything that will do anything but further increase housing costs, which is the gnat objective
To get the 80-120K lot, but really 60K, into home ownership an option that’s worked before is to capitalise an existing benefit. It was done in 70’s with the Family Benefit, a qualifying young family could convert their future benefit payments into a cash deposit on a qualifying new house. Worked well then and could work now with WFF. It’d just move the current WFF subsidy from employers to the property sector which should have greater economic benefit from actually producing something rather than increasing individual employer profits.
A farmer doesn’t like MPI and the eradication concept? Big deal! Shouldn’t have tried to dodge the tracking system.
I bet they liked the previous MPI under Nathan Guy when dodging the tacking system was met with absolutely zero penalties.
So a few businesses are going to fold. Welcome to the real world. A world with fewer dairy herds. That’s a win for New Zealand.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/rural/2019/02/just-abysmal-farmers-furious-at-mpi-s-shambles-response-to-m-bovis.html
He understands why the cull was necessary, but is blunt when it comes to his assessment of the process: “Shambles.”
“[It’s been] pretty chaotic really, and really lacking on the human front,” he said. “Their shortcomings on human welfare and farmer welfare is just abysmal.
Farmer welfare – they have done themselves in, they needed no help; the behaviour of some of their own has been ‘abysmal’ and that is from – politicians off farms who haven’t learned how to be decent people apparently, and people who own farms and haven’t learned how to do the job as decent people. There are many who do farm and live the life themselves trying to be good and responsible, and are suffering because of the lack of respect that their fellows show for all around.
And as for the rest of us, what do the farmers in prominent positions and leadership roles care about us. I think they have a herd mentality to everyone outside of their elite stud.