Whats the bet the GST increase will be passed AND implemented in the budget. Ie within a few days.
Has to be in the budget to get the Coalition of the willing to vote for it
While all the other offsets , well they would just ‘promises’ which hes very relaxed about.
Cant see the tax cuts coming in till election year budget to take effect say September so you only get 6 months worth in that year
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
Times change guys, the NZ that Key was talking about when he made this statement is not the NZ he inherited, he (Key) certainly had no idea how bad the books were due to Dr Cullens incompetence.
I keep saying it, this is not the way to go about eating into Key’s popularity, you guys are still using the same tactics that did not work at the last election, the more you make small minded attacks on the man the more he will be supported by the public.
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
There is no ban on smacking, never has been, and it is probable that here never could be.
You just have to be able to justify your actions, if charged, to a court. You cannot use a rather stupid defence that used to exist. I realise that you probably think that this is a gross infringement on your ‘right’ to beat children. But that is just tough shit.
Incidentally there is no ban on assaulting people, murdering people, waving your dick in public, or anything else. What there are are consequences for all of these actions in the law. I have no idea where you get the idea of a ‘ban’ from (and I hesitate to suggest possibilities).
So you are just being as pointless as usual, or just bleating one of those wingnut urban myths? Here’s another one for you – “north of $50” tax cuts.
(like global medieval warm periods, global little iceages – for things that appear to have only happened in Europe.)
Where did you get the idea I am defending Key, I suspect I detest the man more than you.
BTW, you are only making a fool of yourself by suggesting there is not a ban on smacking, in other posts I have mentioned that you guys are out of touch and arrogant, this type of hiding behind semantics is a classic example.
There is no ban on smacking kids. There are consequences to doing the action.
If you think that there is a ‘ban’ to stopping someone doing it, then I’d suggest that you have zero idea of what you’re talking about. It is impossible to stop people from doing anything. All society can do is put consequences in for actions.
In this case all that happened was a defence in court was removed.
Use your brain to look at what you said, rather than your mindless slogans. And pleeze stop being such a meathead.
Clark lied to the people of NZ about the smacking ban, you know that, and in an attempt to change the debate you bring in the pathetic ‘child beating” slogan.
You told me that you are a smart person, while I have yet to be convinced it amazes me that you continue to parrot Labour party policy day after day without even suggesting that you can think for yourself.
Show us how smart you are Iprent, show us that you can actually debate an issue (any issue will do) without resorting to abuse or banning those who expose you as a person who is not quite as smart as you like to think you are.
Just being accurate – which you seem to have a real problem doing. Just at present I’m unsure if you could find your arse with your hands as your accuracy rate seems to be so useless.
Tell me exactly how you ‘ban’ anything unless you physically prevent A meeting B. It has never been proposed that would happen between most parents and their children.
This discussion came about because you suggested that Helen lied about ‘banning smacking’. What I’m saying is that you are a moronic idiot who is so in love with your slogans that you fail to see that she said exactly the truth.
Your avoidance behaviour in your last few comments is just that of a miserable serial liar trying to avoid the consequences of your ignorance and gross inaccuracies. You say things without bothering to check them for being correct.
Face it – basically you’re just acting like a dickhead.
I have invited you to debate the issue with me and show that intellect that you so often tell us about.
Your lack of patience with somebody who shares the same goal as you says so much about why Labour is in the basement at the moment.
The nation rejected your superior “we know best” attitude in Nov 08, I would have thought that you might have learnt something from that.
Seems I was wrong.
Let me know when you get over your arrogance Iprent, let me know when you wake up to the fact that the public are not going to come running back to you guys screaming “we got it wrong”.
I have some ideas that might help.
I have invited you to debate the issue with me and show that intellect that you so often tell us about.
Still squirming I see… Lets put the specimen pin in a little deeper…
You made several inaccurate assertions. Now you’re trying to avoid taking responsibility for them by diverting attention. Pretty typical of a meathead Act supporter who’d prefer to lie rather than use their brains. Lets have a look at them again shall we…
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
and Clark lied to the people of NZ about the smacking ban
You followed up on that by saying you are only making a fool of yourself by suggesting there is not a ban on smacking
You are totally inaccurate in all of your statements. Because there never was proposed to be a ban on smacking children. If you have a child in front of you that you want to hit, then you’re perfectly capable of doing so. However, there are consequences to hitting anyone, including children and always have been. The police are entitled to look at your actions and decide if they want to press charges.
The only thing that s59a did was remove a defence in court that the judges had condemned as being too vaguely worded and prevented them from judging appropriately.
Of course hysterical dickheads like yourself seem to fail to understand that. You cling to your inaccurate slogans like a babies safety blanket. Too sacred to face the real word without their comforting embrace.
The lie is your slogan of “banning smacking” – debate that.
Not to mention an Earth Science degree. Now, where could you go with that and an MBA – ENRON?
Thank God for a Carbon Trading Market – not!
Still, he’s one of the more balanced authors on this site – not that it means much!
[lprent: Accurate on both degrees (but there are a number of other part finished ones – I get bored). However, I somehow (obsession) wound up as a high-end computer programmer. It is more fun than Enron. ]
Oh my god. Well put. At LAST a commentator that actually understands the amendment to section 59.
I applaud you, Iprent. Now can you take some of that reasoning over to Farrar’s blog with his band of merry christian child bashers who appear not to have even read s 59???
[lprent: I think that the intellectual inbreeding over there is a bit intense. I’ll concentrate on keeping my home site clean of the same problem. ]
Yeah good point. Fair enough. I must stop reading it actually. The populist, christian-based, uneducated posts and comments over there just wind me up for the entire day!
I think the clip is the Radio Rhema interview with Bob McCrostie, and now you are playing the political game of symantics. A very crafty politician can get out of almost any statement by using symantics. And for me it is extremely poor that “we’ have to resort to this. Once an arguement has entered this stage it has been won/lost for the majority. We are not dumb, even if we do not get into politics
John English siad the books were brilliant.
Let us konw if you ever find the Clark clip {irrelevant anyway as we are talking $$$ now, so dear to the right}
So replaying his old words is ‘small minded’ and will make him ‘more popular’
The context of the interview was that the books would be looking so bad and of course the tax cuts had to be reversed as well.
Two broken promises! Let us be the judge of what the voters want to hear
Please watch your language. And it’s not nice wishing that others were deceased. UPDATE: Deleted other abusive comments. You’re not welcome here Moon Goddess – MF
You and I agree on one thing, we both want Key gone.
But, you can bash him as much as you want it is going to get you anywhere, you need to drop the tired old aggressive socialist style of attack and think a bit smarter.
Kiwis rejected that style of politics and that style of leader, sure these type of attacks might raise the morale of your hard line supporters but they are not the ones you need to convince, middle NZ is where it is at Ghost and while you might feel better with attack politics the average voter is turned off by it.
Your line of reasoning as as tired as I am of dicussing it with the closed minded right.
I really could not give a rats ass what you think I or people you think I am associated with (read: I am not) should do.
You are just another disingenuous righty come to these here boards to make trouble. Your mind has been made up and is thus CLOSED to all further discussion.
You seem to assume that you have some wisdom to impart here. Your tired old cliches and insults really are pathetic and do not add one iota to the debate.
My mind is not closed, I was a supporter of Key, now I see him as the most dangerous man in the country.
Those with closed minds are the Labour people who refuse to admit that they are on the wrong track and have not yet accepted that the nation turned away from their style of politics.
Gee Big bruv , wonder why the Dom is running the video clip on its web page.
I suggest TVNZ or TV3 will do the same on the news. Its such an easy story to do.
Showing Key is a liar-eventually the wider public get it. Its not rocket science.
But will Key go on Q+A this week and will Espiner have the nerve to confront him over the broken promises and the tax cuts which are paid for with tax increases
Are you going to rely on the mindless NZ media to do your job for you?
The Nat’s had to battle nine years of media bias to defeat Clark, the sooner you learn that you no longer set the rules of the game the better.
You highlight exactly my point Ghost, you are a hard lefty, you are going to get all excited about this clip showing on the news, middle NZ or the floating voter does NOT CARE LESS.
You comments are kind of ridiculous. They sound an awful lot like the US republican propaganda to be honest. You don’t watch/read a lot of fox news per chance??
– liberal use of “socialist” (pun intended)
– liberal media bias
– clueless
Always allowing for the fact that I work for a living and from time to time I have to pop out and administer a beating to my non union employees for not increasing productivity.
I have to work as well. However I’m usually beating software into submission. Right now it is a recalcitrant IIS7 server that is failing to deliver my WPF xaml application, and prefers sending me 401 ‘Unauthorised’ errors instead. The IIS6 server serves it perfectly, and so would Apache if I tried that.
Fortunately there was a convenient target blathering slogans to offload the Mickeysoft frustration into, while I had a wee think about what they’d screwed up this time.
Bruv, nothing you could ever say would ever embarrass anyone on the left. I’d say that it embarrasses people on the right but they’re far to inconsistent to realise that they should be embarrassed.
I am sorry your post is out of context. Nat are not increasing GST to cover debt, so John Key is technically correct. Even so I still believe that it is not a step in the right direction. His actions are that of a 2nd term government I was looking for someone to have a positive radical change in philosophy, but this appears not to have occurred. What I see is a tampering of the deck chairs.
His comments are to be taken as the same as Labours “Free” childcare, Michael Cullen NZ cannot afford taxcuts (pre 2005 electon) then giving them to us,& Helen Clarks interview with Bob McCoskie on Radio Rhema re S59.
I want more for NZ and what I can see Lab are not displaying anything that will move us forward. I was hoping Nats had a great plan (Like Obama) there is none, and the left have nothing to offer as well.
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The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other. One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the ...
A poll last August found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law. The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. ...
The solo show from Ana Scotney is both sprawling and intimate, and a must-see, writes Mad Chapman. In the opening moments of Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko, writer and performer Ana Scotney lays out the groundwork, literally. Silently moving around the square stage, Scotney is not so much dancing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University Who makes the words? Why are trees called trees and why are shoes called shoes and who makes the names? – Elliot, age 5, Eltham, Victoria Good question Elliot! Let’s start with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne at amRawpixel.com/Shutterstock Roles of health professionals are still unfortunately often stuck in the past. That is, before the ...
COMMENTARY:By Malcolm Evans Last week’s leaked New York Times staff directive, as to what words can and cannot be used to describe the carnage Israel is raining on Palestinians, is proof positive, since those reports are published verbatim here in New Zealand, that our understanding of the conflict is ...
In the case of New Zealand, the results confirm that there is no popular support for the vicious austerity program being imposed by the National Party-led government, which is backed in all fundamental respects by the opposition Labour Party. ...
The ‘Vampire’ singer has never visited our part of the world, but that might all be about to change. We assess the evidence.Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour is pulling in massive crowds as it whips around the US and Europe, even helping to catapult regular supporting act Chappell Roan ...
Testing of drinking water in rural Canterbury over the weekend by Greenpeace revealed that several public town supplies were reaching levels of nitrate above 5 mg/L - the threshold which a growing body of scientific evidence has linked to increased ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rohan Fisher, Information Technology for Development Researcher, Charles Darwin University It may come as a surprise to hear 2023 was Australia’s biggest bushfire season in more than a decade. Fires burned across an area eight times as big as the 2019–20 Black ...
Responding to the Government’s announcement of changes to resource management laws, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: “These changes are a step in the right direction in terms of removing ideological and unworkable ...
More than two years after the Human Rights Council called for the establishment of a national human rights commission, such a body has yet to be formed. ...
Comment:An emergency management system with wide variations in performance, significant capability gaps, funding shortfalls and above all a setup that is not meeting the needs of New Zealanders at times of crisis. The Government’s inquiry into the response to Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events in the North ...
Welcome to the whirring wonders of one brain trying to align its actions with its beliefs within a system it thinks is evil. My brain has been spiralling in a woke conundrum ever since I found out a bookshop I’ve never been to was shutting down. Good Books, a bookshop ...
We repeat our call for criminal justice policy to be based on evidence, something the three strikes regime neglects to recognise – with no evidence that it either reduces crime or assists with rehabilitation. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara With only four more seats in the 50-member Parliament yet to be officially declared, there is no outright winner in the Solomon Islands elections. As of Monday, the two largest blocs in the winner’s circle, independents and the incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh ...
Two/fiftyseven is a multi-purpose space hidden in the heart of Wellington that is paving a way for sustainable building and responsible landlording in Aotearoa and beyond.By 2060 the world is predicted to double its entire building stock, which equates to building an entire New York City every 34 days, ...
Popstars wasn’t just a reality television revolution, it was also a huge moment for Y2K fashion.It’s 25 years since girl group TrueBliss was formed on New Zealand national television, breaking new ground for both the reality television industry and the shiny clothing industry. With the first episode on NZ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Pepping, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, Griffith University Marvin / Shutterstock Are all single people insecure? When we think about people who have been single for a long time, we may assume it’s because single people have insecurities that make ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Geary, Lecturer in Quantitative Ecology & Biodiversity Conservation, The University of Melbourne Trismegist san, Shutterstock Landscapes that have escaped fire for decades or centuries tend to harbour vital structures for wildlife, such as tree hollows and large logs. But these ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher, Lecturer in Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Shutterstock/S Curtis Why are we crossing ecological boundaries that affect Earth’s fundamental life-supporting capacity? Is it because we don’t have enough information about how ecosystems respond to change? Or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Crocker, PhD Student in Economics, Deakin University Here’s something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a charity director outlines how she’s saving for retirement and buying secondhand. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 45 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Charity director, mum of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Yates, Research Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late last year. Now a ...
It’s been called a failed experiment and a judicial straightjacket but the government says the revised three strikes law will be a more workable regime, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Three ...
New Zealand’s Palestinian community and Palestinian Youth Aotearoa are voicing alarm and disappointment with the lack of factual rigour present during the Israeli Ambassador’s appearance as a guest on TVNZ’s Q+A With Jack Tame Sunday (21/04). ...
Both ACT leader David Seymour, who played a key role in drawing up the assisted dying law, and hospice leaders say it's time the legislation was changed. ...
Public submissions on proposed gang control laws are being heard today. Rising gang membership has been cited as rationale for a crackdown – but what do we actually know about how many people belong to gangs in New Zealand?What’s all this then?A rise in the number of gang ...
Climate activists are setting their sights on an unpopular target, and hoping to bring lots of the public with them. It’s hard to miss the Majestic Princess: the enormous cruise ship, docked at Auckland’s Prince’s Wharf, looms over the nearby buildings. The ship, which can fit nearly 6,000 people, ...
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],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 23 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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In the 16 years since it was bought by the government for $690 million, KiwiRail has had several overhauls and turnaround plans worth billions of dollars. Its ambitions as a successful, profitable operator of tourism, freight and ferries have often been derailed by disasters from earthquakes to cyclones, mine explosions ...
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Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure ...
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The Government is putting at risk the defences of our land and sea borders against organised crime, and our online defences against child exploitation, terrorism and online crime with cuts to critical frontline roles at Customs and Internal Affairs. ...
North of fifty dollars a week.
I put this on another thread, but it’s worth repeating:
Bill English told the same porkie: asked about an increase in GST …
“We won’t be doing that … It is not our policy”.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/politics/747758
We are leaving them in the dust – for GST
He was talking about Australian GST.
ha! nice reference
Whats the bet the GST increase will be passed AND implemented in the budget. Ie within a few days.
Has to be in the budget to get the Coalition of the willing to vote for it
While all the other offsets , well they would just ‘promises’ which hes very relaxed about.
Cant see the tax cuts coming in till election year budget to take effect say September so you only get 6 months worth in that year
I’ll take that bet and say 1 October for both.
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
Times change guys, the NZ that Key was talking about when he made this statement is not the NZ he inherited, he (Key) certainly had no idea how bad the books were due to Dr Cullens incompetence.
I keep saying it, this is not the way to go about eating into Key’s popularity, you guys are still using the same tactics that did not work at the last election, the more you make small minded attacks on the man the more he will be supported by the public.
I seem to remember something about “contrary to human nature”…
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
There is no ban on smacking, never has been, and it is probable that here never could be.
You just have to be able to justify your actions, if charged, to a court. You cannot use a rather stupid defence that used to exist. I realise that you probably think that this is a gross infringement on your ‘right’ to beat children. But that is just tough shit.
Incidentally there is no ban on assaulting people, murdering people, waving your dick in public, or anything else. What there are are consequences for all of these actions in the law. I have no idea where you get the idea of a ‘ban’ from (and I hesitate to suggest possibilities).
So you are just being as pointless as usual, or just bleating one of those wingnut urban myths? Here’s another one for you – “north of $50” tax cuts.
(like global medieval warm periods, global little iceages – for things that appear to have only happened in Europe.)
Iprent
Where did you get the idea I am defending Key, I suspect I detest the man more than you.
BTW, you are only making a fool of yourself by suggesting there is not a ban on smacking, in other posts I have mentioned that you guys are out of touch and arrogant, this type of hiding behind semantics is a classic example.
There is no ban on smacking kids. There are consequences to doing the action.
If you think that there is a ‘ban’ to stopping someone doing it, then I’d suggest that you have zero idea of what you’re talking about. It is impossible to stop people from doing anything. All society can do is put consequences in for actions.
In this case all that happened was a defence in court was removed.
Use your brain to look at what you said, rather than your mindless slogans. And pleeze stop being such a meathead.
Iprent
Please stop being so precious.
Clark lied to the people of NZ about the smacking ban, you know that, and in an attempt to change the debate you bring in the pathetic ‘child beating” slogan.
You told me that you are a smart person, while I have yet to be convinced it amazes me that you continue to parrot Labour party policy day after day without even suggesting that you can think for yourself.
Show us how smart you are Iprent, show us that you can actually debate an issue (any issue will do) without resorting to abuse or banning those who expose you as a person who is not quite as smart as you like to think you are.
Just being accurate – which you seem to have a real problem doing. Just at present I’m unsure if you could find your arse with your hands as your accuracy rate seems to be so useless.
Tell me exactly how you ‘ban’ anything unless you physically prevent A meeting B. It has never been proposed that would happen between most parents and their children.
This discussion came about because you suggested that Helen lied about ‘banning smacking’. What I’m saying is that you are a moronic idiot who is so in love with your slogans that you fail to see that she said exactly the truth.
Your avoidance behaviour in your last few comments is just that of a miserable serial liar trying to avoid the consequences of your ignorance and gross inaccuracies. You say things without bothering to check them for being correct.
Face it – basically you’re just acting like a dickhead.
I have not avoided anything Iprent.
I have invited you to debate the issue with me and show that intellect that you so often tell us about.
Your lack of patience with somebody who shares the same goal as you says so much about why Labour is in the basement at the moment.
The nation rejected your superior “we know best” attitude in Nov 08, I would have thought that you might have learnt something from that.
Seems I was wrong.
Let me know when you get over your arrogance Iprent, let me know when you wake up to the fact that the public are not going to come running back to you guys screaming “we got it wrong”.
I have some ideas that might help.
big bruv:
Still squirming I see… Lets put the specimen pin in a little deeper…
You made several inaccurate assertions. Now you’re trying to avoid taking responsibility for them by diverting attention. Pretty typical of a meathead Act supporter who’d prefer to lie rather than use their brains. Lets have a look at them again shall we…
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
and
Clark lied to the people of NZ about the smacking ban
You followed up on that by saying
you are only making a fool of yourself by suggesting there is not a ban on smacking
You are totally inaccurate in all of your statements. Because there never was proposed to be a ban on smacking children. If you have a child in front of you that you want to hit, then you’re perfectly capable of doing so. However, there are consequences to hitting anyone, including children and always have been. The police are entitled to look at your actions and decide if they want to press charges.
The only thing that s59a did was remove a defence in court that the judges had condemned as being too vaguely worded and prevented them from judging appropriately.
Of course hysterical dickheads like yourself seem to fail to understand that. You cling to your inaccurate slogans like a babies safety blanket. Too sacred to face the real word without their comforting embrace.
The lie is your slogan of “banning smacking” – debate that.
Iprent
I really seem to have hit a raw nerve don’t I.
I note that in true Alinsky fashion you are now accusing me of doing what you yourself are doing.
I am not incorrect Iprent, and frankly, you look like an idiot by hiding behind semantics.
But lets move on….
Nope – this is more fun….
Using stupid slogans instead of thinking is sort of your trademark. Lets keep looking at what you say…
You really do make the most stupid statements without thinking. I’m sure it is a habit we can cure you of.
Careful BB, in an unguarded moment some time ago lprent let slip he has an MBA.
A lefty with an MBA – how can he live with himself?
“A lefty with an MBA how can he live with himself?”
Because according to his own words he is “brilliant”.
Must be hard to be that smart and modest at the same time.
Not to mention an Earth Science degree. Now, where could you go with that and an MBA – ENRON?
Thank God for a Carbon Trading Market – not!
Still, he’s one of the more balanced authors on this site – not that it means much!
[lprent: Accurate on both degrees (but there are a number of other part finished ones – I get bored). However, I somehow (obsession) wound up as a high-end computer programmer. It is more fun than Enron. ]
Ken Lay – is that you?
I thought you were still inside?
[lprent: no need to repeat. We get around to releasing stuff from the auto-moderation/auto-spam eventually if they get in there by accident. ]
Point taken Ken, but no need to be so touchy. You wouldn’t be the first white collar wrong doer to be retrained into IT by the Government.
But it’s the radical change in politics that puzzles me.
Iprent
Are you sure you find this fun?, it is highly embarrassing for you, I would have thought you might have had enough by now.
I am not one given to acts of cruelty, but if you insist on carrying on then so be it.
Now, how about we chat about the appalling way you guys are going about being the opposition?
Nope, I’ll just keep an eye out for you substituting slogans for understanding.
I always find it appalling and irritating that people turn their brains off in favour of their prejudices when they hear a good slogan.
You’re one of the worst offenders. Care to debate that?
“you look like an idiot by hiding behind semantics”
Depends on your point of view.
Or are YOU accusing HIM of doing the same as what YOU are doing??
Or maybe you are both accusing each other of doing what you both are doing and this is just a tangled web of hypocrisy?!
Ok sure, they have banned smacking “for the purpose of correction”.. congratulations you win the obtuse medal of the day.
I suppose they never banned smoking in workplaces either, because there is no smoking guards armed with water pistols walking the corridors.
lprent theres no clip – it was an audio. DO you want it?
Oh my god. Well put. At LAST a commentator that actually understands the amendment to section 59.
I applaud you, Iprent. Now can you take some of that reasoning over to Farrar’s blog with his band of merry christian child bashers who appear not to have even read s 59???
[lprent: I think that the intellectual inbreeding over there is a bit intense. I’ll concentrate on keeping my home site clean of the same problem. ]
Yeah good point. Fair enough. I must stop reading it actually. The populist, christian-based, uneducated posts and comments over there just wind me up for the entire day!
I have to support iprent.
Smacking is permited under quite a range of circumstances. Read the law bro.
I think the clip is the Radio Rhema interview with Bob McCrostie, and now you are playing the political game of symantics. A very crafty politician can get out of almost any statement by using symantics. And for me it is extremely poor that “we’ have to resort to this. Once an arguement has entered this stage it has been won/lost for the majority. We are not dumb, even if we do not get into politics
John English siad the books were brilliant.
Let us konw if you ever find the Clark clip {irrelevant anyway as we are talking $$$ now, so dear to the right}
So replaying his old words is ‘small minded’ and will make him ‘more popular’
The context of the interview was that the books would be looking so bad and of course the tax cuts had to be reversed as well.
Two broken promises! Let us be the judge of what the voters want to hear
Like my grandad always said..
“Never trust a tory!”
Funny that, mine always told me never to trust a socialist and always check your wallet when you have been in their company.
funny, that was exactly what an Aussie mate of mine used to say about Key in the 1990’s (the checking your wallet bit after being in his company)
grandfathers tend to be a bit too attached to cliches..
A bit like my last sentence.
However every analysis I have seen of Right vs Left politicians and keeping their promises, the Right falls short.
This is no surprise to anyone, including the Right. They know what they are doing. They are just disingenuous.
When asked about his change of stance, Key replied, “I’m pretty relaxed about it”.
Please watch your language. And it’s not nice wishing that others were deceased. UPDATE: Deleted other abusive comments. You’re not welcome here Moon Goddess – MF
Mr Key? Is that you?
Ghost
You and I agree on one thing, we both want Key gone.
But, you can bash him as much as you want it is going to get you anywhere, you need to drop the tired old aggressive socialist style of attack and think a bit smarter.
Kiwis rejected that style of politics and that style of leader, sure these type of attacks might raise the morale of your hard line supporters but they are not the ones you need to convince, middle NZ is where it is at Ghost and while you might feel better with attack politics the average voter is turned off by it.
You need to drop the tired old socialist-as-an-insult cliche.
Just because people are to the left of you does not make them a socialist.
And being called a socialist is not an insult. I would be far more insulted being called a neo con than a socialist!
But seriously. Using the loaded S word just makes everything else you say kind of vanish in a right-headed haze.
Use what ever you like Magoo, but prepared to be on the opposition benches for years and years to come.
You guys need to change….big time.
Your message is not getting through, the public are yawning at what you have to say and the people who are saying it.
Oh you are so banned – MF
ahh….and here is a classic example of what I was talking about.
To be fair, our new friend “Moon Goddess” seems to be quite non-partisan.
Your line of reasoning as as tired as I am of dicussing it with the closed minded right.
I really could not give a rats ass what you think I or people you think I am associated with (read: I am not) should do.
You are just another disingenuous righty come to these here boards to make trouble. Your mind has been made up and is thus CLOSED to all further discussion.
You seem to assume that you have some wisdom to impart here. Your tired old cliches and insults really are pathetic and do not add one iota to the debate.
Go back to your cave.
Got any more cliché’s you want to toss in ?
My mind is not closed, I was a supporter of Key, now I see him as the most dangerous man in the country.
Those with closed minds are the Labour people who refuse to admit that they are on the wrong track and have not yet accepted that the nation turned away from their style of politics.
Ahh another enlightened Act supporter.
You were fooled into thinking key would lie through his teeth and then sell NZ out to the Neo-Con Way(TM) but it turns out he fooled you instead.
Good for you….
Gee Big bruv , wonder why the Dom is running the video clip on its web page.
I suggest TVNZ or TV3 will do the same on the news. Its such an easy story to do.
Showing Key is a liar-eventually the wider public get it. Its not rocket science.
But will Key go on Q+A this week and will Espiner have the nerve to confront him over the broken promises and the tax cuts which are paid for with tax increases
So bloody what?
Are you going to rely on the mindless NZ media to do your job for you?
The Nat’s had to battle nine years of media bias to defeat Clark, the sooner you learn that you no longer set the rules of the game the better.
You highlight exactly my point Ghost, you are a hard lefty, you are going to get all excited about this clip showing on the news, middle NZ or the floating voter does NOT CARE LESS.
Last time I checked neither do you.
You comments are kind of ridiculous. They sound an awful lot like the US republican propaganda to be honest. You don’t watch/read a lot of fox news per chance??
– liberal use of “socialist” (pun intended)
– liberal media bias
– clueless
yep..I am smelling Fox in there….
keys nose is growing as we speak – i wish i could do pinocchiokeyphotoshop
from wikipedia
The name Pinocchio is a Tuscan word meaning “pine nut” – says it all really
That nice Mr Key is having a terrible time in the house.
Repeating his lie over and over isn’t helping either.
And the nzherald reported it, so much it for being in keys back pocket.
It took them a whole year to get out of it.
Oh FFS. This thread resembles Kiwiblog.
[lprent: Yep. Idiotic isn’t it. But look at the participants. ]
Iprent
This is your place, I will play by your rules.
Fire away….
Always allowing for the fact that I work for a living and from time to time I have to pop out and administer a beating to my non union employees for not increasing productivity.
I have to work as well. However I’m usually beating software into submission. Right now it is a recalcitrant IIS7 server that is failing to deliver my WPF xaml application, and prefers sending me 401 ‘Unauthorised’ errors instead. The IIS6 server serves it perfectly, and so would Apache if I tried that.
Fortunately there was a convenient target blathering slogans to offload the Mickeysoft frustration into, while I had a wee think about what they’d screwed up this time.
Iprent
My reply seems to have vanished into the ether…
Or did you delete it because I embarrassed you again?
Bruv, nothing you could ever say would ever embarrass anyone on the left. I’d say that it embarrasses people on the right but they’re far to inconsistent to realise that they should be embarrassed.
I don’t know, I often feel embarrassed for him.
Ken Lay!, Is that you – I thought you were still inside?
Last time I checked, Lay had been dead for quite a while.
Who bloody cares, The world has changed since 1988 or haven’t you lot noticed.
Shows how desperate Goff is getting bringing this crap up
Um, this vid is from 2008, not 1988.
You might recall there was an election coming up at the time.
I am sorry your post is out of context. Nat are not increasing GST to cover debt, so John Key is technically correct. Even so I still believe that it is not a step in the right direction. His actions are that of a 2nd term government I was looking for someone to have a positive radical change in philosophy, but this appears not to have occurred. What I see is a tampering of the deck chairs.
His comments are to be taken as the same as Labours “Free” childcare, Michael Cullen NZ cannot afford taxcuts (pre 2005 electon) then giving them to us,& Helen Clarks interview with Bob McCoskie on Radio Rhema re S59.
I want more for NZ and what I can see Lab are not displaying anything that will move us forward. I was hoping Nats had a great plan (Like Obama) there is none, and the left have nothing to offer as well.
Not a good look.
The Two Faces of John Key
Politians, they have lied in the past, they are lying today and they will be lying tomorrow. When will we ever learn!