The wharfies go into their 6th strike in a vain attempt to get the company to negotiate over it’s plans to outsource their jobs.
The company on the other hand continues with its plans for redundancies for all union members.
The management have made it clear, that this stoppage, will not deter them from their decision to contract out all the union jobs and crush the union.
Already a lot of the work on the Ports is done by contractors and casuals, and the Ports of Auckland have said that they will be running a near to normal service.
If an employer can provide a near to normal service during a strike, then a strike has lost all it’s impact and the end is near.
The wharfies can’t even impede the the entry of their own colleagues who have decided to keep working from entering.
Already a delegate has been sacked just because on hearsay evidence it was reported that in the last strike he called to a worker entering the gates “a scab”.
For this he was sacked, and will not be allowed to return to his place of work.
This delegate is one of the long stayers and would have got a big redundancy.
Three delegates have been gotten for similar and even lesser offences.
The Auckland Maritime Union is slowly bleeding to death in front of our eyes.
The Ports of Auckland Management are well within their three month schedule of removing the union from the wharves.
Without the support of the the Labour Party dominated trade union movement the end is sad and inevitable.
In Australia in similar circumstances and against all odds the Patricks Dispute was won when the wharfies got mass support from the rest of the union movement and wider community against plans to contract out their jobs.
If that doesn’t happen here, it won’t be hard to determine who is to blame, and working people won’t forget.
The workers who have left the union and continue to work are not the real scabs, they rightly sense the union is playing with an empty hand, and just want to be on the winning side.
The real scabs are those on the left and in the union movement who are trying to isolate the wharfies by with holding their support and also urging others to withhold their support.
Possibly that’s because I have faith in the workers, their union and the righteous nature of their dispute, CV! I always find workers determined to set their own agenda and claim their own future extremely uplifting. Sectarian point scoring and unwarranted abuse from individuals with other loony left agendas less so.
So I’ll check in with you in 6 months, when I hope to be able to say to you TVoR that you were 100% right and I was 100% wrong to be a doubting Thomas.
Thats what I mean, when push comes to shove, the unions fold up like a paper bag, just like in 1991, when a general strike could have killed the ECA (from what I understand, the National government was prepeared to soften the bill significantly). Its no different here, now MUNZ has essentially been broken at POA, it is essentially open season on the workforce.
The only thing a general strike in 1991 would have killed would have been organised labour. The tide had turned, the Nat’s had the country in their grip and a futile display of petulance would have been a reason for the dry right in the Nat caucus to push for the de-recognition of all unions, except yellow company ones.
If it the general stike had been called, most workers would have ignored it and the unions would have been smashed. Industrial disputes (and political ones) are all about timing and strength. Get either aspect wrong and its yet another noble defeat.
Thanks for that, VOR, that is the clearest exposition I have ever read from a Labour Party union official on why the struggle against the ECA was strangled.
I don’t often talk about these shameful events, because I feel that the Labour Party has moved on, and is not as right wing as it was during this period.
However since you have raised the issue, and in regards to present issue at hand of contracting out union jobs.
I fear we are about to witness a repeat of history.
If contracting out union jobs can be achieved on the wharves against one of the strongest unions in the country, this tactic will be used against the rest of the union movement. As in 1991, if no concerted organised fight back is led, every unionist will be in the gun.
In 1991 in what was described at the time as the biggest protests in New Zealand’s history, tens of thousands of workers spontaneously protested against the Employment Contracts Act in every city and town in the country.
The two main chants and slogans of these massed workers was “General Strike” and “Kill the Bill” which was painted on hundreds of hand made signs and banners. In response the Labour Party dominated union hierarchy paid to have thousands of placards preprinted and professionally made up and distributed with the lesser slogan “Oppose The Bill”.
“Oppose The Bill” was a call to protest against, but not defeat the ECA. Understandably in the mood of the time this call to just “Oppose The Bill” was not very popular. Though some workers did carry them as historic photos can attest, many were often left stacked on the footpath, most workers preferring their home made signs and chants “Kill The Bill”. (Which also had a better ring to it than the Labour Party imposed slogan).
Because of the controversy raised by the new ‘official slogan’ of the campaign. A public debate was called in the Auckland Trades Hall chaired by the head of the benificiaries union President on the subject on why this lesser demand was being imposed onto the movement by the union hierarchy. Joe Tonner a leading Labour Party figure of the time and head of the Labour Party dominated PSA argued for the lesser demand to be adopted.
However, the lesser demand never became popular amongst workers who in their tens of thousands, kept calling for a general strike. The call for a general strike was bitterly opposed from the top table of union officials at stopwork meetings all around the country. In at least two cases during this tumultuous period, worker delegates that tried to raise a motion for general strike from the floor of the meetings were phyisically assaulted by Labour Party union officials. In the most infamous incident, At the final big protest march and mass meeting in Auckland, Peter Hughes a shop floor delegate for the PSA, representing meat inspectors, following chanted demands from the crowd to put the motion for a general strike was assaulted by the Labour Party Union officials who had ringed the stage to prevent the motion being put.
These open and many more behind the scenes methods were taken by the Labour Party to prevent workers taking militant industrial action to defend themselves from National Government and employer attacks.
I had hoped that those days were over.
I am dissapointed to discover that the Labour Party and Labour Party affiliated union leaders are still acting in the same way for the same motives.
VOR you may argue that if a union fight back had been allowed this, “would have been a reason for the dry right in the Nat caucus to push for the de-recognition of all unions, except yellow company ones.”
I would argue the opposite, that by not fighting back the employers and the Nats were emboldened to increase their attacks on working people and their unions. (Which subsequent events actually show.)
I will repeat again:
If contracting out union jobs can be achieved on the wharves against one of the strongest unions in the country, this tactic will be used against the rest of the union movement.
As in 1991, if no concerted organised fight back is led, every unionist will be in the gun.
Good times, Jenny, good times! You’ve fingered the wrong party entirely there, and promoted Joe Tonner to a position he never held. And this should really make you really happy; I was among those union delegates doing security that day and I’m proud to say it was me that prevented Hughes from getting on stage. No assault at all, unless him trying to push past me counts. We had been told that the CP intended rushing the stage and indeed that is what happened. Or at least, that was what was attempted, but, happily prevented.
A lucky thing too, because if the maddies had won the day, the NZ union movement would have been smashed within a matter of weeks.
Jenny is substantially correct on the fact that rank and file unionists across NZ were calling for direct action on a national scale. Years later Bill Birch admitted that he had been prepared to make concessions on the EC Bill. It was the abject failure of CTU leader KG Douglas and Joe Tonner, and the Engineers heads at the time to provide positive leadership that lead to a narrow vote at the CTU executive not to proceed with a national stoppage. The engineers and PSA leaderships indulged in ‘technical’ democracy at a higher forum that went against the wishes of substantial numbers of their union members as expressed on the streets and at meetings.
Organised labour has been paying for that capitulation ever since. Tri partism can only operate in the environment of a social democratic government, Douglas was deluded or the SIS best plant ever to think a hostile tory government would buy into partnership and ‘compacts’.
Re the Auckland meeting at Aotea Sq. It was Socialist Unity Party members and supporters who provided ‘security’ that day that prevented people at the meeting from putting motions. In retrospect Bill Andersen, chair, should have accepted Hughes motion whatever party he may have represented. Particularly given that Bill Andersen and his union the NDU supported a national stoppage.
Good summary, TM. The crux of the issue, as I remember it, wasn’t the depth of feeling held by rank and filers, it was whether we could take the wider workforce with us. Given that we had just seen a right wing Government rejected in favour of an even more right wing one, I remain convinced that it would have been a failure and it would have been a green light for Birch et al to finish us off. I certainly wouldn’t trust anything Birch said after the event, by the way, that sounds more like him twisting the knife.
NZ has long been a nation divided, with the post colonial rural sector and SMEs as far as the eye can see, so with the rough composition of NZ–40% dark tending to tory kiwis, 40% ok folks and 20% swingers. “Uniting all who can be united” was not the priority in 91 imo. It was the survival of the union movements credibility and organisational capacity.
The majority of unions today despite their claims are servicing organisations. I would except FIRST, MUNZ and the education unions, with pockets here and there such as the EPMU telcos and airline members (e.g. Zeal), though workplaces can change quickly. There has only ever been a small number of workers and unions that one could call class conscious, which is why the 99% movement has such potential. Class issues can be dealt with without people having to belong to a union or be otherwise classified.
Am currently reading “Unions Common Cause, a history of the NZ Federation of Labour” edited by Peter Franks and it is interesting the stats on union membership nos. are surprisingly similar to today. Of course during the FOL years the poplulation was smaller and membership compulsory so it does not directly equate.
Long answer to your contention, but we should have gone for broke in 91.
Given that we had just seen a right wing Government rejected in favour of an even more right wing one, I remain convinced that it would have been a failure, I remain convinced that it would have been a failure and it would have been a green light for Birch et al to finish us off.
The Voice of Reason
What a smelly and old, load of self justifying rubbish.
I have heard this argument before from Labour Party union officials. That the workers had voted for a right wing government.
The truth is not that clear cut.
In 1990 the hated Mike Moore Labour Government was so right wing that they had stolen all National’s policies, leaving National nothing to campaign on.
So National campaigned on policies to the left of Labour.
And it was those policies that people voted for.
The top two policies* that National campaigned on in the 1990 election were:
1) Stop state asset sales
2) Remove the Superannuation Surcharge imposed by Labour.
Of course being tories, on gaining office National immediately broke these left commitments to the electorate and carried on where Labour had left off.
One of the remaining legacies of the Nats breaking all their (left) election promises was the birth of the New Zealand First Party. National Stalwart had Winston Peters had stormed into power in Tauranga with a campaign based largely on the National Party Promise of removing The Super Surcharge.
Tauranga being an acknowledged mecca for retirees, the electorate was livid!
It was clear that any National MP would be dumped by the electorate for the Nats treachery as soon as possible.
Already being a two time loser, if Peters had of stuck with National he would have been just a footnote in history. Peters though being a died in the wool tory had no choice if we wanted to continue having a career in politics, but to form a new tory offshoot.
Despite Labour’s right wing trajectory, And National’s apparent more left one, “normally left voters” repulsed by Labour and rightfully as it turned out distrustful of the Nats, as you yourself admit VoR , “stayed away from the polls (as they have done in the last two elections)”
The electorate had been betrayed, people were angry and ready to fight.
Of course this was not the judgement of the top Labour Party union officials who dominated the Trade union movement at the time. Like the Labour Party itself, they were demoralised and confused. Union officials at the time had told me that they faced open revolt at stopwork meetings if they tried to urge workers to vote Labour.
In your words VoR, you say; “The crux of the issue, as I remember it, wasn’t the depth of feeling held by rank and filers, it was whether we could take the wider workforce with us.”
This demoralisation and confusion and anger with workers, for rejecting Labour, led in my opinion for these loyal to Labour union leaders to misjudge the mood and make the wrong call. Confusing workers rejection with Labour as a rejection of the left. In fact I think the grass roots were more astute at the time than the leadership. Unfortunately VoR, this is an example of where “tribal”sectarianism can let you down.
Please VoR don’t let this sectarian blind spot get in your way again. And do all you can to support the wharfies. That is, if you don’t want a repeat of history.
*(From memory, National also promised something to tertiary students to get their vote. As students had been viciously savaged by Labour with user pays for tertiary education. What was particularly irking to student activists of the time was the people who were attacking them at the time like Goff had all had the benefit of free tertiary education. Never being a student or having gone to university I can’t remember exactly what the Nats. promised the students. But I do know they broke that promise)
If you were in the group that prevented a general strike.
All the unionists were ready for a general strike until the ECA was abandoned.
Then the sellouts in the Labour party and the union leadership calmed things down for the Neo-Liberal takeover.
Why Labour is still MIA. Now reverting to NACT light.
Which means they will keep losing votes.
Why vote for Labour unless they offer clear choices and difference from National.
After some signs of returning to being a Labour party under Goff for two months it likes like we have returned to “business as usual”. With the same old guard.
Just wanted to thank the contributers discussing what actually went on during this crucial point in the history of the Labour movement. It’s something I’ve always been interested in, and as you point out Jenny, so goddam relevent to the juncture we now find ourselves at.
Looking forward to reading the whole thead at a later date. Dashing off just now.
Cheers, just saying. There is probably a book to be written about 91, but it would need to take into account that the union movement, like society in general, was reeling under the most fundamental changes since the thirties.
In particular, the shift to voluntary unionism a few years ealier had an effect that had not been anticipated, which was to demote unions to an option in the workplace, not a permanent presence. Most union leaders at the time were rightly worried about the financial impact, but didn’t see that a huge cultural change had taken place.
The unions in 91 had to make the call to either put everything on the line or retreat and rebuild. Admittedly, the rebuilding hasn’t really happened and there is no way to know whether a general strike would have succeeded, but I come back to the confusion, fear and loss of political direction that was shackling the labour movement at the time. Everything we knew and took for granted, was gone or going, and the election was astonishing not because normally left voters stayed away from the polls (as they have done in the last two elections), they also voted National in their droves. And reconfirmed their decision a couple of years later, too.
Some think that Ken Douglas rolled over on proposals for a General Strike in ’91, which consigned the workers movement to ever increasing irrelevancy thereafter.
I was there alright laddie, including the NZCTU special affiliates meeting in Wellington on the matter and the Auckland rally. Perhaps you are trying to express genuine views but your scrambled writing style makes it rather hard to discern.
to CV 11:13
“Some think that Ken Douglas rolled over on proposals for a General Strike in ’91, ”
Understatement of the morning CV, Douglas thundered against any national action.
AND we all remember calling for a vote, at various meetings, only to have it blocked by the so called leaders, despite an obvious majority on the floor.
You are right. We were let down by Douglas and others.
The moment the ECA could have been resisted was lost.
After that, the victory of the Neo-Liberal right, including Labour party members, and the demise of workers rights was inevitable.
OK a spikey exchange, does your sarcasm top my alleged patronising, heh, but understand where you are coming from now. Workers rights can and must be regained is the main thing. Unionised workers are those that have actually got pay rises under Shonkey’s administration apart from CEOs of course whereas the majority of precarious and non union employees got zilch.
Footnote: Bill Andersen had formed SPA (Socialist Party of Aotearoa) by ’91 after Ken Douglas defected to social democracy which he (Douglas) had signalled back in 1988 by supporting the Aussie frigate build. SUP members were involved though in blocking the CPNZ members at the Auckland meeting along with SPA and supporters.
Veteran ’51er Jock Barnes savaged Douglas in person at Jim Knox Auckland memorial service and rightly so on his capitulation, the point of retracing all this is obvious-don’t do it again CTU, call on all unionised workers and the wider community to support MUNZ.
In the week set aside to remember the founding document of our country’s creation isn’t it ironic that the Government may lose almost all of its majority because of its insistence on selling our assets overseas in breach of that document’s principles.
Big picture has a series on coal: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/01/coal.html
I’ve long been of the view that unless coal,oil and mining companies act responsibly with the same safety procedures we would expect, in other countries then we should not let them here at all.
Diamond mining should just be banned – I can see no good reason for needing more diamonds.
I use diamond tips tools. Many industrial cutting applications require diamond edges. Don’t know but suspect most diamonds are used for industrial purposes.
I would not favour a ban on diamond mining (or any other mining). A better thing would be to ensure that miners of all types are made to pay the true human and environmental costs of their activities. They will of course pass on the costs, which is fine as the consumer will then make more informed choices before they buy.
Had not thought of synthetic, I stand corrected. Just thinking ahead couple of questions:
* in an energy depleted world will it be possible or economic to produce synthetic diamonds?
* will there still be the level of demand for diamond edged tools we have today?
Who knows? It just illustrates the total uncertainty we now face, and our inability to get our heads around it.
I remember reading once that something like 10% of the worlds energy resources are used in diamond mining – the use of very big drills and rock crushers, something like 1 carat of diamonds is extracted from every 10 tonnes of rock.
The point with diamonds was partly that you can make them synthetically and partly that there are massive stockpiles of diamonds anyway.
So apart from artificial value due to stockpiling keeping the price high and vanity what purpose does mining diamonds actually have?
Heard Pita Sharples give a rousing speech at some rally last night on te reo or maori tv. It seems he still thinks that maori have a special place apart from the rest. As has been seen throughout history this sort of mindset usually leads to trouble.
Damn. They did some maintenance on the server box last night after sending this middday yesterday.
The following upcoming scheduled event affects one or more of your
services with us. Please read below for more information.
Outage Time: 0000 – 0600 hours
Outage Date: Wednesday 1st February 2012
Expected Duration: 3 hours
Possible Duration: 6 hour
Impact: All services on 120.138.23.x IPv4 address space.
As part of a number of upgrades to the service we offer you we are migrating some hardware into a new cabinet. Chirpy engineers will be onsite and will power off and move servers one logical network at a time to minimize downtime, but there is the possibility of extended downtime.
Following this maintenance window, we recommend you test your servers
Yeah. It has problems damnit. Trying to talk to them now as it doesn’t seem to be anything wrong as far as I can see
John Banks says Catherine Odgers is perfectly suited to implementing charter schools because she was once on a Board of Trustees and is a successful business woman. Lucky children.
I am really entertained by the way John Banks speaks, a stream of overused cliches and phrases that are intended to come across as assertive and in control, yet in reality express very little. His desperation to support and be supported by John Key was really quite pathetic and now his party has been given the responsibility of introducing Charter Schools (probably a surprise to him as it was definitely not high on ACT’s agenda during their campaign) he is yapping around excitedly like a Jack Russell on speed.
Anne Tolley was bad enough when forced to answer questions about her National Standards (she once responded to a question about the meaning of one particular standard by saying she didn’t have to understand them, just implement them), but imagine Banks explaining his way through the professional merits of Charter Schools. Things could become very entertaining.
Charter Schools failed big time in the “land of the free”….(you know, the place where the total incarcerated exceeds that of the Gulag at the height of Stalins terror).
Now we have some ACT goons whose prescribed medicine has failed abysmally (since it’s introduction 30 years prior) insisting that the patient might recover if we give the same prescription to him harder and harder. I have to ask why?
Two possible answers.:
1. Ideologues and RWNJs acting more akin to Trotskyites and Born Agains in expressing faith in their apocalyptic creeds.
2. Money, money, money….NACT types who think they might turn a bob or two on this (and fekk the rest of us…just pay pay pay).
Bored, the real reason for introducing Charter Schools is to break teacher collective agreements and diminish the power of the Union. NZEI is now the largest and more effective unions in the country (50,000 members) and National has long had the goal of cutting our power. http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/government-attacks-new-zealands-highest.html
All the supposed benefits of autonomous school management that was the selling point for Charter Schools overseas already exist in Tomorrows Schools and the only real differences are being able to employ teachers on individual contracts and set their own employment terms and not having to link learning to our National Curriculum or National Standards (bizarre). Obviously National haven’t learned their lessons from Pike River and still feel self regulation and commercial interests will provide safety and good results.
We’re doomed!
Thanks for the precise answer Dave, its not very pretty is it. Which in effect means both my reasons were correct, ideological theological idiocy aimed at Unions, and money from breaking Unions…..bastards.
Yeah its great to listen to Banks (not). Every second word is “Key”.
If he still has a wife I bet she gets woken throughout the night with Banks saying “I love you John Key” over and over and over……
Moerewa was mentioned on 9 to noon in the last couple of days, but it doesn’t seem to have been picked up by other media. The only news reference I have seen is from a while ago:
It seems National want to stop a success because it conflicts with their simplistic ideological preconceptions – and challenges micro management from “party central” in the ministers office – but are considering a “charter school’ initiative that at best will have a trial start towards the end of their term of office. This government is more concerned with compliance than with education success.
It is sad that I am absolutely not surprised that something that works is not accepted by Anne Tolley. Unfortunately, I doubt that the school would get a better hearing from Hekia Parata.
just finished reading “The Victorians” by A.N. Wilson and I was lead to the co-operative movement in Wikipedia.
why no co-operative movement in NZ. in the UK they have 4,500 shops and going strong.
time to rethink how we create community in new zealand perhaps?
The agriculture industry is heavily dominated by co-operatives, Fonterra, Ravensdown, Allied Farmers, Ballance, etc, however has been eroded in recent years. IMO probably the reason the meat and wool sector is falling behind, because most of the co-ops there have been privatised.
The region has about 4 million people and 15,000 of Italy’s 43,000 cooperatives. But it also has a lot of small, entrepreneurial firms that link together in collective ways to produce a flourishing export economy.
All part of NActs plan to introduce publicly funded private schools (government guaranteed profit vehicles) and competition. It’s got nothing to do with improving education but with increasing profits for the private sector.
everything binky and co. does has an extraneous third party injected into the mix and solely to take a rake off.
instead of a straight line there is a dogleg.
i.e. they are bent.
and the taxpayer has to fork out for some high faluting principle that on closer inspection just turns out to be another device for looting the public purse.
no wonder they talk about paring expenditure.
they just want to take it all for themselves.
they are just greedy bastards.
Great to see the impact Michael Cullen has had as chairman of NZ Post their poor performance has now put Kiwi Bank on a negative watch by Standard & Poors. Just goes to show Labour People and Business just dont mix. Should never of been made a member of the board no room for his style of economics there.
I’d say that such a watch could be more attributed to the GFC that was caused by the RWNJs in Goldman Sachs, Lehman Bros. and other failed and bailed banks.
Standard & Poor? You mean the ratbag rating agency the too big to fail banks use as a weapon in the finance wars if they want to kill of economies or banks that are not under their control? That rating agency?
So that’s where you tories get it wrong!
You and key think the objective in government and life is to suck! Cullen knows the true objective is to (and I’ll put it into terms that you and Derek Zoolander can understand) not–suck.
Unfortunately the Herald buried it rather quickly. Possibly because it was attracting a lot of unsavoury comments from greedy property speculators and landlords. (some of whom have been spotted trolling this site)
I love how most of the top comments confuse a capital tax with a capital gains tax even though Gareth Morgan clearly explains the difference it in the article. Guess the speculators and landlords never learnt to read.
Generation Zero, Rangatahi get active against climate change.
What’s cooking for Generation Zero in Auckland in 2012
Generation Zero, we are a mass movement taking the country by storm. Inspired by youth climate organisations in other countries, Generation Zero was founded in 2011 to represent a youth voice calling for a zero carbon future for New Zealand. To date, Generation Zero is supported by a number of organisations, including 350 Aotearoa, P3, Engineers Without Borders NZ, Medical Students for Global Awareness, the New Zealand Youth Delegation, and Gecko.
In recent weeks, we’ve been busy – travelling the country for the various meetings and festivals that have been going on within the climate movement – and it’s making us extremely excited for the months ahead. Key to our success in building a mass movement this year will be to engage meaningfully with university students in Auckland. To achieve this, we need your help.
We’ll be hosting a planning meeting at the University of Auckland on Saturday 11 February, from 2pm-4pm, in Room 3.401 in the School of Engineering. Here, we hope to finalise our plans for O-Week, and form the beginnings of a core team of energised campus-based volunteers.
During this meeting, we will also hold our first AGM. We’ll be electing a new Treasurer, Secretary and President for our campus group!
If you are passionate about climate change and youth, meeting amazing people, and finding real solutions to the challenges ahead, come along and have a chat! We’d love to have you on board. It would be awesome if you could RSVP here, on Facebook. Feel free to share our invitation to you with others.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Not a Uni student? We’ll be running a ‘Welcome to 2012’ catch-up for all Aucklanders who are interested in Generation Zero soon. And you’re more than welcome to come along to our Generation Zero on Campus planning meeting too if you have ideas and energy to contribute.
the only thing that the reagan adminsistration in the 1980’s never tried to privatise was the national aviation transport security board.
think about that.
what about the building in chch that wasn’t pulled down because it had a heritage sticker and collapsed killing eight people?
it seems that many of those heritage churches and other victorian symbols of mancunian mercantilism were really jerry built in the first place.
and.
they wont have a mid term election in chch because the tory noo noo heads know that Jim Anderton would shit in carrying a pig as they say.
it seems that many of those heritage churches and other victorian symbols of mancunian mercantilism were really jerry built in the first place.
Come now. Some of those buildings lasted 120 or more years before suffering critical structural failures. That’s bloody robust compared to some of our “modern” buildings which were built 30-40 years ago that fell over.
Gisborne Council officials have already granted exploration consents to Canadian oil companies without seeking public approval – or consulting their own mayor.
It’s interesting that the $25 price per tonne of CO2 projected by the Ministry of Economic Development has halved since their $50 per tonne projection in 2010. But what’s even more indicative of the government’s incompetence is that the just released MED 2011 forecast is already 68% off the mark…
Charter Schools and Catherine Issac appointed by Banks to overseeing state funded private schools. Isaac says she is ‘not an ideologue’ but is ‘interested in policies that work’. Ok, so evidence based decisions then.
She then goes on to state that Charter Schools ‘do work’.
Ok, evidence based assessment goes out the window. So much for not being an ideologue. Mind already made up it seems.
Her claim that Charter Schools ‘do work’ is, at best, highly contestable. But shes ‘not an ideologue’.
John Banks meanwhile is well beyond any evidence based assessment. They will simply ‘happen’, he says, whether a good idea or not.
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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, Thursday 28 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
As a young gymnast, Aimee Didierjean was always conscious of making sure her underwear wasn’t showing on the competition floor. A peek of a bra strap, or briefs if a leotard rode up, would cost a gymnast points in her routines. “When I was growing and going through puberty, it ...
Jubi/West Papua Daily Repeated cases of Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers torturing civilians in Papua have been evident, as seen in the viral video depicting the torture of civilians in the Puncak Regency allegedly done by soldiers of Raider 300/Brajawijaya Infantry Battalion. There is a pressing need for stringent law enforcement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In 2023, Anthony Albanese was shooting for the moon, his eyes on the Voice referendum. On one view, he looked like the idealist reflecting his left-wing roots. In 2024, we’re seeing a pragmatic, determined, ...
The House - The principle that all MPs are honourable and that they should be taken at their word has been tested multiple times this week in Parliament. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW Sydney Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Since the review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) released its recommendations in December, there has been a series of Town Hall events to discuss them around the country ...
The smell of death is in the air.
The wharfies go into their 6th strike in a vain attempt to get the company to negotiate over it’s plans to outsource their jobs.
The company on the other hand continues with its plans for redundancies for all union members.
The management have made it clear, that this stoppage, will not deter them from their decision to contract out all the union jobs and crush the union.
Already a lot of the work on the Ports is done by contractors and casuals, and the Ports of Auckland have said that they will be running a near to normal service.
If an employer can provide a near to normal service during a strike, then a strike has lost all it’s impact and the end is near.
The wharfies can’t even impede the the entry of their own colleagues who have decided to keep working from entering.
Already a delegate has been sacked just because on hearsay evidence it was reported that in the last strike he called to a worker entering the gates “a scab”.
For this he was sacked, and will not be allowed to return to his place of work.
This delegate is one of the long stayers and would have got a big redundancy.
Three delegates have been gotten for similar and even lesser offences.
The Auckland Maritime Union is slowly bleeding to death in front of our eyes.
The Ports of Auckland Management are well within their three month schedule of removing the union from the wharves.
Without the support of the the Labour Party dominated trade union movement the end is sad and inevitable.
In Australia in similar circumstances and against all odds the Patricks Dispute was won when the wharfies got mass support from the rest of the union movement and wider community against plans to contract out their jobs.
If that doesn’t happen here, it won’t be hard to determine who is to blame, and working people won’t forget.
The workers who have left the union and continue to work are not the real scabs, they rightly sense the union is playing with an empty hand, and just want to be on the winning side.
The real scabs are those on the left and in the union movement who are trying to isolate the wharfies by with holding their support and also urging others to withhold their support.
No worries, Jenny, I’m sure your relentless positivity will win the day for the wharfies.
Oddly, it seems to me that your attitude is the one of relentless positivity and sunny optimisim.
Possibly that’s because I have faith in the workers, their union and the righteous nature of their dispute, CV! I always find workers determined to set their own agenda and claim their own future extremely uplifting. Sectarian point scoring and unwarranted abuse from individuals with other loony left agendas less so.
Righteous faith is very good, but where’s the winning strategy which will force POAL to capitulate?
That’s not my place to say. It’s up to MUNZ to choose the strategy and tactics that best suit them. It’s their blue, after all.
Well, you have expressed explicit faith in them.
So I’ll check in with you in 6 months, when I hope to be able to say to you TVoR that you were 100% right and I was 100% wrong to be a doubting Thomas.
Good call, comrade. Hope it doesn’t take twelve months though!
Voice of Reason, as I am sure you are cynically aware. Without wider union support, they will beaten in less than three.
VOR, I call it as I see it.
Twice I have asked you, “as a Labour Party supporter and a union official, both. Will you be calling on your members to support the wharfies, or not?”
Both times you have refused to answer the question.
So I will ask you a third time.
As a Labour Party supporter and a union official, both. Will you be calling on your members to support the wharfies, or not?
Let our readers draw their own conclusion from the nature of your response, or lack there of.
Ooooh, stalker alert! My response is the same as before, Jenny. You can take a flying one, because my identity is none of your beeswax.
As in 1991, the union movement essentially turns out to be a paper tiger.
As in 1991 people are scared of losing their jobs and so are giving power to the capitalists (who want to pay them less) by not standing up to them.
Thats what I mean, when push comes to shove, the unions fold up like a paper bag, just like in 1991, when a general strike could have killed the ECA (from what I understand, the National government was prepeared to soften the bill significantly). Its no different here, now MUNZ has essentially been broken at POA, it is essentially open season on the workforce.
The only thing a general strike in 1991 would have killed would have been organised labour. The tide had turned, the Nat’s had the country in their grip and a futile display of petulance would have been a reason for the dry right in the Nat caucus to push for the de-recognition of all unions, except yellow company ones.
If it the general stike had been called, most workers would have ignored it and the unions would have been smashed. Industrial disputes (and political ones) are all about timing and strength. Get either aspect wrong and its yet another noble defeat.
Thanks for that, VOR, that is the clearest exposition I have ever read from a Labour Party union official on why the struggle against the ECA was strangled.
I don’t often talk about these shameful events, because I feel that the Labour Party has moved on, and is not as right wing as it was during this period.
However since you have raised the issue, and in regards to present issue at hand of contracting out union jobs.
I fear we are about to witness a repeat of history.
If contracting out union jobs can be achieved on the wharves against one of the strongest unions in the country, this tactic will be used against the rest of the union movement. As in 1991, if no concerted organised fight back is led, every unionist will be in the gun.
In 1991 in what was described at the time as the biggest protests in New Zealand’s history, tens of thousands of workers spontaneously protested against the Employment Contracts Act in every city and town in the country.
The two main chants and slogans of these massed workers was “General Strike” and “Kill the Bill” which was painted on hundreds of hand made signs and banners. In response the Labour Party dominated union hierarchy paid to have thousands of placards preprinted and professionally made up and distributed with the lesser slogan “Oppose The Bill”.
“Oppose The Bill” was a call to protest against, but not defeat the ECA. Understandably in the mood of the time this call to just “Oppose The Bill” was not very popular. Though some workers did carry them as historic photos can attest, many were often left stacked on the footpath, most workers preferring their home made signs and chants “Kill The Bill”. (Which also had a better ring to it than the Labour Party imposed slogan).
Because of the controversy raised by the new ‘official slogan’ of the campaign. A public debate was called in the Auckland Trades Hall chaired by the head of the benificiaries union President on the subject on why this lesser demand was being imposed onto the movement by the union hierarchy. Joe Tonner a leading Labour Party figure of the time and head of the Labour Party dominated PSA argued for the lesser demand to be adopted.
However, the lesser demand never became popular amongst workers who in their tens of thousands, kept calling for a general strike. The call for a general strike was bitterly opposed from the top table of union officials at stopwork meetings all around the country. In at least two cases during this tumultuous period, worker delegates that tried to raise a motion for general strike from the floor of the meetings were phyisically assaulted by Labour Party union officials. In the most infamous incident, At the final big protest march and mass meeting in Auckland, Peter Hughes a shop floor delegate for the PSA, representing meat inspectors, following chanted demands from the crowd to put the motion for a general strike was assaulted by the Labour Party Union officials who had ringed the stage to prevent the motion being put.
These open and many more behind the scenes methods were taken by the Labour Party to prevent workers taking militant industrial action to defend themselves from National Government and employer attacks.
I had hoped that those days were over.
I am dissapointed to discover that the Labour Party and Labour Party affiliated union leaders are still acting in the same way for the same motives.
VOR you may argue that if a union fight back had been allowed this, “would have been a reason for the dry right in the Nat caucus to push for the de-recognition of all unions, except yellow company ones.”
I would argue the opposite, that by not fighting back the employers and the Nats were emboldened to increase their attacks on working people and their unions. (Which subsequent events actually show.)
I will repeat again:
Good times, Jenny, good times! You’ve fingered the wrong party entirely there, and promoted Joe Tonner to a position he never held. And this should really make you really happy; I was among those union delegates doing security that day and I’m proud to say it was me that prevented Hughes from getting on stage. No assault at all, unless him trying to push past me counts. We had been told that the CP intended rushing the stage and indeed that is what happened. Or at least, that was what was attempted, but, happily prevented.
A lucky thing too, because if the maddies had won the day, the NZ union movement would have been smashed within a matter of weeks.
Jenny is substantially correct on the fact that rank and file unionists across NZ were calling for direct action on a national scale. Years later Bill Birch admitted that he had been prepared to make concessions on the EC Bill. It was the abject failure of CTU leader KG Douglas and Joe Tonner, and the Engineers heads at the time to provide positive leadership that lead to a narrow vote at the CTU executive not to proceed with a national stoppage. The engineers and PSA leaderships indulged in ‘technical’ democracy at a higher forum that went against the wishes of substantial numbers of their union members as expressed on the streets and at meetings.
Organised labour has been paying for that capitulation ever since. Tri partism can only operate in the environment of a social democratic government, Douglas was deluded or the SIS best plant ever to think a hostile tory government would buy into partnership and ‘compacts’.
Re the Auckland meeting at Aotea Sq. It was Socialist Unity Party members and supporters who provided ‘security’ that day that prevented people at the meeting from putting motions. In retrospect Bill Andersen, chair, should have accepted Hughes motion whatever party he may have represented. Particularly given that Bill Andersen and his union the NDU supported a national stoppage.
Good summary, TM. The crux of the issue, as I remember it, wasn’t the depth of feeling held by rank and filers, it was whether we could take the wider workforce with us. Given that we had just seen a right wing Government rejected in favour of an even more right wing one, I remain convinced that it would have been a failure and it would have been a green light for Birch et al to finish us off. I certainly wouldn’t trust anything Birch said after the event, by the way, that sounds more like him twisting the knife.
NZ has long been a nation divided, with the post colonial rural sector and SMEs as far as the eye can see, so with the rough composition of NZ–40% dark tending to tory kiwis, 40% ok folks and 20% swingers. “Uniting all who can be united” was not the priority in 91 imo. It was the survival of the union movements credibility and organisational capacity.
The majority of unions today despite their claims are servicing organisations. I would except FIRST, MUNZ and the education unions, with pockets here and there such as the EPMU telcos and airline members (e.g. Zeal), though workplaces can change quickly. There has only ever been a small number of workers and unions that one could call class conscious, which is why the 99% movement has such potential. Class issues can be dealt with without people having to belong to a union or be otherwise classified.
Am currently reading “Unions Common Cause, a history of the NZ Federation of Labour” edited by Peter Franks and it is interesting the stats on union membership nos. are surprisingly similar to today. Of course during the FOL years the poplulation was smaller and membership compulsory so it does not directly equate.
Long answer to your contention, but we should have gone for broke in 91.
What a smelly and old, load of self justifying rubbish.
I have heard this argument before from Labour Party union officials. That the workers had voted for a right wing government.
The truth is not that clear cut.
In 1990 the hated Mike Moore Labour Government was so right wing that they had stolen all National’s policies, leaving National nothing to campaign on.
So National campaigned on policies to the left of Labour.
And it was those policies that people voted for.
The top two policies* that National campaigned on in the 1990 election were:
1) Stop state asset sales
2) Remove the Superannuation Surcharge imposed by Labour.
Of course being tories, on gaining office National immediately broke these left commitments to the electorate and carried on where Labour had left off.
One of the remaining legacies of the Nats breaking all their (left) election promises was the birth of the New Zealand First Party. National Stalwart had Winston Peters had stormed into power in Tauranga with a campaign based largely on the National Party Promise of removing The Super Surcharge.
Tauranga being an acknowledged mecca for retirees, the electorate was livid!
It was clear that any National MP would be dumped by the electorate for the Nats treachery as soon as possible.
Already being a two time loser, if Peters had of stuck with National he would have been just a footnote in history. Peters though being a died in the wool tory had no choice if we wanted to continue having a career in politics, but to form a new tory offshoot.
Despite Labour’s right wing trajectory, And National’s apparent more left one, “normally left voters” repulsed by Labour and rightfully as it turned out distrustful of the Nats, as you yourself admit VoR , “stayed away from the polls (as they have done in the last two elections)”
The electorate had been betrayed, people were angry and ready to fight.
Of course this was not the judgement of the top Labour Party union officials who dominated the Trade union movement at the time. Like the Labour Party itself, they were demoralised and confused. Union officials at the time had told me that they faced open revolt at stopwork meetings if they tried to urge workers to vote Labour.
In your words VoR, you say; “The crux of the issue, as I remember it, wasn’t the depth of feeling held by rank and filers, it was whether we could take the wider workforce with us.”
This demoralisation and confusion and anger with workers, for rejecting Labour, led in my opinion for these loyal to Labour union leaders to misjudge the mood and make the wrong call. Confusing workers rejection with Labour as a rejection of the left. In fact I think the grass roots were more astute at the time than the leadership. Unfortunately VoR, this is an example of where “tribal”sectarianism can let you down.
Please VoR don’t let this sectarian blind spot get in your way again. And do all you can to support the wharfies. That is, if you don’t want a repeat of history.
*(From memory, National also promised something to tertiary students to get their vote. As students had been viciously savaged by Labour with user pays for tertiary education. What was particularly irking to student activists of the time was the people who were attacking them at the time like Goff had all had the benefit of free tertiary education. Never being a student or having gone to university I can’t remember exactly what the Nats. promised the students. But I do know they broke that promise)
You should be ashamed of yourself.
If you were in the group that prevented a general strike.
All the unionists were ready for a general strike until the ECA was abandoned.
Then the sellouts in the Labour party and the union leadership calmed things down for the Neo-Liberal takeover.
Why Labour is still MIA. Now reverting to NACT light.
Which means they will keep losing votes.
Why vote for Labour unless they offer clear choices and difference from National.
After some signs of returning to being a Labour party under Goff for two months it likes like we have returned to “business as usual”. With the same old guard.
Your comments are lightweight and totally off beam -“ECA abandoned”? “Neo-Liberal takeover”?, make no sense, and have no basis in reality KJT.
Really. I was there. Were you?
I’m coming in the middle here.
Just wanted to thank the contributers discussing what actually went on during this crucial point in the history of the Labour movement. It’s something I’ve always been interested in, and as you point out Jenny, so goddam relevent to the juncture we now find ourselves at.
Looking forward to reading the whole thead at a later date. Dashing off just now.
Cheers, just saying. There is probably a book to be written about 91, but it would need to take into account that the union movement, like society in general, was reeling under the most fundamental changes since the thirties.
In particular, the shift to voluntary unionism a few years ealier had an effect that had not been anticipated, which was to demote unions to an option in the workplace, not a permanent presence. Most union leaders at the time were rightly worried about the financial impact, but didn’t see that a huge cultural change had taken place.
The unions in 91 had to make the call to either put everything on the line or retreat and rebuild. Admittedly, the rebuilding hasn’t really happened and there is no way to know whether a general strike would have succeeded, but I come back to the confusion, fear and loss of political direction that was shackling the labour movement at the time. Everything we knew and took for granted, was gone or going, and the election was astonishing not because normally left voters stayed away from the polls (as they have done in the last two elections), they also voted National in their droves. And reconfirmed their decision a couple of years later, too.
The removal of the right to strike, except in very limited circumstances, embodied in the ECA, was going to take away any Union power.
The only option was a general strike before the ECA made it illegal.
Fight or face the inevitable slow death.
The end of unionism, and ordinary NZ working people getting their fair share, was an entirely predictable result.
Some think that Ken Douglas rolled over on proposals for a General Strike in ’91, which consigned the workers movement to ever increasing irrelevancy thereafter.
to KJT 10:59 “Really. I was there. Were you?”
I was there alright laddie, including the NZCTU special affiliates meeting in Wellington on the matter and the Auckland rally. Perhaps you are trying to express genuine views but your scrambled writing style makes it rather hard to discern.
to CV 11:13
“Some think that Ken Douglas rolled over on proposals for a General Strike in ’91, ”
Understatement of the morning CV, Douglas thundered against any national action.
Don’t be so bloody patronising.
AND we all remember calling for a vote, at various meetings, only to have it blocked by the so called leaders, despite an obvious majority on the floor.
You are right. We were let down by Douglas and others.
The moment the ECA could have been resisted was lost.
After that, the victory of the Neo-Liberal right, including Labour party members, and the demise of workers rights was inevitable.
OK a spikey exchange, does your sarcasm top my alleged patronising, heh, but understand where you are coming from now. Workers rights can and must be regained is the main thing. Unionised workers are those that have actually got pay rises under Shonkey’s administration apart from CEOs of course whereas the majority of precarious and non union employees got zilch.
Footnote: Bill Andersen had formed SPA (Socialist Party of Aotearoa) by ’91 after Ken Douglas defected to social democracy which he (Douglas) had signalled back in 1988 by supporting the Aussie frigate build. SUP members were involved though in blocking the CPNZ members at the Auckland meeting along with SPA and supporters.
Veteran ’51er Jock Barnes savaged Douglas in person at Jim Knox Auckland memorial service and rightly so on his capitulation, the point of retracing all this is obvious-don’t do it again CTU, call on all unionised workers and the wider community to support MUNZ.
In the week set aside to remember the founding document of our country’s creation isn’t it ironic that the Government may lose almost all of its majority because of its insistence on selling our assets overseas in breach of that document’s principles.
Big picture has a series on coal:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/01/coal.html
I’ve long been of the view that unless coal,oil and mining companies act responsibly with the same safety procedures we would expect, in other countries then we should not let them here at all.
Diamond mining should just be banned – I can see no good reason for needing more diamonds.
I use diamond tips tools. Many industrial cutting applications require diamond edges. Don’t know but suspect most diamonds are used for industrial purposes.
I would not favour a ban on diamond mining (or any other mining). A better thing would be to ensure that miners of all types are made to pay the true human and environmental costs of their activities. They will of course pass on the costs, which is fine as the consumer will then make more informed choices before they buy.
Yeah diamond is also used in a lot of cleaning and abrasive applications.
Don’t they use man-made diamonds for commercial applications?
I hadn’t realised the proportion of synthetics was quite so high. DTB beat me to the punch.
And 90% of the diamonds used for that are synthetic.
As you say though, if the costs are properly realised then we shouldn’t need to ban mining.
Had not thought of synthetic, I stand corrected. Just thinking ahead couple of questions:
* in an energy depleted world will it be possible or economic to produce synthetic diamonds?
* will there still be the level of demand for diamond edged tools we have today?
Who knows? It just illustrates the total uncertainty we now face, and our inability to get our heads around it.
Probably
No but there will still be some.
The history and methods of creating synthetic diamonds is quite interesting.
I remember reading once that something like 10% of the worlds energy resources are used in diamond mining – the use of very big drills and rock crushers, something like 1 carat of diamonds is extracted from every 10 tonnes of rock.
The point with diamonds was partly that you can make them synthetically and partly that there are massive stockpiles of diamonds anyway.
So apart from artificial value due to stockpiling keeping the price high and vanity what purpose does mining diamonds actually have?
Heard Pita Sharples give a rousing speech at some rally last night on te reo or maori tv. It seems he still thinks that maori have a special place apart from the rest. As has been seen throughout history this sort of mindset usually leads to trouble.
Pita sharpies is trouble, once those limos are gone watch him go.
do you have to start this shit again?
boring vto, just as boring as gossy
That’s a bit harsh, Mars… 😀
vto and i have a love/hate relationship when it comes to this stuff but yes comparing him to gossy was unfair and harsh 🙂 thanks macskasy
Heh heh heh… 😉
Damn. They did some maintenance on the server box last night after sending this middday yesterday.
Yeah. It has problems damnit. Trying to talk to them now as it doesn’t seem to be anything wrong as far as I can see
“Chirpy engineers will be onsite”
Presumably that’s the name of the company, or these guys just love being up early in the morning.
National is determined to destroy our quality public education system and place more stress on Christchurch communities through rushing through yet another flawed system.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/charter-schools-channel-flawed-ideology.html
John Banks says Catherine Odgers is perfectly suited to implementing charter schools because she was once on a Board of Trustees and is a successful business woman. Lucky children.
Cathrine Issacs (nee Judd), not Odgers. The last thing we need is that prickly bitch running anything in this country.
I guess we now have a fair idea about what type of charter schools will be implemented in this country.
Ah sorry, thanks for the correction.
It seems as if Banksy may have spouted prematurely
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6346182/Charter-schools-job-not-confirmed
I am really entertained by the way John Banks speaks, a stream of overused cliches and phrases that are intended to come across as assertive and in control, yet in reality express very little. His desperation to support and be supported by John Key was really quite pathetic and now his party has been given the responsibility of introducing Charter Schools (probably a surprise to him as it was definitely not high on ACT’s agenda during their campaign) he is yapping around excitedly like a Jack Russell on speed.
Anne Tolley was bad enough when forced to answer questions about her National Standards (she once responded to a question about the meaning of one particular standard by saying she didn’t have to understand them, just implement them), but imagine Banks explaining his way through the professional merits of Charter Schools. Things could become very entertaining.
Charter Schools failed big time in the “land of the free”….(you know, the place where the total incarcerated exceeds that of the Gulag at the height of Stalins terror).
Now we have some ACT goons whose prescribed medicine has failed abysmally (since it’s introduction 30 years prior) insisting that the patient might recover if we give the same prescription to him harder and harder. I have to ask why?
Two possible answers.:
1. Ideologues and RWNJs acting more akin to Trotskyites and Born Agains in expressing faith in their apocalyptic creeds.
2. Money, money, money….NACT types who think they might turn a bob or two on this (and fekk the rest of us…just pay pay pay).
Bored, the real reason for introducing Charter Schools is to break teacher collective agreements and diminish the power of the Union. NZEI is now the largest and more effective unions in the country (50,000 members) and National has long had the goal of cutting our power. http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/government-attacks-new-zealands-highest.html
All the supposed benefits of autonomous school management that was the selling point for Charter Schools overseas already exist in Tomorrows Schools and the only real differences are being able to employ teachers on individual contracts and set their own employment terms and not having to link learning to our National Curriculum or National Standards (bizarre). Obviously National haven’t learned their lessons from Pike River and still feel self regulation and commercial interests will provide safety and good results.
We’re doomed!
Thanks for the precise answer Dave, its not very pretty is it. Which in effect means both my reasons were correct, ideological theological idiocy aimed at Unions, and money from breaking Unions…..bastards.
Yeah its great to listen to Banks (not). Every second word is “Key”.
If he still has a wife I bet she gets woken throughout the night with Banks saying “I love you John Key” over and over and over……
ipredict that soemone has given them some money to put a chunk in the works?
Moerewa was mentioned on 9 to noon in the last couple of days, but it doesn’t seem to have been picked up by other media. The only news reference I have seen is from a while ago:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/secondary-education/news/article.cfm?c_id=315&objectid=10767478
It seems National want to stop a success because it conflicts with their simplistic ideological preconceptions – and challenges micro management from “party central” in the ministers office – but are considering a “charter school’ initiative that at best will have a trial start towards the end of their term of office. This government is more concerned with compliance than with education success.
We already knew that from their threats to fire boards and teachers if they didn’t implement National(s) Standards.
It is sad that I am absolutely not surprised that something that works is not accepted by Anne Tolley. Unfortunately, I doubt that the school would get a better hearing from Hekia Parata.
Hekia Parata is at least a damn sight smarter than Tolley.
She’s in the National Party so I doubt that the difference is that much 😈
In appearance or common sense? On what basis do you make that call? I think both would struggle with a part in the Muppets.
😛
Also it’s in Hone Harawira’s electorate and therefore must be crushed
just finished reading “The Victorians” by A.N. Wilson and I was lead to the co-operative movement in Wikipedia.
why no co-operative movement in NZ. in the UK they have 4,500 shops and going strong.
time to rethink how we create community in new zealand perhaps?
The agriculture industry is heavily dominated by co-operatives, Fonterra, Ravensdown, Allied Farmers, Ballance, etc, however has been eroded in recent years. IMO probably the reason the meat and wool sector is falling behind, because most of the co-ops there have been privatised.
Tory rural folk have always realised the power of collective enterprise.
While telling us how great competition is.
A good suggestion. We could do worse than having a detailed look at the co-operative economy in Emilia Romagna in Italy (Bologna is the capital).
The region has about 4 million people and 15,000 of Italy’s 43,000 cooperatives. But it also has a lot of small, entrepreneurial firms that link together in collective ways to produce a flourishing export economy.
Here’s another link about the economy in Emilia Romagna.
And now we are to have secondary schools league tables if Hekia gets her way
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6348290/Govt-eyes-secondary-school-comparison-site
All part of NActs plan to introduce publicly funded private schools (government guaranteed profit vehicles) and competition. It’s got nothing to do with improving education but with increasing profits for the private sector.
This wonderful, intelligent passionate woman born of an American Jewish mother and an Iraqi Muslim father tells it like it is.
Meet Dr Dahlia S. Wasfi and hear her speak:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGTJq8LnIQg&has_verified=1
everything binky and co. does has an extraneous third party injected into the mix and solely to take a rake off.
instead of a straight line there is a dogleg.
i.e. they are bent.
and the taxpayer has to fork out for some high faluting principle that on closer inspection just turns out to be another device for looting the public purse.
no wonder they talk about paring expenditure.
they just want to take it all for themselves.
they are just greedy bastards.
A bunch of conniving, thieving traitors!
Great to see the impact Michael Cullen has had as chairman of NZ Post their poor performance has now put Kiwi Bank on a negative watch by Standard & Poors. Just goes to show Labour People and Business just dont mix. Should never of been made a member of the board no room for his style of economics there.
http://nz.finance.yahoo.com/news/NZ-Post-drags-Kiwibank-credit-businessdesk-
Ask your parents to explain the difference between governance and management, James. And how to spell ‘have’ while you’re at it.
And when Lehman Brothers failed those investment bankers were Labour people too, weren’t they?
I’d say that such a watch could be more attributed to the GFC that was caused by the RWNJs in Goldman Sachs, Lehman Bros. and other failed and bailed banks.
Standard & Poor? You mean the ratbag rating agency the too big to fail banks use as a weapon in the finance wars if they want to kill of economies or banks that are not under their control? That rating agency?
Seriously?
NZpost is doing better than USMail.
Great something for Michael Cullen to aim down towards.
So that’s where you tories get it wrong!
You and key think the objective in government and life is to suck! Cullen knows the true objective is to (and I’ll put it into terms that you and Derek Zoolander can understand) not–suck.
Gareth Morgan wrote a doozy the other day …
Capital tax the best option for economy.
Unfortunately the Herald buried it rather quickly. Possibly because it was attracting a lot of unsavoury comments from greedy property speculators and landlords. (some of whom have been spotted trolling this site)
I love how most of the top comments confuse a capital tax with a capital gains tax even though Gareth Morgan clearly explains the difference it in the article. Guess the speculators and landlords never learnt to read.
Generation Zero, Rangatahi get active against climate change.
And their funding comes from where, and your association to this group, or its funders, is what exactly?
the only thing that the reagan adminsistration in the 1980’s never tried to privatise was the national aviation transport security board.
think about that.
50 jobs to go at Te Puni Kokiri.
Fortunately, Pita Sharples is feeling a lot of aroha for those to be made redundant and those suffering the uncertainty.
Here’s Hone’s take on it.
what about the building in chch that wasn’t pulled down because it had a heritage sticker and collapsed killing eight people?
it seems that many of those heritage churches and other victorian symbols of mancunian mercantilism were really jerry built in the first place.
and.
they wont have a mid term election in chch because the tory noo noo heads know that Jim Anderton would shit in carrying a pig as they say.
Come now. Some of those buildings lasted 120 or more years before suffering critical structural failures. That’s bloody robust compared to some of our “modern” buildings which were built 30-40 years ago that fell over.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6330473/Fast-tracked-oil-consents-bypass-mayor-public
Anyone see this, and have a comment!
That council needs to be fired now.
The people need to demand it – By that I mean publically get down to your council buidling and take it over!
Too many councils have unelected officials and CEOs who think that they are lords onto themselves.
So where does this leave the Local Government Act, in terms of potential breach?
And that needs to be changed to – they’re accountable to the elected representatives who are accountable to the people.
A universal aberration
It’s interesting that the $25 price per tonne of CO2 projected by the Ministry of Economic Development has halved since their $50 per tonne projection in 2010. But what’s even more indicative of the government’s incompetence is that the just released MED 2011 forecast is already 68% off the mark…
lol nats http://johnkeylooksatthings.tumblr.com/
5 pm news on National Radio today. 5.17 pm.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint
Charter Schools and Catherine Issac appointed by Banks to overseeing state funded private schools. Isaac says she is ‘not an ideologue’ but is ‘interested in policies that work’. Ok, so evidence based decisions then.
She then goes on to state that Charter Schools ‘do work’.
Ok, evidence based assessment goes out the window. So much for not being an ideologue. Mind already made up it seems.
Her claim that Charter Schools ‘do work’ is, at best, highly contestable. But shes ‘not an ideologue’.
John Banks meanwhile is well beyond any evidence based assessment. They will simply ‘happen’, he says, whether a good idea or not.
Looks like an ideologue appointed an ideologue.