The Trevor and Shearer thing! God give us patience!
Shearer (correctly) complains that he should be consulted on the selection of a New Speaker.
Then Shearer back’s Trevor’s attempt to become speaker by the ruse of hoping the other side are not there to vote because they are not aware he is running.
Let us for one moment imagine Trevor had won via this childish ruse. What message about Labour would it have sent to country?
That we are clever dicks who can sneak around procedure?
That we say on thing and do the opposite?
That we can win and bugger the consequences?
We have seen in these pages some of Trevor’s proxies and Mike Smith put forward procedural reasons why the Leadership Selection should not go the the Members and Unions. We will see more of this nonsense.
Stupid is what stupid does. What little credibility Trevor had has now been flushed away. And this man is our Leader’s Chief Strategist!
No wonder we can’t budge our poll number despite Key and his mob’s antics.
It’s certainly symptomatic of a serious disconnect.
It reminds me of when the ministerial “perks” were revealed to the public. The leadership team (and many on here) never really ‘got’ what those receipts revealed about the Labour Party to the public, and the damage done.
They never got that Labour is supposed to be different. Labour ministers living ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous, feeling completely entitled, endlessly explaining and whining and feeling aggrieved that National doing the same weren’t getting anywhere near the stick for it. Well newsflash, National troughers were being completely true to their actual values, and everyone knew it. Labour was and is supposed to be representing something different. Something better actually.
” Labour was and is supposed to be representing something different. Something better actually”
Spot on, Just Saying. Certainly “symptomatic”!
There is a small group that just does not get it. Their removal is critical for the party to get out of the rut is is in. Roll on a member and union engagement in the leadership selection. Only that “hui” will lance the boil.
My bog-Irish Gran born into what was little more than a mud hut in County Clare bless Her soul admonished me as a child never to speak ill of the dead,
So i wont, but believe me i have to overcome some strong internal urges to stay true to what She taught me…
I was taught that as well but I’ve never really understood why. If some one was an arsehole then obviously it would be better to accept that truth than to try to hide from it.
After Jock Hobbs died, everyone went on about how he was such a great rugby player, blah blah blah. Narry a mention of his shady business dealings, from wikipedia:
He was also a director of finance company Strategic Finance, which was placed in receivership in March 2010. The Financial Markets Authority is investigating the records of this company.[4] The Financial Markets Authority stopped its probe into Mr Hobbs role after medical information provided on behalf of Mr Hobbs disclosed the extent of his illness; the investigation into other living parties involved with Strategic Finance continues.
What a hypocrite Lanthanide, you are so quick to correct people here yet have no trouble slandering someone else ‘now dead’ with unsubstantiated allegations.
Being under investigation doesn’t happen to just anyone, you know. A lot of people lost money by investing in the company he was a director of.
Did he have any personal culpability? Looks like we’ll never know for sure, since they called off the investigation in his dealings, although it continues for the other directors.
Compare the complete lack of mention of this about Jock Hobbs with the 4-minute recap I saw on Holmes last night, where they played the audio of him calling Kofi Annan a cheeky darkie. The treatment of Holmes was balanced, the treatment of Jock was not.
“Being under investigation doesn’t happen to just anyone, you know.”
There you go again, what’s that meant to mean? if your under investigation your guilty? or must be you know?
All I know is your slandering a dead man that can no longer defend himself, throwing stones at people that can’t defend themselves is cowardly.
And talking about Balance in the media is also a joke, who pays the medias wages? The marketers/advertisers thats who, what do they want? Consumers to buy their products, but first they need there attention, how do they get there attention. Sensationalism not balance.
It’s a timing thing, I reckon. Mostly because the family needs a bit of time to grieve for the person they loved before having people start up with the negative.
Ah, in the small closed village atmosphere of my Gran’s time word of what you had said would quickly spread and you would be in danger of making enemies among the family of the deceased where befor you only had friends,
My Gran was full of interesting takes on historical events which She would impart freely after a few gins in Her thickest of Irish accents,
Included among these pearls of wisdom was Her swearing oaths that the current Royal family has in it’s fairly recent gene pool the off-spring born from the loins of an Irish chamber maid, brought into such ‘service’ because a particular Queen seemed unable to deliver to the King a son,
Who would have thunk it, the descendants of an Irish ‘piss-pot emptier’ sitting on the Royal throne of all the Britt’s…
Ah, in the small closed village atmosphere of my Gran’s time word of what you had said would quickly spread and you would be in danger of making enemies among the family of the deceased where befor you only had friends,
Dunno why. I would have said exactly the same thing before they died. And that is the point: Why say something different after they died? That just comes across as dishonest and craven.
LOLZ luckily you didn’t come across the old girl in Her prime then, according to my Mother (who had first hand experience) the Gran could and did brawl like a man and would happily go toe to toe with anyone, insinuating that She was craven or dishonest to Her face would have been to run the risk of Her inflicting some serious damage to your’s…
Well in my initial comment above, I certainly didn’t contradict anything I have said or thought previously about Holmes. I think there is a time for criticism, and right now is the time for his friends and family.
s I get older, I am very aware of more and more people dying who are younger than me, – Holmes was a fraction younger than me. It kind of shocks me, and makes me feel sad when people go relatively young (Steve Jobs, Whitney Houston, various teenagers killed in car crashes, over doses, natural disasters, etc.)
It also reminds me we all live under a death sentence.
For a public personality or achiever who I respected and valued, I would have been more likely to write a post commemorating their life, rather than just express condolences. Very often, it is what is not said that is significant.
“I was taught that as well but I’ve never really understood why.”
Exactly! To me, it’s just hypocrisy. It was my Scottish mother who taught me the same, but her hypocrisy made me vomit at my father’s funeral – “No, we never had a cross word” she said in a syrupy voice. I think everyone present knew differently.
Paul Holmes was not a great guy. I am sorry that he’s dead at such a young age, but that doesn’t suddenly make him a plaster saint.
With Labour’s leadership vote due to happen on Monday, I’ve been thinking about writing to my local MP. I realise this is a touchy subject, and I don’t want my lobbying to be counter-productive, so it will need to be customised. I find it all the more difficult knowing that he and his colleagues consider people like me to be extremist nutters, and this will colour his reception of my words.
When I wrote to him previously on another matter, his first response was to ignore me. I recently reread that whole correspondance with a view to doing better in the future. Although by email number three he was no longer simply trying to fob me off, I came away from reviewing the emails feeling angry that it was so hard to engage him in the first place. My original (ignored) email was polite, self-disclosing, and heart felt. I told him how I had been hurt by the issue at hand. He never should have ignored it, and I wonder how I could have gotten him to listen – not necessarily agree, but to hear me out. It feels a little bit like trying to communicate with a family member who has joined a closed cult, in the sense that having closed ranks against people like me, any effort I make could be so easily elicit a counterproductive defensive rearguard re-action.
just saying – without going into all the details I have every reason to empathise with your personal and painful experience. It is these so-called “little matters” that really count in the end.
john key told Shearer to put a bell on Cunliffe so he can hear him coming(much mirth from the girls and boys in blue) methinks he should do the same to s joyce who seems to be making himself over.Less condescension,less snarling,perhaps a hair style change(hard to tell that one but it looks a little different) maybe lost a little weight,engaging in conversation on radio instead of shooting down etc. Dunno,he just seems different.Going for the statesman persona? Listen for the bell key!
Gotta agree with you Chris, i thought after seeing Joyce on tv that he had softened his
know all attitude and intimidating ways to one of smoking a peace pipe elequently in so
far as actually listening to what people say with regards to the happless novapay saga.
I wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of those idiots inside the nact govt that signed it off,
knowing full well it was a broken system and a dog,according to Joyce.
The ministers that signed it off should pay for the cost of fixing it or establishing a new system,deduct their salaries,or fire them.
Joyce next Nact leader then ?
yep, is my guess. I reckon sometime this year or early next, to try and reinvigorate the nats before the next election. They’re sinking and they need a flotation device.
Nats going to feel some real pain soon re Novopay the twitasphere is digesting the infodump released today. Alas i feel Mr Key will swear in public soon and poof its all gone…
Many murderers do not serve out their sentence, dying in
prison, many do not lose all kin, many do not lose
all wealth, many do not lose the opportunity to have
kids when young, but David Bain has lost all that,
and more, publicity will dog him for the rest of his
life, but worse, he was also found NOT GUILTY.
Key panders to the nastiness in all of us, Key is making
us a nastier nation, Key has no conscience. The principle
is clear, a civil standard does not attract a prison sentence.
Justice Binnie declare David Bain innocent on balance.
Justice Minister has obviously allowed her own political
needs to infer in my opinion, and the opinion of many.
Even Rodney Hide points out 12 errors in the Police
collection of evidence. The idea that any freedom loving
country could jail someone for that long, without a fail trial,
frustrate in their appeals, and now hounded even more some
modest compensation – has Key seen the prices of housing!!!
want to play. Blind Mans’ Bluff mice
read ’em and weep around those deckchairs
Magogs and Golgothas cross swords once more
earwigs around The Faraway Tree
thread the Stradavarian bow
beneath those Nikau charms of doubtful sounds
know our Peking pedigree. Hells Bells.suite
The Judge is standing at the door;
that’s a guarantee. No no no Leppard
He’s a pinball Wizard, there has to be a trick
I have a question for the more financially literate out there. Is the value of the New Zealand dollar based on the amount of currency in circulation OR the amount of currency in total? eg: hypothetically $1 Billion in circulation, OR $500 million in circulation + $500 million in reserve.
If it is the 500 + 500 version, what is to stop the government printing money to drive the value down, but not putting it into circulation?
NB the value of the NZD is not overly driven by supply, it is driven mostly by speculative expectations and (non trade) demand.
Forgive my ignorance, but how will not putting the currency in circulation make any impact on the value of the currency?
It’s a psychology thing – if people know that a flood of supply might be released shortly, it will suppress pricing.
Like the Government announcing an immediate build of 100,000 houses. House prices can be suppressed before earth for the 1st house is even broken. (As long as the build announcement is credible of course).
Ok, the NZ$ is based upon our exports which have now taken the place of gold as the standard,one of it’s problems is that as a small currency it is not pegged to the major currencies of the major economies a situation brought about by Sir(spit)Roger Douglas in all His Neo-Liberal wisdom,(none evident),
The NZ$ is thus a free floating dollar which besides being valued as per what the link above says is also valued by ‘demand’, so, as most of what we export is sold into the international markets on the basis of US$,s to bring this money back to New Zealand it must be then converted to NZ$,s,
In step the international Banksters who when demand for NZ produce goes up and prices of that produce rise have already got in first and bought up NZ$,s and as demand for them increases the price NZ producers must pay to convert US$,s to NZ$,s rises, thus the international banking cartels ‘clip the ticket’ of all our exports via the free floating NZ$,
The same banking cartels, as much of this trade in produce is bought and sold on ‘forward contracts’ also get to play with such produce on the demand side by simply bidding up the price of such produce six months or a year ahead of it’s actual production such cartels then have the inside knowledge of what the demand for the NZ$ will be in 12 months time and only need wait for a dip in the price of the NZ$,s by as little as 1 cent to make millions of dollars from both the actual purchase of future production and by purchasing the right amount of NZ$,s well ahead of the actual production having taken place,
The NZ$ is hence the 10th most traded currency of all the worlds currencies and there seems to be only 2 solutions apparent, the first being to ‘fix’ the value of the NZ$ against the worlds major currencies, or, print and spend into the local NZ economy amounts of money which gradually increase the supply of NZ$,s by producing assets such as housing that remain in NZ as opposed to attempting to produce even more product for sale on the international markets which would simply lead to more of the same,
Such dilution of the NZ$ could easily be accomplished by simply diluting the NZ$ by the spending of printed monies into the NZ economy at such a rate so as to hold inflation within the Reserve Banks inflationary target band of 1 to 3% inflation in any given year, not rocket science for the bean counters….
not wanting to speak ill of dead cows yet when I grazed the cheapest supermarket this week for some protein, the cheapest beef that was unprocessed (other than mince) was stir-fry at 19-something dollars a freakin kilo: I went with free range eggs, 3 meals from a dozen!
Interesting. My boss and his wife have just come back from a holiday in Vanuatu where one of their biggest exports is beef. Now, we constantly get lectured how we must ‘pay the international price’ for things like dairy products and met, so I was wondering just how my boss got away with paying $19/kg for fillet steak?
Not discounted. Normal supermarket price.
In fact, ALL the meat was well below the prices we pay here in NZ.
LOLZ you been robbed bro, Pack and Slave where i did the weekly on Wednesday had 1.1KG of corned beef for $6.80 and along with that i got a 500gram prime beef rolled roast for 11 bucks,
That’s about the day i listened to the bloke from the Fed say that farmers in Canterbury and the East coast of the North Island were de-stocking in the face of drought conditions,
ill spoken of dead cows seems to be wherever you are uncalled for wishing the same fate upon the owners of said market would seem to be more to the point…
Welcome, just as a afterthought, the scale of the field upon which this little money go round is played is easily ‘seen’ when we consider that the total export market is some 40 billion dollars a year,
I havn’t got the figures for current values/volumes of dairy products on hand but even if that were half of total exports you can then see how easy for the banking cartels it is to insinuate themselves into the middle of the equation to make a buck from essentially doing nothing,
Just one of them Goldman Saches (sacks of gold man) has a reported 100 billion languishing in the tank in the basement on any given day…
When you say “value of the NZ dollar” do you mean locally or in relation to other currencies. A dollar will always be worth a dollar locally, but how much you can buy with that dollar will depend on inflation. However the value in terms of other currencies, or the3 “exchange rate” depends on the supply and demand for NZ dollars and may bear no relation to its local value.
Well since the vote hasn’t actually been held yet claims of a 100% vote are of course speculative.
Nevertheless, the secret ballot held after Conference last year gave Shearer 100% support (how did that number get out?), and nothing dramatic has changed since then.
Its because blubber boy pads his numbers with guns, and dirty girls , and bullshit stories about BK, in the search engines. Most normal people run screaming for the shower, after reading one page of his vitriol, and hate mongering.
so why do you have to tout and linkwhore for him?
Methinks you doth protest to much.
Best case, the tory blogsites are indeed using stats consistent with reality, but you have such low self esteem you need to wander of here and swing your dick around.
Worst case, the stats are full of shit or comparing the popularity of actual debate with tory tripe.
Best case, the tory blogsites are indeed using stats consistent with reality, but you have such low self esteem you need to wander of here and swing your dick around.
– Jealousy will get you nowhere
Worst case, the stats are full of shit or comparing the popularity of actual debate with tory tripe
-There seems to be something about lefties and not accepting poll results if they go against them…
Just pointing out that people who have a low level of self-esteem sometimes compensate by gloating about a perceived superiority over others.
Going “ha ha, we’re on the winning team” at kiwiblog would be one thing. Coming here suggests that we’re not the only people you’re trying to prove a point to.
“like the Right have 5x the page views of The Standard.”
Maybe it’s because The Standard is so good at driving people away! (I am back for the 1st time in 5 months, since QoT banned me temporarily. I discovered then how much more peaceful I felt without the daily nastiness here.)
Now I am back, I am not staying!
It’s as if no time has passed – everyone still hates Shearer, and everyone is still so relentlessly middle class.
Please don’t lie, Vicky. You are specifically banned from my posts only. You were banned for the sum total of a week by lprent back in November for posting a series of childish comments on my posts.
I’m guessing WhaleSpew gets so many clicks because it puts everything in very simple terms, offers absolutely no analysis, and makes anyone who posts more than three consecutive words feel like a mental giant. His contributions are all cut and paste, with a bit of gun porn thrown in, and some crap now and then about how tough he is. Usage of insults like “cocksmoker” also goes down well with his audience, as do calls to be tougher on crims, bring back the death sentence, and calling anyone he disagrees with a “dud root”. His political philosophy is about as sophisticated as Forrest Gump’s, except that in his case the “wisdom” comes from daddy. In fact, he reminds a lot of a Forrest Gump who took up eating instead of running. In short, it’s a place for keyboard warriors to air their prejudices now that they might get called on it in wider society. It’s not as easy to spout off about mowrees, queers, dykes, and boongers in public bars as it used to be, and thank Cloacina for that.
The Standard, on the other hand, has some very thoughtful and well constructed posts, with not much cutting and pasting at all. Even though most of the posters here are a bit to my right, I can always make sense of what they post and appreciate the thought that’s gone into their contribution. Then there are Chris73 and King Kong, probably both dud roots and/or cocksmokers, to put it in language they’d understand.
I suspect it is simply because we don’t bother just pushing pages and especially images to overseas audiences. We have a almost entirely and steadily growing NZ audience of humans.
I just find it curious that WO got about 800k page views in December, and then suddenly in the slowest month in the year; Jan; he gets a 20% increase? FFS the humans in NZ are somnolent f most of the month and barely near a computer.
It could happen I guess if you spent time pushing stuff on Digg or something similar to an overseas audience. But who could really be bothered pushing NZ politics though the SEO
I suppose WO is more concerned with pushing the advertising revenue than anything else. By it is meaningless otherwise.
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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 ...
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The Trevor and Shearer thing! God give us patience!
Shearer (correctly) complains that he should be consulted on the selection of a New Speaker.
Then Shearer back’s Trevor’s attempt to become speaker by the ruse of hoping the other side are not there to vote because they are not aware he is running.
Let us for one moment imagine Trevor had won via this childish ruse. What message about Labour would it have sent to country?
That we are clever dicks who can sneak around procedure?
That we say on thing and do the opposite?
That we can win and bugger the consequences?
We have seen in these pages some of Trevor’s proxies and Mike Smith put forward procedural reasons why the Leadership Selection should not go the the Members and Unions. We will see more of this nonsense.
Stupid is what stupid does. What little credibility Trevor had has now been flushed away. And this man is our Leader’s Chief Strategist!
No wonder we can’t budge our poll number despite Key and his mob’s antics.
It’s certainly symptomatic of a serious disconnect.
It reminds me of when the ministerial “perks” were revealed to the public. The leadership team (and many on here) never really ‘got’ what those receipts revealed about the Labour Party to the public, and the damage done.
They never got that Labour is supposed to be different. Labour ministers living ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous, feeling completely entitled, endlessly explaining and whining and feeling aggrieved that National doing the same weren’t getting anywhere near the stick for it. Well newsflash, National troughers were being completely true to their actual values, and everyone knew it. Labour was and is supposed to be representing something different. Something better actually.
Crikey
http://www.smh.com.au/world/just-217-left-in-the-bank-as-zimbabwe-faces-crisis-20130131-2dnnv.html
Now that really is a crooked ruling elite.
That’s interesting, coz it seems Mugabe himself may be worth over $1B….seems someone has been taking from the country’s till?
http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/22422
And I read somewhere else that Mugabe and the Chinese are co-operating in a hundred billion dollar diamond mine in Zimbabwe. Where’s the moolah going?
Funny, I read Mugabe and the Chinese had developed a multi-hundred billion dollar diamond mine.
Where’s all the money?
hawaii?
” Labour was and is supposed to be representing something different. Something better actually”
Spot on, Just Saying. Certainly “symptomatic”!
There is a small group that just does not get it. Their removal is critical for the party to get out of the rut is is in. Roll on a member and union engagement in the leadership selection. Only that “hui” will lance the boil.
Sir Paul Holmes; gone.
Condolences to his family and friends.
RIP, Sir Paul. He certainly had an impact on NZ.
My bog-Irish Gran born into what was little more than a mud hut in County Clare bless Her soul admonished me as a child never to speak ill of the dead,
So i wont, but believe me i have to overcome some strong internal urges to stay true to what She taught me…
I was taught that as well but I’ve never really understood why. If some one was an arsehole then obviously it would be better to accept that truth than to try to hide from it.
Agreed.
After Jock Hobbs died, everyone went on about how he was such a great rugby player, blah blah blah. Narry a mention of his shady business dealings, from wikipedia:
What a hypocrite Lanthanide, you are so quick to correct people here yet have no trouble slandering someone else ‘now dead’ with unsubstantiated allegations.
Being under investigation doesn’t happen to just anyone, you know. A lot of people lost money by investing in the company he was a director of.
Did he have any personal culpability? Looks like we’ll never know for sure, since they called off the investigation in his dealings, although it continues for the other directors.
Compare the complete lack of mention of this about Jock Hobbs with the 4-minute recap I saw on Holmes last night, where they played the audio of him calling Kofi Annan a cheeky darkie. The treatment of Holmes was balanced, the treatment of Jock was not.
“Being under investigation doesn’t happen to just anyone, you know.”
There you go again, what’s that meant to mean? if your under investigation your guilty? or must be you know?
All I know is your slandering a dead man that can no longer defend himself, throwing stones at people that can’t defend themselves is cowardly.
And talking about Balance in the media is also a joke, who pays the medias wages? The marketers/advertisers thats who, what do they want? Consumers to buy their products, but first they need there attention, how do they get there attention. Sensationalism not balance.
It’s a timing thing, I reckon. Mostly because the family needs a bit of time to grieve for the person they loved before having people start up with the negative.
Ah, in the small closed village atmosphere of my Gran’s time word of what you had said would quickly spread and you would be in danger of making enemies among the family of the deceased where befor you only had friends,
My Gran was full of interesting takes on historical events which She would impart freely after a few gins in Her thickest of Irish accents,
Included among these pearls of wisdom was Her swearing oaths that the current Royal family has in it’s fairly recent gene pool the off-spring born from the loins of an Irish chamber maid, brought into such ‘service’ because a particular Queen seemed unable to deliver to the King a son,
Who would have thunk it, the descendants of an Irish ‘piss-pot emptier’ sitting on the Royal throne of all the Britt’s…
Dunno why. I would have said exactly the same thing before they died. And that is the point: Why say something different after they died? That just comes across as dishonest and craven.
LOLZ luckily you didn’t come across the old girl in Her prime then, according to my Mother (who had first hand experience) the Gran could and did brawl like a man and would happily go toe to toe with anyone, insinuating that She was craven or dishonest to Her face would have been to run the risk of Her inflicting some serious damage to your’s…
If she couldn’t say the same thing about a person before and after that person died then the brawling would just show how weak she was.
LOL only to the effete…
Exactly. There’s a whole dimension to human relationships here that go beyond the rational.
Well in my initial comment above, I certainly didn’t contradict anything I have said or thought previously about Holmes. I think there is a time for criticism, and right now is the time for his friends and family.
s I get older, I am very aware of more and more people dying who are younger than me, – Holmes was a fraction younger than me. It kind of shocks me, and makes me feel sad when people go relatively young (Steve Jobs, Whitney Houston, various teenagers killed in car crashes, over doses, natural disasters, etc.)
It also reminds me we all live under a death sentence.
For a public personality or achiever who I respected and valued, I would have been more likely to write a post commemorating their life, rather than just express condolences. Very often, it is what is not said that is significant.
We are all born under a death sentence. Usually with no knowledge whatsoever of when it will be carried out.
“I was taught that as well but I’ve never really understood why.”
Exactly! To me, it’s just hypocrisy. It was my Scottish mother who taught me the same, but her hypocrisy made me vomit at my father’s funeral – “No, we never had a cross word” she said in a syrupy voice. I think everyone present knew differently.
Paul Holmes was not a great guy. I am sorry that he’s dead at such a young age, but that doesn’t suddenly make him a plaster saint.
I shed a tear on the passing of Sir Paul Holmes. There is a family link of sorts.
My deepest and sincere condolence to his immediate and extended family.
With Labour’s leadership vote due to happen on Monday, I’ve been thinking about writing to my local MP. I realise this is a touchy subject, and I don’t want my lobbying to be counter-productive, so it will need to be customised. I find it all the more difficult knowing that he and his colleagues consider people like me to be extremist nutters, and this will colour his reception of my words.
When I wrote to him previously on another matter, his first response was to ignore me. I recently reread that whole correspondance with a view to doing better in the future. Although by email number three he was no longer simply trying to fob me off, I came away from reviewing the emails feeling angry that it was so hard to engage him in the first place. My original (ignored) email was polite, self-disclosing, and heart felt. I told him how I had been hurt by the issue at hand. He never should have ignored it, and I wonder how I could have gotten him to listen – not necessarily agree, but to hear me out. It feels a little bit like trying to communicate with a family member who has joined a closed cult, in the sense that having closed ranks against people like me, any effort I make could be so easily elicit a counterproductive defensive rearguard re-action.
just saying – without going into all the details I have every reason to empathise with your personal and painful experience. It is these so-called “little matters” that really count in the end.
john key told Shearer to put a bell on Cunliffe so he can hear him coming(much mirth from the girls and boys in blue) methinks he should do the same to s joyce who seems to be making himself over.Less condescension,less snarling,perhaps a hair style change(hard to tell that one but it looks a little different) maybe lost a little weight,engaging in conversation on radio instead of shooting down etc. Dunno,he just seems different.Going for the statesman persona? Listen for the bell key!
Snigger
The question is though how long does John Key actually want the job? More likely is he is helping groom Joyce to take over.
Gotta agree with you Chris, i thought after seeing Joyce on tv that he had softened his
know all attitude and intimidating ways to one of smoking a peace pipe elequently in so
far as actually listening to what people say with regards to the happless novapay saga.
I wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of those idiots inside the nact govt that signed it off,
knowing full well it was a broken system and a dog,according to Joyce.
The ministers that signed it off should pay for the cost of fixing it or establishing a new system,deduct their salaries,or fire them.
Joyce next Nact leader then ?
yep, is my guess. I reckon sometime this year or early next, to try and reinvigorate the nats before the next election. They’re sinking and they need a flotation device.
Nats going to feel some real pain soon re Novopay the twitasphere is digesting the infodump released today. Alas i feel Mr Key will swear in public soon and poof its all gone…
http://t.co/M6KMYfAU summary of info of NOVOPAY
Many murderers do not serve out their sentence, dying in
prison, many do not lose all kin, many do not lose
all wealth, many do not lose the opportunity to have
kids when young, but David Bain has lost all that,
and more, publicity will dog him for the rest of his
life, but worse, he was also found NOT GUILTY.
Key panders to the nastiness in all of us, Key is making
us a nastier nation, Key has no conscience. The principle
is clear, a civil standard does not attract a prison sentence.
Justice Binnie declare David Bain innocent on balance.
Justice Minister has obviously allowed her own political
needs to infer in my opinion, and the opinion of many.
Even Rodney Hide points out 12 errors in the Police
collection of evidence. The idea that any freedom loving
country could jail someone for that long, without a fail trial,
frustrate in their appeals, and now hounded even more some
modest compensation – has Key seen the prices of housing!!!
want to play. Blind Mans’ Bluff mice
read ’em and weep around those deckchairs
Magogs and Golgothas cross swords once more
earwigs around The Faraway Tree
thread the Stradavarian bow
beneath those Nikau charms of doubtful sounds
know our Peking pedigree. Hells Bells.suite
The Judge is standing at the door;
that’s a guarantee. No no no Leppard
He’s a pinball Wizard, there has to be a trick
(been weeding. Whats for lunch.Dock? dandelion roots tea)
from the Ark Ives- http://www.storytime.net.nz/product/66998-TeRongoaMaoriMaoriMedicine-9780143011361.
-pre Fab sprout (ride the 3:10 to Yuma)
0bit
gone gently into that good night
fashionably flying at speed by light
seven pointed bulletin filed in Time
I have a question for the more financially literate out there. Is the value of the New Zealand dollar based on the amount of currency in circulation OR the amount of currency in total? eg: hypothetically $1 Billion in circulation, OR $500 million in circulation + $500 million in reserve.
If it is the 500 + 500 version, what is to stop the government printing money to drive the value down, but not putting it into circulation?
Forgive my ignorance, but how will not putting the currency in circulation make any impact on the value of the currency?
NB the value of the NZD is not overly driven by supply, it is driven mostly by speculative expectations and (non trade) demand.
It’s a psychology thing – if people know that a flood of supply might be released shortly, it will suppress pricing.
Like the Government announcing an immediate build of 100,000 houses. House prices can be suppressed before earth for the 1st house is even broken. (As long as the build announcement is credible of course).
OK now your asking for a lecture, but, rather than me sit here typing for the next 3 days read this link below 3 or 4 times very slowly,
http://www.rualnewsgroup.co.nz/…news/why-does-the-new-zealand-dollar...
Ok, the NZ$ is based upon our exports which have now taken the place of gold as the standard,one of it’s problems is that as a small currency it is not pegged to the major currencies of the major economies a situation brought about by Sir(spit)Roger Douglas in all His Neo-Liberal wisdom,(none evident),
The NZ$ is thus a free floating dollar which besides being valued as per what the link above says is also valued by ‘demand’, so, as most of what we export is sold into the international markets on the basis of US$,s to bring this money back to New Zealand it must be then converted to NZ$,s,
In step the international Banksters who when demand for NZ produce goes up and prices of that produce rise have already got in first and bought up NZ$,s and as demand for them increases the price NZ producers must pay to convert US$,s to NZ$,s rises, thus the international banking cartels ‘clip the ticket’ of all our exports via the free floating NZ$,
The same banking cartels, as much of this trade in produce is bought and sold on ‘forward contracts’ also get to play with such produce on the demand side by simply bidding up the price of such produce six months or a year ahead of it’s actual production such cartels then have the inside knowledge of what the demand for the NZ$ will be in 12 months time and only need wait for a dip in the price of the NZ$,s by as little as 1 cent to make millions of dollars from both the actual purchase of future production and by purchasing the right amount of NZ$,s well ahead of the actual production having taken place,
The NZ$ is hence the 10th most traded currency of all the worlds currencies and there seems to be only 2 solutions apparent, the first being to ‘fix’ the value of the NZ$ against the worlds major currencies, or, print and spend into the local NZ economy amounts of money which gradually increase the supply of NZ$,s by producing assets such as housing that remain in NZ as opposed to attempting to produce even more product for sale on the international markets which would simply lead to more of the same,
Such dilution of the NZ$ could easily be accomplished by simply diluting the NZ$ by the spending of printed monies into the NZ economy at such a rate so as to hold inflation within the Reserve Banks inflationary target band of 1 to 3% inflation in any given year, not rocket science for the bean counters….
not wanting to speak ill of dead cows yet when I grazed the cheapest supermarket this week for some protein, the cheapest beef that was unprocessed (other than mince) was stir-fry at 19-something dollars a freakin kilo: I went with free range eggs, 3 meals from a dozen!
Interesting. My boss and his wife have just come back from a holiday in Vanuatu where one of their biggest exports is beef. Now, we constantly get lectured how we must ‘pay the international price’ for things like dairy products and met, so I was wondering just how my boss got away with paying $19/kg for fillet steak?
Not discounted. Normal supermarket price.
In fact, ALL the meat was well below the prices we pay here in NZ.
LOLZ you been robbed bro, Pack and Slave where i did the weekly on Wednesday had 1.1KG of corned beef for $6.80 and along with that i got a 500gram prime beef rolled roast for 11 bucks,
That’s about the day i listened to the bloke from the Fed say that farmers in Canterbury and the East coast of the North Island were de-stocking in the face of drought conditions,
ill spoken of dead cows seems to be wherever you are uncalled for wishing the same fate upon the owners of said market would seem to be more to the point…
“not wanting to speak ill of dead cows yet when I grazed the cheapest supermarket this week for some protein”
Never have I been so happy that I don’t eat meat!
(I bought some for my son’s visit a while back only to discover that I needn’t have bothered, he doesn’t either! 🙂 )
Hi Vicky, long time no see! Good to see you commenting again. 🙂
Thanks bad, most appreciated.
Welcome, just as a afterthought, the scale of the field upon which this little money go round is played is easily ‘seen’ when we consider that the total export market is some 40 billion dollars a year,
I havn’t got the figures for current values/volumes of dairy products on hand but even if that were half of total exports you can then see how easy for the banking cartels it is to insinuate themselves into the middle of the equation to make a buck from essentially doing nothing,
Just one of them Goldman Saches (sacks of gold man) has a reported 100 billion languishing in the tank in the basement on any given day…
When you say “value of the NZ dollar” do you mean locally or in relation to other currencies. A dollar will always be worth a dollar locally, but how much you can buy with that dollar will depend on inflation. However the value in terms of other currencies, or the3 “exchange rate” depends on the supply and demand for NZ dollars and may bear no relation to its local value.
February. If I were a member of the Labour party I would be asking these questions,
1. when is the caucus leadership vote likely to happen? (a ballpark idea is ok if there is no set date)
2. what processes will be used to ensure the vote is confidential?
3. will the numbers be released to the members? The public?
Monday.
Hmmmm I think thats confidential. The President or the Gen Sec will probably be involved in the balloting process.
Uh, being a secret ballot, they’re not supposed to be made public. However, we know how this has gone in the past.
Secret ballot? How come people have been saying that Shearer will get 100% support then? (if no-one is supposed to know).
Well since the vote hasn’t actually been held yet claims of a 100% vote are of course speculative.
Nevertheless, the secret ballot held after Conference last year gave Shearer 100% support (how did that number get out?), and nothing dramatic has changed since then.
And what’s this all about?
https://twitter.com/Garner_Live/status/297204001630470146
Snigger, the word FAILURE when said in conjunction with Slippery’s National Government seems to have hit a substantial nerve,
Brownlee is so sensitive as FAILURE is a hard word to wrap some spin around…
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2013/02/january-2013-blog-stats/
Don’t give up guys, one day you’ll be half as popular if you keep going 🙂
Should have stayed there at Blubber-boys sewer, coming over here talking s**t is just begging for a permanent ticket to travel…
Whoa we got a tough guy over here 🙂
justin bieber is popular too…what’s your point?
More people read his views (nearly three times as many) then these ones is all I’m saying
Its because blubber boy pads his numbers with guns, and dirty girls , and bullshit stories about BK, in the search engines. Most normal people run screaming for the shower, after reading one page of his vitriol, and hate mongering.
Add Whaleoil and KiwiBlog together and it seems like the Right have 5x the page views of The Standard.
It’s probably just people clicking Refresh in an effort to make that shit make sense second time around.
Ha. Good one.
So only 2.5x the amount then…
so why do you have to tout and linkwhore for him?
Methinks you doth protest to much.
Best case, the tory blogsites are indeed using stats consistent with reality, but you have such low self esteem you need to wander of here and swing your dick around.
Worst case, the stats are full of shit or comparing the popularity of actual debate with tory tripe.
Best case, the tory blogsites are indeed using stats consistent with reality, but you have such low self esteem you need to wander of here and swing your dick around.
– Jealousy will get you nowhere
Worst case, the stats are full of shit or comparing the popularity of actual debate with tory tripe
-There seems to be something about lefties and not accepting poll results if they go against them…
Just pointing out that people who have a low level of self-esteem sometimes compensate by gloating about a perceived superiority over others.
Going “ha ha, we’re on the winning team” at kiwiblog would be one thing. Coming here suggests that we’re not the only people you’re trying to prove a point to.
“like the Right have 5x the page views of The Standard.”
Maybe it’s because The Standard is so good at driving people away! (I am back for the 1st time in 5 months, since QoT banned me temporarily. I discovered then how much more peaceful I felt without the daily nastiness here.)
Now I am back, I am not staying!
It’s as if no time has passed – everyone still hates Shearer, and everyone is still so relentlessly middle class.
Please don’t lie, Vicky. You are specifically banned from my posts only. You were banned for the sum total of a week by lprent back in November for posting a series of childish comments on my posts.
I’m guessing WhaleSpew gets so many clicks because it puts everything in very simple terms, offers absolutely no analysis, and makes anyone who posts more than three consecutive words feel like a mental giant. His contributions are all cut and paste, with a bit of gun porn thrown in, and some crap now and then about how tough he is. Usage of insults like “cocksmoker” also goes down well with his audience, as do calls to be tougher on crims, bring back the death sentence, and calling anyone he disagrees with a “dud root”. His political philosophy is about as sophisticated as Forrest Gump’s, except that in his case the “wisdom” comes from daddy. In fact, he reminds a lot of a Forrest Gump who took up eating instead of running. In short, it’s a place for keyboard warriors to air their prejudices now that they might get called on it in wider society. It’s not as easy to spout off about mowrees, queers, dykes, and boongers in public bars as it used to be, and thank Cloacina for that.
The Standard, on the other hand, has some very thoughtful and well constructed posts, with not much cutting and pasting at all. Even though most of the posters here are a bit to my right, I can always make sense of what they post and appreciate the thought that’s gone into their contribution. Then there are Chris73 and King Kong, probably both dud roots and/or cocksmokers, to put it in language they’d understand.
Lprent’s analysis from last year
http://thestandard.org.nz/too-far-3/#comment-504329
I still shudder at the idea of “people” spending 18 minutes on average on WO.
It should come as no surprise that his visitors don’t read so quick…
to be fair though felix, the drool and other fluids on their screens does make the words go all wiggly
Well it does take a long time to spell out each word, and ask mummy what they mean,
Yeah you keep telling yourself that enough times and maybe you’ll believe it yourself
I suspect it is simply because we don’t bother just pushing pages and especially images to overseas audiences. We have a almost entirely and steadily growing NZ audience of humans.
I just find it curious that WO got about 800k page views in December, and then suddenly in the slowest month in the year; Jan; he gets a 20% increase? FFS the humans in NZ are somnolent f most of the month and barely near a computer.
It could happen I guess if you spent time pushing stuff on Digg or something similar to an overseas audience. But who could really be bothered pushing NZ politics though the SEO
I suppose WO is more concerned with pushing the advertising revenue than anything else. By it is meaningless otherwise.
Alabama Drama. Five Year Old Held Hostage. Survivalist. Tea Party. Dangerous NRA Fuckwits.
Thank Christ America Has Obama. Because That Means America Is Not Totally Fascist And Insane.
More Federal whistleblowers jailed than all the other presidents put together.