In the past few months a series of mini-scandals and criticisms have been levelled at the social welfare fund, largely thanks to digging by Winston Peters.
Most damning has been the conviction of Mongrel Mob member Korrey Teeati Cook for supplying drugs he bought with a $20,000 Whanau Ora grant. At first, Turia insisted there was no proof – until Cook was jailed this month, which she dismissed as a one-off.
It was recently revealed that a quarter of applicants who received Whanau Ora cash were from Te Tai Hauauru – Turia’s electorate. It has only 8 per cent of the Maori population. Turia says she is “more than satisfied with the accountability of the spend”.
Seriously, it seems that the police should be looking into Whanau Ora already. And if not the police then a ministerial enquiry. There’s just too many stories of what looks like people getting money for nothing.
Tamihere, who was a failed Minister and poor electorate performer, is lined up for a seat selection despite a string of financial and political sins.
Cunliffe, who was a ministerial star and is a top electorate performer, is shafted for refusing to say how he will vote in a future secret ballot.
Shearer is a genius. Shearer is genius.
Heil Shearer.
He will lead up to 23% in 2014 and do better than English in 2002.
We are saved. We are saved.
I intend to write to the council stating that though I have no particular objection to his being a member of the party, I would strongly oppose his being allowed to stand for Labour. Surely even a cursory reading of the foundational principles of the party, compared with Tamihere’s stated views, and past behaviour would rule him out as a representative.
Hell, any hint of a possibility, and I’ll ring up talkback shows myself, and remind listeners of the family pets he abandoned when he moved home a few years ago. Just to get things moving.
I hope others will make their feelings known on this issue, along with the many, many, reasons why Tamihere is not acceptable, and not Labour.
I’d vote for David before I’d vote for John.
I have to agree about Shearer’s genius, though. It takes a special type of political nous to ignore Jones, Tamihere, and Mallard and attack Cunliffe instead. It shows focus in the race for that 23%.
Reading this mornings NZH there is a item about record redundancies in NZ. National can take a bow for a lot of these job losses because of their inability too manage the economy properly. High NZD coupled with inaction
to stimulate job growth, thru one example ‘keeping it local with Govt contracts etc.’ Thank goodness the major opposition parties had the sense to hold a manufacturing/job summit
recently. I imagine in part Labour’s bold new Housing Policy came out of this? I think most New Zealanders know someone being made redundant lately. Is enough pressure being put on National by opposition parties? Should they band together with the CTU & lead a protest day of ‘all’ the workers getting the axe before Christmas. A damn good idea too highlight a piss & wind Government!
just beginning to wonder if the Labour leadership understand that the poll this week showing Labour losing ground and Greens gaining has something to do with membership dissatisfaction.
The way Cunliffe was handled was one thing. But Tamihere is another.
I suspect this will generate massive distaste among Labour’s female members, who will either stay home or switch membership to the Greens in droves.
The poll shift means this is really hurting Labour and will get worse.
Feels sick to be part of a nasty calculation like that ie liberal females are worth sacrificing in order to get a seat-winner back, and to shore up Shearer’s caucus majority.
Sepuloni would stand a good chance winning back Waitakere. And Tamihere’s opening salvo is to call Bennett “fat”? Yes, that’s really what’s wrong with her bennie bashing campaign.
Labour has enough ‘show ponies’ without adding has been JT. Shearer is going to be rolled by New York’s Lady Penelope’s boy Parker. So no need to worry.
Tamihere is a dinosaur. Also for all his talk he’s very thin skinned. He can dish it but can’t take it. He just got personal with that vile ‘fat’ comment. Problem is a bunch of us know some personal stuff about you JT. Keep acting like this and we’ll start slapping you back.
This may well be the final nail in the coffin for my Labour membership. Who thought this was a good idea? Did they allow Tamihere back in as a show of how broadminded they are? To have him pissing from inside the tent? Look at the very first thing he’s done – he’s fired off a bunch of shots at his own members.
Labour isn’t being led at the moment. It is lurching forward. It is dying and it doesn’t even know it.
My guess? David Shearer, Grant Robertson, and their respective staff. A lot of you guys know people on New Zealand Council. Ask them to see if they can confirm or deny.
Anyhows, the Labour Party is a ship headed by Captain Edward John Smith, and the order from the bridge is “Full speed ahead. Damn the icebergs”.
A crisp military salute to Viper ‘.’ This Ed Smith will be relieved of Captains duties by way of a mutiny ala the Bounty. Cpt Bligh’s crime of subjecting his crew to harsh treatment ( attempting a right lurch into dangerous waters instead of remaining to port) will require action from Fletcher in February. “Stir give em the lash… not the rum & the others coming.” lol.
Well cv looks like centralist shearer shoring up a power base by including JT and negating the power play by Parker and or robertson. Labour broad church split into multi blocks and factions has just got broader and more inclusive. JT connects to a segment of the elctrorate that labour needs to reengergise and reconnect to….also JT is a attack dog, a mongrel who can and will get dirty taking on the Tories.
Whilst I don’t like jt he and his kind have a place in the very very broad tent that is or should be labour.
Shearers divide and rule is working well so far shame he isn’t performing in public.
God if only I had that much faith as you in Shearer’s political acumen (ahem) that I could see him making a proper splitter play.
It is definitely good “divide and rule” caucus politics. Great while you are still 2 years out. Crush your enemies and turn the whole caucus into West Germany 1981: absolutely everyone is a spy for everyone else. Keeps the leader the leader.
It is spectacularly bad Party politics.
And shockingly, cynically bad electoral politics. Don’t anyone think this guys brings swags of votes. He brings a handful, and burns a sackful.
The Greens are the winners out of this. Watch the next poll for the same tracking as current.
IMO JT can do nothing to fix Labour’s disconnection and tone deaf approach to the working class and underclass. You still have a caucus of MPs too many of whom completely live and breathe the insular Wellington beltway bubble of palace politics.
JT is being put back into caucus to appeal to the brash, slightly red neck, middle class. Also, as you point out, to further divide and rule caucus.
Can Labour use him to bring a bit of dirty street fighter mongrel back? Sure, exactly like a skinny snob can ring in for a bit of muscle to rough up the other side. But what does that really change? How will this move solve any of Labour’s biggest issues and limitations? In fact it risks much in return.
One further observation: in Labour, it appears you get handpicked by the few to become an MP if you belong to the right clique.
But it will blow up in their faces, as we are not all ‘1970’s blokey, insult everyone, bloke’s’. Personally I reckon he should run for the Nats, as his politics fit with them better.
Feels sick to be part of a nasty calculation like that ie liberal females are worth sacrificing in order to get a seat-winner back, and to shore up Shearer’s caucus majority.
The “nasty calulation” goes far wider than “liberal females”. Be nice if people would look at the bigger picture, as opposed to the narrow biased view, but encouraging the calculations are being clocked!
Labour are being imploded, National, currently having a free ride during some of the lowest times in NZ political history, and Russel Norman is being plumped nicely to slide in as “the left”
Any odds on an offical National/Labour merger, or will they leave it at unoffical co-operation!
Makes it feel like Shearer is preferring a superstar with high firework-burnout risk, to a lower-profile player who is likely to win with lower risk. Perhaps instead they could put Tamihere head to head with Hone from Mana. Carmel Sepuloni is a keeper.
Simply put, Shearer is shoring up his risk with Jones by bringing back Tamihere. He thinks if he’s got to have a Maori, it had better be a bloke and either will do. Can anyone point to any evidence since Shearer became leader that he supports women or any other minority that JT feels entitled to publicly abuse?
I don’t even LIKE Bennett, and I’m offended at JT’s comments. We aren’t in a schoolyard FFS.
I’m reminded of when males attacked my body insulting it as if it were their right to pass approval or disapproval.
The proportion of “fat” insults are predominantly directed at females such as Bennett. It seems to me if you are female you can be considered “fat” at a size 12, or even a size 10 if you have offended someone sufficiently.
Can anyone tell me if JT has launched a personal attack like this on Parekura Horomia, Tau Henare, or Pita Sharples?
And DO we really want an MP who focuses his valuable time on body image rather than significant issues? He clearly has intelligence, but unless he is Winston I’m not sure he can pull of this type of angle.
I think you have your answer. The fresh names on Council are too scared to face down the Leadership team. Its just a no brainer regarding the harm Tamihere will do to Labour. But if that’s what the Leadership team want, then guess what we’ll all have to live with it.
My guess is Moira is stuck between a rock and a hard place. She knows in her heart what is right but is powerless to stop the Shearer/Robertson train wreck.
“Look, I don’t have to get on with these people. I’m joining the Labour Party. I’m not joining the ‘Women’s Party’, I’m not joining the ‘Union Party’, I’m not joining the ‘Gay Party’, I’m joining the Labour Party.
It’s been a while since I attended a LEC meeting so will be going to the next one. Last thing we need is JT championing his own cause during election year & turning voters off in droves. His carry on supporting Gibson & co at POAL sums him up. Bloggers on here referring to him as an attack dog, as if he is a heavy hitter have to be kidding. I’d rather have his side kick Willie Jackson at least he fights from a true left corner.
JT has only just got membership of labour again and he launches into the same type of
rhetoric that got his membership withdrawn,incredible.
NZ women dont need some political ‘wannabe’ telling them they are fat,therefore not
worthy of respect,does the labour caucus really need the likes of JT in its ranks,indeed,
in the membership ?
After the Cunliffe dumping, i can see no real reason to support the Shearer led Labour
party, the Robertson and Labour endorsement of JT,cements that.
I’ve managed to get a few details, with some reasonable although I must say not absolute certainty. Parker, Twyford and Cosgrove all supported JT’s membership application earlier this week.
All this talk of JT reminded me of an American soap drama from the seventies with a main character called JR. Checking out if I had the initials correct (I had thought it might be JT too) I came across another spooky coincidence on the search engine in the description of the series…….
“The soapy, backstabbing machinations of Dallas oil magnate J.R. Ewing and his family…….”
Substitute the words in italics one gets a Kiwi up to date version:
“The less than soapy backstabbing machinations of certain caucus members of the 2012 Labour party.”
JR, and the entire cast of the Dallas series would have felt right at home in the Kiwi version.
Odd? Nope it just goes to show the level of distrust thats going on. Cunliffe should have been the guy who went to it. but they went with No one. A Brilliant idea that was, maybe they though we wouldn’t notice.
John Tamihere gives interviews to the media, openly attacks members of a party that has just taken him back, throws around insults, and generally acts like an infant.
This is OK.
People on a blog then criticise Tamihere and his supporters.
This is not OK. This is “undermining Labour” or “supporting National” or something. Because it’s on a blog.
It’s now clear that this is all part of a great human experiment. The aim is to find out how often you can say “Black Is White”, and still get people to defer to authority, instead of reality.
We must unite! We must rally round Shearer-Labour! We must support people who say “Labour”, even if they themselves are attacking Labour! If they undermine the party, we must support them, otherwise we will be undermining the party! Be Loyal to Disloyalty! It is the Only Way!
And never forget … YOU are the real problem. Not Tamihere. Not Shearer. Not Jones. You. Because you’re on a blog.
OK he may not get his wish to repeal the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, but as an associate education minister in a Shearer Cabinet he might launch a pogrom against gay schoolteachers, or campaign to get homosexual themed literature out of the school system, or as Social Development minister, stack the Families Commission with homophobes and seek to deny sickness benefits to those with HIV.
He also supports Partnership Schools, and privatisation of health,education and welfare — if he had his way. — and hates unions, which is a bedrock of the labour party.
He also called for tax cuts which would have collapsed our schools and hospitals.
JT coming back is more of what the hollowmen ordered, carry on captain shearer. Aye aye Admiral.
Sepuloni lost Waitakere largely because Bradford and Mana couldn’t be bothered with the big picture in unseating a cabinet minster and further evidence how ego ecentric they all are. They were never going to win it but rather then let Carmel have a clear run at it they did the ‘me me me me’ routine.
Letting the devious and inciteful JT back is asking for trouble, he’ll make the nat’s look presidential with his talkback rant time adding to an already dodgy and flawed political character.
Sue Bradford:
I’ve been making it really clear at every meeting I speak at that I am only asking for the Party vote for Mana in Waitakere, not the electorate vote.
Anyway, it’s not ego, it’s about using her electorate to increase the profile of Mana, and the issues.
tc, why blame Bradford and Mana but not the GP, or the ALCP? Sepuloni lost by 9 votes, and any of Mana, GP or ALCP not standing a candidate would have ensured she won.
We should be talking about parties accommodating at the electoral level.
and in Ideas 10.06 a.m.
Last month Human Rights Watch issued a report calling for so-called killer robots to be stopped in their tracks and this week Jeremy Rose talks to the report’s author, Bonnie Docherty. Wellingtonian Mary Wareham, who has just taken up the position of advocacy director of disarmament at Human Rights Watch in Washington DC, tells Chris Laidlaw about the challenges of convincing governments to give up some of the nastier parts of their arsenals, and Wim Zwijenburg, of the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, talks about efforts to have a moratorium placed on the use of depleted uranium. Produced by Jeremy Rose.
Also keep an eye on santa fe institute – some great thinking that I could possibly understand, and many of you for sure. http://www.santafe.edu/education/
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Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, 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. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
Turia personifies Whanau Ora problem
Seriously, it seems that the police should be looking into Whanau Ora already. And if not the police then a ministerial enquiry. There’s just too many stories of what looks like people getting money for nothing.
Hate to say it but Whanau Ora, the supposed magic bullet, has indeed turned out to be just another opportunity for those in the know to fleece the taxpayer.
It always had the look and smell of being Turia’s slush fund, those votes don’t come cheap you know.
So more funds diverted from hospitals etc. Lovin the accountability/transparency NACT, nice one.
Tamihere, who was a failed Minister and poor electorate performer, is lined up for a seat selection despite a string of financial and political sins.
Cunliffe, who was a ministerial star and is a top electorate performer, is shafted for refusing to say how he will vote in a future secret ballot.
Shearer is a genius. Shearer is genius.
Heil Shearer.
He will lead up to 23% in 2014 and do better than English in 2002.
We are saved. We are saved.
I intend to write to the council stating that though I have no particular objection to his being a member of the party, I would strongly oppose his being allowed to stand for Labour. Surely even a cursory reading of the foundational principles of the party, compared with Tamihere’s stated views, and past behaviour would rule him out as a representative.
Hell, any hint of a possibility, and I’ll ring up talkback shows myself, and remind listeners of the family pets he abandoned when he moved home a few years ago. Just to get things moving.
I hope others will make their feelings known on this issue, along with the many, many, reasons why Tamihere is not acceptable, and not Labour.
I’d vote for David before I’d vote for John.
I have to agree about Shearer’s genius, though. It takes a special type of political nous to ignore Jones, Tamihere, and Mallard and attack Cunliffe instead. It shows focus in the race for that 23%.
Record Redundancies
Reading this mornings NZH there is a item about record redundancies in NZ. National can take a bow for a lot of these job losses because of their inability too manage the economy properly. High NZD coupled with inaction
to stimulate job growth, thru one example ‘keeping it local with Govt contracts etc.’ Thank goodness the major opposition parties had the sense to hold a manufacturing/job summit
recently. I imagine in part Labour’s bold new Housing Policy came out of this? I think most New Zealanders know someone being made redundant lately. Is enough pressure being put on National by opposition parties? Should they band together with the CTU & lead a protest day of ‘all’ the workers getting the axe before Christmas. A damn good idea too highlight a piss & wind Government!
just beginning to wonder if the Labour leadership understand that the poll this week showing Labour losing ground and Greens gaining has something to do with membership dissatisfaction.
The way Cunliffe was handled was one thing. But Tamihere is another.
I suspect this will generate massive distaste among Labour’s female members, who will either stay home or switch membership to the Greens in droves.
The poll shift means this is really hurting Labour and will get worse.
Feels sick to be part of a nasty calculation like that ie liberal females are worth sacrificing in order to get a seat-winner back, and to shore up Shearer’s caucus majority.
Sepuloni would stand a good chance winning back Waitakere. And Tamihere’s opening salvo is to call Bennett “fat”? Yes, that’s really what’s wrong with her bennie bashing campaign.
Tamihere is a 47% man like Mitt Romney. He dismisses women, gays and unonists in the Labour Party and still thinks he can win.
Labour has enough ‘show ponies’ without adding has been JT. Shearer is going to be rolled by New York’s Lady Penelope’s boy Parker. So no need to worry.
Tamihere is a dinosaur. Also for all his talk he’s very thin skinned. He can dish it but can’t take it. He just got personal with that vile ‘fat’ comment. Problem is a bunch of us know some personal stuff about you JT. Keep acting like this and we’ll start slapping you back.
Labour “show ponies”? It seems to me like Labour prefers to pick lames for race day.
This may well be the final nail in the coffin for my Labour membership. Who thought this was a good idea? Did they allow Tamihere back in as a show of how broadminded they are? To have him pissing from inside the tent? Look at the very first thing he’s done – he’s fired off a bunch of shots at his own members.
Labour isn’t being led at the moment. It is lurching forward. It is dying and it doesn’t even know it.
My guess? David Shearer, Grant Robertson, and their respective staff. A lot of you guys know people on New Zealand Council. Ask them to see if they can confirm or deny.
Anyhows, the Labour Party is a ship headed by Captain Edward John Smith, and the order from the bridge is “Full speed ahead. Damn the icebergs”.
“To have him pissing from inside the tent?”
Or more precisely, to have him also pissing and shitting inside the tent.
The Labour Party tent is getting more smelly, messy and distasteful.
National is just lovin’ it.
A crisp military salute to Viper ‘.’ This Ed Smith will be relieved of Captains duties by way of a mutiny ala the Bounty. Cpt Bligh’s crime of subjecting his crew to harsh treatment ( attempting a right lurch into dangerous waters instead of remaining to port) will require action from Fletcher in February. “Stir give em the lash… not the rum & the others coming.” lol.
Yeah it looks like a “Waitakere man” play. Who decides on the Waitakere candidate? – Carmel must be pissed.
Well cv looks like centralist shearer shoring up a power base by including JT and negating the power play by Parker and or robertson. Labour broad church split into multi blocks and factions has just got broader and more inclusive. JT connects to a segment of the elctrorate that labour needs to reengergise and reconnect to….also JT is a attack dog, a mongrel who can and will get dirty taking on the Tories.
Whilst I don’t like jt he and his kind have a place in the very very broad tent that is or should be labour.
Shearers divide and rule is working well so far shame he isn’t performing in public.
God if only I had that much faith as you in Shearer’s political acumen (ahem) that I could see him making a proper splitter play.
It is definitely good “divide and rule” caucus politics. Great while you are still 2 years out. Crush your enemies and turn the whole caucus into West Germany 1981: absolutely everyone is a spy for everyone else. Keeps the leader the leader.
It is spectacularly bad Party politics.
And shockingly, cynically bad electoral politics. Don’t anyone think this guys brings swags of votes. He brings a handful, and burns a sackful.
The Greens are the winners out of this. Watch the next poll for the same tracking as current.
I will certainly hope that such occurs.
+1 Ad @12.10
IMO JT can do nothing to fix Labour’s disconnection and tone deaf approach to the working class and underclass. You still have a caucus of MPs too many of whom completely live and breathe the insular Wellington beltway bubble of palace politics.
JT is being put back into caucus to appeal to the brash, slightly red neck, middle class. Also, as you point out, to further divide and rule caucus.
Can Labour use him to bring a bit of dirty street fighter mongrel back? Sure, exactly like a skinny snob can ring in for a bit of muscle to rough up the other side. But what does that really change? How will this move solve any of Labour’s biggest issues and limitations? In fact it risks much in return.
One further observation: in Labour, it appears you get handpicked by the few to become an MP if you belong to the right clique.
But it will blow up in their faces, as we are not all ‘1970’s blokey, insult everyone, bloke’s’. Personally I reckon he should run for the Nats, as his politics fit with them better.
He probably thinks the National party still hates brown people.
The “nasty calulation” goes far wider than “liberal females”. Be nice if people would look at the bigger picture, as opposed to the narrow biased view, but encouraging the calculations are being clocked!
Labour are being imploded, National, currently having a free ride during some of the lowest times in NZ political history, and Russel Norman is being plumped nicely to slide in as “the left”
Any odds on an offical National/Labour merger, or will they leave it at unoffical co-operation!
Makes it feel like Shearer is preferring a superstar with high firework-burnout risk, to a lower-profile player who is likely to win with lower risk. Perhaps instead they could put Tamihere head to head with Hone from Mana. Carmel Sepuloni is a keeper.
Not that I don’t appreciate your efforts, but this is what they usually call “picking up the polished end of a turd”.
It’s still sticky.
Simply put, Shearer is shoring up his risk with Jones by bringing back Tamihere. He thinks if he’s got to have a Maori, it had better be a bloke and either will do. Can anyone point to any evidence since Shearer became leader that he supports women or any other minority that JT feels entitled to publicly abuse?
Puts a lot more stress on Labour’s Council to get the selection criteria and mix right next year.
Whether the fresh names on Council can collectively stand up to Robertson, Shearer, Goff and King, is one last faint hope.
Wonder what Moira’s view of Tamihere is? Perhaps she needs the confidence of a strong Council majority.
In fact we should ask every female member of Labour’s caucus what they think of Tamihere back on the path to selection as well.
I don’t even LIKE Bennett, and I’m offended at JT’s comments. We aren’t in a schoolyard FFS.
I’m reminded of when males attacked my body insulting it as if it were their right to pass approval or disapproval.
The proportion of “fat” insults are predominantly directed at females such as Bennett. It seems to me if you are female you can be considered “fat” at a size 12, or even a size 10 if you have offended someone sufficiently.
Can anyone tell me if JT has launched a personal attack like this on Parekura Horomia, Tau Henare, or Pita Sharples?
And DO we really want an MP who focuses his valuable time on body image rather than significant issues? He clearly has intelligence, but unless he is Winston I’m not sure he can pull of this type of angle.
I think you have your answer. The fresh names on Council are too scared to face down the Leadership team. Its just a no brainer regarding the harm Tamihere will do to Labour. But if that’s what the Leadership team want, then guess what we’ll all have to live with it.
My guess is Moira is stuck between a rock and a hard place. She knows in her heart what is right but is powerless to stop the Shearer/Robertson train wreck.
In the words of the man himself –
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10851393
Says it all really. Fine by me. As a woman voter, I’ll be supporting the GP to go after the women’s vote.
It’s been a while since I attended a LEC meeting so will be going to the next one. Last thing we need is JT championing his own cause during election year & turning voters off in droves. His carry on supporting Gibson & co at POAL sums him up. Bloggers on here referring to him as an attack dog, as if he is a heavy hitter have to be kidding. I’d rather have his side kick Willie Jackson at least he fights from a true left corner.
War on Terror; an open-ended question?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/pentagons-top-lawyer-says-military-fight-against-al-qaida-not-en-open-ended-conflict/2012/12/01/90a02102-3bd2-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html
JT has only just got membership of labour again and he launches into the same type of
rhetoric that got his membership withdrawn,incredible.
NZ women dont need some political ‘wannabe’ telling them they are fat,therefore not
worthy of respect,does the labour caucus really need the likes of JT in its ranks,indeed,
in the membership ?
After the Cunliffe dumping, i can see no real reason to support the Shearer led Labour
party, the Robertson and Labour endorsement of JT,cements that.
I’ve managed to get a few details, with some reasonable although I must say not absolute certainty. Parker, Twyford and Cosgrove all supported JT’s membership application earlier this week.
Starlight +1. Me too. Talkback is a highly remunerative power trip for redneck bully boys. Any prospect of change in that fulla ? Doubt it.
All this talk of JT reminded me of an American soap drama from the seventies with a main character called JR. Checking out if I had the initials correct (I had thought it might be JT too) I came across another spooky coincidence on the search engine in the description of the series…….
“The soapy, backstabbing machinations of Dallas oil magnate J.R. Ewing and his family…….”
Substitute the words in italics one gets a Kiwi up to date version:
“The less than soapy backstabbing machinations of certain caucus members of the 2012 Labour party.”
JR, and the entire cast of the Dallas series would have felt right at home in the Kiwi version.
Whey was Labour missing from the lineup in today’s Q & A
Very odd.
Odd? Nope it just goes to show the level of distrust thats going on. Cunliffe should have been the guy who went to it. but they went with No one. A Brilliant idea that was, maybe they though we wouldn’t notice.
So …
John Tamihere gives interviews to the media, openly attacks members of a party that has just taken him back, throws around insults, and generally acts like an infant.
This is OK.
People on a blog then criticise Tamihere and his supporters.
This is not OK. This is “undermining Labour” or “supporting National” or something. Because it’s on a blog.
It’s now clear that this is all part of a great human experiment. The aim is to find out how often you can say “Black Is White”, and still get people to defer to authority, instead of reality.
We must unite! We must rally round Shearer-Labour! We must support people who say “Labour”, even if they themselves are attacking Labour! If they undermine the party, we must support them, otherwise we will be undermining the party! Be Loyal to Disloyalty! It is the Only Way!
And never forget … YOU are the real problem. Not Tamihere. Not Shearer. Not Jones. You. Because you’re on a blog.
John Tamihere hates gays, women and unions.
The guy is more or less a brown Hitler.
OK he may not get his wish to repeal the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, but as an associate education minister in a Shearer Cabinet he might launch a pogrom against gay schoolteachers, or campaign to get homosexual themed literature out of the school system, or as Social Development minister, stack the Families Commission with homophobes and seek to deny sickness benefits to those with HIV.
He also supports Partnership Schools, and privatisation of health,education and welfare — if he had his way. — and hates unions, which is a bedrock of the labour party.
He also called for tax cuts which would have collapsed our schools and hospitals.
The guy must be stopped. Plain and simple.
Tamihere is a distraction, and a symptom of other issues.
+1
+2 CV “symptom of other issues” very spot on
JT coming back is more of what the hollowmen ordered, carry on captain shearer. Aye aye Admiral.
Sepuloni lost Waitakere largely because Bradford and Mana couldn’t be bothered with the big picture in unseating a cabinet minster and further evidence how ego ecentric they all are. They were never going to win it but rather then let Carmel have a clear run at it they did the ‘me me me me’ routine.
Letting the devious and inciteful JT back is asking for trouble, he’ll make the nat’s look presidential with his talkback rant time adding to an already dodgy and flawed political character.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10766370
Yeah, such a “me me me” routine.
Yet she stood as a candidate.
Anyway, it’s not ego, it’s about using her electorate to increase the profile of Mana, and the issues.
tc, why blame Bradford and Mana but not the GP, or the ALCP? Sepuloni lost by 9 votes, and any of Mana, GP or ALCP not standing a candidate would have ensured she won.
We should be talking about parties accommodating at the electoral level.
Both TV1 and TV3 have got polls out tonight.
Telling times.
Apart from JT and Q&A there was some other interesting stuff on today. Chris Laidlaw on Sunday morning for Radio nz did a piece on the environment – good stuff.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday
Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint 11.41. a.m.
then
Chris follows up with Dr George Mobus, a University of Washington-based expert on cross-disciplinary approaches to understanding complex adaptive systems – blog is Question Everything.
http://questioneverything.typepad.com/question_everything/2011/03/limits-to-complexity.html
and in Ideas 10.06 a.m.
Last month Human Rights Watch issued a report calling for so-called killer robots to be stopped in their tracks and this week Jeremy Rose talks to the report’s author, Bonnie Docherty. Wellingtonian Mary Wareham, who has just taken up the position of advocacy director of disarmament at Human Rights Watch in Washington DC, tells Chris Laidlaw about the challenges of convincing governments to give up some of the nastier parts of their arsenals, and Wim Zwijenburg, of the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, talks about efforts to have a moratorium placed on the use of depleted uranium. Produced by Jeremy Rose.
Also keep an eye on santa fe institute – some great thinking that I could possibly understand, and many of you for sure. http://www.santafe.edu/education/