Lolz, i think the best descriptive would now be- an ‘un-developing country’, not quite 3rd World but having a successive series of Governments making a valiant effort to get us there…
I haven’t been living beyond my means ‘for years and years’. But as a disabled person who is unable to work full-time I’m going to pay for others selfish greed, and be demonised as a bludger.
The whole industry is fucked up. Trust me. I work in it.
Almost everything is contracted and subcontracted out. Different companies do different tasks in different areas for different companies. The power meter you have at home is not actually owned by your network company, so that leaves a whole lot of ticket clipping going on.
It would have been better to bring in private involvement in the electricity industry by simply allowing private companies to build power stations to connect to the national grid, and allowing small generators to sell their surplus power back to the network.
Yeah, that’s what happens when you put in place a fictitious competitive market pushing up costs, over pay the top management and then demand huge profits so that direct taxes can be kept low.
“Of the top 100 Swiss companies, 49 give shareholders a consulting vote on the pay of executives. A few other countries, including the United States and Germany, have introduced advisory ‘say on pay’ votes in response to the anger over inequality and corporate excess that drove the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Britain is also planning to implement rules in late 2013 that will give shareholders a binding vote on pay and ‘exit payments’ at least every three years.”
In Switzerland there is a public referendum in March which is predicted to successfully:
“force all listed companies to have binding votes on compensation for company managers and directors, and ban golden handshakes and parachutes. It would also ban bonus payments to managers if their companies are taken over, and impose severe penalties – including possible jail sentences and fines – for breaches of these new rules”
Random question and I’m not sure anyone will be able to answer it but…is there any particular reason Titewhai Harawira escorts the pm onto grounds at Waitangi? Is it a tribal thing or is it up for vote or how does it work essentially… (sorry the question sounds a bit vague)
Ok so shes an attention-seeker but but why is she allowed to by the rest of the tribe? I’m assuming its do with the tribe? I mean there must be any number of respected kuia so why her in particular?
Marae trustees were appointing their own “kuia of esteem” to escort Key on to the marae. He said Harawira went “ape shit” when told about the plan and her resistance had made appointing a successor difficult.
Harawira has no doubt over who would fulfil the job: “There is no confusion. It lowers my mana to even respond to something that isn’t true.” In other words, it’ll be her.
Harawira’s role as the self-appointed prime ministerial escort at Waitangi has rankled marae elders in the past – in 2009, they attempted to replace her with Nellie Rata, the widow of the late Matiu Rata.
Taurua said Harawira physically elbowed Rata out of the way as Key arrived.
“We thought we would give [Nellie] the opportunity of doing that, out of respect for Matiu. But when it came to the day Titewhai objected. When the prime minister came on, Nellie went to greet him and Titewhai kicked her off.”
Yep no attention seeking there BUT still doesn’t answer my question as to why she does it/allowed to do it etc etc
It does answer your question but you can’t see/get it. Think about this – how did she get the gig in the first place – could you walk on to a marae and do anything like that – no. Why is that c73.
Anne below – bully? obviously you know little other than what you have been spoon-fed by the media about this mana wahine – that’s your loss.
JK – scared is not correct – once again it is about mana, which is derived from a number of areas including Gods, ancestors, personal acts and the community a person lives and works in – with mana it is impossible to shut someone up because they are speaking on behalf and with the support of others.
Because she’s a bully and they’re scared of her… scared of the trouble she can cause. Don’t blame them. Bullies have that effect on people. However it looks like some of them plan to stand up to her. Could be interesting.
Tomorrow your Labour MP will have the duty to cast a vote on the Confidence Motion at Caucus. It is not a Challenge.
They can withhold their vote and that will lead to all the Caucus, Members and Unions engaging in a series of debates around the country with Shearer and any other candidates.
Then we collectively select/endorse the Leader under the 40/40/20 rule.
There are a number of reasons MPs should withhold their Vote in the Confidence Motion.
These reasons have been well documented over the past 9 months or so in The Standard.
They all come down to a few recurring themes, IMO.
1. Senior MPs being driven by ego rather than members input. Trevor’s stupid failed ruse to get the Speaker role is a recent example.
2. Form over Substance. The continual efforts to select a “Persona” for Shearer to appeal to various demographics rather than letting real values, passion and personality show through. The recent Brian Edwards story documents this. Shearer may work with Ian Fraser on his delivery style: it is a pity he has not worked with the members and unions on the CONTENT. We will win with intelligent ideas and focused energy.
3. Separate Planets. The recent Roy Morgan poll showing that we have achieved zilch, zero, SFA, in the polls since the ABCs took over, despite the recent best efforts of Keys band of twits. This shows that the public, represented by our members and unionists, do not relate to the Labour messages.
4. We need to Be THE Challenger: those 16+ who will vote first time in 2014, what are we doing to make Labour their Party of Choice rather than the Greens or National? The emigrants, the unemployed, the alienated: what are we doing to make Labour their Party of Choice?
These are my reasons, communicated to my MP, as to why Confidence should be withheld from Shearer on Monday. I want a country wide debate on what Labour should be doing, followed by a 40/40/20 vote.
Caucus needs to make a choice. A choice to give the members and the affiliates their party back. A choice to re-ignite a fire under the ass of the Labour Party so that it deserves its historic name. A Labour Party dedicated to improving the situation of those most ignored and powerless in our society, and by standing fast against the neo-liberal structures set up by the most powerful and wealthy in our society.
Received wisdom is that Labour has to pander to the solid income earning, home owning middle class to win, and without a win Labour cannot do all those good things.
Well consider this: your strategy is failing. Not suddenly, not abruptly, but gradually. Perhaps in ways beneath your immediate notice. But it is failing. A persistent erosion in not just the electoral results that Labour can achieve, but also in its ethos and purpose and drive.
Any strategy to continue to deliberately drive away the Left Wing of your own party and of your own membership will lead to this ever increasing electoral failure. Electoral “wins” which are nothing more than tepid, compromised pyrrhic victories.
It’s time to change the game, caucus. Display your judgement for the entire country to see on Monday.
The party has had four years of decline and despite this current government being the biggest load of tosspots in the history of tosspots they are 15% ahead in the polls.
It is time to try something different. A four week speaking tour of the country would settle for once and for all if Shearer is up to the job.
+1 Colonial Viper. It is one thing to win members of the middle class over to your way of thinking, as the Greens have done, and quite another trade off or dilute Labour’s core values in the hope that the middle class will approve.
With “appeal to the middle class” generally being code for BAU, this move gives reason to fear that Labour foresees itself implementing a period of austerity, and wants to reassure the middle class that they will be safe. Which of course gives rise to mistrust among people who would normally vote Labour. I do not say that the above is true, but so long as Labour fails to establish trust such fears will persist. A vote on the leadership would go along way toward reversing this mistrust, since it would oblige contenders to show and defend their stance.
I have 2 teens that are or will be able to vote in 2014 And I have been trying to get them interested and get out and vote. All I got was why bother, as the OLD guys don’t listen. I am still trying I have pointed out the Greens as being a younger party, but in the end it’s their decision and I don’t hold out much hope. So there’s 2 votes lost there. Nice one Trev.
and the rate of increase is about ten times the rate that preceded the Paleocene–Eocene (about 55 million years ago) when bottom-dwelling organisms in the deep ocean experienced a major extinction.
Whatever the original source for that – if true, the wee detail is the land based extinctions of that time due to a lack of atmospheric oxygen due to the acidified oceans producing (can’t remember the gas) in the place of the broken O2/CO2 cycle.
A look at the way multi-million dollar executives are driving a once-great company into the ground despite the best endeavours of what remains of its workforce:
Here is an interesting read for those of you wanting to know more about ow the hell John Key sprung into political existence not so long ago.
From internationally renowned US journalist Wayne Madsen:
The United States has successfully installed two America-compliant leaders as the heads of government of Australia and New Zealand, Washington’s two most important Asia-Pacific regional allies. Both leaders, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, rose rapidly within their respective parties, a sure sign that they had outside support, likely from the Central Intelligence Agency, which has historically meddled in the domestic affairs of Australia and New Zealand…
Madsen seems to have made something of a career pandering to the paranoid by picking up and running a little way with some plausible conspiracy theories while wisely avoiding the more lunatic ones – and with a rather blunderbus approach may even sometimes have hit something:
Whether he’s hit something here I’ve no idea but correlation doesn’t always, or even often, mean conspiracy. Personally I can’t see why getting John Key into the Leadership of the National Party was worth any effort given the fact that any of National’s Front Bench would volunteer their services if Obma ran out of loo paper. It would be more intelligent of the CIA to try to make sure Labour became unelectable by, for example, getting Phil Goff or David Shearer into the leadership.
That was an interesting read, but the author is a bit liberal with some of the facts. Take David Lange for example. He wasn’t ousted, he stepped down of his own accord. We didn’t know it at the time, but his health was already starting to fail.
What’s wrong with conspiracy theories? They force lateral thinking and make people look at things from different perspectives. Life is full of conspiracies and subterfuge.
Yeah, I read the article knowing full well how the CIA have intervened in South/Central American elections. But – I still couldn’t see it, and in the end agree with the Australian commenters on the article, especially this bit:
And while I agree that the rise of these neo-liberal power clubs are a major danger, eleborate recruitment schemes are not necessary – any of these characters would be happy to screw over the others if it gets them ahead – any of them will happily grab onto whatever scheme being sold which looks like giving them the greatest advantage.
Nothing wrong with them as long as you treat them as entertainment, the problem begins when people start to add 2 + 2 and come up with 5 (this is a problem that crosses political boundaries)
Notice how any of the established systems required to support the well being of NZ, and its people are almost exclusively broken, try naming one that’s not, or thats currently being dismantled because its not!
These is the conspiracies people claim don’t exist!
The *nutbars* are those who accept *theories* which the corporate controlled, military/intelligence backed propganda media outlets, and their political/financial etc, talking head puppets have been rolling out, for so long, people can’t decifer even the most blatant of lies!
A flippant comment which masks the underlying reality of how corporate boards (although not usually the CIA haha) set editorial lines for media all over the world.
The hilarious thing about this discussion is that the guy Eve cites spent waaaay more years working with and in US intel services than he has as a journalist.
Now, maybe after all those years he just decided, out of the blue, that he was going to start exposing the REAL TRUTH. But decided to do so after he no longer had access to anything that could verify what he was saying.
Or maybe he got the bums rush and is using his former job as credibility for rubes who don’t think too straight. say shit, get paid.
Or maybe he pushes shit to distract ya’ll. Say shit, h=get ya talking about rubbish to discredit ya’ll.
Can’t be known; he’s got fuck all docs, (which he could have had if he was legit about exposing what goes on).
Now, maybe after all those years he just decided, out of the blue, that he was going to start exposing the REAL TRUTH. But decided to do so after he no longer had access to anything that could verify what he was saying.
Think about the real world for a second, a world of consequences. And then you’ll be less flippant in how you might choose to act during the reign of a US administration who has prosecuted more whistleblowers than every other President in history put together.
Also, human beings rarely do anything “out of the blue”, as you well know.
Think about the real world for a second, a world of consequences. And then you’ll be less flippant in how you might choose to act during the reign of a US administration who has prosecuted more whistleblowers than every other President in history put together.
Fair enough.
But that of course does mean that his word is still worthless. Or is his lack of evidence somehow evidence of his truth?
But corporate interference in NZ editorial policies doesn’t actually go so far as “military/intelligence backed”. That was the line that was drawn by M.
what’s wrong is that the “lateral thinking” mutates into “all possibilities are equally likely”. So you have decorators unknowingly spraying the inside of the Twin Towers with nano-thermite (while demo teams secretly work nights to install undetectable charges) for months before aircraft drones fly into the buildings and four planeloads of passengers all disappear into secret military airfields, and the entire event is orchestrated by a shadow government that will will frame Afghanistan-based Saudis for the job so it has an excuse to invade Iraq.
And that’s regarded as being equally as plausible as 19 guys with boxcutters going all post-modern with the terrorism gameplan.
And that’s regarded as being equally as plausible as 19 guys with boxcutters going all post-modern with the terrorism gameplan.
btw a few of those 19 guys you refer to were found to be fine in their home countries, and complained that they had been made media scapegoats in something that they had nothing to do with.
Or to be more specific, news reports in the immediate aftermath of major events take a while to gel out. Taking them as gospel truth indications of a coverup is unwise.
true, especially with rolling news and the desire to be ‘first to call it’.
My problem with 9/11 is that I don’t believe the MSM at the best of times.
The MSM’s reporting of 9/11 gave contrasting evidence and way too much questionable information…but my real problem with believing the MSM’s version of 9/11 is that the event has been used as justification for 2 wars, so that oil can be secured.
I don’t flatly believe what we have been told and I’m amused when people say they are. Don’t ask me what happened in the months leading up to 9/11…but I can give you a run down of what happened after 9/11 – that’s why I’ll never believe CNN’s story, its just too convenient.
As to conflicting reports, I’d be suspicious is after a major event like that the media all delivered from the same song sheet.
And the MSM (except fox) questioned the connection between Iraq and 911. But then the US cooked the books on WMD for that.
Do I believe I know everything about 911? Nope.
Is the hijacking explanation by far the most likely in my opinion? Yep.
Do I think that, because the MSM are shite, everything they say is necessarily false? Nope.
Do I believe I know everything about 911? Nope.
Is the hijacking explanation by far the most likely in my opinion? Yep.
Do I think that, because the MSM are shite, everything they say is necessarily false? Nope.
I agree with all that.
I’m just too jaded from misinformation to believe in much these days
I didn’t say anything about a coverup McFlock. Just that a number of the so-called hijackers were found alive after the fact, far away and having had nothing to do with the hijackings.
Every time this comes up it goes quiet after a short back and forth.
1) Are you talking about the 19 final names, or are you talking about initial reports from the first 1-2 days that had some spelling errors and such like?
2) Are any of the ‘still alive’ one of the 15 Saudi citizens who the Saudi government finally acknowledged were their citizens? They initially denied Saudis would be involved, but after checking had to admit that the names the FBI had were Saudis, were missing, and presumed dead.
3) Are any of the ‘still alive’ the same guys on the ’19 matyrs’ propaganda videos AQ released?
+ 1 Pb. This one pisses me off too. Yes I saw the graphic showing all the hijackers were in Cairo or whatever but I’ve never seen any of them show their face in public – why is that?
If evidence of deliberate misinformation is needed this is a smoking gun imo
Too big for people to comprehend, understandably, with the the consequence of what it would mean to their belief system (not to mention their world view), should they accept that it was the biggest false flag in history. The false flag continues even now, having spread into North Africa, and it will continue, we are living with the outcomes from 911, and will continue to do so, quite likely as long as we all live!
Arguing over the details, of which there is much confusion, changes nothing. The guys in the caves, DID NOT do it!
By their actions, you shall know them!
[OTH below is correct – muzza is currently on a ban – moderators please take note. But someone cleared this comment, so I’ll leave it up. r0b]
To be honest, which is why you should take the advice proffered and stick to the Blubber-boy sewer where you can all sit in the magic circle sexually self-fulfilling, you wont have to read em then see…
Possibly the same one i have been experiencing, when i post a comment the site is kicking off my computer and i get a ‘server error 500 contact LPrent at such and such email’,
I have to shut down and re-boot to come back onto the Standard, the posted comment still appears on the page tho,
So, nothing but a bit of an annoyance and hardly meriting the above toy toss…
So, if your blocked from commenting can i ask how you managed to put up this comment, sounds a bit bovine defecation to me and calling those who built the platform upon which you comment names is in my opinion an open invitation to be given a spanking…
Today many poor souls are facing the dire need to apply for a benefit for various reasons
mainly for job losses and illness.
National and Labour over the years have stripped away the foundations of what was
once a decent,respectable system for the citizens of NZ.
Benefit levels are now below poverty levels approx $10.000 – $14,000 per year, the
bluster by politicians that the ‘benes’ are just lazy bludgers’ who don’t want to work
is continuing to look pathetic, when jobs are lost left,right and centre,their own
incompetence has created the problem,they have failed and that is a derelict of duty to
all NZ’ers.
Governments on both sides have given scant regard for the future in creating steady,
long term,well paid jobs, instead they have wrapped their arms around overseas countries
and encouraged their communites to come and work in NZ.
National and Labour have also been successful in creating a division between NZ’s
citizens by their petty rhetoric against those recieving benefits.
All this while politicians happily take the above dollar amounts and more for a taxpayer
paid ‘accommodation allowance’ while beneficiaries have that amount to live on
365days a year, where is the justice ?
There needs to be a Universal Benefit, (that has been touted by some), the UB needs to be
set in stone to stop politicians from using their favourite kicking ball to score political points.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10863086
Finally after what should have been done by labour policy strategist regarding the price to construct a “300k” house we are getting to what the cost will be. Why was this not done I house befor ethe policy was announced ? Then we could have concertrated the discussion on the merits of the policy, and how it could be improved. IMO building HNZ stock and then maintaining an equalibium on our state balance sheet, ie increase borrowing for an offsetting asset, but common sense and KISS has escaped from the labour caucus and strategists.
Yes and at 4 bedrooms Habitat are talking 200 square meters when Labour are talking about building mostly 2 bedroom 100 square meter homes,
Given that Habitat build them one at a time and i assume their estimated labour costs are for certified builders doing all the work there’s a mile of savings to be gained from mass production where the building crew could be as large as 3 certified builders supervising 3 apprentices and 7 labourers working on 10 townhouse type constructions at a time,
Given that Fletcher Building have already said that this is possible a major contractor could be expected to have 50 odd crews on the ground building in a year the land issue is a nonsense as the Government already has hundreds of hectares of land locked up in the HousingNZ estate which can be re-designed and rebuilt upon without the likes of the recent fuss occurring around the eviction of tenants in Auckland’s west…
Be careful of large organisations willyness !!
With some experience on tenders etc that the base cost may comply but with variations to specific site conditions, delays from councils, engineers etccost esculations and I imagine that there will be CPI adjustments based on the busing sector ( which have been greater than inflation) that what was once &300k will creep upwards.
And as response to an earlier post on the subject re FBP ability to do this and still make a good profit, then why is in not already being done as there is a customer base there to be satisfied.
Also H for H do it as a social service CPUs will expect a return from their perspective they are not on it for charity
100,000 houses??? Fletcher Building don’t have access to any land in Auckland that i know of where more than a few properties can be built at a time,
Housing is a tiny part of Fletcher Building the bloke from Fletcher Building i seen on the TV1 news the other night was saying that they are currently building about 300,
Most of the house building in Auckland at the moment is at the behest of ‘Developers’ who make the maximum amount of profit possible from the parcels of land they have got by building 200 square meter edifices,
That’s a situation that has been going on for quite some time, as the middle class family has shrunk over the years from Ma, Pa and 4 kids down to an average 1.2 kids the size of the build of housing, especially in Auckland, has risen from 100 to 200 square meters, simply a waste of resources,
I only have to look across the valley from where i live to understand how costs can be designed out of housing, there’s a row of 10 townhouses across there 3 stories with lined garages as the ground floor, lose the garage out of the build and that’s probably 20% of the cost gone already…
“Our education model is a top-down, Wellington-knows-best system. There is no school autonomy and parents have no say over the schooling of their own children. It’s run by Wellington dictate”
I am sure that, as associate education minister, Hide would have come across the Picot report at some point in time, as well as had a good grounding in the Education Act 1989.
“We work two days out of three for ourselves. And one day for the government.”
It is about time people like Hide realized that we ARE the government, inasmuch as MP’s are our representatives. In “working for the government” we are working for ourselves.
He’s a bit of a sad case nowadays. It’s been over a decade since he was last relevant in NZ footy and he burnt all his bridges with NZ Football at the time. His inability to compromise and his failure to listen damned him to crank status. So perfect for running a charter school then!
Yes, very much so. Those traits are great for sport, but shit when examining the pro’s and con’s of having the State or corporations regulate a human right.
Rufer’s backing of corporate schooling should be seen as another reason to forget about letting businesses control the minds of school children. Not that I think Rufer is nasty…actually the opposite. I was lucky enough to meet Rufer when I was young. He is a very nice person from what I remember. Sent family members football memorabilia after chatting with us for 5 mins, because that family member was involved in community work.
Rufer has a heart of gold from what I’ve seen…he burnt his bridges in the NZFA…but if I was him I would have blown up that bridge and walked away years before. The NZFA makes the Labour Party look competent.
It would be a shame if we just wrote this off as an idiot wanting to promote christian education. Instead, the left should examine why some like Rufer (who has unique skills and contacts and wants to work with kids) would see corporate schooling as a better vehicle for his community work, compared to State schooling.
As I walked down Willis Street today, there was a NEW face. Sat near ‘New World’ – as in the NEW WORLD, he had a sign that read – “No Income, No Money, Can you Help?”.
… yet another! I’m a bad judge of age – but the guy was probably a 20-something. I’m picking he didn’t comply with a Pulla Bent way of the world.
I was secretly hoping he was a con-artist, fleecing the gorgeous people and tourists trotting that neck of the woods but a fear not.
I’ll chuck him a blanket next time I pass and chastise him with a “we don’t know how lucky we are”
Oh yea, and when I do (chasitise him), I’ll tell him the Uncle Trev from Wainui, and Aunty Fag Hag from Hoitoittoi ‘know hoe ya feel brutha’ (Like Fuck!)
Christ this Labour Party has become SERIOUSLY fucked hasn’t it? SERIOUSLY!
Lolz a 50/50 that your beggar was out at the ‘7’s Party’ last night and spent the rent, although on the other side of that 50/50 is the horror story of the Minister from removing people from their entitlements,
A more clever means of cutting the cost to Government of benefits than the Neanderthalic clubs used in 1991 by Richardson and Shitly tho the ‘reasoning’ and the intent are the same,
Having blown a hole in the Governments revenue of a billion dollars with it’s tax switch and being unable to fill it by imposing additional taxes on various products the Slippery lead National Government has come full circle and come up with a plan to spend less upon benefits in an effort (vain) to gather this lost billion dollars,
National have a figure in mind of 40,000 less beneficiaries so as to balance the Governments books by 2014 and they don’t much care how those beneficiaries are removed from the roll or where they then end up,
How this tho figures in your attack on Labour i am at a loss to see, from where i sit the Labour Opposition looks just like the same one that Helen Clark lead and the one prior to that lead by David Lange…
it was actually fairly obvious it wasn’t a night after the 7’s – much more likely that he was a former beneficiary (probably sickness) – definately ill in some way. Which is partly why the disillusionment with current Labour. I don’t recall Helen’s ‘team’ ever being so base as to see beneficiaries as fair game, as Shearer has been. The worst I’d accuse Helen of is deciding to have a lay down in her third term and not getting rid of some of the dead wood. Other than that, I’d have to class her as one of NZ’s better PMs
Comprehension fail there my friend, ”as you walked down Willis street today” unquote, so like i said your beggar on a 50/50 chance might have been out celebrating at the 7’s party and spent the rent,
Then you do a Dave Shearer and without having ‘found out’ you attach to the bloke a couple of labels, former beneficiary and definitely ill in some way,
Helen Clark champion of the beneficiary you reckon???, that’s pretty naive of you is what i think,
Suppose you don’t see Helen saying that Working for Families was for people who had jobs and beneficiaries not being included would encourage them to get a job as an attack on those beneficiaries and their children???,
Depends a lot i suppose where you sit on the political and income spectrum, i expected great things from Clark and the only thing She actually delivered through interest free student loans and working for families was welfare served up to the middle class who until Labour run out of gimmies for that middle class and Slippery upped the ante with tax cuts to be followed by asset sales to spend the loot on can be said at best to have given Labour 3 election wins and if there was any socialism involved in those 3 terms it was the socialism of,for,and by the middle class,
It’s why i am slightly amused and even a little bemused by the current ructions over the Labour leadership, to me Labour is a Party full of middle class people with a Parliamentary team of middle class MPs and although i might be wrong of all those MP’s i cannot personally identify one that has either really had to struggle one iota in life nor one that has ever raised a sweat to raise the monies needed to put a roof over their head or food on the table…
I don’t think I suggested Helen was a ‘champion of the beneficiary’ – simply that I don’t recall her ever as overtly pandering to the anti-beneficiary brigade as Shearer has with his roof painter episode.
And secondly my impressions of the guy came from speaking to him. As it transpires since the initial comment, he is someone a relative has been involved with in the past.
We’re probably more in agreement than not. My point is that its shameful to be seeing more and more people on the street with bugger all options other than to beg, or even go on the game out of necessity.
There is a story on Yahoo about Monday’s vote for leadership,it also mentions Cunliffe’s
‘failed’ coup and the 100% expected endorsement of Shearer, both i find rather annoying,
unless Shearer has demanded total obediance of his caucus and they wimper in agreement,
‘yes master’ can be heard somewhere behind the cone of silence, then this nonsense has
to stop,each and every mp now has the Labour Party’s future in their hands, they
either join in the wide opinon that Shearer doesn’t cut it and vote accordingly/ abstain, or they
may face a harsh backlash in the 2014 election and the Greens pick up the slack.
Nothing Shearer say’s now can be taken seriously because he is doing serious damage
to the Labour Party brand.
Blaming commenters and posters shows a weakness to accept the undeniable truth that
is so obvious to so many.
Sorry can’t link to Yahoo.
I would be disappointed if there is a 100% endorsement of Shearer (though I expect to be disappointed.) That every single member of the Labour caucus really thinks like Shearer and believes Shearer to be the best of them to lead the party beggars belief, and a 100% endorsement would in fact indicate to me that some of the caucus are being devious and dishonest.
What I really want is an ‘honest’ open vote with the understanding – which lies at the very core of the democratic process – that the winner of the vote by a majority gains the right to represent all SUBJECT TO a responsibility to listen to and give serious consideration to the views of the minority.
Too much to ask from the professional politicians though – except maybe the Greens, who I still regard as reluctant politicians rather than professional ones.
A vote tomorrow for the membership and affiliates to have a say is the only way to energise and unite Labour going into 2014. It’s a referendum on how inclusive caucus is going to be with regards to the rest of the party. Will us ordinary Joes be listened to? Who knows?
…a 100% endorsement would in fact indicate to me that some of the caucus are being devious and dishonest.
.
Not devious and dishonest Tiresias. There will be quite a few Labour MPs who are not happy with things as they stand, but they are unlikely to stick their heads above the parapet at this stage. All that will happen is their heads will be lopped off with relish by the ABC club, and that’s no help to any of us. They are wiser to wait until the climate within Caucus has changed and who knows when that will happen. I hate to say it, but it may not be until after the next election.
Edit: it would be wonderful to discover that Shearer and co. have already had a change of view, but I’m not holding my breath.
“Not devious and dishonest Tiresias. There will be quite a few Labour MPs who are not happy with things as they stand, but they are unlikely to stick their heads above the parapet at this stage.” – Anne
And that makes them not devious and dishonest how?
Oh, I know dissention in the ranks will be leapt on by the media and National. Those of whom we speak will console themselves and hide behind the excuse that they are sacrificing their integrity for the greater good – telling themselves that fooling the public is necessary to preserve a fiction of party unity.
The problem is that we, some of us, know they are ‘sacrificing’ their integrity, and in my book integrity is like virginity – very hard to get back once it’s gone. It will be obvious to those who follow these things that an attempt was made to fool them and as the saying goes, ‘fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Like virginity, trust is very hard to get back.
The implication of a unanimous vote no-one believes in says volumes to me about the state of the Labour Party, and it ain’t pretty.
A vote of confidence isn’t a vote to say Shearer’s the best person possible. The question is: shall we have a leadership spill now? And it’s perfectly possible to think Shearer’s a bit rubbish but not want a spill right now.
Also of course Shearer has the numbers (because duh the idea of having a leadership spill now is cray-cray) and there’s no point burning yourself when there’s no realistic prospect of winning. So Shearer’s going to be leader until the next election, and if we win then for a fair bit after.
If we lose he’ll resign and we’ll have a rather grim contest as all the contenders run around pandering to the activist left of the party while carefully planning how to swing as far right-ward as possible once in Leader’s office in order to take an idealised middle-NZ’s votes. So yeah. Let’s not do that guys.
[Also yay for weird slut-shaming metaphors about integrity. WTF guys wtf.]
Well actually my side kinda has already won this argument. That’s why y’all are wandering around in the wilderness along with various people who think it’s hilarious to insult Annette King for talking to gay men, that the Truthers have a point, and, most bizarrely, that Julia Gillard’s a CIA operative. That’s why Shearer’s going to be unanimously endorsed tomorrow, and lead Labour into the next election. (We won, you lost, let’s do lunch, as Cullen so nicely put it.)
I suspect that if Shearer loses in ’14, we’ll be back here again (by the way will y’all promise not to try and roll Shearer in ’15 if he wins? You really should, just to even it up) and we’ll win that fight too, ’cause y’all appear to organisationally incompetent. Depressingly, you’re also sucking up all the oxygen on the left of the party but that doesn’t bother you because as a collection of ultra-leftist infantilists you don’t actually see beyond this week’s current outrage.
There seems to be some thought that you are an mp, but as speculation about users ids is not permitted here, I’m lucky in always taking as I find, so you could quite easily be a genuine no direction caucus fan club devotee, or just a sharp one taking the piss. Makes no odds to me.
Firstly, it’s a bit unfair to link my comment to homophobic comments and conspiracy theorists. I understand politics and linking the thing you attack with known toxicity is a often used ploy, but being so see through, predictable and in this case quite poorly executed, I’m going to have to question your authority to call infantile.
While were at “infantilists” what’s this about sucking all the oxygen. I don’t need you to be quiet to make my points of view known, how odd you feel you can’t be heard if others are talking. If you have something you want to share in the way of policy, ideals comradeship, then you sing your heart out, like I do. You’ll find that rather from being a rag tag outfit of self interested, self absorbed extremists and wannabe radicals, most here at the standard are genuinely inclusive and great exponents of core Labour/Left wing principles.
It’s not our fault, whoever’s fan you really are, that the 2008-2013 caucus is an ineffective pile of shit.
But go on, come again. Tell me why I should shut up and let them suck unopposed?
Polsci student, young labour, looking for the main chance post graduation; don’t rock the boat; infatuated with teh game; but doesn’t get, yet, that the game is a means to an end, and that ‘how’ you win determines what you can do when you win.
If we have to wait until 2014 then the NACTS will have sold off everything that was not tied down, hidden under ground, or under the sea. ALL with detrimental effects for now, and the next 50 years. And our children, and grand children, will be paying for it in Spades.
The same rationale was used during Phils time. And we all regret following a leader who we knew was going to loose .
Déjà Vu?
Now is the correct time to make a fundemental change in the leadership coterie of the party.
We can not, should not, will not repeat the same mistakes. Loosing in 2014 is not an option.
The Fan Club: loosing is imprinted in everything you write.
State burial will be face down in ditch at a crossroads with a steak through the heart.
People will line up in their thousands, tap, jazz and ballet shoes at the ready to dance on her grave.
Mental old hag.
Never forget when Pinochet got caught in London by a distinguished human rights barrister, forget his name, read his excellent book, who got a High Court order confining the murderous bastard to some estate in Surrey or somewhere.
There it was on the tele’, all the modern day fascists gathered in support. The Mental Old Hag, craned over, fat arse out, handbag over arm trying to be The Queen, tottering around this huge country estate sitting room, directing which fabulously upholstered couches each of the fascist bastards should sit on. And in their dribbling dotage each of the mongrels was taking her orders.
Why didn’t we call some of our MPs to account for their Electoral Performance, especially in the Wellington Region?
Annette King in Rongotai got a Labour Party vote in 2005 of 50%, 2008 was 42% and 2011 was 34%. Methinks she is doing as poor a job, just like Hipkins in the nearby Rimutaka: 48%, 41% and 33%.
The performance of our Party Election Strategist, Lord Trevor of Wainouimata in Hutt South is equally worrying: Party vote in 2005 48%, 2008 43% and in 201- 36%.
That is why we did not call out poor performance. The Leaders do not feel accountable to the Members, or the Unions.
They would not get my Confidence Vote at Caucus. If I had one.
The same pattern in Wellington Central sadly. Heir apparent, Grant Robertson, led Labour to third place there. In 2005 we had 43%, 35% in 2008 and only 26% in 2011. Sh*t.
And these are the people from Wellington from whom the hapless member for Mt Albert is getting Election Strategy.
Get out of the way. You are way past your sell-by date.
Consider the impenetrable Labour “stronghold” of Dunedin South.
In 2005 Benson Pope achieved a party vote of 57.1%.
In 2008 Clare Curran achieved a party vote of 46.7% (-10.4%)
In 2011 Clare Curran achieved a party vote of 35.0% (-22.1%)
That’s an eye watering two-fifths drop in party vote.
The Fan Club is quite right to ask us to pause and consider what the nation-wide swing over that time was, however.
I believe that his point is simple: that Labour is being led to irrelevancy on a nation-wide basis, not just electorate by electorate, and that the performance of Labour has been in decline for several years and it still doesn’t know how to change what it is doing.
Hang on. What’s the national swing? What’s the electorate vote? How did other seats perform? How did other prominent MPs supporting Shearer do? Because as far as I can tell you’re cherry picking data in a pretty transparent and at this late date desperate attempt to smear MPs you don’t like for other reasons.
[If you want accountability for electorate MPs, that’s a role for the LEC & the region. That’s the point of our federated party, where head office doesn’t run everything.
So Trevor’s Strategy role was unnecessary? Wellington was not responsible for their own massive failures?
Go to bed The Fan Club. You are clutching at straws.
Hey if I was running the ’11 campaign I’d have put Mallard on cycling leave. But I wasn’t. And that has nothing to do with the fucking obvious point, you complete idiot, that Labour got shellacked all over the country, and that individual MPs are quite at the mercy of national swings. The party vote especially follows the national trend.
Wellington Central was the one seat that the Greens ran a serious electorate campaign in. And it worked, basically.
And with comments like that TFC, you do absolutely nothing to confirm to worried Labour membership that Labour strategists are in touch with what they say, take it seriously and that the Labour hierarchy has a modicum of respect for anyone outside the parliamentary bubble.
TV3 has an article up this evening about the confidence vote. It too suggests a 100% endorsement is likely. In my view the article misses the point that the internal friction within Labour is not a Shearer vs Cunliffe thing. Rather, it is about the wish of the Labour grass roots to have more say in how the Party is run, the widening gap between the Party members and the Caucus old guard, and genuine concern that Shearer will have trouble matching Key in a campaign. Those issues don’t go away just because Cunliffe has made clear he is not challenging. Those issues remain and need to be resolved.
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. 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 ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
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 ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
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 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 29 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
NZ power prices have increased at twice the rate of every other developed country the last 30 years:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10863135
“…Energy Minister Simon Bridges ducked the issue yesterday while spokesmen for Mighty River Power and Genesis Energy declined to comment…”
On the side, why are we pretending we are still a developed country?
Lolz, i think the best descriptive would now be- an ‘un-developing country’, not quite 3rd World but having a successive series of Governments making a valiant effort to get us there…
We’ve been living beyond our means for years and years, as evidenced by the current account deficit.
I haven’t been living beyond my means ‘for years and years’. But as a disabled person who is unable to work full-time I’m going to pay for others selfish greed, and be demonised as a bludger.
Thanks, Max Bradford, you utter, utter prick.
The whole industry is fucked up. Trust me. I work in it.
Almost everything is contracted and subcontracted out. Different companies do different tasks in different areas for different companies. The power meter you have at home is not actually owned by your network company, so that leaves a whole lot of ticket clipping going on.
It would have been better to bring in private involvement in the electricity industry by simply allowing private companies to build power stations to connect to the national grid, and allowing small generators to sell their surplus power back to the network.
Do you think it needed privatising at all?
Yeah, that’s what happens when you put in place a fictitious competitive market pushing up costs, over pay the top management and then demand huge profits so that direct taxes can be kept low.
Meanwhile in Switzerland, US, Germany and UK……
In Switzerland there is a public referendum in March which is predicted to successfully:
Volunteer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/in-russia-volunteers-step-up/2013/02/02/62ecffac-6a38-11e2-af53-7b2b2a7510a8_story.html
Rock The Casbah
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ahmadinejad-unveils-irans-newest-fighter-jet-18383949
hear The Call Up
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9843859/Iran-is-smuggling-manpad-anti-aircraft-missiles-for-lone-militants-warns-US.html
of those Washington Bullets again
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-korea-threatens-us-for-what-it-calls-double-standards-over-rocket-launches-by-2-koreas/2013/02/02/5f40d0f2-6cf6-11e2-8f4f-2abd96162ba8_story.html
Time for concern?
http://world.time.com/2013/02/01/the-fallout-from-the-air-raid-on-syria-why-israel-is-concerned/
about a neo-Dawn
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greeces-neofascists-are-on-the-rise-and-now-theyre-going-into-schools-how-golden-dawn-is-nurturing-the-next-generation-8477997.html
Sharia don’t like it
About that Iranian aircraft.
http://theaviationist.com/2013/02/02/iran-new-stealth-fighter/
Random question and I’m not sure anyone will be able to answer it but…is there any particular reason Titewhai Harawira escorts the pm onto grounds at Waitangi? Is it a tribal thing or is it up for vote or how does it work essentially… (sorry the question sounds a bit vague)
This explains a wee bit for you
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8256595/Key-walks-into-war-at-Waitangi
It’s about mana c73
Ok so shes an attention-seeker but but why is she allowed to by the rest of the tribe? I’m assuming its do with the tribe? I mean there must be any number of respected kuia so why her in particular?
marty: “It’s about mana”
c73: “Ok so she’s an attention-seeker”
‘Nuff said.
Just from that article:
Marae trustees were appointing their own “kuia of esteem” to escort Key on to the marae. He said Harawira went “ape shit” when told about the plan and her resistance had made appointing a successor difficult.
Harawira has no doubt over who would fulfil the job: “There is no confusion. It lowers my mana to even respond to something that isn’t true.” In other words, it’ll be her.
Harawira’s role as the self-appointed prime ministerial escort at Waitangi has rankled marae elders in the past – in 2009, they attempted to replace her with Nellie Rata, the widow of the late Matiu Rata.
Taurua said Harawira physically elbowed Rata out of the way as Key arrived.
“We thought we would give [Nellie] the opportunity of doing that, out of respect for Matiu. But when it came to the day Titewhai objected. When the prime minister came on, Nellie went to greet him and Titewhai kicked her off.”
Yep no attention seeking there BUT still doesn’t answer my question as to why she does it/allowed to do it etc etc
Chris 73 – because they’re all too scared to shut her up – and find it impossible to do so , if they try.
It does answer your question but you can’t see/get it. Think about this – how did she get the gig in the first place – could you walk on to a marae and do anything like that – no. Why is that c73.
Anne below – bully? obviously you know little other than what you have been spoon-fed by the media about this mana wahine – that’s your loss.
JK – scared is not correct – once again it is about mana, which is derived from a number of areas including Gods, ancestors, personal acts and the community a person lives and works in – with mana it is impossible to shut someone up because they are speaking on behalf and with the support of others.
Because she’s a bully and they’re scared of her… scared of the trouble she can cause. Don’t blame them. Bullies have that effect on people. However it looks like some of them plan to stand up to her. Could be interesting.
Tomorrow your Labour MP will have the duty to cast a vote on the Confidence Motion at Caucus. It is not a Challenge.
They can withhold their vote and that will lead to all the Caucus, Members and Unions engaging in a series of debates around the country with Shearer and any other candidates.
Then we collectively select/endorse the Leader under the 40/40/20 rule.
There are a number of reasons MPs should withhold their Vote in the Confidence Motion.
These reasons have been well documented over the past 9 months or so in The Standard.
They all come down to a few recurring themes, IMO.
1. Senior MPs being driven by ego rather than members input. Trevor’s stupid failed ruse to get the Speaker role is a recent example.
2. Form over Substance. The continual efforts to select a “Persona” for Shearer to appeal to various demographics rather than letting real values, passion and personality show through. The recent Brian Edwards story documents this. Shearer may work with Ian Fraser on his delivery style: it is a pity he has not worked with the members and unions on the CONTENT. We will win with intelligent ideas and focused energy.
3. Separate Planets. The recent Roy Morgan poll showing that we have achieved zilch, zero, SFA, in the polls since the ABCs took over, despite the recent best efforts of Keys band of twits. This shows that the public, represented by our members and unionists, do not relate to the Labour messages.
4. We need to Be THE Challenger: those 16+ who will vote first time in 2014, what are we doing to make Labour their Party of Choice rather than the Greens or National? The emigrants, the unemployed, the alienated: what are we doing to make Labour their Party of Choice?
These are my reasons, communicated to my MP, as to why Confidence should be withheld from Shearer on Monday. I want a country wide debate on what Labour should be doing, followed by a 40/40/20 vote.
Caucus needs to make a choice. A choice to give the members and the affiliates their party back. A choice to re-ignite a fire under the ass of the Labour Party so that it deserves its historic name. A Labour Party dedicated to improving the situation of those most ignored and powerless in our society, and by standing fast against the neo-liberal structures set up by the most powerful and wealthy in our society.
Received wisdom is that Labour has to pander to the solid income earning, home owning middle class to win, and without a win Labour cannot do all those good things.
Well consider this: your strategy is failing. Not suddenly, not abruptly, but gradually. Perhaps in ways beneath your immediate notice. But it is failing. A persistent erosion in not just the electoral results that Labour can achieve, but also in its ethos and purpose and drive.
Any strategy to continue to deliberately drive away the Left Wing of your own party and of your own membership will lead to this ever increasing electoral failure. Electoral “wins” which are nothing more than tepid, compromised pyrrhic victories.
It’s time to change the game, caucus. Display your judgement for the entire country to see on Monday.
Aye
The party has had four years of decline and despite this current government being the biggest load of tosspots in the history of tosspots they are 15% ahead in the polls.
It is time to try something different. A four week speaking tour of the country would settle for once and for all if Shearer is up to the job.
Bring it on.
+1 Colonial Viper. It is one thing to win members of the middle class over to your way of thinking, as the Greens have done, and quite another trade off or dilute Labour’s core values in the hope that the middle class will approve.
With “appeal to the middle class” generally being code for BAU, this move gives reason to fear that Labour foresees itself implementing a period of austerity, and wants to reassure the middle class that they will be safe. Which of course gives rise to mistrust among people who would normally vote Labour. I do not say that the above is true, but so long as Labour fails to establish trust such fears will persist. A vote on the leadership would go along way toward reversing this mistrust, since it would oblige contenders to show and defend their stance.
Ole! will be elected into a head wind
I have 2 teens that are or will be able to vote in 2014 And I have been trying to get them interested and get out and vote. All I got was why bother, as the OLD guys don’t listen. I am still trying I have pointed out the Greens as being a younger party, but in the end it’s their decision and I don’t hold out much hope. So there’s 2 votes lost there. Nice one Trev.
The ocean’s canary?. If so there’s an awful lot more at stake than a paua industry.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8256622/Acidic-oceans-threaten-shellfish-industry
The current rate of ocean acidification is on a path to reach levels higher than any seen in the last 65 million years
Whatever the original source for that – if true, the wee detail is the land based extinctions of that time due to a lack of atmospheric oxygen due to the acidified oceans producing (can’t remember the gas) in the place of the broken O2/CO2 cycle.
My previous posts on the acidification of our oceans, an issue that worries me greatly.
A look at the way multi-million dollar executives are driving a once-great company into the ground despite the best endeavours of what remains of its workforce:
http://firedoglake.com/2013/01/31/late-night-unfriendly-skies/
non nighs
Here is an interesting read for those of you wanting to know more about ow the hell John Key sprung into political existence not so long ago.
From internationally renowned US journalist Wayne Madsen:
The United States has successfully installed two America-compliant leaders as the heads of government of Australia and New Zealand, Washington’s two most important Asia-Pacific regional allies. Both leaders, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, rose rapidly within their respective parties, a sure sign that they had outside support, likely from the Central Intelligence Agency, which has historically meddled in the domestic affairs of Australia and New Zealand…
Read more
Madsen seems to have made something of a career pandering to the paranoid by picking up and running a little way with some plausible conspiracy theories while wisely avoiding the more lunatic ones – and with a rather blunderbus approach may even sometimes have hit something:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Madsen
Whether he’s hit something here I’ve no idea but correlation doesn’t always, or even often, mean conspiracy. Personally I can’t see why getting John Key into the Leadership of the National Party was worth any effort given the fact that any of National’s Front Bench would volunteer their services if Obma ran out of loo paper. It would be more intelligent of the CIA to try to make sure Labour became unelectable by, for example, getting Phil Goff or David Shearer into the leadership.
Oh.
That was an interesting read, but the author is a bit liberal with some of the facts. Take David Lange for example. He wasn’t ousted, he stepped down of his own accord. We didn’t know it at the time, but his health was already starting to fail.
Edit: “oh” says Tiresias. Quite.
Yes but conspiracy theories are almost always interesting, like the nut bars who think 9/11 was an inside job
What’s wrong with conspiracy theories? They force lateral thinking and make people look at things from different perspectives. Life is full of conspiracies and subterfuge.
Yeah, I read the article knowing full well how the CIA have intervened in South/Central American elections. But – I still couldn’t see it, and in the end agree with the Australian commenters on the article, especially this bit:
Tiresias: +1
Nothing wrong with them as long as you treat them as entertainment, the problem begins when people start to add 2 + 2 and come up with 5 (this is a problem that crosses political boundaries)
Notice how any of the established systems required to support the well being of NZ, and its people are almost exclusively broken, try naming one that’s not, or thats currently being dismantled because its not!
These is the conspiracies people claim don’t exist!
The *nutbars* are those who accept *theories* which the corporate controlled, military/intelligence backed propganda media outlets, and their political/financial etc, talking head puppets have been rolling out, for so long, people can’t decifer even the most blatant of lies!
Yes.
TV3 gets daily instructions from the CIA on how to report about child poverty. /sarc
A flippant comment which masks the underlying reality of how corporate boards (although not usually the CIA haha) set editorial lines for media all over the world.
Lol.
The hilarious thing about this discussion is that the guy Eve cites spent waaaay more years working with and in US intel services than he has as a journalist.
Now, maybe after all those years he just decided, out of the blue, that he was going to start exposing the REAL TRUTH. But decided to do so after he no longer had access to anything that could verify what he was saying.
Or maybe he got the bums rush and is using his former job as credibility for rubes who don’t think too straight. say shit, get paid.
Or maybe he pushes shit to distract ya’ll. Say shit, h=get ya talking about rubbish to discredit ya’ll.
Can’t be known; he’s got fuck all docs, (which he could have had if he was legit about exposing what goes on).
So ignore the prick. Discount to zero.
Think about the real world for a second, a world of consequences. And then you’ll be less flippant in how you might choose to act during the reign of a US administration who has prosecuted more whistleblowers than every other President in history put together.
Also, human beings rarely do anything “out of the blue”, as you well know.
Fair enough.
But that of course does mean that his word is still worthless. Or is his lack of evidence somehow evidence of his truth?
But corporate interference in NZ editorial policies doesn’t actually go so far as “military/intelligence backed”. That was the line that was drawn by M.
what’s wrong is that the “lateral thinking” mutates into “all possibilities are equally likely”. So you have decorators unknowingly spraying the inside of the Twin Towers with nano-thermite (while demo teams secretly work nights to install undetectable charges) for months before aircraft drones fly into the buildings and four planeloads of passengers all disappear into secret military airfields, and the entire event is orchestrated by a shadow government that will will frame Afghanistan-based Saudis for the job so it has an excuse to invade Iraq.
And that’s regarded as being equally as plausible as 19 guys with boxcutters going all post-modern with the terrorism gameplan.
btw a few of those 19 guys you refer to were found to be fine in their home countries, and complained that they had been made media scapegoats in something that they had nothing to do with.
Nope.
Or to be more specific, news reports in the immediate aftermath of major events take a while to gel out. Taking them as gospel truth indications of a coverup is unwise.
true, especially with rolling news and the desire to be ‘first to call it’.
My problem with 9/11 is that I don’t believe the MSM at the best of times.
The MSM’s reporting of 9/11 gave contrasting evidence and way too much questionable information…but my real problem with believing the MSM’s version of 9/11 is that the event has been used as justification for 2 wars, so that oil can be secured.
I don’t flatly believe what we have been told and I’m amused when people say they are. Don’t ask me what happened in the months leading up to 9/11…but I can give you a run down of what happened after 9/11 – that’s why I’ll never believe CNN’s story, its just too convenient.
As to conflicting reports, I’d be suspicious is after a major event like that the media all delivered from the same song sheet.
And the MSM (except fox) questioned the connection between Iraq and 911. But then the US cooked the books on WMD for that.
Do I believe I know everything about 911? Nope.
Is the hijacking explanation by far the most likely in my opinion? Yep.
Do I think that, because the MSM are shite, everything they say is necessarily false? Nope.
Do I believe I know everything about 911? Nope.
Is the hijacking explanation by far the most likely in my opinion? Yep.
Do I think that, because the MSM are shite, everything they say is necessarily false? Nope.
I agree with all that.
I’m just too jaded from misinformation to believe in much these days
I didn’t say anything about a coverup McFlock. Just that a number of the so-called hijackers were found alive after the fact, far away and having had nothing to do with the hijackings.
Do go on.
Every time this comes up it goes quiet after a short back and forth.
1) Are you talking about the 19 final names, or are you talking about initial reports from the first 1-2 days that had some spelling errors and such like?
2) Are any of the ‘still alive’ one of the 15 Saudi citizens who the Saudi government finally acknowledged were their citizens? They initially denied Saudis would be involved, but after checking had to admit that the names the FBI had were Saudis, were missing, and presumed dead.
3) Are any of the ‘still alive’ the same guys on the ’19 matyrs’ propaganda videos AQ released?
Nah.
+ 1 Pb. This one pisses me off too. Yes I saw the graphic showing all the hijackers were in Cairo or whatever but I’ve never seen any of them show their face in public – why is that?
If evidence of deliberate misinformation is needed this is a smoking gun imo
“it goes quiet “
Too big for people to comprehend, understandably, with the the consequence of what it would mean to their belief system (not to mention their world view), should they accept that it was the biggest false flag in history. The false flag continues even now, having spread into North Africa, and it will continue, we are living with the outcomes from 911, and will continue to do so, quite likely as long as we all live!
Arguing over the details, of which there is much confusion, changes nothing. The guys in the caves, DID NOT do it!
By their actions, you shall know them!
[OTH below is correct – muzza is currently on a ban – moderators please take note. But someone cleared this comment, so I’ll leave it up. r0b]
🙄
I thought we were going to be spared this clown’s drivel for a couple of weeks
To be honest, I’ve always considered it obvious that John Key was a US plant. He’s not there for NZ but for the ruling clique in the US.
A modern-day colonial governor perhaps.
To be honest I’ve always found your comments to be fucking drivel.
To be honest no one round here really cares what ‘Wing-nuts’ like you think and you should F off back to the ‘Sewer; from whence you crawled out of…
To be honest I’ve always found your comments to be fucking drivel also.
To be honest, which is why you should take the advice proffered and stick to the Blubber-boy sewer where you can all sit in the magic circle sexually self-fulfilling, you wont have to read em then see…
To be honest I like reading drivel which is why this is my preferred sewer.
To be honest, your latest comment really really merits the following comment…
Things that make you go hmmm….
http://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/penny-bright-goes-to-parliament/
Definitely a hmm moment. Penny should get Frank to write all her releases 😉 It’s worth reading the submission that he’s referenced as well.
Legs, and she knows how to use ’em
So this is my last Comment on the Standard, it’s been fun.
To Carol, James, Rob and Irish and all the rest, I say GoodBye.
LPRent in his / her / Jan’s wisdome have blocked the Mac address of my machine without comment or warning.
Spineless.
And as I always say to the spineless, Your Loss M8!
CYA’S 👿
Er, are you sure it isn’t just a glitch?
I can’t see lPrent blocking an address without first telling you and the reason why. He’s a ‘he’ btw.
I think you will find it’s a glitch….
Which one Lyn or Lynn ? , I Know I Know no more comments …..
Or maybe the Fwits that asked me what name they should use for this bloggggg 8years ago ?
Ya should just have called it Bel-Tarc again M8!
😈
Possibly the same one i have been experiencing, when i post a comment the site is kicking off my computer and i get a ‘server error 500 contact LPrent at such and such email’,
I have to shut down and re-boot to come back onto the Standard, the posted comment still appears on the page tho,
So, nothing but a bit of an annoyance and hardly meriting the above toy toss…
The 500 error means someones trying to stack smash ya machine
One of Jans (My Maggot Foster Brother) favourites from what others have been saying ….. how do I know ?
Coz I told him how 8 years ago M8!
Yup, Mac address blocked , How did I leave this comment ? … different MAC address.
So, if your blocked from commenting can i ask how you managed to put up this comment, sounds a bit bovine defecation to me and calling those who built the platform upon which you comment names is in my opinion an open invitation to be given a spanking…
Spank away M8 😀
Surely you mean IP address, not MAC address?
Today many poor souls are facing the dire need to apply for a benefit for various reasons
mainly for job losses and illness.
National and Labour over the years have stripped away the foundations of what was
once a decent,respectable system for the citizens of NZ.
Benefit levels are now below poverty levels approx $10.000 – $14,000 per year, the
bluster by politicians that the ‘benes’ are just lazy bludgers’ who don’t want to work
is continuing to look pathetic, when jobs are lost left,right and centre,their own
incompetence has created the problem,they have failed and that is a derelict of duty to
all NZ’ers.
Governments on both sides have given scant regard for the future in creating steady,
long term,well paid jobs, instead they have wrapped their arms around overseas countries
and encouraged their communites to come and work in NZ.
National and Labour have also been successful in creating a division between NZ’s
citizens by their petty rhetoric against those recieving benefits.
All this while politicians happily take the above dollar amounts and more for a taxpayer
paid ‘accommodation allowance’ while beneficiaries have that amount to live on
365days a year, where is the justice ?
There needs to be a Universal Benefit, (that has been touted by some), the UB needs to be
set in stone to stop politicians from using their favourite kicking ball to score political points.
” instead they have wrapped their arms around overseas countries
and encouraged their communites to come and work in NZ.”
Whenever I point out the crazy open flood gates immigration policy for 3rd worlders, I get accused of racism by the pro multiculturalism crowd.
Close the immigration floodgates, youth unemployment will drop overnight.
Whenever I point out the crazy open flood gates immigration policy for 3rd worlders, I get accused of racism
Can you explain this so called open flood gates immigration policy for 3rd worlders…perhaps some stats…cheers
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10863086
Finally after what should have been done by labour policy strategist regarding the price to construct a “300k” house we are getting to what the cost will be. Why was this not done I house befor ethe policy was announced ? Then we could have concertrated the discussion on the merits of the policy, and how it could be improved. IMO building HNZ stock and then maintaining an equalibium on our state balance sheet, ie increase borrowing for an offsetting asset, but common sense and KISS has escaped from the labour caucus and strategists.
Yes and at 4 bedrooms Habitat are talking 200 square meters when Labour are talking about building mostly 2 bedroom 100 square meter homes,
Given that Habitat build them one at a time and i assume their estimated labour costs are for certified builders doing all the work there’s a mile of savings to be gained from mass production where the building crew could be as large as 3 certified builders supervising 3 apprentices and 7 labourers working on 10 townhouse type constructions at a time,
Given that Fletcher Building have already said that this is possible a major contractor could be expected to have 50 odd crews on the ground building in a year the land issue is a nonsense as the Government already has hundreds of hectares of land locked up in the HousingNZ estate which can be re-designed and rebuilt upon without the likes of the recent fuss occurring around the eviction of tenants in Auckland’s west…
Be careful of large organisations willyness !!
With some experience on tenders etc that the base cost may comply but with variations to specific site conditions, delays from councils, engineers etccost esculations and I imagine that there will be CPI adjustments based on the busing sector ( which have been greater than inflation) that what was once &300k will creep upwards.
And as response to an earlier post on the subject re FBP ability to do this and still make a good profit, then why is in not already being done as there is a customer base there to be satisfied.
Also H for H do it as a social service CPUs will expect a return from their perspective they are not on it for charity
100,000 houses??? Fletcher Building don’t have access to any land in Auckland that i know of where more than a few properties can be built at a time,
Housing is a tiny part of Fletcher Building the bloke from Fletcher Building i seen on the TV1 news the other night was saying that they are currently building about 300,
Most of the house building in Auckland at the moment is at the behest of ‘Developers’ who make the maximum amount of profit possible from the parcels of land they have got by building 200 square meter edifices,
That’s a situation that has been going on for quite some time, as the middle class family has shrunk over the years from Ma, Pa and 4 kids down to an average 1.2 kids the size of the build of housing, especially in Auckland, has risen from 100 to 200 square meters, simply a waste of resources,
I only have to look across the valley from where i live to understand how costs can be designed out of housing, there’s a row of 10 townhouses across there 3 stories with lined garages as the ground floor, lose the garage out of the build and that’s probably 20% of the cost gone already…
Rodney Hide still stuck in 1988
“Our education model is a top-down, Wellington-knows-best system. There is no school autonomy and parents have no say over the schooling of their own children. It’s run by Wellington dictate”
I am sure that, as associate education minister, Hide would have come across the Picot report at some point in time, as well as had a good grounding in the Education Act 1989.
1788:
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/southern-slave-owner-vs-modern-democratic-state-lf-135202
Horrible little man.
“We work two days out of three for ourselves. And one day for the government.”
It is about time people like Hide realized that we ARE the government, inasmuch as MP’s are our representatives. In “working for the government” we are working for ourselves.
+1
But you won’t get Hide admitting that because if he did then he wouldn’t be able to class taxes as theft.
Kuntae
So Wynton Rufer wants a charter school now.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/8256624/Rufer-pushes-for-football-playing-charter-school
And just for good measure indulges in a spot of misguided union bashing.
He’s a bit of a sad case nowadays. It’s been over a decade since he was last relevant in NZ footy and he burnt all his bridges with NZ Football at the time. His inability to compromise and his failure to listen damned him to crank status. So perfect for running a charter school then!
His inability to compromise and his failure to listen is also probably what took him to the top
Yes, very much so. Those traits are great for sport, but shit when examining the pro’s and con’s of having the State or corporations regulate a human right.
Rufer’s backing of corporate schooling should be seen as another reason to forget about letting businesses control the minds of school children. Not that I think Rufer is nasty…actually the opposite. I was lucky enough to meet Rufer when I was young. He is a very nice person from what I remember. Sent family members football memorabilia after chatting with us for 5 mins, because that family member was involved in community work.
Rufer has a heart of gold from what I’ve seen…he burnt his bridges in the NZFA…but if I was him I would have blown up that bridge and walked away years before. The NZFA makes the Labour Party look competent.
It would be a shame if we just wrote this off as an idiot wanting to promote christian education. Instead, the left should examine why some like Rufer (who has unique skills and contacts and wants to work with kids) would see corporate schooling as a better vehicle for his community work, compared to State schooling.
Mr Dawkins, take it away….
science is our new God
And as a faith, it will fail.
True…not bad as a form of social control though!
Nothing to stop him from starting his own ‘soccer school’ under the Education Act 1989.
I am sure he would have a few contacts in the Bundesliga in Germany who would stump up with the funding.
Christian !
As I walked down Willis Street today, there was a NEW face. Sat near ‘New World’ – as in the NEW WORLD, he had a sign that read – “No Income, No Money, Can you Help?”.
… yet another! I’m a bad judge of age – but the guy was probably a 20-something. I’m picking he didn’t comply with a Pulla Bent way of the world.
I was secretly hoping he was a con-artist, fleecing the gorgeous people and tourists trotting that neck of the woods but a fear not.
I’ll chuck him a blanket next time I pass and chastise him with a “we don’t know how lucky we are”
Oh yea, and when I do (chasitise him), I’ll tell him the Uncle Trev from Wainui, and Aunty Fag Hag from Hoitoittoi ‘know hoe ya feel brutha’ (Like Fuck!)
Christ this Labour Party has become SERIOUSLY fucked hasn’t it? SERIOUSLY!
Lolz a 50/50 that your beggar was out at the ‘7’s Party’ last night and spent the rent, although on the other side of that 50/50 is the horror story of the Minister from removing people from their entitlements,
A more clever means of cutting the cost to Government of benefits than the Neanderthalic clubs used in 1991 by Richardson and Shitly tho the ‘reasoning’ and the intent are the same,
Having blown a hole in the Governments revenue of a billion dollars with it’s tax switch and being unable to fill it by imposing additional taxes on various products the Slippery lead National Government has come full circle and come up with a plan to spend less upon benefits in an effort (vain) to gather this lost billion dollars,
National have a figure in mind of 40,000 less beneficiaries so as to balance the Governments books by 2014 and they don’t much care how those beneficiaries are removed from the roll or where they then end up,
How this tho figures in your attack on Labour i am at a loss to see, from where i sit the Labour Opposition looks just like the same one that Helen Clark lead and the one prior to that lead by David Lange…
it was actually fairly obvious it wasn’t a night after the 7’s – much more likely that he was a former beneficiary (probably sickness) – definately ill in some way. Which is partly why the disillusionment with current Labour. I don’t recall Helen’s ‘team’ ever being so base as to see beneficiaries as fair game, as Shearer has been. The worst I’d accuse Helen of is deciding to have a lay down in her third term and not getting rid of some of the dead wood. Other than that, I’d have to class her as one of NZ’s better PMs
Comprehension fail there my friend, ”as you walked down Willis street today” unquote, so like i said your beggar on a 50/50 chance might have been out celebrating at the 7’s party and spent the rent,
Then you do a Dave Shearer and without having ‘found out’ you attach to the bloke a couple of labels, former beneficiary and definitely ill in some way,
Helen Clark champion of the beneficiary you reckon???, that’s pretty naive of you is what i think,
Suppose you don’t see Helen saying that Working for Families was for people who had jobs and beneficiaries not being included would encourage them to get a job as an attack on those beneficiaries and their children???,
Depends a lot i suppose where you sit on the political and income spectrum, i expected great things from Clark and the only thing She actually delivered through interest free student loans and working for families was welfare served up to the middle class who until Labour run out of gimmies for that middle class and Slippery upped the ante with tax cuts to be followed by asset sales to spend the loot on can be said at best to have given Labour 3 election wins and if there was any socialism involved in those 3 terms it was the socialism of,for,and by the middle class,
It’s why i am slightly amused and even a little bemused by the current ructions over the Labour leadership, to me Labour is a Party full of middle class people with a Parliamentary team of middle class MPs and although i might be wrong of all those MP’s i cannot personally identify one that has either really had to struggle one iota in life nor one that has ever raised a sweat to raise the monies needed to put a roof over their head or food on the table…
I don’t think I suggested Helen was a ‘champion of the beneficiary’ – simply that I don’t recall her ever as overtly pandering to the anti-beneficiary brigade as Shearer has with his roof painter episode.
And secondly my impressions of the guy came from speaking to him. As it transpires since the initial comment, he is someone a relative has been involved with in the past.
We’re probably more in agreement than not. My point is that its shameful to be seeing more and more people on the street with bugger all options other than to beg, or even go on the game out of necessity.
Yo is anyone going to pick up on the blatant homophobia here? Cause it’s super not cool.
Fair cop – now I think about it, there’s no reason why LGBT people can’t be homophobic. The spectrum is certainly capable of mysogeny.
There is a story on Yahoo about Monday’s vote for leadership,it also mentions Cunliffe’s
‘failed’ coup and the 100% expected endorsement of Shearer, both i find rather annoying,
unless Shearer has demanded total obediance of his caucus and they wimper in agreement,
‘yes master’ can be heard somewhere behind the cone of silence, then this nonsense has
to stop,each and every mp now has the Labour Party’s future in their hands, they
either join in the wide opinon that Shearer doesn’t cut it and vote accordingly/ abstain, or they
may face a harsh backlash in the 2014 election and the Greens pick up the slack.
Nothing Shearer say’s now can be taken seriously because he is doing serious damage
to the Labour Party brand.
Blaming commenters and posters shows a weakness to accept the undeniable truth that
is so obvious to so many.
Sorry can’t link to Yahoo.
I would be disappointed if there is a 100% endorsement of Shearer (though I expect to be disappointed.) That every single member of the Labour caucus really thinks like Shearer and believes Shearer to be the best of them to lead the party beggars belief, and a 100% endorsement would in fact indicate to me that some of the caucus are being devious and dishonest.
What I really want is an ‘honest’ open vote with the understanding – which lies at the very core of the democratic process – that the winner of the vote by a majority gains the right to represent all SUBJECT TO a responsibility to listen to and give serious consideration to the views of the minority.
Too much to ask from the professional politicians though – except maybe the Greens, who I still regard as reluctant politicians rather than professional ones.
A vote tomorrow for the membership and affiliates to have a say is the only way to energise and unite Labour going into 2014. It’s a referendum on how inclusive caucus is going to be with regards to the rest of the party. Will us ordinary Joes be listened to? Who knows?
.
Not devious and dishonest Tiresias. There will be quite a few Labour MPs who are not happy with things as they stand, but they are unlikely to stick their heads above the parapet at this stage. All that will happen is their heads will be lopped off with relish by the ABC club, and that’s no help to any of us. They are wiser to wait until the climate within Caucus has changed and who knows when that will happen. I hate to say it, but it may not be until after the next election.
Edit: it would be wonderful to discover that Shearer and co. have already had a change of view, but I’m not holding my breath.
“Not devious and dishonest Tiresias. There will be quite a few Labour MPs who are not happy with things as they stand, but they are unlikely to stick their heads above the parapet at this stage.” – Anne
And that makes them not devious and dishonest how?
Oh, I know dissention in the ranks will be leapt on by the media and National. Those of whom we speak will console themselves and hide behind the excuse that they are sacrificing their integrity for the greater good – telling themselves that fooling the public is necessary to preserve a fiction of party unity.
The problem is that we, some of us, know they are ‘sacrificing’ their integrity, and in my book integrity is like virginity – very hard to get back once it’s gone. It will be obvious to those who follow these things that an attempt was made to fool them and as the saying goes, ‘fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Like virginity, trust is very hard to get back.
The implication of a unanimous vote no-one believes in says volumes to me about the state of the Labour Party, and it ain’t pretty.
A vote of confidence isn’t a vote to say Shearer’s the best person possible. The question is: shall we have a leadership spill now? And it’s perfectly possible to think Shearer’s a bit rubbish but not want a spill right now.
Also of course Shearer has the numbers (because duh the idea of having a leadership spill now is cray-cray) and there’s no point burning yourself when there’s no realistic prospect of winning. So Shearer’s going to be leader until the next election, and if we win then for a fair bit after.
If we lose he’ll resign and we’ll have a rather grim contest as all the contenders run around pandering to the activist left of the party while carefully planning how to swing as far right-ward as possible once in Leader’s office in order to take an idealised middle-NZ’s votes. So yeah. Let’s not do that guys.
[Also yay for weird slut-shaming metaphors about integrity. WTF guys wtf.]
“because duh the idea of having a leadership spill now is cray-cray”
Prove it now, or wait ’til mumble f*ck loses in 2014 and do it then.
Your call.
Well actually my side kinda has already won this argument. That’s why y’all are wandering around in the wilderness along with various people who think it’s hilarious to insult Annette King for talking to gay men, that the Truthers have a point, and, most bizarrely, that Julia Gillard’s a CIA operative. That’s why Shearer’s going to be unanimously endorsed tomorrow, and lead Labour into the next election. (We won, you lost, let’s do lunch, as Cullen so nicely put it.)
I suspect that if Shearer loses in ’14, we’ll be back here again (by the way will y’all promise not to try and roll Shearer in ’15 if he wins? You really should, just to even it up) and we’ll win that fight too, ’cause y’all appear to organisationally incompetent. Depressingly, you’re also sucking up all the oxygen on the left of the party but that doesn’t bother you because as a collection of ultra-leftist infantilists you don’t actually see beyond this week’s current outrage.
To be fair, you don’t win when you’re still stuck in second place, loser.
There seems to be some thought that you are an mp, but as speculation about users ids is not permitted here, I’m lucky in always taking as I find, so you could quite easily be a genuine no direction caucus fan club devotee, or just a sharp one taking the piss. Makes no odds to me.
Firstly, it’s a bit unfair to link my comment to homophobic comments and conspiracy theorists. I understand politics and linking the thing you attack with known toxicity is a often used ploy, but being so see through, predictable and in this case quite poorly executed, I’m going to have to question your authority to call infantile.
While were at “infantilists” what’s this about sucking all the oxygen. I don’t need you to be quiet to make my points of view known, how odd you feel you can’t be heard if others are talking. If you have something you want to share in the way of policy, ideals comradeship, then you sing your heart out, like I do. You’ll find that rather from being a rag tag outfit of self interested, self absorbed extremists and wannabe radicals, most here at the standard are genuinely inclusive and great exponents of core Labour/Left wing principles.
It’s not our fault, whoever’s fan you really are, that the 2008-2013 caucus is an ineffective pile of shit.
But go on, come again. Tell me why I should shut up and let them suck unopposed?
Loser.
No chance it’s an mp.
I’d say, without giving a shit about identity:
Polsci student, young labour, looking for the main chance post graduation; don’t rock the boat; infatuated with teh game; but doesn’t get, yet, that the game is a means to an end, and that ‘how’ you win determines what you can do when you win.
If we have to wait until 2014 then the NACTS will have sold off everything that was not tied down, hidden under ground, or under the sea. ALL with detrimental effects for now, and the next 50 years. And our children, and grand children, will be paying for it in Spades.
The same rationale was used during Phils time. And we all regret following a leader who we knew was going to loose .
Déjà Vu?
Now is the correct time to make a fundemental change in the leadership coterie of the party.
We can not, should not, will not repeat the same mistakes. Loosing in 2014 is not an option.
The Fan Club: loosing is imprinted in everything you write.
Can you (the individual authors of The Standard who contribute to a collective, who are not a borg or machine) sort out your email issues?
George
Please 🙂
It’s beyond my capability/access level. Sorry.
PS: the people who can do it may be elsewhere right now.
Just watching the thing on Holmes.
Say what we like about him (and I have many times), what a fuck’n’ old bitch is/was that Thatcher !
State burial will be face down in ditch at a crossroads with a steak through the heart.
People will line up in their thousands, tap, jazz and ballet shoes at the ready to dance on her grave.
Mental old hag.
Mental Old Hag. Love it !
Never forget when Pinochet got caught in London by a distinguished human rights barrister, forget his name, read his excellent book, who got a High Court order confining the murderous bastard to some estate in Surrey or somewhere.
There it was on the tele’, all the modern day fascists gathered in support. The Mental Old Hag, craned over, fat arse out, handbag over arm trying to be The Queen, tottering around this huge country estate sitting room, directing which fabulously upholstered couches each of the fascist bastards should sit on. And in their dribbling dotage each of the mongrels was taking her orders.
Modern day Britain for Christ’s Sake…….
If I may, The Day That Margaret Thatcher Dies!
http://www.isthatcherdeadyet.co.uk/
Why didn’t we call some of our MPs to account for their Electoral Performance, especially in the Wellington Region?
Annette King in Rongotai got a Labour Party vote in 2005 of 50%, 2008 was 42% and 2011 was 34%. Methinks she is doing as poor a job, just like Hipkins in the nearby Rimutaka: 48%, 41% and 33%.
The performance of our Party Election Strategist, Lord Trevor of Wainouimata in Hutt South is equally worrying: Party vote in 2005 48%, 2008 43% and in 201- 36%.
That is why we did not call out poor performance. The Leaders do not feel accountable to the Members, or the Unions.
They would not get my Confidence Vote at Caucus. If I had one.
The same pattern in Wellington Central sadly. Heir apparent, Grant Robertson, led Labour to third place there. In 2005 we had 43%, 35% in 2008 and only 26% in 2011. Sh*t.
And these are the people from Wellington from whom the hapless member for Mt Albert is getting Election Strategy.
Get out of the way. You are way past your sell-by date.
Seems very obvious.
Consider the impenetrable Labour “stronghold” of Dunedin South.
In 2005 Benson Pope achieved a party vote of 57.1%.
In 2008 Clare Curran achieved a party vote of 46.7% (-10.4%)
In 2011 Clare Curran achieved a party vote of 35.0% (-22.1%)
That’s an eye watering two-fifths drop in party vote.
The Fan Club is quite right to ask us to pause and consider what the nation-wide swing over that time was, however.
I believe that his point is simple: that Labour is being led to irrelevancy on a nation-wide basis, not just electorate by electorate, and that the performance of Labour has been in decline for several years and it still doesn’t know how to change what it is doing.
Yes its does. Let the Greens take over.
Hang on. What’s the national swing? What’s the electorate vote? How did other seats perform? How did other prominent MPs supporting Shearer do? Because as far as I can tell you’re cherry picking data in a pretty transparent and at this late date desperate attempt to smear MPs you don’t like for other reasons.
[If you want accountability for electorate MPs, that’s a role for the LEC & the region. That’s the point of our federated party, where head office doesn’t run everything.
So Trevor’s Strategy role was unnecessary? Wellington was not responsible for their own massive failures?
Go to bed The Fan Club. You are clutching at straws.
Hey if I was running the ’11 campaign I’d have put Mallard on cycling leave. But I wasn’t. And that has nothing to do with the fucking obvious point, you complete idiot, that Labour got shellacked all over the country, and that individual MPs are quite at the mercy of national swings. The party vote especially follows the national trend.
Wellington Central was the one seat that the Greens ran a serious electorate campaign in. And it worked, basically.
fingers crossed they don’t start doing that in too many places then.
And with comments like that TFC, you do absolutely nothing to confirm to worried Labour membership that Labour strategists are in touch with what they say, take it seriously and that the Labour hierarchy has a modicum of respect for anyone outside the parliamentary bubble.
Cheers.
TV3 has an article up this evening about the confidence vote. It too suggests a 100% endorsement is likely. In my view the article misses the point that the internal friction within Labour is not a Shearer vs Cunliffe thing. Rather, it is about the wish of the Labour grass roots to have more say in how the Party is run, the widening gap between the Party members and the Caucus old guard, and genuine concern that Shearer will have trouble matching Key in a campaign. Those issues don’t go away just because Cunliffe has made clear he is not challenging. Those issues remain and need to be resolved.