Mangatangi South of Auckland, Fonterra is planning a huge new open cast coal mine.
While the current Green Party leadership prepare to make their peace with climate change. Ex-Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons is actively campaigning against it.
Fitzsimons has linked up with locals opposed to the mine, who are calling a public meeting for Thursday night, March 7, at the Mangatawhiri hall, off state highway 2, (next to the famous Ice Cream Castle).
The crux of the argument is that coal adds to anthropomorphic climate change when more sustainable fuels could be used.
Fonterra’s coalmining company Glencoal has applied for resource consents to develop an opencast coalmine on 30ha of farmland between Mangatawhiri Rd and the new State Highway 2 at Maramarua….
….Glencoal has Government permits to mine the new property which, like K3, is expected to yield around 120,000 tonnes of coal a year.
Sacrificing Principle for Power; The Green Party and Climate Change
Despite the urgent and pressing need, the Green Party are selling out over climate change.
The first I heard of the Greens back-peddling on Climate Change was at the last elections.
People who I know, close to the Green Party, and whose views I trust, informed me that the Green Candidates had been advised, not to mention climate change during their election campaigns by the leadership of their party. The reason given for this directive, was rot them not to appear too radical to the voting public.
I have since confirmed this direction for self censorship, talking with leading members of the Greens who told me, “We didn’t want to scare the horses”.
The final proof, of course was the election itself. Which was marked by a lack of public debate on this issue by all parties.
In 2011, in ignoring climate change, the Green Party, Labour Party and the Natonal Party candidates, behaved very similarly to the 2012 US presidential candidates, neither side wanted to discuss climate change, or what to do about it.
In the US presidential elections, even an unprecedented Superstorm which interrupted their campaigning could not get Obama or Romney to discuss climate change.
It looks likely that the Green Party policy of keeping silent on Climate Change is to continue into the next election.
Climate change was not an election issue in 2011,
Despite the dangerous urgency.
Despite the appalling record of the current government on climate change.
It looks likely that climate change will not be an election issue in 2014.
If the Green Party do not take this issue up, it looks likely that it will not be raised by any other party either.
The other political parties: Labour and National will not want to raise this issue either, in case they offend their powerful oil and coal industry donors.
The proof that the Green Party are continuing their silence over climate change comes from their official website.
The following is the link to the official Green Party website which sets out all their “Priorities and “Issues”;
You will immediately notice that for an environmental party, there is no mention of climate change on the Green Party home page. ( It has been this way for months, despite Superstorm Sandy, Superstorm Bopha, and the record breaking Australian heatwave). And the current unprecedented drought being experienced in Northland.
I find this extremely odd, as climate change has been described as the biggest environmental issue of all time.
To find any mention of climate change on the official Green Party website you have to really look for it.
At the top of the Green Party home page: “For The Future” campaign. Clicking on this link to takes you to a page in which there is no mention of climate change.
There are no other obvious mentions of climate change on the Green Party official home page.
To find mention of climate change click on the “Issues” tab at the top of the Green Party home page.
Clicking on this link shows all the “Other issues” that are not Green Party “Priorities” or even Green Party “Other priorities”
“Other issues” are set out in alphabetical order, presumably signifying that not one, is of any more significance than the others.
These other “Other issues” are:
“Economy”
“Environmental and resources”
“Fairness and society”
“Health and food”
“International relations”
“Politics and law”
Under the second heading in the list under the heading “Environmental and resources”. First up, is climate change.
However this is misleading, as climate change is only first up, because this list is also set out alphabetically. The only signifcance that climate change has, to the 59 other Green Party “Other issues” is that it starts with the letter ‘C’.
Despite Naomi Klein’s warning to the left and the environmental movement that climate change has the power to undo all our current campaigns and past victories, the New Zealand Green Party have decided to bury this issue as deep as they can get away with.
Q: Mr Shearer, do you know your arse from your elbow?
A: Well, ah… yes,… I wouldn’t be too rash… I mean yes, I have a rash that itches, no, er, I mean I have to, I have an arse, and I have an elbow… two elbows… or one elbow and two arses… though I suppose you mean any elbow…I’m well,… I mean really arses and elbows are… you know, part of the same body, and I don’t think, ah, that it’s quite reasonable to you know, talk about them as if they were different things… I mean even if I do have an arse in the middle of each arm and I sit on my elbow, they’re all part of me… I mean you have arses and an elbow too… and spleens. I breathe with my pancreas. Er… I mean we have to consider glands as well, I’m not sure if you can pile glands up, like dominoes. I mean lego. I know glands are not lego, well I’m not sure glands are not dominoes or lego, but I mean if you had a stack of salivary glands and elbows, you couldn’t , er, make a model house out of them like you can with lego, or dominoes… er, what was the.. oh dear, where’s my bit of paper?
A bit more seriously, this is just incredible. My flabber is utterly ghasted. Shearer got up and beat his breast about asset sales and now can’t even say why he did that, and is desperately distancing himself from any commitment to hanging on to them. It’s a betrayal, moreover it’s a public betrayal, criminally undermining confidence in his party.
How on earth can anyone have confidence in this drongo?
I just hope there’s more of it and that no PR fix-it brigade comes in and masks his incompetence just enough to hold off his ousting so we’re left with the un-fixable buffoon that he is. Keep going, David, may you reach rock bottom. It’s the only hope we’ve got.
Their audio page (where all their broadcast audio is archived in 15 minute blocks) is here: http://radiolive.co.nz/audio.aspx but it doesn’t seem to be working at the moment.
I think Whaleoil has a very short edit of part of the interview on his site.
As you haven’t pointed to anything I’ve written that indicates a “feminist science” (whatever that is) or “feminist ideology” then I’ll accept your apology as soon as it’s offered.
Sure. Can’t say I’ve know that many manhaters though, so I guess you have a very rare condition. Unless you mean aversion to women, in which case we have several useful words already.
A ‘pro gay crusader’ may or may not be a ‘moral relativist’, but if they are they won’t be the type of relativist who ‘can’t make normative statements’.
The dead man was uncared for scum but the mega rich Queenie gets a bug and everyone’s bowing and scraping, sort of society the market’s shoeshine boy Key wants here. 🙁
Benefit advocates help the government deliver it’s welfare service properly by cleaning up the mess left by overworked (or let’s face it…just bitchy) case managers. They ensure mental health consumers continue to receive welfare. They SAVE the government money by negotiating with Work and Income and preventing review of decisions (costly and time consuming for the ministry).
This service needs help or it closes in three weeks: http://bais.org.nz/ (website has been hacked so donate page missing !) Might take a phone call or two.
BAIS is registered as a charity with the NZ Charities Commission: CC10594 so please give these guys a hand.
IMHO the government should fully fund these. It’s a tough funding environment out there but we can change it by voting with out donations and claiming it via tax back.
To hear the minister crow about the drips and dribbles of funding benefit rights services are funded on makes me sick. They only stay in existence because the volunteers know what is at stake – everyday people going without in a country with a SOCIAL CONTRACT to support them at their most vulnerable.
Yea, does need a voice. Might be better if someone with experience of dealing with BAIS writes it. I’ve only sent them an email once and deal with the Benefit Rights Service (BRS) in Wellington central.
An interesting item on msm reporters who are compromised by conflicts of interest in their undisclosed family and friendship connections with politicians.
Note to Bomber –Proofreading – crowd source if necessary. I was also shocked at the recently published edition of ‘Werewolf’ which was so shot through with every kind of error that I wondered if they had accidentally published an earlier unedited version. I’m vehemently opposed to policing this kind of thing in the conversation amongst commenters, but in the format of a magazine or a newspaper, too many typos, spelling, punctuation etc. mistakes jar and detract from credibility, yet they can be corrected without changing the writer’s actual words, one jot.
To me, if you can’t be bothered using good grammar and good spelling to express your ideas, have you actually thought through and value what you are trying to say? And have you even bothered to check the facts that you are using?
Actually, I don’t think those things necessarily go together, CV. I have often noticed spelling errors in Bomber’s Tumeke posts. Maybe he needs to get someone else to do the proofreading – spelling and written grammar may not be his strong point.
Let us make clear that this is no victory for the left. M5S is an extremely ambiguous phenomenon. As Giuliano Santoro points out, Grillo and the co-founder of his movement, marketer Gianroberto Casaleggio, are both millionaires with a proprietorial conception of their organisation.
M5S’s constitution, written by Grillo and Casaleggio, states: ‘The name of the Five Star Movement is attached to a trademark registered under the name of Beppe Grillo, the sole holder of rights on its use.’ These rights have been consistently used to expel anyone who has tried to make the movement more autonomous from Grillo’s personal style of leadership.
In fact for the past three years I’ve been sure that Labour would get it right in the next six months. It is teh one ting the Party is consistant about.
A pity the voters don’t see it that way.
(the sound you hear is a mixture of hysterical laughter and tearful sobs)
Assuming a November 2014 election, E-day is only 18 months away. Unless of course you are talking about the normally scheduled February Leadership vote which occurs after each election…which would be exactly 21 months away…
Exactly what the hollowmen wanted, the thought of DC up against Slippery made them go all out helping the mallarfia ensure that’s now not going to happen.
well meaning dithering inexperienced bloke up against well trained sharky dishonest money trader, shall we lay bets now.
Q: Who would you rather have as Prime Minister in 2014: David Cunliffe or John Key?
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: David Shearer – and he will be!
Q: My question was whether you would prefer David Cunliffe or John Key.
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: Napoleon!
Q (rolls eyes): I repeat my question.
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: Richard the Lionheart, Qin Shi Huang, Augustus, Ramesses II!
Q (facepalm): I don’t mean DEAD historical figures, my question was-
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: Gandalf!
Q (tearing hair): – nor do I mean fictitious characters.
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al (after a brief pause): Historical inevitability!
Q:What?
King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al (now they roll their eyes): You don’t understand how democracy works do you? Let us put it clearly: Whenever National comes to power due to the foolishness of the people and David Cunliffe, they are punished by that government which then – being aware of historical inevitability, politely cedes power to us in the next term after we have released a sufficient number of press releases. We really don’t see what all the fuss is about.
Q (staring blankly and speaking in a halting monotone); Um. Yes. Well then… Um. My question remains: Who. Would. You. Prefer. To. Be. Prime. Minister. In. 2014: John. Key. Or. David… Cunliffe?
King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: JOHN KEY!
Jesus Christ Shearer’s fucking hopeless. He hasn’t got a clue at all. At the rate he’s going Key could shoot someone on Queen street, at lunchtime and still be re-elected.
Hey Muzza. Yep, watched that doco last year. Ha! It never ends. Am in the thick of dealing with regional council in regard to an aerial agri chemical spraying co for three breaches of the regulations right at the moment. Don’t want to say too much about that case. Just to add that we have a poor history of health and safety and lax regulation when to comes to using and abusing agri chemicals in NZ.
“The poisoning of New Zealand” by Meriel Watts (published in 1994) gives some background to that history. There may or may not have been regulatory changes within the years since that book was published but the challenge of holding the likes of monsanto, dowagro, nufarm etc to account remains the same. Bloody tough.
All the best with that, and thanks for the book tip.
NZ genuinely has a disgraceful history, on many counts. Yeah there are good people throughout the country, but the sad state of the nation, is now a reflection on all people, including the good ones.
So sorry to hear about your Dad RT @ 9.1.2.
I wonder how many of the generations before us (and indeed those who are still with us) suffered ill health that wasn’t diagnosed correctly and/or early death due to the effect of unsafe practices when working with agricultural or industrial chemicals.
A relative of mine was one of those victims of a certain notorious timber mill in the Eastern B.O.P. He lived with a chronic work related respiratory illness which eventually took him.
Still, despite all efforts the “She’ll be right” attitude is still prevelant within our culture. The examples are around us all the time.
The census – all that effort and the useful and important things that weren’t init!! For instance I do a lot of volunteer work which wasn’t mentioned in this census. All retired people should be barracking for volunteer work to be counted as work and a contribution to society. There has to be action by older people against the 70 age limit to the old age pension, which is what it is in NZ.
I see being expected to contribute to society in some meaningful way fro the whole of one’s life, but especially when society pays you a pension, as being a reasonable and rational and practical thing which mitigates against the idea of us being self-centred elderly royalty, which many now are at the top end . If we thinking older people don’t get together and present a defence to current thinking and upward age limits most older lives are going to be times of worry and sometimes misery under the Labour push. This is a very TINA mentality – just a repeat of the thinking, or lack of it, in 1984.
It irks me to see on the form a space for working on the family business for no pay (and also I believe that ‘work’ is counted from the first completed hour). I spend probably about 20 hours a week as a volunteer, which is invisible. Marilyn Waring’s book Counting for Nothing findings still apply.
No wonder we can’t get ahead in this country – we have good thinkers here but we have pathetic little burkes that talk their way into a profession or money and then bureaucracy or parliament who never realise the breadth of what they don’t know that they don’t know. There should always be pilot schemes testing different ways of managing the country which are formulated from a wide number of ideas and input, and then evaluated against set criteria.
Listening to Peter Dunne this morning on child support liability and exponential imposts of penalties impressed me on the narrow understanding of the world many of these twerps have.
He talked about partners having a vendetta against each other as the main reason for not paying. A lot of the time it’s just that they can’t afford to support two households, or they don’t want to, or else they are alcoholics and can’t afford the happy-go-lucky habit and free spending trend that goes with trying to be happy all the time.
What government doesn’t understand is that often the family is better off without such a role model and the further away with infrequent contact with the other parent, the better for the child’s moral development and the stability and happiness of the family..
Indeed volunteer work is very important to society and the economy:
prism: The census – all that effort and the useful and important things that weren’t init!! For instance I do a lot of volunteer work which wasn’t mentioned in this census.
question 45:
Mark as many spaces as you need to answer this question. In the last 4 weeks, which of these have you done, without pay?
Answer otions include, housework, gardeneing etc; caring for others plus:
other help or voluntary work for or through any organisation, group or marae
Other questions include options for unpaid work within family business or farm.
Thanks karol
It is in my mind though that volunteer work for the community has been listed separately in a previous census. Unpaid work within family business or farm is merely working for your own interests, your household or wider family – not the same thing. I think it isn’t sufficient to just have community or volunteer work touched on so generally. There isn’t a question of how many hours, just whether done ever in the last 4 weeks.
And working at housework gardening without pay is what people do for each other in their own home. If it is supposed to mean – for other people outside your home it should say so. The census isn’t worded so as to find really useful statistics. For instance it would be interesting to ask – how many women are home nearly all the time caring for children or other family members – on maternity leave for a year, or working for pay part-time under 15 hours, working for more than 30 hours with children in child care? How many men? How many grandparents are caring for grandchildren regularly? How many hours per week.
There are things we ought to know if we were a functioning vital people-embracing country. But sadly we embrace businesses that can boost our politicians and entertain us, we would rather have a matinee idol cracking jokes and finishing every sentence with a confident ‘No worries mate, it’ll work out fine” than a thinking, caring pragmatic person who has buckteeth and a hunchback.
prism, yes there could be more specific questions about hours, etc. However, qu 46 does ask about housework, gardening, etc, within your household, and separately asks about caring for a child, with your household, and not in your household, plus separate questions about caring for someone with illness or disability within your household and not in your household.
There is a separate question elsewhere asking if you are on the DPB, and of course, separate questions about paid and unpaid hours worked.
There also needs to be a balance between the number of questions asked, and the amount of meaningful information sought.
You mention in the first paragraph that
“There has to be action by older people against the 70 age limit to the old age pension”
I don’t understand what you are talking about. Can you please clarify what this is?
alwyn I’ve read your posts before and you often don’t understand. Seems you have a lot of thinking and learning to do. So by all means keep asking and someone will help. I usually can get info and different points of view here.
You have heard surely alwyn that Labour is talking about raising the age limit for receiving superannuation (old age pension under a fancy name) to 70 years, probably over a period of years? I have been thinking of the unpleasant results to the people affected and have decided I am against it.
Google says on the meaning of the word superannuation
1 Regular payment made into a fund by an employee toward a future pension.
2 A pension of this type paid to a retired person.
As NZ pays out of current taxation the income support for retired people, this is not superannuation. But everyone likes that word better than old age pension which is not a cool term especially to the wealthy.
The reason for paying all old people from current taxation, to add to your putea of knowledge, is that it is hard to build and maintain solid funds going forward! that match inflation when conservatively invested. And before we tackled inflation which at one time was rampant, it was impossible. Now the Super Fund is trying to build up a fund to limit the shock when an extra lot of baby boomers come to The Age. Company pension funds also are difficult to maintain because they are notoriously tempting to dip in to by those high up in the company having risky investments going belly-up or yacht and mansion house maintenance problems.
Thank you for replying, at least.
However just how I was expected to connect the statement you made to Labour’s last election policy is rather a stretch.
Your statement, and I quote it in full, was “There has to be action by older people against the 70 age limit to the old age pension which is what it is in New Zealand.”
For your information “what it is in New Zealand” at the moment is 65, not 70.
What labour proposed was that it be raised to67, not 70 and that the age of 67 would not be reached until 2033. How that becomes 70 now, which you appear to believe, is rather unclear.
As to the rest of the response you made, my only addition would be to suggest that it is just as hard for the state to maintain a fund as it is for a company. If you don’t understand that have a look at the tribulations of the various state and city super schemes in the USA, many of which are insolvent.
I don’t trust ANY politician with access to funds such as the Cullen fund, which is in theory supposed to pre-fund superannuation. One has only to read material on the Green party blog, or web-site, to see all the hare-brained ideas for spending the fund. Alternatively just read the material on this blog for how to spend the money on non-productive assets.
Incidentally you can’t really pre-fund superannuation for anybody. Any consumption by a non-working person must be from production by a currently working one. Imagine if every single person was retired. Just where would the goods they wish to consume come from?
alwyn I said that the old age pension is what we have in NZ. And I made the point that it is not actually superannuation. And the 67 year limit has often been stated to be just a step on the way to 70 years.
And you appear to be in a bog not a blog as you don’t like government funded pensions and you are vague about the value and sustainability of company and government funds alike. Oh dear, we are up the creek without a paddle in this case.
Last comment on this (at least by me).
Of course it is an old age pension. However evryone calls it National Superannuation so why shouldn’t we?
OK, no doubt there are people who say we should move to 67 or 70 or whatever.
You however said it was 70 NOW, not some vague option for the future. Perhaps you are like a Maths Prof I used to have who said that “one is just a first approximation to infinity”
I do like Government pensions. In fact I regard them as an essential thing to ensure that the elderly have an income in retirement. People can try and invest to help with their retirement but I think a basic state supplied old age pension is the only way to keep a significant portion of the elderly from penury.
I am not “vague” about the value and sustainability of pensions at all. I know that there will be a proportion of investments that become worthless and that some company schemes in particular that will fail, for any of a number of reasons. They don’t all happen because of people like Robert Maxwell. Some are just bad luck.
I don’t think that trying to build up massive funds, under Government control will work in the long run. I do not trust politicians to leave them along. They want to interfere in the investment decisions to fulfill their own little dreams. Look at the people on this blog who want to say where the Cullen fund should put its money. Everyone thinks that hey know best. You’ve seen it, haven’t you?
My final comment about it being logically impossible to pre-fund pensions for all, without affecting those who are working when the pension is paid, is of course true. It is merely an example of something that is true for an individual is not necessarily true for society as a whole.
I don’t think that trying to build up massive funds, under Government control will work in the long run. I do not trust politicians to leave them along. They want to interfere in the investment decisions to fulfill their own little dreams. Look at the people on this blog who want to say where the Cullen fund should put its money. Everyone thinks that hey know best. You’ve seen it, haven’t you?
Shit dude, so you trust bankers, finance companies and Wall St to look after your investment funds instead?
The NZ Government is 100x more solid than any of those agents buddy.
Oh dear, I said I had finished commenting on this subject but I can’t resist.
No I don’t “trust” them at all.
I think that Cullen set up the fund for the wrong reasons, which is a separate matter, but at least he did his best to keep the investments out of the hands of his fellow politicians. They always say that a poacher makes the best gamekeeper.
That is the structure of the “Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation” (or whatever they are called) who pick the people who will invest the assets. They are supposed to be independent of the politicians. Unfortunately the bigger the pot gets the more temptation there is for the Poly’s to interfere. Even John Key got in at one point when he suggested that a certain percentage should be invested within New Zealand. Luckily he seems to have thought better of that. The Green party are probably the most interested in choosing the investments of course. Certainly they are worse than Labour.
In terms of having bankers, finance companies etc looking after my investment funds, no I don’t trust them. This is one of the flaws in Kiwisaver where you are required to have your Kiwisaver investments with one of these organisations. That is where the Australian superannuation system is better. People are allowed to manage them themselves. Not that great a percentage do but you CAN do so. Why can’t we have that here?
In terms of the Government part of Superannuation, or the universal old age pension, I don’t think we need a fund at all. Pay it out of current taxation, however that is raised. As I said, wherever it is being paid from it is being provided by those who are working at the time it is spent.
alwyn
I didn’t say it was 70 NOW. I did manage to incorporate two things in the one sentence in an unclear manner. So sorry. I’ll keep sentences shorter from now on.
There should always be pilot schemes testing different ways of managing the country which are formulated from a wide number of ideas and input, and then evaluated against set criteria.
That’s what universities are for and these pilot programs could then be tested at the local government level and filter up. Unfortunately, our central government tends to think it knows best especially when under control of the National Party.
What government doesn’t understand is that often the family is better off without such a role model and the further away with infrequent contact with the other parent, the better for the child’s moral development and the stability and happiness of the family.
And that comes back to that false right-wing ideology that the family is more important in a child’s life than anything else even when it is dysfunctional.
DTB
True about universities, but this bunch once they started to read, went straight on to textbooks that gave improving stories about how to make money. They went to university to do business courses or ones that fitted their conservative brains and just reinforced all their prejudices while there. And probably met their future partner there and parented more self-centred little know-alls.
And that’s what is important in a child’s life for them to achieve a comfortable lifestyle. And the rest can go scrabble for what they can get and be punished for not being wealthy.
Interesting how the National Party goes in for Central Planning. I thought they considered that was a Communist disaster – the Five, Ten Year Plan etc. And the Great Leap Forward.
We did have a Great Leap in 1984 of course followed by strides in other years and have now sunk to incrementally and sneakily removing screws from the body politic and NZ Inc and soon the muffler may fall off, or the crankshaft will be flat (quoting Toad from Wind in the Willows).
It does pay to view the whole enterprise of NZ under the mendacious politicians as a sweeping filmic epic and then you’re so busy waiting for the next fascinating instalment that you don’t realise that you’re the featured actor and it’s your house that is in flames.
personally (in case you were wondering)
-Mon, community meal
-Tues, foodbank
-Wed, counsel
-Thurs, counsel
-Everyday, grow veges to distribute around the “cul-de-sac”
You’re a real trooper Rogue. Do you counsel others, or go to counselling yourself on Wed and Thurs?
Growing veges everyday sounds interesting. Have you followed the city gardens movement I think mainly in parts of the USA?
Rogue Trooper (from AD2000) had his unit violently betrayed by the very top. He then spent years on foot, trudging and fighting through the chemical wastelands of Nu-Earth, to find those responsible for the massacre of the people he cared about. Awesome.
I don’t see why they need names and addresses. I don’t recall providing that information previously, though of course it has been seven years since the last one and I may be wrong. I would have thought they would only be interested in the numbers in the various categories, not the identities of the persons concerned.
Apparently she operated some cult like think tank / educational outfit in NY.
Can see why the free market zealots are in love with her.
[lprent: Your comment pattern this morning looks like a troll. You seem to be haranguing people trying to start a flame war. If you want to discuss something then write something substantive about what your topic for others to disagree with. Don’t just harass with assertions that you provide no backing for. I can, if you’d prefer, demonstrate on you why that tactic isn’t a good idea for “debate”. Your choice really.. ]
Same system – re-edit. There is hopefully a chorus tech coming in to look at my network link on behalf of Orcon support (who have spent the last week getting upset after I told them that I wasn’t happy about factory resetting my Genius). At present the link is reconnecting every 15 minutes or so.
I’m looking for a new network supplier. Anyone got bad things to say about Actrix?
I can only get ADSL+ at present. The UFB in Grey Lynn doesn’t appear to go into apartment blocks.
I just have to stop being social and going to weddings and the like to get some more time. I really need some time off..
At present the link is reconnecting every 15 minutes or so.
I had that. Lasted for about a week. Orcon finally decided that I was right and that a tech needed to be sent out (it really is irritating trying to explain to the helpdesk staff that I actually know more about the network, fault finding and the processors than they do). On the day the tech was came my internet went down for about two hours and then came back up rock solid but at only 5mbps. For it to be down that long I figured that they must have been doing some work on the cabinet or possibly the exchange (not bloody likely) but the tech didn’t know if anybody was working on the cabinet – he wasn’t – but he turned up a couple of hours after my internet came back up. He replaced a couple of connectors in the DP and I got 17mbps back.
I’m looking for a new network supplier. Anyone got bad things to say about Actrix?
The problem is that you’re not dealing directly with Telecom. When an ISP sends a Telecom tech out and there’s nothing found to be wrong with Telecoms network they get charged a huge amount and so the ISP will work very hard not to send out a tech. It results in poor service.
Yeah it is a problem. But supposedly Chorus isn’t part of Telecom any more….
The reason I moved from Telecom many years ago was because their plans sucked* (and I see they still do), but most importantly because it always took a bloody long time to get through to anyone who knew what my problem was – usually routing or network connection.
I know. It’s insane. In most circumstances if your boss doesn’t think you’re doing the job right, or if you don’t think the boss is doing the job right, you end up when you leave with a couple of weeks pay. Can’t understand why the hell you get a fortune to leave at the top end of the business in the same situation.
So. According to leighton smith it is really good that teachers are out protesting as it is preferable to them being in the classroom “spreading misinformation” According to the information I heard the teachers were doing it BEFORE school so as not to disrupt their classes.I get really annoyed with these radio has- beens who do not even take the time to get their facts right. Was in my daughter’s car so took a while to find the knob to turn the KNOB off.
You know what? …. WOT! said fred.
I look at all the various categories of posts on here: ‘Throw another Mill on the Barbie’; The constitutional ….etcetera; Asset sales et al.
WHERE THE FUCK IS LABOUR?
missing in action, and quite probably having a lay down (gathering their strength of course for some pathetic assault in future).
A Main Stream Media of a right-wing bent, a piece of journalistic couch material disguising herself amongst the various fabrics that create one-off wearable wardrobes – hell bent on a bit of rough-trade.
FFS there’s a cliff that saw herself amongst an era long gone (bring up the African drums).
You probably don’t get it atm. QUITE OBVIOUSLY neither does Trev, but prepare yourselves for the aftermath.
I hadn’t been aware that Trev n Jane as an item were public knowledge (as I’ve seem elsewhere)., but their positions as representaives – FIRSTLY as politicians, and secondly as representatives of a supposed 4TH ESTATE, pretty much says it all.
No no no, these are also the people I expect to be the folk that squeel like pigs in the not-to-distant
Just making sure. I seem to recall that last time Hopefully that goes to “reshuffle for unity” – on my form so far today it’ll probably go to an obscure statsNZ paper on ethnicity and the census) we ended up talking at cross purposes past each other because you thought my comments about recurring themes in comments here were comments about specific quotes you make.
If we’re not talking specifically about you, chapter and verse, then a lot of the time here I think that people are letting their disappointment that Cunliffe isn’t leader affect their assessment of what labour and Shearer are doing or saying. Just because a tory MSM aren’t picking up doesn’t mean that Labour are doing nothing.
“a lot of the time here I think that people are letting their disappointment that Cunliffe isn’t leader affect their assessment of what labour and Shearer are doing or saying.”
Meh, maybe so. It’d be a lot more convincing if the general public as polled and surveyed didn’t generally agree though, wouldn’t it?
Unless the polls and surveys are also heavily weighted toward embittered Cunliffe supporters of course, but I don’t think that’s any more likely than people on this forum saying they don’t think Shearer and Labour are much good for any other reason than, well, that they don’t think they’re much good.
“Just because a tory MSM aren’t picking up doesn’t mean that Labour are doing nothing”
Lolz. The tory msm have been Shearer’s biggest cheerleaders all along.
Really? The polls show us that Labour are shit at getting media coverage?What do the polls show us, really? The Labour needs to be more like National? Oh dear, in that case Shearer is indeed doing a shit job. Or maybe Labour need to be a counterpoint to National? In that case, Shearer and labour are shit the other way. Or maybe that it’s not all about whatever Labour does, but other shit counts too? Like National’s strategy of isolating key from competence and responsibility, or the fact that a lot of traditionally “left” people love to shit on Labour and Shearer, both the MSM commentariat and “left wing bloggers”?
Polls tell us what is, not why. They tell us, for example, that things are improving for labour, if sluggishly.
I’ve no idea if the MSM are picking up Labour inputs or not. Tim reckoned they were “missing in action”. I actually watched the late news tonight, saw hipkins and shearers on the longstone thing. And shearer on the mighty river thing. No idea what tim was talking about.
But whatever, between 2pm and 1030pm the MSM suddenly started interviewing the labour front bench to support Shearer from Tim’s scathing attack, or I suggest that Tim’s own perception bias is at fault.
It’s almost like people are too lazy to add Labour and Greens and Mana, and draw a shallow line between now and mid-2014.
Labour are necessary but not sufficient for a left wing government, regardless of their specific poll result. Their internal politics are largely irrelevant, bar shit overflowing and poisoning the public sphere (e.g. a repeat of the chris carter bs).
Nothing is assured, but I don’t see any reason for overly aggressive capitalisation of comments, bizarre analogies of death or hardship, or allegations that Labour are absent, sleepwalking or phoning it in.
Labour is a centrist market oriented party focussed on the votes of median and upper income households. Labour may be part of a left wing government, but since it’s instincts are centrist and market driven, that government will not be left wing because of it.
or allegations that Labour are absent, sleepwalking or phoning it in.
So you don’t think that those allegations hold water?
Feel free to keep setting the bar so fucking low that even a Chihuahua running by is gonna get a concussion.
Labour will not be the entirety of the next government, even if it might be Labour-led. Assuming that a labour-led governent will be the same as a labour 50%+ sole government is not realistic.
Labour aren’t absent. They are issuing releases, being interviewed in the press, and getting out and about.
Labour aren’t sleepwalking or phoning it in: those imply that Labour don’t really want to be in government.
They are plodding, lack fire and need a bit of an imagination transplant. They have some MPs that are a bit weak and lack experience, from what I see. They have a risk-averse media strategy and have too small a team looking for deficiencies or innovation in new policies – in fact I might go so far as to say there is little or no contingency anticipation at the tactical policy level, and possibly too much policy conservatism at the strategy level. And most of them, including Shearer, need to have like a daily spitballing session where they look at their interviews and think of how they could have done better, or what they would have said in their colleague’s place.
But the thing is, I don’t get worked up about those shortcomings that I see. Because left ain’t labour, labour ain’t the left, and the smaller parties will provide the guts that labour currently lack.
Really? The polls show us that Labour are shit at getting media coverage?What do the polls show us, really? The Labour needs to be more like National? Oh dear, in that case Shearer is indeed doing a shit job. Or maybe Labour need to be a counterpoint to National? In that case, Shearer and labour are shit the other way. Or maybe that it’s not all about whatever Labour does, but other shit counts too? Like National’s strategy of isolating key from competence and responsibility, or the fact that a lot of traditionally “left” people love to shit on Labour and Shearer, both the MSM commentariat and “left wing bloggers”?
lolwut? Was that directed to me? ‘Cos all I said was that people don’t seem to think much of Shearer and Labour at the mo.
Actually fv, you also speculated as to why the polls might begiving the results that you appealed to.
In case you hadn’t noticed, we had been talking about why people weren’t into labour. I think the general population has slightly different reasons for their poll results than e.g. shearer didn’t promise to renationalise telecom today, he must be a neoliberal, cunliffe would have done it by now
So the senior lawyer in Labour’s ranks, the Christchurch MP that has worked tirelessly for the area gets told that she has to go for the sake of “renewal”.
She did nothing wrong.
The decision to demote her was utu for not kissing Shearer’s arse.
I just think comparing the back benches at however many hundred $k p.a. with a multi-week train ride to a barren wasteland, starvation diet, overwork, and subzero temperatures is a bit, well, …, a bit shit, really.
One of Labour’s most experienced MPs, who has been doing a great job advocating for her constituents in a destroyed city, gets rewarded by being shoved down the rankings.
If that’s not political Siberia I don’t know what it is.
(Hey you didn’t think I was meaning actual geographical Siberia, did you? btw I know people from there and they think that it’s a fine place).
Oh noes, she’s got a different seat in the house and only a base MP salary! Fuck, that makes a comparison to the Gulag Archipelago totally reasonable!
I got that it was an analogy. I just think it was an analogy that was stupid, irrational, lacked perspective and actually sort of ilustrated my point that the major problems people here seem to have with Shearer and Labour probably come from the commenters’ own lack of rationality and perspective.
must be snowblind, being an oppressed mass in Siberia and all. Fuck, I must be, seeing as I’m on a fraction of her salary and can’t make speeches in the house.
Maybe the analogy you could have used was “sin binning” – off on the sidelines for a bit, but still able to get back into the game if you’re prepared to play reasonably.
Hey please explain on what grounds you think Shearer judged that Lianne Dalziel was not fulfilling her role as a Labour electorate MP “reasonably”.
How the fuck should I know? I’m not in caucus. I know it’s not because she chose sides against Shearer, because there wasn’t an alternative challenger for the leadership.
But her demotion sounds like, oh, a demotion to an important and well-paid position, not a train ride to Siberia.
I’m horrified by this case of torture in Fiji and I really want our government to bring more pressure to bear on the regime in those imprisoned islands.NZ eased sanctions in 2012. Clearly that was a mistake. Restore them and extend them.
But Fiji is WhaleSpew’s favourite democracy and we just don’t understand them. The terrorist in the video won’t think of stealing any more lightbulbs now, will he?
News Flash: Share Scalpers crash Mighty River Powers website!
That’s right those same greedy people ( Trevor Mallard refuse to comment on speculation that he is interested) that buy concert tickets to on sell for huge profits are at it again this time looking to wound us with the buy up of ‘our’ power assets shares!
Senior tax practitioners are in shock after the Inland Revenue Department won another key tax avoidance case in the Court of Appeal, with implications for at least 16 companies and some $300 million of back tax, interest and penalties at stake.
Look forward to seeing the managers fired from the firms for fraudulent behaviour, no Golden handshakes, their kids put into cyf care, assets taken off them, partners getting prosecuted for benefitting from the ill gotten salary and bonus payments and both going to jail.
Another party political broadcast from Corin Dann on behalf of his preferred party, even this time concluding the float was so popular the ‘opposition parties’ are now irrelevant. This from the political editor of the public television broadcaster. The Tory twat should be sacked, or come clean and go work for Key openly. Mind, that would require integrity.
Not surprising, TDB is even more anti Shearer than this place.
Blogs are fun but they exist at the fringes of politics, Labour & Shearer are trying to position themselves more at the centre, and every policy is negotiable until a real election campaign begins.
Shearer is trying very hard to look like a reasonable dude to the average kiwi, rather than a freaky left wing zealot who calls the PM a liar.
(public perception is what wins elections, not badly presented ‘facts’)
He’s got to radically sharpen up his tv and radio presence then. He comes across like an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s talking about when he gets asked questions beyond his limited script. It’s killing whatever messages he’s trying to get across.
You are right. Up to a point Ropata, many Kiwi’s are busy with their lives and not into the minutiae like many of us on-line weirdos.
That point though is when he has a few stuff-ups on the 6.00 news and in heavily watched elections TV debates. Then most kiwis will respond negatively.
Many on these pages are experienced participants and/or observers of politicians and politics.
They had doubts about many aspects of Shearer from early on:
Shearer was given the benefit of the doubt for a long enough period;
then Shearer confirmed those doubts;
then Shearer even managed to smash the “nice guy” image;
and Shearer extends and confirms the doubts most of the times he speaks.
and every policy is negotiable until a real election campaign begins.
Seriously?
And Shearer is some kind of professional, trained in the war zone, hostile environment negotiator in-extremis?
Is there some special style of negotiation I’m not aware of where you fold all your cards before the first round has even finished being dealt, and where you give away all your chips before betting starts???
what is there to negotiate? labour isn’t in government.
he can only make a bunch of promises or commitments that tend to come back later and bite you on the arse at an inconvenient time on an election campaign
And it’s not like Savage or Kirk won by making promises or commitments to Labour voters, is it?
This.
We need a party of the left willing to stand on principle, to make promises and then to keep them. The ones we have are too busy making deals – just like National.
CV
Give those Centrists some Kaitaia Chilli – get them moving. It should be come a ritual for every new left government to have crackers and chilli to underline their commitment to keep hot and keen for the people’s betterment.
And National’s convictions having power, I wouldn’t like to rely on that energy for when they have sold all the electricity assets and dug down to all the oil and gas. After that they we will find they haven’t have any power in reserve for us.
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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 ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
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 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
Climate Change stops here!
Mangatangi South of Auckland, Fonterra is planning a huge new open cast coal mine.
While the current Green Party leadership prepare to make their peace with climate change. Ex-Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons is actively campaigning against it.
Fitzsimons has linked up with locals opposed to the mine, who are calling a public meeting for Thursday night, March 7, at the Mangatawhiri hall, off state highway 2, (next to the famous Ice Cream Castle).
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/8380942/Protesters-take-on-Fonterra-over-coal
prepare to make their peace with climate change
As always, [citation needed].
Enough citations for you QoT?
Sacrificing Principle for Power; The Green Party and Climate Change
Despite the urgent and pressing need, the Green Party are selling out over climate change.
The first I heard of the Greens back-peddling on Climate Change was at the last elections.
People who I know, close to the Green Party, and whose views I trust, informed me that the Green Candidates had been advised, not to mention climate change during their election campaigns by the leadership of their party. The reason given for this directive, was rot them not to appear too radical to the voting public.
I have since confirmed this direction for self censorship, talking with leading members of the Greens who told me, “We didn’t want to scare the horses”.
The final proof, of course was the election itself. Which was marked by a lack of public debate on this issue by all parties.
In 2011, in ignoring climate change, the Green Party, Labour Party and the Natonal Party candidates, behaved very similarly to the 2012 US presidential candidates, neither side wanted to discuss climate change, or what to do about it.
In the US presidential elections, even an unprecedented Superstorm which interrupted their campaigning could not get Obama or Romney to discuss climate change.
It looks likely that the Green Party policy of keeping silent on Climate Change is to continue into the next election.
Climate change was not an election issue in 2011,
Despite the dangerous urgency.
Despite the appalling record of the current government on climate change.
It looks likely that climate change will not be an election issue in 2014.
If the Green Party do not take this issue up, it looks likely that it will not be raised by any other party either.
The other political parties: Labour and National will not want to raise this issue either, in case they offend their powerful oil and coal industry donors.
The proof that the Green Party are continuing their silence over climate change comes from their official website.
The following is the link to the official Green Party website which sets out all their “Priorities and “Issues”;
http://www.greens.org.nz/
The link takes you to the Green Party home page.
You will immediately notice that for an environmental party, there is no mention of climate change on the Green Party home page. ( It has been this way for months, despite Superstorm Sandy, Superstorm Bopha, and the record breaking Australian heatwave). And the current unprecedented drought being experienced in Northland.
I find this extremely odd, as climate change has been described as the biggest environmental issue of all time.
To find any mention of climate change on the official Green Party website you have to really look for it.
At the top of the Green Party home page: “For The Future” campaign. Clicking on this link to takes you to a page in which there is no mention of climate change.
There are no other obvious mentions of climate change on the Green Party official home page.
To find mention of climate change click on the “Issues” tab at the top of the Green Party home page.
http://www.greens.org.nz/issues
This sets out the Green Party Priorities for 2011-2014
Which are:
100,000 kids out of poverty by 2014
http://www.greens.org.nz/endchildpoverty
Our plan to clean up New Zealand’s rivers and lakes
http://www.greens.org.nz/cleanrivers
Green jobs for New Zealanders
http://www.greens.org.nz/greenjobs
But no mention of climate change
Not once in any three of these admittedly worthy priorities, is combating the impending danger of climate change mentioned.
Below the Green Party 3 main “Priorities”. The Green Party say, “Other priorities that we are focussing on include”
“Keep Our Assets” http://www.greens.org.nz/koa
“Rebuilding Christchurch” http://www.greens.org.nz/visionchristchurch
“Conservation” http://www.greens.org.nz/conservation
“Transport” http://www.greens.org.nz/transport
“Equal pay” http://www.greens.org.nz/equalpay
“Fracking” http://www.greens.org.nz/fracking
“Gambling” http://www.greens.org.nz/gambling
Again very worthy issues, once again climate change is left out.
Below the list of Green Party “Other priorities that we are focussing on include”, is a heading;
“Other issues” http://www.greens.org.nz/campaigns/all
Clicking on this link shows all the “Other issues” that are not Green Party “Priorities” or even Green Party “Other priorities”
“Other issues” are set out in alphabetical order, presumably signifying that not one, is of any more significance than the others.
These other “Other issues” are:
“Economy”
“Environmental and resources”
“Fairness and society”
“Health and food”
“International relations”
“Politics and law”
Under the second heading in the list under the heading “Environmental and resources”. First up, is climate change.
However this is misleading, as climate change is only first up, because this list is also set out alphabetically. The only signifcance that climate change has, to the 59 other Green Party “Other issues” is that it starts with the letter ‘C’.
Despite Naomi Klein’s warning to the left and the environmental movement that climate change has the power to undo all our current campaigns and past victories, the New Zealand Green Party have decided to bury this issue as deep as they can get away with.
Sorry if I haven’t caught up but did anyone hear Shearer on Radio Live yesterday with Garner on asset sales?
Utterly awful.
Well. That was interesting!
consistently awful but what does that matter as long as the mallarfia is happy
That is something Shearer has going for him, at least he is consistent.
Dominion Breweries can have this for nothing: “David Shearer will get better. People should just give him a chance.”
Based on that performance, Shearer belongs in ACT.
Q: Mr Shearer, do you know your arse from your elbow?
A: Well, ah… yes,… I wouldn’t be too rash… I mean yes, I have a rash that itches, no, er, I mean I have to, I have an arse, and I have an elbow… two elbows… or one elbow and two arses… though I suppose you mean any elbow…I’m well,… I mean really arses and elbows are… you know, part of the same body, and I don’t think, ah, that it’s quite reasonable to you know, talk about them as if they were different things… I mean even if I do have an arse in the middle of each arm and I sit on my elbow, they’re all part of me… I mean you have arses and an elbow too… and spleens. I breathe with my pancreas. Er… I mean we have to consider glands as well, I’m not sure if you can pile glands up, like dominoes. I mean lego. I know glands are not lego, well I’m not sure glands are not dominoes or lego, but I mean if you had a stack of salivary glands and elbows, you couldn’t , er, make a model house out of them like you can with lego, or dominoes… er, what was the.. oh dear, where’s my bit of paper?
A bit more seriously, this is just incredible. My flabber is utterly ghasted. Shearer got up and beat his breast about asset sales and now can’t even say why he did that, and is desperately distancing himself from any commitment to hanging on to them. It’s a betrayal, moreover it’s a public betrayal, criminally undermining confidence in his party.
How on earth can anyone have confidence in this drongo?
I just hope there’s more of it and that no PR fix-it brigade comes in and masks his incompetence just enough to hold off his ousting so we’re left with the un-fixable buffoon that he is. Keep going, David, may you reach rock bottom. It’s the only hope we’ve got.
I missed it and find the site impossible to navigate around. Could someone be kind and post a link please?
http://soundcloud.com/whaleoil/david-shearer-um-asset-er-what
Here you are. There is a thread of sngry commentaty below at no 8
Their audio page (where all their broadcast audio is archived in 15 minute blocks) is here: http://radiolive.co.nz/audio.aspx but it doesn’t seem to be working at the moment.
I think Whaleoil has a very short edit of part of the interview on his site.
The beautiful Wairarapa; where religion meets bigotry.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/8380757/Church-uncomfortable-with-Moas-lifestyle
And it’s the Green Party who get quoted on this, not Labour.
That’s because there is no place for homophobic attitudes in the Green party.
They know where they stand.
It’s not a phobia.
Stop using rhetoric and propaganda, Ms felix. Of course that would mean you would have to dump the nonsense about Feminist “science” etc as well.
Please point to my comments about feminist science.
You are a feminist, no? But you haven’t jumped on the Feminist “science” bandwagon?
How about Feminist epistemology, know anything about it?
Please point to my comments about feminism.
OMG!!!! You’re not a feminist?
Please point to my comments about feminism.
What’s your point? You are a feminist no? It is that ideology that informs the opinions you post here, no?
As you haven’t pointed to anything I’ve written that indicates a “feminist science” (whatever that is) or “feminist ideology” then I’ll accept your apology as soon as it’s offered.
kp this is the worst tr0ll fail I’ve seen in some time.
Never mind k_p, when you get another ban you can always try your luck at TDB
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/03/05/this-is-no-country-for-women/
Damn you, CW.
It’s alright, I doubt he’ll get past the pre-moderation hurdle.
How about ‘sapphic paranoia’ then?
How about “aversion to manhaters” then?
Sure. Can’t say I’ve know that many manhaters though, so I guess you have a very rare condition. Unless you mean aversion to women, in which case we have several useful words already.
“Can’t say I’ve know [sic] that many manhaters though,”
There’s lots of manhaters around, perhaps your pro Feminist ideological blinkers stop you seeing them?
Are you a feminist or a moral relativist?
Ever consider the possibility that people hate you because of your own unique personal characteristics, rather than because you’re a man?
There might be a good chance of it, unless they say things like “we are uncomfortable with the fact you have a penis”.
“There’s lots of manhaters around”
That either says something about your personal life, or you need to provide a citation.
“There’s lots of manhaters around, perhaps your pro Feminist ideological blinkers stop you seeing them?”
Or maybe I just care more about humans than you do.
“Are you a feminist or a moral relativist?”
Both (non-academically). But not in ANY way that matches what goes on in your head about those things.
Ouch!
Stop pigeonholing people.
lolz
True, “religion”, but in this instance not Christianity.
Aren’t you and the pro gay crusaders moral relativists?
So how can you make a normative statement about what a religious individual objects to?
Love the way you bung people into categories and then imply inconsistency because they don’t follow the precise category description you dictated.
And even his categories make no sense.
A ‘pro gay crusader’ may or may not be a ‘moral relativist’, but if they are they won’t be the type of relativist who ‘can’t make normative statements’.
Dispatch from the English class war:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287402/Healthy-happy-Queen-leaves-hospital-smiling-treated-nasty-stomach-bug.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86jb14b-jNI&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=2
While homeless man freezes to death in Kent to the south east.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb07UL3olGs&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=4
The dead man was uncared for scum but the mega rich Queenie gets a bug and everyone’s bowing and scraping, sort of society the market’s shoeshine boy Key wants here. 🙁
Good consistent work in the ranks
WELFARE DISASTER LOOMING AS SERVICE SHUTS DOWN
BIAS interview on 9 to noon yesterday:
The Herald headline: Minister defends continued underfunding of beneficiary aid service:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10869162
Benefit advocates help the government deliver it’s welfare service properly by cleaning up the mess left by overworked (or let’s face it…just bitchy) case managers. They ensure mental health consumers continue to receive welfare. They SAVE the government money by negotiating with Work and Income and preventing review of decisions (costly and time consuming for the ministry).
This service needs help or it closes in three weeks: http://bais.org.nz/ (website has been hacked so donate page missing !) Might take a phone call or two.
BAIS is registered as a charity with the NZ Charities Commission: CC10594 so please give these guys a hand.
IMHO the government should fully fund these. It’s a tough funding environment out there but we can change it by voting with out donations and claiming it via tax back.
To hear the minister crow about the drips and dribbles of funding benefit rights services are funded on makes me sick. They only stay in existence because the volunteers know what is at stake – everyday people going without in a country with a SOCIAL CONTRACT to support them at their most vulnerable.
Damn edit function!! Beneficiary Advocacy and Information Service is BAIS, not Bias as I typed.
Freudian slip by the looks of it.
Thanks AWW.
Maybe a post in itself?
Yea, does need a voice. Might be better if someone with experience of dealing with BAIS writes it. I’ve only sent them an email once and deal with the Benefit Rights Service (BRS) in Wellington central.
An interesting item on msm reporters who are compromised by conflicts of interest in their undisclosed family and friendship connections with politicians.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/03/05/full-disclosure-or-do-you-know-where-that-journalist-has-been/
Note to Bomber –Proofreading – crowd source if necessary. I was also shocked at the recently published edition of ‘Werewolf’ which was so shot through with every kind of error that I wondered if they had accidentally published an earlier unedited version. I’m vehemently opposed to policing this kind of thing in the conversation amongst commenters, but in the format of a magazine or a newspaper, too many typos, spelling, punctuation etc. mistakes jar and detract from credibility, yet they can be corrected without changing the writer’s actual words, one jot.
God that sounds pendantic even to my ears.
To me, if you can’t be bothered using good grammar and good spelling to express your ideas, have you actually thought through and value what you are trying to say? And have you even bothered to check the facts that you are using?
Actually, I don’t think those things necessarily go together, CV. I have often noticed spelling errors in Bomber’s Tumeke posts. Maybe he needs to get someone else to do the proofreading – spelling and written grammar may not be his strong point.
+1 js.
There is a feedback form on TDB 😉
This is really interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LPdTXRjIKQ
A clip from Brewsters Millions where a guy inherits or wins a lot and spends it on lampooning the electoral system.
Interesting (and slightly disturbing) piece on Grillo here too that might interest you.
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/how-beppe-grillo-stole-the-lefts-clothes
Shearer removes every reason for Labour members to fight against asset sales. The Party Leader does not believe in the Asset Sales Campaign.
He is absolutely clueless and moronic on finance. He has ZERO mention of strategic asset policy.
He is a ****ing disgeace to the Labour Party. Roll on Christchurch.
Please Trevor, keep him off the radio, and TV, just like you did in the period prior to the Confidence vote.
The Duncan Garner show from yesterday is here.
http://soundcloud.com/whaleoil/david-shearer-um-asset-er-what
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Audio.aspx
I’m sure he’ll get better with more media training.
And the poll trend? Most likely a rogue trend.
No really, I’ll do the dishes later.
These things take time mate. Give Shearer another 6 months. He’ll fire up voters imaginations by then, I’m just sure.
I see even Winston is promising to buy back the power shares at cost.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8380541/Today-in-politics-Tuesday-5-March-2013
Yep, I’m sure too.
In fact for the past three years I’ve been sure that Labour would get it right in the next six months. It is teh one ting the Party is consistant about.
A pity the voters don’t see it that way.
(the sound you hear is a mixture of hysterical laughter and tearful sobs)
“Give Shearer another 6 months”
Give Shearer another 21 months 😉
Oh, that’s just so mean!!! 🙂
Assuming a November 2014 election, E-day is only 18 months away. Unless of course you are talking about the normally scheduled February Leadership vote which occurs after each election…which would be exactly 21 months away…
I make it about twenty calendar months plus about two weeks. May be wrong…
Ahhh. There are 12 months in a year. When did that happen???
Around 700BC.
You mean give fecking Key another three years .
But you two have been saying the same for a lot more than six months!
But you two have been saying the same for a lot more than six months!
edit: reply to felix v and CV.
(not sure what’s what. Hit reply button and the original came up)
Oh I’m sure it’s just a Jedi mind trick…those polls aren’t really as bad as you think they are…
Go easy … Shearer is busy going round the country stirring up apathy.
Jesus, that’s terrible.
I look forward to the election debates, LOL it’s going to be a slaughter.
Exactly what the hollowmen wanted, the thought of DC up against Slippery made them go all out helping the mallarfia ensure that’s now not going to happen.
well meaning dithering inexperienced bloke up against well trained sharky dishonest money trader, shall we lay bets now.
Q: Who would you rather have as Prime Minister in 2014: David Cunliffe or John Key?
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: David Shearer – and he will be!
Q: My question was whether you would prefer David Cunliffe or John Key.
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: Napoleon!
Q (rolls eyes): I repeat my question.
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: Richard the Lionheart, Qin Shi Huang, Augustus, Ramesses II!
Q (facepalm): I don’t mean DEAD historical figures, my question was-
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: Gandalf!
Q (tearing hair): – nor do I mean fictitious characters.
Robertson, King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al (after a brief pause): Historical inevitability!
Q:What?
King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al (now they roll their eyes): You don’t understand how democracy works do you? Let us put it clearly: Whenever National comes to power due to the foolishness of the people and David Cunliffe, they are punished by that government which then – being aware of historical inevitability, politely cedes power to us in the next term after we have released a sufficient number of press releases. We really don’t see what all the fuss is about.
Q (staring blankly and speaking in a halting monotone); Um. Yes. Well then… Um. My question remains: Who. Would. You. Prefer. To. Be. Prime. Minister. In. 2014: John. Key. Or. David… Cunliffe?
King, Goff, Mallard, Hikins, Curran, Fenton et al: JOHN KEY!
Robertson: ME!
I fear you are right Rhinocrates. There is no other explanation.
Jesus Christ Shearer’s fucking hopeless. He hasn’t got a clue at all. At the rate he’s going Key could shoot someone on Queen street, at lunchtime and still be re-elected.
Let it spray
NZ inc – Lab Experiment, and how your *friendly* governmental stooges work hand in glove with corporations, to allow it, then cover it up!
Hey Muzza. Yep, watched that doco last year. Ha! It never ends. Am in the thick of dealing with regional council in regard to an aerial agri chemical spraying co for three breaches of the regulations right at the moment. Don’t want to say too much about that case. Just to add that we have a poor history of health and safety and lax regulation when to comes to using and abusing agri chemicals in NZ.
“The poisoning of New Zealand” by Meriel Watts (published in 1994) gives some background to that history. There may or may not have been regulatory changes within the years since that book was published but the challenge of holding the likes of monsanto, dowagro, nufarm etc to account remains the same. Bloody tough.
Hi Rosie,
All the best with that, and thanks for the book tip.
NZ genuinely has a disgraceful history, on many counts. Yeah there are good people throughout the country, but the sad state of the nation, is now a reflection on all people, including the good ones.
Keep at it Rosie
Cheers
agricultural spray chemicals killed my father eventually; he was riddled with tumours by 34
So sorry to hear about your Dad RT @ 9.1.2.
I wonder how many of the generations before us (and indeed those who are still with us) suffered ill health that wasn’t diagnosed correctly and/or early death due to the effect of unsafe practices when working with agricultural or industrial chemicals.
A relative of mine was one of those victims of a certain notorious timber mill in the Eastern B.O.P. He lived with a chronic work related respiratory illness which eventually took him.
Still, despite all efforts the “She’ll be right” attitude is still prevelant within our culture. The examples are around us all the time.
The census – all that effort and the useful and important things that weren’t init!! For instance I do a lot of volunteer work which wasn’t mentioned in this census. All retired people should be barracking for volunteer work to be counted as work and a contribution to society. There has to be action by older people against the 70 age limit to the old age pension, which is what it is in NZ.
I see being expected to contribute to society in some meaningful way fro the whole of one’s life, but especially when society pays you a pension, as being a reasonable and rational and practical thing which mitigates against the idea of us being self-centred elderly royalty, which many now are at the top end . If we thinking older people don’t get together and present a defence to current thinking and upward age limits most older lives are going to be times of worry and sometimes misery under the Labour push. This is a very TINA mentality – just a repeat of the thinking, or lack of it, in 1984.
It irks me to see on the form a space for working on the family business for no pay (and also I believe that ‘work’ is counted from the first completed hour). I spend probably about 20 hours a week as a volunteer, which is invisible. Marilyn Waring’s book Counting for Nothing findings still apply.
No wonder we can’t get ahead in this country – we have good thinkers here but we have pathetic little burkes that talk their way into a profession or money and then bureaucracy or parliament who never realise the breadth of what they don’t know that they don’t know. There should always be pilot schemes testing different ways of managing the country which are formulated from a wide number of ideas and input, and then evaluated against set criteria.
Listening to Peter Dunne this morning on child support liability and exponential imposts of penalties impressed me on the narrow understanding of the world many of these twerps have.
He talked about partners having a vendetta against each other as the main reason for not paying. A lot of the time it’s just that they can’t afford to support two households, or they don’t want to, or else they are alcoholics and can’t afford the happy-go-lucky habit and free spending trend that goes with trying to be happy all the time.
What government doesn’t understand is that often the family is better off without such a role model and the further away with infrequent contact with the other parent, the better for the child’s moral development and the stability and happiness of the family..
Indeed volunteer work is very important to society and the economy:
prism: The census – all that effort and the useful and important things that weren’t init!! For instance I do a lot of volunteer work which wasn’t mentioned in this census.
question 45:
Ack! need edit function: Should be:
Question 45:
Answer options include, housework, gardening etc; caring for others plus:
other help or voluntary work for or through any organisation, group or marae
Other questions include options for unpaid work within family business or farm.
[Click to Edit | Delete]
Thanks karol
It is in my mind though that volunteer work for the community has been listed separately in a previous census. Unpaid work within family business or farm is merely working for your own interests, your household or wider family – not the same thing. I think it isn’t sufficient to just have community or volunteer work touched on so generally. There isn’t a question of how many hours, just whether done ever in the last 4 weeks.
And working at housework gardening without pay is what people do for each other in their own home. If it is supposed to mean – for other people outside your home it should say so. The census isn’t worded so as to find really useful statistics. For instance it would be interesting to ask – how many women are home nearly all the time caring for children or other family members – on maternity leave for a year, or working for pay part-time under 15 hours, working for more than 30 hours with children in child care? How many men? How many grandparents are caring for grandchildren regularly? How many hours per week.
There are things we ought to know if we were a functioning vital people-embracing country. But sadly we embrace businesses that can boost our politicians and entertain us, we would rather have a matinee idol cracking jokes and finishing every sentence with a confident ‘No worries mate, it’ll work out fine” than a thinking, caring pragmatic person who has buckteeth and a hunchback.
prism, yes there could be more specific questions about hours, etc. However, qu 46 does ask about housework, gardening, etc, within your household, and separately asks about caring for a child, with your household, and not in your household, plus separate questions about caring for someone with illness or disability within your household and not in your household.
There is a separate question elsewhere asking if you are on the DPB, and of course, separate questions about paid and unpaid hours worked.
There also needs to be a balance between the number of questions asked, and the amount of meaningful information sought.
You mention in the first paragraph that
“There has to be action by older people against the 70 age limit to the old age pension”
I don’t understand what you are talking about. Can you please clarify what this is?
alwyn I’ve read your posts before and you often don’t understand. Seems you have a lot of thinking and learning to do. So by all means keep asking and someone will help. I usually can get info and different points of view here.
You have heard surely alwyn that Labour is talking about raising the age limit for receiving superannuation (old age pension under a fancy name) to 70 years, probably over a period of years? I have been thinking of the unpleasant results to the people affected and have decided I am against it.
Google says on the meaning of the word superannuation
1 Regular payment made into a fund by an employee toward a future pension.
2 A pension of this type paid to a retired person.
As NZ pays out of current taxation the income support for retired people, this is not superannuation. But everyone likes that word better than old age pension which is not a cool term especially to the wealthy.
The reason for paying all old people from current taxation, to add to your putea of knowledge, is that it is hard to build and maintain solid funds going forward! that match inflation when conservatively invested. And before we tackled inflation which at one time was rampant, it was impossible. Now the Super Fund is trying to build up a fund to limit the shock when an extra lot of baby boomers come to The Age. Company pension funds also are difficult to maintain because they are notoriously tempting to dip in to by those high up in the company having risky investments going belly-up or yacht and mansion house maintenance problems.
Thank you for replying, at least.
However just how I was expected to connect the statement you made to Labour’s last election policy is rather a stretch.
Your statement, and I quote it in full, was “There has to be action by older people against the 70 age limit to the old age pension which is what it is in New Zealand.”
For your information “what it is in New Zealand” at the moment is 65, not 70.
What labour proposed was that it be raised to67, not 70 and that the age of 67 would not be reached until 2033. How that becomes 70 now, which you appear to believe, is rather unclear.
As to the rest of the response you made, my only addition would be to suggest that it is just as hard for the state to maintain a fund as it is for a company. If you don’t understand that have a look at the tribulations of the various state and city super schemes in the USA, many of which are insolvent.
I don’t trust ANY politician with access to funds such as the Cullen fund, which is in theory supposed to pre-fund superannuation. One has only to read material on the Green party blog, or web-site, to see all the hare-brained ideas for spending the fund. Alternatively just read the material on this blog for how to spend the money on non-productive assets.
Incidentally you can’t really pre-fund superannuation for anybody. Any consumption by a non-working person must be from production by a currently working one. Imagine if every single person was retired. Just where would the goods they wish to consume come from?
alwyn I said that the old age pension is what we have in NZ. And I made the point that it is not actually superannuation. And the 67 year limit has often been stated to be just a step on the way to 70 years.
And you appear to be in a bog not a blog as you don’t like government funded pensions and you are vague about the value and sustainability of company and government funds alike. Oh dear, we are up the creek without a paddle in this case.
Last comment on this (at least by me).
Of course it is an old age pension. However evryone calls it National Superannuation so why shouldn’t we?
OK, no doubt there are people who say we should move to 67 or 70 or whatever.
You however said it was 70 NOW, not some vague option for the future. Perhaps you are like a Maths Prof I used to have who said that “one is just a first approximation to infinity”
I do like Government pensions. In fact I regard them as an essential thing to ensure that the elderly have an income in retirement. People can try and invest to help with their retirement but I think a basic state supplied old age pension is the only way to keep a significant portion of the elderly from penury.
I am not “vague” about the value and sustainability of pensions at all. I know that there will be a proportion of investments that become worthless and that some company schemes in particular that will fail, for any of a number of reasons. They don’t all happen because of people like Robert Maxwell. Some are just bad luck.
I don’t think that trying to build up massive funds, under Government control will work in the long run. I do not trust politicians to leave them along. They want to interfere in the investment decisions to fulfill their own little dreams. Look at the people on this blog who want to say where the Cullen fund should put its money. Everyone thinks that hey know best. You’ve seen it, haven’t you?
My final comment about it being logically impossible to pre-fund pensions for all, without affecting those who are working when the pension is paid, is of course true. It is merely an example of something that is true for an individual is not necessarily true for society as a whole.
Shit dude, so you trust bankers, finance companies and Wall St to look after your investment funds instead?
The NZ Government is 100x more solid than any of those agents buddy.
Oh dear, I said I had finished commenting on this subject but I can’t resist.
No I don’t “trust” them at all.
I think that Cullen set up the fund for the wrong reasons, which is a separate matter, but at least he did his best to keep the investments out of the hands of his fellow politicians. They always say that a poacher makes the best gamekeeper.
That is the structure of the “Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation” (or whatever they are called) who pick the people who will invest the assets. They are supposed to be independent of the politicians. Unfortunately the bigger the pot gets the more temptation there is for the Poly’s to interfere. Even John Key got in at one point when he suggested that a certain percentage should be invested within New Zealand. Luckily he seems to have thought better of that. The Green party are probably the most interested in choosing the investments of course. Certainly they are worse than Labour.
In terms of having bankers, finance companies etc looking after my investment funds, no I don’t trust them. This is one of the flaws in Kiwisaver where you are required to have your Kiwisaver investments with one of these organisations. That is where the Australian superannuation system is better. People are allowed to manage them themselves. Not that great a percentage do but you CAN do so. Why can’t we have that here?
In terms of the Government part of Superannuation, or the universal old age pension, I don’t think we need a fund at all. Pay it out of current taxation, however that is raised. As I said, wherever it is being paid from it is being provided by those who are working at the time it is spent.
alwyn
I didn’t say it was 70 NOW. I did manage to incorporate two things in the one sentence in an unclear manner. So sorry. I’ll keep sentences shorter from now on.
That’s what universities are for and these pilot programs could then be tested at the local government level and filter up. Unfortunately, our central government tends to think it knows best especially when under control of the National Party.
And that comes back to that false right-wing ideology that the family is more important in a child’s life than anything else even when it is dysfunctional.
DTB
True about universities, but this bunch once they started to read, went straight on to textbooks that gave improving stories about how to make money. They went to university to do business courses or ones that fitted their conservative brains and just reinforced all their prejudices while there. And probably met their future partner there and parented more self-centred little know-alls.
And that’s what is important in a child’s life for them to achieve a comfortable lifestyle. And the rest can go scrabble for what they can get and be punished for not being wealthy.
Interesting how the National Party goes in for Central Planning. I thought they considered that was a Communist disaster – the Five, Ten Year Plan etc. And the Great Leap Forward.
We did have a Great Leap in 1984 of course followed by strides in other years and have now sunk to incrementally and sneakily removing screws from the body politic and NZ Inc and soon the muffler may fall off, or the crankshaft will be flat (quoting Toad from Wind in the Willows).
It does pay to view the whole enterprise of NZ under the mendacious politicians as a sweeping filmic epic and then you’re so busy waiting for the next fascinating instalment that you don’t realise that you’re the featured actor and it’s your house that is in flames.
personally (in case you were wondering)
-Mon, community meal
-Tues, foodbank
-Wed, counsel
-Thurs, counsel
-Everyday, grow veges to distribute around the “cul-de-sac”
You’re a real trooper Rogue. Do you counsel others, or go to counselling yourself on Wed and Thurs?
Growing veges everyday sounds interesting. Have you followed the city gardens movement I think mainly in parts of the USA?
Rogue Trooper (from AD2000) had his unit violently betrayed by the very top. He then spent years on foot, trudging and fighting through the chemical wastelands of Nu-Earth, to find those responsible for the massacre of the people he cared about. Awesome.
I don’t see why they need names and addresses. I don’t recall providing that information previously, though of course it has been seven years since the last one and I may be wrong. I would have thought they would only be interested in the numbers in the various categories, not the identities of the persons concerned.
some of those present might like a mid morning snigger,
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/11512_421363211281353_200370615_n.jpg
That’s funny.
Apparently she operated some cult like think tank / educational outfit in NY.
Can see why the free market zealots are in love with her.
[lprent: Your comment pattern this morning looks like a troll. You seem to be haranguing people trying to start a flame war. If you want to discuss something then write something substantive about what your topic for others to disagree with. Don’t just harass with assertions that you provide no backing for. I can, if you’d prefer, demonstrate on you why that tactic isn’t a good idea for “debate”. Your choice really.. ]
Comment editor seems to not be working. Loads as ‘comment successfully loaded’ and blank text boxes.
Don’t seem to be able to delete posts either.
Same system – re-edit. There is hopefully a chorus tech coming in to look at my network link on behalf of Orcon support (who have spent the last week getting upset after I told them that I wasn’t happy about factory resetting my Genius). At present the link is reconnecting every 15 minutes or so.
I’m looking for a new network supplier. Anyone got bad things to say about Actrix?
I can only get ADSL+ at present. The UFB in Grey Lynn doesn’t appear to go into apartment blocks.
I just have to stop being social and going to weddings and the like to get some more time. I really need some time off..
I had that. Lasted for about a week. Orcon finally decided that I was right and that a tech needed to be sent out (it really is irritating trying to explain to the helpdesk staff that I actually know more about the network, fault finding and the processors than they do). On the day the tech was came my internet went down for about two hours and then came back up rock solid but at only 5mbps. For it to be down that long I figured that they must have been doing some work on the cabinet or possibly the exchange (not bloody likely) but the tech didn’t know if anybody was working on the cabinet – he wasn’t – but he turned up a couple of hours after my internet came back up. He replaced a couple of connectors in the DP and I got 17mbps back.
The problem is that you’re not dealing directly with Telecom. When an ISP sends a Telecom tech out and there’s nothing found to be wrong with Telecoms network they get charged a huge amount and so the ISP will work very hard not to send out a tech. It results in poor service.
Yeah it is a problem. But supposedly Chorus isn’t part of Telecom any more….
The reason I moved from Telecom many years ago was because their plans sucked* (and I see they still do), but most importantly because it always took a bloody long time to get through to anyone who knew what my problem was – usually routing or network connection.
$14/mo for national calling OR 24c/min? WTF.
wanna know how much Parata’s bad relationship with Lesley Longstone cost?
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1303/S00061/lesley-longstone-severance-payment-released.htm
Near half a Million bucks thats obscene.
I know. It’s insane. In most circumstances if your boss doesn’t think you’re doing the job right, or if you don’t think the boss is doing the job right, you end up when you leave with a couple of weeks pay. Can’t understand why the hell you get a fortune to leave at the top end of the business in the same situation.
This’ll cause a few nightmares.
So. According to leighton smith it is really good that teachers are out protesting as it is preferable to them being in the classroom “spreading misinformation” According to the information I heard the teachers were doing it BEFORE school so as not to disrupt their classes.I get really annoyed with these radio has- beens who do not even take the time to get their facts right. Was in my daughter’s car so took a while to find the knob to turn the KNOB off.
You know what? …. WOT! said fred.
I look at all the various categories of posts on here: ‘Throw another Mill on the Barbie’; The constitutional ….etcetera; Asset sales et al.
WHERE THE FUCK IS LABOUR?
missing in action, and quite probably having a lay down (gathering their strength of course for some pathetic assault in future).
A Main Stream Media of a right-wing bent, a piece of journalistic couch material disguising herself amongst the various fabrics that create one-off wearable wardrobes – hell bent on a bit of rough-trade.
FFS there’s a cliff that saw herself amongst an era long gone (bring up the African drums).
You probably don’t get it atm. QUITE OBVIOUSLY neither does Trev, but prepare yourselves for the aftermath.
I hadn’t been aware that Trev n Jane as an item were public knowledge (as I’ve seem elsewhere)., but their positions as representaives – FIRSTLY as politicians, and secondly as representatives of a supposed 4TH ESTATE, pretty much says it all.
No no no, these are also the people I expect to be the folk that squeel like pigs in the not-to-distant
Shearer has been in most of the MSM, over the past 48 hours. Today he was doing Newstalk ZB, Radio NZ, yesterday Radio Live, etc.
So let’s be fair. He’s been seen and heard in the media. Unfortunately, that’s when the problems start …
Four press releases so far today, is where they are.
Em – er -yes…indeed. Maybe. Hard to tell really.
Pretty sure that doesn’t link to what you think it links to…
I hope you’re right there, Blue.
much lols! For the census and gender thread, for those who didn’t pick it.
And now for something completely different
Checks – yes, that’s the one 🙂
Also just checked me work emails – fortunately that cut&paste error was the only one. Could have made for some interesting discussions, though 🙂
4 press releases and the number which have newsworthy statements is…
Good that Christchurch recovery is so important, too bad they demoted their key Christchurch MP to Siberia
oh, sorry – forgot you were playing “Fantasy Politics”, with your pick for team labour having a different line-up under Captain Cunliffe.
The point being that the “missing in action” rhetoric is just more bullshit. Like the “Siberia” line.
My pick for team labour has a different line-up regardless of who the leader is.
I wonder how long it will take until you lot figure out that criticism of Shearer and his decisions has bugger all to do with Cunliffe or anyone else.
Are we all talking exclusively about you again? Joy.
Nope, and a weird thing to say McF.
Am I not allowed to add my 2c to this thread?
Just making sure. I seem to recall that last time Hopefully that goes to “reshuffle for unity” – on my form so far today it’ll probably go to an obscure statsNZ paper on ethnicity and the census) we ended up talking at cross purposes past each other because you thought my comments about recurring themes in comments here were comments about specific quotes you make.
If we’re not talking specifically about you, chapter and verse, then a lot of the time here I think that people are letting their disappointment that Cunliffe isn’t leader affect their assessment of what labour and Shearer are doing or saying. Just because a tory MSM aren’t picking up doesn’t mean that Labour are doing nothing.
“a lot of the time here I think that people are letting their disappointment that Cunliffe isn’t leader affect their assessment of what labour and Shearer are doing or saying.”
Meh, maybe so. It’d be a lot more convincing if the general public as polled and surveyed didn’t generally agree though, wouldn’t it?
Unless the polls and surveys are also heavily weighted toward embittered Cunliffe supporters of course, but I don’t think that’s any more likely than people on this forum saying they don’t think Shearer and Labour are much good for any other reason than, well, that they don’t think they’re much good.
“Just because a tory MSM aren’t picking up doesn’t mean that Labour are doing nothing”
Lolz. The tory msm have been Shearer’s biggest cheerleaders all along.
Really? The polls show us that Labour are shit at getting media coverage?What do the polls show us, really? The Labour needs to be more like National? Oh dear, in that case Shearer is indeed doing a shit job. Or maybe Labour need to be a counterpoint to National? In that case, Shearer and labour are shit the other way. Or maybe that it’s not all about whatever Labour does, but other shit counts too? Like National’s strategy of isolating key from competence and responsibility, or the fact that a lot of traditionally “left” people love to shit on Labour and Shearer, both the MSM commentariat and “left wing bloggers”?
Polls tell us what is, not why. They tell us, for example, that things are improving for labour, if sluggishly.
I’ve no idea if the MSM are picking up Labour inputs or not. Tim reckoned they were “missing in action”. I actually watched the late news tonight, saw hipkins and shearers on the longstone thing. And shearer on the mighty river thing. No idea what tim was talking about.
But whatever, between 2pm and 1030pm the MSM suddenly started interviewing the labour front bench to support Shearer from Tim’s scathing attack, or I suggest that Tim’s own perception bias is at fault.
For a non-Labour supporter I always enjoy your unfailing (although mostly oblique) support of the current Labour/Shearer orthodoxy.
I usually find it pretty funny, too.
It’s almost like people are too lazy to add Labour and Greens and Mana, and draw a shallow line between now and mid-2014.
Labour are necessary but not sufficient for a left wing government, regardless of their specific poll result. Their internal politics are largely irrelevant, bar shit overflowing and poisoning the public sphere (e.g. a repeat of the chris carter bs).
Nothing is assured, but I don’t see any reason for overly aggressive capitalisation of comments, bizarre analogies of death or hardship, or allegations that Labour are absent, sleepwalking or phoning it in.
Labour is a centrist market oriented party focussed on the votes of median and upper income households. Labour may be part of a left wing government, but since it’s instincts are centrist and market driven, that government will not be left wing because of it.
So you don’t think that those allegations hold water?
Feel free to keep setting the bar so fucking low that even a Chihuahua running by is gonna get a concussion.
Labour will not be the entirety of the next government, even if it might be Labour-led. Assuming that a labour-led governent will be the same as a labour 50%+ sole government is not realistic.
Labour aren’t absent. They are issuing releases, being interviewed in the press, and getting out and about.
Labour aren’t sleepwalking or phoning it in: those imply that Labour don’t really want to be in government.
They are plodding, lack fire and need a bit of an imagination transplant. They have some MPs that are a bit weak and lack experience, from what I see. They have a risk-averse media strategy and have too small a team looking for deficiencies or innovation in new policies – in fact I might go so far as to say there is little or no contingency anticipation at the tactical policy level, and possibly too much policy conservatism at the strategy level. And most of them, including Shearer, need to have like a daily spitballing session where they look at their interviews and think of how they could have done better, or what they would have said in their colleague’s place.
But the thing is, I don’t get worked up about those shortcomings that I see. Because left ain’t labour, labour ain’t the left, and the smaller parties will provide the guts that labour currently lack.
Really? The polls show us that Labour are shit at getting media coverage?What do the polls show us, really? The Labour needs to be more like National? Oh dear, in that case Shearer is indeed doing a shit job. Or maybe Labour need to be a counterpoint to National? In that case, Shearer and labour are shit the other way. Or maybe that it’s not all about whatever Labour does, but other shit counts too? Like National’s strategy of isolating key from competence and responsibility, or the fact that a lot of traditionally “left” people love to shit on Labour and Shearer, both the MSM commentariat and “left wing bloggers”?
lolwut? Was that directed to me? ‘Cos all I said was that people don’t seem to think much of Shearer and Labour at the mo.
McFlock reckons people who think that must have some irrational, illogical dislike of Shearer.
Actually fv, you also speculated as to why the polls might begiving the results that you appealed to.
In case you hadn’t noticed, we had been talking about why people weren’t into labour. I think the general population has slightly different reasons for their poll results than e.g. shearer didn’t promise to renationalise telecom today, he must be a neoliberal, cunliffe would have done it by now
So the senior lawyer in Labour’s ranks, the Christchurch MP that has worked tirelessly for the area gets told that she has to go for the sake of “renewal”.
She did nothing wrong.
The decision to demote her was utu for not kissing Shearer’s arse.
Not to worry, still got Shane Jones eh?
Aye.
Half of the hardened left activists may have fucked off but they rejoice because they still have the magnificence of Shane Jones.
JM&J.
Soon to be joined by John Tamihere! Start drinking those pints of Brut 33 and Party like it’s 1975!
Or his elbow, since he can’t tell the difference.
According to McFlock, Dalziel being demoted to “Siberia” by Shearer is an irrelevancy.
He probably thinks it’s renewal etc.
Nah mate.
I just think comparing the back benches at however many hundred $k p.a. with a multi-week train ride to a barren wasteland, starvation diet, overwork, and subzero temperatures is a bit, well, …, a bit shit, really.
One of Labour’s most experienced MPs, who has been doing a great job advocating for her constituents in a destroyed city, gets rewarded by being shoved down the rankings.
If that’s not political Siberia I don’t know what it is.
(Hey you didn’t think I was meaning actual geographical Siberia, did you? btw I know people from there and they think that it’s a fine place).
Oh noes, she’s got a different seat in the house and only a base MP salary! Fuck, that makes a comparison to the Gulag Archipelago totally reasonable!
I got that it was an analogy. I just think it was an analogy that was stupid, irrational, lacked perspective and actually sort of ilustrated my point that the major problems people here seem to have with Shearer and Labour probably come from the commenters’ own lack of rationality and perspective.
You’re blind as a bat mate.
must be snowblind, being an oppressed mass in Siberia and all. Fuck, I must be, seeing as I’m on a fraction of her salary and can’t make speeches in the house.
Maybe the analogy you could have used was “sin binning” – off on the sidelines for a bit, but still able to get back into the game if you’re prepared to play reasonably.
Fuck, here comes the analogy police
Hey please explain on what grounds you think Shearer judged that Lianne Dalziel was not fulfilling her role as a Labour electorate MP “reasonably”.
inorite? It’s like the ge5tapo.
More like the Ministry of Public Enlightenment
now you’re sounding like vto
Hey please explain on what grounds you think Shearer judged that Lianne Dalziel was not fulfilling her role as a Labour electorate MP “reasonably”.
How the fuck should I know? I’m not in caucus. I know it’s not because she chose sides against Shearer, because there wasn’t an alternative challenger for the leadership.
But her demotion sounds like, oh, a demotion to an important and well-paid position, not a train ride to Siberia.
Ignoring all cold war analogies, she was demoted and it’s not unreasonable to want to know why.
Indeed. If that’s what rocks your boat. But frankly it could well be unreasonable for a party leader to explain every placement decision to bloggers.
And cv asking me for speculation was just stupid.
Oh, I dunno. The lack of concision, the ambiguity and general confusion is all kind of apt, don’t you think?
What’s apt is describing a simple and obvious clipboard error as “lack of concision, the ambiguity and general confusion”.
I’m horrified by this case of torture in Fiji and I really want our government to bring more pressure to bear on the regime in those imprisoned islands.NZ eased sanctions in 2012. Clearly that was a mistake. Restore them and extend them.
But Fiji is WhaleSpew’s favourite democracy and we just don’t understand them. The terrorist in the video won’t think of stealing any more lightbulbs now, will he?
Colonel Trotter has also been scathing of ‘democracy purists’ who just don’t understand that sometimes you need a strong man it make it all gooder.
Do you mean Chris Trotter – it doesn’t sound like a complimentary view.
News Flash: Share Scalpers crash Mighty River Powers website!
That’s right those same greedy people ( Trevor Mallard refuse to comment on speculation that he is interested) that buy concert tickets to on sell for huge profits are at it again this time looking to wound us with the buy up of ‘our’ power assets shares!
Ha ha ha ha ha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1acEVmnVhI
(the Killer in Me is the Killer in U, Jim.)
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2013/02/22/encode-gets-a-public-reaming/
Ugh, need moar coffee…
redundency
Advisers in shock as taxman wins big case
Senior tax practitioners are in shock after the Inland Revenue Department won another key tax avoidance case in the Court of Appeal, with implications for at least 16 companies and some $300 million of back tax, interest and penalties at stake.
http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/advisers-in-shock-taxman-wins-big-case-5360372
Look forward to seeing the managers fired from the firms for fraudulent behaviour, no Golden handshakes, their kids put into cyf care, assets taken off them, partners getting prosecuted for benefitting from the ill gotten salary and bonus payments and both going to jail.
You will be waiting a while I am afraid DoS.
Some things are worth waiting for.
Another party political broadcast from Corin Dann on behalf of his preferred party, even this time concluding the float was so popular the ‘opposition parties’ are now irrelevant. This from the political editor of the public television broadcaster. The Tory twat should be sacked, or come clean and go work for Key openly. Mind, that would require integrity.
Just how sure are you that the Opposition is actually relevant?
They have a view and ethics demand balance and fairness in reportage. To rule them out regardless, makes his reportage propaganda.
That nice Mr Trotter had provided some of the text of David Shearer’s interview with Duncan Garner.
And naturally some very insightful commentary.
“Mr Shearer’s comments are further proof (if proof is still required) of the man’s ideological orthodoxy, economic passivity and political timidity.
No wonder the Right is so determined to keep him exactly where he is.
Perhaps it’s time to calculate the opportunity cost of David Shearer?”
Link to http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/03/05/the-opportunity-cost-of-david-shearer/
Not surprising, TDB is even more anti Shearer than this place.
Blogs are fun but they exist at the fringes of politics, Labour & Shearer are trying to position themselves more at the centre, and every policy is negotiable until a real election campaign begins.
Shearer is trying very hard to look like a reasonable dude to the average kiwi, rather than a freaky left wing zealot who calls the PM a liar.
(public perception is what wins elections, not badly presented ‘facts’)
He’s got to radically sharpen up his tv and radio presence then. He comes across like an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s talking about when he gets asked questions beyond his limited script. It’s killing whatever messages he’s trying to get across.
Probably, but most kiwis don’t know and don’t care.
You are right. Up to a point Ropata, many Kiwi’s are busy with their lives and not into the minutiae like many of us on-line weirdos.
That point though is when he has a few stuff-ups on the 6.00 news and in heavily watched elections TV debates. Then most kiwis will respond negatively.
Many on these pages are experienced participants and/or observers of politicians and politics.
They had doubts about many aspects of Shearer from early on:
Shearer was given the benefit of the doubt for a long enough period;
then Shearer confirmed those doubts;
then Shearer even managed to smash the “nice guy” image;
and Shearer extends and confirms the doubts most of the times he speaks.
Seriously?
And Shearer is some kind of professional, trained in the war zone, hostile environment negotiator in-extremis?
Is there some special style of negotiation I’m not aware of where you fold all your cards before the first round has even finished being dealt, and where you give away all your chips before betting starts???
what is there to negotiate? labour isn’t in government.
he can only make a bunch of promises or commitments that tend to come back later and bite you on the arse at an inconvenient time on an election campaign
And it’s not like Savage or Kirk won by making promises or commitments to Labour voters, is it?
Perhaps this is our fate from here on in. Centrist middling mediocrity, hard to criticise the flavour because it doesn’t taste like anything.
At least National has the power of its convictions.
This.
We need a party of the left willing to stand on principle, to make promises and then to keep them. The ones we have are too busy making deals – just like National.
CV
Give those Centrists some Kaitaia Chilli – get them moving. It should be come a ritual for every new left government to have crackers and chilli to underline their commitment to keep hot and keen for the people’s betterment.
And National’s convictions having power, I wouldn’t like to rely on that energy for when they have sold all the electricity assets and dug down to all the oil and gas. After that they we will find they haven’t have any power in reserve for us.
That may be where they are but they’re not staying there and are rapidly moving to the centre of politics.