Spring flowers are out. At least they are here in Papakura
So early?
Goodness me, summer hasn’t even ended yet.
In other micro-climate change news.
Because of the dryer conditions the ground has been shrinking and cracking right across the Auckland region. This has effected footpaths and in some circumstances even house foundations and retaining walls.
Landscape contractors are looking forward to a big boom in retaining wall construction, especially when the rain, when it does come, gets into the cracks in the ground.
Playing fields are very hard for this time of year.
Will this result in more sports injuries?
Has anyone in the media looked into this?
I am no expert. And all these things may have nothing whatsoever to do with climate change. But who would know? All the journalists who should be asking these hard questions have gone silent.
Glad to see that the propganda is being rolled out…What a load of nonsense.
Yes the skies are the result of CC /sarc, but what else is contributing to climate change?
The journos have gone silent (because the media owners have instructed it, but no worries they can’t keep geo-engineering off limits much longer, its become too obvious, so they drip it into the mindset, using various methods, like pics of dramatic sky to fool people with ), because if it gets stirred up, then they are going to have to talk about geo-engineering Jenny, perhaps then people will really begin to join those dots.
You can’t discuss these subjects in a silo, they’re linked!
Oh and Jenny – Officially summer finished some time back, but hard ground is not uncommon at time of year, which is why we have schedule cricket tours, like the one just finished eh!
“Ummm, ahhhh, I dunno. Ummm…”
Umperator Fish fails to perform The Panel, Radio NZ National, Thursday 4 April 2013
Jim Mora, Jock Anderson, Scott York
This government is on the ropes. Scandal after scandal has left its major asset, the affable John Key, looking tired, harried and confused. His inability to tell lies convincingly has been embarrassingly exposed with the Ian Fletcher/GCSB scandal; for the first time, Key has been faced with relentless and concerted questions from journalists, who can sense blood.
Regular listeners to the Panel will know that, almost always, at least one of the two guest Panelists will be a right winger and reflexively a Key supporter, and that the host (usually Jim Mora) will almost always support that right winger. So the program is usually stacked against the liberal or left voice, if there happens to be one that day.
However, as has been shown by the likes of Gordon Campbell, Anna Chinn, Bomber Bradbury and Gordon McLauchlan, one liberal voice having the gumption to challenge the indolent and poorly thought out assertions of right wingers can be extremely effective.
So it would be enormously damaging to the Government, and enormously helpful for the rest of us, if an articulate person went on National Radio’s Panel show and simply restated the facts of this scandal, eloquently and courageously.
Unfortunately, though, the representative for the liberal left today was one Scott York….
JIM MORA: First topic today is, unsurprisingly, the Ian Fletcher/GCSB scandal. John Key has had ANOTHER memory lapse; how damaging could this one be for the Government? SCOTT YORK: I, uh, dunno. You know, uhhh, the Labour government had its problems too, with Clare Curran. But ummmm, I dunno. Yeah, I guess…. JOCK ANDERSON: This is a story that has been promulgated by twenty-five wild-eyed journalists. JIM MORA: John Armstrong from the New Zealand Herald joins us. John, is Jock Anderson correct when he says it’s just twenty-five wild-eyed journalists that are pushing this story? JOHN ARMSTRONG:[speaking slowly to indicate great seriousness] It’s a bit wider than that, but not much. JIM MORA: So you think it’s a bit too much to suggest there is a danger of oligarchy in this country? Thats too long a bow to draw. JOHN ARMSTRONG: Yes, but this is corrosive. This will worry the National Party hierarchy. MORA: It sounds impulsive what he did, saying “I’ll pick up the phone and ring the guy.” So this will not hurt John Key. As we said yesterday, people will say this is the way the world works. It will not hurt John Key will it. ARMSTRONG: It doesn’t go far beyond the Beltway. JOCK ANDERSON: As Rob Hosking said in the NBR, this is only of concern to the Bowen Triangle, which is the Wellington equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle! MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! John Armstrong on the Panel! Ha ha ha ha ha!
Topic 2: The Census…
Jock Anderson spends several minutes boasting about how he did not fill out his census form. Then Jim Mora decides it’s time to turn into Mr. Nasty, except he doesn’t do it with much conviction….
JIM MORA: Carol Slappendel is the General Manager of the 2013 Census. She joins us now. I see you are still allowing people to fill in their census forms more than a month late. Shouldn’t we call it the March-April census and dispense with the urgency of the night? CAROL SLAPPENDEL: Actually, the completion rate has been exceptionally good. And there has been a very high number of people doing it online. MORA:[skeptically] Yeah. Can I ask you about that? How did it go in Oamaru where participating online was ENCOURAGED? CAROL SLAPPENDEL: Very well, actually. MORA: Carol Slappendel, thank you. It’s 4:30, time for the news.
….4:30 News and Weather….
JIM MORA: Time for the Soapbox. What’s been on your mind, Scott? SCOTT YORK Ummm, I’d like to give a bit of a plug for a new website. Ummm, it’s a satirical site called The Civilian. JIM MORA: The Civilian? SCOTT YORK: Yes. Some say it’s a Kiwi equivalent of the Onion. JIM MORA: It’s nice to see a blog with a sense of humor, isn’t it. Some of these political sites have no sense of humor. SCOTT YORK: Yeah! Ummmm. Yeah. JIM MORA: Good luck to them! Jock what’s been on YOUR mind? JOCK ANDERSON: Well, this is something I complained about on this program a few weeks ago, and that is the way that Len Brown’s Auckland Council keeps shutting its citizens out on the weekends. I object to the Auckland Council closing down the city centre for these events all the time. Last weekend Queen Street was closed for a wild-eyed bunch of sweaty zealots racing in the Golden Mile.
MORA: Ummm, thank you, ummmm, Jock. I’d like to move onto North Korea. THAT’s a serious topic. The state’s warlike rhetoric follows the recently imposed U.N. sanctions. Are you getting a bit worried now? JOCK ANDERSON: I am. JIM MORA: Just before we get Professor Al Gillespie, Scott, your thoughts. SCOTT YORK: Ummm, North Korea is such an odd country, ummmmm, cut off from the rest of the world. We’ve got a new, inexperienced North Korean leader, ummmmm, next thing you know, ummmm, it’s World War Three. JIM MORA: Are we right to be nervous, do you think, Al? AL GILLESPIE: America is being particularly belligerent at this point. JOCK ANDERSON: Are there any similarities to the Cuban missile crisis?
[This discussion continues for a further few minutes, then the music starts to swell, signalling the impending end of the show…]
MORA: Just before we go, your thoughts on the Christchurch Cathedral? SCOTT YORK: Ummm, ahhhh, I dunno. Ummm. MORA: It’s five o’clock. Gotta go!
No it’s not. He gives the impression that talking to Carol Slappendel took all of 2 minutes, but it was much much longer than that.
Which means so far, every single transcript of Morrissey’s that I’ve read where I had actually heard the interview itself, he has mischaracterised in some way. So I don’t trust anything he writes any more.
You might have a poor reception down there Lanth, I listen to ‘the panel’ most days and when Morrissey reports on it he gets it 99.9% correct 99.9% of the time.
With regard to the Carol Slappendel segment he did omit the tired ramblings of Jock Anderson who tried to put listeners asleep with his paranoid recollections of avoiding filling out census forms (he must have much to hide).
I always enjoy Morrissey reporting on ‘the panel’ farce and find his version matches what I have heard.
“You might have a poor reception down there Lanth, I listen to ‘the panel’ most days and when Morrissey reports on it he gets it 99.9% correct 99.9% of the time.”
No, all I’ve said is that every single transcript for which I’ve read that I had also heard the actual interview at the very least mischaracterised what went on, if not completely changed the works spoken so as to not be a transcript at all.
Note that that is a sample of about 4. But 4 out of 4 is not good.
“With regard to the Carol Slappendel segment he did omit the tired ramblings of Jock Anderson”
Um, no, he omitted many question and answer responses from Carol. Perhaps you need to check your reception.
He gives the impression that talking to Carol Slappendel took all of 2 minutes, but it was much much longer than that.
I think any intelligent reader would realise that I had not included everything these people said on the programme. My purpose is of course to capture something of the pervading tone of shallowness and flippancy. My approach is little different from the great Tom Frewen’s legendary Today in Parliament—which can still, by the way, be heard on Community Radio stations.
Which means so far, every single transcript of Morrissey’s that I’ve read where I had actually heard the interview itself, he has mischaracterised in some way.
I have mischaracterised nothing. In the transcript that heads this thread, I have endeavoured to capture at least a hint of the essential nastiness of Jock Anderson, the refusal to be serious of Jim Mora, and the timidity and mealy-mouthedness of Scott York. You are trying to say that is not a valid approach, and that every single thing they say should have been included. That’s nonsense.
So I don’t trust anything he writes any more.
In March 2011 you trusted the demonstrable lies of the Japanese government and you trusted the integrity of the Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe when he came on television to insist there was “absolutely no danger” from radiation around Tokyo. I’ll leave it to readers to decide whether they trust YOUR judgement.
Sorry, I don’t “know it” because what you have produced and claimed to be a transcript, is, to borrow one of your words, “demonstrably” not a transcript.
“I think any intelligent reader would realise that I had not included everything these people said on the programme. ”
No, any intelligent reader who reads something that purports to be a transcript would expect it to be a transcript. There is absolutely nothing in your post that suggests the sections that show dialogue are not actually the complete dialogue that was spoken. All you need to do is put “…” in there or “later” or anything, but you deliberately choose not to do so.
“I have mischaracterised nothing. In the transcript that heads this thread, I have endeavoured to capture at least a hint of the essential nastiness of Jock Anderson, the refusal to be serious of Jim Mora, and the timidity and mealy-mouthedness of Scott York. You are trying to say that is not a valid approach, and that every single thing they say should have been included. That’s nonsense.”
You mischaracterised the interview with Carol Slappendel by making it look like Mora had her on for less than a minute to ask her one question and then bid her off. That DID NOT HAPPEN and so you are mischaracterising what did happen. It really is very straight forward.
“In March 2011 you trusted the demonstrable lies of the Japanese government and you trusted the integrity of the Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe when he came on television to insist there was “absolutely no danger” from radiation around Tokyo. I’ll leave it to readers to decide whether they trust YOUR judgement.”
Sure, I’ve no problem with that. All you have to do is show that the people flying in those flights to Japan have somehow gone on to suffer ill health effects. Then you might actually have some evidence.
Just a thought, the massive pay increases to the Mighty River Power directors is a more important issue than Key’s bastardising the process to have his mate appointed as head of the GCSB.
The second issue certainly has raised considerable concerns about his honesty but the first issue shows the never ending process whereby the rich get more and the poor and workers get less.
Out in middle New Zealand I think many will find the nuances of the Fletcher issue too difficult to comprehend whereas the greed shown by the MRP directors is clear to see.
Even Key’s stuff-ups on sideshow stories protect him from the bigger stories; GCSB beltway oddity covers New Zealand’s largest single pending industrial closure, and also smothers the big MRP prospectus launch together with price range. He may go down in history for nothing except being our luckiest PM.
True, no one gives a toss about “the process”.
Key rung his mate,big deal.
It’s widely accepted, that it’s who you know, not what you know when it comes to getting a job, people don’t have an issue with that, it’s just the way the world works.
Lots of it, by the same people, and now an everyday event!
Certain types love it, because it validates the lies they tell to themselves, and others on a daily basis!
Thats why lying is *no big deal* – Look at BM, liar apologist, pity those around you son, cos you is a liar too, which is why you are looking at semantics, and offerign excuses for the biggest liar ever to lead a government in NZ history, which is no mean feat for JK!
so from now on whenever key says ‘to the best of my recollection’ or ‘from what i can recall’ you are gonna believe him? what a sucker. also, ‘key rang his mate’, key still has not confirmed they were ‘mates’, thats just what everyone knows but key wont admit it, just weasel words about his mum & grant robertson & everything else. why didnt he, when first asked, say ‘yep, we are mates, so what?’, maybe hes incapable of telling the truth? his first instinct is to lie, duck & cover. speaking of which, hes on radiolive this afternoon with willie & jt, could be interesting but usually its just whitewash & weak.
Yep, they do. And that’s a Stuff online poll so, although unscientific, it’s also leaning to the right, i.e, the people you’d most expect to support JK and National.
The Liberal Conspiracy (which claims to be the most popular left of centre political blog in the UK), has an article reporting on a poll about people’s views on climate change.
Last week the site Carbon Brief released information on their extensive energy and climate change polling, which you can read about on their site. …
1. Doubts about climate change aren’t rising …
2. ‘Belief’ in climate doesn’t mean that much anyway
One of my favourite charts is from a post-Copenhagen poll that showed that, even among those who said they don’t think global warming has been proven, a majority wanted a reduction in worldwide emissions….
2. ‘Belief’ in climate doesn’t mean that much anyway
One of my favourite charts is from a post-Copenhagen poll that showed that, even among those who said they don’t think global warming has been proven, a majority wanted a reduction in worldwide emissions.
That’s what I like about Key, he’s a go getter, bugger the process that’s for dull old people, public servants and Labour party politicians.
He didn’t get rich sitting around writing stuff in triplicate and filling out a zillion forms, he gets out there and makes it happen.
Jesus H Christ! Next you’ll be talking about how firm his buttocks are and how flowers grow where his feet touch the earth. You bloody right wingers make me think that you have real daddy issues, thinking that everything can be solved by a man’s man with a firm hand.
BM – Knows little to nothing about Keys career, or how he made his money, other than what he reads on wiki or the herald!
If he did, then he would know that same system, which made Key *rich*, by stealing, because thats what the banking system is, theft of other peoples lives/futures, BM would understand that same financial systems are taking him, his mates, and his family down too!
I may have been a bit over the top there, but that is how the public perceive John Key , which is why he gets away with what he does.
Facts are most people despise politicians, yet Key is still the most liked of all current politicians by a loooong way and that’s because he doesn’t behave like a politician.
I’m getting really sick of this meme. Half the country didn’t vote for him or his party. When you say the ‘public’ in this context, what you mean is some people + the MSM.
You could say the same about half the folk in Paremoremo.
Which is probably where Key should be, if he treated his financial speculations in the way you describe he treats the country today.
Ah yes. Everyone loves a go-getter who says damn the process … right up until it’s your house being compulsorily acquired or your kids getting expelled or your taxes getting raised or the Police knocking on your door.
If you have lived in this country long enough you hear every vile, disgusting comment made against Māori – every low and slimey slur and put-down and even though we have heard it all, it still hurts to hear another.
We let these people off too lightly – and trying to get out of it by using the ‘joke’ defence is as bad as using the ‘should have thought harder’ defence – they are not a defence they are just useless excuses.
Hi Marty – These comments are genuine insight into the types which are *in charge* of us, this is what they’re into!
They get away far too lightly, for many reasons, a couple if core reasons, IMO are.
1: People are not paying attention
2: Reality tv, and glossy trash mags/reporting, means that those who are paying attention have become numbed to such comments, because it so *normalised* now.
The shear hatred these comments reek of, need a seeing to, I agree 100%
‘Open Letter’ / OIA request to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key :
“How are you ‘inducted / familiarised’ with your statutory duties arising from the Public Records Act 2005?”
_______________________________________________________________________________
Prime Minister of New Zealand
John Key
Dear Prime Minister,
Given your previous background at the highest levels of the private sector/ banking and finance corporate world (being the former Head of Derivatives for Merrill Lynch, and a former Foreign Exchange Advisor for the New York Federal Reserve), it may have been your custom and practice to ‘do’ internationally significant deals over dinner or over the phone?
However, you are now Prime Minister of New Zealand, ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ (according to the 2012 Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’, along with Denmark and Finland).
As New Zealand is ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – we should arguably be the most ‘transparent’?
Arguably, the laws, regulations and culture which apply in the private, corporate world – are NOT the same which should and do apply to the public sector, of which you are now in charge, as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
May I respectfully remind you of the pivotal legislation which covers the public sector / public service, as outlined on the NZ State Services Commission website:
Contents
Title page
Crown Entities Act 2004
Human Rights Act 1993
NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990
Official Information Act 1982
Protected Disclosures Act 2000
Public Finance Act 1989
Public Records Act 2005
State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986
State Sector Act 1988
________________________________________________________________________________
In particular – may I draw your attention specifically to the Public Records Act 2005:
Part 1
Purpose, other preliminary provisions, and key administrative provisions
Subpart 1—Purpose and other preliminary provisions
3 Purposes of Act
The purposes of this Act are—
(a)to provide for the continuation of the repository of public archives called the National Archives with the name Archives New Zealand (Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga); and
(b)to provide for the role of the Chief Archivist in developing and supporting government recordkeeping, including making independent determinations on the disposal of public records and certain local authority archives; and
(c)to enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained; and
(ii)providing for the preservation of, and public access to, records of long-term value; and
(d)to enhance public confidence in the integrity of public records and local authority records; and
(e)to provide an appropriate framework within which public offices and local authorities create and maintain public records and local authority records, as the case may be; and
(f)through the systematic creation and preservation of public archives and local authority archives, to enhance the accessibility of records that are relevant to the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand and to New Zealanders’ sense of their national identity; and
(g)to encourage the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi), as provided for by section 7; and
1) What is / was the process by which you were ‘inducted / familiarised’ with this above-mentioned key legislation which now covers your statutory duties as the Prime Minister of New Zealand?
2) What was / is the role of the NZ State Services Commission, in ensuring that you were ‘inducted / familiarised’ with this above-mentioned key legislation, which now covers your statutory duties as the Prime Minister of New Zealand?
3) What is / was the process by which you were ‘inducted / familiarised’ with the above-mentioned Public Records Act 2005, which now covers your statutory duties as the Prime Minister of New Zealand to:
“enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained ”
4) What was / is the role of the NZ State Services Commission, in ensuring that you were ‘inducted / familiarised’ with the above-mentioned Public Records Act 2005, which now covers your statutory duties as the Prime Minister of New Zealand to:
“enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained”
5) How many staff are employed in your ‘Prime Minister’s Department’?
6) Please confirm that you have staff in your ‘Prime Minister’s Department’, who have the responsibility for ‘diary notes’ / memos / minutes (and the like), of affairs of State, in order to ensure that your above-mentioned statutory duties as Prime Minister of New Zealand, under the Public Records Act 2005, are carried out in a proper way.
7) Please provide the information which explains why you are relying upon your (proven to be unreliable) memory, for matters such as your role in the appointment of Ian Fletcher as Director of the GCSB, when you have a statutory duty as Prime Minister to:
“..enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained”
from now on john key isnt going to answer questions from journalists unless he has time to research an answer. radiolive. 12:15. infact he just said he will ask for it in writing first.
In that alternative reality known as wingnut land yes, but back here on real earth Helen was legendary for knowing her stuff and answering questions truthfully.
Wasn’t that the reason she got so pissed at John Campbell regarding the corn gate incident because he altered the questions during the interview and made her look like a bit of a clown because she didn’t have a pre constructed answer.
Anyway it makes sense to know the questions before hand, especially since every reporter is out there trying to get a scoop and make a name for themselves.
No.
If I recall correctly, it is routine for exclusive interview topics to be identified beforehand, so the interviewee can prepare. I think the corngate one pissed clark off because they were broad with the topic outline (said it would be about nz horticulture or something), and JC leapt almost immediately into a very narrow field of “on this date GM corn escaped” (or whatever).
yes, key said the omission was an answer to a supplementary question (‘i only had 15 seconds to answer!’), not a written first question. so if he was asked it in writing, he could have told the truth. but didnt someone on the standard say that gerry brownlee answered on behalf of john key another question that was certainly written? is john key biding his time to get out the country before any journalist (i wish) digs up that information.
& yes, not answering questions in parliament, stand ups or to journalists, if we want an honest, factual answer, he will want it in writing first. thats what he said. he even said it as a warning basically. & tv3 have got it in for him.
john key was being ‘boo hoo me’ & how hard it is being prime minister, up at 6:30am, bed at 12:30am, & do you remember what you had for breakfast last week?
yes Brownlee made an answer on the PM’s behalf the following day
p.s. having all sorts of long delays (up to twenty seconds) accessing The Standard since about 1pm, other sites all ok, anyone else? downforme says it is down for everyone
As the email leaks seem to get bigger,(the latest being bigger then Ben hur ie 2million) and this is very interesting as it details who uses offshore tax havens.
I will have a look at it. But it has been running OK for me when I have been scanning it today. I’m currently having a long awaited beer, listening to the news on natrad, and reading comments on the nexus7 – via the cellphone to the net…
I’ve had problems – especially when I was updating the Fletcher post before 6pm-ish. And I couldn’t get the paragraph formation right on the update – looked correct on the “visual”, then no space between the end of the original post and the update on the post actual.
i know, its real hard to listen to. also another funny thing in the john key interview, tamaheri mentioned a news scoop that the australians have told ppl to get out of south korea, & tamaheri asked john key what he was going to do, & john key said ‘why? whats happening over there?’. he didnt know about the bird flu news coming out of china also. but who knows, maybe he was lying again.
and touching on the ancient topic of the PM rarely fronting to National Radio and the increasing evidence that Auckland is New Zealand whilst the rest of us are just potential tourists there, I noticed the Station ID
“This is Auckland’s RadioLive”
and this is the only station the PM can be said to front to regularly
An interesting perspective on this is the lost revenue for the Crown. There’s over 400,000 households in Auckland and I assume that each one lives in a house so one expects there’s 400k houses of all types. An increase of 12% in the average price would be about $55k per house. That’s a capital gain of $22billion on 400,000 houses, if gains were taxed it would realise tax of around $5billion. And that’s just from Auckland. Quite staggering numbers really.
Hey I have found this ideal investment for the Government. The shares are rock solid and are predicted to give between a 6 and 7.7 % yield each year for the next couple of years. The Government can borrow money at less than this and it could make a real killing. If it acquires all of the shares then it does not have to worry about minority shareholders rights.
Oh wait, we own these fecking things and we are paying merchant bankers huge amounts of money to sell something that we already own to pay down debt that could be paid quicker if we kept control of them.
And, as it happens, the promo material is misleading about how risky these shares are. over to Russel Norman:
The offer document lists risks including the Tiwai Point smelter closing, regulatory changes, and Treaty claims but makes no attempt to quantify these risks or assess their likelihood.
“National has been pushing Kiwis to invest their savings in Mighty River, so it has a duty to properly inform them of the risks,” said Dr Norman.
“There is a very real danger that the closure of Tiwai Point, Treaty claims, and reforms by a future government will reduce the value of these shares significantly but National has failed to give potential investors an estimate of the size of those risks.
I want to give a big thank you to all The Standard especially karol for getting information and links to this Prime Minister of ours and his lies. More to come I’m sure – thanks again.
I also want to say to Bryce Edwards that he is really shows some poor judgement in his (very good) article in NZ Politics daily. Every person who has made comment is quoted by him, such as – whaleoil, kiwiblog, John Minto, Julie Fairey, journalists, The Green Party, all good, but I noticed one group of blogger missing, yes everyone except The Standard and the bloggers who have researched and asked very searching questions about the goings on, in fact some new original information that illuminates seems to come up every day. No, no quoting any of those articles – he’d rather put in Pete George Twice!!! That has got to be a WTF moment if ever there was one – but nothing from over here. I pretty disapointed about that.
Bryce Edwards appears to be working on becoming more “mainstream” and more “commonly acceptable” in my eyes. Maybe he has a high paying job here or in Aus on his mind??? There are fewer and fewer journalists and commentators I bother with or even trust. And it is only the Standard, the Daily Blog and a few others that I still bother to read now.
Looking forwards to Morrissey’s next entry after listening to Brian Edwards and Michelle Boag’s comments about Ferguson’s appointment on the Bora hour.
Listening to Michelle Boag always leaves me underwhelmed. She seems sure to say something crass each time. The discussion I heard on Jim Mora was about class in Britain and New Zealand. The latest strata identification in GB was seven, but that’s the way of the world since the year dot she thinks. Nothing new here, or to concern oneself about.
Her own parents were ‘hard working’ and so she had a good grounding for becoming the idol that she is. This hard working epithet seems a loaded description, there’s a suggestion that they were outstanding and perhaps deserving, because most others weren’t hard working.
If you become deserving through long hours then the caregivers and low income people working multiple jobs should be due for a decent bonus anytime. The figures show that NZs are working long hours. Just as well the pubs are allowed to open all hours unless there is lots of hoo hah about it. What about rewarding these low-paid hard working people with a Christmas bonus for not being layabouts like most of those beneficiaries under 65, possibly make that 70? And could volunteers doing a minimum period for community and social betterment be included?
They must have been talking about the article Draco posted on a couple of days back, based on a major survay. It was different from previous class levels, like the UK Registrar General’s one, used for official stats.
The important thing is that it shows “the precariat” has become a significant class of low income struggling people at the bottom of the system.
Should have put this here rather than on the other topic”
Dr Brian Edwards on the Panel totally agreed with Michelle Boag that the whole fuss about Mr Key was absolutely ridiculous. Should never have happened. He thinks that the behaviour of John Campbell in his interview with Mr Rennie was a disgrace. There was no story here and John Key should get tough and tell ‘em like it is. It is totally understandable for a very busy PM to forget things. After all both Michelle and Brian forget things so why shouldn’t the PM?
I think that the issue was really about how Mr Key handled or mis-handled the situation.
Forget “egalitarianism” in NZ, which Boag and Edwards and Mora tried to imply, has existed, and to some degree still exists (withing limits or boundaries). Boag justified that socialist experiments failed, and that there will always be social classes. Edwards accepted he would now be privileged, but came from a more “egalitarian” background. Mora spoke a lot of common drivel.
In all honesty, there has never been true “egalitarianism” in NZ, although the colonial heritage has provided for a fighting and working mentality of most, if not all, to try to prove they do their best, do survive, or have a right to exist.
Egalitarianism is something different though.
We see the farce of this now, where beneficiaries are largely – and actually by wide parts of society (incl. working poor and “middle class”, whatever that means now) SHAMED for not “pulling their weight”!
Is this “egalitarianism”, or giving all an equal chance to start and succeed?
NO, I am sorry, dear friends, I think that too many in NZ claim something that is a bit of a farce.
It is everyone out there for their own “betterment” and “advantages” as they “see fit”, not much of a truly caring society. It never was. The absence of rigid class systems like in Britain and some other countries does NOT mean there never were any classes here. There clearly have been, and stop dreaming fluffy nonsense, thank you.
Also Maori and Pacifica people, to some degree other new migrants have always been used to do the dirty and undesirable work here, while the “middle class” think they get what they deserve. Look at the many Asians working extra hours now, sometimes on low pay, like Filipinos and Filipinas in supermarkets, elder care and on farms.
NZers who think they are so “great” should wake up, and in some cases feel ashamed!
A shameless Government plug masquerades as a news item
NewstalkZB, Friday 5 April 2013, 8:00 A.M.
“There is NO DANGER that the prospect of the smelter closing will affect the price for Mighty River Power shares!”
No, that was not, as you might think, a Government-paid advertisement; it was a chirpy and bright announcement by one Niva Retimanu reading the 8 a.m. “news” on the government mouthpiece NewstalkZB.
The “news” item that followed that gushing headline consisted of an interview with a very upbeat Brian Gaynor, who amplified the positivity of the advertisement, errr, headline. According to the financial guru, there is nothing but good news to be had from the flogging off of this asset.
There will have been many—maybe most—listeners to that piece of bright positive “analysis” who will have imagined that Gaynor was a trustworthy and disinterested commentator on this matter. In fact, he is the chairman of Milford Asset Management’s Investment Committee and head of Milford’s portfolio management and investment analysis, and as such stands to trouser some handsome fees from his involvement in the selling off of the publicly owned power company.
It is difficult to decide which party comes out of this sordid little charade looking shabbier and dodgier. Nobody really expects serious or reliable journalism from NewstalkZB, but surely Gaynor has a reputation to think about; mouthing dishonest platitudes on a notoriously partisan radio station is certainly not going to enhance it.
. . . In what is believed to be one of the largest ever leaks of financial data, the Washington, D.C.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has received nearly 30 years of data entries, emails and other confidential details from 10 offshore havens around the world . . .
It has the potential change the face of politics in some countries, currently the premier of Georgia is scrambling. It looks like there’s going to be a coordinated slow release of names.
The consortium of journalists includes Nicky Hager.
I’ve just watched TV3 News coverage of the funeral of Bruce Hutton, perjurer, fabricator of false evidence, liar and perverter of the course of justice.
Utterly disgusted and sickened to observe police officers, in dress uniform , attending the funeral “as a mark of respect”.
Was it as sickening as all those broadcasters and politicians competing to make the most fulsome insincere tribute to “Sir” Paul Holmes a few months back?
Why don’t we hear more from those eloquent Wellington mandarins?
“Focus on Politics”, Radio NZ National, Friday 5 April 2013
I used to think that the people working in the highest echelons of the Wellington civil service were, apart from one or two obvious duds like Christine (Spankin’) Rankin, possessed of superior intellect, impeccable manners and of course an effortlessly superior dress sense. They were seen only occasionally in public, attending symphonic concerts, spectating languidly at cricket tests or race meetings, dining at the most exclusive eateries, and gracing the best and toniest private functions. To this outsider’s untutored eye, these men and their elegant women moved in a rarefied, privileged world, somehow finding the time to read the classics to such a level that they could wittily allude to something from Homer as easily as they could discern whether the wine they had been proffered was worth quaffing. And they could probably speak several languages to boot. In other words they moved on a higher plane than the rest of us mere mortals.
I’ve just heard State Services Commissioner Ian Rennie speaking at length on National Radio’s superb “Focus on Politics” programme. It is now painfully apparent just why there is a long-established tradition of keeping these mandarins away from the public gaze.
Here’s an excerpt, taken at random, but entirely representative of everything else he said….
“We certainly did not have, ahhh um prescience… it was becoming ahhh clear…. there was a need aahhh to change ahhhh, ummmmm, internal structures…. ahhh, ummmm, not just the ahmmmm traditional ahhh ahhh military community ahh, ummmm…”
Really, if we actually introduced a free-market profits would disappear over night. Same way that wages are dropping in fact (labour doesn’t get the same protections as businesses).
She is a MONTH ahead of the rest of us, going by the “news” page on the Labour website.
The most “current” post by her is dated 30 April 2013. I am impressed, does she know the future and whether Shearer will still be leader a month of more ahead???
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 ...
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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 ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
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Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
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Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
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While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
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. ...
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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. ...
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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. ...
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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. ...
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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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‘
One good thing about climate change. More dramatic skies
At least it seems so to me.
Also Has anyone else noticed this?
Spring flowers are out. At least they are here in Papakura
So early?
Goodness me, summer hasn’t even ended yet.
In other micro-climate change news.
Because of the dryer conditions the ground has been shrinking and cracking right across the Auckland region. This has effected footpaths and in some circumstances even house foundations and retaining walls.
Landscape contractors are looking forward to a big boom in retaining wall construction, especially when the rain, when it does come, gets into the cracks in the ground.
Playing fields are very hard for this time of year.
Will this result in more sports injuries?
Has anyone in the media looked into this?
I am no expert. And all these things may have nothing whatsoever to do with climate change. But who would know? All the journalists who should be asking these hard questions have gone silent.
Tell us what’s happening to us
*More dramatic skies*
Glad to see that the propganda is being rolled out…What a load of nonsense.
Yes the skies are the result of CC /sarc, but what else is contributing to climate change?
The journos have gone silent (because the media owners have instructed it, but no worries they can’t keep geo-engineering off limits much longer, its become too obvious, so they drip it into the mindset, using various methods, like pics of dramatic sky to fool people with ), because if it gets stirred up, then they are going to have to talk about geo-engineering Jenny, perhaps then people will really begin to join those dots.
You can’t discuss these subjects in a silo, they’re linked!
Oh and Jenny – Officially summer finished some time back, but hard ground is not uncommon at time of year, which is why we have schedule cricket tours, like the one just finished eh!
well, freesias have come up already…hmmm
“Ummm, ahhhh, I dunno. Ummm…”
Umperator Fish fails to perform
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Thursday 4 April 2013
Jim Mora, Jock Anderson, Scott York
This government is on the ropes. Scandal after scandal has left its major asset, the affable John Key, looking tired, harried and confused. His inability to tell lies convincingly has been embarrassingly exposed with the Ian Fletcher/GCSB scandal; for the first time, Key has been faced with relentless and concerted questions from journalists, who can sense blood.
Regular listeners to the Panel will know that, almost always, at least one of the two guest Panelists will be a right winger and reflexively a Key supporter, and that the host (usually Jim Mora) will almost always support that right winger. So the program is usually stacked against the liberal or left voice, if there happens to be one that day.
However, as has been shown by the likes of Gordon Campbell, Anna Chinn, Bomber Bradbury and Gordon McLauchlan, one liberal voice having the gumption to challenge the indolent and poorly thought out assertions of right wingers can be extremely effective.
So it would be enormously damaging to the Government, and enormously helpful for the rest of us, if an articulate person went on National Radio’s Panel show and simply restated the facts of this scandal, eloquently and courageously.
Unfortunately, though, the representative for the liberal left today was one Scott York….
JIM MORA: First topic today is, unsurprisingly, the Ian Fletcher/GCSB scandal. John Key has had ANOTHER memory lapse; how damaging could this one be for the Government?
SCOTT YORK: I, uh, dunno. You know, uhhh, the Labour government had its problems too, with Clare Curran. But ummmm, I dunno. Yeah, I guess….
JOCK ANDERSON: This is a story that has been promulgated by twenty-five wild-eyed journalists.
JIM MORA: John Armstrong from the New Zealand Herald joins us. John, is Jock Anderson correct when he says it’s just twenty-five wild-eyed journalists that are pushing this story?
JOHN ARMSTRONG: [speaking slowly to indicate great seriousness] It’s a bit wider than that, but not much.
JIM MORA: So you think it’s a bit too much to suggest there is a danger of oligarchy in this country? Thats too long a bow to draw.
JOHN ARMSTRONG: Yes, but this is corrosive. This will worry the National Party hierarchy.
MORA: It sounds impulsive what he did, saying “I’ll pick up the phone and ring the guy.” So this will not hurt John Key. As we said yesterday, people will say this is the way the world works. It will not hurt John Key will it.
ARMSTRONG: It doesn’t go far beyond the Beltway.
JOCK ANDERSON: As Rob Hosking said in the NBR, this is only of concern to the Bowen Triangle, which is the Wellington equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle!
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! John Armstrong on the Panel! Ha ha ha ha ha!
Topic 2: The Census…
Jock Anderson spends several minutes boasting about how he did not fill out his census form. Then Jim Mora decides it’s time to turn into Mr. Nasty, except he doesn’t do it with much conviction….
JIM MORA: Carol Slappendel is the General Manager of the 2013 Census. She joins us now. I see you are still allowing people to fill in their census forms more than a month late. Shouldn’t we call it the March-April census and dispense with the urgency of the night?
CAROL SLAPPENDEL: Actually, the completion rate has been exceptionally good. And there has been a very high number of people doing it online.
MORA: [skeptically] Yeah. Can I ask you about that? How did it go in Oamaru where participating online was ENCOURAGED?
CAROL SLAPPENDEL: Very well, actually.
MORA: Carol Slappendel, thank you. It’s 4:30, time for the news.
….4:30 News and Weather….
JIM MORA: Time for the Soapbox. What’s been on your mind, Scott?
SCOTT YORK Ummm, I’d like to give a bit of a plug for a new website. Ummm, it’s a satirical site called The Civilian.
JIM MORA: The Civilian?
SCOTT YORK: Yes. Some say it’s a Kiwi equivalent of the Onion.
JIM MORA: It’s nice to see a blog with a sense of humor, isn’t it. Some of these political sites have no sense of humor.
SCOTT YORK: Yeah! Ummmm. Yeah.
JIM MORA: Good luck to them! Jock what’s been on YOUR mind?
JOCK ANDERSON: Well, this is something I complained about on this program a few weeks ago, and that is the way that Len Brown’s Auckland Council keeps shutting its citizens out on the weekends. I object to the Auckland Council closing down the city centre for these events all the time. Last weekend Queen Street was closed for a wild-eyed bunch of sweaty zealots racing in the Golden Mile.
MORA: Ummm, thank you, ummmm, Jock. I’d like to move onto North Korea. THAT’s a serious topic. The state’s warlike rhetoric follows the recently imposed U.N. sanctions. Are you getting a bit worried now?
JOCK ANDERSON: I am.
JIM MORA: Just before we get Professor Al Gillespie, Scott, your thoughts.
SCOTT YORK: Ummm, North Korea is such an odd country, ummmmm, cut off from the rest of the world. We’ve got a new, inexperienced North Korean leader, ummmmm, next thing you know, ummmm, it’s World War Three.
JIM MORA: Are we right to be nervous, do you think, Al?
AL GILLESPIE: America is being particularly belligerent at this point.
JOCK ANDERSON: Are there any similarities to the Cuban missile crisis?
[This discussion continues for a further few minutes, then the music starts to swell, signalling the impending end of the show…]
MORA: Just before we go, your thoughts on the Christchurch Cathedral?
SCOTT YORK: Ummm, ahhhh, I dunno. Ummm.
MORA: It’s five o’clock. Gotta go!
Who the fuck is Scott York? Speaking of satire…you made this up, yes? I mean, this is just crazy sauce.
Unfortunately, he has not made any of it up. I heard the broadcast, and that is a pretty accurate transcript.
No it’s not. He gives the impression that talking to Carol Slappendel took all of 2 minutes, but it was much much longer than that.
Which means so far, every single transcript of Morrissey’s that I’ve read where I had actually heard the interview itself, he has mischaracterised in some way. So I don’t trust anything he writes any more.
You might have a poor reception down there Lanth, I listen to ‘the panel’ most days and when Morrissey reports on it he gets it 99.9% correct 99.9% of the time.
With regard to the Carol Slappendel segment he did omit the tired ramblings of Jock Anderson who tried to put listeners asleep with his paranoid recollections of avoiding filling out census forms (he must have much to hide).
I always enjoy Morrissey reporting on ‘the panel’ farce and find his version matches what I have heard.
p.s. Scott York is a bit of a smelly fish.
“You might have a poor reception down there Lanth, I listen to ‘the panel’ most days and when Morrissey reports on it he gets it 99.9% correct 99.9% of the time.”
No, all I’ve said is that every single transcript for which I’ve read that I had also heard the actual interview at the very least mischaracterised what went on, if not completely changed the works spoken so as to not be a transcript at all.
Note that that is a sample of about 4. But 4 out of 4 is not good.
“With regard to the Carol Slappendel segment he did omit the tired ramblings of Jock Anderson”
Um, no, he omitted many question and answer responses from Carol. Perhaps you need to check your reception.
No it’s not.
Yes it is, and you know it is, just as you knew my rush transcript of Hekia Parata’s embarrassingly inept interview back in August 2011 was accurate….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30082011/#comment-369467
He gives the impression that talking to Carol Slappendel took all of 2 minutes, but it was much much longer than that.
I think any intelligent reader would realise that I had not included everything these people said on the programme. My purpose is of course to capture something of the pervading tone of shallowness and flippancy. My approach is little different from the great Tom Frewen’s legendary Today in Parliament—which can still, by the way, be heard on Community Radio stations.
Which means so far, every single transcript of Morrissey’s that I’ve read where I had actually heard the interview itself, he has mischaracterised in some way.
I have mischaracterised nothing. In the transcript that heads this thread, I have endeavoured to capture at least a hint of the essential nastiness of Jock Anderson, the refusal to be serious of Jim Mora, and the timidity and mealy-mouthedness of Scott York. You are trying to say that is not a valid approach, and that every single thing they say should have been included. That’s nonsense.
So I don’t trust anything he writes any more.
In March 2011 you trusted the demonstrable lies of the Japanese government and you trusted the integrity of the Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe when he came on television to insist there was “absolutely no danger” from radiation around Tokyo. I’ll leave it to readers to decide whether they trust YOUR judgement.
I think everyone on this thread frankly needs to google the definition of “transcript”.
“Yes it is, and you know it is, just as you knew my rush transcript of Hekia Parata’s embarrassingly inept interview back in August 2011 was accurate….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30082011/#comment-369467”
Sorry, I don’t “know it” because what you have produced and claimed to be a transcript, is, to borrow one of your words, “demonstrably” not a transcript.
“I think any intelligent reader would realise that I had not included everything these people said on the programme. ”
No, any intelligent reader who reads something that purports to be a transcript would expect it to be a transcript. There is absolutely nothing in your post that suggests the sections that show dialogue are not actually the complete dialogue that was spoken. All you need to do is put “…” in there or “later” or anything, but you deliberately choose not to do so.
“I have mischaracterised nothing. In the transcript that heads this thread, I have endeavoured to capture at least a hint of the essential nastiness of Jock Anderson, the refusal to be serious of Jim Mora, and the timidity and mealy-mouthedness of Scott York. You are trying to say that is not a valid approach, and that every single thing they say should have been included. That’s nonsense.”
You mischaracterised the interview with Carol Slappendel by making it look like Mora had her on for less than a minute to ask her one question and then bid her off. That DID NOT HAPPEN and so you are mischaracterising what did happen. It really is very straight forward.
“In March 2011 you trusted the demonstrable lies of the Japanese government and you trusted the integrity of the Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe when he came on television to insist there was “absolutely no danger” from radiation around Tokyo. I’ll leave it to readers to decide whether they trust YOUR judgement.”
Sure, I’ve no problem with that. All you have to do is show that the people flying in those flights to Japan have somehow gone on to suffer ill health effects. Then you might actually have some evidence.
Regrettably not only Key but his supporters too clearly have severe and regular lapses in memory.
Just a thought, the massive pay increases to the Mighty River Power directors is a more important issue than Key’s bastardising the process to have his mate appointed as head of the GCSB.
The second issue certainly has raised considerable concerns about his honesty but the first issue shows the never ending process whereby the rich get more and the poor and workers get less.
Out in middle New Zealand I think many will find the nuances of the Fletcher issue too difficult to comprehend whereas the greed shown by the MRP directors is clear to see.
Great cartoon!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10875469
Even Key’s stuff-ups on sideshow stories protect him from the bigger stories; GCSB beltway oddity covers New Zealand’s largest single pending industrial closure, and also smothers the big MRP prospectus launch together with price range. He may go down in history for nothing except being our luckiest PM.
True, no one gives a toss about “the process”.
Key rung his mate,big deal.
It’s widely accepted, that it’s who you know, not what you know when it comes to getting a job, people don’t have an issue with that, it’s just the way the world works.
Power prices though, that irks people.
And I am so tempted to do a Godwin….. nuff said.
Funny how the right want this to be an arcane debate about “process” when it’s about their Prime Minister lying to Parliament and the nation.
+1,
I don’t think he lied, he’s a very busy man, Key can’t be expected to remember every trivial detail.
Funny how he remembered all the trivial little details a few days later though eh.
memory how does that fucking work.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10875435
well last night Kate Shuttleworth explained it using fluff and scotch tape
Trivial detail is remembering if it was 4 peices of fish and $6 chips or 3 fish and $7 chips.
Phoning a mate to tap him into a very sensitive job is not trivial.
You have a bizzare sense of triviality
Thats right Bloke – This is about lying!
Lots of it, by the same people, and now an everyday event!
Certain types love it, because it validates the lies they tell to themselves, and others on a daily basis!
Thats why lying is *no big deal* – Look at BM, liar apologist, pity those around you son, cos you is a liar too, which is why you are looking at semantics, and offerign excuses for the biggest liar ever to lead a government in NZ history, which is no mean feat for JK!
so from now on whenever key says ‘to the best of my recollection’ or ‘from what i can recall’ you are gonna believe him? what a sucker. also, ‘key rang his mate’, key still has not confirmed they were ‘mates’, thats just what everyone knows but key wont admit it, just weasel words about his mum & grant robertson & everything else. why didnt he, when first asked, say ‘yep, we are mates, so what?’, maybe hes incapable of telling the truth? his first instinct is to lie, duck & cover. speaking of which, hes on radiolive this afternoon with willie & jt, could be interesting but usually its just whitewash & weak.
Yeah, actually, they do. Especially when it’s becoming obvious the amount of corruption involved in this appointment.
Yep, they do. And that’s a Stuff online poll so, although unscientific, it’s also leaning to the right, i.e, the people you’d most expect to support JK and National.
Power prices irk some people, not many enough as yet however!
The Liberal Conspiracy (which claims to be the most popular left of centre political blog in the UK), has an article reporting on a poll about people’s views on climate change.
More about the poll on the Carbonbrief website.
So in 2009 what job was he shoulder tapped for http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10875494
That’s what I like about Key, he’s a go getter, bugger the process that’s for dull old people, public servants and Labour party politicians.
He didn’t get rich sitting around writing stuff in triplicate and filling out a zillion forms, he gets out there and makes it happen.
are there any pages left in your Planet Key passport?
Jesus H Christ! Next you’ll be talking about how firm his buttocks are and how flowers grow where his feet touch the earth. You bloody right wingers make me think that you have real daddy issues, thinking that everything can be solved by a man’s man with a firm hand.
I think I know where BM gets his inspiration from:
http://listverse.com/2010/05/30/top-10-crazy-facts-about-kim-jong-il/
BM – Showing what an online liar looks like.
One way or another BM, you are lying here!
BM – Knows little to nothing about Keys career, or how he made his money, other than what he reads on wiki or the herald!
If he did, then he would know that same system, which made Key *rich*, by stealing, because thats what the banking system is, theft of other peoples lives/futures, BM would understand that same financial systems are taking him, his mates, and his family down too!
Idiots and liars, are close relatives!
That’s right BM, Key gets out there and makes it happen, and lies and lies and lies and lies.
Where the hell is your moral compass man ?
That said I suspect you’re just taking the piss. Even you know Key’s a liar.
FIFY
I may have been a bit over the top there, but that is how the public perceive John Key , which is why he gets away with what he does.
Facts are most people despise politicians, yet Key is still the most liked of all current politicians by a loooong way and that’s because he doesn’t behave like a politician.
Except for the last fortnight when he been politicianing like all get the fuck out.
“but that is how the public perceive John Key”
I’m getting really sick of this meme. Half the country didn’t vote for him or his party. When you say the ‘public’ in this context, what you mean is some people + the MSM.
+1
Well, at least BM is willing to admit that JK is getting away with doing questionable stuff and lots of it.
BM and Key idolater, please reveal precisely HOW your god went about out there (where?) to make it happen (gross wealth).
lol
You could say the same about half the folk in Paremoremo.
Which is probably where Key should be, if he treated his financial speculations in the way you describe he treats the country today.
excuse the impertinence, but as I read your posts I keep wondering if your initials stand for ‘bowel movement’ ?
Ah yes. Everyone loves a go-getter who says damn the process … right up until it’s your house being compulsorily acquired or your kids getting expelled or your taxes getting raised or the Police knocking on your door.
“Police find vehicle connected to shooting of George Taiaroa .” More news later according to the Dom.
That was a Stop Press banner on the Dom around 10am. Gone now. No news?
Breakthrough in roadworker killing case
Thanks Jackal.
If you have lived in this country long enough you hear every vile, disgusting comment made against Māori – every low and slimey slur and put-down and even though we have heard it all, it still hurts to hear another.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8513218/Sterilise-smokers-comment-outrage
We let these people off too lightly – and trying to get out of it by using the ‘joke’ defence is as bad as using the ‘should have thought harder’ defence – they are not a defence they are just useless excuses.
http://mars2earth.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/comment-about-maori-not-joke.html
And stuff’s headline that it was directed at smokers is part of the problem.
yep they changed the headline to take ‘Māori’ out
Hi Marty – These comments are genuine insight into the types which are *in charge* of us, this is what they’re into!
They get away far too lightly, for many reasons, a couple if core reasons, IMO are.
1: People are not paying attention
2: Reality tv, and glossy trash mags/reporting, means that those who are paying attention have become numbed to such comments, because it so *normalised* now.
The shear hatred these comments reek of, need a seeing to, I agree 100%
Normalised is very true and that is what we have to fight – I will say though that the outrage is there although dissipated by the ‘joke’ excuses.
If that’s a joke, just think what he’s like when he’s being serious.
Dark age stuff.
Better send that out to the zoological community: “new species of dinosaur discovered, still alive…”…form of raptor methinks looking at the photo.
“Doing research on the Web is like using a library assembled piecemeal by pack rats and vandalized nightly.”
Roger Ebert.
Sad to read of Ebert’s death, he was a truly great film critic and, as the article below notes, a real influence on the net commentariat:
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/04/03/roger-ebert-movie-critic-cancer-leave-presence
5 April 2013
‘Open Letter’ / OIA request to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key :
“How are you ‘inducted / familiarised’ with your statutory duties arising from the Public Records Act 2005?”
_______________________________________________________________________________
Prime Minister of New Zealand
John Key
Dear Prime Minister,
Given your previous background at the highest levels of the private sector/ banking and finance corporate world (being the former Head of Derivatives for Merrill Lynch, and a former Foreign Exchange Advisor for the New York Federal Reserve), it may have been your custom and practice to ‘do’ internationally significant deals over dinner or over the phone?
However, you are now Prime Minister of New Zealand, ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ (according to the 2012 Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’, along with Denmark and Finland).
http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results
As New Zealand is ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – we should arguably be the most ‘transparent’?
Arguably, the laws, regulations and culture which apply in the private, corporate world – are NOT the same which should and do apply to the public sector, of which you are now in charge, as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
May I respectfully remind you of the pivotal legislation which covers the public sector / public service, as outlined on the NZ State Services Commission website:
http://www.ssc.govt.nz/legislation
Contents
Title page
Crown Entities Act 2004
Human Rights Act 1993
NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990
Official Information Act 1982
Protected Disclosures Act 2000
Public Finance Act 1989
Public Records Act 2005
State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986
State Sector Act 1988
________________________________________________________________________________
In particular – may I draw your attention specifically to the Public Records Act 2005:
http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2005/0040/latest/DLM345536.html
Part 1
Purpose, other preliminary provisions, and key administrative provisions
Subpart 1—Purpose and other preliminary provisions
3 Purposes of Act
The purposes of this Act are—
(a)to provide for the continuation of the repository of public archives called the National Archives with the name Archives New Zealand (Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga); and
(b)to provide for the role of the Chief Archivist in developing and supporting government recordkeeping, including making independent determinations on the disposal of public records and certain local authority archives; and
(c)to enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained; and
(ii)providing for the preservation of, and public access to, records of long-term value; and
(d)to enhance public confidence in the integrity of public records and local authority records; and
(e)to provide an appropriate framework within which public offices and local authorities create and maintain public records and local authority records, as the case may be; and
(f)through the systematic creation and preservation of public archives and local authority archives, to enhance the accessibility of records that are relevant to the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand and to New Zealanders’ sense of their national identity; and
(g)to encourage the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi), as provided for by section 7; and
(h)to support the safekeeping of private records.
(My underlining)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Please provide the following information:
1) What is / was the process by which you were ‘inducted / familiarised’ with this above-mentioned key legislation which now covers your statutory duties as the Prime Minister of New Zealand?
2) What was / is the role of the NZ State Services Commission, in ensuring that you were ‘inducted / familiarised’ with this above-mentioned key legislation, which now covers your statutory duties as the Prime Minister of New Zealand?
3) What is / was the process by which you were ‘inducted / familiarised’ with the above-mentioned Public Records Act 2005, which now covers your statutory duties as the Prime Minister of New Zealand to:
“enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained ”
4) What was / is the role of the NZ State Services Commission, in ensuring that you were ‘inducted / familiarised’ with the above-mentioned Public Records Act 2005, which now covers your statutory duties as the Prime Minister of New Zealand to:
“enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained”
5) How many staff are employed in your ‘Prime Minister’s Department’?
6) Please confirm that you have staff in your ‘Prime Minister’s Department’, who have the responsibility for ‘diary notes’ / memos / minutes (and the like), of affairs of State, in order to ensure that your above-mentioned statutory duties as Prime Minister of New Zealand, under the Public Records Act 2005, are carried out in a proper way.
7) Please provide the information which explains why you are relying upon your (proven to be unreliable) memory, for matters such as your role in the appointment of Ian Fletcher as Director of the GCSB, when you have a statutory duty as Prime Minister to:
“..enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained”
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
2013 AucklandMayoral Candidate
from now on john key isnt going to answer questions from journalists unless he has time to research an answer. radiolive. 12:15. infact he just said he will ask for it in writing first.
Aw, poor Johnny, having to answer difficult questions from journalists.
Isn’t that how Helen Clark operated?
i have no idea, nor do i care, shes not the prime minister is she.
Maybe that’s the most effective way to approach the NZ press.
They always seem to be trying to invent stories and put spin on everything.
Did Clark have written questions submitted to her before she went on RNZ most mornings and answered questions?
BM – you kid yourself with your whining that the NZ press invents stories against poor wee Johnny Ambushed etc etc but you kid no one else.
You just look more and more an idiot. A knucklehead indeed, pissing into the wind.
It looks like “Johnny Liar” IS getting locked in, as people have been saying it might. That’s why your idol is having a bit of a tanty right now.
Isn’t that how Helen Clark operated?
In that alternative reality known as wingnut land yes, but back here on real earth Helen was legendary for knowing her stuff and answering questions truthfully.
Wasn’t that the reason she got so pissed at John Campbell regarding the corn gate incident because he altered the questions during the interview and made her look like a bit of a clown because she didn’t have a pre constructed answer.
Anyway it makes sense to know the questions before hand, especially since every reporter is out there trying to get a scoop and make a name for themselves.
No.
If I recall correctly, it is routine for exclusive interview topics to be identified beforehand, so the interviewee can prepare. I think the corngate one pissed clark off because they were broad with the topic outline (said it would be about nz horticulture or something), and JC leapt almost immediately into a very narrow field of “on this date GM corn escaped” (or whatever).
One of the problems re corngate was the media (some) confused the difference between 5% rate and difference at a 5% probabilility level.
is this for real or a late april fools?
btw, did they ask him about lying to Parliament?
yes, key said the omission was an answer to a supplementary question (‘i only had 15 seconds to answer!’), not a written first question. so if he was asked it in writing, he could have told the truth. but didnt someone on the standard say that gerry brownlee answered on behalf of john key another question that was certainly written? is john key biding his time to get out the country before any journalist (i wish) digs up that information.
& yes, not answering questions in parliament, stand ups or to journalists, if we want an honest, factual answer, he will want it in writing first. thats what he said. he even said it as a warning basically. & tv3 have got it in for him.
john key was being ‘boo hoo me’ & how hard it is being prime minister, up at 6:30am, bed at 12:30am, & do you remember what you had for breakfast last week?
yes Brownlee made an answer on the PM’s behalf the following day
p.s. having all sorts of long delays (up to twenty seconds) accessing The Standard since about 1pm, other sites all ok, anyone else? downforme says it is down for everyone
As the email leaks seem to get bigger,(the latest being bigger then Ben hur ie 2million) and this is very interesting as it details who uses offshore tax havens.
http://www.icij.org/offshore/who-uses-offshore-world
I cannot see the Minister of Tax evasion,money laundering,and incompetence providing any solutions.Time to close down the laudrymats.
As an aside one of the journalist is Nicky Hager.
Poission: Just read a few summaries. Now I feel ill!
Anyone else finding ‘The Standard’ glacially slow just now?
I bet the GCSB is running a connection diversion of the site’s traffic …
I will have a look at it. But it has been running OK for me when I have been scanning it today. I’m currently having a long awaited beer, listening to the news on natrad, and reading comments on the nexus7 – via the cellphone to the net…
Hard to test right now.
I’ve had problems – especially when I was updating the Fletcher post before 6pm-ish. And I couldn’t get the paragraph formation right on the update – looked correct on the “visual”, then no space between the end of the original post and the update on the post actual.
Yes! Taking 3 to 5mins to even get into post.
I just tuned in for about thirty minutes of the post PM chat on RadioLive
I quickly considered reaching for the sledgehammer and sacrificing the stereo
already admitted facts seem so irrelevant to these people
i know, its real hard to listen to. also another funny thing in the john key interview, tamaheri mentioned a news scoop that the australians have told ppl to get out of south korea, & tamaheri asked john key what he was going to do, & john key said ‘why? whats happening over there?’. he didnt know about the bird flu news coming out of china also. but who knows, maybe he was lying again.
and touching on the ancient topic of the PM rarely fronting to National Radio and the increasing evidence that Auckland is New Zealand whilst the rest of us are just potential tourists there, I noticed the Station ID
“This is Auckland’s RadioLive”
and this is the only station the PM can be said to front to regularly
This isn’t funny……
“House prices tipped to rise by 12pc”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=10875502
An interesting perspective on this is the lost revenue for the Crown. There’s over 400,000 households in Auckland and I assume that each one lives in a house so one expects there’s 400k houses of all types. An increase of 12% in the average price would be about $55k per house. That’s a capital gain of $22billion on 400,000 houses, if gains were taxed it would realise tax of around $5billion. And that’s just from Auckland. Quite staggering numbers really.
Hey I have found this ideal investment for the Government. The shares are rock solid and are predicted to give between a 6 and 7.7 % yield each year for the next couple of years. The Government can borrow money at less than this and it could make a real killing. If it acquires all of the shares then it does not have to worry about minority shareholders rights.
Oh wait, we own these fecking things and we are paying merchant bankers huge amounts of money to sell something that we already own to pay down debt that could be paid quicker if we kept control of them.
Wankers ….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10875576
perhaps KiwiSaver will buy the lot 🙂
at least that would be small buoy of positive atop the tsunami of evil
And, as it happens, the promo material is misleading about how risky these shares are. over to Russel Norman:
And someone at the Wall Street Journal isn’t too impressed.
I want to give a big thank you to all The Standard especially karol for getting information and links to this Prime Minister of ours and his lies. More to come I’m sure – thanks again.
I also want to say to Bryce Edwards that he is really shows some poor judgement in his (very good) article in NZ Politics daily. Every person who has made comment is quoted by him, such as – whaleoil, kiwiblog, John Minto, Julie Fairey, journalists, The Green Party, all good, but I noticed one group of blogger missing, yes everyone except The Standard and the bloggers who have researched and asked very searching questions about the goings on, in fact some new original information that illuminates seems to come up every day. No, no quoting any of those articles – he’d rather put in Pete George Twice!!! That has got to be a WTF moment if ever there was one – but nothing from over here. I pretty disapointed about that.
forgot the link
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nz-politics-daily-honesty-bigger-issue-cronyism-ck-138154
It is a good article except for the bit I mentioned above.
Bryce Edwards appears to be working on becoming more “mainstream” and more “commonly acceptable” in my eyes. Maybe he has a high paying job here or in Aus on his mind??? There are fewer and fewer journalists and commentators I bother with or even trust. And it is only the Standard, the Daily Blog and a few others that I still bother to read now.
Looking forwards to Morrissey’s next entry after listening to Brian Edwards and Michelle Boag’s comments about Ferguson’s appointment on the Bora hour.
Listening to Michelle Boag always leaves me underwhelmed. She seems sure to say something crass each time. The discussion I heard on Jim Mora was about class in Britain and New Zealand. The latest strata identification in GB was seven, but that’s the way of the world since the year dot she thinks. Nothing new here, or to concern oneself about.
Her own parents were ‘hard working’ and so she had a good grounding for becoming the idol that she is. This hard working epithet seems a loaded description, there’s a suggestion that they were outstanding and perhaps deserving, because most others weren’t hard working.
If you become deserving through long hours then the caregivers and low income people working multiple jobs should be due for a decent bonus anytime. The figures show that NZs are working long hours. Just as well the pubs are allowed to open all hours unless there is lots of hoo hah about it. What about rewarding these low-paid hard working people with a Christmas bonus for not being layabouts like most of those beneficiaries under 65, possibly make that 70? And could volunteers doing a minimum period for community and social betterment be included?
They must have been talking about the article Draco posted on a couple of days back, based on a major survay. It was different from previous class levels, like the UK Registrar General’s one, used for official stats.
The important thing is that it shows “the precariat” has become a significant class of low income struggling people at the bottom of the system.
Should have put this here rather than on the other topic”
Dr Brian Edwards on the Panel totally agreed with Michelle Boag that the whole fuss about Mr Key was absolutely ridiculous. Should never have happened. He thinks that the behaviour of John Campbell in his interview with Mr Rennie was a disgrace. There was no story here and John Key should get tough and tell ‘em like it is. It is totally understandable for a very busy PM to forget things. After all both Michelle and Brian forget things so why shouldn’t the PM?
I think that the issue was really about how Mr Key handled or mis-handled the situation.
Brian Edwards has been captured by the Dark Side!
I think I remember seeing 15% for the significantly poor. And growing under the British Decameron (Thatcher x 10)………
Forget “egalitarianism” in NZ, which Boag and Edwards and Mora tried to imply, has existed, and to some degree still exists (withing limits or boundaries). Boag justified that socialist experiments failed, and that there will always be social classes. Edwards accepted he would now be privileged, but came from a more “egalitarian” background. Mora spoke a lot of common drivel.
In all honesty, there has never been true “egalitarianism” in NZ, although the colonial heritage has provided for a fighting and working mentality of most, if not all, to try to prove they do their best, do survive, or have a right to exist.
Egalitarianism is something different though.
We see the farce of this now, where beneficiaries are largely – and actually by wide parts of society (incl. working poor and “middle class”, whatever that means now) SHAMED for not “pulling their weight”!
Is this “egalitarianism”, or giving all an equal chance to start and succeed?
NO, I am sorry, dear friends, I think that too many in NZ claim something that is a bit of a farce.
It is everyone out there for their own “betterment” and “advantages” as they “see fit”, not much of a truly caring society. It never was. The absence of rigid class systems like in Britain and some other countries does NOT mean there never were any classes here. There clearly have been, and stop dreaming fluffy nonsense, thank you.
Also Maori and Pacifica people, to some degree other new migrants have always been used to do the dirty and undesirable work here, while the “middle class” think they get what they deserve. Look at the many Asians working extra hours now, sometimes on low pay, like Filipinos and Filipinas in supermarkets, elder care and on farms.
NZers who think they are so “great” should wake up, and in some cases feel ashamed!
A shameless Government plug masquerades as a news item
NewstalkZB, Friday 5 April 2013, 8:00 A.M.
“There is NO DANGER that the prospect of the smelter closing will affect the price for Mighty River Power shares!”
No, that was not, as you might think, a Government-paid advertisement; it was a chirpy and bright announcement by one Niva Retimanu reading the 8 a.m. “news” on the government mouthpiece NewstalkZB.
The “news” item that followed that gushing headline consisted of an interview with a very upbeat Brian Gaynor, who amplified the positivity of the advertisement, errr, headline. According to the financial guru, there is nothing but good news to be had from the flogging off of this asset.
There will have been many—maybe most—listeners to that piece of bright positive “analysis” who will have imagined that Gaynor was a trustworthy and disinterested commentator on this matter. In fact, he is the chairman of Milford Asset Management’s Investment Committee and head of Milford’s portfolio management and investment analysis, and as such stands to trouser some handsome fees from his involvement in the selling off of the publicly owned power company.
It is difficult to decide which party comes out of this sordid little charade looking shabbier and dodgier. Nobody really expects serious or reliable journalism from NewstalkZB, but surely Gaynor has a reputation to think about; mouthing dishonest platitudes on a notoriously partisan radio station is certainly not going to enhance it.
Anyone who is interested in complaining about this naked partisanship by NewstalkZB might like to click on the following…
http://bsa.govt.nz/complaints/formal-complaint
‘
Heh!!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/04/03/offshore-data-leak.html
(Moderation!!!! Is it the new email address? I’ve changed providers)
Yeah, I spotted that in The Guardian yesterday.
It has the potential change the face of politics in some countries, currently the premier of Georgia is scrambling. It looks like there’s going to be a coordinated slow release of names.
The consortium of journalists includes Nicky Hager.
I’ve just watched TV3 News coverage of the funeral of Bruce Hutton, perjurer, fabricator of false evidence, liar and perverter of the course of justice.
Utterly disgusted and sickened to observe police officers, in dress uniform , attending the funeral “as a mark of respect”.
That is what the police do. A neighbour of mine had a brother in law who was an assistant commissioner and the police made an appearance.
I heard that the Crewe review contains 90,000 pages of evidence and may be released in two months.
Was it as sickening as all those broadcasters and politicians competing to make the most fulsome insincere tribute to “Sir” Paul Holmes a few months back?
Crewe inquiry worries after eulogy.
Hutton retired in 1976, he was the head of the Crewe investigation.
There was a strong show of police support at the funeral.
“Former MP and police Inspector Ross Meurant, who was criticised in eulogies, said the review had been undone by Mr Bush’s praise for Mr Hutton.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10876061
What is it that the police do not see that the public sees when it comes to a cartridge case being planted?
Do you think that the police will attend Clint Rickards funeral and give a eulogy criticising Louise Nicholas? (sorry Louise if you are offended).
Why don’t we hear more from those eloquent Wellington mandarins?
“Focus on Politics”, Radio NZ National, Friday 5 April 2013
I used to think that the people working in the highest echelons of the Wellington civil service were, apart from one or two obvious duds like Christine (Spankin’) Rankin, possessed of superior intellect, impeccable manners and of course an effortlessly superior dress sense. They were seen only occasionally in public, attending symphonic concerts, spectating languidly at cricket tests or race meetings, dining at the most exclusive eateries, and gracing the best and toniest private functions. To this outsider’s untutored eye, these men and their elegant women moved in a rarefied, privileged world, somehow finding the time to read the classics to such a level that they could wittily allude to something from Homer as easily as they could discern whether the wine they had been proffered was worth quaffing. And they could probably speak several languages to boot. In other words they moved on a higher plane than the rest of us mere mortals.
I’ve just heard State Services Commissioner Ian Rennie speaking at length on National Radio’s superb “Focus on Politics” programme. It is now painfully apparent just why there is a long-established tradition of keeping these mandarins away from the public gaze.
Here’s an excerpt, taken at random, but entirely representative of everything else he said….
“We certainly did not have, ahhh um prescience… it was becoming ahhh clear…. there was a need aahhh to change ahhhh, ummmmm, internal structures…. ahhh, ummmm, not just the ahmmmm traditional ahhh ahhh military community ahh, ummmm…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE
This is rather good:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/05/company-profits-welfare-payments-society
!!!
i was just reading that!!!
Ha-joon Chang – that guy is bloody good.
Simple, direct and sums up perfectly.
Really, if we actually introduced a free-market profits would disappear over night. Same way that wages are dropping in fact (labour doesn’t get the same protections as businesses).
stever: Rather interesting!
Darien Fenton is capable of TIME TRAVEL!
She is a MONTH ahead of the rest of us, going by the “news” page on the Labour website.
The most “current” post by her is dated 30 April 2013. I am impressed, does she know the future and whether Shearer will still be leader a month of more ahead???
http://www.labour.org.nz/news
http://www.labour.org.nz/node/6334
One of the problems we opined in the mid-80’s was that National got themselves elected by joining the Labour Party.
See we are not the only ones with the right-wing festooned in the left
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/04/05/lies-fraud-and-austerity/