“contributes to a toxic environment for the left here with his incessant fault finding and attack posts against the left”
Very funny – or do you actually believe that?
I only occasionally post here. You and a few others frequently post here, creating a toxic environment of the left, attacking many people you judge to not be suitably left, or something.
You (collectively) deter far more people from voting left than i ever will, because they are not the right sort of left for you, not left enough, or just that you make an ill-informed judgement.
I first came to The Standard thinking it would be a good place to join in the rebuilding of Labour after Clark lost in 2008 and then departed Parliament. I was mistaken. This has been a toxic, small minded, dirty unwelcoming place.
There are good people here, and interesting comments at times, but it has been dominated by persistent petty regulars who burn off anyone deemed some sort of enemy.
It has changed, probably because more moderate centre-ish people have been driven away or can’t be bothered with the toxicity.
What is obvious now that, while there may be a few Labour try-hards, the dirty politics here is now dominated by non-Labour supporters like marty mars, OAB, Robert Guyton, who all regularly and persistently attack anyone deemed some sort of enemy.
It’s pathetic, and it’s counter productive. Even if there is some intent to drive off potential Labour voters that is cutting off your nose to spite your face, and certainly won’t encourage people to vote Green or Mana.
This is a toxic environment without me, I just pop in occasionally to see if anything has changed. Obviously not.
I’ve voted both Green and Labour, but I and I think many others who pass by here certainly wouldn’t encouraged to do so again by the bitter and twisted attack dweebs who dominate threads here.
Ardern and Davis have given the first sign in a decade that Labour may be able to climb back into prominence again. But it looks like they will struggle to get any help here with so much toxic self destruction further to the left going on.
If Labour supporters (and anyone genuinely wanting a change of government) want to do something positive to rebuild the party they should stand up more to the crap perpetuated by a few spoilers here.
thanks pete this is my response on the other thread
“This has been a toxic, small minded, dirty unwelcoming place.”
Is someone forcing your arm up your back and making you post anti left attack comments? No I didn’t think so – that’s all your own work peter – you’ve always been a moaner-fabricator since you started posting way back when you were a United Candidate for parliament. You haven’t changed one bit.
The Standard is a broad left wing space; it’s only to be expected that right wingers will face a headwind. We aren’t here to make it easy for their argument, nor let them derail what is important to us. And if they argue in bad faith or blatantly troll they routinely get hammered by moderation.
But without asking anyone to agree with PG’s style, his sometimes irritating passive-aggressiveness, or any of his political ideas … on this he has a point. There is really no justification for the snide mockery, reflexive hostility and mobbing that is too often dumped on anyone deemed ‘outsider’.
Only a fool counsels perfection; we’ll all fall short of ideal from time to time. But it’s plain that a handful of individuals are taking pleasure in baiting and abusing ‘non-lefties’, and getting away with it because their politics are so pure.
Well that just doesn’t stack up. You cannot demand justice, equity and fairness from others, while dishing out abuse yourself.
“But it’s plain that a handful of individuals are taking pleasure in baiting and abusing outsiders and getting away with it because their politics are so pure.”
I call rubbish on that. You have always pushed that line even after it has been disproved time and time again. sad.
“his sometimes irritating passive-aggressiveness” sometimes!
SOMETIMES????
We’re getting squabbly-as here – let’s blame Pete for that and move on to more productive pastures. Pete’s on holiday, The Greens are polling strongly, Jacinda’s leading Labour and Paula’s been assigned as advance guard for the attack – things are looking relentlessly positive! All we need now is for Todd Barclay to call on Metiria to resign.
Weka – Please be kind, the upcoming election needs a climate of understanding, building bridges and above all – finding common ground. We all have different views on different things. What is it that a social democrat would support in every situation?
Pete gets moderated for his behaviour not his views, as beigely abhorrent as they are. There’s lots of people I disagree with here who have different views, but 95% of the comments don’t even come close to touching my moderator radar.
Like all skilled trolls, Pete mixes together his trolling with his other commentary to make it seem more reasonable. I don’t have too much of a problem with people learning how to skate just under the moderation radar if they can be a net benefit to the site, but the load on moderators is getting higher the closer we get to the election (plus the post-election period is likely to be intense). I’d rather be writing posts or having fun, so there’s less leeway atm. If it makes my job easier to take out a known troll whose been banned multiple times before, and do that early in the day before he gets going, then that’s what I will do.
Besides, I was kind, he only got banned for a week (I was going to make it two then I halved it) 🙂
Hi Weka, fair enough, I did not question your judgement just wondered about why. As an sometimes visitor to this site I saw nothing offensive per se’ but I would certainly ask why Pete would think that people on this site will shoot down others. Perhaps I am not seeing what others see.
Thank you for your response.
That said, look what Pete said in the comments section of his own blog in response to disbelief at Jacinda’s popularity…(go figure!)
““Keep ignoring a phenomenon that is unfolding at your (or National’s) peril.
Unless the current momentum is changed the it looks likely the polling question will be how far into the 30s Labour rise to, and whether National can stay out of the 30s.”
“I’m not ‘buying into the hype’, I’m observing it. I haven’t seen anything like this sort of transformation before, nor this sort of excitement for a campaign before.
It’s happening. Don’t blame me for reporting it.”
“You’re failing to see the facts.
There is a very different vibe coming from the Labour and National camps. You try to talk it away as much as you like but it won’t make it disappear.
National have a major challenge to compete, and they are showing no sign of stepping up yet.
There’s seven weeks to go and things could still change dramatically again, but Labour have little to lose and a lot to gain, if National keep doing little they could lose.”
“Labour appear to have been forced into a very risky leader change but so far it has worked far better than anyone could have predicted.
But how things works is well known by campaign teams. If National don’t find a way of combating Labour’s momentum they could be in trouble.”
Yup. That seems to be the most likely reason for pete doubling-down on a response to a statement that marty mars had already apologised for in the original comment.
”Yes, we are an optimistic nation, but when you work at the coalface of politics and in the communities, as we do, we know and we see every single day that as a country we can do better than this.
”We can be better than this.”
”Relentless positivity will be amongst it and also a really clear vision for New Zealand.”
”I have a very clear view that we can be a much better country than this.”
Apple trees right now, but in the annual vegetables gardens; garlic and shallots are up and growing, peas and broad beans going in to trays in the glasshouse, bok choy and kale as seedlings into the open garden and pumpkins and corn into pottles for the warm window-sills inside of the house. It has been frrrrosty down here all week, though the coming 5 days are to be very warm by comparison, so those seeds will take off. Most of my garden work around now is propagating: cuttings and division of rhizomes and roots; horseradish, mints, elecampane, cardoon etc. I’m still cracking, soaking and planting-out hazelnuts, peach stones and almonds, en mass, preparing for the expansion of my orchard out into the whole wide world 🙂
Nice pics Robert (4). Thanks for sharing. Like to see more of the same posted.
Now I am going to pick your brains. In October we are moving south to central Otago (Cromwell to be exact) from Auckland and want to know what and what does not grow re vegetables. We have always had a productive vegetable garden in Auckland and would like to continue the same if we can at our southern home. Always had silverbeet, broccoli, pumpkins, green beans, bok choy, tomatoes as well as a varied herb garden. Have had conflicting opinions, telling us we can grow this, but can’t grow that, then told something else!
I’d appreciate what we are able to grow in the southern climate please if you don’t mind.
Cheers
Mary
The thing about Central is the late and early frosts. Put in a glasshouse and learn your microclimates. Lots of old school gardeners in that area who will give you very localised gardening advice. I have friends in various parts of Central who grow all the things you name, but opinions will vary on how long you can extend the growing season.
Hi Mary
The best investment you could make would be to buy a Star Garden Guide; they’ve just been reprinted from the original which was composed as a serial for the Star Newspaper back in the day by a gardener who knew his onions. It isn’t “organics-only” as I would wish, but very sound in its recommendations for what and when to plant. As well, you should/could subscribe to the NZ Gardener magazine and read their regular column from their man in Southland 🙂 Great pics accompanying that column as well. Also, there’s Get Growing, on-line, written, every third week, by that same gardener. In a nutshell, though, you’ll be able to grow everything you listed. Lots of sunshine in Cromwell. The soil will be different from what you’re accustomed to though.
Listened to Chris Martenson’s Peak Prosperity weekly news update.
Summary: talking about the loss of biodiversity in Maine or as Chris puts it watching life ebb away; also comments on the ongoing rallies in the stock market.
Oh yeah. During election season, we get more comments. The average comment size get larger as well. While there are a lot of short comments especially when the trolls reappear, everyone else seems to start writing small essays as a counterpoint.
Bit depressing seeing those outages due to cutouts in the CPUs protecting themselves from overheating kicking in on the early part of the month. 4th-12th on this chart. Especially on midweek on 9th when it was down for quite a few hours.
I had to do some shuffling of the machines and refitting of fans on the Saturday 12th. And again last weekend. It had a brief midday outage during the spike, and I had to tweak the fancontrol parameters again.
I really need to write a proper hysteresis routine for them so I can get a better balance between the noise of the fans in my quiet apartment (especially at night) and the need to stop the CPUs cutting off the system to protect themselves.
The 33k the day before was started with your “This is no ordinary election (f*ck the polls)” about the poll with the greens rise and Metiria’s aftershocks.
You should be able to see that google analytics on the dashboard – look under screen options if you can’t
I’d like to comment in the post Lefties on The Standard but I’m unsure about the criteria for participation.
The manoeuvring (incl. MOU) and rhetoric in the next 7 weeks will be aimed at changing the government in the first instance. Paradoxically, in my view, this muddies the more important overarching debate which is how we should move forward in this country and our society. This debate needs to be inclusive and balanced as possible and not hijacked & polarised as is usually the case.
There are two questions related to the criteria as set out:
1) Can I personally adhere to and meet these? In my own eyes rather than in your eyes, for example, if that makes any sense? I don’t think we need to dwell on this here as it is obviously personal.
2) I am not so comfortable, for want of a better word, with the label “left wing” and its associated narrative of (political) dualism. Hence my comment re. being inclusive but it goes deeper than that.
I realise it is an experiment here on TS and I think it is great to try new ways to move things forward. I am also hanging out for real constructive debate; it is rare, fragile, and too easily killed off – a bit like the flightless bird that is our national symbol. Maybe you’re right that it needs to start off in an enclosed and well-protected environment but how & when do we proceed with the ‘release into the wild’? BTW, I believe there have been (other) calls for a left wing ‘think tank’.
Lastly, and perhaps paradoxically, I take your comment as a compliment 🙂
44 south also mentioned that labels do not represent people very well https://thestandard.org.nz/lefties-on-the-standard/#comment-1363547 and I relate to this in ways that confuse me no end – does the label conform to the person or the other way round or both (or neither)?
The thing is we’re aiming for a better future although it remains poorly described. In my view, it will have to be radically different from status quo and thus it cannot be adequately described or defined (‘captured’) with current terminology and it most certainly cannot and won’t fit within the current dominant narratives – the future is open-ended and the associated language and meaning has yet to be developed or evolve.
A longwinded explanation which in no way detracts from your stellar efforts here on TS – I really mean this.
Does that mean there is no way for you to take part in the conversation in the other thread? Seems odd to let semantics deter good discussion. ‘Left wing’ is a just a shorthand to make my job as moderator easier.
I was thinking along similar lines.
If in doubt – try http://www.politicalcompass.org
And yes, these one size fits all “what’s your political bent” are a bit trite – but interesting..
For what it’s worth – I’m bang in the middle of the square of “libertarian/left”. So I suppose that does make me left? – although I have voted national in the past 🙂
MSM and modern technology tend to magnify & amplify all sorts of happenings, good and bad. This almost always comes at the expense of balance and context.
Recently, we have heard a few personal revelations (‘confessions’) and seen a few actions (‘sacrifices’) by politicians. Indeed, these were showing honesty & integrity. However, MSM and others have taken them out of proportion and used them to polarise opinion – the modus operandi of some; some claimed to have seen an Angel while others saw the Devil incarnate (Fallen Angel). There has never been a more powerful narrative and human construct than Good vs. Evil.
I think it’s quite telling that we appear to be so excited, surprised even, when moral virtues and positive values are on display. Why is this? We all value honesty & integrity and we all make personal sacrifices on a daily basis without giving it much thought, it seems.
I think it is time to recalibrate our expectations and corresponding judgements (!) of ourselves as well as of others and reaffirm the values we stand for. With the influence of (organised) religion waning in our society we should not lose sight of the whole of the value system that underpinned it – we cannot deny who we are. Similarly, the role of (moral) authority is disappearing and we now need to look at and in ourselves for guidance and direction.
Agreed. And with love getting a fresh airing by principals as schools grapple with student depression and suicide we are reminded that there are some simple qualities which if neglected leave us poorer regardless of external stimuli. Wordsworth knew about them when he wrote …..
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
My meandering monkey mind let me to search on Wordsworth & Buddhism and that unearthed a ‘treasure trove’.
I guess this might feel far-removed from current electioneering and reading of political ‘tea leaves’.
Increases in suicide and depression are clear signs that we’re heading down the wrong path and it is really good to hear that people are aware of this and doing something about it.
Globalisation: the rise and fall of an idea that swept the world
It’s not just a populist backlash – many economists who once swore by free trade have changed their minds, too. How had they got it so wrong? By Nikil Saval
A bit of history of Populism on Melvyn Bragg’s excellent In Our Time
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss what, in C19th America’s Gilded Age, was one of the most significant protest movements since the Civil War with repercussions well into C20th. Farmers in the South and Midwest felt ignored by the urban and industrial elites who were thriving as the farmers suffered droughts and low prices. The farmers were politically and physically isolated. As one man wrote on his abandoned farm, ‘two hundred and fifty miles to the nearest post office, one hundred miles to wood, twenty miles to water, six inches to Hell’. They formed the Populist or People’s Party to fight their cause, put up candidates for President, won several states and influenced policies. In the South, though, their appeal to black farmers stimulated their political rivals to suppress the black vote for decades and set black and poor white farmers against each other, tightening segregation. Aspects of the Populists ideas re-emerged effectively in Roosevelt’s New Deal, even if they are mainly remembered now, if at all, thanks to allegorical references in The Wizard of Oz.
Least we forget:
Today is Hiroshima Day
Spare a thought for the 140,000 innocent people who were killed in a moment of madness.
And wonder at the continued madness of the threat of it happening again.
. In an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, author Eric Schlosser explains just how inefficient this early nuclear bomb was (skip to 11:13 in the recording).
In the case of Hiroshima, the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima was an incredibly crude and inefficient weapon. When it exploded, about 99 per cent of the uranium that was supposed to undergo this chain reaction, didn’t. It just blew apart in the air, and a very small percentage, maybe two per cent of the fissile material, actually detonated. And most of it just became other radioactive elements. [. . .] Now to imagine how small an amount that is, seven-tenths of a gram of uranium is about the size of a peppercorn. Seven-tenths of a gram weighs less than a dollar bill. So even though this weapon was unbelievably inefficient, and almost 99 per cent of the uranium had nothing to do with the destruction of Hiroshima, it was a catastrophic explosion.
Today marks the anniversary of the first use of nuclear weapons – the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima by the United States, the only country in the world to ever use nuclear weapons (and on civilian targets). It’s also no coincidence that the atomic bomb was used on Japan and not Germany:
“It’s also no coincidence that the atomic bomb was used on Japan and not Germany”
It is probably also not a coincidence that the first atom bomb was not completed until AFTER the German state had been defeated and they had surrendered.
Just how could they have dropped a bomb that they didn’t actually have on Germany? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_%28nuclear_test%29
Unintended consequences of highly liberal marijuana laws; Marijuana company buys an entire Californian town. I’m sure it happens in Mexico regularly enough, but I’m not sure even Rothmans got that far with taking an entire town.
American Green will spend some $2.5 million in the next 18 months to rebuild Nipton into a stoner’s paradise, according to the company’s release. It plans to expand on the town’s small solar farm and aims to add “CBD and mineral baths, cannabis-product retail outposts, artists-in-residence programs, culinary events, and Bed-and-Breakfast lodging to complete the charming small town experience.”
Dunno if that’s an unintended consequence, really. It’s hardly unheard of in the US for a company to own a town – Disney has at least one community, and coal and steel companies occasionally owned the towns their workers lived in. Tennessee Ernie Ford sung about it.
Did my ears deceive me, did Jessica Mutch on todays Q and A really say in response to kelvin Davis and his criticism of national party hacks “On behalf of the National Party thats a bit unfair” her impartiality is transparent.
The panel was also slanted to the right, and pretty anti-Green Party generally.
Mike Williams said he was opposed to Turei’s old electorate enrollment thing because too many people had been doing that to gain extra votes in marginal electorates – but that’s totally not what Turei did.
Great to see Fitzsimons stepping up at a crucial point. I’ve often seen her on demonstrations in Auckland in recent times – still an activist. She mentored Turei initially, as I recall, when Turei became an MP.
did u no that if you are classed as Maori and have a criminal record you are not human because that is the way im being treated i tried dairyfarming for 13 years 11 years ago i was assitant manager on a 5000 cow farm we had 18 workers whom have all been displaced by imagrints i managed a farm for one farmer he had 7 workers on 4 farms they have all been repalaced by imagrints these farmers have no compasion for there workers as when you dairyfarm it is more than just a job if they fire you once calfing is over you have to move house iv had the cops called on me twice the first one lied and said i assalted them i went to court the judge was trying to encrouge me to plead gilty even my lawyer was not much help he did not encrouge me to plead not gilty cant have a europeen farmer to look like a lier i pleaeded not gilty i got off next time i was managing the worest farm in nz i was desperate for a job and house as my last boss hired imergrints i took the job the effluent system was a joke the cows were conditishon score av of 2 no shit she had taranaki gates the water was fucked i worked from dawn till dusk for 3 months to fix every thing up ie power the gates as a hungry cows were running the farm free range this farm is right next to the waikato river with a effluent system that was a joke fonterra new about farm because her partner worked for them after 3 months me and my son got the grass cover up to 2500 avrege the production was up 100% no lie my wife was razing the calfs she is a perfectionist healthy well looked after calfs the owner brought some of her calfs to my wifes calf shed they had scoures made my wifes calf sick they had a diseragrement she sacked us me my wife and 2 sons were working for her i was past the ninty day trial she still sacked me my wife did not get payed one of my sons did not get payed my daugter to she owed us all about 8 k i wondered why she had no numbers on her mail box this is why because when we went to the employment courts we could not get any thing trough becaues no one could find her to serve her the documents she was trained by the cop freind that she rang to kick us out of the house lucky my wife was there he jumped out of the cop car as if he was going to asalt me he yelled that we have been fired and had to leave imediately i replied that the house was like a rental an in the contrack we had 2 weeks to move it was dusk he backed off and went away i made a complaint the officer said that wallies had been in trouble before while we were moving to my daugthers house i got a ticket on a road were userly there are no cops he was waiting in the dark i tought nothing of it at the time but now it all ads up i went to wellington to work for Downers after 3 months on a loliepop sign i failed a drug test because i had started smoking weed agian because i was depressted i went to stay with my daugther i got a job relife managing for the first 2 weeks everything was good they liked my work cell count coming down treating lame cows ect one afternoon as i was driveing to work i noticed some guy pretending to read a paper in the boss driveway with a good view of the shed the cops think everyone has no brain the next day everyone was atcaing weard in the end they looked like i was the deviel 2 days before i was offered a full time job manageing a other farm they owned but not any more i notice that i allways had someone following me the police have told lies about me to all the farmers on kokako rd about me son boss acting strange i brought a lawn run in tauranga the cops have contacted all my clints lied to them i emailed the IPCA one of my clints is a judge after three weeks i asked if he could help me he said he would the next week he asked me if i had been arested yet no i said i made a complaint to the IPCA he looked into it the IPCA took up the case but 1 week later the judge said that i was just the lawn man nothing else you and your drugs. the police have put a spin on this the judge dismessed my services 3 weeks ago for no reason the police have lied to allmy nabours my bank staff acountant ect that is why i say if you are maori you have no human rights
the police are harressing me they are using bulling tackticks and have not aressted me there evdince is all lies they are not use to people with a brain
you no what they say a cop has impunity to do anything and the justice system is more worried about the polices image can not have the public no some cops are bad he trained the farm owner to avoied the employment law i tried to get a lawyer to sue for my human rights 4 times first interview they are going to help next they wont anser my call so i use a unlisted number and they anser and clam up
The cops name was not Wallies his name is Dickson just checked email that we sent in
a complaint and the farm is just out of Whakamaru The owner is Colleen Conolly her partner was Jamie Hovind. Never work for these muppets
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Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Jeremiah Manele has been elected Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, polling 31 votes to 18 over rival candidate and former opposition leader Mathew Wale with one abstention. The final result of the election by secret ballot was announced by the Governor-General, Sir David Vunagi, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Priestley Habru, PhD candidate, public diplomacy, University of Adelaide Former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele has been elected the next prime minister of Solomon Islands, defeating the opposition leader, Matthew Wale, in a vote in parliament. The result is a mixed bag for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shaun Eaves, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Jamey Stutz, CC BY-SA How often do mountains collapse, volcanoes erupt or ice sheets melt? For Earth scientists, these are important questions as we try ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Flood, Professor of Sociology, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock Most young adult men in Australia reject traditional ideas of masculinity that endorse aggression, stoicism and homophobia. Nonetheless, the ongoing influence of those ideas continues to harm men and the people ...
The NZQA proposal released to staff today would involve a net loss of 35 roles. There are 66 roles being disestablished with 13 of those currently vacant, and 31 new roles proposed, said Fleur Fitzsimons Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga ...
Alex Casey talks to Loren Taylor, the writer, director and star of new film The Moon is Upside Down, about assembling her dream ensemble cast, toilet paper pads and turning literal dreams into reality. There’s a moment in The Moon is Upside Down where frazzled anaesthetist Briar (Loren Taylor) gets ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassy Dittman, Senior Lecturer/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology), Research Fellow, Manna Institute, CQUniversity Australia With winter sports swinging into action, adults around the country have volunteered or been volunteered by others (humorously known as being “volun-told”) to coach junior sports teams. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University richardernestyap/Shutterstock Parents are often advised to burp their babies after feeding them. Some people think burping after feeding is important to reduce or prevent discomfort crying, or to ...
Workers at a major ASB contact centre in Auckland have voted to take strike action and withdraw their labour following disappointing pay negotiations with the employer and an "offer" to workers that would leave them worse off than the previous year. ...
As the government tries to get the country back on track with a school phone ban, Tara Ward has an idea for where they should turn their attention to next.New Zealand students returned to school on Monday morning, but their cellphones did not. The government’s new phone ban began ...
The Labour Party is demanding Peters be stood down, saying "he's embarrassed the country" with a "totally unacceptable" attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. ...
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, whose members were victims of a China-backed cyber attack, is discussing forming a standing committee to deal with foreign influence. ...
The PSA is concerned that the voluntary redundancies being offered to staff by Stats NZ will impact on the agency’s ability to deliver on its core functions. ...
Results ranged from surprisingly yum to soul-destroying. I love cooking. The kitchen is a hearth of culinary creation, of sensory delights, of gastronomic poetry. I also can’t afford anything nice. Why does a pack of instant noodles and some milk cost ten bucks? I love you, Aotearoa, but I miss ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Police in Solomon Islands are on high alert ahead of the election of the prime minister today. The two candidates for the top job are former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele at the head of the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation, which is ...
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I think it’s worth repeating this here, a response to marty mars:
“contributes to a toxic environment for the left here with his incessant fault finding and attack posts against the left”
Very funny – or do you actually believe that?
I only occasionally post here. You and a few others frequently post here, creating a toxic environment of the left, attacking many people you judge to not be suitably left, or something.
You (collectively) deter far more people from voting left than i ever will, because they are not the right sort of left for you, not left enough, or just that you make an ill-informed judgement.
I first came to The Standard thinking it would be a good place to join in the rebuilding of Labour after Clark lost in 2008 and then departed Parliament. I was mistaken. This has been a toxic, small minded, dirty unwelcoming place.
There are good people here, and interesting comments at times, but it has been dominated by persistent petty regulars who burn off anyone deemed some sort of enemy.
It has changed, probably because more moderate centre-ish people have been driven away or can’t be bothered with the toxicity.
What is obvious now that, while there may be a few Labour try-hards, the dirty politics here is now dominated by non-Labour supporters like marty mars, OAB, Robert Guyton, who all regularly and persistently attack anyone deemed some sort of enemy.
It’s pathetic, and it’s counter productive. Even if there is some intent to drive off potential Labour voters that is cutting off your nose to spite your face, and certainly won’t encourage people to vote Green or Mana.
This is a toxic environment without me, I just pop in occasionally to see if anything has changed. Obviously not.
I’ve voted both Green and Labour, but I and I think many others who pass by here certainly wouldn’t encouraged to do so again by the bitter and twisted attack dweebs who dominate threads here.
Ardern and Davis have given the first sign in a decade that Labour may be able to climb back into prominence again. But it looks like they will struggle to get any help here with so much toxic self destruction further to the left going on.
If Labour supporters (and anyone genuinely wanting a change of government) want to do something positive to rebuild the party they should stand up more to the crap perpetuated by a few spoilers here.
No. It wasn’t.
Yes dear
thanks pete this is my response on the other thread
“This has been a toxic, small minded, dirty unwelcoming place.”
Is someone forcing your arm up your back and making you post anti left attack comments? No I didn’t think so – that’s all your own work peter – you’ve always been a moaner-fabricator since you started posting way back when you were a United Candidate for parliament. You haven’t changed one bit.
The Standard is a broad left wing space; it’s only to be expected that right wingers will face a headwind. We aren’t here to make it easy for their argument, nor let them derail what is important to us. And if they argue in bad faith or blatantly troll they routinely get hammered by moderation.
But without asking anyone to agree with PG’s style, his sometimes irritating passive-aggressiveness, or any of his political ideas … on this he has a point. There is really no justification for the snide mockery, reflexive hostility and mobbing that is too often dumped on anyone deemed ‘outsider’.
Only a fool counsels perfection; we’ll all fall short of ideal from time to time. But it’s plain that a handful of individuals are taking pleasure in baiting and abusing ‘non-lefties’, and getting away with it because their politics are so pure.
Well that just doesn’t stack up. You cannot demand justice, equity and fairness from others, while dishing out abuse yourself.
“But it’s plain that a handful of individuals are taking pleasure in baiting and abusing outsiders and getting away with it because their politics are so pure.”
I call rubbish on that. You have always pushed that line even after it has been disproved time and time again. sad.
Yes dear.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06082017/#comment-1363452
means nothing – your point is?
“his sometimes irritating passive-aggressiveness”
sometimes!
SOMETIMES????
We’re getting squabbly-as here – let’s blame Pete for that and move on to more productive pastures. Pete’s on holiday, The Greens are polling strongly, Jacinda’s leading Labour and Paula’s been assigned as advance guard for the attack – things are looking relentlessly positive! All we need now is for Todd Barclay to call on Metiria to resign.
No. It wasn’t.
Pete gearing up his arch-trollery for the election I see. What a surprise.
From your post:
Your post, your rules obviously, but that seems a bit contradictory. As does your comment here.
[1 week ban. I don’t care how carefully you couch your trolling, you don’t get to criticise this author – weka]
Weka – Please be kind, the upcoming election needs a climate of understanding, building bridges and above all – finding common ground. We all have different views on different things. What is it that a social democrat would support in every situation?
Pete gets moderated for his behaviour not his views, as beigely abhorrent as they are. There’s lots of people I disagree with here who have different views, but 95% of the comments don’t even come close to touching my moderator radar.
Like all skilled trolls, Pete mixes together his trolling with his other commentary to make it seem more reasonable. I don’t have too much of a problem with people learning how to skate just under the moderation radar if they can be a net benefit to the site, but the load on moderators is getting higher the closer we get to the election (plus the post-election period is likely to be intense). I’d rather be writing posts or having fun, so there’s less leeway atm. If it makes my job easier to take out a known troll whose been banned multiple times before, and do that early in the day before he gets going, then that’s what I will do.
Besides, I was kind, he only got banned for a week (I was going to make it two then I halved it) 🙂
I thought your giving ol’ Pet the heave-ho was elegant, weka. I cried no tears at all.
Hi Weka, fair enough, I did not question your judgement just wondered about why. As an sometimes visitor to this site I saw nothing offensive per se’ but I would certainly ask why Pete would think that people on this site will shoot down others. Perhaps I am not seeing what others see.
Thank you for your response.
PG has a long history of boring the crap out of us with his presence of being even handed. When he is an authoritarian follower of the establishment.
You know when the thugs render their victim unconscious with a chloroform-soaked rag? Pete.
(And I reckon you meant “pretense”, KJT 🙂
Yes
In fairness to everyone concerned, I have to ask: is one week long enough? Seriously, that’s only 7 days.
🙂
That said, look what Pete said in the comments section of his own blog in response to disbelief at Jacinda’s popularity…(go figure!)
““Keep ignoring a phenomenon that is unfolding at your (or National’s) peril.
Unless the current momentum is changed the it looks likely the polling question will be how far into the 30s Labour rise to, and whether National can stay out of the 30s.”
“I’m not ‘buying into the hype’, I’m observing it. I haven’t seen anything like this sort of transformation before, nor this sort of excitement for a campaign before.
It’s happening. Don’t blame me for reporting it.”
“You’re failing to see the facts.
There is a very different vibe coming from the Labour and National camps. You try to talk it away as much as you like but it won’t make it disappear.
National have a major challenge to compete, and they are showing no sign of stepping up yet.
There’s seven weeks to go and things could still change dramatically again, but Labour have little to lose and a lot to gain, if National keep doing little they could lose.”
“Labour appear to have been forced into a very risky leader change but so far it has worked far better than anyone could have predicted.
But how things works is well known by campaign teams. If National don’t find a way of combating Labour’s momentum they could be in trouble.”
Thanks weka. I always scroll down past his comments. He is so fucking boring.
Well said, very concise.
arch-trollery.
Yup. That seems to be the most likely reason for pete doubling-down on a response to a statement that marty mars had already apologised for in the original comment.
A welcome switch to more positive politics:
Not just Labour, we will all benefit by a more positive approach to politics. I hope some of Ardern’s positivity rubs off on others.
RadioLive, in two minutes time, talking (positively) about what to plant in the almost-Spring vegetable garden.
What are you planting down south Robert?
Apple trees right now, but in the annual vegetables gardens; garlic and shallots are up and growing, peas and broad beans going in to trays in the glasshouse, bok choy and kale as seedlings into the open garden and pumpkins and corn into pottles for the warm window-sills inside of the house. It has been frrrrosty down here all week, though the coming 5 days are to be very warm by comparison, so those seeds will take off. Most of my garden work around now is propagating: cuttings and division of rhizomes and roots; horseradish, mints, elecampane, cardoon etc. I’m still cracking, soaking and planting-out hazelnuts, peach stones and almonds, en mass, preparing for the expansion of my orchard out into the whole wide world 🙂
Do you wait for last frost to plant out the broad beans, or just more warm days?
I’ve had some in for a while now; they don’t care about frosts. Don’t leave them too late.
I’ve posted two pretty photos on my blog; one scene from last evening and one from this morning. Someone might enjoy seeing them.
https://robertguyton.blogspot.co.nz/2017/08/evening-and-morning.html
Nice pics Robert (4). Thanks for sharing. Like to see more of the same posted.
Now I am going to pick your brains. In October we are moving south to central Otago (Cromwell to be exact) from Auckland and want to know what and what does not grow re vegetables. We have always had a productive vegetable garden in Auckland and would like to continue the same if we can at our southern home. Always had silverbeet, broccoli, pumpkins, green beans, bok choy, tomatoes as well as a varied herb garden. Have had conflicting opinions, telling us we can grow this, but can’t grow that, then told something else!
I’d appreciate what we are able to grow in the southern climate please if you don’t mind.
Cheers
Mary
The thing about Central is the late and early frosts. Put in a glasshouse and learn your microclimates. Lots of old school gardeners in that area who will give you very localised gardening advice. I have friends in various parts of Central who grow all the things you name, but opinions will vary on how long you can extend the growing season.
Better yet, plant a food forest 😀
Hi Mary
The best investment you could make would be to buy a Star Garden Guide; they’ve just been reprinted from the original which was composed as a serial for the Star Newspaper back in the day by a gardener who knew his onions. It isn’t “organics-only” as I would wish, but very sound in its recommendations for what and when to plant. As well, you should/could subscribe to the NZ Gardener magazine and read their regular column from their man in Southland 🙂 Great pics accompanying that column as well. Also, there’s Get Growing, on-line, written, every third week, by that same gardener. In a nutshell, though, you’ll be able to grow everything you listed. Lots of sunshine in Cromwell. The soil will be different from what you’re accustomed to though.
Weka (4.1.1) & Robert Guyton (4.1.2) … hey thanks for the useful info. Much appreciated.
It’s going to be a whole new ball game for us. However I look forward to some productive gardening in central Otago in the very near future 🙂
Listened to Chris Martenson’s Peak Prosperity weekly news update.
Summary: talking about the loss of biodiversity in Maine or as Chris puts it watching life ebb away; also comments on the ongoing rallies in the stock market.
Oh it is election season. Waking up on a sunday morning to the sound of case fans winding up as the load goes on the server..
Well you can see the last 30 days yourself.
Updated:
Looks like the same at The Daily Blog as well at about half magnitude.
I notice it in the number of comments already on TS by the time I get up in the morning. Or the numbers commenting on Daily Review in the evenings.
Oh yeah. During election season, we get more comments. The average comment size get larger as well. While there are a lot of short comments especially when the trolls reappear, everyone else seems to start writing small essays as a counterpoint.
Bit depressing seeing those outages due to cutouts in the CPUs protecting themselves from overheating kicking in on the early part of the month. 4th-12th on this chart. Especially on midweek on 9th when it was down for quite a few hours.
I had to do some shuffling of the machines and refitting of fans on the Saturday 12th. And again last weekend. It had a brief midday outage during the spike, and I had to tweak the fancontrol parameters again.
I really need to write a proper hysteresis routine for them so I can get a better balance between the noise of the fans in my quiet apartment (especially at night) and the need to stop the CPUs cutting off the system to protect themselves.
What was the 40K spike about?
That was the Labour leader roll(over) of Little and its subsequent election of Jacinda at the start of the week.
Ah you’re becoming a hardened election season moderator. On the weekend it is very hard to remember the start of the week.
https://thestandard.org.nz/page/2/ look down until you see “Labour leadership meeting”.
The 33k the day before was started with your “This is no ordinary election (f*ck the polls)” about the poll with the greens rise and Metiria’s aftershocks.
You should be able to see that google analytics on the dashboard – look under screen options if you can’t
More on RNZ using Hooton as a commenter, and Hooton’s lie about Helen Clark.
https://twitter.com/Zagzigger2/status/893710919317954560
And Mediawatch – having a go at our short supply of long term professional pundits, from Trotter to Hooton – but special scathing mentions of Mike Hosking’s assembly line of reckons.
More diversity indeed … when all of them are white, middle-class, males.
That’s a hard listen for all the Hosking audio 😉
Sir John Key: “Helen abolished knighthoods, I reinstalled them”.
ABC interview 30th July 2017
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayextra/2017-07-30/8749862?utm_source=sfmc
I’d like to comment in the post Lefties on The Standard but I’m unsure about the criteria for participation.
The manoeuvring (incl. MOU) and rhetoric in the next 7 weeks will be aimed at changing the government in the first instance. Paradoxically, in my view, this muddies the more important overarching debate which is how we should move forward in this country and our society. This debate needs to be inclusive and balanced as possible and not hijacked & polarised as is usually the case.
What was unclear about the criteria?
(you’re LW as far as I can tell, so go for it).
Hi weka,
I tend to overthink things – an understatement.
There are two questions related to the criteria as set out:
1) Can I personally adhere to and meet these? In my own eyes rather than in your eyes, for example, if that makes any sense? I don’t think we need to dwell on this here as it is obviously personal.
2) I am not so comfortable, for want of a better word, with the label “left wing” and its associated narrative of (political) dualism. Hence my comment re. being inclusive but it goes deeper than that.
I realise it is an experiment here on TS and I think it is great to try new ways to move things forward. I am also hanging out for real constructive debate; it is rare, fragile, and too easily killed off – a bit like the flightless bird that is our national symbol. Maybe you’re right that it needs to start off in an enclosed and well-protected environment but how & when do we proceed with the ‘release into the wild’? BTW, I believe there have been (other) calls for a left wing ‘think tank’.
Lastly, and perhaps paradoxically, I take your comment as a compliment 🙂
Would progressive rather than, or in addition to, left wing have made a difference?
No, not really, sorry.
44 south also mentioned that labels do not represent people very well https://thestandard.org.nz/lefties-on-the-standard/#comment-1363547 and I relate to this in ways that confuse me no end – does the label conform to the person or the other way round or both (or neither)?
Lately, I’ve been reading the comments by Carolyn_nth with great interest, e.g. this one referring to Sue Bradford https://thestandard.org.nz/messages-for-the-left/#comment-1363782
The thing is we’re aiming for a better future although it remains poorly described. In my view, it will have to be radically different from status quo and thus it cannot be adequately described or defined (‘captured’) with current terminology and it most certainly cannot and won’t fit within the current dominant narratives – the future is open-ended and the associated language and meaning has yet to be developed or evolve.
A longwinded explanation which in no way detracts from your stellar efforts here on TS – I really mean this.
Does that mean there is no way for you to take part in the conversation in the other thread? Seems odd to let semantics deter good discussion. ‘Left wing’ is a just a shorthand to make my job as moderator easier.
I was thinking along similar lines.
If in doubt – try http://www.politicalcompass.org
And yes, these one size fits all “what’s your political bent” are a bit trite – but interesting..
For what it’s worth – I’m bang in the middle of the square of “libertarian/left”. So I suppose that does make me left? – although I have voted national in the past 🙂
Yes, that makes you left 😉
You too, Labour.
MSM and modern technology tend to magnify & amplify all sorts of happenings, good and bad. This almost always comes at the expense of balance and context.
Recently, we have heard a few personal revelations (‘confessions’) and seen a few actions (‘sacrifices’) by politicians. Indeed, these were showing honesty & integrity. However, MSM and others have taken them out of proportion and used them to polarise opinion – the modus operandi of some; some claimed to have seen an Angel while others saw the Devil incarnate (Fallen Angel). There has never been a more powerful narrative and human construct than Good vs. Evil.
I think it’s quite telling that we appear to be so excited, surprised even, when moral virtues and positive values are on display. Why is this? We all value honesty & integrity and we all make personal sacrifices on a daily basis without giving it much thought, it seems.
I think it is time to recalibrate our expectations and corresponding judgements (!) of ourselves as well as of others and reaffirm the values we stand for. With the influence of (organised) religion waning in our society we should not lose sight of the whole of the value system that underpinned it – we cannot deny who we are. Similarly, the role of (moral) authority is disappearing and we now need to look at and in ourselves for guidance and direction.
Agreed. And with love getting a fresh airing by principals as schools grapple with student depression and suicide we are reminded that there are some simple qualities which if neglected leave us poorer regardless of external stimuli. Wordsworth knew about them when he wrote …..
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
Most interesting and very apt, thank you.
My meandering monkey mind let me to search on Wordsworth & Buddhism and that unearthed a ‘treasure trove’.
I guess this might feel far-removed from current electioneering and reading of political ‘tea leaves’.
Increases in suicide and depression are clear signs that we’re heading down the wrong path and it is really good to hear that people are aware of this and doing something about it.
Sunday reading from The Grauniad:
Globalisation: the rise and fall of an idea that swept the world
It’s not just a populist backlash – many economists who once swore by free trade have changed their minds, too. How had they got it so wrong? By Nikil Saval
Text version:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/14/globalisation-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-idea-that-swept-the-world
Podcast version:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2017/jul/31/globalisation-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-idea-that-swept-the-world-podcast
A bit of history of Populism on Melvyn Bragg’s excellent In Our Time
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss what, in C19th America’s Gilded Age, was one of the most significant protest movements since the Civil War with repercussions well into C20th. Farmers in the South and Midwest felt ignored by the urban and industrial elites who were thriving as the farmers suffered droughts and low prices. The farmers were politically and physically isolated. As one man wrote on his abandoned farm, ‘two hundred and fifty miles to the nearest post office, one hundred miles to wood, twenty miles to water, six inches to Hell’. They formed the Populist or People’s Party to fight their cause, put up candidates for President, won several states and influenced policies. In the South, though, their appeal to black farmers stimulated their political rivals to suppress the black vote for decades and set black and poor white farmers against each other, tightening segregation. Aspects of the Populists ideas re-emerged effectively in Roosevelt’s New Deal, even if they are mainly remembered now, if at all, thanks to allegorical references in The Wizard of Oz.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08tbf4g
Least we forget:
Today is Hiroshima Day
Spare a thought for the 140,000 innocent people who were killed in a moment of madness.
And wonder at the continued madness of the threat of it happening again.
A peppercorn.
.
In an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, author Eric Schlosser explains just how inefficient this early nuclear bomb was (skip to 11:13 in the recording).
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/09/less-than-two-percent-of-the-hiroshima-bombs-uranium-actually-detonated/
72 years ago.
Today marks the anniversary of the first use of nuclear weapons – the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima by the United States, the only country in the world to ever use nuclear weapons (and on civilian targets). It’s also no coincidence that the atomic bomb was used on Japan and not Germany:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/the-pacific-war-racism-and-hiroshima/
“It’s also no coincidence that the atomic bomb was used on Japan and not Germany”
It is probably also not a coincidence that the first atom bomb was not completed until AFTER the German state had been defeated and they had surrendered.
Just how could they have dropped a bomb that they didn’t actually have on Germany?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_%28nuclear_test%29
Yes, Germany surrendered in May, and the first bomb was exploded in the Nevada desert in July… Bit of a problem there, PF
Unintended consequences of highly liberal marijuana laws; Marijuana company buys an entire Californian town. I’m sure it happens in Mexico regularly enough, but I’m not sure even Rothmans got that far with taking an entire town.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marijuana-company-buys-nipton-california_us_5985e9bce4b041356ec00bbd?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
American Green will spend some $2.5 million in the next 18 months to rebuild Nipton into a stoner’s paradise, according to the company’s release. It plans to expand on the town’s small solar farm and aims to add “CBD and mineral baths, cannabis-product retail outposts, artists-in-residence programs, culinary events, and Bed-and-Breakfast lodging to complete the charming small town experience.”
Clearly the price was not too high.
Dunno if that’s an unintended consequence, really. It’s hardly unheard of in the US for a company to own a town – Disney has at least one community, and coal and steel companies occasionally owned the towns their workers lived in. Tennessee Ernie Ford sung about it.
Did my ears deceive me, did Jessica Mutch on todays Q and A really say in response to kelvin Davis and his criticism of national party hacks “On behalf of the National Party thats a bit unfair” her impartiality is transparent.
The panel was also slanted to the right, and pretty anti-Green Party generally.
Mike Williams said he was opposed to Turei’s old electorate enrollment thing because too many people had been doing that to gain extra votes in marginal electorates – but that’s totally not what Turei did.
Live Green Party environment Q & A between James Shaw and Jeanette Fitzimmons on FB 6.30pm tonight.
https://www.facebook.com/nzgreenparty/posts/10154615034241372:0
Great to see Fitzsimons stepping up at a crucial point. I’ve often seen her on demonstrations in Auckland in recent times – still an activist. She mentored Turei initially, as I recall, when Turei became an MP.
did u no that if you are classed as Maori and have a criminal record you are not human because that is the way im being treated i tried dairyfarming for 13 years 11 years ago i was assitant manager on a 5000 cow farm we had 18 workers whom have all been displaced by imagrints i managed a farm for one farmer he had 7 workers on 4 farms they have all been repalaced by imagrints these farmers have no compasion for there workers as when you dairyfarm it is more than just a job if they fire you once calfing is over you have to move house iv had the cops called on me twice the first one lied and said i assalted them i went to court the judge was trying to encrouge me to plead gilty even my lawyer was not much help he did not encrouge me to plead not gilty cant have a europeen farmer to look like a lier i pleaeded not gilty i got off next time i was managing the worest farm in nz i was desperate for a job and house as my last boss hired imergrints i took the job the effluent system was a joke the cows were conditishon score av of 2 no shit she had taranaki gates the water was fucked i worked from dawn till dusk for 3 months to fix every thing up ie power the gates as a hungry cows were running the farm free range this farm is right next to the waikato river with a effluent system that was a joke fonterra new about farm because her partner worked for them after 3 months me and my son got the grass cover up to 2500 avrege the production was up 100% no lie my wife was razing the calfs she is a perfectionist healthy well looked after calfs the owner brought some of her calfs to my wifes calf shed they had scoures made my wifes calf sick they had a diseragrement she sacked us me my wife and 2 sons were working for her i was past the ninty day trial she still sacked me my wife did not get payed one of my sons did not get payed my daugter to she owed us all about 8 k i wondered why she had no numbers on her mail box this is why because when we went to the employment courts we could not get any thing trough becaues no one could find her to serve her the documents she was trained by the cop freind that she rang to kick us out of the house lucky my wife was there he jumped out of the cop car as if he was going to asalt me he yelled that we have been fired and had to leave imediately i replied that the house was like a rental an in the contrack we had 2 weeks to move it was dusk he backed off and went away i made a complaint the officer said that wallies had been in trouble before while we were moving to my daugthers house i got a ticket on a road were userly there are no cops he was waiting in the dark i tought nothing of it at the time but now it all ads up i went to wellington to work for Downers after 3 months on a loliepop sign i failed a drug test because i had started smoking weed agian because i was depressted i went to stay with my daugther i got a job relife managing for the first 2 weeks everything was good they liked my work cell count coming down treating lame cows ect one afternoon as i was driveing to work i noticed some guy pretending to read a paper in the boss driveway with a good view of the shed the cops think everyone has no brain the next day everyone was atcaing weard in the end they looked like i was the deviel 2 days before i was offered a full time job manageing a other farm they owned but not any more i notice that i allways had someone following me the police have told lies about me to all the farmers on kokako rd about me son boss acting strange i brought a lawn run in tauranga the cops have contacted all my clints lied to them i emailed the IPCA one of my clints is a judge after three weeks i asked if he could help me he said he would the next week he asked me if i had been arested yet no i said i made a complaint to the IPCA he looked into it the IPCA took up the case but 1 week later the judge said that i was just the lawn man nothing else you and your drugs. the police have put a spin on this the judge dismessed my services 3 weeks ago for no reason the police have lied to allmy nabours my bank staff acountant ect that is why i say if you are maori you have no human rights
the police are harressing me they are using bulling tackticks and have not aressted me there evdince is all lies they are not use to people with a brain
it is all true a personal vandeter from a bad cop from Tokoroa
you no what they say a cop has impunity to do anything and the justice system is more worried about the polices image can not have the public no some cops are bad he trained the farm owner to avoied the employment law i tried to get a lawyer to sue for my human rights 4 times first interview they are going to help next they wont anser my call so i use a unlisted number and they anser and clam up
The cops name was not Wallies his name is Dickson just checked email that we sent in
a complaint and the farm is just out of Whakamaru The owner is Colleen Conolly her partner was Jamie Hovind. Never work for these muppets