They say that the best test of a person’s leadership capabilities is to put them in a crisis and see how they respond and yesterday in Parliament provided a good opportunity to see Goff’s and Key’s responses to a crisis.
Goff was superb. His speech given immediately after the incident was one of the best I have seen. He showed passion, grit and determination and the ability to react and think on his feet even after being confronted by a potential tragedy.
Key’s response showed the real Key. He lashed out at Labour, accusing them of something they clearly were not responsible for, made a gesture some have been arrested for and then slunk in his seat when he realised what he had done.
Over the past two years Goff has been hammered by the forces of the right, by the media and a meme has been constructed that he is not leadership material. This attack has worked well, the population at large are indifferent to him and even amongst the ranks of the left he is treated with caution.
But I believe yesterday should be a reason for all of us to reflect on this. Goff is the real deal, compassionate, determined and capable. Key is anything but.
This country needs a left coalition to kick this rabble out. Whatever your political flavor be it Green, Mana or Labour get out there and campaign for votes and get people enrolled. Because this country needs Goff and not Key.
Treasury is defending its use of 200 consultants at a cost of more than $13 million while advising the Government to trim the ranks of the public service.
The five-page list of consultants is a who’s who of Wellington’s legal, accounting, academic, public relations and consulting elite – and also includes former public service chief executives and Treasury staffers contracting back to the organisation.
[…]
The Green Party, which obtained the figures, said Treasury had spent an average $6.6m a year on external consultants in the first two years of the National Government – more than double the average annual spend under the previous Labour Government.
Treasury Taking us to the cleaners.Thats probably what Key is going to do with the cleaners sack them then bring them back on contract so he can say they don’t need a pay rise.
Betcha the charge-out rates of those consultants are completely obscene too. Bloody all cosy in the Wellington zone. Are any of them charging as little as $100/hour? Betcha not. $200? $400? $800?
How much are these cok-suckers paid? Wankers. Being paid for out of the taxes paid by those on rates like $15 to $45 per hour… No wonder people are jumping into the public gallery at Parliament.
Wellington of course is the highest paid town in the country and it is completely undeserved. The only reason is because that is where the rules are made. Obscene.
If the consultants are salaried and a lot of them probably are, then they wouldn’t even be getting that money themselves.
Admittedly the companies they work for will probably have expensive overheads too, like swanky offices in the central city. But really the owners of the business will be the ones that are creaming it.
The ‘rebel’s who have overthrown Gaddafi in Libya would have to be the cleanest and tidiest soldiers I have ever seen. Every single time they have been in photos or on the tele they have had clean shirts and pants, nice caps, good boots, sometimes stuff has even been ironed. No dust or dirt anywhere, no ripped clothing, no broken things.
Yes, it happens but one example in how many? And, no matter how much you try, this can’t be linked to climate change as the evidence still supports the theory that we’re causing it.
wow draco, proving how stupid you are while trying to be smart. Trust an idiot such as yourself to miss the subtle intellectual point of my comment. between the voice of reason, felix and yourself , intelligence is a scarce resource
TR our govt has just spent $36 million on research to find out the results back 98% of all other science based research.Its not like Chicago school economics or corrupt Catholic based propaganda .No wonder your so gullible no doubt your heroes are Palin and McCarthy 50s version of palin Roger Kerr our version .You would be better of in Galileo time Newton ex cetera where science was denied and the majority of people believed in fairy stories like the ones you believe in.Yeah apples don’t fall from treas the world is still flat and you are just plain stupid.
(9.30 am our time)Starting at 4:30 p.m., Occupy Wall Street protesters will be joined by tens of thousands of students, transit and city workers, teachers, and other union officials for a march from City Hall to the Financial District. Unlike last Saturday’s tense confrontations between protesters and police on the Brooklyn Bridge, organizers have gotten an event permit for today’s activities from the NYPD, according to the Journal, so it is expected to go a lot smoother than last weekend. But with more than 3,000 people expected to show up, it’s anyone’s guess how things will actually go. You can watch the live stream below, and we’ll update this post as the day progresses.
Moore: “They’re kleptomaniacs, is what they are. They’re out of control. I think there is some sort of sociopathic illness and they know what us to life in a kleptocracy. Where the kleptomaniacs run the show.
Today – Thursday 6 October 2011 – I’m launching my campaign as an Independent ‘Public Watchdog’ Candidate for Epsom – to help shine a HUGE public spotlight on ‘WHITE COLLAR CRIME’, CORRUPTION (and its root cause – PRIVATISATION) and CORPORATE WELFARE!
Have done the research and have FACTS and EVIDENCE which proves that NZ has endemic ‘grand corruption’ in the form of ‘State Capture’ – where vested corporate interests get their way at the ‘policy’ level before legislation (which serves their interests) is passed.
Have politically explosive findings and solutions for a genuinely ‘open’ ‘transparent’ and accountable NZ – where the public – not corporates – can and should benefit from our public monies, assets and resources.
These, in my view, are the issues which should politically help to set this election alight! (As it were 🙂 In my considered opinion, John Key and National /ACT are VERY politically vulnerable on the issues privatisation, corruption and ‘white collar’ crime…..
WHEN?
KICK OFF! TODAY Thursday 6 October.
TIME?: 2 – 4pm
WHERE? Auckland Horticulture Centre 990 Great North Rd Western Springs!
If you can make it – I think you’ll enjoy it! 🙂
(It will be filmed and You Tube clips will be made covering the ‘KEY’ points.)
Penny Bright
Media Spokesperson
Auckland Water Pressure Group
Judicially-recognised Public Watchdog on Metrowater, water and Auckland regional governance matters.
‘Anti-corruption’ campaigner.
Attendee: Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference 2009.
Attendee: Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference 2010
It seems all New Zealand Politicial parties are still some what bigoted against Gay people, when the parties were asked about their polices on gay Adoption and Gay Marriage, instead of doing the right thing and saying, “Yes we believe that gay people should have the legal right to adopt and get married, the parties mostly came up with these bs answers.
I guess all parties are trying not to lose the votes of their bigoted supporters.
Here are the parties statements, this has been posted on another blog.
ACT – ACT supports ending the discrimination same sex couples face when trying to adopt a child. The Adoption Act 1955 is out-dated and the criteria for adoption should focus on how fit a person or people are to be parents, not their sexual orientation.
Labour – Labour believes that the current adoption laws are antiquated and discriminatory, which need to be modernised and updated. The current Act fails to take into account the number of legislative changes introduced over the past decade areas such as assisted reproduction technology, surrogacy and the legal status of de facto relationships and civil unions. A Labour-led government will enact legislation that will require the Law Commission to review and update adoption law to better reflect modern New Zealand. Labour has already drafted and tabled a Bill to give effect to this.
Maori Party – If there is a need for children to be cared for we believe strongly that whānau, regardless of sexual orientation, must be encouraged to care for these children within the family.
Greens – The Green Party’s policy on this is that parenting skills are distinct from sexual orientation or gender identity. We support equal criteria for both ‘rainbow’ and heterosexual couples in their assessment for suitability and eligibility for parenting. Spokesperson Kevin Hague has formed and convenes a cross party group to reform adoption law.
National
We are aware of issue with the Adoption Act. It’s an old piece of legislation and has been identified as an area for potential review. We are currently running a very full justice agenda focused on making New Zealand safer, putting more police on our streets, and reducing crime. In the context of the current economic environment reform of adoption laws is not a priority for the Government.
Gay Marriage
Labour – Our initial focus has been to ensure that existing rights under marriage should also extend to civil unions, and we will complete that work. But Labour believes in formal equality before the law for people in any relationship status, including marriage.
Greens – The Green Party strongly supports full equality and believes that this will eventually be achieved either through the amendment of the Marriage Act to include us, or through the repeal of the Marriage Act (which would leave civil unions as the method by which the state formally recognises relationships, and marriage as a purely religious institution).
ACT – To be clear now, I should have voted in favour of the Bill in all its stages. I admit I don’t understand why, having legalised civil unions between two people, irrespective of their gender, there is still pressure to provide for same sex ‘marriage’. In the English language I have always understood ‘marriage’ to be between a man and a woman.
National – In the context of the current economic environment and our strong focus on providing stability, reducing debt, and returning to surplus by 2014 the government currently has no plans to amend the Marriage Act.
“We support equal criteria for both ‘rainbow’ and heterosexual couples in their assessment for suitability and eligibility for parenting.”
Personally I find the term ‘rainbow’, especially in quotes like that, as somewhat offensive.
Of all of the answers, I find only National’s to be particularly contemptible in that they deliberately avoid actually stating their stance on either issue, once again using the global financial situation as a shield to hide behind. I don’t agree with ACT’s second position, but at least they had the balls to say it.
Dont know why we need a ‘Marriage Act’. Civil unions can take care of the legal/tax/benefit side while Marriage can be something that 2 people can pursue on their own terms.
Yes, I am talking about the deregulation of marriage.
I think that the reporter is using median there when they should be using average. There’s no way that the median wage equals the average wage and yet that is what is being reported.
That sentiment does show up in the opinion polls with roughly one in four voters blaming Key and National for society’s problems. Unhappy people are more likely to comment on a stuff story than a higly paid Tories.
We just need to increase that ratio to get rid of them.
Steve Jobs who has died aged 56 following a long battle with pancreatic cancer, made an unprecedented impact on the world’s consumer electronics markets with a string of hit products, including the iPod media player, iPhone smartphone and iPad tablet computer. In little over a decade, he took Apple – the company he co-founded in 1976 – from near-bankruptcy to being the world’s second most valuable company by market capitalisation, after the oil giant Exxon, with more than $50bn in the bank.
Who would you like to replace Mark Weldon as head of the NZX?
* Dan Carter
* John Key
* Theresa Gattung
* Bernie Madoff
* Gareth Morgan
* Paul Reynolds
I love quips. What a good way to break a smile and a chuckle when there are so many sombre things around us. Quentin Crisp seemed a very quirky chap 1908-1999. I like this one of his I’ve come across.
Never try to keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level. It’s cheaper that way.
A desperate man will grasp at any straw. Nice to see him at his ‘best’ in the chamber after being called out by Goff. Yep Scumbag my vote too. Key’s Expression said it all.
Nice one bored. the whole world has turned into jerkeys photo op. Why dont they fly him out to the wrecked container ship inTauranga harbour and keep him there till it sinks.
Seems the Tauranga oil spill is worse than originally envisaged.
Get a taste, everybody, of the risks of NACT’s deepwater oil exploration bonanza. Plus fracking – hey, let’s inject some poisonous chemicals into the land!
One part of the fuel ship is buried in the reef and the other in deep water. It sounds as if the ship ran aground on the reef. Late at night. Was anyone awake monitoring the controls or was the ship on fly-by-wire? Comments are that no-one understands how it happened. Too late, the damage is done whether understood or not.
What we need to understand is that high-tech solutions for demanding projects in difficult sites can not be guaranteed 100% to prevent disasters that may change the local environment for ever, and kill off food sources the world is dependent on. Even making nutritious-like food substitutes from oil aren’t going to fill our bellies. Resigned withdrawing from such projects is the new way forward for thinking power brokers.
That’s funny. Went to listen on Radio replay, to Bomber Bradbury on the Panel after mike e said about the free expression of Bomber, but there is no Part 2. Does that mean that it has been censored off air? Surely not? Jim? Will write to them and ask why not.
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
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The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. 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 economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – 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 ...
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Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
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 ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
They say that the best test of a person’s leadership capabilities is to put them in a crisis and see how they respond and yesterday in Parliament provided a good opportunity to see Goff’s and Key’s responses to a crisis.
Goff was superb. His speech given immediately after the incident was one of the best I have seen. He showed passion, grit and determination and the ability to react and think on his feet even after being confronted by a potential tragedy.
Key’s response showed the real Key. He lashed out at Labour, accusing them of something they clearly were not responsible for, made a gesture some have been arrested for and then slunk in his seat when he realised what he had done.
Over the past two years Goff has been hammered by the forces of the right, by the media and a meme has been constructed that he is not leadership material. This attack has worked well, the population at large are indifferent to him and even amongst the ranks of the left he is treated with caution.
But I believe yesterday should be a reason for all of us to reflect on this. Goff is the real deal, compassionate, determined and capable. Key is anything but.
This country needs a left coalition to kick this rabble out. Whatever your political flavor be it Green, Mana or Labour get out there and campaign for votes and get people enrolled. Because this country needs Goff and not Key.
Well said micky.
jacking it to the labour party election material again micky? you’re worse than a 13 year old boy with the farmers lingerie catalogue
Cripes, tightyrighty, better loosen the tie there. Are you saying that farmers wear lingerie?
No, I think they buy it for their sheep.
(sorry just had to type that..)
If they are women farmers they would, and men farmers may buy lingerie for the woman farmer they are married to. If they are lucky women.
Labour Entirely To Blame For Everything Bad John Key Says And Does
That’s a laugh!
Good start to the day. My immediate reaction – how long before Key folds? He isn’t a PM, more like a pushover.
😀
The government has been focused on cutting public service spending, yet has had a budget blow-out on spending on Treasury consultants:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5739634/Treasury-defends-13m-consultants-bill
Cuts for you, but not for them.
Treasury Taking us to the cleaners.Thats probably what Key is going to do with the cleaners sack them then bring them back on contract so he can say they don’t need a pay rise.
Betcha the charge-out rates of those consultants are completely obscene too. Bloody all cosy in the Wellington zone. Are any of them charging as little as $100/hour? Betcha not. $200? $400? $800?
How much are these cok-suckers paid? Wankers. Being paid for out of the taxes paid by those on rates like $15 to $45 per hour… No wonder people are jumping into the public gallery at Parliament.
Wellington of course is the highest paid town in the country and it is completely undeserved. The only reason is because that is where the rules are made. Obscene.
Oh hell yeah, it’ll be far above what it would cost to just have them permanently hired on a salary.
If the consultants are salaried and a lot of them probably are, then they wouldn’t even be getting that money themselves.
Admittedly the companies they work for will probably have expensive overheads too, like swanky offices in the central city. But really the owners of the business will be the ones that are creaming it.
The ‘rebel’s who have overthrown Gaddafi in Libya would have to be the cleanest and tidiest soldiers I have ever seen. Every single time they have been in photos or on the tele they have had clean shirts and pants, nice caps, good boots, sometimes stuff has even been ironed. No dust or dirt anywhere, no ripped clothing, no broken things.
It has been very strange.
Who’d believe it? people believing the science is settled calling people believing in opposing theories names and questioning their credibility.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/5741262/Vindicated-Ridiculed-Israeli-scientist-wins-Nobel
Yes, it happens but one example in how many? And, no matter how much you try, this can’t be linked to climate change as the evidence still supports the theory that we’re causing it.
wow draco, proving how stupid you are while trying to be smart. Trust an idiot such as yourself to miss the subtle intellectual point of my comment. between the voice of reason, felix and yourself , intelligence is a scarce resource
wow, tr manages to respond by saying…
nothing at all.
I feel so … validated.
TR our govt has just spent $36 million on research to find out the results back 98% of all other science based research.Its not like Chicago school economics or corrupt Catholic based propaganda .No wonder your so gullible no doubt your heroes are Palin and McCarthy 50s version of palin Roger Kerr our version .You would be better of in Galileo time Newton ex cetera where science was denied and the majority of people believed in fairy stories like the ones you believe in.Yeah apples don’t fall from treas the world is still flat and you are just plain stupid.
Visualised, The Denier Industrial Complex
Streaming live.
http://gothamist.com/2011/10/05/live_video_stream_occupy_wall_stree.php
(9.30 am our time) Starting at 4:30 p.m., Occupy Wall Street protesters will be joined by tens of thousands of students, transit and city workers, teachers, and other union officials for a march from City Hall to the Financial District. Unlike last Saturday’s tense confrontations between protesters and police on the Brooklyn Bridge, organizers have gotten an event permit for today’s activities from the NYPD, according to the Journal, so it is expected to go a lot smoother than last weekend. But with more than 3,000 people expected to show up, it’s anyone’s guess how things will actually go. You can watch the live stream below, and we’ll update this post as the day progresses.
another wall St feed for y’all
http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution
Moore:
“They’re kleptomaniacs, is what they are. They’re out of control. I think there is some sort of sociopathic illness and they know what us to life in a kleptocracy. Where the kleptomaniacs run the show.
Would you like to know what OccupyWallSt wants to say to you but the MSM are too far gone to bother, get the reports from the source
http://www.scribd.com/doc/67436424/Occupied-Wsj
Today – Thursday 6 October 2011 – I’m launching my campaign as an Independent ‘Public Watchdog’ Candidate for Epsom – to help shine a HUGE public spotlight on ‘WHITE COLLAR CRIME’, CORRUPTION (and its root cause – PRIVATISATION) and CORPORATE WELFARE!
Have done the research and have FACTS and EVIDENCE which proves that NZ has endemic ‘grand corruption’ in the form of ‘State Capture’ – where vested corporate interests get their way at the ‘policy’ level before legislation (which serves their interests) is passed.
Have politically explosive findings and solutions for a genuinely ‘open’ ‘transparent’ and accountable NZ – where the public – not corporates – can and should benefit from our public monies, assets and resources.
These, in my view, are the issues which should politically help to set this election alight! (As it were 🙂 In my considered opinion, John Key and National /ACT are VERY politically vulnerable on the issues privatisation, corruption and ‘white collar’ crime…..
WHEN?
KICK OFF! TODAY Thursday 6 October.
TIME?: 2 – 4pm
WHERE? Auckland Horticulture Centre 990 Great North Rd Western Springs!
If you can make it – I think you’ll enjoy it! 🙂
(It will be filmed and You Tube clips will be made covering the ‘KEY’ points.)
Penny Bright
Media Spokesperson
Auckland Water Pressure Group
Judicially-recognised Public Watchdog on Metrowater, water and Auckland regional governance matters.
‘Anti-corruption’ campaigner.
Attendee: Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference 2009.
Attendee: Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference 2010
Independent ‘Public Watchdog’
Candidate for Epsom
It seems all New Zealand Politicial parties are still some what bigoted against Gay people, when the parties were asked about their polices on gay Adoption and Gay Marriage, instead of doing the right thing and saying, “Yes we believe that gay people should have the legal right to adopt and get married, the parties mostly came up with these bs answers.
I guess all parties are trying not to lose the votes of their bigoted supporters.
So I see you didn’t read the ACT, maori, or Green answers to the first question.
Or the Green answer to the second.
How to you remember to breathe?
Oh i read it felix, it just seemed to be political talk, why didnt ALL PARTIES just say “Gay people have the right to marry and adopt.”
So you read it but you didn’t understand it.
You must experience human communication in much the same way the Simpsons’ dog does.
Felix
Classy felix.
I understand politicians on all side of the fence, wont do anything to offended the bigots.
Ok Brett, let’s go through them one at a time and we’ll figure out which words you had trouble with. Here’s what you quoted:
Please explain what you think that sentence means, in your own words.
Here are the parties statements, this has been posted on another blog.
ACT – ACT supports ending the discrimination same sex couples face when trying to adopt a child. The Adoption Act 1955 is out-dated and the criteria for adoption should focus on how fit a person or people are to be parents, not their sexual orientation.
Labour – Labour believes that the current adoption laws are antiquated and discriminatory, which need to be modernised and updated. The current Act fails to take into account the number of legislative changes introduced over the past decade areas such as assisted reproduction technology, surrogacy and the legal status of de facto relationships and civil unions. A Labour-led government will enact legislation that will require the Law Commission to review and update adoption law to better reflect modern New Zealand. Labour has already drafted and tabled a Bill to give effect to this.
Maori Party – If there is a need for children to be cared for we believe strongly that whānau, regardless of sexual orientation, must be encouraged to care for these children within the family.
Greens – The Green Party’s policy on this is that parenting skills are distinct from sexual orientation or gender identity. We support equal criteria for both ‘rainbow’ and heterosexual couples in their assessment for suitability and eligibility for parenting. Spokesperson Kevin Hague has formed and convenes a cross party group to reform adoption law.
National
We are aware of issue with the Adoption Act. It’s an old piece of legislation and has been identified as an area for potential review. We are currently running a very full justice agenda focused on making New Zealand safer, putting more police on our streets, and reducing crime. In the context of the current economic environment reform of adoption laws is not a priority for the Government.
Gay Marriage
Labour – Our initial focus has been to ensure that existing rights under marriage should also extend to civil unions, and we will complete that work. But Labour believes in formal equality before the law for people in any relationship status, including marriage.
Greens – The Green Party strongly supports full equality and believes that this will eventually be achieved either through the amendment of the Marriage Act to include us, or through the repeal of the Marriage Act (which would leave civil unions as the method by which the state formally recognises relationships, and marriage as a purely religious institution).
ACT – To be clear now, I should have voted in favour of the Bill in all its stages. I admit I don’t understand why, having legalised civil unions between two people, irrespective of their gender, there is still pressure to provide for same sex ‘marriage’. In the English language I have always understood ‘marriage’ to be between a man and a woman.
National – In the context of the current economic environment and our strong focus on providing stability, reducing debt, and returning to surplus by 2014 the government currently has no plans to amend the Marriage Act.
“We support equal criteria for both ‘rainbow’ and heterosexual couples in their assessment for suitability and eligibility for parenting.”
Personally I find the term ‘rainbow’, especially in quotes like that, as somewhat offensive.
Of all of the answers, I find only National’s to be particularly contemptible in that they deliberately avoid actually stating their stance on either issue, once again using the global financial situation as a shield to hide behind. I don’t agree with ACT’s second position, but at least they had the balls to say it.
Dont know why we need a ‘Marriage Act’. Civil unions can take care of the legal/tax/benefit side while Marriage can be something that 2 people can pursue on their own terms.
Yes, I am talking about the deregulation of marriage.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/5742308/Tiny-gains-in-wage-packets
Of the first 7 comments, 4 are blaming National and Key and another could be making a veiled jab (catching up with Oz).
Why does this sentiment not seem to show up in any of the opinion polls?
I think that the reporter is using median there when they should be using average. There’s no way that the median wage equals the average wage and yet that is what is being reported.
That sentiment does show up in the opinion polls with roughly one in four voters blaming Key and National for society’s problems. Unhappy people are more likely to comment on a stuff story than a higly paid Tories.
We just need to increase that ratio to get rid of them.
Forbes finds NZ second best place in the world to do business.
Translation: second easiest place in the world to fleece the locals.
RIP Steve Jobs
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/06/steve-jobs-obituary
I just logged on to my internet and I was greeted with the news that former Apple CEO Steve Jobs has passed away.
Whatever your views are concerning Apple, I think their can be no denying Jobs’ impact on technology and how people relate to technology.
Vale.
Probably the stupidest poll stuff has ever run:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5741410/NZX-CEO-Mark-Weldon-steps-down
Who would you like to replace Mark Weldon as head of the NZX?
* Dan Carter
* John Key
* Theresa Gattung
* Bernie Madoff
* Gareth Morgan
* Paul Reynolds
I voted Key, of course.
I voted Bernard Madoff. At least then we’d be in no doubt that it was a criminal enterprise.
we should put fay richwhite in
I love quips. What a good way to break a smile and a chuckle when there are so many sombre things around us. Quentin Crisp seemed a very quirky chap 1908-1999. I like this one of his I’ve come across.
Never try to keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level. It’s cheaper that way.
See that evil fucker Keys latest photo op? He will talk at the slain SAS mans funeral.
Scumbag.
A desperate man will grasp at any straw. Nice to see him at his ‘best’ in the chamber after being called out by Goff. Yep Scumbag my vote too. Key’s Expression said it all.
Nice one bored. the whole world has turned into jerkeys photo op. Why dont they fly him out to the wrecked container ship inTauranga harbour and keep him there till it sinks.
http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/
Seems the Tauranga oil spill is worse than originally envisaged.
Get a taste, everybody, of the risks of NACT’s deepwater oil exploration bonanza. Plus fracking – hey, let’s inject some poisonous chemicals into the land!
One part of the fuel ship is buried in the reef and the other in deep water. It sounds as if the ship ran aground on the reef. Late at night. Was anyone awake monitoring the controls or was the ship on fly-by-wire? Comments are that no-one understands how it happened. Too late, the damage is done whether understood or not.
What we need to understand is that high-tech solutions for demanding projects in difficult sites can not be guaranteed 100% to prevent disasters that may change the local environment for ever, and kill off food sources the world is dependent on. Even making nutritious-like food substitutes from oil aren’t going to fill our bellies. Resigned withdrawing from such projects is the new way forward for thinking power brokers.
Guess that just leaves the unthinking power brokers being given a free pass by an unthinking NZ government.
That’s funny. Went to listen on Radio replay, to Bomber Bradbury on the Panel after mike e said about the free expression of Bomber, but there is no Part 2. Does that mean that it has been censored off air? Surely not? Jim? Will write to them and ask why not.
Hmm I wondered what happened there too.
Watch Jay Carney squirm…
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/obama-justice-sieg-heil/