I inflicted a little piece of the paul henry show on my self this morning to see what it’s about.
Hillary Barry lead a story about police station closures paul jumped in said we’re not going to blow that up they’ve opened some in the same period and quickly moved on to a anniversary story of of a celeb getting caught playing with him self .
Quality reporting ??
With a bit of luck a lot of people will tune out of tv3 and henry will get the boot because like it or not the morning new s is were a lot of people find out what’s going on.
And why henry’s been parked there so you’ve got 2 shills book ending the day with lickspittle rawdon earning his keep sucking up to key and his cronies over at TVNZ.
Add in the shift rightwards on RNZ with Espiner’s bias showing through and the media shows as much diversity as it did in Germany in the 1930s or Russia in the 1950s
Puff pieces like this in the Herald lauding a very average minister are part of the propaganda war being waged on us.
Isaac Davison proves he is another owned member of the media by writing this nonsense about Lotu-Iiga.
A particularly nasty shifty character is Lotu Iiga. I was not in the least bit surprised he was exposed in the book Dirty Politics.
I once took exception to hearing him spinning crap campaigning for the South Auckland vote on Jackson & JT’s radio live show. He was talking about his Polynesian upbringing in South Auckland and how he still visits factories where his people ( his words) have worked 20 years plus, then he goes into some diatribe about a vote for him and National will improve their quality of living.
At the time National had introduced nasty employment laws like the 90 day fire at will legislation etc. I called the show under my than handle of George and asked slippery Sam ” How do you look these 20 year + factory workers in the eye without feeling ashamed that you have sold them out, and you have the nerve to try suck Tory votes out of good working class people, your own people, your a disgrace to your race… ya sellout.”
Slippery Sammy was lost for words trying to justify that question and Jacko & JT started giving him a strum up in agreement ‘how would a Nat vote improve their lot in life.’
Interesting to note Lotu Iiga lives in Onehunga, I was staying with family in Epsom over the long weekend and on Sunday got my nephew to take me for a drive to the Royal Oak Pac n Slave. It was closed so he thought something in Onehunga maybe open, we drove there, I haven’t been there for years. What use to be a Polynesian hub, the main street shops have transformed to
trendy caftes and shops, and the residents have changed too. Not too many of Totu Liga’s living in these streets, probably just how Sam likes it.
the snakey one also voted down the proposed loan sharking legislation then claimed it as his own idea at a mangakiekie meeting opposite the labour candidate who initially bought the voted down bill in.
Beaumont just let the BS stand unchallenged, yes is very snakey and dodgy that smiley sam.
Same. Why they put him on in the AM is beyond me unless they want to see their ratings plummet. And the Airheads on TVNZ are almost as bad in their utter and complete servility to the TricKey one.
I don’t get why they keep giving him work. He sure can’t keep a show going. I suspect that they’ve got so much invested in him that his boss will also be gone when he finally loses his mediaworks contract for poor ratings.
Comment from Colin James this am. in relation to Key sending Kiwis to Iraq. Sums up the total shambles well don’t TS readers think ? !
“The war we are about to join is sectarian: Muslim v Muslim v Muslim. Shiite Iran is helping run the war against the Sunni Islamic State. That embarrasses Iran-phobic United States though last week it initialled a deal with Iran to contain Iran’s nuclear ambition. Sunni Saudi Arabia deplores the Sunni Islamic State, backs Egypt’s crackdown on the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood and leads a coalition backing Sunnis fighting Iran-backed Shiites in Yemen.
Confused? So are policymakers in Washington and elsewhere. The complexity is mind-boggling. And intervention in the war(s) is predicated on bolstering a so-called state or a potential state. “In many years working in the region, I have never seen such a distance between statements and fact,” the International Crisis Group’s Peter Harling told the New York Times.”
New Zealand DESPERATELY needs political satire. Does anyone really think pompous right wing blowhards Paul Henry or Mike Hoskings or the near parody news that TVNZ dishes up every night would survive the sort of merciless mocking they would get from the Daily Show?
@CnrJoe
Brilliant thanks for that. The “dick” example was a clever metaphor to explain how so much info is being grabbed by the NSA through so many methods. Superb.
NZ$ almost hits parity with Aussie $. Things just got worse for NZ manufacturers exporting to Australia.
Great interview this morning with Andrew Little on NACT radio with Espiner.
A weak Aussie economy is not good news for NZ, and lowering NZ bank interest rates simply fuels the Auckland housing market.
Little was all over the subject matter, telling Espiner to listen.
It was a good interview with good, down to earth responses from Little. Liked his grasp of the issue and telling Esp to ‘listen’ and ‘try to understand’ without resorting to Key’s arrogance.
One of the arguments some people make to attack beneficiaries is that if they can’t afford children they shouldn’t have them,
I have been recently reading some tales about the new child maintenance provisions. One thing that pops up is the complaint that the new partner’s child is NOT taken into account when assessing the payment for the biological child.
Now, if the new partner had the child when you met him/her; or you both have an additional child, knowing you have another child from a previous relationship to care for, isn’t the bene bashing meme applicable here? Or even more so? More so because many beneficiaries had their children before the job loss, or the accident, or the illness.
I acted in a maintenance case many years ago involving the owner of a very large construction firm and devout 7th day Adventist.
He prepared spreadsheets of his expenses pre separation (he, wife two teenage girls in private school) and post separation. His calculations in the spreadsheets indicated he was arguing his living expenses as a single man had gone up 2/3 compared to the 4 person household. On this point alone he looked foolish and duplicitous and ended up with a Court Award for maintenance against him far higher than we had been prepared to pay during negotiated settlement discussions the day before.
He also now wanted his daughters out of their school and into public school and no after school activities.
I noted with interest a few years ago when he sold his share how many millions it went for.
Of course there are people genuinely struggling under the new system. It is a forumla so it will have flaws. How many stories are the papers/media discussing of where payments have reduced?
I live in a fairly affluent area, and know of a couple of cases where the ownership of a business has allowed non-custodial fathers to reduce their child support payments.
In one case, the business is owned jointly with the new wife, but she owns the majority of the shares. He is paid a low wage, and it is this wage that is used to determine his child support payments. The business is partly run from home so quite a few utility bills, maintenance and capital works have been run through the business accounts. The children from the second marriage all attend private schools and extended overseas trips for the family are the norm.
However, those who work for wages don’t have this method of minimising their taxed income, and so the system works disproportionately.
I have only met one business owner, who when his relationship dissolved, worked with his ex-partner to determine a reasonable rate of child support. He paid this directly to his ex-partner, and this went on until the child was grown. (The amount paid was more than she would have got using income support.)
The one in the herald this morning was deeply flawed. Where income drops suddenly there is a clear provision to tell the IRD and have the support payments dropped, information which a simple call to the IRD by the journalist would have elicted – but hey why let the facts get in the way of the prejudices.
As to the self employed / wealthy hiding money in Trusts and companies to avoid Child support. This is endemic and the child support amendments were originally going to include this type of income which would also mean that income is the same as that taken to account for WFF benefits etc. However, guess what, the last set of IRD amendments drops this provision because of course wealthy males are the NAct support base and us peasants (taxpayers) need to support their kids.
And just as an aside – while negotiated payments at a higher rate can give the illusion of a better outcome they are not actually enforceable meaning the payer can use the threat of witholding to make the caregivers life a misery. It can be a powerful weapon of control.
I understand your comment about negotiated payments, but the two people involved handled their breakup well and were considering the child more than each other. A good starting point.
It also avoided the requirement for the mother to go to income support and deal with the system, which would be a positive outcome for many.
The media reporting of the NZ dollar near parity with the Australian dollar is an interesting insight into the values of the people who decide what is news. It is being presented as some sort of triumph for the mangerialist and technocratic ruling elite, because it makes their cheap holidays and cheap imports even cheaper.
The wider debate about our export performance and loss of competitiveness in our largest export market and it’s impact on thousands of blue collar and menial jobs doesn’t even enter into the discussion. In fact as I speak Kathryn Ryan is having an adoring interview with yet another aging white male of the Douglas era, lauding his impact and generally being very chummy with someone from her own class.
There is a reason unemployment and poverty are not an issue in NZ. And that is because two thirds of the population no longer care about another third, and the media reflects the values and informs the prejudices of that two thirds.
And that is because two thirds of the population no longer care about another third, and the media reflects the values and informs the prejudices of that two thirds.
You got the numbers around the wrong way. It’s the top 1/3rd don’t care about the bottom 2/3rds and the MSM reflect the values of that 1/3rd.
Oh look, the little sheep out there in punterland don’t give a flying figs leaf about the structural deficiencies that New Zealand has ignored for the past thirty years.
New Zealand does have the ability to be self sufficient. It is the globalisation of our industry that has caused us to become serfs in our own land.
I spent the Easter reading Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, given that it is a bible of sorts for ACT-olytes and some in the National Party.
I struggled. I made it about 1/3rd of the way in before giving up in disgust and wondering why people simply don’t see what is so bad about government owning key infrastructure and ensuring the viability of long term assets – rail, hydro, thermal, and housing, not to mention our own land.
This government truly has pulled the wool over peoples eyes, largely helped by a complicit media. It’s a shame our own Commerce Commission don’t take a stick to the cosy duopoly of newspapers (NZME/APN and Fairfax) and break it up. There are a myriad of ways in which smaller independent newspapers would be able to survive, as long as there were controls in place to ensure that the private printing press owners (largely APN/Fairfax) don’t jack up the prices to make it uneconomic for independent regional newspapers to print their own dailies. Afterall, printing is no longer the laborious time consuming process it once was.
Bill Sutch’s own excellent book – Takeover New Zealand – outlined several ways within which NZ could become self sufficient and sustaining. It should be required reading as many of the principles he espoused are just as relevant today. The list of brands he outlines in his book would have been consolidated further into one of the 6 major multinationals that pervade every corner of the globe.
But no. the sheeple of New Zealand don’t want to think about this. All they see is “dollar parity” and wonder why Just Jeans are selling things at $120 NZD but the price tag shows that its also $90AUD. Why isn’t it $90 NZD too if the dollar is the same?
The great lord Consumerism, has everyone by the short’n’curlies.
Agreed. The most surreal moment for me was NZ Herald quoting a self help/relationships psychologist:
”Psychologist Chris Skellet said it was promising to see “one more index of disparity dissolve between the two countries”.
“It’s important that we assume equivalence between us rather than adopt a one up/one down perspective,” he said.
“No matter how Australians regard us, we need to adopt an unrelenting attitude of equality and respect towards our neighbours.” ENDS http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11428614
Like Skellett, I’m no expert on currencies, but this is such patent rubbish.
It’s not an index of disparity in the sense that achieving ‘equivalence’ will make parts of our economy weaker and thus increase inequalities.
More broadly this approach to framing economics with pop psychology reminds me of Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World which identified how happiness psychology and the self help phenomenon mirrored the mass redundancies and off-shoring in the 1970s to 1990s. The idea that the answer lies within you, rather than in questioning the system.
1. Tellingly the ‘soothing gentle opinions’ of Chris Skellett were the first quotes in the article
Rather transparent having that commentary atop other quotes which when read through them are hollow distraction deflection which should ring alarm bells to any thinking individual
2. There is literally nothing of substance in the article which was written by an author who has no history writing on financial matters for NZH
Morgan Tait – Morgan Tait is the NZ Herald’s police reporter
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its allies play the key role in saving the lives of tens of thousands of Yazidis who faced being butchered at the hands of IS. The PKK’s forces have also played a major role in halting IS advances and, in some notable instances, hurling the reactionaries back.
Yet the secular-progressive PKK is designated a ‘terrorist’ organisation in many western countries, including NZ. So much for John Key’s claim to be supporting progressive, secular values in the region. (And in stark contrast for his friendly attitude to the ‘royal’ religious dictatorship in Saudi Arabia.)
It’s important that progressives in NZ not only oppose further NZ military involvement but that we demand the PKK be taken off the ‘terrorist’ list and that people here be allowed to support the PKK, including raising funds for it.
If the western powers were interested in any progressive outcome in the region, they’d just hand over their weaponry to the PKK and their allies and leave.
This article, which also looks at how progressives in Germany are defying the ban on the PKK by fund-raising for it, needs as wide circulation as possible.
Really breaks ones heart to see this shit happening in a country with so much wealth. National’s calculated dismantling of our safety nets is so callous, and this is the result. I bet he isn’t the only one in this situation in light of changes that have come in to child support after April 1st.
So much wrong with that situation (payments based on previous years earnings ffs).
Beyond that, the whole child support system is deeply flawed. For the child whose parents separate, if one parent goes on a benefit, the other parent pays child support to the state, not to the family that is raising the child. How stupid is that?
The one in the herald this morning was deeply flawed. Where income drops suddenly there is a clear provision to tell the IRD and have the support payments dropped, information which a simple call to the IRD by the journalist would have elicted – but hey why let the facts get in the way of the a good beat up
Sorry for repeating myself. he should be paying about $12 a week
“We have developed a rechargeable aluminum battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames,” said Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford. “Our new battery won’t catch fire, even if you drill through it.”
A well-buried opinion piece in the Herald seems to be discussing something very important but this is the first item I have seen referencing the topic, so not sure if it is just some legal jargon that amounts to very little, or it is in fact representing a massive shift in the foundations of our justice system?
it goes on –
” The seven-page majority report back from the current Justice Committee contained no explanation for dropping New Zealand’s commitment to these constitutional fundamentals. ”
“The minister speaking for the Minister of Justice in the second reading debate said that the provisions, being constitutional in nature, were out of place in the new bill; their place would be in the Constitution Act. Now, if Parliament were simultaneously amending the Constitution Act to include the provisions, New Zealanders might rest. It is not though.”
Would the legal minds out there please educate the rest of us as to what the proposed changes represent and what, if any, are the real world implications of this change?
Tim Groser, Minister of Trade is having a meeting (with whom exactly?), TODAY Monday 7 April 2015, at 2.45pm, at 135 Albert Street, at the Mayor’s Office.
(The Mayor’s Office has shifted from the Auckland Town Hall)
____________________________________________________________________________
7 April 2015
Len Brown
Auckland Council Mayor
Dear Len,
As someone who has attended TPPA meetings in Auckland, as a registered ‘Stakeholder’ both in 2010 and 2012, I request to attend the meeting to be held today, at 2.45pm in the Auckland Mayoral Office (Auckland Town Hall), with the NZ Minister of Trade, Tim Groser.
Please be reminded that as an ‘anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’, and 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate, I am totally opposed to any steps that would increase corporate control over New Zealand.
Signing the TPPA, in my considered opinion, would do just that.
I am concerned that attempts may be made to undermine the following resolution of Auckland Council, made on 6 December 2012:
Watch it with your wife and daughters so they can witness the sexist ridiculing, internalise it and feel just a little bit “less than” they did before they watched him..
Some interesting developments following the tipoff about the meeting today held at the Auckland Mayoral Office (135 Albert St), with Minister of Trade Tim Groser, apparently about the TPPA and Local Government?
From what I managed to find out, this meeting was organised by the Auckland Mayoral Office, and it appears that Auckland Council elected representatives were not notified, not invited and apparently had no knowledge of WHAT was being discussed.
Why the secrecy?
WHY was this meeting with Minister of Trade Tim Groser organised by the Auckland Mayoral Office
He uses Vance’s bizarre piece yesterday as a launching pad to twist the knife further into Joyce/Bennett. I wonder who the lucky Labour staffers were who got to have Paula sit on their knees 😀
He promises an entire series of posts debunking Vance’s analysis.
He claims inside knowledge of the “democratic” national party leadership selection process by disregarding the Brash/Key sleazy motel leadership deal.
Make no mistake, this is Crusher in full utu mode. And she’s going to bring the whole house of cards down with her.
She personally treats staff and backbenchers like scum, rather than leaving her staff to treat them like scum as Joyce does. She is fond of a drink and is known to get very familiar with much younger men or do the rounds with donors sitting on all their knees, or worse all of that with Labour staffers. The tally of Paula supporters on the backbench is even lower than the tally for supporters for Joyce.
Oooh… I do like a bit of gossy – especially when its about someone I can’t stand. 😈
It’s a pretty vivid picture he paints of Our Paula. Can’t you just imagine it though?
I’m gonna dedicate myself to #crusherwatch for the next wee while as blubbermeister continues on his campaign against Key’s cohorts. Unfortunately, it gives failoil its much-needed Japan-based web traffic. I do enjoy how his articles are all interspersed with large banners for HOT JAPANESE SINGLES IN YOUR AREA, though. It fits.
“Why can’t all private industry contracted by the public education system be supportive to make public education better? We should be pursuing ways to create partnerships and increasing teacher quality, not creating hourly teacher tracks, devaluing university study, pushing hostile takeover strategies through charters, vouchers and for-profit charter schemes.
“By law we must educate children.
“Public education is not the post office with Fed_Ex and UPS and Amazon as its competition. I’m not forced by law to use the post office. And post office outcomes are not slanted by poverty of the customers they serve. Education is influenced by a child’s mindset to learn (ELL, disabled, just having a bad day). We are bettering lives with education. It should be our NASA.
“Business models discount the human and the need for childhood stability. When a parent is sick, when a child moves, things can disrupt a child’s learning. The public education system should be the safe haven. Something to count on. Your community should be there to back you up when everything else falls apart. We cannot reduce education to numbers and a free-for-all with choice. Education is the prime example of a government service that must work. Just like the military, roads, or police and fire.
“We are being held hostage by test scores. Our society is being scammed into thinking we don’t need this vital government service. And there are a lot of really smart people with their heads in the sand afraid of being politically active.”
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What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
I inflicted a little piece of the paul henry show on my self this morning to see what it’s about.
Hillary Barry lead a story about police station closures paul jumped in said we’re not going to blow that up they’ve opened some in the same period and quickly moved on to a anniversary story of of a celeb getting caught playing with him self .
Quality reporting ??
I did not tune in. Won’t tune in. I no longer use tv to catch up with the morning news in NZ.
Same
Same here
With a bit of luck a lot of people will tune out of tv3 and henry will get the boot because like it or not the morning new s is were a lot of people find out what’s going on.
Hoskings and Henry both on in morning.
Says so much about who runs our country.
Definitely a way to control the message having those two all over the place.
Controlling the message does seem to be the purpose of the MSM now.
Just a way of perpetuating the Henry and Hoskings delusions. (Theirs not ours).
And why henry’s been parked there so you’ve got 2 shills book ending the day with lickspittle rawdon earning his keep sucking up to key and his cronies over at TVNZ.
Add in the shift rightwards on RNZ with Espiner’s bias showing through and the media shows as much diversity as it did in Germany in the 1930s or Russia in the 1950s
Puff pieces like this in the Herald lauding a very average minister are part of the propaganda war being waged on us.
Isaac Davison proves he is another owned member of the media by writing this nonsense about Lotu-Iiga.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11428596
A particularly nasty shifty character is Lotu Iiga. I was not in the least bit surprised he was exposed in the book Dirty Politics.
I once took exception to hearing him spinning crap campaigning for the South Auckland vote on Jackson & JT’s radio live show. He was talking about his Polynesian upbringing in South Auckland and how he still visits factories where his people ( his words) have worked 20 years plus, then he goes into some diatribe about a vote for him and National will improve their quality of living.
At the time National had introduced nasty employment laws like the 90 day fire at will legislation etc. I called the show under my than handle of George and asked slippery Sam ” How do you look these 20 year + factory workers in the eye without feeling ashamed that you have sold them out, and you have the nerve to try suck Tory votes out of good working class people, your own people, your a disgrace to your race… ya sellout.”
Slippery Sammy was lost for words trying to justify that question and Jacko & JT started giving him a strum up in agreement ‘how would a Nat vote improve their lot in life.’
Interesting to note Lotu Iiga lives in Onehunga, I was staying with family in Epsom over the long weekend and on Sunday got my nephew to take me for a drive to the Royal Oak Pac n Slave. It was closed so he thought something in Onehunga maybe open, we drove there, I haven’t been there for years. What use to be a Polynesian hub, the main street shops have transformed to
trendy caftes and shops, and the residents have changed too. Not too many of Totu Liga’s living in these streets, probably just how Sam likes it.
the snakey one also voted down the proposed loan sharking legislation then claimed it as his own idea at a mangakiekie meeting opposite the labour candidate who initially bought the voted down bill in.
Beaumont just let the BS stand unchallenged, yes is very snakey and dodgy that smiley sam.
Same. Why they put him on in the AM is beyond me unless they want to see their ratings plummet. And the Airheads on TVNZ are almost as bad in their utter and complete servility to the TricKey one.
I don’t get why they keep giving him work. He sure can’t keep a show going. I suspect that they’ve got so much invested in him that his boss will also be gone when he finally loses his mediaworks contract for poor ratings.
Ditto here as well Tracey (1.1). I can live without inflicting that environmental pollutant on myself first thing in the morning!
Comment from Colin James this am. in relation to Key sending Kiwis to Iraq. Sums up the total shambles well don’t TS readers think ? !
“The war we are about to join is sectarian: Muslim v Muslim v Muslim. Shiite Iran is helping run the war against the Sunni Islamic State. That embarrasses Iran-phobic United States though last week it initialled a deal with Iran to contain Iran’s nuclear ambition. Sunni Saudi Arabia deplores the Sunni Islamic State, backs Egypt’s crackdown on the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood and leads a coalition backing Sunnis fighting Iran-backed Shiites in Yemen.
Confused? So are policymakers in Washington and elsewhere. The complexity is mind-boggling. And intervention in the war(s) is predicated on bolstering a so-called state or a potential state. “In many years working in the region, I have never seen such a distance between statements and fact,” the International Crisis Group’s Peter Harling told the New York Times.”
Everyone watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – youtube. Edward Snowden and Dick pics. It’s a game changer.
Thanks Joe.
New Zealand DESPERATELY needs political satire. Does anyone really think pompous right wing blowhards Paul Henry or Mike Hoskings or the near parody news that TVNZ dishes up every night would survive the sort of merciless mocking they would get from the Daily Show?
And that is why we’ll never get it.
Jeremy Wells’s Hoskings rant is pretty good.
They are parody, they just don’t realise they are the subject of it.
@CnrJoe
Brilliant thanks for that. The “dick” example was a clever metaphor to explain how so much info is being grabbed by the NSA through so many methods. Superb.
NZ$ almost hits parity with Aussie $. Things just got worse for NZ manufacturers exporting to Australia.
Great interview this morning with Andrew Little on NACT radio with Espiner.
A weak Aussie economy is not good news for NZ, and lowering NZ bank interest rates simply fuels the Auckland housing market.
Little was all over the subject matter, telling Espiner to listen.
It wasn’t that great an interview.
Little failed to put forward a well explained solution to convince listeners Labour is a viable alternative.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20173722
Reserve Bank of Australia opted to keep rates at 2.25% today. The NZ$ immediately fell by a cent.
Can’t be true, the dollar is high cos the National Government is running the country so well, ergo, if it fell…
And it’s a two cent drop now.
It was a good interview with good, down to earth responses from Little. Liked his grasp of the issue and telling Esp to ‘listen’ and ‘try to understand’ without resorting to Key’s arrogance.
Except Little missed an opportunity to explain his broader mandate solution, thus present Labour as a viable alternative.
I’m highlighting this not to mock him, but in the hope he will up his game.
Little left listeners with more questions than answers.
For example, how will broadening the Reserve Bank Act mandate correct a strengthening NZ dollar resulting from a weakening Australian economy?
Will this broader mandate result in lower interest rates or higher interest rates?
And how will lowering interest rates (if this is what he was implying) avert the negative impact of lower interest rates on the property sector?
In the business section of the Herald.
Two important news stories that will have a major impact on the world.
1. China’s economy is slowing
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11428198
2. Middle East wars are driving up oil prices.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11428552
2015 crash is not far away.
One of the arguments some people make to attack beneficiaries is that if they can’t afford children they shouldn’t have them,
I have been recently reading some tales about the new child maintenance provisions. One thing that pops up is the complaint that the new partner’s child is NOT taken into account when assessing the payment for the biological child.
Now, if the new partner had the child when you met him/her; or you both have an additional child, knowing you have another child from a previous relationship to care for, isn’t the bene bashing meme applicable here? Or even more so? More so because many beneficiaries had their children before the job loss, or the accident, or the illness.
I acted in a maintenance case many years ago involving the owner of a very large construction firm and devout 7th day Adventist.
He prepared spreadsheets of his expenses pre separation (he, wife two teenage girls in private school) and post separation. His calculations in the spreadsheets indicated he was arguing his living expenses as a single man had gone up 2/3 compared to the 4 person household. On this point alone he looked foolish and duplicitous and ended up with a Court Award for maintenance against him far higher than we had been prepared to pay during negotiated settlement discussions the day before.
He also now wanted his daughters out of their school and into public school and no after school activities.
I noted with interest a few years ago when he sold his share how many millions it went for.
Of course there are people genuinely struggling under the new system. It is a forumla so it will have flaws. How many stories are the papers/media discussing of where payments have reduced?
Hi Tracey,
I live in a fairly affluent area, and know of a couple of cases where the ownership of a business has allowed non-custodial fathers to reduce their child support payments.
In one case, the business is owned jointly with the new wife, but she owns the majority of the shares. He is paid a low wage, and it is this wage that is used to determine his child support payments. The business is partly run from home so quite a few utility bills, maintenance and capital works have been run through the business accounts. The children from the second marriage all attend private schools and extended overseas trips for the family are the norm.
However, those who work for wages don’t have this method of minimising their taxed income, and so the system works disproportionately.
I have only met one business owner, who when his relationship dissolved, worked with his ex-partner to determine a reasonable rate of child support. He paid this directly to his ex-partner, and this went on until the child was grown. (The amount paid was more than she would have got using income support.)
Thanks for sharing. I never understand why a parent begrudges their own child a decent upbringing…
The one in the herald this morning was deeply flawed. Where income drops suddenly there is a clear provision to tell the IRD and have the support payments dropped, information which a simple call to the IRD by the journalist would have elicted – but hey why let the facts get in the way of the prejudices.
As to the self employed / wealthy hiding money in Trusts and companies to avoid Child support. This is endemic and the child support amendments were originally going to include this type of income which would also mean that income is the same as that taken to account for WFF benefits etc. However, guess what, the last set of IRD amendments drops this provision because of course wealthy males are the NAct support base and us peasants (taxpayers) need to support their kids.
And just as an aside – while negotiated payments at a higher rate can give the illusion of a better outcome they are not actually enforceable meaning the payer can use the threat of witholding to make the caregivers life a misery. It can be a powerful weapon of control.
I understand your comment about negotiated payments, but the two people involved handled their breakup well and were considering the child more than each other. A good starting point.
It also avoided the requirement for the mother to go to income support and deal with the system, which would be a positive outcome for many.
Hosking AND Henry every morning now? Now I know how Victor Meldrew felt – “Oh, GODDDDD”!!!!
5 days remaining until the scheduled return of the Rawshark 2.
+100 Parsupial…am with you
John Key says GCSB does not spy on New Zealanders and here is why that is a great big lie!
The media reporting of the NZ dollar near parity with the Australian dollar is an interesting insight into the values of the people who decide what is news. It is being presented as some sort of triumph for the mangerialist and technocratic ruling elite, because it makes their cheap holidays and cheap imports even cheaper.
The wider debate about our export performance and loss of competitiveness in our largest export market and it’s impact on thousands of blue collar and menial jobs doesn’t even enter into the discussion. In fact as I speak Kathryn Ryan is having an adoring interview with yet another aging white male of the Douglas era, lauding his impact and generally being very chummy with someone from her own class.
There is a reason unemployment and poverty are not an issue in NZ. And that is because two thirds of the population no longer care about another third, and the media reflects the values and informs the prejudices of that two thirds.
You got the numbers around the wrong way. It’s the top 1/3rd don’t care about the bottom 2/3rds and the MSM reflect the values of that 1/3rd.
EDIT: This applies.
Oh look, the little sheep out there in punterland don’t give a flying figs leaf about the structural deficiencies that New Zealand has ignored for the past thirty years.
New Zealand does have the ability to be self sufficient. It is the globalisation of our industry that has caused us to become serfs in our own land.
I spent the Easter reading Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, given that it is a bible of sorts for ACT-olytes and some in the National Party.
I struggled. I made it about 1/3rd of the way in before giving up in disgust and wondering why people simply don’t see what is so bad about government owning key infrastructure and ensuring the viability of long term assets – rail, hydro, thermal, and housing, not to mention our own land.
This government truly has pulled the wool over peoples eyes, largely helped by a complicit media. It’s a shame our own Commerce Commission don’t take a stick to the cosy duopoly of newspapers (NZME/APN and Fairfax) and break it up. There are a myriad of ways in which smaller independent newspapers would be able to survive, as long as there were controls in place to ensure that the private printing press owners (largely APN/Fairfax) don’t jack up the prices to make it uneconomic for independent regional newspapers to print their own dailies. Afterall, printing is no longer the laborious time consuming process it once was.
Bill Sutch’s own excellent book – Takeover New Zealand – outlined several ways within which NZ could become self sufficient and sustaining. It should be required reading as many of the principles he espoused are just as relevant today. The list of brands he outlines in his book would have been consolidated further into one of the 6 major multinationals that pervade every corner of the globe.
But no. the sheeple of New Zealand don’t want to think about this. All they see is “dollar parity” and wonder why Just Jeans are selling things at $120 NZD but the price tag shows that its also $90AUD. Why isn’t it $90 NZD too if the dollar is the same?
The great lord Consumerism, has everyone by the short’n’curlies.
Agreed. The most surreal moment for me was NZ Herald quoting a self help/relationships psychologist:
”Psychologist Chris Skellet said it was promising to see “one more index of disparity dissolve between the two countries”.
“It’s important that we assume equivalence between us rather than adopt a one up/one down perspective,” he said.
“No matter how Australians regard us, we need to adopt an unrelenting attitude of equality and respect towards our neighbours.” ENDS
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11428614
Like Skellett, I’m no expert on currencies, but this is such patent rubbish.
It’s not an index of disparity in the sense that achieving ‘equivalence’ will make parts of our economy weaker and thus increase inequalities.
More broadly this approach to framing economics with pop psychology reminds me of Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World which identified how happiness psychology and the self help phenomenon mirrored the mass redundancies and off-shoring in the 1970s to 1990s. The idea that the answer lies within you, rather than in questioning the system.
Standouts from the article
1. Tellingly the ‘soothing gentle opinions’ of Chris Skellett were the first quotes in the article
Rather transparent having that commentary atop other quotes which when read through them are hollow distraction deflection which should ring alarm bells to any thinking individual
2. There is literally nothing of substance in the article which was written by an author who has no history writing on financial matters for NZH
Morgan Tait – Morgan Tait is the NZ Herald’s police reporter
YIKES!
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its allies play the key role in saving the lives of tens of thousands of Yazidis who faced being butchered at the hands of IS. The PKK’s forces have also played a major role in halting IS advances and, in some notable instances, hurling the reactionaries back.
Yet the secular-progressive PKK is designated a ‘terrorist’ organisation in many western countries, including NZ. So much for John Key’s claim to be supporting progressive, secular values in the region. (And in stark contrast for his friendly attitude to the ‘royal’ religious dictatorship in Saudi Arabia.)
It’s important that progressives in NZ not only oppose further NZ military involvement but that we demand the PKK be taken off the ‘terrorist’ list and that people here be allowed to support the PKK, including raising funds for it.
If the western powers were interested in any progressive outcome in the region, they’d just hand over their weaponry to the PKK and their allies and leave.
We’ve stuck up an important article on the PKK and the Kurdish cause. See: http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article3695
This article, which also looks at how progressives in Germany are defying the ban on the PKK by fund-raising for it, needs as wide circulation as possible.
Phil
http://i.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/67623849/south-taranaki-father-alan-lyall-left-to-live-on-47-a-week?cid=facebook.post.67623849
Really breaks ones heart to see this shit happening in a country with so much wealth. National’s calculated dismantling of our safety nets is so callous, and this is the result. I bet he isn’t the only one in this situation in light of changes that have come in to child support after April 1st.
So much wrong with that situation (payments based on previous years earnings ffs).
Beyond that, the whole child support system is deeply flawed. For the child whose parents separate, if one parent goes on a benefit, the other parent pays child support to the state, not to the family that is raising the child. How stupid is that?
The one in the herald this morning was deeply flawed. Where income drops suddenly there is a clear provision to tell the IRD and have the support payments dropped, information which a simple call to the IRD by the journalist would have elicted – but hey why let the facts get in the way of the a good beat up
Sorry for repeating myself. he should be paying about $12 a week
Ultra-fast charging aluminum battery offers safe alternative to conventional batteries
Aluminium is also one of the most abundant metals in the Earth’s Crust. Even NZ has a fairly significant deposit of it.
It is also extremely easy to recycle
A well-buried opinion piece in the Herald seems to be discussing something very important but this is the first item I have seen referencing the topic, so not sure if it is just some legal jargon that amounts to very little, or it is in fact representing a massive shift in the foundations of our justice system?
“Parliament seems about to drop New Zealand’s commitment to the rule of law and parliamentary sovereignty from the act underpinning the judicial branch in New Zealand. That really is quite odd.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11428565
it goes on –
” The seven-page majority report back from the current Justice Committee contained no explanation for dropping New Zealand’s commitment to these constitutional fundamentals. ”
“The minister speaking for the Minister of Justice in the second reading debate said that the provisions, being constitutional in nature, were out of place in the new bill; their place would be in the Constitution Act. Now, if Parliament were simultaneously amending the Constitution Act to include the provisions, New Zealanders might rest. It is not though.”
Would the legal minds out there please educate the rest of us as to what the proposed changes represent and what, if any, are the real world implications of this change?
From an Otago Uni constitutional law guru:
http://pundit.co.nz/content/is-parliament-about-to-drop-our-commitment-to-the-rule-of-law
This link in the response above is a much longer version of the opinion piece in the Herald by Richard Cornes. It makes more sense when you can read the comments by Justice McGrath in detail as given in the article at the link above and below.
http://pundit.co.nz/content/is-parliament-about-to-drop-our-commitment-to-the-rule-of-law
FYI
Tim Groser, Minister of Trade is having a meeting (with whom exactly?), TODAY Monday 7 April 2015, at 2.45pm, at 135 Albert Street, at the Mayor’s Office.
(The Mayor’s Office has shifted from the Auckland Town Hall)
____________________________________________________________________________
7 April 2015
Len Brown
Auckland Council Mayor
Dear Len,
As someone who has attended TPPA meetings in Auckland, as a registered ‘Stakeholder’ both in 2010 and 2012, I request to attend the meeting to be held today, at 2.45pm in the Auckland Mayoral Office (Auckland Town Hall), with the NZ Minister of Trade, Tim Groser.
Please be reminded that as an ‘anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’, and 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate, I am totally opposed to any steps that would increase corporate control over New Zealand.
Signing the TPPA, in my considered opinion, would do just that.
I am concerned that attempts may be made to undermine the following resolution of Auckland Council, made on 6 December 2012:
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/aboutcouncil/committees/regionaldevelopmentoperationscommittee/meetings/regionaldevelopmentandoperationscommin20121206.pdf
_______________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
+1
Well done, Penny Bright.
Carrying on from the Bit Coin discussion… anyone who suggests it needs their head looked at. The scam continues.
http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/04/bitcoin-foundation-is-effectively-bankrupt-board-member-says/
No money in mining either.
Henry bombed in Australia in a very short time. It will be the same here once the audiences tire of him…and they will.
Of course he’s more likely to be the maker of his own demise as sooner or later he’s sure to spout an outrageous Clarksonesque comment.
How many of those can Mediaworks take or afford?
I doubt it. The show was hardly pushed in Aussie.
He’s quite liked here. I missed today’s show, but might watch it tonight.
Watch it with your wife and daughters so they can witness the sexist ridiculing, internalise it and feel just a little bit “less than” they did before they watched him..
Some interesting developments following the tipoff about the meeting today held at the Auckland Mayoral Office (135 Albert St), with Minister of Trade Tim Groser, apparently about the TPPA and Local Government?
From what I managed to find out, this meeting was organised by the Auckland Mayoral Office, and it appears that Auckland Council elected representatives were not notified, not invited and apparently had no knowledge of WHAT was being discussed.
Why the secrecy?
WHY was this meeting with Minister of Trade Tim Groser organised by the Auckland Mayoral Office
WHO was invited ?
WHAT was discussed ?
Penny Bright
March Madness
How much will the TPP cost NZ? Millions? Billions?
Slater is pimping for Crusher again.
Afraid I can’t provide a donotlink butyou can observe the train wreck here:Here is a donotlink version
He uses Vance’s bizarre piece yesterday as a launching pad to twist the knife further into Joyce/Bennett. I wonder who the lucky Labour staffers were who got to have Paula sit on their knees 😀
He promises an entire series of posts debunking Vance’s analysis.
He claims inside knowledge of the “democratic” national party leadership selection process by disregarding the Brash/Key sleazy motel leadership deal.
Make no mistake, this is Crusher in full utu mode. And she’s going to bring the whole house of cards down with her.
Oooh… I do like a bit of gossy – especially when its about someone I can’t stand. 😈
It’s a pretty vivid picture he paints of Our Paula. Can’t you just imagine it though?
I’m gonna dedicate myself to #crusherwatch for the next wee while as blubbermeister continues on his campaign against Key’s cohorts. Unfortunately, it gives failoil its much-needed Japan-based web traffic. I do enjoy how his articles are all interspersed with large banners for HOT JAPANESE SINGLES IN YOUR AREA, though. It fits.
Diane Ravitch
(pasted the lot)
A mom in Tennesse asks the fundamental questions:
“Why can’t all private industry contracted by the public education system be supportive to make public education better? We should be pursuing ways to create partnerships and increasing teacher quality, not creating hourly teacher tracks, devaluing university study, pushing hostile takeover strategies through charters, vouchers and for-profit charter schemes.
“By law we must educate children.
“Public education is not the post office with Fed_Ex and UPS and Amazon as its competition. I’m not forced by law to use the post office. And post office outcomes are not slanted by poverty of the customers they serve. Education is influenced by a child’s mindset to learn (ELL, disabled, just having a bad day). We are bettering lives with education. It should be our NASA.
“Business models discount the human and the need for childhood stability. When a parent is sick, when a child moves, things can disrupt a child’s learning. The public education system should be the safe haven. Something to count on. Your community should be there to back you up when everything else falls apart. We cannot reduce education to numbers and a free-for-all with choice. Education is the prime example of a government service that must work. Just like the military, roads, or police and fire.
“We are being held hostage by test scores. Our society is being scammed into thinking we don’t need this vital government service. And there are a lot of really smart people with their heads in the sand afraid of being politically active.”
http://dianeravitch.net/2015/04/04/tennessee-mom-why-the-scam-that-devalues-public-schools/