Ah. The market provides again. Whoop. We have a brain exchange now. Wonder if Johnny Boy picked his up as a ‘not worth trading’ commodity that had been discarded on the trading room floor?
Or is it just me who has images of ‘Futurama’ and heads in jars?
Have no fear Bill, by no means do you stand alone in this (and other) sound opinions concerning “Johnny Boy”! (The problem is that too many of us are much too often feeling alone and thus vulnerable – this is what Johnny and cohorts do to us). Maybe I am not making much sense of this!?
In my industry we are losing all our young competent people and replacing them with poorly trained ring ins from overseas.
Indeed this is what I see also, and its not limited to any one industry. The ring ins also cost less, because they have little to no idea what a job might pay when they arrive, so it works to suppress wages nicely for the “owners”, quality be damned!
I work amongst entire swathes, some of who can barely speak english, which while not in of itself a problem, it most certainly becomes one in the work place.
The brain drain term was obviously just “mis-sold”. (I just mis-purchased a bottle of wine that tasted really cheap and nasty) – should I take it back? I’ll give it a go. Oh… and I mis-purchased a load of fruit that was individually packaged in plastic.
Oh yeah right they are so smart, that they are going to come to live in NZ for shit wages, and even shittier conditions, in a country run by a fool. Now there’s a Tui Ad.
My own experience is that a lot of the bright Kiwis are leaving, with the jobs going to third rate remnants of the empire from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Britain. This seems particularly true in universities and the public service, especially in the higher echelons. For example, to speak of Longstone, Rebstock, or those filling the ranks of the spy agencies in terms of a brain exchange may have been accurate in the days of live sheep exports, but haven’t they stopped? In my own field, most of the best people are in the academic diaspora, while semi competent self promoters from overseas are slowly filling the positions in Aotearoa.
In the delicious night,
In privacy, where no one saw me,
Nor did I see one thing,
I had no light or guide
But the fire that burned inside my chest.
That fire showed me
The way more clearly than the blaze of moon
To where, waiting for me,
Was the One I knew so well.
In that place where no one ever is.
Oh night, sweet guider,
Oh night more marvelous than the dawn!
Oh night which joins
The lover and the beloved
So that the lover and beloved change bodies!
In my chest full of flowers,
Flowering wholly and only for Him,
There He remained sleeping;
I cared for Him there,
And the fan of the high cedars cooled Him.
The wind played with
His hair, and that wind from the high
Towers struck me on the neck
With its sober hand;
Sight, taste, touch, hearing stopped.
I stood still. I forgot who I was,
My face leaning against Him,
Everything stopped, abandoned me,
My worldliness was gone, forgotten
Among the white lilies.
-John, The Weavers Apprentice
He said to Moses, “I Will Be What, Where and How I Will Be”
so back to the books, semi-monasticism, with a little gardening on the side.
( and they all said “tfft” 🙂 )
Through Crown Law, Winz is fighting the decision and the case will be heard in the Dunedin High Court on Wednesday.
“We disagree strongly with a number of elements of the decision. We are appealing to the High Court against some of the conclusions the tribunal has reached in deciding the Ministry [of Social Development] failed to comply with the Privacy Act, and most of the orders made by the tribunal,” chief executive Debbie Power said. “In particular we are appealing the order that we review our processes.”
Holmes now believes he won’t see the cash awarded him and was “very annoyed” to get the appeal papers this past week.
Gee, what a surprise. WINZ fucks someone over and then complains about being caught doing it.
Second link – that is such an awesome story, someone should give that guy a fucking medal. His original enquiry was over a $3.73 mispayment and WINZ fucked it up so badly that the HRC eventually awards the guy $17,000 in damages.
It should be noted that the kinds of mistakes reported in the article are pretty standard, so this case seems groundbreaking to me. WINZ have just been told by the Human Rights Commission that their processes at a system and institutional level are broken and need to be fixed.
It will be interesting to see what the courts do with it. Won’t be the first time that WINZ have lost a battle in the High Court due to not treating a beneficiary properly with respect to entitlements.
Edit: actually the Human Rights Tribunal which is part of the Dept of Justice (not the HRC).
Some Dunedin people who were part of the recent National Day of Action are organising support for the old battler. He won’t be alone at the High Court on Wednesday.
The numbers who are brave enough to see through Key and his gang, must at all costs hang in there with patience. Despair will mean victory for them, as tempting as it is to submit to despair.
muzza. First of all I must look to myself and my own thoughts and actions, next to my family and friends, then by my contributions through the Green Party and the Labour Party (especially Mr Cunliffe), and, most importantly, I would look to you in person! (Actually, I am not finished yet, but this will do for starters).
We can only positively influence what we directly touch, and if all people started with themselves, and worked outwards from there, it would be a very good start. If we are able to influence so well, then it could perhaps turn into being able to influence what we do not directly touch. Thats when things could get very interesting indeed.
A ”shambolic” Education Ministry payroll system is threatening to shatter the resilience of Christchurch teachers who are already at war with the Government, principals say.
They say the $29 million Novopay system, implemented in August, is an added burden for Christchurch schools affected by the Government’s recent education shake-up, involving closures and mergers.
Since Novopay was introduced, some schools have had to foot the bill when staff were underpaid and in other cases ex-staff members have reappeared on the payroll.
Yes it is web based and has caused a lot of trouble for the ancillary staff in schools who deal with payroll. Apparently Novopay knew they weren’t ready but the MOE insisted they commence operations. Most teacher’s thankfully haven’t had problems, it’s support staff, relievers and part time staff who appear to have had the most problems.
Sounds familiar, experienced supplier says ‘not ready’ normally due to the feckless incompetence of the client but gets told to go live anyway.
Ryalls been doing that in the DHB’S backend, gotta have those ticks in boxes, job done bonuses for the mangers all around.
Supershity is still cleaning up after sergeant Ford, Rortney and Shonkeys forced shambles and is effectively still 7 councils once you scratch the surface with the same mad as meat axes managers bullying people around, they just get paid more now like bully boy McKay.
Sorry DV. Not connected but will ask neighbours. When the Ministry said fewer than 100 had problems I thought that it was a politically motivated number because who would be able to show that it might be thousands?
One of the ‘thing’ that has irritated one teacher (Part time) that I know is their pay has been reduced by 3 cents a pay.
It is apparently that each calculation is rounded as it is done. and not at the end.
Now I know that is sort of trivial, BUT really irritating.
Why can’t they just round at the end.
While combating the challenges that economic sanctions represent is an arduous task for any government, it is important to recognize that these sanctions are not aimed against Iran’s government, but at its poor and merchant population. An unnamed US intelligence source cited by the Washington Post claims:
”In addition to the direct pressure sanctions exert on the regime’s ability to finance its priorities, another option here is that they will create hate and discontent at the street level so that the Iranian leaders realize that they need to change their ways.”
Washington has long engaged in psychological operations that aim to foment the kind of “hate and discontent” among Iran’s factory workers, merchants, shopkeepers, students, and manufacturers – as part of a series of measures taken to coax widespread social discontent and unrest throughout the country to topple the government.
In banking terms the UK has close to £2 trillion in unsecured loans. This level of debt is not neutral. This level of debt has a huge impact. Part of the problem is that debt incurs rent. Yes, the principle cancels out, but interest payments don’t. We don’t know what the average rate of interest is on all this debt, but let’s assume it’s 10%. That means that interest payments are about 47% of GDP. Almost half the annual income of the UK. That is very far from a neutral amount, and may well be an underestimate. If we take the population in 2010 to be 60 million, then in 2010 we all owed nearly £120,000. This is probably a bit higher now because the government is worth less.
DTB after 3 years of Tory Austerity the RWNJ’s have increased the National debt by more than 20% after saying repeatedly that austerity was the only answer to the UK”s economy Austerity has made it far worse
New Zealand government official stats show $318 billion NZ originated private institution credit money. They then treat as assets and deduct what has been invested overseas and come up with what they call Net International Investment Position which appears much less alarming despite that money competting to find profit in an international financial system where the international debt is also unrepayable from the day its born.
Even if the foreign investments from NZ where able to be repatriated in quick time they would come back to only the wealthiest few who control them and not benefit wider society as implied. Just more smoke and mirrors; http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/ParlSupport/ResearchPapers/3/4/6/00PlibCIP121-New-Zealand-s-International-Investment-Position.htm
$318 billion debt based money supply at annual interest rate of 7% equals $22 odd billion interest repayment that is essentially rent upon a revolving line of credit that circulates as our money supply.
Given most of that interest finds its way back to the same largest owners of larger international banks who own largest stake holdings in Australian banks who own NZ banks, it puts to shame the 1.3 billion they give back in tax and shout from the roof tops as being so beneficial to the prosperity of the nation?
Piss off, loser. “The People” don’t want you as much as your brain damaged mind would like to imagine.
Quote:
“Tyson served three years in prison after the 1991 rape of an 18-year-old woman in an Indianapolis hotel room.
He insisted during a visit to London, however, that the negative experiences in his life have shaped his character.
“Anything that I would have got away from, being in prison, having fights, biting (Evander) Holyfield; (the) lack of that, my life would be miserable,” Tyson said as he launched a new range of boxing gear.”
Tim. Fairfax is showing its true colours, that’s about all. Indeed, Key apologised NOT for himself but for his minions who suffered through absence of his leadership. Key did “the right things” only under immense duress. So, he is a Saint? Even worse people than him have been canonised.
New Zealand’s Afghan interpreters go public, pleading to New Zealanders for their lives.
Will Key and our military leaders heed their call and do the right thing?
Or will New Zealand’s ill advised ten year involvement in the Afghan war result in one final outrage?
A former Afghan interpreter who now lives in Christchurch said it felt as though his colleagues had been “used and abandoned” by the New Zealand Government.
Diamond Kazimi, 19, was granted asylum in New Zealand last year after serving as a translator with the troops in Bamiyan for 18 months.
Interpreters lived on base with the soldiers, ate with them, went on patrols with them and were like brothers, he said.
Since his move, the Linwood College pupil has been involved in pre-deployment training for New Zealand soldiers heading to Afghanistan. He agreed the troops should withdraw.
“But don’t leave the interpreters behind to die for helping. Do you even care about these people who have done a service to New Zealand soldiers?”
Overseas film making crew are pouring into New Zealand while the prime minister is in Los Angeles claiming Hollywood investment in New Zealand creates jobs.
Speaking this weekend on TV3’s The Nation programme this weekend, Wellington city councillor Jo Coughlan and NZCTU president Helen Kelly agreed 400 overseas technicians had recently applied for visas to work at the Weta post production facility in the capital.
Seems somewhat self-defeating to subsidise multi-national conglomerates to bring work here to NZ only to give those jobs to foreigners. Especially while we have such massive unemployment.
Good old Peter Jackson screwing NZ workers yet again. I hope those Weta employees who marched against union protections understand a bit better what is happening now.
Yes, I saw that before I went to work this morning. Also, as I recall, someone (probably Kelsey) said something about the TPPA rules will make it harder for films by NZ production companies to use the web to market or distribute their films.
All about Hollywood protecting their market advantage. Why would they want to concede anything to the NZ industry?
From the Australian Journal of Human rights an interesting analysis of the deliberate strategy of manipulating public disgust towards welfare beneficiaries, by the Howard government, in order to further the aims of the neoliberal elites in changing public beliefs about distributive justice and social rights.
Apologies for the poor reproduction of the text. I’m not sure why it has transferred badly from the link. embolding mine.
Via the Feminist Carnival Down Under.
…..While parliamentary debates were a key means for promulgating a discourse of disgust, the most common device used by the Howard government to reframethe welfare recipient as untrustworthy, lazy and morally deficient was the media release. For the period between the initial launch of the welfare reform project bySenator Newman in September 1999 and the successful passage of the
EmploymentandWorkplaceRelationsLegislationAmendment(WelfaretoWorkandOtherMeasures) Act2005
(Cth) in December 2005, a search on the Factiva database reveals over 3125 media publications that directly linked welfare, social security, Centrelinkor pensions to fraudulent claims and welfare ‘cheats’. As a crude measure, thisrepresents approximately 1.47 newspaper articles across the country daily.
5
Much ofthe media campaign was fed by the political elite in order to mark out the welfarerecipient as unworthy of redistributive public welfare. The notion of the disgusting‘welfare fraudster’ (Vanstone 2002, 1) was repeated extensively through the rulingparty’s term in office. Consistent repetitive moral discourses of fraud spanned severalyears and acted to criminalise the welfare recipient:……
…..‘morally untrustworthy welfare recipient’ was produced andreproduced. With each repetition, powerful moral discourses eventually becameaccepted as unquestioned social truths in the Australian public sphere (Soldaticand Fiske 2009)
. Ultimately, disgust aroused the public senses to haunt, disturb anddisrupt the established normative notions of deserving tied to disability entitlements.Disgust, with its insidious stickiness, oozed subtlety (see Ahmed 2004; Lawler 2005),underpinning and emerging within public discourses on the welfare subject, thusforming the ‘glue’ required to combine the range of necessary contingencies to shiftthe public understandings of distributive justice and social rights.
“A system designed only to assist the poor helps perpetuate existing social and economic inequality in the longer run by reinforcing distinctions between the poor and the rest of society, and at the same time it may lock the poor into a cycle of poverty by its system of benefit abatement.”
[ So the present system stigmatises the poor, may even keep them down ]
“A further implication is that a highly targeted system will ultimately face considerable resistance from taxpayers unwilling to support a system perceived as rewarding the improvident and providing themselves with no return for their contributions.”
[ So the present system is seen as unfair by many of those needed to contribute. So the neocon/liberal/right or whatever you want to call them can get a lot of political mileage out of this. ]
When will the Left move to a new paradigm that stays true to the original goal of wealth redistribution and deals with the problems of the outmoded bloated welfare state?
Raving on about the end of capitalism and patriarchy definitely won’t help the Left.
For once I agree with you. Gareth Morgan has excellent ideas about income distribution and fair taxation.
Abatement rates for those trying to get work on benefits are a definite obstacle to taking on part time or full time work. The same people who claim that tax rates of 30% stop the wealthy from working harder or staying here are fine with 100% or even more abatement rates for those who try and supplement their benefit or try and get into some work.
The savings in not having to employ all the arrogant, holier than thou, twits in WINZ would be immense, for a start. Though so many of them would be unemployable elsewhere, that the number unemployed may increase.
I also like his idea of wheedling out tax dodgers by taxing them on the risk free return rate on wealth. No one with 50 million is going to have no earnings from it. Obviously there are a lot of bludgers, using services provided by taxpayers, at the top end of the scale, when 50% of our wealthiest people pay no tax.
I was interested in the GMI long before Morgan suggested it, but it solves a lot of problems.
KJT 15.2.1
Good points. Particularly the benefit abatement rate that is so high. It is possible that those on benefits will always find employment only at the minimum wage. A sensible and pragmatic government would see benefits as a base and then want and help beneficiaries to extend themselves with some study at technics, particularly solo parents.
Also to get some paid work to keep up their work profile, if no paid work then work regularly at some volunteer job, and look at helping with seasonal work in some form. This would be facilitated by transport and child care provision for instance. The demands of WINZ workers can create more financial burdens for struggling people. One of my cash-strapped relations with family worries as well, had to drive her own car at her own expense many kilometres to an orchard job only to find that work had been cancelled that day because of bad weather. I think it was demanded that she start on a certain day, and no allowance made for shut downs of the employer.
The authoritarian attitude of the state and its servants in WINZ is to despise people who are struggling,and to disregard parents responsibilities and the child-raising skills needed despite all the professional and academic statements that good early childhood care creates well balanced children and citizens. Government should be assisting the opportunities for beneficiaries and low income people to have as good quality and useful life as possible, not to simply concentrate on employment league tables and concentrate on lesser numbers for their stats. Their goal should be to have happy people working and achieving at something that is suitable to their circumstances and that would benefit society and be cheaper to administer by $million.
Well, if the Big Bang is a lie from the pit of hell, then the Universe itself is lying to us, and I’m a liar repeating those lies that it tells us about itself. Here’s why.
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
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David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground PictureMany Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Snoop weighs up the difference between Romney and Obama. Turns out the name ‘Mitt’ is the decider. That and the dancing horse.
In NZ, it’s pronouced “Mutt”. Ry Cooder has the best explanation.
Looks like it’s been the dumb fuckers leaving and much smarter people arriving…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7779840/Key-changes-tack-with-brain-exchange-tag
Ah. The market provides again. Whoop. We have a brain exchange now. Wonder if Johnny Boy picked his up as a ‘not worth trading’ commodity that had been discarded on the trading room floor?
Or is it just me who has images of ‘Futurama’ and heads in jars?
Have no fear Bill, by no means do you stand alone in this (and other) sound opinions concerning “Johnny Boy”! (The problem is that too many of us are much too often feeling alone and thus vulnerable – this is what Johnny and cohorts do to us). Maybe I am not making much sense of this!?
Yeah right.
In my industry we are losing all our young competent people and replacing them with poorly trained ring ins from overseas.
The average age of the Kiwis that are left is 57.
Indeed this is what I see also, and its not limited to any one industry. The ring ins also cost less, because they have little to no idea what a job might pay when they arrive, so it works to suppress wages nicely for the “owners”, quality be damned!
I work amongst entire swathes, some of who can barely speak english, which while not in of itself a problem, it most certainly becomes one in the work place.
The brain drain term was obviously just “mis-sold”. (I just mis-purchased a bottle of wine that tasted really cheap and nasty) – should I take it back? I’ll give it a go. Oh… and I mis-purchased a load of fruit that was individually packaged in plastic.
We really do live with truly twisted liers, repeating the truly twisted thoughts of the spin team behind the faces…
Oh yeah right they are so smart, that they are going to come to live in NZ for shit wages, and even shittier conditions, in a country run by a fool. Now there’s a Tui Ad.
: )
Another great speech from John “spin-me-a-river” Key…
My own experience is that a lot of the bright Kiwis are leaving, with the jobs going to third rate remnants of the empire from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Britain. This seems particularly true in universities and the public service, especially in the higher echelons. For example, to speak of Longstone, Rebstock, or those filling the ranks of the spy agencies in terms of a brain exchange may have been accurate in the days of live sheep exports, but haven’t they stopped? In my own field, most of the best people are in the academic diaspora, while semi competent self promoters from overseas are slowly filling the positions in Aotearoa.
THE DARK NIGHT
In the delicious night,
In privacy, where no one saw me,
Nor did I see one thing,
I had no light or guide
But the fire that burned inside my chest.
That fire showed me
The way more clearly than the blaze of moon
To where, waiting for me,
Was the One I knew so well.
In that place where no one ever is.
Oh night, sweet guider,
Oh night more marvelous than the dawn!
Oh night which joins
The lover and the beloved
So that the lover and beloved change bodies!
In my chest full of flowers,
Flowering wholly and only for Him,
There He remained sleeping;
I cared for Him there,
And the fan of the high cedars cooled Him.
The wind played with
His hair, and that wind from the high
Towers struck me on the neck
With its sober hand;
Sight, taste, touch, hearing stopped.
I stood still. I forgot who I was,
My face leaning against Him,
Everything stopped, abandoned me,
My worldliness was gone, forgotten
Among the white lilies.
-John, The Weavers Apprentice
He said to Moses, “I Will Be What, Where and How I Will Be”
so back to the books, semi-monasticism, with a little gardening on the side.
( and they all said “tfft” 🙂 )
Go In Peace
-j
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7779714/Businesses-targeted-in-student-visa-scam
Private Training Establishments and businesses making a killing. it makes the word private a very dirty word, when used in conjunction with education.
And you gotta love a battler..
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7779571/Jobless-battler-takes-on-Winz-for-a-3-cause
Re second link:
Gee, what a surprise. WINZ fucks someone over and then complains about being caught doing it.
Second link – that is such an awesome story, someone should give that guy a fucking medal. His original enquiry was over a $3.73 mispayment and WINZ fucked it up so badly that the HRC eventually awards the guy $17,000 in damages.
It should be noted that the kinds of mistakes reported in the article are pretty standard, so this case seems groundbreaking to me. WINZ have just been told by the Human Rights Commission that their processes at a system and institutional level are broken and need to be fixed.
It will be interesting to see what the courts do with it. Won’t be the first time that WINZ have lost a battle in the High Court due to not treating a beneficiary properly with respect to entitlements.
Edit: actually the Human Rights Tribunal which is part of the Dept of Justice (not the HRC).
Some Dunedin people who were part of the recent National Day of Action are organising support for the old battler. He won’t be alone at the High Court on Wednesday.
That’s good to know!
The numbers who are brave enough to see through Key and his gang, must at all costs hang in there with patience. Despair will mean victory for them, as tempting as it is to submit to despair.
Sounds reasonable…
So who will be turning it around then, if you were pressed for an an answer Dr T?
muzza. First of all I must look to myself and my own thoughts and actions, next to my family and friends, then by my contributions through the Green Party and the Labour Party (especially Mr Cunliffe), and, most importantly, I would look to you in person! (Actually, I am not finished yet, but this will do for starters).
Quite right Dr T,
We can only positively influence what we directly touch, and if all people started with themselves, and worked outwards from there, it would be a very good start. If we are able to influence so well, then it could perhaps turn into being able to influence what we do not directly touch. Thats when things could get very interesting indeed.
😉
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/latest-edition/7779753/Payroll-chaos-latest-burden-for-teachers
A ”shambolic” Education Ministry payroll system is threatening to shatter the resilience of Christchurch teachers who are already at war with the Government, principals say.
They say the $29 million Novopay system, implemented in August, is an added burden for Christchurch schools affected by the Government’s recent education shake-up, involving closures and mergers.
Since Novopay was introduced, some schools have had to foot the bill when staff were underpaid and in other cases ex-staff members have reappeared on the payroll.
Ummm What was wrong with the old system???
>>>Ummm What was wrong with the old system
It worked!!!
I think, but I don’t really know that the new system is web based.
Maybe ianmac or some one more connected can tell us.
The reappearance of teachers on the payroll who have resigned is odd.
Obviously one problem is the data transition.
Yes it is web based and has caused a lot of trouble for the ancillary staff in schools who deal with payroll. Apparently Novopay knew they weren’t ready but the MOE insisted they commence operations. Most teacher’s thankfully haven’t had problems, it’s support staff, relievers and part time staff who appear to have had the most problems.
Sounds familiar, experienced supplier says ‘not ready’ normally due to the feckless incompetence of the client but gets told to go live anyway.
Ryalls been doing that in the DHB’S backend, gotta have those ticks in boxes, job done bonuses for the mangers all around.
Supershity is still cleaning up after sergeant Ford, Rortney and Shonkeys forced shambles and is effectively still 7 councils once you scratch the surface with the same mad as meat axes managers bullying people around, they just get paid more now like bully boy McKay.
Talent2 not being ready? – they had more than four years!!!
Sorry DV. Not connected but will ask neighbours. When the Ministry said fewer than 100 had problems I thought that it was a politically motivated number because who would be able to show that it might be thousands?
One of the ‘thing’ that has irritated one teacher (Part time) that I know is their pay has been reduced by 3 cents a pay.
It is apparently that each calculation is rounded as it is done. and not at the end.
Now I know that is sort of trivial, BUT really irritating.
Why can’t they just round at the end.
Heads will roll! Mark my words (according to national standards).
Financial Warfare: Destabilizing Iran’s Monetary System
Magical Thinking, Meteorology and Economic Forecasting.
Emphasis mine.
DTB after 3 years of Tory Austerity the RWNJ’s have increased the National debt by more than 20% after saying repeatedly that austerity was the only answer to the UK”s economy Austerity has made it far worse
Yes, because that is what austerity achieves….More borrowing!
Which is what the RWNJs wanted – more government guaranteed income for the well-off.
For the sake of clarity: this is where all the money being “saved” by austerity is going.
http://www.johnpemberton.co.nz/html/debt_graph_info.pdf
New Zealand government official stats show $318 billion NZ originated private institution credit money. They then treat as assets and deduct what has been invested overseas and come up with what they call Net International Investment Position which appears much less alarming despite that money competting to find profit in an international financial system where the international debt is also unrepayable from the day its born.
Even if the foreign investments from NZ where able to be repatriated in quick time they would come back to only the wealthiest few who control them and not benefit wider society as implied. Just more smoke and mirrors;
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/ParlSupport/ResearchPapers/3/4/6/00PlibCIP121-New-Zealand-s-International-Investment-Position.htm
$318 billion debt based money supply at annual interest rate of 7% equals $22 odd billion interest repayment that is essentially rent upon a revolving line of credit that circulates as our money supply.
Given most of that interest finds its way back to the same largest owners of larger international banks who own largest stake holdings in Australian banks who own NZ banks, it puts to shame the 1.3 billion they give back in tax and shout from the roof tops as being so beneficial to the prosperity of the nation?
Well said bud
Exactly CV.
🙂
Herald gets headline wrong. Should read, “Meathead says raping a woman built his character”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10838938
Piss off, loser. “The People” don’t want you as much as your brain damaged mind would like to imagine.
Quote:
“Tyson served three years in prison after the 1991 rape of an 18-year-old woman in an Indianapolis hotel room.
He insisted during a visit to London, however, that the negative experiences in his life have shaped his character.
“Anything that I would have got away from, being in prison, having fights, biting (Evander) Holyfield; (the) lack of that, my life would be miserable,” Tyson said as he launched a new range of boxing gear.”
Jesus H. Christ!…….check THIS out!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/john-hartevelt/7778670/Key-must-press-on-to-fix-spy-agency
“But the prime minister deserves some credit for his willingness to turn over more information about the secretive spy agency…….” (John Hartevelt)
Who IS this guy?
Straws. at. clutching
a-wishin. a-hopin
Faith and hope
carry on Major
Chin up
itchim, smetchim, goan fowid, oim rilexed
Oh…apologies… I see from the link I just posted that John Hartevelt is a “columnist”. Let’s commend Fairfax for being charitable
Tim. Fairfax is showing its true colours, that’s about all. Indeed, Key apologised NOT for himself but for his minions who suffered through absence of his leadership. Key did “the right things” only under immense duress. So, he is a Saint? Even worse people than him have been canonised.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/41015_Video_by_Simpsons_Animator_Lucas_Gray-_Why_Obama_Now/
Not that the right will ever abandon a failed policy in the face of overwhelming evidence that it doesn’t fucking work 🙄
Just a random thought….whatever happened to the Cullen Fund which seems to have sunk without trace never to be seen again? Does anybody know?
Still there mate.
More news from Planet Key.
😀
Blood on our hands?
New Zealand’s Afghan interpreters go public, pleading to New Zealanders for their lives.
Will Key and our military leaders heed their call and do the right thing?
Or will New Zealand’s ill advised ten year involvement in the Afghan war result in one final outrage?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7779871/Dear-Mr-Key-please-don-t-leave-us-to-die
Nope.
And you wonder where local good will for allied forces disappears to.
Is this what New Zealanders have killed and died for in Afghanistan?
http://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2012-10-05/letters-at-3am-too-much-of-nothing/
So, while Key is over in Hollywood talking up making films here Weta are importing workers.
Seems somewhat self-defeating to subsidise multi-national conglomerates to bring work here to NZ only to give those jobs to foreigners. Especially while we have such massive unemployment.
Good old Peter Jackson screwing NZ workers yet again. I hope those Weta employees who marched against union protections understand a bit better what is happening now.
Yes, I saw that before I went to work this morning. Also, as I recall, someone (probably Kelsey) said something about the TPPA rules will make it harder for films by NZ production companies to use the web to market or distribute their films.
All about Hollywood protecting their market advantage. Why would they want to concede anything to the NZ industry?
http://www.academia.edu/1273785/The_three_Ds_of_welfare_reform_disability_disgust_and_deservingness
From the Australian Journal of Human rights an interesting analysis of the deliberate strategy of manipulating public disgust towards welfare beneficiaries, by the Howard government, in order to further the aims of the neoliberal elites in changing public beliefs about distributive justice and social rights.
Apologies for the poor reproduction of the text. I’m not sure why it has transferred badly from the link. embolding mine.
Via the Feminist Carnival Down Under.
Excellent
That’s why we need the ‘Big Kahuna’ by Gareth Morgan. http://www.bigkahuna.org.nz
A Royal Commission quote from the site:
“A system designed only to assist the poor helps perpetuate existing social and economic inequality in the longer run by reinforcing distinctions between the poor and the rest of society, and at the same time it may lock the poor into a cycle of poverty by its system of benefit abatement.”
[ So the present system stigmatises the poor, may even keep them down ]
“A further implication is that a highly targeted system will ultimately face considerable resistance from taxpayers unwilling to support a system perceived as rewarding the improvident and providing themselves with no return for their contributions.”
[ So the present system is seen as unfair by many of those needed to contribute. So the neocon/liberal/right or whatever you want to call them can get a lot of political mileage out of this. ]
When will the Left move to a new paradigm that stays true to the original goal of wealth redistribution and deals with the problems of the outmoded bloated welfare state?
Raving on about the end of capitalism and patriarchy definitely won’t help the Left.
For once I agree with you. Gareth Morgan has excellent ideas about income distribution and fair taxation.
Abatement rates for those trying to get work on benefits are a definite obstacle to taking on part time or full time work. The same people who claim that tax rates of 30% stop the wealthy from working harder or staying here are fine with 100% or even more abatement rates for those who try and supplement their benefit or try and get into some work.
The savings in not having to employ all the arrogant, holier than thou, twits in WINZ would be immense, for a start. Though so many of them would be unemployable elsewhere, that the number unemployed may increase.
I also like his idea of wheedling out tax dodgers by taxing them on the risk free return rate on wealth. No one with 50 million is going to have no earnings from it. Obviously there are a lot of bludgers, using services provided by taxpayers, at the top end of the scale, when 50% of our wealthiest people pay no tax.
I was interested in the GMI long before Morgan suggested it, but it solves a lot of problems.
KJT 15.2.1
Good points. Particularly the benefit abatement rate that is so high. It is possible that those on benefits will always find employment only at the minimum wage. A sensible and pragmatic government would see benefits as a base and then want and help beneficiaries to extend themselves with some study at technics, particularly solo parents.
Also to get some paid work to keep up their work profile, if no paid work then work regularly at some volunteer job, and look at helping with seasonal work in some form. This would be facilitated by transport and child care provision for instance. The demands of WINZ workers can create more financial burdens for struggling people. One of my cash-strapped relations with family worries as well, had to drive her own car at her own expense many kilometres to an orchard job only to find that work had been cancelled that day because of bad weather. I think it was demanded that she start on a certain day, and no allowance made for shut downs of the employer.
The authoritarian attitude of the state and its servants in WINZ is to despise people who are struggling,and to disregard parents responsibilities and the child-raising skills needed despite all the professional and academic statements that good early childhood care creates well balanced children and citizens. Government should be assisting the opportunities for beneficiaries and low income people to have as good quality and useful life as possible, not to simply concentrate on employment league tables and concentrate on lesser numbers for their stats. Their goal should be to have happy people working and achieving at something that is suitable to their circumstances and that would benefit society and be cheaper to administer by $million.
Replying to Paul Broun and his lies straight from the pit of hell.
Well, if the Big Bang is a lie from the pit of hell, then the Universe itself is lying to us, and I’m a liar repeating those lies that it tells us about itself. Here’s why.
on the same wavelength. (in the beginning was the information, and the information was with…)
Always love your posts joe. -Kirk Out
According to iPredict, it’s not looking good for the PM!
https://www.ipredict.co.nz/app.php?do=watch&next=detail&watch=DOTCOM.NAME.KEY&id=4167
can you post a link that doesn’t need registration?
But look at the trade volumes on that spike yesterday, all ones and twos on the way up. Looks like some gaming going on as usual.