“MPs have been given just five days to consider hundreds of submissions on the controversial TPP trade deal after the timeframe was drastically cut from four weeks.
The select committee was originally give a month to write its report and present it back to Parliament. Opposition MPs were furious at the sudden change and they called it an attack on democracy.”
IMO, They realised that all of the submissions were going to be against the TPPA and so they decided that they weren’t going to bother to read them as they were simply going to ignore them anyway.
And, yes, GFC2 isn’t far away and they know that as well. When it hits it’s going to highlight, yet again, just how badly modern capitalism and ‘free’ markets fail.
Tautoko@ Murray Simmonds. I listened to some submissions yesterday in which
there were good practical solutions to some of the obvious shortcomings about the TPP. Chairman Mark Mitchell is just acting as timekeeper. I was appalled to hear him suggest that a submitter was “anti-trade” after a submission had been made pointing out some serious omissions in the TPP text.
These submission should have been listened to BEFORE the document was signed. The whole process is a farce, the outcome of the select committee process has been predetermined. Key is shoving this through as quickly as possible because the public are waking up. The small protest group outside the venue for submissions were receiving a massive number of car toots. Their support is appreciated. These people are not rent-a-mob, they are committed activists.
” …After three days of stalling and four partial statements issued by Downing Street he confessed that he owned shares in the tax haven fund, which he sold for £31,500 just before becoming prime minister in 2010.
In a specially arranged interview with ITV News’ Robert Peston he confirmed a direct link to his father’s UK-tax avoiding fund, details of which were exposed in the Panama Papers revelations in the Guardian this week.
Admitting it had been “a difficult few days”, the prime minister said he held the shares together with his wife, Samantha, from 1997 and during his time as leader of the opposition. They were sold in January 2010 for a profit of £19,000.
He paid income tax on the dividends but there was no capital gains tax payable and he said he sold up before entering Downing Street “because I didn’t want anyone to say you have other agendas or vested interests”.
But the interview appeared unlikely to end scrutiny of Cameron’s tax affairs.
The Labour MP John Mann, a member of the Treasury select committee, said the prime minister should resign, claiming that Cameron had “covered up and misled”.
Cameron also admitted he did not know whether the £300,000 he inherited from his father had benefited from tax haven status due to part of his estate being based in a unit trust in Jersey.
….”
Smacks of sins of the father being visited upon the children.
The PM can hardly be held to account for the fact that his father operated Jersey and other funds. What his father did in his business life, is what he did, not what the PM has done.
If the only direct involvement is the investment that PM sold in 2010, he will not be in any difficulty.
It is a bit hard to ping him for the inheritance which relates, it seems, to his fathers actions.
It is very different situation to the Iceland PM, who effectively effectively bet against the very banks he was bailing out.
Agree with Wayne. As someone who was once directly affected by the sins of her father (although in his case it was wrongful suspicion based on insufficient facts), I have empathy for any person – no matter who they are – who finds themselves in such a situation. If his only involvement was to sell the investment in question, then I can’t see how he can be made accountable for his father’s actions.
He’s not being made accountable for his father’s actions, he’s been held to account for benefitting from his father’s actions and then subsequently misleading the British public about that.
On whether Mr Cameron should resign, Mr Watson told Sky News: “I think it’s too early to tell. He may have to resign over this but I think we need to know a lot more about what his financial arrangements have been, why it’s taken three days for him to answer legitimate questions from journalists, why he didn’t come clean when he heralded in the new age of transparency, and what other shareholdings does David Cameron have or has had since he was a Member of Parliament.”
It was not too early for John Mann, a Labour MP and member of the Treasury Select Committee, who said the Prime Minister should quit. He wrote on his Twitter account: “Cameron has been less than honest. He should resign immediately. Most decent people would expect nothing less.
“So during the 2010 general election campaign Cameron failed to declare offshore shares. Get out now hypocrite. Cameron has had six years to be honest with Parliament and the people. He failed to do so. Get out now hypocrite…Cameron issue is simple. He covered up and misled. How he got his shares is irrelevant. He has no choice but to resign.”
Mr Cameron also faced questions after it emerged he personally intervened to try to prevent EU transparency rules affecting offshore tax trusts.
The Prime Minister was forced to respond after it emerged that he sent a letter to the European Council president Herman van Rompuy in 2013 arguing for trusts to be treated differently from companies in anti-money laundering rules.
But Cameron actually sold his interest in 2010, so did he in fact have anything to declare?
It seems pretty unlikely to me that he will have to resign, it takes rather more than an Opposition MP calling for the PM’s head for that to happen.
Taking three days to clarify something is almost never an issue. Helen Clark always took her time, and generally that is how it works. Although Watson asks the question about whether there are other undisclosed shareholdings, that is simply an assertion.
Cameron would know that he has one shot at disclosure, so it seems pretty unlikely there are other financial skeletons in his cupboard.
If there are , then he really would be in trouble.
Taking three days to clarify something probably wouldn’t be an issue provided you haven’t lied from the start. Cameron’s biggest problem right now is he is having to row back from a deliberately misleading position at the start.
Furthermore Cameron is a bit of lame duck PM now since he’s said he won’t stand at the 2020 general election, jockeying for his job in the Conservative Party has already begun and he can’t afford a cock-up like this.
David Cameron has the blood of millions of human beings on his hands, as well as the misery and poverty of tens of millions more
Cameron has his own sins to pay for, and how payback returns to him will not make a blind bit of difference to those he has killed, maimed and impoverished
well, as this lady here says, he is not responsible for the sins of his father, but neither are the children of those he deems to be lazy unemployed, disabled, sick and otherwise undeserving of government help.
Quote: So David Cameron’s dad didn’t pay his fair share of taxes. The sins of Cameron’s dad are not his fault. True, but the Government are no strangers to damning the children of people who they think aren’t doing their bit for society. Barnardo’s, the Child Poverty Action Group and many others have all said that the Conservative Welfare and Work Bill will make poor children poorer. Policies such as only paying tax credits to the first two children in a family directly penalise children for the decisions of their parents. So in Tory Britain poor kids are paying the price for the actions of their parents but David Cameron doesn’t have to?
The Tories want taxpayers to hate people on benefits and be annoyed that we are paying for their lifestyle, I think it was IDS referred to as, “a direction which divides society”. To use the words of the Prime Minister, ‘let me be clear’: The sins of Daddy Cameron were not illegal but they are utterly disgusting. They are worse than the sins of fathers up and down the country who can’t find work, even the most feckless amongst them.
People who don’t pay their taxes are robbing from us all. The Camerons may well have forked out for education and health services, but it was my money that trained the doctors, nurses and teachers they used. Without the taxpayer the posh who jump the queue would just be sitting in a rather nicely decorated room without the staff to actually deliver the service. Every time Cameron Snr drove his car on a public highway, every time he could see on the street because of a streetlight, every day when there was a pavement outside his house and a regular bin collection, he took money from you, the nation’s honest taxpayers, without seeing fit to put his hand in his pocket. And while the Camerons had a bob or two I doubt very much they funded their own private police force and army. I mean the Eton set are a bit old fashioned but think the acts of livery and maintenance is a step to far even for them. So they got the security we all enjoy but it was you footing the bill, not daddy darling.
What makes it worse is that they got the best of everything while you paid the tab. They reaped the benefits of your hard toil, and because they had money to spare they got the best education, smaller class sizes, better service. Their kids got privilege that you paid for but never benefited from.
So David Cameron doesn’t need our praise for paying his tax. He’s not a very clever boy, he’s a very average boy who used privilege rather than brains to get where he got. Perhaps we could all buy our babies a better life if only we weren’t burdened with being decent human beings.Quote End.
———————————————————————————————————
and this applies very well here in NZ too. AS here too the children of the poor are paying the bill for the country that does not care and is happy to not pay taxes if they can avoid them.
“Is David Cameron fucked?” With any luck. He should follow Iceland’s example and resign. Now the people of Iceland are protesting again and calling for a snap election. Hopefully the international escalation of public outrage might eventually rub off on our “whatev’s” PM.
He is BOUND to be hiding something, aside from the fact he literally shrugs off such morally corrupt behaviour.
He’s guilty of plenty of things. Not telling the truth is one of them.
He’s the bloody south Pacific version of Silvio Berlusconi for gawds sake. And he gets things mixed up on purpose all the time, you know, like thinking assaulting a woman is “horse play”. That kind of thing. So what makes you think his word can be trusted?
On Planet Key, advice given by lawyers and accountants to their clients on tax avoidance is a good thing because it netted $24 million for those companies. On Planet Normal People that would be considered morally corrupt. If Key has been using offshore tax free trusts (and I’m not accusing him of that, it’s a hypothetical suggestion) I would expect him to come up with some sort of Father Ted “It was just resting in my account” excuse and you’d believe it.
“They need harsher penalties for people like that who put greed and money over human life.”
TOMMY DAVIS, who lost his brother and son and his nephew in the UBB coal mine disaster.
Disgraced coal baron Don Blankenship received the maximum possible sentence Wednesday for his misdemeanor conspiracy conviction, in a criminal case spurred by the Upper Big Branch disaster that killed 29 coal miners in West Virginia in 2009
Blankenship was acquitted in December of three felony charges over his direct personal responsibility for those deaths. But he was convicted on conspiracy to violate federal mining safety standards. And yesterday, federal judge handed down a sentence of one year in prison, plus a year of probation and a fine of $250,000 for Blankenship’s crimes.
2009, Twenty nine coal miners killed at the Upper Big Branch Coal mine in 2009 due to safety lapses.
2010, Twenty nine coal miners killed at the Pike River coal mine due to safety lapses.
Two eerily similar disasters, two very different outcomes for those responsible.
Why are managers and politicians prepared to take such risks with other peoples lives?
As well as greed, Don Blankenship shares something else in common with John Key, who’s government weakened mining safety regulations before the Pike River disaster, in particular banning worker chosen, check inspectors.
Blankenship had briefly tried to re-insert himself into the debate over energy policy briefly after his indictment, remaining among the ranks of climate-deniers. “Record low temperatures are freezing the Global Warming movement,” one of his most recent tweets, from November 2014, reads. “Hope @BarackObama notices that Climate Science is not settled.”
“I’ve seen a lot of leaders get up and say that this is potentially the biggest threat to mankind. Well that may be true, but my point really would be it’s not going to get there.”
JOHN KEY,
Newstalk ZB, Wednesday, 16 December 2015, 10:00AM
That is no surprise really in the nat controlled RNZ.
Watch them bring in some experts like hoots, dave etc (maybe brash even) to explain theres nothing really to see and its not shonkys fault anyway, happens all the time, we just did as told etc etc
Watch how the deep pockets influence behind this govts and its sellout agenda plays out
Don’t too hard on RadioNZ They will follow up the Panama Papers but it’s not new news. Now if they could give us less news about Trump, and all the other card-playing USA politicians – ‘Every move you make, every breath you take, I’ll be watching you’. (Which is actually sung by the Police, the band so aptly named for that song.) It is a sort of advertising for the USA Empah!
Budding journalist, researcher, fact magician (secret or unseen rabbits pulled out of hats before your wondering eyes), then take note, an award might come to you to help with your exertions.
Bruce Jesson Awards – http://www.brucejesson.com/
The grants are unique in New Zealand because they fund time and research costs of up to $4000 in advance.
Applications for the 2016 grants and student journalism prizes are now open, and close on Friday 9 September….
Applications and nominations can be submitted online through the Jesson website or by mail.
Grant applicants should submit an outline of their proposed project and explain how it meets the criteria set out the Jesson website http://www.brucejesson.com.
It is usual to submit references and/or examples of previous work, and a budget for the project.
The separate Emerging Journalism Prize for student journalists offers $1000 for “outstanding recent work by New Zealand print journalism students.” It is nominated by the heads of New Zealand journalism schools or journalism programme leaders for work by student journalists published between the closing date of last year’s award, 18 Sept 2015, and this year’s closing date 9 Sept 2016.
Entries for both awards will be assessed by members of the Bruce Jesson Foundation’s Journalism Sub-committee: Simon Collins (convenor), Joe Atkinson, Bryan Bruce, Geoff Kemp and Nicola Legat. The committee’s convenor may be contacted here. http://www.brucejesson.com/contact/journalism-sub-committee-convenor/
Remember the publicity when Mt Puna was arrested at the airport for Student Loan overdue? Thanks No Right Turn:
“Mr Puna lives and works in the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands along with Niue and Tokelau are dependent territories. This means that those who are citizens of these countries are also citizens of New Zealand, and that MrPuna was never an overseas based borrower to start with.
IRD have belatedly acknowledged this – his alleged $120,000 loan was reduced to $30,000, now further less the $5000 he was forced to borrow from his family in order to be released from his imprisonment at the airport.”…… http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2016/04/an-expensive-mistake.html
Mossack Fonseca isn’t the only firm involved in this kind of shit. There are at least three other, larger firms, that have their client data in tact.
I’d be very surprised if John Key doesn’t have something squirreled away by one of them….very surprised. He’s worth, what? 50 million? And banging money away in off-shore accounts is just normal, everyday stuff for peeps with that sort of money.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 11.1.1.1.1
Just have to say, what the fuck are the left going on about NZ being this massive tax haven?
Christ, we’re not even in the top 10, which makes us less of a tax haven than the UK! and going by the graph shown the UK barely even rates.
I’m assuming you’re talking about the graph with the title
From the Caribbean to the Pacific: tax havens used by Mossack Fonseca
Other countries and states on that graph are
BAHAMAS
BELIZE
BRITISH ANGUILLA
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
COSTA RICA
CYPRUS
HONG KONG
ISLE OF MAN
JERSEY
MALTA
NEVADA
NEW ZEALAND
NIUE
PANAMA
RAS AL KHAIMAH
SAMOA
SEYCHELLES
SINGAPORE
UNITED KINGDOM
URUGUAY
WYOMING
According to that graph we are so small in the scale of tax havens they didn’t even bother plotting us on the graph!
UK’s Cameron has made statements to the effect that he disposed of his shareholdings prior to his becoming PM in order to avoid any accusations of “conflicts of interest”. Key apparently simply created a Blind Trust in which to move all of his investment portfolios to remove any suspicions.
Spin spin spin, I love how you fishing for the new spin. Here it is folks.
The National Party shortly after coming into office tweaked the laws, created a de-facto tax haven for criminals, and people who think it is sport to avoid tax.
The package of changes, contained in the 2015 Land Reform Bill, defines land as a finite resource that must be protected in law for the common good and in the public interest.
The third stage of a detailed, 10 part Bill passed in March and paves the way for a new Land Register to ensure greater transparency of land ownership and improvements to community rights to roam common land.
Strangly very little comment on this site on Government proposed changes to CYFS, general feedback across the board has been very positive, It is an unusual policy for a Proto fascist government that is just there for the rich, what next passing on the first benefit increases in 20 years, raising the minimum wage, who would think ?
The sales brochure sounds good, but I think many people are waiting to see how this crowd fuck it up.
Probably by letting the new central organisation privatise shit. Was trying to find some home help support for an acquaintance with a chronic condition, got referred to an office at the other end of the country because that was who won the DHB contract 🙄
well, if the money from the other agencies was only for children, and the new single agency gets all that money, and it’s sufficient for the job, and if the single agency closes all the cracks that currently exist between different organisation without creating new cracks when it contracts for services, then it might be better for the kids.
That’s a lot of “if”s ‘twixt Tolley and triumph, however…
Strange again the kiwi bank idea came from a legend of the left, just irony after irony in our little south pacific proto fascist state for the rich Also sort of struggling how government prioritising between its own capital and expenditure is theft, if it does as you say and use special dividend to support social services (oops not another Proto fascist state contradiction)
From memory, and it is proving to be less reliable these days, Jim Anderton dragged Cullen kicking and screaming to fall in behind the creating of KiwiBank in the first place. So it would not be a surprise to see him working with the asset sale brigade…
“A number of historians regard fascism either as a revolutionary centrist doctrine, as a doctrine that mixes philosophies of the left and the right, or as both those things. Fascism was founded during World War I by Italian national syndicalists who drew upon left-wing and right-wing political views.”
“Some scholars consider fascism to be right-wing because of its social conservatism and authoritarian means of opposing egalitarianism”
Not sure why you would suggest such a thing.
You do get that when I call national fascist it’s colloquial rather than literal and to counter balance the left being referred to so often as communists (when most are far from communists).
There are of course fascist approaches within the National Party that make such colloquialism appropriate:
1. The spying on it’s own citizens and the increase of surveillance powers
2. The use of nothing to fear, nothing to hide as a justification
3. A strong emphasis on nationalism
4. The notion that an election gives me the leader mandate to do whatever the fuck I want
5. The links between the elite and the party – from fundraising, to law changes, to the taking over of elected bodies
6. The attacks on notions of egalitarianism and the promotion of individualism
7. The demeaning of the poor as undeserving and responsible for their own misfortune and the racism that this exudes both in political aspects and in the general populace.
8. The promotion of work for the disabled and the ill as the means to salvation.
Also sort of struggling how government prioritising between its own capital and expenditure is theft.
Cause neither the ACC money nor the pension money is theres to expend in that way.
Understanf your points but I suggest most governments would be considered facist based on your criteria, ie you could apply to any government and find some evidence of such? I think degrees is important here, calling national facist is absurd where the benchmark is Mussolini Italy and Nazi Germany
Re your last point the ACC and Superfund have simply traded one asset for another, while nzpost has traded and asset for cash and are paying a special dividend to thier shareholder, I can’t see the problem if all parties see the deal as a win win of which they obviously do based on thier respective strategic direction
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This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
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. ...
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 ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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From RNZ news:
“MPs have been given just five days to consider hundreds of submissions on the controversial TPP trade deal after the timeframe was drastically cut from four weeks.
The select committee was originally give a month to write its report and present it back to Parliament. Opposition MPs were furious at the sudden change and they called it an attack on democracy.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/300943/tpp-timeframe-'attack-on-democracy‘
Either the Government has just woken up to the fact that Global Financial Crisis 2 is just around the corner and is in PANIC MODE . . .
or its intended to provide a distraction from the Panama Papers and NZ’s status as a tax haven.
Or both.
I can’t see any other reason for shortening the time-frame for TPP submissions.
They don’t care for people’s opinions?
IMO, They realised that all of the submissions were going to be against the TPPA and so they decided that they weren’t going to bother to read them as they were simply going to ignore them anyway.
And, yes, GFC2 isn’t far away and they know that as well. When it hits it’s going to highlight, yet again, just how badly modern capitalism and ‘free’ markets fail.
Both major parties in Parliament have committed to keeping the TPP regardless of public opinion.
So why waste time on consultation theatre?
That’s the state of our “democracy” for you.
Tautoko@ Murray Simmonds. I listened to some submissions yesterday in which
there were good practical solutions to some of the obvious shortcomings about the TPP. Chairman Mark Mitchell is just acting as timekeeper. I was appalled to hear him suggest that a submitter was “anti-trade” after a submission had been made pointing out some serious omissions in the TPP text.
These submission should have been listened to BEFORE the document was signed. The whole process is a farce, the outcome of the select committee process has been predetermined. Key is shoving this through as quickly as possible because the public are waking up. The small protest group outside the venue for submissions were receiving a massive number of car toots. Their support is appreciated. These people are not rent-a-mob, they are committed activists.
Is David Cameron fucked?
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/07/david-cameron-admits-he-profited-fathers-offshore-fund-panama-papers
Will UK Prime Minister David Cameron be the next to resign?
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/07/david-cameron-admits-he-profited-fathers-offshore-fund-panama-papers
” …After three days of stalling and four partial statements issued by Downing Street he confessed that he owned shares in the tax haven fund, which he sold for £31,500 just before becoming prime minister in 2010.
In a specially arranged interview with ITV News’ Robert Peston he confirmed a direct link to his father’s UK-tax avoiding fund, details of which were exposed in the Panama Papers revelations in the Guardian this week.
Admitting it had been “a difficult few days”, the prime minister said he held the shares together with his wife, Samantha, from 1997 and during his time as leader of the opposition. They were sold in January 2010 for a profit of £19,000.
He paid income tax on the dividends but there was no capital gains tax payable and he said he sold up before entering Downing Street “because I didn’t want anyone to say you have other agendas or vested interests”.
But the interview appeared unlikely to end scrutiny of Cameron’s tax affairs.
The Labour MP John Mann, a member of the Treasury select committee, said the prime minister should resign, claiming that Cameron had “covered up and misled”.
Cameron also admitted he did not know whether the £300,000 he inherited from his father had benefited from tax haven status due to part of his estate being based in a unit trust in Jersey.
….”
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Smacks of sins of the father being visited upon the children.
The PM can hardly be held to account for the fact that his father operated Jersey and other funds. What his father did in his business life, is what he did, not what the PM has done.
If the only direct involvement is the investment that PM sold in 2010, he will not be in any difficulty.
It is a bit hard to ping him for the inheritance which relates, it seems, to his fathers actions.
It is very different situation to the Iceland PM, who effectively effectively bet against the very banks he was bailing out.
As usual though it’s not the crime so much as the cover-up that gets you. Downing Street has totally fucked this up and now they are panicking.
Agree with Wayne. As someone who was once directly affected by the sins of her father (although in his case it was wrongful suspicion based on insufficient facts), I have empathy for any person – no matter who they are – who finds themselves in such a situation. If his only involvement was to sell the investment in question, then I can’t see how he can be made accountable for his father’s actions.
He’s not being made accountable for his father’s actions, he’s been held to account for benefitting from his father’s actions and then subsequently misleading the British public about that.
Oh I see.
Will David Cameron have to resign following the revelations
of the Panama Papers?
More news on this from The Independent……
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/panama-papers-david-cameron-admits-he-did-have-a-stake-in-father-ian-camerons-offshore-investment-a6973586.html
On whether Mr Cameron should resign, Mr Watson told Sky News: “I think it’s too early to tell. He may have to resign over this but I think we need to know a lot more about what his financial arrangements have been, why it’s taken three days for him to answer legitimate questions from journalists, why he didn’t come clean when he heralded in the new age of transparency, and what other shareholdings does David Cameron have or has had since he was a Member of Parliament.”
It was not too early for John Mann, a Labour MP and member of the Treasury Select Committee, who said the Prime Minister should quit. He wrote on his Twitter account: “Cameron has been less than honest. He should resign immediately. Most decent people would expect nothing less.
“So during the 2010 general election campaign Cameron failed to declare offshore shares. Get out now hypocrite. Cameron has had six years to be honest with Parliament and the people. He failed to do so. Get out now hypocrite…Cameron issue is simple. He covered up and misled. How he got his shares is irrelevant. He has no choice but to resign.”
Mr Cameron also faced questions after it emerged he personally intervened to try to prevent EU transparency rules affecting offshore tax trusts.
The Prime Minister was forced to respond after it emerged that he sent a letter to the European Council president Herman van Rompuy in 2013 arguing for trusts to be treated differently from companies in anti-money laundering rules.
…. ”
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
But Cameron actually sold his interest in 2010, so did he in fact have anything to declare?
It seems pretty unlikely to me that he will have to resign, it takes rather more than an Opposition MP calling for the PM’s head for that to happen.
Taking three days to clarify something is almost never an issue. Helen Clark always took her time, and generally that is how it works. Although Watson asks the question about whether there are other undisclosed shareholdings, that is simply an assertion.
Cameron would know that he has one shot at disclosure, so it seems pretty unlikely there are other financial skeletons in his cupboard.
If there are , then he really would be in trouble.
Taking three days to clarify something probably wouldn’t be an issue provided you haven’t lied from the start. Cameron’s biggest problem right now is he is having to row back from a deliberately misleading position at the start.
Furthermore Cameron is a bit of lame duck PM now since he’s said he won’t stand at the 2020 general election, jockeying for his job in the Conservative Party has already begun and he can’t afford a cock-up like this.
Even The Telegraph can smell the blood in the water on this one
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/07/david-cameron-has-disastrously-mishandled-the-crisis-over-his-ta/
David Cameron has the blood of millions of human beings on his hands, as well as the misery and poverty of tens of millions more
Cameron has his own sins to pay for, and how payback returns to him will not make a blind bit of difference to those he has killed, maimed and impoverished
well, as this lady here says, he is not responsible for the sins of his father, but neither are the children of those he deems to be lazy unemployed, disabled, sick and otherwise undeserving of government help.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/jess-phillips/david-cameron-taxes_b_9622288.html
Quote: So David Cameron’s dad didn’t pay his fair share of taxes. The sins of Cameron’s dad are not his fault. True, but the Government are no strangers to damning the children of people who they think aren’t doing their bit for society. Barnardo’s, the Child Poverty Action Group and many others have all said that the Conservative Welfare and Work Bill will make poor children poorer. Policies such as only paying tax credits to the first two children in a family directly penalise children for the decisions of their parents. So in Tory Britain poor kids are paying the price for the actions of their parents but David Cameron doesn’t have to?
The Tories want taxpayers to hate people on benefits and be annoyed that we are paying for their lifestyle, I think it was IDS referred to as, “a direction which divides society”. To use the words of the Prime Minister, ‘let me be clear’: The sins of Daddy Cameron were not illegal but they are utterly disgusting. They are worse than the sins of fathers up and down the country who can’t find work, even the most feckless amongst them.
People who don’t pay their taxes are robbing from us all. The Camerons may well have forked out for education and health services, but it was my money that trained the doctors, nurses and teachers they used. Without the taxpayer the posh who jump the queue would just be sitting in a rather nicely decorated room without the staff to actually deliver the service. Every time Cameron Snr drove his car on a public highway, every time he could see on the street because of a streetlight, every day when there was a pavement outside his house and a regular bin collection, he took money from you, the nation’s honest taxpayers, without seeing fit to put his hand in his pocket. And while the Camerons had a bob or two I doubt very much they funded their own private police force and army. I mean the Eton set are a bit old fashioned but think the acts of livery and maintenance is a step to far even for them. So they got the security we all enjoy but it was you footing the bill, not daddy darling.
What makes it worse is that they got the best of everything while you paid the tab. They reaped the benefits of your hard toil, and because they had money to spare they got the best education, smaller class sizes, better service. Their kids got privilege that you paid for but never benefited from.
So David Cameron doesn’t need our praise for paying his tax. He’s not a very clever boy, he’s a very average boy who used privilege rather than brains to get where he got. Perhaps we could all buy our babies a better life if only we weren’t burdened with being decent human beings.Quote End.
———————————————————————————————————
and this applies very well here in NZ too. AS here too the children of the poor are paying the bill for the country that does not care and is happy to not pay taxes if they can avoid them.
“Is David Cameron fucked?” With any luck. He should follow Iceland’s example and resign. Now the people of Iceland are protesting again and calling for a snap election. Hopefully the international escalation of public outrage might eventually rub off on our “whatev’s” PM.
He is BOUND to be hiding something, aside from the fact he literally shrugs off such morally corrupt behaviour.
He is BOUND to be hiding something, aside from the fact he literally shrugs off such morally corrupt behaviour
– Well that’s good enough for me, hes definitely guilty of something then
He’s guilty of plenty of things. Not telling the truth is one of them.
He’s the bloody south Pacific version of Silvio Berlusconi for gawds sake. And he gets things mixed up on purpose all the time, you know, like thinking assaulting a woman is “horse play”. That kind of thing. So what makes you think his word can be trusted?
On Planet Key, advice given by lawyers and accountants to their clients on tax avoidance is a good thing because it netted $24 million for those companies. On Planet Normal People that would be considered morally corrupt. If Key has been using offshore tax free trusts (and I’m not accusing him of that, it’s a hypothetical suggestion) I would expect him to come up with some sort of Father Ted “It was just resting in my account” excuse and you’d believe it.
You’re a prime example of why courts are damn good idea
Eh?
capital punishment anyone?
April 7, 2016
2009, Twenty nine coal miners killed at the Upper Big Branch Coal mine in 2009 due to safety lapses.
2010, Twenty nine coal miners killed at the Pike River coal mine due to safety lapses.
Two eerily similar disasters, two very different outcomes for those responsible.
Why are managers and politicians prepared to take such risks with other peoples lives?
As well as greed, Don Blankenship shares something else in common with John Key, who’s government weakened mining safety regulations before the Pike River disaster, in particular banning worker chosen, check inspectors.
Winston Peters in reply to the Speaker of the House challenging him regarding his question-asking technique:
“Ive been in the House longer than you, and I know how to ask a question.”
Brilliant reply!
It may have got him thrown out of the House for the second day in a row, but Peters definitely won this spat by retaining the moral high ground.
That man is quite often worth his weight in Gold-Cards.
+1 MurrayS LOL
RNZ 7 a.m. news headlines
It’s official.
RNZ thinks Health and Safety issues at a private school’s drama production is more important than the Panama Papers.
Unbelievable.
And is it just me, but we seem to be getting more and more bloody sports news on this RNZ bulletin? Idle curiosity an’ all.
That is no surprise really in the nat controlled RNZ.
Watch them bring in some experts like hoots, dave etc (maybe brash even) to explain theres nothing really to see and its not shonkys fault anyway, happens all the time, we just did as told etc etc
Watch how the deep pockets influence behind this govts and its sellout agenda plays out
Don’t too hard on RadioNZ They will follow up the Panama Papers but it’s not new news. Now if they could give us less news about Trump, and all the other card-playing USA politicians – ‘Every move you make, every breath you take, I’ll be watching you’. (Which is actually sung by the Police, the band so aptly named for that song.) It is a sort of advertising for the USA Empah!
Brian Fallow: When work isn’t working. A good read on UBI, CGT, etc.
Remember this interview with John key in 2008
http://thestandard.org.nz/key-i-just-followed-what-was-in-my-diary/
Budding journalist, researcher, fact magician (secret or unseen rabbits pulled out of hats before your wondering eyes), then take note, an award might come to you to help with your exertions.
Bruce Jesson Awards – http://www.brucejesson.com/
The grants are unique in New Zealand because they fund time and research costs of up to $4000 in advance.
Applications for the 2016 grants and student journalism prizes are now open, and close on Friday 9 September….
Applications and nominations can be submitted online through the Jesson website or by mail.
Grant applicants should submit an outline of their proposed project and explain how it meets the criteria set out the Jesson website http://www.brucejesson.com.
It is usual to submit references and/or examples of previous work, and a budget for the project.
The separate Emerging Journalism Prize for student journalists offers $1000 for “outstanding recent work by New Zealand print journalism students.” It is nominated by the heads of New Zealand journalism schools or journalism programme leaders for work by student journalists published between the closing date of last year’s award, 18 Sept 2015, and this year’s closing date 9 Sept 2016.
Entries for both awards will be assessed by members of the Bruce Jesson Foundation’s Journalism Sub-committee: Simon Collins (convenor), Joe Atkinson, Bryan Bruce, Geoff Kemp and Nicola Legat. The committee’s convenor may be contacted here.
http://www.brucejesson.com/contact/journalism-sub-committee-convenor/
For those of you interested to learn more about the work of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 truth here is week 1 of their 4 week webinar program.
Remember the publicity when Mt Puna was arrested at the airport for Student Loan overdue? Thanks No Right Turn:
“Mr Puna lives and works in the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands along with Niue and Tokelau are dependent territories. This means that those who are citizens of these countries are also citizens of New Zealand, and that MrPuna was never an overseas based borrower to start with.
IRD have belatedly acknowledged this – his alleged $120,000 loan was reduced to $30,000, now further less the $5000 he was forced to borrow from his family in order to be released from his imprisonment at the airport.”……
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2016/04/an-expensive-mistake.html
A nice wee settlement on the horizon?.
Anyone yet found that mention you all assumed Key would have in the Panama Papers?
Keep me informed, will you?
Oh well, might just be a slow burner instead.
So long as we’re all clear that he’s definitely involved.
I will check back periodically for news.
Mossack Fonseca isn’t the only firm involved in this kind of shit. There are at least three other, larger firms, that have their client data in tact.
I’d be very surprised if John Key doesn’t have something squirreled away by one of them….very surprised. He’s worth, what? 50 million? And banging money away in off-shore accounts is just normal, everyday stuff for peeps with that sort of money.
And banging money away in off-shore accounts is just normal, everyday stuff for peeps with that sort of money.
Got a link for that? Or is this pronouncement as a consequence of personal experience?
here you go
I just had a look, haven’t been that interested
Just have to say, what the fuck are the left going on about NZ being this massive tax haven?
Christ, we’re not even in the top 10, which makes us less of a tax haven than the UK! and going by the graph shown the UK barely even rates.
https://panamapapers.icij.org/graphs/
Starting to seriously smell like KDS.
Obviously didn’t look at the graph further down the page, where NZ is listed as one of the 21 countries Mossack-Fonseca uses “for tax purposes”.
New Zealand appears once on that page.
I’m assuming you’re talking about the graph with the title
From the Caribbean to the Pacific: tax havens used by Mossack Fonseca
Other countries and states on that graph are
BAHAMAS
BELIZE
BRITISH ANGUILLA
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
COSTA RICA
CYPRUS
HONG KONG
ISLE OF MAN
JERSEY
MALTA
NEVADA
NEW ZEALAND
NIUE
PANAMA
RAS AL KHAIMAH
SAMOA
SEYCHELLES
SINGAPORE
UNITED KINGDOM
URUGUAY
WYOMING
According to that graph we are so small in the scale of tax havens they didn’t even bother plotting us on the graph!
KDS rides again !
Yep, our 60,000 mentions obviously doesn’t cut it 😉
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/panama-papers-aussie-media-claims-nz-referred-in-60-000-documents
2.6 terabyte of information.
Not in the top ten out of 200-odd countries?
You tories have a low threshold for acceptable standards. But then we already knew that – especially Northlanders and Southlanders…
yes Panama Papers have not been revealed yet…only a tiny select titivating skewed selection thus far…here is to hoping someone is sweating
‘Panama Papers: WikiLeaks’ Kristinn Hrafnsson calls for data leak to be released in full’
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/panama-papers/panama-papers-wikileaks-kristinn-hrafnsson-calls-for-data-leak-to-be-released-in-full-34601909.html
UK’s Cameron has made statements to the effect that he disposed of his shareholdings prior to his becoming PM in order to avoid any accusations of “conflicts of interest”. Key apparently simply created a Blind Trust in which to move all of his investment portfolios to remove any suspicions.
Trusts … mmmmm.
And yet he still knew that he owned shares in a winery despite the fact that those shares were, IIRC, held by the ‘blind’ trust.
Spin spin spin, I love how you fishing for the new spin. Here it is folks.
The National Party shortly after coming into office tweaked the laws, created a de-facto tax haven for criminals, and people who think it is sport to avoid tax.
Aye giving land back to the people. Hopefully next they’ll give copyright back to the people as well.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/78709340/scotland-moves-against-wealthy-gentry-dominating-land
The package of changes, contained in the 2015 Land Reform Bill, defines land as a finite resource that must be protected in law for the common good and in the public interest.
The third stage of a detailed, 10 part Bill passed in March and paves the way for a new Land Register to ensure greater transparency of land ownership and improvements to community rights to roam common land.
Strangly very little comment on this site on Government proposed changes to CYFS, general feedback across the board has been very positive, It is an unusual policy for a Proto fascist government that is just there for the rich, what next passing on the first benefit increases in 20 years, raising the minimum wage, who would think ?
The sales brochure sounds good, but I think many people are waiting to see how this crowd fuck it up.
Probably by letting the new central organisation privatise shit. Was trying to find some home help support for an acquaintance with a chronic condition, got referred to an office at the other end of the country because that was who won the DHB contract 🙄
I think the funds are to be taken from other agencies. According to Tolley on Radio National yesterday. Robbing Peter to…
well, if the money from the other agencies was only for children, and the new single agency gets all that money, and it’s sufficient for the job, and if the single agency closes all the cracks that currently exist between different organisation without creating new cracks when it contracts for services, then it might be better for the kids.
That’s a lot of “if”s ‘twixt Tolley and triumph, however…
Ok until otherwise you agree it’s a good policy, that’s a start
Waiting for National to say the special dividends from the Kiwibank sale will fund it.
Politically that would be as funny as the benefit increases.
(It would still be theft of money that government shouldn’t be touching but it would be funny.)
Strange again the kiwi bank idea came from a legend of the left, just irony after irony in our little south pacific proto fascist state for the rich Also sort of struggling how government prioritising between its own capital and expenditure is theft, if it does as you say and use special dividend to support social services (oops not another Proto fascist state contradiction)
Got any proof of that?
Cullen may have announced but where did the idea come from?
He admitted as such on Paul henry this week, plainly ask who idea was it, he quite proudly said it was his
Well then, Cullen just went down in my estimation and it wasn’t that high to begin with.
Fair enough
From memory, and it is proving to be less reliable these days, Jim Anderton dragged Cullen kicking and screaming to fall in behind the creating of KiwiBank in the first place. So it would not be a surprise to see him working with the asset sale brigade…
I can’t see any irony at all.
“A number of historians regard fascism either as a revolutionary centrist doctrine, as a doctrine that mixes philosophies of the left and the right, or as both those things. Fascism was founded during World War I by Italian national syndicalists who drew upon left-wing and right-wing political views.”
“Some scholars consider fascism to be right-wing because of its social conservatism and authoritarian means of opposing egalitarianism”
Not sure why you would suggest such a thing.
You do get that when I call national fascist it’s colloquial rather than literal and to counter balance the left being referred to so often as communists (when most are far from communists).
There are of course fascist approaches within the National Party that make such colloquialism appropriate:
1. The spying on it’s own citizens and the increase of surveillance powers
2. The use of nothing to fear, nothing to hide as a justification
3. A strong emphasis on nationalism
4. The notion that an election gives me the leader mandate to do whatever the fuck I want
5. The links between the elite and the party – from fundraising, to law changes, to the taking over of elected bodies
6. The attacks on notions of egalitarianism and the promotion of individualism
7. The demeaning of the poor as undeserving and responsible for their own misfortune and the racism that this exudes both in political aspects and in the general populace.
8. The promotion of work for the disabled and the ill as the means to salvation.
Also sort of struggling how government prioritising between its own capital and expenditure is theft.
Cause neither the ACC money nor the pension money is theres to expend in that way.
Understanf your points but I suggest most governments would be considered facist based on your criteria, ie you could apply to any government and find some evidence of such? I think degrees is important here, calling national facist is absurd where the benchmark is Mussolini Italy and Nazi Germany
Re your last point the ACC and Superfund have simply traded one asset for another, while nzpost has traded and asset for cash and are paying a special dividend to thier shareholder, I can’t see the problem if all parties see the deal as a win win of which they obviously do based on thier respective strategic direction
More from this is a strange week file
why is a Proto fascist right wing government for the rich promoting a true ( and deserved) legend of the left and a feminist to boot as head of the UN
Don’t RWNJ’s believe that everything has its place?
Yes we do OAB and we cerianly no yours, a dark place where the sun don’t shine 😀
Your morbid projections are very revealing.