Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step right up to the mike…
National’s lazy, loutish junior cabinet ministers and back-benchers
Lack of talent is really starting to hurt the Government
Yesterday (Thursday 7 November 2013) it was revealed that police were lying when they claimed that they had not received any complaints from victims of the notorious West Auckland rape club the Roastbusters. If you watched parliamentary question time yesterday, you saw a clearly stressed Police Minister Ann Tolley struggling (during Question No. 2) to defend this latest instance of police calumny and/or corruption and/or incompetence and, even worse, the failure of the Government to do anything about it. As the ashen-faced Tolley struggled on, viewers’ attention would have been captured not by her substandard performance, but by what was going on in the seat behind her. A vacant-looking young man was nodding his head sedulously. Throughout Tolley’s halting performance, he continued to mug and to grin and to nod vigorously. It was an extraordinary dumb-show, a forlorn display of obedient partisanship for a lost cause. It stood out because the rest of Tolley’s beleaguered National colleagues had assumed expressions of blankness and embarrassment.
The obedient, vacant young man was actually the Rt. Hon. Simon Bridges, and his extraordinary display was just the first of a forlorn procession yesterday of the National Party’s long tail of under-performers and non-performers.
After Tolley was taken off the rack, it was time for Question No. 3—-a patsy asked by another National nonentity, Paul Goldsmith. Followers of parliament will realize that asking patsy questions is all that Paul Goldsmith has been allowed to do during his ignominiously obscure time as a List MP who got there only because he allowed himself to be the stooge or ghost candidate in Epsom, where National’s obedient supporters had been instructed not to vote for him, but for the ACT lout John Banks instead. (Party orders, you see—you don’t earn a nice house in Epsom by not doing what you’re told.)
Goldsmith’s lowly ranking in the National caucus, and his humble role as patsy question asker, is interesting—and it indicates a lot about the National Party. Paul Goldsmith is actually one of the few National Party members with a sharp intellect—he wrote an excellent history of New Zealand tax law a few years ago—but he has languished in the lowest ranks of the caucus, while a dullard like Simon Bridges has been made a cabinet minister.
A little later, I tuned in to the debate and heard Labour’s Rajan Prasad make a very effective speech. He was followed by another of National’s long tail of benchwarmers, Mike Sabin, whose speech consisted of a sarcastic remark about Prasad, a vague and insincere tribute to the members of a parliamentary committee—and nothing else.
Sabin was followed by Labour’s Sue Moroney. She spoke clearly and forcefully—but throughout her speech she was subjected to loud, sarcastic barracking by….yes, you guessed it—-Simon Bridges. The Member for Tauranga’s constant stream of rude comments was neither robust nor witty, merely sarcastic and bumptious.
Any honest observer of parliament will admit that the gulf in front-bench talent between National and Labour is stark. The commanding performance in the House by the new Labour leader David Cunliffe, and by his Green colleagues, has underlined the superiority of the liberal left.
And at the lower reaches, where the likes of Mike Sabin, Paul Goldsmith, Louise Upston, David Bennett and Tim McIndoe are snoozing and doing nothing other than shouting out inane interjections, there is simply no contest.
He’s not nodding assiduously here; like the rest of his National colleagues, he stares at the floor blankly, obviously dying inside. Steven Joyce must have told him to liven up his act for the next day’s Question Time (yesterday’s), when he was much more animated—-embarrassingly so.
Well, its been 5 (long) years since we last had a Labour government. On the 8th of November, 2008, on a sunny day just like this, New Zealand tossed out Helen Clark and brought in John Key. And the way some people carried on, it was like the Berlin Wall falling all over again, and, to add insult to injury, Roger Douglas returned to Parliament…
Other memories of that night included Hooten carrying on like a kid in a candy store, and trying to assure everyone who cared to listen that this government would be ‘very moderate’, while also warning everyone of people from Treasury and Reserve Bank knocking on Key’s door with bad news, Roger Douglas warning us all that there will be a lot of pain ahead, and it is our fault because we wanted free stuff, and Helen Clark stepping down, an entirely nessesary action if Labour was to return to power any time soon, too bad there was no obvious candidate to replace her, so Goff was chosen. TVNZ 7 (remember that?) showed footage of the 84 election, too bad the government got rid of both those channels — could have been the basis for a new era in PSTV..
We never really did find out what was in that mini-budget…its an open secret that some of the posters on here are Labour insiders, anyone has any info? Rumor had it that the Marsden Point rail link was in there…
Im not going to go into detail in regards to the “achievements” of the Fifth National government (have been over them so many times), but I note that in my town at least, the local polytech used to run a slather of ACE classes — since the government cut the funding (by 90%), there is nothing.
And the voodoo economics has been around awhile. The last time the government created money directly in this country was, IIRC, the 1st Labour government. We’ve been borrowing at interest and going deeper in debt ever since.
I would rather have Muldoon than Key — Sir Robert had our backs against the corporates. Growing up during the Great Depression gives people a sense of perspective that the likes of Simon Bridges and Jami-Lee Ross will never have.
Yep. One of the things that they learned was that socialism was necessary to keep society functioning. The pure capitalism that resulted in The Great Depression taught many lessons – lessons that we’ve forgotten to our cost.
Not sure what you mean by “make it accessible”. It’s not like you’d be able to make this medicine at home. Any legitimate business that wants to manufacture this medicine would be able to apply for a license or permission to do so – of course they’d have to prove that it wasn’t going to be used for illicit purposes, which would increase costs, but fundamentally there shouldn’t be anything stopping them from manufacturing if they meet the required conditions.
WINZ “Designated Doctors”, at least some of them known to be “hatchet doctors”, knocking many sick and disabled off benefits, and doing the “dirty work” for Paula Bennett and her MSD top dogs, here is some crucial reading and studying for you:
This is a comprehensive summary (with many links to resources for more information, with some selected PDF files containing sensitive information) that shines light on what has been going on, and what is going on in the “welfare area”!
It was already all started under the National governments in the 1990s, was quietly continued under Labour, although in a more moderate form, but has been escalated since National came back into power in 2008.
Dr David Bratt is the “Dark Knight” overseeing it all, and has apparently led to a “culture change” at WINZ, when it comes to medical assessments, now highly reliant on the bizarre “bio psycho-social model” that Professor Mansel from the UK “perverted” to design it to best suit governments, ACC and insurers, for the purpose of “off loading” sick and disabled from claims.
See also this interesting link to older info, which shows what the result of ‘Work Capacity Assessments’ was in the late 1990s, when the National government and MSD ran a first “trial” then:
David Bratt’s smug argument: “Doctors used to recommend people smoked” Excuse Me Son – are you saying your evidence is as compelling as the evidence against smoking? Or are you saying don’t trust medical orthodoxy, aren’t you trying to push a new orthodoxy, son?
Maybe people have bad health when on a benefit because
1. The benefit levels are barely survivable, no proper food or healthcare
2. The stress of dealing with WINZ
3. Social stigma and discrimination
And the fact that not having enough money to live on is often only one of many stressful factors in their lives, but one which makes every other one much worse.
“David Bratt’s smug argument: “Doctors used to recommend people smoked””
Yeaah! I thought the same gorj! Here Bratt goes on about “absurd” advice that doctors once supposedly gave to some people, and then he thinks he gets away with telling us, that work is “therapeutic” and the “best medicine” to get well from ill health and even disability!?
By the way, I have in my whole life time never heard of, nor ever met a doctor, who recommended that smoking is good for your health.
Maybe Bratt realises he is standing in a corner, has no “compelling evidence”, and now sees a need to distract from his own nonsense, by making such bizarre comments?
I’d say to him: It is time to retire, mate! The same applies to Mansel Aylward, who looks rather sickly also, same as Bratt, as their work seems to be doing little good for their health!
I am pro physical and mental activity, pro work, where it fits a person’s true capabilities, skills and interests, and where it is offered on fair, reasonable conditions and decent pay, but that is NOT, what they are on about! Work should also not be “forced” on sick or disabled, and that is what they are doing, although they claim exactly the opposite at WINZ. Only an inclusive, constructive and supportive application of welfare policies to assist sick and disabled into work is acceptable.
I think originally in the Americas, people there saw it as having medicinal qualities.
In 1571, a Spanish doctor named Nicolas Monardes wrote a book about the history of medicinal plants of the new world. In this he claimed that tobacco could cure 36 health problems.
[..]
Tobacco as a commercial product first arrived in the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th century.[14]
When tobacco first arrived in the Ottoman Empire, it attracted the attention of doctors[15] and became a commonly prescribed medicine for many ailments.
I read somewhere recently that doctors in the 19th century UK used to often prescribe tobacco for some ailments. Maybe here.
But whatever… I wouldn’t trust how Bratt uses such information. How is he still being listened to by authorities?
”Desperado wont you come to your senses part 3”,In news fresh from RadioNZ National Peter ‘the hairdo’ Dunne is said to definitely be standing in the Ohariu seat again whilst begging Slippery the Prime Minister to support His bid for another term, the PM has indicated that even He,(after 5 years of doing deals that reek), couldn’t bring Himself to stand such a stench,
Expect that tho to change when orders come down from on high from National Party HQ as their nerves become more frayed as November 2014 approaches,
The laughter is about to reach gut busting proportions here as Te Ururoa Flavell from the Maori Party is set to address this weekends United Future Party conference in what appears to be a picture of the rats holding hands as the ship sinks,
There is no indication yet as to where ‘the conference’ will be held but you can bet it will be somewhere really really small…
Chooky, that is the type of observations which I was alluding to. MB has operated as a hatchet, there is no doubt in my mind about that.
The venom and insults from the self styled on these boards, while unfortunate is exactly why there is unlikely to ever be a turn around in the fortunes of the majority if inhabitants of Aotearoa, they are simply incapable of accepting that the systems/services, and people controlling those systems/services, are actively killing our fellow Kiwis, allowing them to be maimed, raped, beaten and so forth, and what concerns me most of all, is that these self styles pass comment and carry on as if that same system is somehow going to turn around and change its operating strategy.
To make change, will require acceptance that there are horrible truths which people will have to accept sooner or later. because it should be very clear by now that conventional thinking or rationale is no longer applicable to deciphering the reasons for the decline of our country, no matter how many times people wish it away, many can sense there is something much more sinister involved.
@ Karol fyi, my comments were never intended to thread jack, thats your interpretation, not my intention. You use the term, core issues, but are not aware of what those core issues actually are, yet you pour scorn upon another perspective of where the core issues could exist, but you interpret and decide are they could not possibly be relevant.
@ Murray Olsen, while not familiar with the references that J90 or yourself make (seems you have read some material), my neighbour for many years was the mother of Maria Jungowska, she recently passed away, and there are some very odd circumstances which were explained, so while I am not aware of what else you may have read, I have heard some things which would raise eyebrows.
[karol: muzza, it’s perfectly legitimate to raise wider issues about general systems on other threads. For that reason I’m moving this to open mike (from the sound of dragging feet thread), because it does look like a thread jack. if you don’t want it to look like a thread jack – provide specific evidence of how it relates to the issues addressed by my post.
You seem unwilling to discuss issues related to the core ones addressed in my post, about the conduct of police with respect to rape and sexual assault, and relevant ministerial oversight.
I do also have some concerns about the overall workings of our government and systems – but that’s another topic.]
Yes this topic belongs over here Muzza, I have butted out of the rape culture commentary. I like your comment what concerns me most of all, is that these self styles pass comment and carry on as if that same system is somehow going to turn around and change its operating strategy. Hundred percent. There are huge events afoot that will make todays debate pale into insignificance because they are so inconceivably large. And todays “solutions” that don’t work wont do any better then.
Actually I am rather bored, ennuied out with the way contributors here are caught up in their own paradigms, unable to envisage other possibilities. I am presented with left libertarian dogma, marxist thought, Fem101 and rape culture etc etc as things I must accept or be deemed wrong. Goodo I will be wrong, to err is human. The last cop who batoned me was human too, he bought me a beer a few years later.
Just wondering aloud, thinking will my great grand daughter ask her mother what things like Marxism and feminism were? And be answered, Oh just Utopian ideals that did not survive our role back into subsistence serfdom in formerly Antarctic climes….
You know the answer..good music..great lyrics….gonna hum Dire Straits Romeo on the way home as an antidote the malaise…the widespread inability to imagine romance.. roasters try and imagine that!
I just have very little time to even do the basics like scan and moderate comments. Writing posts.. Pah!
Last nights post was written late at night while I was preparing and upgrading the server system again. It is now running on two (actually n) webservers, one pico server with the file system, one database server, a memcache on a different system, and the content distribution network for the graphics etc..
If you think I’m a bit worried about scalability (and dispersion) coming into the election next year – then you’d right. Pretty freaky how you can disperse systems across nets these days and still have them running fast.
Anyway, I wish I had your time to indulge in ennui…
Just wondering aloud, thinking will my great grand daughter ask her mother what things like Marxism and feminism were? And be answered, Oh just Utopian ideals that did not survive our role back into subsistence serfdom in formerly Antarctic climes….
aha, Cassandras box and Enlightenment ideas… once out of the box you can never get them back in. Dangerous items unless used wisely. As my mother says, “All things in moderation….”
Ennui, the irony as I see it, is these so called lefties are as much a lead weight to meaningful change as the right wing, neoliberals they proclaim to detest, yet are cut from different shades of the same cloth.
Very little of funtional use can come from the self styled on these boards, few of them have anything of practical value by way of opinions or original thought which offers encouragement for the future.
Muzza, nice summary. I am reminded of Carl Yung on this one….” We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.”
And that, is the asteroid crater comment which ends civilisation. Well done Ennui. Please make sure no one’s delicate sensibilities are hurt en passant.
@ muzza….I dont think you deliberately hijacked the thread….and I found it very interesting….and continued with it….but I guess the core posted topic was rape and police culture…and this issue could have got sidetracked by our discussion
…you perceptively were remembering and pointing to wider systemic issues about who conducts inquiries for the government and in particular the inquiry led by Bazley into police and sex abuse/rape issues…..indicating that, maybe given her history…her inquiry was lacking ( in depth or real solutions)and that there were serious systemic issues which have not been addressed……these are good points…and obviously this is the case!
….but to nail this issue, someone either has to do a lot of research or be an expert in the field of policing and law and womens/girls rights to point out where MB’s inquiry failed …it could be a very important subject of another post
(….because clearly at the moment, police ‘solutions’ of waiting until the ‘evidence’ is acceptable for a court case ….(and/or the victims come forward prepared for court ordeals) … are not solutions at all….and more crimes are being committed against vulnerable young girls…and the abusers are getting away with their vile crimes….eg why didnt the police pro-actively follow the evidence…by wiring up undercover agents the way they do with drug offenses?…and why werent parents and schools and young girls warned about this rapist gang?)
Chooky, you have interpreted my comments, as they were intended, cheers. Good to know that someone else on here is cognizant of the hack jobs which MB has been at the head of, leading to more or less everything she has been involved with, broken, failing and in steady decline.
At what point might the discussion about rape culture, cross paths with pedophile culture, and what level of influence might it be having alongside,rape culture which clearly exists, should further evidence of a cover up, and some indicators as to why there was a cover up, start to filter out.
St John’s has a terrible history including recent cases of statutory, so what is going inside these so called pillar institutions which are supposed to provide support, safety, protection and indeed life giving services.
@ Ennui, agreed, acceptance is necessary! Understanding or being aware what one is accepting would be beneficial if possible. In absence of clearer understanding, general acceptance that the cogs of the existing machinery never being the vehicles of salvation, would be a bloody good start.
That is his usual refrain. I usually don’t release the trackbacks as part of my usual anti-link-whoring defaults. But in this case, it needs to be a wide debate on the police force. It isn’t something that gets dealt with in parliament. The police aren’t listening to the IPCA or the courts. They clearly haven’t implemented the results of the Bazley report.
There is no other effective route for the public to voice their concerns except through social media and to a lesser extent through the more myopic mass media.
Like what? Reforming certain aspects of police culture appears to be something that hasn’t been successfully accomplished in 20-30 years. What else would you like time and effort to be spent on? What is the root cause of organisational cultural dysfunction in the police in your view.
I remember that some of Billy T’s comic situations revolved around trying to get served in pubs while heavily drunk, and an entire episode of the rural sitcom (“Rabbiter’s Rest”?) revolved around how the drunk punters were going to evade the mean traffic cop who was sitting outside the pub carpark to arrest the drunk drivers – everyone in the bar.
So in 20 or 30 years, things have changed significantly. There’s a long way to go in both issues, but I guess I’m an optimist about humanity at heart. 🙂
Absolutely. That was around a very specific and identifiable behaviour. Poorer, brown, females are still at very
It was accomplished by implementing widespread educational programmes, advertising campaigns and strictly regulating commercial activities like advertising and packaging.
Maybe something similar and comprehensive needs to be done.
“Maybe something similar and comprehensive needs to be done.”
Yes, which begs the question of why it isn’t. When you have a society largely in denial about rape culture, then it makes sense that it can’t form good social and health policy around rape cessation. That’s why this past week is so astonishing. It’s the first time I remember that NZ has stood up and acknowledged rape culture and said ‘enough!’. Reading the term ‘rape culture’ in the NZ MSM is revolutionary. It opens the way, slightly, for policy makers to start talking about this now too.
So in 20 or 30 years, things have changed significantly. There’s a long way to go in both issues, but I guess I’m an optimist about humanity at heart. 🙂
Yes the binge drinking/preloading happens at home now.
urrgh, a friend of mine bought a flagon of Cream Sherry yesterday. I’m fascinated about the markets there are for the wide range of alcoholic beverages available. The range is huge, yet when I asked a retailer recently, he said, “It all sells”. Flicking over to this programme Street Hospital while Coro ads on, the levels of public intoxication and the impairment of behaviour is astounding. ( I feel less personal shame now 😉 )
ps. I do not believe programmes like Police 10-7 help public perceptions of police, or the offenders profiled at all.
reply to rogue trooper, th reply tag is gone. “it all sells”, my mate that runs a liquor shop, told me what sells the most is the fill your own vodkas, sherry & gin, he has to keep refilling those all the time. cheap & cheerful.
Lolz, if you do soil yourself in such a manner ask PG whether the ‘Leader’ has got a squizz at any of the little leaflets doing the rounds over in Ohariu about the ‘Hairdo’s’ crimes…
Check out BLiP’s roll of dishonour (#23) on the headline post, the blue bellies seem to be own goal experts without needing the assistance of troublesome bloggers.
Got a taste of power-down life last night out here in Auckland’s west. No power from 6.30pm to 11pm. Thank gods for books. Don’t know how I’d cope without batteries though.
Every house should have its own backup battery supply so at least a limited functionality of power is kept, ie lighting, basic food heating, refrigeration, medical equipment, etc, it could be charged by solar panels or something.
Though, I wish some Business managers were a bit more assertive and would withdraw funding from RadioLive altogether and not just the JT & WJ show. RadioLive is protecting these rape apologists and inappropriate role models.
“But RadioLive would like to reiterate that we in no way condone the actions of the ‘Roast Busters’ or any violence against women,” it said.
“We apologise unreservedly for any offence or distress caused to listeners, clients or others by Willie and JT’s interview with Amy.”
Still waiting for them to apologise for their employees being such arseholes, and to apologise for broadcasting that crap. As long as they keep allowing WJ and JT to keep being rape apologists on air, then they are condoning violence against women. Rape enablers rather than bystanders at this point. If they really wanted to do the right thing they would give some air time to people who can talk intelligently about rape culture, without having to contend with WJJT. I’m sure they could even find someone who relates to their target audience.
well, it was looking fairly toxic for them in last nights MSM;
The contrasting statements of Tolley ( picture Tolley, picture my mother )within a minute when interviewed over the IPCA investigation
-“…the media this week has not been well-handled…” (ricochet the messengers)
followed by
-“[the Police] don’t give New Zealand families enough confidence this process has been well-handled.”
and Brownlee on requesting an inquiry into the “Do Not Survey” notifications EQC made about, and to, clients in Canterbury…”…one of those things that goes to the heart of confidence…”
New Zealanders are losing confidence in this NAct charade of a government.
Comment from Chris Trotter on on Bowalley Road 6/11 Two Out of Three Ain’t Enough about the years 1980s to now and the legacy of loss of good left political decisions. http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/
Observing the party closely since the departure of Helen Clark in 2008 has been a little like watching Rip Van Winkle rousing himself from twenty long years of slumber.
The radicalism which had built up such a head of steam in the Labour Party following the 1981 Springbok Tour, and which helped to generate the record 93.7 percent voter turnout at the 1984 snap election, was brought to a shuddering halt by Rogernomics……
Which leaves only the third component in Labour’s machine – the Caucus. At the conference just concluded a distressingly large number of Labour MPs put on a display of childish pique that bodes very ill for the party’s future.
This surly, sulking behaviour is driven by the fact that the caucus’s understanding of itself and its role has proved to be the most difficult legacy of Rogernomics to eradicate.
Before Rogernomics, Labour’s caucus arose almost organically from the party organisation: its values and the party’s values being both consistent and compatible. But the imposition of neoliberalism from within the framework of a left-wing political party radically recast the caucus’s role. Rogernomics required Labour MPs to overawe and repress the rank-and-file. Far too many Labour MPs still see their role as bringing the membership into line with their views.
I had an interesting conversation about the living wage proposal with a guy who currently earns (I guesstimate from our convo) around $20-$21PH. He absolutely hates the idea of a living wage. To quote: “why should someone earn almost as much as me for cleaning a shithouse? I went and got qualified. I might as well clean toilets. If they get an extra $5 and then I should get $5 an hour more as well”.
This is a common reaction amongst lower paid people, and it reminds me of a piece of dialogue from the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning:
“Anderson: You know, when I was a little boy, there was an old Negro farmer lived down the road from us, name of Monroe. And he was, uh, – well, I guess he was just a little luckier than my Daddy was. He bought himself a mule. That was a big deal around that town. Now, my Daddy hated that mule, ’cause his friends were always kiddin’ him about oh, they saw Monroe out plowin’ with his new mule, and Monroe was gonna rent another field now they had a mule. And one morning that mule just showed up dead. They poisoned the water. And after that there was never any mention about that mule around my Daddy. It just never came up. So one time, we were drivin’ down the road and we passed Monroe’s place and we saw it was empty. He’d just packed up and left, I guess. Gone up North, or somethin’. I looked over at my Daddy’s face – and I knew he’d done it. And he saw that I knew. He was ashamed. I guess he was ashamed. He looked at me and he said: ‘If you ain’t better than a nigger, son, who are you better than?’ …He was an old man just so full of hate that he didn’t know that bein’ poor was what was killin’ him.”
great movie, and a great illustration Sanctuary; the politics of envy overlaying the politics of entitlement, overlaying plain old personal insecurity. My upbringing and the majority of my employment occurred among our Redneck brethren…too ignorant by choice to know any better.
“Wonderful people everywhere
The way they comb their hair
[…]
Boys ‘n’ girls with new clothes on
You can Shake 😎 it to me all night long
Hey hey
It’s not for me
It’s a Beautiful World” -Devo
“She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean… “
“Colonial Viper 11.2.1.3.1
31 December 2010 at 7:04 pm
In that case I suggest a wager of NZ$500 to go to a major NZ charity of the winner’s choice tsmithfield. Specifically, I wager you that NYMEX Crude will break US$200 per barrel before the end of 2015. Offer good for 48 hours from now :D”
Are you interested in reviving that wager made back here?
Fascinating. As it turns out, ongoing economic decline with no recovery in the industrial economy has meant that demand growth has been low even as more expensive sources of oil have been developed.
Agreed. My changed stance is that price increases are not required to make oil more unaffordable; national income deflation is accomplishing the same thing.
BTW – a bit cheeky to try and revisit a bet more than half way through the horse race 😛
The triumph of neoliberalism continues in the land of the free to be greedy and the free to be needy and destitute, the U$$$$$$$$$ with endless bailouts for the greedy banks where the Washington consensus began and the Chicago school with Milton Friedman. The wretched land our RWNJ pollies love to copy: Especially destruction of the Commonwealth for privatised wealth gain.
‘Which America Do You Live In? – 21 Hard To Believe Facts About “Wealthy America” And “Poor America” ‘
#1 The lowest earning 23,303,064 Americans combined make 36 percent less than the highest earning 2,915 Americans do.
#5 According to numbers that were just released this week, 49.7 million Americans are living in poverty. That is a brand new all-time record high.
#8 According to Forbes, the 400 wealthiest Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined.
#19 Approximately one out of every five households in the United States is now on food stamps.
#20 The number of Americans on food stamps has grown from 17 million in the year 2000 to more than 47 million today.
#18 Today, the United States actually has a higher percentage of workers doing low wage work than any other major industrialized nation does.
(Isn’t that one of the NATZ’s goal for us? Unless you’re a CEO or top of the pile exec where you can only be motivated to work harder by paying yourself more and more with outrageous termination packages?)
I am extremely disappointed with JT and Willie, as they were about the only ones I ever listened to on Radio Live. I am surprised though that there has not been more scrutiny put onto the truly “Nat mate” and right wing journo or presenter Sean Plunket. He is a difficult one, I know, he can present himself rather well and “independently” like on “The Nation”, but his spot on Radio Live is appalling, when it comes to talk back. He has himself been so chauvinistic repeatedly, it is not funny. But it must have gone below the radar here, as nobody would bother listening to him for a start. I feel that he deserves more criticism than Willie and JT, and I am sorry to offend people here, as I know that both made some inappropriate and stupid comments this week.
I believe that at least one, if not both, have daughters, and I expect them to be taken to task at home for sure.
Personally I expect an apology from both, to come clean.
Calling Rhinocrates ….
PLEASE don’t be listening to “The Panel”! (in particular that SF who I had to witness slipping up the MT Vic Hill the other day)
it’s an exercise in listening to the pithy – or rather the pissy.
The nicest man on Earth is absent, but one of the RW guest’s is trying to do his best to replace him, whilst the other is just trying (Hard)
Simon Pound taking the gloves off today!
ACT/SS thug on the ropes
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 8 November 2013
Paul Brennan, Stephen Franks, Simon Pound
Stephen Franks is a former ACT MP, which means he was a parliamentary colleague of the disgraced identity thief and doctor-assaulter David Garrett, as well as the notorious perk-taker Rodney Hide. He is also a “legal counsel” with that notorious gang of knife-killing enthusiasts, Garth the Knife McVicar’s S.S. Trust. All of which should make it surprising to hear Franks pontificating today, in relation to the Roastbusters/Police failure scandal, about “the boundaries of morality.” He has just intoned: “We have a society which doesn’t know where the bounds of behaviour are….”
But people familiar with this fellow will not be surprised to see him contradicting himself like this; they know just what a canting hypocrite he is. As you listen to Franks talking about morality—his key word during these lectures is “wickedness”—bear in mind that he was a colleague of David Garrett and Rodney Hide, and works closely as a “legal counsel” with that notorious gang of knife enthusiasts, the S.S. Trust.
So far Simon Pound has challenged him robustly. He has poured scorn on Franks’ lame defence of police inaction, and was even more contemptuous of Franks’s idiotic attempt to suggest that reading Fifty Shades of Grey was somehow equivalent to raping a thirteen-year-old. Pound is showing an entirely unexpected strength of character.
I have to leave now, unfortunately, but I would appreciate it if someone could transcribe the remainder of what has so far been a complete and utter ass-whuppin’ for a real villain.
Oh Bugger Morrissey – I meant you (see post above, rather than Rhino). It was intended as cyber community service bulletin in an attempt to save you heartache and reduce the need for a beta blocker or two 😉
Never mind though – the weight of his smugness means you can see him struggling to get up the hill (Hawker Street) sometimes.
Thanks Tim. I tuned in later to the show just in time to hear Franks indulge in another one of his trademark rants: this time it was against the “parasitic art culture”, whatever that means. I suspect Franks himself has not thought seriously about it, and if challenged would have had to back down or substantially qualify his bizarre statement. Rather than being challenged, or asked to clarify, however, he went on to praise artists who did not belong to the “parasitic art culture”. His exemplar for these paragons of individual enterprise was “Sir” Peter Jackson.
Clearly, in the fertile mind of Stephen Franks, Downstage Theatre accepting a small government grant is parasitic, but accepting more than $100 million of government subsidy, plus the government collaborating with Warner Bros. to destroy the local actors’ union is heroic individualism.
“A police raid of an Auckland storage unit linked to the Hells Angels has turned up six firearms, including military-style assault rifles”
– An assault rifle IS a military rifle so why would they say military-style assault rifles? They’ve basically said military-style military rifles which is redundant…just bugs me is all
Yeah, sure they did. That’s why you’ll be able to provide an example. Come on, a Labour or Green press release re-printed verbatim by a main stream news outlet. Just one.
A redundant adjective tells you that NZ might not be as well served by the MSM as it could be?
Wow.
The constant updates on charlotte dawson and other celebs of the week did that for me years ago. Not to mention headlines that are contradicted in their story, or front-page photos of disorderly youths recycled from two years previously (ODT did that one).
It’s pretty much pointless at any time as the term itself is so broad as to be meaningless. A hunters rifle with a scope on it could be well within its meaning as well as a handgun.
No, IMO, it’s scare mongering i.e, ZOMG they have military weapons as if a 308 cal bullet is more deadly from and assault rifle than from a hunters rifle.
Yeah that’s or very well and do if they have been caught with MSA Rifles. But do those Muppets know and understand the 4 principles of marksmanship to use them effectively?
Part of the problem – some of the shots fired into a house in the last few days went into the kids’ bedroom. A bullet is effective regardless of whom it hits.
It looked to me that he was very distracted, seemed to be in disagreement with something that both National and Labour were agreed on, “how many people will die because of this bill” was way otp…his whole performance just looked wrong (for lack of a better term) like it wasn’t the Mallard I’m used to seeing
Craigs Investment Partners upset foreigners might not be able to suck as much money out
”If this sort of thing becomes standard, overseas investors will look at our sharemarket and say it’s too difficult to invest and give it a wide berth.
”If they cannot get certainty, they will go away. Now, they have to look at a company, how it makes money, whether it reports a profit and pays dividends. The uncertainty around the regulatory regime will cause concerns about the companies being able to carry on their business in a normal way,” Mr Timms said.
Fuck, the idea of having to do some work and research around your multi-million dollar investments is simply unrealistic it seems.
What foreign investors in the NZX apparently want is the ability to clip the ticket with “certainty.”
What foreign investors in the NZX apparently want is the ability to clip the ticket with “certainty.”
That’s what the capitalists have always wanted. IMO, It’s what brought about limited liability, the Fire at Will Bill, union busting and a whole lot more laws.
I post stuff I observe or experience. Its others who give it a label.
human experience can be a mirror. Some cringe at the sight some gaze for ages but dont really see and so on.
I live in hope that people will speak out against the status quo regardless of self interest. The young woman shot for demanding education for girls. But in reality I hope for that spark of courage to ignite people off their couches to sometimes say “enough”.
I will march on 16 october because I want anyone who has been abused to speak up and know that many people will support them.
Agree, it is disgraceful and criminal what goes on in Sri Lanka, but the NZ media , again, report NADA, as if nothing ever happened. And PM Key behaves just the same, he should bury his head in total SHAME!
“Sixteen I fell in love with a girl as sweet as could be
Only took a couple of days ’til she was rid of me.
She swore that she would be all mine and love me to the end,
But when I whispered in her ear I lost another friend…”
Despite the growing evidence that corporate sovereignty clauses in international treaties pose considerable risks to nations that sign them, such “investor-state dispute settlement” (ISDS) mechanisms are present in both TPP and TAFTA/TTIP — at least as far as we know: it’s hard to be sure given the obsessive secrecy surrounding them.
South Africa has experienced first hand the reality of those bland-sounding systems and the behind-closed-doors tribunals that implement them. Here’s what happened when it set about transforming the country after apartheid, as this column on the South African Independent Online site explains:
We’re finding out just how bad it can be when corporations are allowed to sue countries when the countries pass laws to make their citizens better off.
I wonder if what we need is to separate the police from prosecution and hand all prosecution over to a separate organisation. The police would be responsible for detection and apprehension the Prosecutors office would be responsible for ensuring police gather evidence needed for a successful case.
It seems that there is too much vested interest involved when police both detect and decide when to prosecute.
Any thoughts?
Sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe have it so that instead of complainants going to the police they go to the prosecutors office who then directs the police to gather evidence.
Such an office would have to staffed with lawyers and not from police ranks.
This is what we need in NZ, a NZ version of Camilla Vallejo, a true Leader and passionate speaker, there are other good examples. Kiwis are peaceful, a bit too docile, and this is what the elite capitalist regime here exploits, same as their media lackeys, you are all held at ransom by those forces.
Wake up, think, ask, challenge and more, it is YOUR power, that is you, el pueblo. por favor, good luck.
Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
Asia Pacific Report Barangay New Zealand’s Rene Molina has interviewed the country’s first Filipino Green MP Francisco Hernandez who was sworn into Parliament yesterday as the party’s latest member. This is the first interview with Hernandez who replaces former Green Party co-leader James Shaw after his retirement from politics to ...
An Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says Pillar Two could raise the industry to state of the art capability - or "crush" it "under the weight of the globe's biggest player". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marlene Longbottom, Associate Professor, Indigenous Education & Research Centre, James Cook University ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the violence experienced by First Nations people in encounters with the Australian carceral system. It also contains references to ...
“Instead of following along countries that are investing in death and better ways of killing people faster, we need to invest in life and in making Aotearoa a fair, just and equitable place where everyone has what they need for a dignified life.” ...
MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI, TPM MP FOR TAI TOKERAU This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori. CHRISTOPHER LUXON Oh well look you know I don’t think that hard-working Kiwis want to hear language like that. It’s just really unhelpful rhetoric. My Government is genuinely committed to advancing outcomes ...
The body positivity movement started with women confronting the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of them in media and advertising. Men weren’t part of it … their bodies hadn’t been sexualised to the same extremes and they didn’t really need it. But now that’s changed. And in a warped sort ...
The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. In 1981, Ginette McDonald stood on the stage of Auckland’s St James Theatre and directly addressed Queen Elizabeth II. It was a ...
An essay by Lily Duval from the just-released anthology Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child adjacent.I was 22 when my friend Alice gave birth in the living room of our pokey Addington flat. She laboured in the blow-up pool for hours. Garish fish swam along the inflated ...
Ella Borrie on the best books about motherhood she’s come across so far. Over the past few years I’ve been drawn to books about motherhood. I’m fascinated by the joys and horrors of becoming a parent. The question of children also feels more pressing than it used to. It’s like ...
Out of gift ideas for mum? You can’t go wrong with a bottle of toilet cleaner and a new squeegee. Emily Writes is the writer and editor of Emily Writes Weekly. This week marks five years since I published a post on The Spinoff about Mother’s Day marketing titled ‘A ...
My husband is posted overseas for 12 months and I’m armed with an expensive, newfangled vibrator. Will I miss him? The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.A few days after my husband leaves, a new sex toy arrives at the front door. Nestled ...
Jaimie Baird’s new book Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a record of four decades of graffiti and street art in Wellington, told through more than 1,200 photographs. He spoke with Joel MacManus about what inspired the book. How did you first get interested in photographing street art? I remember ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at a busy week where food of all political leanings dominated. Sometimes you’re just going about your week thinking you’ve got a good handle on what might be coming as far as news topics and then someone (usually a politician) says something so ridiculous that ...
In a week of cold rain and frost, the climate in courtroom four upstairs at the Invercargill courthouse was simmering with restrained indignation. At times it felt like the famous Mexican standoff scene from Reservoir Dogs, or, as someone watching the proceedings described it, there was so much throwing of ...
A banner notification alerts me to the fact that I’ve received an Instagram message from @felicity.loves. She always comments on my posts. I shouldn’t have opened the message, but clicked on the notification before rationalising this. OMG! Are you in Wellys? X I debate not replying, but Instagram will inform ...
In Melbourne’s hardscrabble western suburbs where AFL – Aussie rules football – is a state religion, Callum Donaldson has been quietly grafting away, four months into an odyssey that he hopes will take him to another promised land: the NRL. It was a solid 2023 for the softly spoken 20-year-old ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
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 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
Successive governments have tried, and failed, to count Māori. But with the return of social investment, it’s more important than ever to get good data. The post Government looks for a better way to count Māori appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Experts in financing social investment initiatives say New Zealand is in a prime position to tackle social issues via a social investment approach The post What will Willis’ social investment fund look like? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
In 2021 the Public Interest Journalism Fund launched the Te Rito Journalism project, a $2.4 million initiative to boost diversity in New Zealand’s newsrooms. The initiative was in response to the decades-long shortage of Māori and Pacific journalists in the media industry. It was billed as New Zealand’s ...
start the day with some humour..eh..?
http://www.alternet.org/video/watch-jimmy-kimmel-how-tell-if-your-mayor-smoking-crack
phillip ure..
National’s lazy, loutish junior cabinet ministers and back-benchers
Lack of talent is really starting to hurt the Government
Yesterday (Thursday 7 November 2013) it was revealed that police were lying when they claimed that they had not received any complaints from victims of the notorious West Auckland rape club the Roastbusters. If you watched parliamentary question time yesterday, you saw a clearly stressed Police Minister Ann Tolley struggling (during Question No. 2) to defend this latest instance of police calumny and/or corruption and/or incompetence and, even worse, the failure of the Government to do anything about it. As the ashen-faced Tolley struggled on, viewers’ attention would have been captured not by her substandard performance, but by what was going on in the seat behind her. A vacant-looking young man was nodding his head sedulously. Throughout Tolley’s halting performance, he continued to mug and to grin and to nod vigorously. It was an extraordinary dumb-show, a forlorn display of obedient partisanship for a lost cause. It stood out because the rest of Tolley’s beleaguered National colleagues had assumed expressions of blankness and embarrassment.
The obedient, vacant young man was actually the Rt. Hon. Simon Bridges, and his extraordinary display was just the first of a forlorn procession yesterday of the National Party’s long tail of under-performers and non-performers.
After Tolley was taken off the rack, it was time for Question No. 3—-a patsy asked by another National nonentity, Paul Goldsmith. Followers of parliament will realize that asking patsy questions is all that Paul Goldsmith has been allowed to do during his ignominiously obscure time as a List MP who got there only because he allowed himself to be the stooge or ghost candidate in Epsom, where National’s obedient supporters had been instructed not to vote for him, but for the ACT lout John Banks instead. (Party orders, you see—you don’t earn a nice house in Epsom by not doing what you’re told.)
Goldsmith’s lowly ranking in the National caucus, and his humble role as patsy question asker, is interesting—and it indicates a lot about the National Party. Paul Goldsmith is actually one of the few National Party members with a sharp intellect—he wrote an excellent history of New Zealand tax law a few years ago—but he has languished in the lowest ranks of the caucus, while a dullard like Simon Bridges has been made a cabinet minister.
A little later, I tuned in to the debate and heard Labour’s Rajan Prasad make a very effective speech. He was followed by another of National’s long tail of benchwarmers, Mike Sabin, whose speech consisted of a sarcastic remark about Prasad, a vague and insincere tribute to the members of a parliamentary committee—and nothing else.
Sabin was followed by Labour’s Sue Moroney. She spoke clearly and forcefully—but throughout her speech she was subjected to loud, sarcastic barracking by….yes, you guessed it—-Simon Bridges. The Member for Tauranga’s constant stream of rude comments was neither robust nor witty, merely sarcastic and bumptious.
Any honest observer of parliament will admit that the gulf in front-bench talent between National and Labour is stark. The commanding performance in the House by the new Labour leader David Cunliffe, and by his Green colleagues, has underlined the superiority of the liberal left.
And at the lower reaches, where the likes of Mike Sabin, Paul Goldsmith, Louise Upston, David Bennett and Tim McIndoe are snoozing and doing nothing other than shouting out inane interjections, there is simply no contest.
Nice work mozza.
Is there a link where we can get a visual on Bridges ?
Would like to write him some commentary to go with a link to his performance. Maybe ask him what he is looking for in life’s journey!
Here he is on Wednesday……
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re_CsKIh1qo&feature=c4-overview&list=UU3A_NzK_nFHkFmJu-TLHUFg
He’s not nodding assiduously here; like the rest of his National colleagues, he stares at the floor blankly, obviously dying inside. Steven Joyce must have told him to liven up his act for the next day’s Question Time (yesterday’s), when he was much more animated—-embarrassingly so.
Well, its been 5 (long) years since we last had a Labour government. On the 8th of November, 2008, on a sunny day just like this, New Zealand tossed out Helen Clark and brought in John Key. And the way some people carried on, it was like the Berlin Wall falling all over again, and, to add insult to injury, Roger Douglas returned to Parliament…
Other memories of that night included Hooten carrying on like a kid in a candy store, and trying to assure everyone who cared to listen that this government would be ‘very moderate’, while also warning everyone of people from Treasury and Reserve Bank knocking on Key’s door with bad news, Roger Douglas warning us all that there will be a lot of pain ahead, and it is our fault because we wanted free stuff, and Helen Clark stepping down, an entirely nessesary action if Labour was to return to power any time soon, too bad there was no obvious candidate to replace her, so Goff was chosen. TVNZ 7 (remember that?) showed footage of the 84 election, too bad the government got rid of both those channels — could have been the basis for a new era in PSTV..
We never really did find out what was in that mini-budget…its an open secret that some of the posters on here are Labour insiders, anyone has any info? Rumor had it that the Marsden Point rail link was in there…
Im not going to go into detail in regards to the “achievements” of the Fifth National government (have been over them so many times), but I note that in my town at least, the local polytech used to run a slather of ACE classes — since the government cut the funding (by 90%), there is nothing.
That’s what happens when Labour doesn’t adequately Tory Proof progressive enterprises. Its like shooting fish in a barrel for the Nats.
Don’t you mean 38 “long” years since the last Labour Government?
Labour was voted out and Muldoon got in, in 1975.
Then there was the first ACT Government.
Then 9 years of continued National light, benny bashing and voodoo economics.
+1
And the voodoo economics has been around awhile. The last time the government created money directly in this country was, IIRC, the 1st Labour government. We’ve been borrowing at interest and going deeper in debt ever since.
I would rather have Muldoon than Key — Sir Robert had our backs against the corporates. Growing up during the Great Depression gives people a sense of perspective that the likes of Simon Bridges and Jami-Lee Ross will never have.
Yep. One of the things that they learned was that socialism was necessary to keep society functioning. The pure capitalism that resulted in The Great Depression taught many lessons – lessons that we’ve forgotten to our cost.
http://www.alternet.org/marijuana-miracle-5-exciting-new-discoveries-about-pot
(excerpt:..)
“..The discovery of pot’s astonishing medical potential –
– is the most compelling new reason for legalizing the plant.
Cannabidiol (CBD) – a nonpsychoactive component of the cannabis plant – is generating quite a buzz among medical scientists and health professionals.
Nothing else is able to help treatment-resistant epileptic children with Dravet syndrome and related disorders.
On August 11 2013 Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s nationally televised report on CNN discussed the astonishing transformation of Charlotte Figi –
– a 7-year-old epileptic who had 300 “tonic-clonic” seizures a week – until she ingested a CBD-infused tincture.
She has been nearly seizure-free since her parents began giving her a daily dose of CBD.
Nor is Charlotte an isolated case:
– dozens of families with children suffering from intractable epilepsy are reporting dramatic results with cannabidiol. .”
(cont..)
phillip ure..
Er, you don’t need to legalise joints in order for a medicine to be made from the plant.
Just like how you can get medical cocaine and obviously morphine.
“Er, you don’t need to legalise joints in order for a medicine to be made from the plant.”
You do if you want to make it accessible.
In fact, in this country, it’s an offence to just grow the plant. Let alone harvest it or do anything with it.
I know that Canterbury University psychology department routinely uses cocaine and other addictive, otherwise-illegal drugs in their studies on rats.
yeah, though I think a more respectful term for freshers should be used if possible.
***just kidding***
Not sure what you mean by “make it accessible”. It’s not like you’d be able to make this medicine at home. Any legitimate business that wants to manufacture this medicine would be able to apply for a license or permission to do so – of course they’d have to prove that it wasn’t going to be used for illicit purposes, which would increase costs, but fundamentally there shouldn’t be anything stopping them from manufacturing if they meet the required conditions.
What constitutes an “illicit purpose” exactly?
WINZ “Designated Doctors”, at least some of them known to be “hatchet doctors”, knocking many sick and disabled off benefits, and doing the “dirty work” for Paula Bennett and her MSD top dogs, here is some crucial reading and studying for you:
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/15463-designated-doctors-%e2%80%93-used-by-work-and-income-some-also-used-by-acc/
This is a comprehensive summary (with many links to resources for more information, with some selected PDF files containing sensitive information) that shines light on what has been going on, and what is going on in the “welfare area”!
It was already all started under the National governments in the 1990s, was quietly continued under Labour, although in a more moderate form, but has been escalated since National came back into power in 2008.
Dr David Bratt is the “Dark Knight” overseeing it all, and has apparently led to a “culture change” at WINZ, when it comes to medical assessments, now highly reliant on the bizarre “bio psycho-social model” that Professor Mansel from the UK “perverted” to design it to best suit governments, ACC and insurers, for the purpose of “off loading” sick and disabled from claims.
See also this interesting link to older info, which shows what the result of ‘Work Capacity Assessments’ was in the late 1990s, when the National government and MSD ran a first “trial” then:
http://www.dol.govt.nz/publication-view.asp?ID=45
Cheers xtasy,
Watch Aylward from 2:14 in Getting Better at Work video, chilling stuff..
Link here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPNqBJ4n-x0#t=154
Thoughts..
David Bratt’s smug argument: “Doctors used to recommend people smoked” Excuse Me Son – are you saying your evidence is as compelling as the evidence against smoking? Or are you saying don’t trust medical orthodoxy, aren’t you trying to push a new orthodoxy, son?
Maybe people have bad health when on a benefit because
1. The benefit levels are barely survivable, no proper food or healthcare
2. The stress of dealing with WINZ
3. Social stigma and discrimination
And the fact that not having enough money to live on is often only one of many stressful factors in their lives, but one which makes every other one much worse.
“David Bratt’s smug argument: “Doctors used to recommend people smoked””
Yeaah! I thought the same gorj! Here Bratt goes on about “absurd” advice that doctors once supposedly gave to some people, and then he thinks he gets away with telling us, that work is “therapeutic” and the “best medicine” to get well from ill health and even disability!?
By the way, I have in my whole life time never heard of, nor ever met a doctor, who recommended that smoking is good for your health.
Maybe Bratt realises he is standing in a corner, has no “compelling evidence”, and now sees a need to distract from his own nonsense, by making such bizarre comments?
I’d say to him: It is time to retire, mate! The same applies to Mansel Aylward, who looks rather sickly also, same as Bratt, as their work seems to be doing little good for their health!
I am pro physical and mental activity, pro work, where it fits a person’s true capabilities, skills and interests, and where it is offered on fair, reasonable conditions and decent pay, but that is NOT, what they are on about! Work should also not be “forced” on sick or disabled, and that is what they are doing, although they claim exactly the opposite at WINZ. Only an inclusive, constructive and supportive application of welfare policies to assist sick and disabled into work is acceptable.
“Doctors used to recommend people smoked””
That was way back at the beginning of the 19th century, or earlier.
I think originally in the Americas, people there saw it as having medicinal qualities.
I read somewhere recently that doctors in the 19th century UK used to often prescribe tobacco for some ailments. Maybe here.
But whatever… I wouldn’t trust how Bratt uses such information. How is he still being listened to by authorities?
karol – thank you so much, you prove to me, Bratt lives in the “dark ages”, yet more evidence against his “(un)compelling evidence”, thank you!
”Desperado wont you come to your senses part 3”,In news fresh from RadioNZ National Peter ‘the hairdo’ Dunne is said to definitely be standing in the Ohariu seat again whilst begging Slippery the Prime Minister to support His bid for another term, the PM has indicated that even He,(after 5 years of doing deals that reek), couldn’t bring Himself to stand such a stench,
Expect that tho to change when orders come down from on high from National Party HQ as their nerves become more frayed as November 2014 approaches,
The laughter is about to reach gut busting proportions here as Te Ururoa Flavell from the Maori Party is set to address this weekends United Future Party conference in what appears to be a picture of the rats holding hands as the ship sinks,
There is no indication yet as to where ‘the conference’ will be held but you can bet it will be somewhere really really small…
Chooky, that is the type of observations which I was alluding to. MB has operated as a hatchet, there is no doubt in my mind about that.
The venom and insults from the self styled on these boards, while unfortunate is exactly why there is unlikely to ever be a turn around in the fortunes of the majority if inhabitants of Aotearoa, they are simply incapable of accepting that the systems/services, and people controlling those systems/services, are actively killing our fellow Kiwis, allowing them to be maimed, raped, beaten and so forth, and what concerns me most of all, is that these self styles pass comment and carry on as if that same system is somehow going to turn around and change its operating strategy.
To make change, will require acceptance that there are horrible truths which people will have to accept sooner or later. because it should be very clear by now that conventional thinking or rationale is no longer applicable to deciphering the reasons for the decline of our country, no matter how many times people wish it away, many can sense there is something much more sinister involved.
@ Karol fyi, my comments were never intended to thread jack, thats your interpretation, not my intention. You use the term, core issues, but are not aware of what those core issues actually are, yet you pour scorn upon another perspective of where the core issues could exist, but you interpret and decide are they could not possibly be relevant.
@ Murray Olsen, while not familiar with the references that J90 or yourself make (seems you have read some material), my neighbour for many years was the mother of Maria Jungowska, she recently passed away, and there are some very odd circumstances which were explained, so while I am not aware of what else you may have read, I have heard some things which would raise eyebrows.
[karol: muzza, it’s perfectly legitimate to raise wider issues about general systems on other threads. For that reason I’m moving this to open mike (from the sound of dragging feet thread), because it does look like a thread jack. if you don’t want it to look like a thread jack – provide specific evidence of how it relates to the issues addressed by my post.
You seem unwilling to discuss issues related to the core ones addressed in my post, about the conduct of police with respect to rape and sexual assault, and relevant ministerial oversight.
I do also have some concerns about the overall workings of our government and systems – but that’s another topic.]
Yes this topic belongs over here Muzza, I have butted out of the rape culture commentary. I like your comment what concerns me most of all, is that these self styles pass comment and carry on as if that same system is somehow going to turn around and change its operating strategy. Hundred percent. There are huge events afoot that will make todays debate pale into insignificance because they are so inconceivably large. And todays “solutions” that don’t work wont do any better then.
Actually I am rather bored, ennuied out with the way contributors here are caught up in their own paradigms, unable to envisage other possibilities. I am presented with left libertarian dogma, marxist thought, Fem101 and rape culture etc etc as things I must accept or be deemed wrong. Goodo I will be wrong, to err is human. The last cop who batoned me was human too, he bought me a beer a few years later.
Just wondering aloud, thinking will my great grand daughter ask her mother what things like Marxism and feminism were? And be answered, Oh just Utopian ideals that did not survive our role back into subsistence serfdom in formerly Antarctic climes….
What may be done to retain your interest and balance of contributions Ennui (great final para by the wayside).
You know the answer..good music..great lyrics….gonna hum Dire Straits Romeo on the way home as an antidote the malaise…the widespread inability to imagine romance.. roasters try and imagine that!
“You shouldn’t come around here singing up at people like that, anyway, what ya gonna do about it…” 😉
“yeah Romeo, you know, I used to have a scene with him”
“Juliet, the dice were loaded from the start
And there’s a place for us, you know the movie song”
“When are you gonna realise, it was just that the time was wrong”
almost selected that line myself. Excellent.
Then you picked your handle well…
I just have very little time to even do the basics like scan and moderate comments. Writing posts.. Pah!
Last nights post was written late at night while I was preparing and upgrading the server system again. It is now running on two (actually n) webservers, one pico server with the file system, one database server, a memcache on a different system, and the content distribution network for the graphics etc..
If you think I’m a bit worried about scalability (and dispersion) coming into the election next year – then you’d right. Pretty freaky how you can disperse systems across nets these days and still have them running fast.
Anyway, I wish I had your time to indulge in ennui…
Just wondering aloud, thinking will my great grand daughter ask her mother what things like Marxism and feminism were? And be answered, Oh just Utopian ideals that did not survive our role back into subsistence serfdom in formerly Antarctic climes….
And yet, feminist ideas have been around for centuries – lots of greats back in the (reverse) grand child line).
Feminism said to have been coined by Charles Fourier (1772-1837) anti-poverty, pro-homosexuality, pro women’s rights.
aha, Cassandras box and Enlightenment ideas… once out of the box you can never get them back in. Dangerous items unless used wisely. As my mother says, “All things in moderation….”
Ennui, the irony as I see it, is these so called lefties are as much a lead weight to meaningful change as the right wing, neoliberals they proclaim to detest, yet are cut from different shades of the same cloth.
Very little of funtional use can come from the self styled on these boards, few of them have anything of practical value by way of opinions or original thought which offers encouragement for the future.
Muzza, nice summary. I am reminded of Carl Yung on this one….” We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.”
And that, is the asteroid crater comment which ends civilisation. Well done Ennui. Please make sure no one’s delicate sensibilities are hurt en passant.
@ muzza….I dont think you deliberately hijacked the thread….and I found it very interesting….and continued with it….but I guess the core posted topic was rape and police culture…and this issue could have got sidetracked by our discussion
…you perceptively were remembering and pointing to wider systemic issues about who conducts inquiries for the government and in particular the inquiry led by Bazley into police and sex abuse/rape issues…..indicating that, maybe given her history…her inquiry was lacking ( in depth or real solutions)and that there were serious systemic issues which have not been addressed……these are good points…and obviously this is the case!
….but to nail this issue, someone either has to do a lot of research or be an expert in the field of policing and law and womens/girls rights to point out where MB’s inquiry failed …it could be a very important subject of another post
(….because clearly at the moment, police ‘solutions’ of waiting until the ‘evidence’ is acceptable for a court case ….(and/or the victims come forward prepared for court ordeals) … are not solutions at all….and more crimes are being committed against vulnerable young girls…and the abusers are getting away with their vile crimes….eg why didnt the police pro-actively follow the evidence…by wiring up undercover agents the way they do with drug offenses?…and why werent parents and schools and young girls warned about this rapist gang?)
Chooky, you have interpreted my comments, as they were intended, cheers. Good to know that someone else on here is cognizant of the hack jobs which MB has been at the head of, leading to more or less everything she has been involved with, broken, failing and in steady decline.
At what point might the discussion about rape culture, cross paths with pedophile culture, and what level of influence might it be having alongside,rape culture which clearly exists, should further evidence of a cover up, and some indicators as to why there was a cover up, start to filter out.
St John’s has a terrible history including recent cases of statutory, so what is going inside these so called pillar institutions which are supposed to provide support, safety, protection and indeed life giving services.
@ Ennui, agreed, acceptance is necessary! Understanding or being aware what one is accepting would be beneficial if possible. In absence of clearer understanding, general acceptance that the cogs of the existing machinery never being the vehicles of salvation, would be a bloody good start.
Eeeww, I just about commented on PG’s blog (he thinks Bomber and Lynn are being mean to teh Police).
That is his usual refrain. I usually don’t release the trackbacks as part of my usual anti-link-whoring defaults. But in this case, it needs to be a wide debate on the police force. It isn’t something that gets dealt with in parliament. The police aren’t listening to the IPCA or the courts. They clearly haven’t implemented the results of the Bazley report.
There is no other effective route for the public to voice their concerns except through social media and to a lesser extent through the more myopic mass media.
Yes police culture has to change, but their behaviour is a symptom of a wider malaise.
Like what? Reforming certain aspects of police culture appears to be something that hasn’t been successfully accomplished in 20-30 years. What else would you like time and effort to be spent on? What is the root cause of organisational cultural dysfunction in the police in your view.
Political will would be a start. Can’t leave it to the police themselves.
Rape Culture
NZ can’t even deal with binge drinking culture, and this is far deeper and more endemic.
I disagree – it’s just that progress is slow.
I remember that some of Billy T’s comic situations revolved around trying to get served in pubs while heavily drunk, and an entire episode of the rural sitcom (“Rabbiter’s Rest”?) revolved around how the drunk punters were going to evade the mean traffic cop who was sitting outside the pub carpark to arrest the drunk drivers – everyone in the bar.
So in 20 or 30 years, things have changed significantly. There’s a long way to go in both issues, but I guess I’m an optimist about humanity at heart. 🙂
you old softie 😀
We’ve changed smoking culture significantly in the last 30 years.
Absolutely. That was around a very specific and identifiable behaviour. Poorer, brown, females are still at very
It was accomplished by implementing widespread educational programmes, advertising campaigns and strictly regulating commercial activities like advertising and packaging.
Maybe something similar and comprehensive needs to be done.
“Maybe something similar and comprehensive needs to be done.”
Yes, which begs the question of why it isn’t. When you have a society largely in denial about rape culture, then it makes sense that it can’t form good social and health policy around rape cessation. That’s why this past week is so astonishing. It’s the first time I remember that NZ has stood up and acknowledged rape culture and said ‘enough!’. Reading the term ‘rape culture’ in the NZ MSM is revolutionary. It opens the way, slightly, for policy makers to start talking about this now too.
Yes the binge drinking/preloading happens at home now.
It always did. Maybe supermarket prices have displaced the prblem away from bars somewhat, but flagons aren’t as common as they used to be.
And drink-driving is now massively unacceptable in large sectors of society, rather than being endemic across the board.
urrgh, a friend of mine bought a flagon of Cream Sherry yesterday. I’m fascinated about the markets there are for the wide range of alcoholic beverages available. The range is huge, yet when I asked a retailer recently, he said, “It all sells”. Flicking over to this programme Street Hospital while Coro ads on, the levels of public intoxication and the impairment of behaviour is astounding. ( I feel less personal shame now 😉 )
ps. I do not believe programmes like Police 10-7 help public perceptions of police, or the offenders profiled at all.
Each to their own flavour, I guess.
As for the public intox thing, bear in mind that you’re looking at the edited “highlights” of thousands of people on a night out.
yes.
Thanks Draco, that should be required reading.
reply to rogue trooper, th reply tag is gone. “it all sells”, my mate that runs a liquor shop, told me what sells the most is the fill your own vodkas, sherry & gin, he has to keep refilling those all the time. cheap & cheerful.
been a few research articles released to the media over recent years concerning the cumulative effect of regular consumption on our population.
Lolz, if you do soil yourself in such a manner ask PG whether the ‘Leader’ has got a squizz at any of the little leaflets doing the rounds over in Ohariu about the ‘Hairdo’s’ crimes…
Check out BLiP’s roll of dishonour (#23) on the headline post, the blue bellies seem to be own goal experts without needing the assistance of troublesome bloggers.
Got a taste of power-down life last night out here in Auckland’s west. No power from 6.30pm to 11pm. Thank gods for books. Don’t know how I’d cope without batteries though.
Was probably a lightning strike.
Every house should have its own backup battery supply so at least a limited functionality of power is kept, ie lighting, basic food heating, refrigeration, medical equipment, etc, it could be charged by solar panels or something.
Actually that’s a good scheme. I’ve also often wondered about each house, or group of households having a little power-generating windmill.
a good system for emergency use is to have a 1000L tank of water on the roof which can be used to power a micro-hydro generator on demand.
Or more realistically, a 2kW portable generator and a 10L can of diesel.
Gotta love that fossil fuel convenience and energy density, nothing beats it…
Countdown, and other corporates
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11153655
Pull Advertising from Dumb and Dumber Live Radio
Excellent.
Though, I wish some Business managers were a bit more assertive and would withdraw funding from RadioLive altogether and not just the JT & WJ show. RadioLive is protecting these rape apologists and inappropriate role models.
“But RadioLive would like to reiterate that we in no way condone the actions of the ‘Roast Busters’ or any violence against women,” it said.
“We apologise unreservedly for any offence or distress caused to listeners, clients or others by Willie and JT’s interview with Amy.”
Still waiting for them to apologise for their employees being such arseholes, and to apologise for broadcasting that crap. As long as they keep allowing WJ and JT to keep being rape apologists on air, then they are condoning violence against women. Rape enablers rather than bystanders at this point. If they really wanted to do the right thing they would give some air time to people who can talk intelligently about rape culture, without having to contend with WJJT. I’m sure they could even find someone who relates to their target audience.
The only way that they could do that effectively is to fire said arseholes.
Yeah there was a facebook slam on Countdown Wall and finally after hundreds of requests of *Dump em or we go elsewhere* they listened
So a change of heart but not from the heart. May their carparks be empty this weekend and all succesive days.
The – intended Consequences of LVR’s
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11153346
-less first-home buyers.
less competition for the already wealthy as they acquire more untaxed growth potential via Property.
more Blinglish
Backlash against the NATs building.
well, it was looking fairly toxic for them in last nights MSM;
The contrasting statements of Tolley ( picture Tolley, picture my mother )within a minute when interviewed over the IPCA investigation
-“…the media this week has not been well-handled…” (ricochet the messengers)
followed by
-“[the Police] don’t give New Zealand families enough confidence this process has been well-handled.”
and Brownlee on requesting an inquiry into the “Do Not Survey” notifications EQC made about, and to, clients in Canterbury…”…one of those things that goes to the heart of confidence…”
New Zealanders are losing confidence in this NAct charade of a government.
+1
Beat me to it.
Comment from Chris Trotter on on Bowalley Road 6/11 Two Out of Three Ain’t Enough about the years 1980s to now and the legacy of loss of good left political decisions.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/
Observing the party closely since the departure of Helen Clark in 2008 has been a little like watching Rip Van Winkle rousing himself from twenty long years of slumber.
The radicalism which had built up such a head of steam in the Labour Party following the 1981 Springbok Tour, and which helped to generate the record 93.7 percent voter turnout at the 1984 snap election, was brought to a shuddering halt by Rogernomics……
Which leaves only the third component in Labour’s machine – the Caucus. At the conference just concluded a distressingly large number of Labour MPs put on a display of childish pique that bodes very ill for the party’s future.
This surly, sulking behaviour is driven by the fact that the caucus’s understanding of itself and its role has proved to be the most difficult legacy of Rogernomics to eradicate.
Before Rogernomics, Labour’s caucus arose almost organically from the party organisation: its values and the party’s values being both consistent and compatible. But the imposition of neoliberalism from within the framework of a left-wing political party radically recast the caucus’s role. Rogernomics required Labour MPs to overawe and repress the rank-and-file. Far too many Labour MPs still see their role as bringing the membership into line with their views.
tweet, tweet 😉
Two Out Of Three Ain’t Enough
I had an interesting conversation about the living wage proposal with a guy who currently earns (I guesstimate from our convo) around $20-$21PH. He absolutely hates the idea of a living wage. To quote: “why should someone earn almost as much as me for cleaning a shithouse? I went and got qualified. I might as well clean toilets. If they get an extra $5 and then I should get $5 an hour more as well”.
This is a common reaction amongst lower paid people, and it reminds me of a piece of dialogue from the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning:
“Anderson: You know, when I was a little boy, there was an old Negro farmer lived down the road from us, name of Monroe. And he was, uh, – well, I guess he was just a little luckier than my Daddy was. He bought himself a mule. That was a big deal around that town. Now, my Daddy hated that mule, ’cause his friends were always kiddin’ him about oh, they saw Monroe out plowin’ with his new mule, and Monroe was gonna rent another field now they had a mule. And one morning that mule just showed up dead. They poisoned the water. And after that there was never any mention about that mule around my Daddy. It just never came up. So one time, we were drivin’ down the road and we passed Monroe’s place and we saw it was empty. He’d just packed up and left, I guess. Gone up North, or somethin’. I looked over at my Daddy’s face – and I knew he’d done it. And he saw that I knew. He was ashamed. I guess he was ashamed. He looked at me and he said: ‘If you ain’t better than a nigger, son, who are you better than?’ …He was an old man just so full of hate that he didn’t know that bein’ poor was what was killin’ him.”
great movie, and a great illustration Sanctuary; the politics of envy overlaying the politics of entitlement, overlaying plain old personal insecurity. My upbringing and the majority of my employment occurred among our Redneck brethren…too ignorant by choice to know any better.
“Wonderful people everywhere
The way they comb their hair
[…]
Boys ‘n’ girls with new clothes on
You can Shake 😎 it to me all night long
Hey hey
It’s not for me
It’s a Beautiful World” -Devo
“She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean… “
Classic, a petty and mean-spirited individual who would rather piss and moan about others than demand more for himself.
That may be true but unless there is a political response to that sentiment it will be a real problem.
“Colonial Viper 11.2.1.3.1
31 December 2010 at 7:04 pm
In that case I suggest a wager of NZ$500 to go to a major NZ charity of the winner’s choice tsmithfield. Specifically, I wager you that NYMEX Crude will break US$200 per barrel before the end of 2015. Offer good for 48 hours from now :D”
Are you interested in reviving that wager made back here?
http://thestandard.org.nz/what-will-2011-bring/#comment-284450
BTW, the price of oil is currently US $94 per barrel and dropping.
Fascinating. As it turns out, ongoing economic decline with no recovery in the industrial economy has meant that demand growth has been low even as more expensive sources of oil have been developed.
Unluckily for me we were negotiating terms on the wager but never actually signed it off.
It looks like the world bank doesn’t see anything like $200 per barrel any time soon.
Agreed. My changed stance is that price increases are not required to make oil more unaffordable; national income deflation is accomplishing the same thing.
BTW – a bit cheeky to try and revisit a bet more than half way through the horse race 😛
The triumph of neoliberalism continues in the land of the free to be greedy and the free to be needy and destitute, the U$$$$$$$$$ with endless bailouts for the greedy banks where the Washington consensus began and the Chicago school with Milton Friedman. The wretched land our RWNJ pollies love to copy: Especially destruction of the Commonwealth for privatised wealth gain.
‘Which America Do You Live In? – 21 Hard To Believe Facts About “Wealthy America” And “Poor America” ‘
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/which-america-do-you-live-in-21-hard-to-believe-facts-about-wealthy-america-and-poor-america
#1 The lowest earning 23,303,064 Americans combined make 36 percent less than the highest earning 2,915 Americans do.
#5 According to numbers that were just released this week, 49.7 million Americans are living in poverty. That is a brand new all-time record high.
#8 According to Forbes, the 400 wealthiest Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined.
#19 Approximately one out of every five households in the United States is now on food stamps.
#20 The number of Americans on food stamps has grown from 17 million in the year 2000 to more than 47 million today.
#18 Today, the United States actually has a higher percentage of workers doing low wage work than any other major industrialized nation does.
(Isn’t that one of the NATZ’s goal for us? Unless you’re a CEO or top of the pile exec where you can only be motivated to work harder by paying yourself more and more with outrageous termination packages?)
So Willie Jackson and John Tamihere accused Matthew Hooton of middle class values in being critical of their treatment of the girl who said she was a victim of the RoastBusters.
Yet it turns out one went to Green Bay High School and others to Avondale College.
Those areas don’t strike me as being particularly working class – more middle-class areas these days, I’d have thought.
I am extremely disappointed with JT and Willie, as they were about the only ones I ever listened to on Radio Live. I am surprised though that there has not been more scrutiny put onto the truly “Nat mate” and right wing journo or presenter Sean Plunket. He is a difficult one, I know, he can present himself rather well and “independently” like on “The Nation”, but his spot on Radio Live is appalling, when it comes to talk back. He has himself been so chauvinistic repeatedly, it is not funny. But it must have gone below the radar here, as nobody would bother listening to him for a start. I feel that he deserves more criticism than Willie and JT, and I am sorry to offend people here, as I know that both made some inappropriate and stupid comments this week.
I believe that at least one, if not both, have daughters, and I expect them to be taken to task at home for sure.
Personally I expect an apology from both, to come clean.
Tweet from Lew:
😆 😈
Calling Rhinocrates ….
PLEASE don’t be listening to “The Panel”! (in particular that SF who I had to witness slipping up the MT Vic Hill the other day)
it’s an exercise in listening to the pithy – or rather the pissy.
The nicest man on Earth is absent, but one of the RW guest’s is trying to do his best to replace him, whilst the other is just trying (Hard)
Simon Pound taking the gloves off today!
ACT/SS thug on the ropes
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 8 November 2013
Paul Brennan, Stephen Franks, Simon Pound
Stephen Franks is a former ACT MP, which means he was a parliamentary colleague of the disgraced identity thief and doctor-assaulter David Garrett, as well as the notorious perk-taker Rodney Hide. He is also a “legal counsel” with that notorious gang of knife-killing enthusiasts, Garth the Knife McVicar’s S.S. Trust. All of which should make it surprising to hear Franks pontificating today, in relation to the Roastbusters/Police failure scandal, about “the boundaries of morality.” He has just intoned: “We have a society which doesn’t know where the bounds of behaviour are….”
But people familiar with this fellow will not be surprised to see him contradicting himself like this; they know just what a canting hypocrite he is. As you listen to Franks talking about morality—his key word during these lectures is “wickedness”—bear in mind that he was a colleague of David Garrett and Rodney Hide, and works closely as a “legal counsel” with that notorious gang of knife enthusiasts, the S.S. Trust.
So far Simon Pound has challenged him robustly. He has poured scorn on Franks’ lame defence of police inaction, and was even more contemptuous of Franks’s idiotic attempt to suggest that reading Fifty Shades of Grey was somehow equivalent to raping a thirteen-year-old. Pound is showing an entirely unexpected strength of character.
I have to leave now, unfortunately, but I would appreciate it if someone could transcribe the remainder of what has so far been a complete and utter ass-whuppin’ for a real villain.
Vinceremo, Simon Pound!
Oh Bugger Morrissey – I meant you (see post above, rather than Rhino). It was intended as cyber community service bulletin in an attempt to save you heartache and reduce the need for a beta blocker or two 😉
Never mind though – the weight of his smugness means you can see him struggling to get up the hill (Hawker Street) sometimes.
Thanks Tim. I tuned in later to the show just in time to hear Franks indulge in another one of his trademark rants: this time it was against the “parasitic art culture”, whatever that means. I suspect Franks himself has not thought seriously about it, and if challenged would have had to back down or substantially qualify his bizarre statement. Rather than being challenged, or asked to clarify, however, he went on to praise artists who did not belong to the “parasitic art culture”. His exemplar for these paragons of individual enterprise was “Sir” Peter Jackson.
Clearly, in the fertile mind of Stephen Franks, Downstage Theatre accepting a small government grant is parasitic, but accepting more than $100 million of government subsidy, plus the government collaborating with Warner Bros. to destroy the local actors’ union is heroic individualism.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9379185/Police-find-rifles-in-storage-unit
“A police raid of an Auckland storage unit linked to the Hells Angels has turned up six firearms, including military-style assault rifles”
– An assault rifle IS a military rifle so why would they say military-style assault rifles? They’ve basically said military-style military rifles which is redundant…just bugs me is all
They could have been even more redundant and noted that they were semi-automatic (or automatic) military-style assault rifles
Well exactly and if they get this wrong (or are they just trying to make it sound more exciting) what else are they doing…
Uncritically repeating neo-liberal gibberish as though it were somehow connected with reality?
Uncritically repeating left-wing press releases as though it were somehow connected with reality?
– Fixed it for you
Yeah, sure they did. That’s why you’ll be able to provide an example. Come on, a Labour or Green press release re-printed verbatim by a main stream news outlet. Just one.
A redundant adjective tells you that NZ might not be as well served by the MSM as it could be?
Wow.
The constant updates on charlotte dawson and other celebs of the week did that for me years ago. Not to mention headlines that are contradicted in their story, or front-page photos of disorderly youths recycled from two years previously (ODT did that one).
The term military style is just another scare tactic.
Its just pointless when assault rifle means military rifle…like saying someone was hit by an automobile-style car
It’s pretty much pointless at any time as the term itself is so broad as to be meaningless. A hunters rifle with a scope on it could be well within its meaning as well as a handgun.
No, IMO, it’s scare mongering i.e, ZOMG they have military weapons as if a 308 cal bullet is more deadly from and assault rifle than from a hunters rifle.
Yeah that’s or very well and do if they have been caught with MSA Rifles. But do those Muppets know and understand the 4 principles of marksmanship to use them effectively?
Part of the problem – some of the shots fired into a house in the last few days went into the kids’ bedroom. A bullet is effective regardless of whom it hits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE_lPaCbUIU
– Serious question here: has the cheese finally slid of T. Mallards cracker?
What in particular in that video raises such a question?
It looked to me that he was very distracted, seemed to be in disagreement with something that both National and Labour were agreed on, “how many people will die because of this bill” was way otp…his whole performance just looked wrong (for lack of a better term) like it wasn’t the Mallard I’m used to seeing
““how many people will die because of this bill” was way otp”
In what sense?
Craigs Investment Partners upset foreigners might not be able to suck as much money out
Fuck, the idea of having to do some work and research around your multi-million dollar investments is simply unrealistic it seems.
What foreign investors in the NZX apparently want is the ability to clip the ticket with “certainty.”
FFS.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/280340/fallout-chorus-may-spread-wide
That’s what the capitalists have always wanted. IMO, It’s what brought about limited liability, the Fire at Will Bill, union busting and a whole lot more laws.
I post stuff I observe or experience. Its others who give it a label.
human experience can be a mirror. Some cringe at the sight some gaze for ages but dont really see and so on.
I live in hope that people will speak out against the status quo regardless of self interest. The young woman shot for demanding education for girls. But in reality I hope for that spark of courage to ignite people off their couches to sometimes say “enough”.
I will march on 16 october because I want anyone who has been abused to speak up and know that many people will support them.
http://gpjanz.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/march-this-sat-for-boycott-of-chogm-in-sri-lanka/
This is why I’ll be marching this Sat 9 November 2013, assembling at 12 noon Britomart – calling for NZ Prime Minister to boycott CHOGM in Sri Lanka:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karunyan-arulanantham/credible-sri-lankan-war-c_b_4174819.html
Penny Bright
Agree, it is disgraceful and criminal what goes on in Sri Lanka, but the NZ media , again, report NADA, as if nothing ever happened. And PM Key behaves just the same, he should bury his head in total SHAME!
“Sixteen I fell in love with a girl as sweet as could be
Only took a couple of days ’til she was rid of me.
She swore that she would be all mine and love me to the end,
But when I whispered in her ear I lost another friend…”
And the cookie crumbles further:
We’re finding out just how bad it can be when corporations are allowed to sue countries when the countries pass laws to make their citizens better off.
Violeta Charra – de Chile, nativa, musice del pueblo:
Interesting stuff, if any here comprehend it perpaps. This is music from another continent and sphere, and I hope some understand and appreciate it.
I wonder if what we need is to separate the police from prosecution and hand all prosecution over to a separate organisation. The police would be responsible for detection and apprehension the Prosecutors office would be responsible for ensuring police gather evidence needed for a successful case.
It seems that there is too much vested interest involved when police both detect and decide when to prosecute.
Any thoughts?
Sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe have it so that instead of complainants going to the police they go to the prosecutors office who then directs the police to gather evidence.
Such an office would have to staffed with lawyers and not from police ranks.
US system of AGs?
Don’t you mean DAs?
This is what we need in NZ, a NZ version of Camilla Vallejo, a true Leader and passionate speaker, there are other good examples. Kiwis are peaceful, a bit too docile, and this is what the elite capitalist regime here exploits, same as their media lackeys, you are all held at ransom by those forces.
Wake up, think, ask, challenge and more, it is YOUR power, that is you, el pueblo. por favor, good luck.
Listen, where is “the left” in NZ, here are questions raised even in Mexico:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbC7505LTYo
This is how Che was killed!!!
This belongs on tomorrow’s open mic or weekend social or something, but let me just be the first to say, holy fuck: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9380684/John-Key-living-the-dream
*wipes bile from lips and toilet rim* What the fuck is going on with New Zealand’s news media?