Could someone please get Josie Bloody Pagani expelled from the Labour Party so she isn’t seen by the MSM as the ‘go-to’ spokesperson for Labour. One can’t decide who is more to blame for yet another ‘authoritative’ statement and photo on the herald website this morning, the MSM or the publicity seeking Pagani. She should have been closed down long ago on matters pertaining to Labour Policy.
From the article..
“Pagani – who was an outspoken critic of the proposals for a target – said she would not stand for Labour again in the 2014 election, and had not been asked to.”
Some good news at least..
As to blame, well Pagani is to blame. You expect the Herald to go for Labour. The Herald is a right wing rag and is always looking for any story to undermine any party left of Attila the Hun. Pagani is the tool who feeds them the answers to construct these stories. You should not expect members of the left to help the Herald out.
Pagani should take a lesson from Cunliffe’s response, which serves to defuse the whole NZ Herald beat-up.
The article fudges the difference between having a general aim for gender balance with having a quota for women candidates.
Also, Pagani says the party should focus on things such as equal pay, but says nothing about the plight of women on low pay and benefits. And she says the focus should be on issues that affect most people’s lives (like gender pay equity) – similar to the whole idea of targeting the middle classes, and not the demonised beneficiaries and people struggling on low pay.
Yes, but saying “it was a matter for the party” would not get her mentioned in the newspaper.
Pagani speaks to get the limelight for herself, not to promote the Labour Party.
She is correctly identified by Martin Bradbury as a ‘Fox Democrat.’
So what drum is she beating? Is this because she didn’t want Cunliffe, so seeks to undermine the Party? It makes a bit of a nonsense of some of her words written here by her from a hilltop about unity etc…
Has she come down from the hilltop yet? And is this article the beginning of the Pagani Mosesesque commandments about how Labour should and should not be?
Has she taken the time to address the questions of the people who read her “response” kindly made into a thread topic because apparently she can’t hit reply in the original thread like everyone else?
She sounds, to me, like she is beating Shane Jone’s drum, still.
“He said I was probably the only Labour Party feminist that voted for Shane Jones.
How revealing is this statement – that those of us who supported an alternative contender in the leadership election are not welcome, that we don’t have a valid Labour voice, and that therefore, logically, we should be excluded.
So that puts the lie to David Cunliffe’s public claims during and after the contest that there would not be reprisals.
I reject the divisiveness and vilification that says you must be banished for voting the wrong way in a now-finished contest. It’s ugly. It’s self-defeating. Labour cannot win government by hunting heretics to demean and banish them.”
I think the article also shows how Pagani is not critised her overall expressed values taken out of context, but the way she responds to an issue – the context and the way her comments are produced and/or used selectively in the MSM.
I know you don’t know, but wondered what you thought was motivating her… cos it seems to me she is assisting with a media-wide view that Labour “can’t even agree with each other”, which she must know is self defeating?
I note the two folks quoted in the article were
Shane Jones, and
Josie Pagani (who stated she voted for Jones on this site)
Well, the choice of people to quote ultimately is the NZ Herald author and/or editors.
It may be that Josie P has some established networks with NZ Herald authors.
Going by Josie P’s angry post on TS – rebutting various claims – I think Josie P may not be aware of her own underlying response triggers. She may well think she is upholding traditoonal Labour values. She is someone who supported the Blairite approach to targeting the middle classes. So she continues to aim to appease the right wingers, without seeing it as a problem.
I don’t mean this as the cutting putdown it sounds like, but I honestly believe Josie Pagani has no firm idea of what leftwing/liberal principles are, what her own principles are, how her statements are used by the media to undermine Labour, or how to communicate ideas so that she doesn’t get used in that way.
Either that or she’s a rightwing fifth columnist mastermind whose chief interest is getting her own name into the paper. But I don’t think so.
The lack of left commentators is a problem though.
Trotter, Pagani, Bradbury…
If you look at the treatment of people such as Dame Anne by the Prime Minister when she did speak out, there is a real disincentive for left wingers with profile to put themselves into that role.
“assisting with a media-wide view that Labour “can’t even agree with each other””
Considering National’s dismal failure these past two terms, having the MSM run a divide and conquer strategy against the left is probably their only option for securing a third term.
I reject the divisiveness and vilification that says you must be banished for voting the wrong way in a now-finished contest. It’s ugly. It’s self-defeating. Labour cannot win government by hunting heretics to demean and banish them.”
Nothing to do with it as far as I can see. Just the wish that Labour representatives represent Labour values and beliefs and the reaction of the left when they repeatedly don’t.
…she would not stand for Labour again in the 2014 election, and had not been asked to.”…
I’m going to chalk that up as a victory for the flaxroots left. (Nobody rain on my parade with alternative scenarios okay? I need the political optimism).
Labour’s media strategy should include “grooming” people who will become useful “commentators”. The media needs “commentators” and Pagani seems accessible and available.
The Labour media teams over the past few years have been shite. Hopefully it will improve under the new regime.
I cringe when I hear about Media Training….no doubt it is necessary to some degree but it reminds me of Grima Wormtongue in LOR….sometimes it is better to hear the reality from somebody who is just “you and me” rather than media trained drivel.
I do agree Labour has done badly with the media, I doubt that their methodology is any different to National, so either the methodology is wrong for Labour or its down to the message and messengers. Yes it needs to be sorted.
Modifications I would like to see are “the right to work” extended to “the right to work for a living,” and the right to secure dwelling included in the human rights section.
I would like to see adherence to these principles as a precondition for standing for Labour, and I would also like to see them set as the standard that policies, press statements and so on must meet. That is to say, policies etc. should at best strongly support them and at least not work against them.
The Labour Party principles are listed on their website:
Thank you Olwyn. I should have been more clear. I wasn’t looking for a Monsanto style mission statement e.g. “Monsanto is an agricultural company. We help farmers grow yield sustainably so they can be successful, produce healthier foods…” (who could disagree with any of that)
I was looking for principles communicated in both policy and follow through in action, to the electorate. The statement for instance that the natural resources of NZ belong to all the people of NZ. That there has some big implications of deep sea drilling and other mining right there.
Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you by suggesting you may not know these principles, I just wanted to draw attention to exactly what they are. For one thing, they are put forward as “principles,” not as “branding,” and should be treated as such. I too want to see the flow from principle to policy to action from Labour. It offends me when politicians appear to treat the party principles merely as a form of branding.
Labour is a “broad church”, one which I no longer frequent. But as a past member, I follow it’s antics. You may not like or agree with Pagani, but as long as we live in a democracy, people such as her have a right to speak out.
I prefer to sit on the sidelines and criticize the current administration, and occasionally, the odd “lefty” when they show hues of blue, aka, David Shearer and his beneficiary bashing.
As for Shane Jones, he represents the wealthy Maori, who have “farmed out” their quotas. So much for giving employment to Maori, or training todays youth, when foreign fishers will provide cheap labour to do their jobs. It also makes it easier to turn a blind eye to the over-fishing that is going on in our waters. A convenient accompaniment for many of National’s policies.
she does have a right to speak out as do we all. BUT when you know your speaking out will be listened to due to your privileged position in relation to the media you have responsibilities.
I don’t go to their church anymore either. Will, when you and I speak out there are no ripples.
Having read the piece, it’s not a blog, but a bleat. Personally I would prefer to see the best person living in the electorate challenge for that seat, without the various outside representatives being helicoptered in. I’m still in favour of those standing in an electoral seat being barred from the list.
Then, and only then do we look at the make up of the list.
Right now Labour needs a serious clean out if it wants to re-claim the left.
Of course to have good local candidates standing in local seats, you need to have strong electoral organisations to find, mentor and support the candidates. Sometimes that’s a problem, right there.
And you need previous or non-performing candidates who are willing (or be made to be willing) to step aside and make way. Another problem, right there.
I also despaired when I saw today’s Herald article featuring Josie Pagani yet again. While she, like everyone, has the right to express her opinion etc (and I certainly don’t agree that she should be expelled from the LP), her continual appearance as a supposed authority on the LP leaves me cold.
Hopefully things will change with Simon Cunliffe’s appointment as David Cunliffe’s chief media person. According to this article he starts his new job next Monday, 13 January, so I hope that he hits the ground running.
PS – If Josie was available for the Herald article, presumably she is no longer on holiday. Would be ‘nice’ if she had the manners to reply to the comments on the post on here, where she was given the opportunity of right of reply at her request. Not holding my breath ….
Hi Tracey, I went back to the Google search I did on Simon Cunliffe but could not find amy SST compilation for him similar to the ODT one. Various other references etc, but no identifiable SST ones. I also went to the Stuff site, and searched for Simon Cunliffe and that brought up a whole swag, so suggest you do the same. (Could not work how to get a link to the search.)
His bio is quite broad though, in terms of both journalism and wider interests. He wrote a play a year or so ago – The Truth Game – that was performed at Circa in Wellington in 2012, and in Dunedin. He also appears to have done theatre reviews for the Listener for a time; and also a Wine blog for the ODT. He was also David Cunliffe’s Press Secretary in the early 2000s when David C was a Minister, so he is familiar with government.
..for ‘services to follicles’..as i understand it..
..and as an aside/apropos of not much..:..my celtic-peasant genes gave me a sturdy head of hair..
..(and in the past i have called out dunne..for a wave/pompadour-smackdown..)
..but the combination of my general distaste for dunne..and all about him..
..and the appearance of that character ‘barry’ on that (why is it so?) kinda compelling trash-reality-show where vultures cluster to paw over/buy others’ possessions..out of abandoned lockers..
..dual-mental-pictures of dunne/’barry’ running their hands thru their silvered/wavy-locks..(shudder..!..)
..has led me to decide to ditch (what has become in my eyes) the aging-roue/pimp-look..
..and i have gone back to the earlier/punkier days of the number two…
..and i hafta say..i am glad i am here..it’s a nice spot..
..(and as i said..that is really all ‘apropos of not much’..eh..?..)..i did warn you..!)
The Labour party is at the vanguard of social change, or should be. Worrying about fossils with antediluvian attitudes would mean that no social change would have happened in as much as social change happens with political groups’ inputs.
We’d still be back there with slavery, women being men’s chattels, racial, sexual, and gender discrimination and all the other snake skins that we have sloughed off over the centuries.
Remember this- there is a high correlation between mysogyny and homophobia. If a person doesn’t like Labour because (usually) he doesn’t like our objective to have real equality for women, then he probably won’t like us for our stand against equal rights and opportunities for the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender communities.
I read last night a biography of Dan Long, a former president of the PSA, who died in 1976. His life story was a wake-up call and an affirmation, too, of how far we have come in a century in terms of our maturing attitudes. In “White Collar Radical” the targets of the antediluvian fossils were ‘conchies’, communists, left wingers, liberals, women, Catholics, the Irish, workers, unionists, Labour members, intellectuals, among others. The perpetrators included all, or elements of, the Catholic Church, Fascists, the RSA, the Labour Party, the papers, local mayors, the Protestant Businessman’s Association, union leaders like FP Walsh, the SIS etc etc etc.
I’m proud to be a member of a party which is there at the forefront of change away from the past and its bigotry, persecution and blinkered thinking. I would never claim to speak for the Labour Party as an ordinary member. I have been a candidate and had the right then to represent it.
Claims by the Herald that ordinary members can speak for more than themselves need to be challenged. A member should not be media commentating on his or her own party. It is seen as non-objective for a variety of reasons and also risks interpretation and corruption by the media in serving its own ends.
“The Palestinians do not even have the right to have rights”
Conversation with Richard Falk, 13 December 2013
FRANK BARAT: John Dugard, your predecessor, was part of a team that wrote a report in 2009, in which he called what was happening in the West Bank, apartheid. What do you make about this concept, that is used more and more in various campaigns around the world?
RICHARD FALK: I think it’s more descriptive than any other way of talking about the situation. Each context of subjugation of a people has its own originality. There is a kind of temptation on the part of critics of those who invoke the idea of apartheid to say that it’s not like South Africa, it’s not based on race, there are differences. But if you look more closely you see that in certain respects its worse than in South African apartheid. For instance South Africa never had settler-only roads. They did not ever create such a pervasive structure of discrimination that the one that exists in the West Bank. The dual legal structure is very expressive of an ethnically based form of domination that deprives the Palestinians of rights while it endows the unlawful Israeli settlers with the full panoply of rights under Israeli law. The Palestinians don’t even have the right to have rights on one side and the Israelis that are present in the Occupied Territories in a manner that the International Court of Justice almost by unanimous opinion said was unlawful having this full legal protection under the rule of law that prevails in Israel for Israelis.
Here’s an in-depth comparative analysis of South African and Israeli Apartheid from The Guardian’s Middle East (and former South African) correspondent, Chris McGreal.
We are the towns
– with apologies to Stephen Sondheim
Why aren’t they rich?
Why so much fear?
We’re here so close to the ground,
They rule from the air.
We are the towns.
More to it than this?
As debt is accrued
So many lies thrown around
So easy to prove
And what of the towns?
So many sad towns.
It seems someone stopped, opening doors
Instead they stand there and shout, its their world not yours,
Facing election again, the puppets all stare,
Blurring the lines,
No one is there.
Play up the farce?
But build up the fear.
The MSM tell you all what you want.
The message is clear.
And what of the towns?
Those wonderful towns.
We’re fighting back here.
Volumes of text
Profoundly unclear
We’re losing more than we’re gaining
Is that really fair?
And what of the towns?
Those critical towns.
It changes this year.
Timely, last nights movie “the reader” posses the question re moral vs legal. http://entartetemusik.blogspot.co.nz/2009/02/moral-controversy-reader.html
Bruno Ganz, as a law professor, asks his class (and the audience) to consider not whether some was right or wrong, but whether it was legal.
Professor Rohl: Societies think they operate by something called morality, but they don’t. They operate by something called law.
Unfortunately this is the case, and when pollies get into trouble they revert immediately that ” no laws were broken” as their defense.
Yes, apparently Graham Mac has decided to have a go at Brown through the same charges Banks got caught out by,(knowingly filing a false return),
Can’t see myself donating to this latest of crusades as i did for the pleasure of seeing Banks face the consequences of His actions,
i can see a long drawn out legal process ahead for Graham Mac where He is likely to be given a lesson in the niceties written into the Law which usually gives to those with the coin able to hire the best of Barristers an ‘out’,
While a conviction for Banks means a definite expulsion from the Parliament as an MP, no such outcome can be said to be the fate of Brown as the Mayor so even with a conviction, if such were to occur, the victory may be somewhat hollow producing bragging rights only…
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Could someone please get Josie Bloody Pagani expelled from the Labour Party so she isn’t seen by the MSM as the ‘go-to’ spokesperson for Labour. One can’t decide who is more to blame for yet another ‘authoritative’ statement and photo on the herald website this morning, the MSM or the publicity seeking Pagani. She should have been closed down long ago on matters pertaining to Labour Policy.
@cc..yeah..that one had me chewing the table-leg..
(i had to laugh at tho’:
..pagani:..i won’t be standing for labour again..and i haven’t been asked..)
..but did you see perhaps the most egregious-example of a bought/owned corporate-media..
..in quite some time..?
..stuff has an ‘opinion-piece’…banging on about how wonderfully-served (pun-intentional) we all are by our banks/banking-system..(!)
..i instantly hunted for the name of the hack/access-media journalist that had penned this tripe..
..and guess what..?
..it was written by the head of the banking cartel..(!)
..it is a total advertorial..
..and stuff has it up as an ‘opinion-piece’..
..craven sell-outs..eh..?
..phillip ure..
From the article..
“Pagani – who was an outspoken critic of the proposals for a target – said she would not stand for Labour again in the 2014 election, and had not been asked to.”
Some good news at least..
As to blame, well Pagani is to blame. You expect the Herald to go for Labour. The Herald is a right wing rag and is always looking for any story to undermine any party left of Attila the Hun. Pagani is the tool who feeds them the answers to construct these stories. You should not expect members of the left to help the Herald out.
Here’s the link, anyway. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11183231
Pagani should take a lesson from Cunliffe’s response, which serves to defuse the whole NZ Herald beat-up.
The article fudges the difference between having a general aim for gender balance with having a quota for women candidates.
Also, Pagani says the party should focus on things such as equal pay, but says nothing about the plight of women on low pay and benefits. And she says the focus should be on issues that affect most people’s lives (like gender pay equity) – similar to the whole idea of targeting the middle classes, and not the demonised beneficiaries and people struggling on low pay.
Yes, but saying “it was a matter for the party” would not get her mentioned in the newspaper.
Pagani speaks to get the limelight for herself, not to promote the Labour Party.
She is correctly identified by Martin Bradbury as a ‘Fox Democrat.’
pagani is/as‘Fox Democrat’..
heh..!
phillip ure..
So what drum is she beating? Is this because she didn’t want Cunliffe, so seeks to undermine the Party? It makes a bit of a nonsense of some of her words written here by her from a hilltop about unity etc…
Has she come down from the hilltop yet? And is this article the beginning of the Pagani Mosesesque commandments about how Labour should and should not be?
Has she taken the time to address the questions of the people who read her “response” kindly made into a thread topic because apparently she can’t hit reply in the original thread like everyone else?
She sounds, to me, like she is beating Shane Jone’s drum, still.
“He said I was probably the only Labour Party feminist that voted for Shane Jones.
How revealing is this statement – that those of us who supported an alternative contender in the leadership election are not welcome, that we don’t have a valid Labour voice, and that therefore, logically, we should be excluded.
So that puts the lie to David Cunliffe’s public claims during and after the contest that there would not be reprisals.
I reject the divisiveness and vilification that says you must be banished for voting the wrong way in a now-finished contest. It’s ugly. It’s self-defeating. Labour cannot win government by hunting heretics to demean and banish them.”
I don’t know what motivates, Josie P.
I think the article also shows how Pagani is not critised her overall expressed values taken out of context, but the way she responds to an issue – the context and the way her comments are produced and/or used selectively in the MSM.
I know you don’t know, but wondered what you thought was motivating her… cos it seems to me she is assisting with a media-wide view that Labour “can’t even agree with each other”, which she must know is self defeating?
I note the two folks quoted in the article were
Shane Jones, and
Josie Pagani (who stated she voted for Jones on this site)
Well, the choice of people to quote ultimately is the NZ Herald author and/or editors.
It may be that Josie P has some established networks with NZ Herald authors.
Going by Josie P’s angry post on TS – rebutting various claims – I think Josie P may not be aware of her own underlying response triggers. She may well think she is upholding traditoonal Labour values. She is someone who supported the Blairite approach to targeting the middle classes. So she continues to aim to appease the right wingers, without seeing it as a problem.
I don’t mean this as the cutting putdown it sounds like, but I honestly believe Josie Pagani has no firm idea of what leftwing/liberal principles are, what her own principles are, how her statements are used by the media to undermine Labour, or how to communicate ideas so that she doesn’t get used in that way.
Either that or she’s a rightwing fifth columnist mastermind whose chief interest is getting her own name into the paper. But I don’t think so.
The lack of left commentators is a problem though.
Trotter, Pagani, Bradbury…
If you look at the treatment of people such as Dame Anne by the Prime Minister when she did speak out, there is a real disincentive for left wingers with profile to put themselves into that role.
Manning, (Gordon) Campbell, Kelsey, Gould, McCarten, …..
Minto, Kelly, Harawira, …
what has happened to tapu misa..?
..i like her work..
phillip ure..
@ p ure about Tapu Misa
Last article I could find was Feb 2013
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=10865952
Ah. Thank you, phillip. I was trying to remember her name – she hasn’t had an article out for a while.
would love to have seen Gordon Campbell asked on some of these tv shows about oil drilling.
what’s up with Pagani’s new website?
She’s a one woman campaign for……..????????????
The Nats between Farrar, Slater and Hooton, and the journos they are cosy with seem to do communication fairly well…
I suppose we don’t want an ‘insert name here’ left, but at least some cohesion would be nice…
Armstrong.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/dave-armstrong/
https://twitter.com/malosilima
“assisting with a media-wide view that Labour “can’t even agree with each other””
Considering National’s dismal failure these past two terms, having the MSM run a divide and conquer strategy against the left is probably their only option for securing a third term.
That’s a theme the corporate media likes to pursue and that Pagani is prepared to sacrifice so she gets media attention.
Josie Pagani motivates Josie Pagani
The Century of the Self by Adam Curtis
http://vimeo.com/61857758
um..!..tracey..looking from out here..
..it doesn’t seem labour are ‘hunting’ and ‘demeaning’ pagani..(for past party neo-lib-sins(?)..)
..’cos if they were..that would be setting a new benchmark in scapegoating..
..pagani wasn’t a minister in a govt that beat the neo-lib drum (she admittedly favours)..
..she wasn’t one of those serially booting the poorest in the guts..for those nine long years..
..(tho’ as a person..she did/does..)
..if labour are hunting for scapegoats for their role in getting us into the shit-hole we currently are/need to climb out of..
..there is a raft of candidates for that role..
..and a disturbingly large number of them are still staring out at us from the labour seats in parliament..
..saying:..’trust us..we care..!..’
..eh..?
phillip ure..
I agree, that Labour doesn’t seem to be hunting and demeaning Pagani, but it could be construed that she is hunting and demeaning Labour?
@ tracey..
..aye..
..at this point in time..
..there could not be a worse ‘spokesperson’ for the labour party..
..and of course..her views are never rebutted by the real spokespeople in labour..
….are they..
..so they just get to stand/hang stinking in the air..
..w.t.f. is it with that..?..
..is englishs’ most effective-barb in parliament..true..?
..that there are no rebuttals from labour..
..because ‘as a political party..labour does not know where it stands’..
..there is more than a grain of truth in that..
..especially with so many of labours’ front-bench having that long history of being ..
..ideologically..in ‘the pagani-camp’..
..and we haven’t seen any volte-faces on their previous words/actions from any of these individuals..to date..
..have we..?
..so englishs’ claim still stands/hangs stinking up the air..
..at this point is time..most would grasp to (honestly) portray what labour stands for..
..go on..have a go..
..phillip ure..
I reject the divisiveness and vilification that says you must be banished for voting the wrong way in a now-finished contest. It’s ugly. It’s self-defeating. Labour cannot win government by hunting heretics to demean and banish them.”
Nothing to do with it as far as I can see. Just the wish that Labour representatives represent Labour values and beliefs and the reaction of the left when they repeatedly don’t.
+1
…she would not stand for Labour again in the 2014 election, and had not been asked to.”…
I’m going to chalk that up as a victory for the flaxroots left. (Nobody rain on my parade with alternative scenarios okay? I need the political optimism).
Labour’s media strategy should include “grooming” people who will become useful “commentators”. The media needs “commentators” and Pagani seems accessible and available.
The Labour media teams over the past few years have been shite. Hopefully it will improve under the new regime.
And the commentators need to keep at least one thing in mind and that is what Pascal’s Bookie has noted:
http://thestandard.org.nz/josie-pagani-replies/#comment-753124
good spotting/highlighting/heads-up-ing there..
..mr j nald..
phillip ure..
I cringe when I hear about Media Training….no doubt it is necessary to some degree but it reminds me of Grima Wormtongue in LOR….sometimes it is better to hear the reality from somebody who is just “you and me” rather than media trained drivel.
I do agree Labour has done badly with the media, I doubt that their methodology is any different to National, so either the methodology is wrong for Labour or its down to the message and messengers. Yes it needs to be sorted.
Really simple questions which Labour needs to answer and hasn’t enough
1) What principles do you stand for
2) What is your 10 year vision for NZ
3) How are you going to deliver it
Cunliffe is an excellent orator and hits the bullseye over and over again when he stays on this tack.
The Labour Party principles are listed on their website:
http://www.labour.org.nz/about
Modifications I would like to see are “the right to work” extended to “the right to work for a living,” and the right to secure dwelling included in the human rights section.
I would like to see adherence to these principles as a precondition for standing for Labour, and I would also like to see them set as the standard that policies, press statements and so on must meet. That is to say, policies etc. should at best strongly support them and at least not work against them.
Thank you Olwyn. I should have been more clear. I wasn’t looking for a Monsanto style mission statement e.g. “Monsanto is an agricultural company. We help farmers grow yield sustainably so they can be successful, produce healthier foods…” (who could disagree with any of that)
I was looking for principles communicated in both policy and follow through in action, to the electorate. The statement for instance that the natural resources of NZ belong to all the people of NZ. That there has some big implications of deep sea drilling and other mining right there.
Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you by suggesting you may not know these principles, I just wanted to draw attention to exactly what they are. For one thing, they are put forward as “principles,” not as “branding,” and should be treated as such. I too want to see the flow from principle to policy to action from Labour. It offends me when politicians appear to treat the party principles merely as a form of branding.
no insult meant and certainly none taken, cheers Olwyn. Your principles vs ‘mere’ branding comparison is very apt.
@ ennui..it isn’t a matter of good media-training..
..(that is just sticking lipstick on a pig..)
….the problem/need to do is what c.v details @ 1.3.2.1/above…
..’cos to most of us out here..
..labour are lost..
..stuck somewhere between two ideologies..
..a janus-faced party..
..phillip ure..
who has represented and appealled to those earning under $30k per annum in recent times, that “you and me”?
Labour is a “broad church”, one which I no longer frequent. But as a past member, I follow it’s antics. You may not like or agree with Pagani, but as long as we live in a democracy, people such as her have a right to speak out.
I prefer to sit on the sidelines and criticize the current administration, and occasionally, the odd “lefty” when they show hues of blue, aka, David Shearer and his beneficiary bashing.
As for Shane Jones, he represents the wealthy Maori, who have “farmed out” their quotas. So much for giving employment to Maori, or training todays youth, when foreign fishers will provide cheap labour to do their jobs. It also makes it easier to turn a blind eye to the over-fishing that is going on in our waters. A convenient accompaniment for many of National’s policies.
she does have a right to speak out as do we all. BUT when you know your speaking out will be listened to due to your privileged position in relation to the media you have responsibilities.
I don’t go to their church anymore either. Will, when you and I speak out there are no ripples.
Freedom of speech is not freedom from criticism.
Having read the piece, it’s not a blog, but a bleat. Personally I would prefer to see the best person living in the electorate challenge for that seat, without the various outside representatives being helicoptered in. I’m still in favour of those standing in an electoral seat being barred from the list.
Then, and only then do we look at the make up of the list.
Right now Labour needs a serious clean out if it wants to re-claim the left.
All good points.
Of course to have good local candidates standing in local seats, you need to have strong electoral organisations to find, mentor and support the candidates. Sometimes that’s a problem, right there.
And you need previous or non-performing candidates who are willing (or be made to be willing) to step aside and make way. Another problem, right there.
I also despaired when I saw today’s Herald article featuring Josie Pagani yet again. While she, like everyone, has the right to express her opinion etc (and I certainly don’t agree that she should be expelled from the LP), her continual appearance as a supposed authority on the LP leaves me cold.
Hopefully things will change with Simon Cunliffe’s appointment as David Cunliffe’s chief media person. According to this article he starts his new job next Monday, 13 January, so I hope that he hits the ground running.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1311/S00314/simon-cunliffe-to-be-labour-media-director.htm
PS – If Josie was available for the Herald article, presumably she is no longer on holiday. Would be ‘nice’ if she had the manners to reply to the comments on the post on here, where she was given the opportunity of right of reply at her request. Not holding my breath ….
Further to the above, I decided to google Simon Cunliffe and found this link to various articles of his on the Otago Daily Times.
I have only skimmed a couple so far, but like his writing style and thinking. .
.
you can find his writing a while ago in the SST?
Hi Tracey, I went back to the Google search I did on Simon Cunliffe but could not find amy SST compilation for him similar to the ODT one. Various other references etc, but no identifiable SST ones. I also went to the Stuff site, and searched for Simon Cunliffe and that brought up a whole swag, so suggest you do the same. (Could not work how to get a link to the search.)
His bio is quite broad though, in terms of both journalism and wider interests. He wrote a play a year or so ago – The Truth Game – that was performed at Circa in Wellington in 2012, and in Dunedin. He also appears to have done theatre reviews for the Listener for a time; and also a Wine blog for the ODT. He was also David Cunliffe’s Press Secretary in the early 2000s when David C was a Minister, so he is familiar with government.
I think that was always meant to be a ‘hit and run’. Certainly never expected any replying
I agree. Which is why she couldnt just hit reply like everyone else. She needed the limelight. Not about Labour or its values but her.
Heard David Cameron gave his hairdresser a gong in the new year handouts.Is this true? Or just a big joke?
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/shortcuts/2014/jan/07/david-camerons-hair-honours-mbe-lino-carbosiero
@ ffloyd..it’s true..
..for ‘services to follicles’..as i understand it..
..and as an aside/apropos of not much..:..my celtic-peasant genes gave me a sturdy head of hair..
..(and in the past i have called out dunne..for a wave/pompadour-smackdown..)
..but the combination of my general distaste for dunne..and all about him..
..and the appearance of that character ‘barry’ on that (why is it so?) kinda compelling trash-reality-show where vultures cluster to paw over/buy others’ possessions..out of abandoned lockers..
..dual-mental-pictures of dunne/’barry’ running their hands thru their silvered/wavy-locks..(shudder..!..)
..has led me to decide to ditch (what has become in my eyes) the aging-roue/pimp-look..
..and i have gone back to the earlier/punkier days of the number two…
..and i hafta say..i am glad i am here..it’s a nice spot..
..(and as i said..that is really all ‘apropos of not much’..eh..?..)..i did warn you..!)
phillip ure..
I kind of see Dunne more as the Barry off Extras
if i were to cast dunne in a movie..
.(.going on the amount of damage he has done to this country/people..)
..i would have him play the lead in a bio-pic of/on petain..
phillip ure..
this is very very funny..
.and it will have you laughing like a drain..
http://www.alternet.org/video/watch-daily-show-blasts-cable-anchors-over-unwarranted-legal-pot-hysteria
phillip ure..
Nick Clegg compared to a condom by Boris Johnston.
Maybe that’s why dunne hair do looks the way it does.
That’s the Boris Johnson who has today been revealed as wanting water cannon ready on London streets by this summer, right?
And I don’t think it’s for keeping the rioters moist and cool.
boris johnson is like alec baldwin..
..sometimes funny..
..but just another rightwing arsewipe..
phillip ure..
The Labour party is at the vanguard of social change, or should be. Worrying about fossils with antediluvian attitudes would mean that no social change would have happened in as much as social change happens with political groups’ inputs.
We’d still be back there with slavery, women being men’s chattels, racial, sexual, and gender discrimination and all the other snake skins that we have sloughed off over the centuries.
Remember this- there is a high correlation between mysogyny and homophobia. If a person doesn’t like Labour because (usually) he doesn’t like our objective to have real equality for women, then he probably won’t like us for our stand against equal rights and opportunities for the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender communities.
I read last night a biography of Dan Long, a former president of the PSA, who died in 1976. His life story was a wake-up call and an affirmation, too, of how far we have come in a century in terms of our maturing attitudes. In “White Collar Radical” the targets of the antediluvian fossils were ‘conchies’, communists, left wingers, liberals, women, Catholics, the Irish, workers, unionists, Labour members, intellectuals, among others. The perpetrators included all, or elements of, the Catholic Church, Fascists, the RSA, the Labour Party, the papers, local mayors, the Protestant Businessman’s Association, union leaders like FP Walsh, the SIS etc etc etc.
I’m proud to be a member of a party which is there at the forefront of change away from the past and its bigotry, persecution and blinkered thinking. I would never claim to speak for the Labour Party as an ordinary member. I have been a candidate and had the right then to represent it.
Claims by the Herald that ordinary members can speak for more than themselves need to be challenged. A member should not be media commentating on his or her own party. It is seen as non-objective for a variety of reasons and also risks interpretation and corruption by the media in serving its own ends.
“The Palestinians do not even have the right to have rights”
Conversation with Richard Falk, 13 December 2013
FRANK BARAT: John Dugard, your predecessor, was part of a team that wrote a report in 2009, in which he called what was happening in the West Bank, apartheid. What do you make about this concept, that is used more and more in various campaigns around the world?
RICHARD FALK: I think it’s more descriptive than any other way of talking about the situation. Each context of subjugation of a people has its own originality. There is a kind of temptation on the part of critics of those who invoke the idea of apartheid to say that it’s not like South Africa, it’s not based on race, there are differences. But if you look more closely you see that in certain respects its worse than in South African apartheid. For instance South Africa never had settler-only roads. They did not ever create such a pervasive structure of discrimination that the one that exists in the West Bank. The dual legal structure is very expressive of an ethnically based form of domination that deprives the Palestinians of rights while it endows the unlawful Israeli settlers with the full panoply of rights under Israeli law. The Palestinians don’t even have the right to have rights on one side and the Israelis that are present in the Occupied Territories in a manner that the International Court of Justice almost by unanimous opinion said was unlawful having this full legal protection under the rule of law that prevails in Israel for Israelis.
Read more….
http://lemuradesoreilles.org/2014/01/08/the-palestinians-do-not-even-have-the-right-to-have-rights-conversation-with-richard-falk/
Cheers Morrissey.
Here’s an in-depth comparative analysis of South African and Israeli Apartheid from The Guardian’s Middle East (and former South African) correspondent, Chris McGreal.
Part One – here…….http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/feb/06/southafrica.israel
and Part Two – here…….http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/feb/07/southafrica.israel
John Dugard himself also sees striking similarities
Here……..http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/23/israelandthepalestinians.unitednations
here……..http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/the-law-and-practice-of-apartheid-in-south-africa-and-palestine.html and here……..http://epalestine.blogspot.co.nz/2009/08/epalestine-john-dugard-two-states-or.html
Sasha Polakow-Suransky on Israel’s very close alliance with Apartheid South Africa during 70s and 80s here……..http://mideastafrica.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/05/10/gold_stones_glass_houses#sthash.n2U4Auq0.dpbs
Norman Finkelstein on the fact that the SA Apartheid analogy is by no means controversial among sectors of the Israeli elite, here……..http://www.counterpunch.org/2006/12/28/the-ludicrous-attacks-on-jimmy-carter-s-book/ and here……..http://www.democracynow.org/2007/1/8/norman_finkelstein_vs_gil_troy_on
We are the towns
– with apologies to Stephen Sondheim
Why aren’t they rich?
Why so much fear?
We’re here so close to the ground,
They rule from the air.
We are the towns.
More to it than this?
As debt is accrued
So many lies thrown around
So easy to prove
And what of the towns?
So many sad towns.
It seems someone stopped, opening doors
Instead they stand there and shout, its their world not yours,
Facing election again, the puppets all stare,
Blurring the lines,
No one is there.
Play up the farce?
But build up the fear.
The MSM tell you all what you want.
The message is clear.
And what of the towns?
Those wonderful towns.
We’re fighting back here.
Volumes of text
Profoundly unclear
We’re losing more than we’re gaining
Is that really fair?
And what of the towns?
Those critical towns.
It changes this year.
FBI officially acknowledges it’s primary role is not one of law enforcement, but of ensuring the security of the establishment
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-07/fbi-admits-its-primary-focus-not-law-enforcement
The peace activists who burgled the FBI in 1971 revealing COINTELPRO spying on prominent Americans
Reminds me of the BSG saying: all this has happened before…and will happen again…
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/8/it_was_time_to_do_more
Politicians to replace faulty moral compass with new Ethical Sat Nav
Timely, last nights movie “the reader” posses the question re moral vs legal.
http://entartetemusik.blogspot.co.nz/2009/02/moral-controversy-reader.html
Bruno Ganz, as a law professor, asks his class (and the audience) to consider not whether some was right or wrong, but whether it was legal.
Professor Rohl: Societies think they operate by something called morality, but they don’t. They operate by something called law.
Unfortunately this is the case, and when pollies get into trouble they revert immediately that ” no laws were broken” as their defense.
I’ve noticed that especially from the right-wing politicians which is why I came up with:
Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean that it’s right.
Years only just begun and I’m already tired -_-
Bring on the Utopia already.
today i found what must be shortlisted for this years’ ‘most-arresting-headline-awards’..
..and it’s only the ninth of january..
..it comes in/from a story i linked to about the ex-wife of author cormac mccarthy…
“..After the disagreement – she pulled a gun from her vagina – and held it to her boyfriend’s head..”
whoar..!
..eh..?
phillip ure..
Phillip Ure
“…she pulled a gun from her vagina – and held it to her boyfriend’s head.”
Well, obviously you can’t shoot someone in the head with a baby.
@ adele..
..and there are so many unanswered questions..
..model and calibre not being least of them..
..it would also work as the opening (must-read-on!) line of a work of fiction..
…what would also be cool..would be a competition..
.seeing what people come up with..
..using that as the opening line..
..heh..!..
phillip ure..
Naughty, naughty…
…it was slippery when wet…and she dropped it…
If you were thinking of going for a swim at Mission Bay – don’t.
nat-rad is reporting that mcready is going after len brown next..
..and will file papers next week..
..over the $40,000 in (undeclared) free hotel rooms brown got during his two-year-long chueng mid-life crisis..
..phillip ure..
Yes, apparently Graham Mac has decided to have a go at Brown through the same charges Banks got caught out by,(knowingly filing a false return),
Can’t see myself donating to this latest of crusades as i did for the pleasure of seeing Banks face the consequences of His actions,
i can see a long drawn out legal process ahead for Graham Mac where He is likely to be given a lesson in the niceties written into the Law which usually gives to those with the coin able to hire the best of Barristers an ‘out’,
While a conviction for Banks means a definite expulsion from the Parliament as an MP, no such outcome can be said to be the fate of Brown as the Mayor so even with a conviction, if such were to occur, the victory may be somewhat hollow producing bragging rights only…