Dave looked like Bill Rowling reincarnated. He's right about the IRD. The American equivalent is considered by some to be the most powerful government office in the USA.
However, Dave's point, free from the tinkering of Rebecca's quest for meaning, was to put the IRD onto these gangsters.
That'd be a drawn out affair with the likes of the Mongrel Mob. But for the more sophisticated bikie gangs who run small business fronts, it could be a goldmine.
All this presupposes the IRD has the capacity to start such an endeavour . According to ex IRD employees who have rung talkback, the department now lacks experienced staff. This link hints at that scenario.
It is already a legal requirement for criminals to file tax returns and pay tax on their ill-gotten gains, and IRD do enforce that to some extent. Smart criminals pay tax because if they don't, IRD can do warrantless searches and seizures for information e.g. computers. IRD take the police with them for safety, and then the police can obtain a real warrant based on what they see while escorting IRD.
In defending the 1980 Pinochet-era constitution, The Economist, however, probably ought to note how much the magazine played an active role in not only overthrowing Chilean democracy 50 years ago, but how much it propped up and defended the subsequent dictatorship known for right-wing death squads and mass killings.
In his stellar 2019 book, Liberalism at Large: The World According to the Economist, historian Alexander Zevin describes in detail how The Economist was not a passive player in the 1973 right-wing coup against the democratically elected President Salvador Allende, but a meaningful and active participant.
The economist has been a cheer leader for Neo-Liberal disasters, corporate takeover, privatisation and abrogation of democracy, all around the world, including NZ, for decades.
The provisional net migration loss of 7,600 in the year ended February 2022 was driven by a net loss of 9,700 non-New Zealand citizens, partly offset by a net gain of 2,100 New Zealand citizens.
This continues a reversal of historical patterns. New Zealand has usually had an annual net migration gain of non-New Zealand citizens and an annual net migration loss of New Zealand citizens.
This doesn't seem to agree with what you’re saying.
Then again you seem to have overlooked a certain global event that took place prior to 'year ended Feb 2022' that might just have driven these unusual migration patterns.
Compared to most other nations on earth, NZ remains one of the top 20 or so more desirable countries to live in. It certainly is no hell-hole. But Australia is better, and if recent announcements make residency in Aus more accessible and attractive, then it's not hard to see this Feb 2022 result reversing back to the historic pattern again. And fairly quickly.
Working in Italy, Singapore and Australia was what I did for the last 7 years – didn't mean that I had to move there. I had to visit for extended periods as the places I was working were off the net.
Changed jobs to get rid of the need to travel. Currently mostly working in the US market. Definitely not moving there, or even visiting.
There are large parts of the economy like that these days. It isn’t even unusual any more.
Yes – specific high end technical skills are truly global right now. If I cared to be chasing the big projects there is literally no place on earth where I probably could not find an attractive role. Even without moving employer I could move back to NZ and still do well.
But for the majority of kiwis, especially on the median income or less, Australia is still a very good bet if their cards line up right. I am still seeing wages 30% higher and a cost of living that is either much the same or even lower. And beyond that, for anyone with the smallest sense of wanting to do better, there is literally 10 times more opportunity for that here than in NZ.
Australia is still a very good bet if their cards line up right…
Sure, there are a number of relatives who have settled in Aussie for exactly those reasons over the decades. They're mostly involved in service industries of one form or another focused on the internal Aussie market. The same as if they were here. But there are risks, a common reason for seeing my resident relatives there is when they come back to NZ to get routine hospital care.
I have never had any particular reason to go there because I'm simply not that interested in money. I'm much more focused on what I'm working on. I realise that is more the exception than the rule. I have zero interest in the services or internal markets here or there. I like doing development for a international.
As far as I'm concerned, Aussie had and still has exactly the same structural economic problems as NZ had – it is just bigger and far more involved in their internal market.
Sure I can make more money in Aussie – in the order of 50% or more. But it is pretty much the same here, all I have to do is to change the type of work that I will accept.
Plus I looked at it decades ago when I was still deciding what I'd want to work on. Then I decided that I simply didn't like Aussie as a place to live in after being there for a while. There are some really obnoxious Aussies who seem to have their intellect firmly embedded up their own arse. It seems to be a common opinion on an international scale, everyone relaxes offshore when they realise that I or groups that I was with were kiwis rather than aussies – especially in Singapore.
I was planning on heading to somewhere like Canada or the US before the internet opened up in the early 1990s. Then I realised that it wouldn't be too long before I could work from here. So I stayed.
For many palliative care workers, the introduction of fully-funded euthanasia rubbed salt in the wound of neglect.
As at February, the Health Ministry had six full-time positions dedicated to assisted dying. It has no-one dedicated to palliative care. (The ministry says palliative care work is spread across multiple teams.)
The Government allocated $11.9m to fully fund assisted dying for an estimated 350 Kiwis a year.
Compared to…
New Zealand’s 32 hospices look after about 20,000 patients and their whānau a year, or about 30% of dying Kiwis. But of their 2021 running costs of about $176 million, only $88 million came from the government.
Is there another conclusion to draw other than that this government is actively encouraging assisted dying?
How the palliative care doctors interviewed for this piece avoided shouting "WE TOLD YOU SO!!!" … ???
Been through all of this very recently myself. The short answer is that enabling the frail and elderly to off themselves is one hell of a lot cheaper than allowing their lives to take it's course.
But then in a world where there are no absolute moral boundaries on the value of a human life, it is no surprise they keep on being shifted.
Is there some sadistic moral thrill in watching someone forced to endure a horrible painful humiliating drawn out death that I'm just not appreciating?
Many people disagree with euthanasia personally – their 'right' to the death they want is just as valid as the 'right' of the person who wants to shuffle off the mortal coil at a time that suits them.
I think the key is dignity. In all cases it should be maintained and the patient should have the last word.
What I observe is a brutalising of society with it the abject neglect and respect of the vulnerable. The consequence comes with an ethical decay and the loss of valuing life. So it should not come as a surprise that for every child that dies horrifically an excuse is found instead of a standard of behaviour reinforced. Some elderly persons are neglected to a degree that is disgusting in a so called "civilised" society. Again, excuses are found and judgements are made on behalf (how dare) for that neglected person because it is ..convenient. The lack of resources for key services and at the same time the waste of money for pet projects, political agendas etc.. is just reinforcing that it is ok to just don't give a damn.
And dignity goes well beyond mere physical considerations. My father made it clear a number of times in the past two years that he found the prospect of endless social isolation due to COVID regulations far more distressing than the prospect of a death he knew was not too far off.
In the end we were incredibly fortunate – he hung on with a grim determination and we all managed to be there with him on his last day. It all came together almost miraculously well, everyone who needed to be there was and we actually had a remarkably uplifting afternoon. Sudden death is quite different – there is shock at the unexpected loss – but for us we had gone through the grief little by little well before his last day.
So while his last two years were tough and difficult, in the end he left this world on his own terms with his dignity intact.
My father used to joke that he had a special 'parking gene' that worked so that wherever he went a magic parking spot would open up right outside the place he was going to. Same with pretty much any travel – good luck all the way.
Well we reckon he saved the best for the last – and all of us got very lucky just when we needed to.
Well having just gone through this myself this past fortnight – the answer is that you definitely feel immensely relieved when it is over. And there was no 'sadistic pleasure' either. None of us get out of this world scot-free, and dying is rarely an easy passage, although the staff took care to minimise the physical suffering.
In my father's case he went through a very bad patch 11 years ago, and the doctors told us he was going to die then. Instead he defied the odds and lived on another reasonably healthy six years, including one last trip to visit us in Australia. The euthanasia option taken back then would have robbed him of that.
It is very understandable that many of us fear death. Nor in our modern, very safe world we do not encounter it face to face often enough to come to terms with it. Paradoxically enough dying is one of life's last and enduring mysteries – and personally I am of a view we should not seek too much control over it.
Is there another conclusion to draw other than that this government is actively encouraging assisted dying?
Yes!
False dichotomies lead to wrong questions and wrong answers.
The service involves specific steps, medical assessments, and important safeguards. These are to ensure a person is eligible and that they are making the decision for themselves, without pressure from anyone else. The framework for the service, its eligibility criteria and safeguards, are set out in the law, called the End of Life Choice Act 2019. The Assisted Dying Service is overseen by the Ministry of Health Manatū Hauora.
An initiative to establish productive systems that are self sustaining, require little external inputs, and that focus on ecological cycles like those that build soil rather than mechanistic systems that artificially force growth and produce large amounts of pollution was a fucking crock?
The big takeaway is what happens when you stop industrial fertiliser in an abrupt or unplanned fashion. Successful transition to organics takes both skill and time – what this govt did was to take sledgehammer to their agricultural base and expect it to work better.
Well that is mostly the point of the clip I linked to above.
It is my sense that if done carefully and with enough time to correct the mistakes, that a transition to organic based agriculture does not have to be necessarily catastrophic. But many places are not going to get that luxury.
Having seen the kids going into the local dairies and supermarkets before school (and again after school, for that matter) – cutting out tuck shop pies and soft-drinks has been a total failure in diet management (the stated goal). The kids have the cash and control over where they spend it. They aren't listening to the Government (or the dietitians, for that matter).
Realistically, the ban only ever affected secondary schools (very, very few primary schools ever had tuck shops). And, by that age, the damage has already been done.
Those children choose that life, just as anti everything do. vax.. masks…. laws etc. That does not negate the government efforts nor make the actions less valuable.
Just saying that the policy demonstrably doesn't work: tons of kids buying junk food from shops bracketing schools; no decrease in childhood obesity; no improvement in health stats (though, admittedly, those might take some time to show up – but you'd expect to see some glimmers of change).
When a policy fails to achieve the stated goals, of course the actions are "less valuable". Unless you regard it as a 'moral imperative' rather than a piece of effective policy.
Really, the only change that will make any difference, is for families to be preparing and cooking good quality meals (5+ veg a day) at home; and cutting junk food (sugary drinks, lollies, chips, especially – the odd meat pie isn't such a bad thing) out of their household budgets.
That requires a whole raft of changes to our social structure: everything from increased budgets (those fruit/veges aren't exactly cheap), to education (how to cook flavourful & nutritional meals that kids will eat & how to transition family favourites or heritage meals (e.g. corned beef) to being treat food), to time and infrastructure costs (who can cook the meals, and do you have stove/equipment/electricity, etc.)., to more education (just why this change in diet/lifestyle is so important).
It's the kind of lifestyle change that simplistic 'ban the fizzy drink' doesn't even approach.
Some schools have outsourced the tuck shop, in part because profit margins tend to be rather marginal.
If kids continue to make bad choices is that an argument not to bother at all and bring back or provide them with bad food choices at school? It is not clear what you’re arguing for other than that you want to argue against something here.
Some kids spend an awful lot of money on food at school each and every day, money they get from their loving doting parents who don’t want to be perceived as stingy and considered cringy.
Some schools have outsourced the tuck shop, in part because profit margins tend to be rather marginal.
Well, yes. If you've removed the majority of the food that the kids want to buy – they'll be highly motivated to go elsewhere and buy it. Hence making the tuck shop highly marginal. Cause and effect.
So you're saying Belladonna that the school kids are going into shops and buying junk food outside of school hours and that means government attempts to introduce healthy foods into their lives through the schools are a failure and a waste of time? I suggest the 'failure' lies with the parents who give their children the money to buy the junk in the first place.
If so, hasn't worked. Pupils still making the shitty choices. Just that the money (which used to go to supporting school activities – like sports uniforms) now goes to businesses (dairies) and corporates (supermarkets)
Both things go together. You made blanket statements that removing tuck shops was a waste of time, and it stopped funding for sport. Lol. How diametrically opposed is that?
Schools with the lunch programme have it for all, and it reinforces tasty and nutritious foods and saves money. Oh, and I can not measure the junk food consumed in your neighbourhood. That is your concern you raised and used as proof, rather tenuously.
Just in case you ever get invited to colonise Mars with Elon Musk.
Watch the Black Mirror episode. USS Callister for a taste of what it would be like.
USS Callister
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
By day, Robert Daly is the CTO of a tech-entertainment company, but by night he is in his own private cinematic universe — based on a TV show he watched as a child — as the commander of a starship exploring new worlds.
I guess they think their main man's a blue eyed fella, too.
.
As our team interviewed Christians of color across the U.S., we heard a similar and painful story repeated: White Christians, by their actions, seem to favor being white over being Christian. Christians of color cited many instances of that type of behavior, national and local, communal and personal. We wondered if this was the case empirically and, if so, why. As we tested the hypothesis, we found a plethora of evidence substantiating what we heard.
My co-author Glenn Bracey and I are proposing a theory in our forthcoming book, The Grand Betrayal: Most church-attending white Christians are not bad Christians. This is because they are not Christian at all. Instead, we propose they are faithful followers of a different religion: the “religion of whiteness.”
[…]
We found this pattern over and over again: White practicing Christians differed from Christians of other racial groups and from non-Christian whites whenever the topic was race. For example, white practicing Christians are twice as likely as other whites to say “being white” is important to them and twice as likely as other whites to say they feel the need to defend their race. Through extensive statistical analyses, we found that two-thirds of practicing white Christians are following, in effect, a religion of whiteness. They repeatedly placed being white ahead of being Christian; the findings were not explained away by political affiliation, location, age, education, income, gender, or other factors.
Yup. The full monty requiem jobbie I attended a while back in Taranaki was a noticably salt and pepper affair. Mostly pepper in likely the saltiest community in the NI.
What's more likely, Poots uses nukes or crew of pissed Russian squadies trigger a nuclear accident?
The Russian army is transforming Europe’s largest nuclear power plant into a military base overlooking an active front, intensifying a monthslong safety crisis for the vast facility and its thousands of staff.
[…]
The new infusion of weaponry effectively shields the plant from a counterattack by Ukrainian forces, and amounts to something the carefully regulated atomic-energy industry has never seen before: the slow-motion transformation of a nuclear power station into a military garrison. In a lesser-scrutinized aspect of its war strategy, the Russian army is day-by-day positioning the weaponry around a nuclear plant that is among the world’s largest, using it to cement control of the front line where their advance through southern Ukraine ground to a halt.
[…]
Last week, the United Nations’ nuclear regulator was in the dark for three days about conditions inside Zaporizhzhia, after its data connection to the plant went offline before being restored. That marked the second time since Russia’s invasion that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Vienna headquarters has lost its feed from the cameras and instruments that normally relay security footage and safety readings from the vast complex.
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
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In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
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Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
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Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
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Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
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Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
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 Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
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 ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
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 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin.Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
Essay: If the Crown harms children, how do you hold it accountable? Analysis by Aaron Smale in light of the Waitangi Tribunal court decision. The post The Crown versus Māori Children appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals used widely in everyday consumer items such as textiles, packaging, and cookware, popular for their water, grease and stain-repellent properties. However, the very properties that make PFAS so attractive to manufacturers are also what ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
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A warning – suicide is discussed in this podcast New Zealand’s own long-running soap Shortland Street doesn’t hesitate to kill off its much-loved characters. But would TVNZ dare to kill off our favourite soap? That’s the fear as times get tough in television – even though it’s been pointed out ...
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan resistance leader has condemned the United Nations role in allowing Indonesia to “integrate” the Melanesian Pacific region in what is claimed to be an “egregious act of inhumanity” on 1 May 1963. In an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Organisasi Papua Merdeka-OPM ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A key part of the Albanese government’s political strategy is to fill the news cycle with its presence and messaging. Ministers are deployed to the maximum, even when they’ve little to say. This week ...
Recent extreme weather events showed the importance of a well-functioning insurance system, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister Andrew Bayly. ...
By Jo Moir, RNZ News political editor, and Craig McCulloch, deputy political editor New Zealand’s Labour Party is demanding Winston Peters be stood down as Foreign Minister for opening up the government to legal action over his “totally unacceptable” attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. In an interview on RNZ’s ...
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I enjoyed Rebecca Wright bringing smug Mr Seymore back down to earth .
Mr Luxon next please
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/07/act-party-leader-david-seymour-wants-to-set-inland-revenue-onto-gangs.html
Scotty, I remember her line to Judith Collins, "You went to Charm school didn't you?'
and at the result of the 2017 seats, "Tamatai Coffee, he was just a weatherman wasn't he?"
Dave looked like Bill Rowling reincarnated. He's right about the IRD. The American equivalent is considered by some to be the most powerful government office in the USA.
However, Dave's point, free from the tinkering of Rebecca's quest for meaning, was to put the IRD onto these gangsters.
That'd be a drawn out affair with the likes of the Mongrel Mob. But for the more sophisticated bikie gangs who run small business fronts, it could be a goldmine.
All this presupposes the IRD has the capacity to start such an endeavour . According to ex IRD employees who have rung talkback, the department now lacks experienced staff. This link hints at that scenario.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/335413/ird-plans-to-cut-one-third-of-its-workforce-by-2021
It is already a legal requirement for criminals to file tax returns and pay tax on their ill-gotten gains, and IRD do enforce that to some extent. Smart criminals pay tax because if they don't, IRD can do warrantless searches and seizures for information e.g. computers. IRD take the police with them for safety, and then the police can obtain a real warrant based on what they see while escorting IRD.
tl,dr: The Economist was all-in on throwing lefties out of helicopters.
https://twitter.com/adamjohnsonNYC/status/1545560478482677760
In defending the 1980 Pinochet-era constitution, The Economist, however, probably ought to note how much the magazine played an active role in not only overthrowing Chilean democracy 50 years ago, but how much it propped up and defended the subsequent dictatorship known for right-wing death squads and mass killings.
In his stellar 2019 book, Liberalism at Large: The World According to the Economist, historian Alexander Zevin describes in detail how The Economist was not a passive player in the 1973 right-wing coup against the democratically elected President Salvador Allende, but a meaningful and active participant.
https://thecolumn.substack.com/p/the-economist-magazine-which-helped
The economist has been a cheer leader for Neo-Liberal disasters, corporate takeover, privatisation and abrogation of democracy, all around the world, including NZ, for decades.
You can tell what kind of country you live in in they way children are born and raised and old people end their lives.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/129165802/shame-suffering-and-strawberry-sundaes–the-underfunded-invisible-mess-of-palliative-care
"New Zealand has one of the worst records of child abuse in the developed world – Unicef".
https://www.unicef.org.nz/in-new-zealand/safe-childhood
Seems only the rich will be able to afford a safe birth, life and dying time.
Millions are thrown at consultants, appointed by incompetent politicians allocated portfolios that you could give a monkey with the same outcome.
It is no surprise that the exodus of young and educated will only increase.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/international-migration-february-2022
"Annual net migration: loss of 7,600 (± 700), down from a net gain of 9,500 (± 30)"
Wakey wakey
omment @ 4 was in reply to this. Reply button didn't work. Thanks for posting this Fw.
From your link:
This doesn't seem to agree with what you’re saying.
LOL, thanks for clearing that up Incognito.
Maybe FW is just saying goodbye.
Not everybody thinks NZ is going to hell in handbasket.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300630526/in-their-own-words-why-these-young-bright-kiwis-have-no-plans-to-leave-aotearoa
But everybody is free to read and spout negative stuff without much analysis and purely based on emotive gut reactions.
Instead of sniggering, you should be thinking about the issues.
But then again, not surprised by this long lost art of boarding school behaviour.
And you should stop pretending you're God by claiming to know what others are thinking.
If you believe a monkey can become an MP you should try, you seem well suited.
Then again you seem to have overlooked a certain global event that took place prior to 'year ended Feb 2022' that might just have driven these unusual migration patterns.
Compared to most other nations on earth, NZ remains one of the top 20 or so more desirable countries to live in. It certainly is no hell-hole. But Australia is better, and if recent announcements make residency in Aus more accessible and attractive, then it's not hard to see this Feb 2022 result reversing back to the historic pattern again. And fairly quickly.
No
Working in Italy, Singapore and Australia was what I did for the last 7 years – didn't mean that I had to move there. I had to visit for extended periods as the places I was working were off the net.
Changed jobs to get rid of the need to travel. Currently mostly working in the US market. Definitely not moving there, or even visiting.
There are large parts of the economy like that these days. It isn’t even unusual any more.
Yes – specific high end technical skills are truly global right now. If I cared to be chasing the big projects there is literally no place on earth where I probably could not find an attractive role. Even without moving employer I could move back to NZ and still do well.
But for the majority of kiwis, especially on the median income or less, Australia is still a very good bet if their cards line up right. I am still seeing wages 30% higher and a cost of living that is either much the same or even lower. And beyond that, for anyone with the smallest sense of wanting to do better, there is literally 10 times more opportunity for that here than in NZ.
Sure, there are a number of relatives who have settled in Aussie for exactly those reasons over the decades. They're mostly involved in service industries of one form or another focused on the internal Aussie market. The same as if they were here. But there are risks, a common reason for seeing my resident relatives there is when they come back to NZ to get routine hospital care.
I have never had any particular reason to go there because I'm simply not that interested in money. I'm much more focused on what I'm working on. I realise that is more the exception than the rule. I have zero interest in the services or internal markets here or there. I like doing development for a international.
As far as I'm concerned, Aussie had and still has exactly the same structural economic problems as NZ had – it is just bigger and far more involved in their internal market.
Sure I can make more money in Aussie – in the order of 50% or more. But it is pretty much the same here, all I have to do is to change the type of work that I will accept.
Plus I looked at it decades ago when I was still deciding what I'd want to work on. Then I decided that I simply didn't like Aussie as a place to live in after being there for a while. There are some really obnoxious Aussies who seem to have their intellect firmly embedded up their own arse. It seems to be a common opinion on an international scale, everyone relaxes offshore when they realise that I or groups that I was with were kiwis rather than aussies – especially in Singapore.
I was planning on heading to somewhere like Canada or the US before the internet opened up in the early 1990s. Then I realised that it wouldn't be too long before I could work from here. So I stayed.
Time to do the maths….
Assisted dying – kicking us when we’re down
For many palliative care workers, the introduction of fully-funded euthanasia rubbed salt in the wound of neglect.
As at February, the Health Ministry had six full-time positions dedicated to assisted dying. It has no-one dedicated to palliative care. (The ministry says palliative care work is spread across multiple teams.)
The Government allocated $11.9m to fully fund assisted dying for an estimated 350 Kiwis a year.
Compared to…
New Zealand’s 32 hospices look after about 20,000 patients and their whānau a year, or about 30% of dying Kiwis. But of their 2021 running costs of about $176 million, only $88 million came from the government.
Is there another conclusion to draw other than that this government is actively encouraging assisted dying?
How the palliative care doctors interviewed for this piece avoided shouting "WE TOLD YOU SO!!!" … ???
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/underfunding-no-argument-for-assisted-dying
Been through all of this very recently myself. The short answer is that enabling the frail and elderly to off themselves is one hell of a lot cheaper than allowing their lives to take it's course.
But then in a world where there are no absolute moral boundaries on the value of a human life, it is no surprise they keep on being shifted.
Is there some sadistic moral thrill in watching someone forced to endure a horrible painful humiliating drawn out death that I'm just not appreciating?
Probably the same sadistic thrill in watching someone being hounded into 'voluntarily' asking for euthanasia to 'spare the family'
People are not always nice. Sometimes family members can be the most sadistic – as you can see here:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/opinion-adult-nappies-and-a-wetsuit-how-could-this-happen/I77GKOVY4GGB7QAXM3MKSYMO4U/?c_id=1&objectid=12535839&ref=rss
Many people disagree with euthanasia personally – their 'right' to the death they want is just as valid as the 'right' of the person who wants to shuffle off the mortal coil at a time that suits them.
Isn't it wonderful that one doesn't negate the other
I think the key is dignity. In all cases it should be maintained and the patient should have the last word.
What I observe is a brutalising of society with it the abject neglect and respect of the vulnerable. The consequence comes with an ethical decay and the loss of valuing life. So it should not come as a surprise that for every child that dies horrifically an excuse is found instead of a standard of behaviour reinforced. Some elderly persons are neglected to a degree that is disgusting in a so called "civilised" society. Again, excuses are found and judgements are made on behalf (how dare) for that neglected person because it is ..convenient. The lack of resources for key services and at the same time the waste of money for pet projects, political agendas etc.. is just reinforcing that it is ok to just don't give a damn.
Yes. I agree with this very much.
And dignity goes well beyond mere physical considerations. My father made it clear a number of times in the past two years that he found the prospect of endless social isolation due to COVID regulations far more distressing than the prospect of a death he knew was not too far off.
In the end we were incredibly fortunate – he hung on with a grim determination and we all managed to be there with him on his last day. It all came together almost miraculously well, everyone who needed to be there was and we actually had a remarkably uplifting afternoon. Sudden death is quite different – there is shock at the unexpected loss – but for us we had gone through the grief little by little well before his last day.
So while his last two years were tough and difficult, in the end he left this world on his own terms with his dignity intact.
.
Very pleased to hear that, RL. Pleased for both your father and for you & the family.
My father used to joke that he had a special 'parking gene' that worked so that wherever he went a magic parking spot would open up right outside the place he was going to. Same with pretty much any travel – good luck all the way.
Well we reckon he saved the best for the last – and all of us got very lucky just when we needed to.
My condolences, albeit belated. It sounds like your dad had a good farewell and you and your family can take comfort in that.
My best wishes.
Ta.
Well having just gone through this myself this past fortnight – the answer is that you definitely feel immensely relieved when it is over. And there was no 'sadistic pleasure' either. None of us get out of this world scot-free, and dying is rarely an easy passage, although the staff took care to minimise the physical suffering.
In my father's case he went through a very bad patch 11 years ago, and the doctors told us he was going to die then. Instead he defied the odds and lived on another reasonably healthy six years, including one last trip to visit us in Australia. The euthanasia option taken back then would have robbed him of that.
It is very understandable that many of us fear death. Nor in our modern, very safe world we do not encounter it face to face often enough to come to terms with it. Paradoxically enough dying is one of life's last and enduring mysteries – and personally I am of a view we should not seek too much control over it.
Yes!
False dichotomies lead to wrong questions and wrong answers.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/life-stages/assisted-dying-service
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/life-stages/palliative-care and https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/life-stages/palliative-care/key-palliative-care-organisations
Can you spot the difference?
Sri Lanka's experiment in Lysenkoism fails as Government falls.
https://twitter.com/ShivAroor/status/1545693026705719296?cxt=HHwWgIC-ycnns_MqAAAA
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/05/sri-lanka-organic-farming-crisis/
An initiative to establish productive systems that are self sustaining, require little external inputs, and that focus on ecological cycles like those that build soil rather than mechanistic systems that artificially force growth and produce large amounts of pollution was a fucking crock?
Who woulda thunk it.
//
They could not produce enough food to sustain their own diets,let alone sufficient exports for foreign exchange.
This is deglobalisation right under our noses.
The big takeaway is what happens when you stop industrial fertiliser in an abrupt or unplanned fashion. Successful transition to organics takes both skill and time – what this govt did was to take sledgehammer to their agricultural base and expect it to work better.
You also need to reduce the population to the new carrying capacity of the foodbase,and the economic constraints,of a munted export base. .
Well that is mostly the point of the clip I linked to above.
It is my sense that if done carefully and with enough time to correct the mistakes, that a transition to organic based agriculture does not have to be necessarily catastrophic. But many places are not going to get that luxury.
The bulk of the food sold in supermarkets is probably processed junk food in any case – too much sugar and insufficient fibre.
On that we both agree. Industrial ag and food systems have certainly delivered a lot of calories but still have a ways to go on the quality side.
So a National Act Government would bring back Charter Schools. Guess they would bring back Tuck Shops pies and fizzy drinks and School Fees as well.
And caning.
They aren't soft on crime!
Beyond irony and knowing amusement really, Baldrick going to UK to investigate Charter Schools!
Having seen the kids going into the local dairies and supermarkets before school (and again after school, for that matter) – cutting out tuck shop pies and soft-drinks has been a total failure in diet management (the stated goal). The kids have the cash and control over where they spend it. They aren't listening to the Government (or the dietitians, for that matter).
Realistically, the ban only ever affected secondary schools (very, very few primary schools ever had tuck shops). And, by that age, the damage has already been done.
Those children choose that life, just as anti everything do. vax.. masks…. laws etc. That does not negate the government efforts nor make the actions less valuable.
Just saying that the policy demonstrably doesn't work: tons of kids buying junk food from shops bracketing schools; no decrease in childhood obesity; no improvement in health stats (though, admittedly, those might take some time to show up – but you'd expect to see some glimmers of change).
When a policy fails to achieve the stated goals, of course the actions are "less valuable". Unless you regard it as a 'moral imperative' rather than a piece of effective policy.
Really, the only change that will make any difference, is for families to be preparing and cooking good quality meals (5+ veg a day) at home; and cutting junk food (sugary drinks, lollies, chips, especially – the odd meat pie isn't such a bad thing) out of their household budgets.
That requires a whole raft of changes to our social structure: everything from increased budgets (those fruit/veges aren't exactly cheap), to education (how to cook flavourful & nutritional meals that kids will eat & how to transition family favourites or heritage meals (e.g. corned beef) to being treat food), to time and infrastructure costs (who can cook the meals, and do you have stove/equipment/electricity, etc.)., to more education (just why this change in diet/lifestyle is so important).
It's the kind of lifestyle change that simplistic 'ban the fizzy drink' doesn't even approach.
Belladonna, apart from "your neighbourhood" what proof do you have that the system of lunches in schools is a failure?
Patricia. What proof do you have that it's a success?
Some schools have outsourced the tuck shop, in part because profit margins tend to be rather marginal.
If kids continue to make bad choices is that an argument not to bother at all and bring back or provide them with bad food choices at school? It is not clear what you’re arguing for other than that you want to argue against something here.
Some kids spend an awful lot of money on food at school each and every day, money they get from their loving doting parents who don’t want to be perceived as stingy and considered cringy.
Dietician academic says it's pretty much virtue signalling.
https://news.aut.ac.nz/news/school-ban-on-sugary-drinks-wont-help
That settles it then, thanks for clearing it up.
Well, yes. If you've removed the majority of the food that the kids want to buy – they'll be highly motivated to go elsewhere and buy it. Hence making the tuck shop highly marginal. Cause and effect.
Bring back cigarettes!
You'd like to increase marketing for corned beef? That's fine, but you also have to decrease marketing for Maccas.
Um, no. I haven't suggested marketing either.
So you're saying Belladonna that the school kids are going into shops and buying junk food outside of school hours and that means government attempts to introduce healthy foods into their lives through the schools are a failure and a waste of time? I suggest the 'failure' lies with the parents who give their children the money to buy the junk in the first place.
For all you know they have a paper route or a weekend job stocking shelves at the local supermarket and are spending their own money.
Yep. Pretty much. If the goal is for the kids not to be eating junk food on a daily basis then this policy has been a failure.
Agree about poor parenting decisions – but that that's not usually an opinion that flies well on TS.
Pretty sure the goal was to stop schools enabling the shitty choices their pupils make.
If so, hasn't worked. Pupils still making the shitty choices. Just that the money (which used to go to supporting school activities – like sports uniforms) now goes to businesses (dairies) and corporates (supermarkets)
Contributing to the poor health of some kids is okay because it benefits other kids?
No the goal Belladonna, was to take the stigma of no food at school away. Parents still need to monitor other food choices.
??? How can removing sweet drinks and pies from the tuckshop take the stigma of no food at school away?
Are you confusing this with the provision of free school lunches?
Both things go together. You made blanket statements that removing tuck shops was a waste of time, and it stopped funding for sport. Lol. How diametrically opposed is that?
Schools with the lunch programme have it for all, and it reinforces tasty and nutritious foods and saves money. Oh, and I can not measure the junk food consumed in your neighbourhood. That is your concern you raised and used as proof, rather tenuously.
I suspect Baldrick's gone to the UK to worship at the shrine of St Birbalsingh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Birbalsingh
Yes just so, Joe90. Luxon shows a complete lack of original ideas and a huge reliance on the wacky baccy of his running mate Seymour..
If you have Netflix
Just in case you ever get invited to colonise Mars with Elon Musk.
Watch the Black Mirror episode. USS Callister for a taste of what it would be like.
I guess they think their main man's a blue eyed fella, too.
.
As our team interviewed Christians of color across the U.S., we heard a similar and painful story repeated: White Christians, by their actions, seem to favor being white over being Christian. Christians of color cited many instances of that type of behavior, national and local, communal and personal. We wondered if this was the case empirically and, if so, why. As we tested the hypothesis, we found a plethora of evidence substantiating what we heard.
My co-author Glenn Bracey and I are proposing a theory in our forthcoming book, The Grand Betrayal: Most church-attending white Christians are not bad Christians. This is because they are not Christian at all. Instead, we propose they are faithful followers of a different religion: the “religion of whiteness.”
[…]
We found this pattern over and over again: White practicing Christians differed from Christians of other racial groups and from non-Christian whites whenever the topic was race. For example, white practicing Christians are twice as likely as other whites to say “being white” is important to them and twice as likely as other whites to say they feel the need to defend their race. Through extensive statistical analyses, we found that two-thirds of practicing white Christians are following, in effect, a religion of whiteness. They repeatedly placed being white ahead of being Christian; the findings were not explained away by political affiliation, location, age, education, income, gender, or other factors.
https://sojo.net/magazine/july-2022/what-happens-when-white-identity-comes-christian-faith
White Europeans are a fast declining minority in the Auckland Catholic church. White by hair colour obviously 😀
It's all a black-haired immigrant majority.
Yup. The full monty requiem jobbie I attended a while back in Taranaki was a noticably salt and pepper affair. Mostly pepper in likely the saltiest community in the NI.
Sleaze,spad shaggers,and psychos,the race for the keys to no 10,The Michael Dobbs plots already laid out for a new triology.
https://twitter.com/holland_tom/status/1545831910227722242?cxt=HHwWhICyudT78vMqAAAA
https://twitter.com/Dominic2306/status/1545344985469444097
…. so all the candidates are politicians then?
Rotten to the Core ……
No surprises there!
Maurice that is like saying 'all voters are dopey" and about as useful.
Perhaps BOTH propositions have considerable truth in them?
What's more likely, Poots uses nukes or crew of pissed Russian squadies trigger a nuclear accident?
The Russian army is transforming Europe’s largest nuclear power plant into a military base overlooking an active front, intensifying a monthslong safety crisis for the vast facility and its thousands of staff.
[…]
The new infusion of weaponry effectively shields the plant from a counterattack by Ukrainian forces, and amounts to something the carefully regulated atomic-energy industry has never seen before: the slow-motion transformation of a nuclear power station into a military garrison. In a lesser-scrutinized aspect of its war strategy, the Russian army is day-by-day positioning the weaponry around a nuclear plant that is among the world’s largest, using it to cement control of the front line where their advance through southern Ukraine ground to a halt.
[…]
Last week, the United Nations’ nuclear regulator was in the dark for three days about conditions inside Zaporizhzhia, after its data connection to the plant went offline before being restored. That marked the second time since Russia’s invasion that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Vienna headquarters has lost its feed from the cameras and instruments that normally relay security footage and safety readings from the vast complex.
https://archive.ph/2022.07.05-185932/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/russian-army-turns-ukraines-largest-nuclear-plant-into-a-military-base-11657035694
Definitely nuclear accident