Labour have announced they are cutting their communication staff levels in half. Goff said this will demonstrate Labour are serious about cutting unnecessary spending and thought they should put their money where their mouth is – towards more essential spending priorities like KiwiSaver handouts. Goff also hoped that by cutting their spin in half they would only look half as desperate.
Grrr PeteG when you make a troll like comment how about you back it up with a link so we can confirm that what you are saying is true.
Besides if this is what Goff is planning then I totally agree. There is nothing worse than PR produced naff. The meaning is never clear and it sanitises and glosses over the important points. It would be much better for Goff to say it the way it is.
The last great PM communicator was David Lange. He used his own words and spoke simply but clearly. The current imposter is the direct opposite.
David Lange was vacuous. That booming voice and commanding manner got him a long way in politics, of course—but he was intellectually indolent, and he was consistently outsmarted and manipulated by far sharper ideologues like Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble, David Caygill, Mike Moore and Michael Bassett.
Because he wasn’t a deep or coherent thinker, Lange couldn’t counter their takeover of the government. In 1989, he realised his helplessness and just gave up.
I commented that he was an exceptional speaker M, however to say he was vacuous is clearly garbage. While some of the policies of his government may have been formulated and led by others in his cabinet to suggest he was vacuous is patently absurd.
…to suggest he was vacuous is patently absurd.
Lange presided over the dismantling, destruction and selling off of much of this country’s public sector. In all that time, he occasionally wrung his hands in public—the “cup of tea”—but he did nothing, in spite of being opposed to what was being done. That was because he lacked the knowledge and depth of learning to challenge the likes of Douglas and Caygill.
In fact, Lange himself enthusiastically set about the attack on the public education sector. He failed to coherently explain himself whenever he was pinned down for a comment; he once in desperation hissed at a woman teacher to “piss off” when she had the temerity to ask him a question in public.
John Key is rightly regarded as vacuous by the liberal left, but he is no worse informed on any subject than Lange was.
Not my impression of Lange. In his areas he was very sharp.
In economics he unfortunately left it to those he thought were more qualified. Often a good idea, but not when you are dealing with dogmatic idealoges.
In economics he unfortunately left it to those he thought were more qualified. Often a good idea, but not when you are dealing with dogmatic idealoges.
Not my impression of Lange. In his areas he was very sharp.
Impressions are surface features only. Superficially, Lange was plausible. If you analyze what he said—and the worshipful talk about his “oratory” pretty much cancelled that at the time—there was little of depth or sophistication. In many ways, he was a fatter, pakeha version of what many people in the U.S. fell for in 2008.
In economics he unfortunately left it to those he thought were more qualified.
He was asleep at the wheel. Because Lange did not think, or even care, about economic and political theory, he was unable to stand up to the doctrinal marauders in his cabinet.
“I thought it was obvious I was lying/taking the piss.”
That applies to most of your comments, Pete, so the confusion over this one is understandable. Anyway, the fact is that Goff really is getting rid of his PR advisors … by making them successful Labour party candidates.
Finally : Sick of John Key? Bill English? Gerry Brownlee? How much more bullshit artistry do you want? Unfortunately they are protected by their crony media lap-dog ‘journalists’.
Question: When does a youth become a man?
16? 17? 18? 19? Apparently the British police have just arrested two men – a 17 year old and a 19 year old. If they were at school, they would be boys. Apparently this age does not necessarily make you eligible to buy alcohol, or vote, but you can fire a machine gun.
Ah, so a 17 year old is a teenager, a boy, an adolescent, a youth, a man, and now an adult (and to a much older generation, might even be classed as a youngster). No wonder they are a confused age group.
Why the sudden interest in Clifford Bay as a ferry terminal? I thought this was killed off years ago, is Steven Joyce trying to make a diversion? If so what from? The budget? Or is it that some overseas company is wanting taxpayers’ money for their private project?
A comment on the stuff site says that every time the interislander has it’s port fees up for renewal, they start talking about alternative terminals being built, as a way to ensure the fees don’t rise too much.
I would think that if that has been the case in the past, this specific threat has gone a lot further than any in the past have.
I suspect one of the reasons for moving it will be that they won’t be able to get the ferries up Tory channel any more, once it’s full of salmon farms.
First they came…” is a famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text of the quotation is usually presented roughly as follows:
First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
I know many of you have probably seen this before but it’s the first time I have and history makes it all the more poignant. We could easily add the words beneficiaries, preschoolers, young families, university students, Maori, environmentalists etc( in no particular order)
Feel free to add to the list….Surely a tipping point will be reached!
If you think New Zealand is anything like Germany in that era you haven’t any idea how lucky you are to live in this country in this time. Yes, we should be vigilant and fight to retain freedoms. But we should appreciate how different it is to the difficult times all preceding generations have lived in.
I have relations who lived in the Sudetenland in the 1930’s. I visited them last year. They talked a bit about what it was like back then. Very hard times. They said that at the end of the war the Americans arrived just in time, otherwise they think they would have been annihilated. Instead they were marched out of their homeland, forever.
Guessing, but that makes you German and Catholic, if thats the case it explains a lot, you probably think where mostly a bunch of Communists trying to start a revolution.
I’m neither, related by marriage, nominally Anglican as a child, practically atheist.
Someone I know well lived in West Berlin in the 70s to early 80s, experienced border security often and visited East Berlin a number of times so saw both sides. The East was generally sad, drab and depressing. Failed.
“about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.”
“…history makes it all the more poignant. We could easily add the words beneficiaries, preschoolers, young families, university students, Maori, environmentalists etc( in no particular order)
Feel free to add to the list….Surely a tipping point will be reached!”
It’s standard under Godwin’s Law – “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.”
Godwin has argued that overuse of Nazi and Hitler comparisons should be avoided, because it robs the valid comparisons of their impact.
The situation today is nothing like the social and political situation in 1930s Germany, or the rest of Europe, or New Zealand. We have legitimate concerns but they are piddling when compared to many other countries now, and from the past.
I think what was said in 2008, pre-election, is quite relevant to the government, post-election.
However comparing something that Phil Goff said in 1982 about the government in 80’s really doesn’t have terribly much relevance 20 years later. I thought this would have been obvious, but apparently not.
I’m pretty sure they’re aiming for the 1530s actually or, perhaps, the 1130s. You know, before the Magna Carta was signed. Rule by the rich for the rich and whatever the rich say goes.
It is a real shame that the Nact government don’t look back to 1984 because HISTORY is repeating itself. In 1984 the deficit was 21.5 billion due to overseas borrowing. Nine years earlier Muldoon killed compulsory superannuation. Even though Muldoon did not sell off assests the Nact government are scheming to sell off what Muldoon borrowed money for (energy projects).
Nact have put the country back 25 years. The most depressing aspect is that back then people had jobs, not like now. I am wondering how long it is going to take Nact to freeze wages?
Latest news reporting Govt borrowing $380m per week.
Disastrous handling of the country’s finances by currency trading wizard Prime Mismanagement.
What’s the next gamble with the blood and sweat of the Kiwi working poor?
Yes and also if the employer has to contribute more to Kiwisaver it is likely that a pay increase will be minimal.
As mentioned below the government are borrowing 380 million a week. I heard that they are stock piling money as the interest rate is lower than it has been.
Anyone who was around age twenty in the mid 1980s would see how screwed the country now is because of the level of debt, the cost of housing/rent, low wages and the most concerning, denial by the government that they are failing those on a low income.
Anyone who was around age twenty in the mid 1980s would see how screwed the country now is
That might explain why roughly 700,000 NZ born Kiwis have fled and are now living in Australia. That figure is equivalent to around 1 in 6 of the people still left in NZ now, bailing on this country tomorrow. Disastrous.
Try turning on the wysiwyg editor with the check box under the edit box. It has link button that looks like a chain. Select some text, press that, and paste the link into the dialog box that pops up.
Otherwise there is a section in the FAQ at the top of the pages to do the text version. Look for simple HTML
So after the house I’m in having survived with pretty much negligible (very minor contents) damage through all of the quakes thus-far, last night’s 5.3 quake has slightly warped one of the doors/door frames in the bathroom so it doesn’t shut cleanly any more. All of the other doors in the house are fine. Go figure.
Gutted to see so many of my favourite buildings are gone/going, including the building I would most liked to have owned in the city, Edison Hall. Plus all the shops in Sydenham I used to frequent, the cafes in High St, the pubs and clubs along Colombo and Manchester Streets, all gone. Mind you, it seems the New Excelsior may survive in some form. A small blessing for the thirsty.
I prefer people to just paste the URL. I do not like opening unknown web sites. Not a problem from most of the people here, but not a good ideas on the web generally.
Top Gear’s offensive stereotyping has gone too far, says STEVE COOGAN
As a huge fan of Top Gear. I normally regard the presenters’ brand of irreverence as a part of the rough and tumble that goes with having a sense of humour. I’ve been on the show three times and had a go at their celebrity-lap challenge, and I would love to receive a fourth invite. But I think that’s unlikely once they have read this. If, however, it makes the Lads question their behaviour for a second – ambitious, I know – it will be worth it.
I normally remain below the parapet when these frenetic arguments about comedy and taste break out. But this time, I’ve had enough of the regular defence you tend to hear – the tired line that it’s “just a laugh”, a bit of “harmless fun”.
Some of the Lads’ comments again, in case you missed them. “Mexican cars are just going to be lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight, leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus, with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat” (Richard Hammond). Mexican food is “sick with cheese on it” (James May).
Jeremy Clarkson added to the mirth by suggesting that the Mexican ambassador (a certain Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza) would be so busy sleeping he wouldn’t register any outrage. (He wasn’t and he did.)
OK, guys, I’ve got some great ideas for your next show. Jeremy, why not have James describe some kosher food as looking like “sick with cheese on it”? No? Thought not. Even better, why not describe some Islamic fundamentalists as lazy and feckless?
Feel the silence. They’re all pretty well organised these days, aren’t they, those groups? Better stick to those that are least problematic.
Old people? Special needs? I know – Mexicans! There aren’t enough of them to be troublesome, no celebrities to be upset. And most of them are miles and miles away.
[deleted]
[lprent: Please don’t quote the whole damn article in the comments section – it isn’t a frigging clipping area. You have the link. All you need to do is to quote enough to get people to go to look at it. In fact just what I did, and you’re just lucky that I was interested enough in the article to do so. Even better would be to put your own content in to say why people should read it. ]
Interesting little piece from Rodney Hide in 2000, I found re the hounding of Ian Mutton by the IRD. In it Hide talks about Section 81 which denies the taxpayer access to the reasons why they are being hounded.
Now why does ‘denies the taxpayer access to the reasons why they are being hounded.’ sound familiar? Perhaps if I changed the word ‘hounded’ to ‘fired’, ‘taxpayer’ to ’employee taxpayer’ and added the words ‘ninety days’, maybe even the idiotological NActMUs would get it.
New Zealand has “chairmanship” of a bid to change the Royal succession laws.
The claim, made by Lord McNally in the House of Lords earlier this year, was this morning confirmed by Prime Minister John Key.
In January, Lord McNally told the House of Lords: “There have been consultations … the previous Administration initiated discussions among Commonwealth countries. Those discussions are proceeding under the chairmanship of the New Zealand Government and we will continue to keep the matter under consideration.”
We immediately sent an Official Information Act (OIA) request to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to find out exactly what was going on…
New Zealand Ministers are not involved in chairing or leading any discussions about proposals to amend the Act of Settlement and the laws of succession.
It appears that the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet lied to an OIA request.
Hattip: I/S via Twitter
HARDTALK: NO KIWI REPUBLIC ON KEY’S WATCH
Meanwhile, Key revealed he personally opposes New Zealand becoming a republic.
That’s no real surprise either – conservatives seem inherently incapable of imagining a society without their special people at the top giving commands to the rest of the populace.
Not really. All part of the hierarchical mindset – the people at the top give the commands or the commands are given in their name. It the concept that someone must have authority and that people below them and in the chain of command are then acting with that authority. John Key and most of National will see their authority as being an extension of the queens office.
History does not repeat, it ryhmes (Mark Twain). Funny how we are 100% clean green when it comes to minning, agriculture etc.. how odd. Do we want our cake and eat it as well… i.e. the tourists flocking to see the 100% Pure Brand…
We just have to look back at Li Lin Fu and see the parallels …Honey-Mouthed And Dagger-Hearted (Kou Mi Fu Jian & Pin Yin kǒu mì fù jiàn):
In 742 AD., a capable minister called Li Shi Zhi was favored by the Emperor of Tang. Li Lin Fu pretended not to care, but in fact was trying to find ways to damage him. One day, Li Lin Fu told Li Shi Zhi about some gold that was hidden over in Hua Mountain, and Li Shi Zhi, as Li Lin Fu expected, soon proposed to the Emperor worried about the decrease of the state revenue to mine the gold deposits.
The Emperor then asked Li Lin Fu for his opinion, Li Lin-fu acted very indifferently, saying “I knew about the gold mine a long time ago, and I didn’t tell it to your Majesty on purpose.”
“Why?” said the king in surprise.
“According to Taoist principles, Hua Mountain is in the place where all of Your Majesty’s auspicious aurora are gathered. Any damage to that area will certainly be harmful to your health and state. Who is it that brings out such a foolish idea? ”
Hearing this, the Emperor thought that Li Shi Zhi was not as considerate as Li Lin Fu, and later demoted the former to remote area.
The Environmental Defence Society has expressed concern about aspects of the announcements on freshwater made at the Prime Minister’s press conference today.
“The key concern is that the National Policy Statement, which will become law shortly, has been watered down from the version recommended by the Board of Inquiry last year,” said EDS Chairman Gary Taylor.
So in other words, he who controls the law or standards in this case, controls the truth….
Unbelievable! Actually, come to think of it, it’s not unbelievable—Key’s cynicism and arrogance are hardly a surprise. Note his airy dismissal of scientists—“they’re just like lawyers”—and his scoffing attitude throughout.
Stephen Sackur looks like a second-rater when he goes up against superior intellects—but against Key, Sackur is clearly in the ascendant.
Martyn Payne, a UK migrant who invested his life savings of $700,000 and six years of his life into turning a struggling Northland garage into a thriving business employing seven people was kicked out of New Zealand on April 23rd.
His appeal to Kate Wilkinson, the Associate Immigration Minister, that medical evidence supplied showed he would not be a drain on the New Zealand health service was declined. Kate Wilkinson has stated she will not review this case unless there is new evidence, ignoring additional reports from a doctor and a heart specialist sent to her confirming Payne’s stance.
Is this good for New Zealand?
Is Wilkinson sending a message to entrepreneurs around the world?
Do you think Martyn Payne has been treated fairly.
If people can attend – to both find out what is going on plus be there in support – that would be great!
Fellow ‘Public Watchdog’ Lisa Prager and myself each have 10 minutes to address the Auckland Council Property CCO (Auckland Council Properties Ltd – ACPL) about the lack of transparency regarding the ‘interests’ of the unelected Board and staff; information publicly available pertaining to properties administered by the ACPL; and public involvement in the decision-making process as to which properties are deemed ‘surplus to requirements’ and whether or not they should be ‘disposed of’:
‘OPEN LETTER’
10 May 2011
Dear Emma,
Thank you for confirming my 10 minutes ‘speaking rights’ to address the ‘Public Forum’ of the upcoming Auckland Council Property Ltd (ACPL) meeting to be held on:
The subject matter of my ‘deputation’, will include:
1) As a publicly-acknowledged ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner, having attended two internationally significant ‘anti-corruption’ conferences, I am concerned at the apparent lack of structural openness, transparency and accountability in the ACPL ‘framework’.
a) Where is a publicly-available ‘Register of Interests’ for the unelected Board of ACPL CCO appointees and staff responsible for property and procurement?
(How can ‘conflicts of interest’ be avoided if ‘interests’ are not declared beforehand?
Do any unelected Board of ACPL appointees and staff responsible for property and procurement, have links with property developers, business associates/investors/ individuals who could take pecuniary advantage of such connections?)
b) What audit processes have been established by the Auckland Council, to ensure ‘Council control’ over this ACPL ‘Council Controlled Organisation’, in order to prevent the above-mentioned potential ‘conflicts of interest’ ?
c) What audit processes are/have been carried out by ‘independent statutory third party ‘Public Watchdogs such as the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) to double-check that there are ‘open, transparent and accountable’ processes in place to help prevent such potential ‘conflicts of interest’?
d) Has the ACPL entered into contracts with the private sector for any goods or services?
e) Is there a central ‘Register of Contracts’, publicly-available, which details for public scrutiny: the name of the consultant/contractor; the scope, term and value of the contract?
f) How many staff employed by the ACPL are ‘in-house’ employees as opposed to ‘contracted’, or ‘temporary’ employees, and how much money is being spent on each category?
g) j) Where is the publicly-available ‘list’ of ALL property administered by the ACPL, with the following information?
i) Property name.
ii) Physical street address.
iii) Property history (how did it become a ‘council’ property – ie: was it BEQUESTED, and if so – for what purpose).
iv) Who is currently using this property and for what purpose.
v) If property is unused – for how long has this been the case.
h) What is the mechanism by which it is decided which Auckland Council ‘properties’ are deemed ‘surplus to requirements’?
i) Given that ALL Auckland Council property assets are supposedly owned by citizens and ratepayers of the Auckland region – by what process do we ‘the public’ ‘have a say’ in determining which Auckland Council ‘properties’ are deemed ‘surplus to requirements’?
j) What is the ‘consultation’ process that is/will be carried out by the ACPL with citizens and ratepayers of the Auckland region before ANY Auckland Council property assets are sold?
________________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
I have a meeting or I would have been there to support you. If you have a network I suggest you send them an email and get them to reply with their support for your quest. Then you can stand up and say ‘I am not the only person asking these questions. I have xxxxxx emails in support of me. They also want to know that their assets are not going to be sold.’
I’m sure your network will encompass mine.
This Property CCO does not have the right to sell our assets. The CCOs were not democratically elected. The first bill taking control over Auckland Assets was forced through without access to select committee or a Government run citizen vote.
If you have a network, Penny, your network will have their own networks which will cover New Zealand, and once they know how the government has betrayed Aucklanders and intend to stab other New Zealanders in the back through their once democratic councils, then they will support your fight against the Auckland Property CCO. ECAN knows all about being assassinated by the likes of Hide, Shipley, David Carter and his brother and signed off by Key and Douglas.
Bernard Hickey: Havens for rich tax avoiders will cripple NZ
NZ Herald Sunday May 8, 2011
It really is scary to say this, but I honestly believe Key thinks New Zealand Inc is his business, but not serious business. He’s playing it for fun. He’s got other income so if New Zealand Inc falls over, he can move on to his other businesses.
Meanwhile he’s rerouting all money into the accounts of the already wealthy to buy their support for his knighthood.
Then when NZ is totally fxxked, he will of course not be pm and will be able to buy up large before leaving for Hawaii or the next placement.
And me? I’m going to find it very hard to forgive any of my NAct friends for causing it by voting him in, whether 2008 or worse in 2011.
Key and his hordes are going to cause massive and divisive damage in this country. But that was always the plan. Divide the masses and control the treasury.
There are many questions concerning the inappropriate use of tax-payer money by Prime Minister John Key as well as questions about conflicts of interest in regards to his investment portfolio that need answering. Not only does john Key avoid any investigation into allegations that our NZSAS is in breach of international laws, he avoids any responsibility for his and his fellow MPs misappropriations and lies. This head in the sand mentality must end for New Zealand to have any chance of restoring our democracy. What follows is a Statement by Dayle Takitimu sent to the Gisborne Herald – Challenging John Keys Dishonesty.
All ‘consultations’ with JKeyll should be videotaped and any corruption of the discussion by JKeyll should be forced upon media who can be prosecuted for printing lies and misleading people.
Wish we did have laws that held the media accountable for publishing lies and untruths then we might start to see actual real investigative reporting rather than the present method of reporting by the printing unquestioned press release.
todd: I suspect that since many in the population believe that Maori concerns are insignificant and Key believes he can afford to go with the more popular dismissal of the concerns. He may also believe that the Maori Party are not going to be an asset after the Election should by then even exist , and can be dismissive.
But that position is a dangerous risk. Shows a lack of trustworthiness.
God this guy takes the cake.
“The Labour Party has the same front bench as the one that was thrown out in 2008.” Now correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t Dunne a minister for six years of that government. Wasn’t he a member of the Labour Party in the 1980’s. So, in that case, which front bench needs refreshing, Labour’s or United Future’s. Peter Dunne, in another profession, might be classified as a “swinger”.
Bill English on Checkpoint…approx 5:30pm this evening…
Discussing the defecit, comparing the government attitude to borrowings to what a householder would do, “you cant sell part of the house to reduce your borrowings”
…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 ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
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. ...
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 ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
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. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
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. ...
Labour have announced they are cutting their communication staff levels in half. Goff said this will demonstrate Labour are serious about cutting unnecessary spending and thought they should put their money where their mouth is – towards more essential spending priorities like KiwiSaver handouts. Goff also hoped that by cutting their spin in half they would only look half as desperate.
Grrr PeteG when you make a troll like comment how about you back it up with a link so we can confirm that what you are saying is true.
Besides if this is what Goff is planning then I totally agree. There is nothing worse than PR produced naff. The meaning is never clear and it sanitises and glosses over the important points. It would be much better for Goff to say it the way it is.
The last great PM communicator was David Lange. He used his own words and spoke simply but clearly. The current imposter is the direct opposite.
Lange was a great speaker, had him speak at functions a number of times after he’d retired and he was exceptional every time.
David Lange was vacuous. That booming voice and commanding manner got him a long way in politics, of course—but he was intellectually indolent, and he was consistently outsmarted and manipulated by far sharper ideologues like Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble, David Caygill, Mike Moore and Michael Bassett.
Because he wasn’t a deep or coherent thinker, Lange couldn’t counter their takeover of the government. In 1989, he realised his helplessness and just gave up.
I commented that he was an exceptional speaker M, however to say he was vacuous is clearly garbage. While some of the policies of his government may have been formulated and led by others in his cabinet to suggest he was vacuous is patently absurd.
…to suggest he was vacuous is patently absurd.
Lange presided over the dismantling, destruction and selling off of much of this country’s public sector. In all that time, he occasionally wrung his hands in public—the “cup of tea”—but he did nothing, in spite of being opposed to what was being done. That was because he lacked the knowledge and depth of learning to challenge the likes of Douglas and Caygill.
In fact, Lange himself enthusiastically set about the attack on the public education sector. He failed to coherently explain himself whenever he was pinned down for a comment; he once in desperation hissed at a woman teacher to “piss off” when she had the temerity to ask him a question in public.
John Key is rightly regarded as vacuous by the liberal left, but he is no worse informed on any subject than Lange was.
Not my impression of Lange. In his areas he was very sharp.
In economics he unfortunately left it to those he thought were more qualified. Often a good idea, but not when you are dealing with dogmatic idealoges.
Which pretty much means any economist these days.
Not my impression of Lange. In his areas he was very sharp.
Impressions are surface features only. Superficially, Lange was plausible. If you analyze what he said—and the worshipful talk about his “oratory” pretty much cancelled that at the time—there was little of depth or sophistication. In many ways, he was a fatter, pakeha version of what many people in the U.S. fell for in 2008.
In economics he unfortunately left it to those he thought were more qualified.
He was asleep at the wheel. Because Lange did not think, or even care, about economic and political theory, he was unable to stand up to the doctrinal marauders in his cabinet.
I thought it was obvious I was
lyingtaking the piss.“I thought it was obvious I was lying/taking the piss.”
That applies to most of your comments, Pete, so the confusion over this one is understandable. Anyway, the fact is that Goff really is getting rid of his PR advisors … by making them successful Labour party candidates.
That is counting against Labour, believe me. The people are sick of bullshit artists.
Finally : Sick of John Key? Bill English? Gerry Brownlee? How much more bullshit artistry do you want? Unfortunately they are protected by their crony media lap-dog ‘journalists’.
I’d like to see more honest hard working capable politicians in all parties.
What about you?
“honest hard working capable politicians”
That rules out John Key then. Three strikes against him.
Question: When does a youth become a man?
16? 17? 18? 19? Apparently the British police have just arrested two men – a 17 year old and a 19 year old. If they were at school, they would be boys. Apparently this age does not necessarily make you eligible to buy alcohol, or vote, but you can fire a machine gun.
I see the Herald describes the age group as “teenagers” and “males”… while RNZ describes it as “men”.
I think 17 is usually the age when you can be trialed as an adult.
Make that: “TRIED as an adult.”
Thank you, Sensei.
どういたしまして。
Ah, so a 17 year old is a teenager, a boy, an adolescent, a youth, a man, and now an adult (and to a much older generation, might even be classed as a youngster). No wonder they are a confused age group.
Why the sudden interest in Clifford Bay as a ferry terminal? I thought this was killed off years ago, is Steven Joyce trying to make a diversion? If so what from? The budget? Or is it that some overseas company is wanting taxpayers’ money for their private project?
A comment on the stuff site says that every time the interislander has it’s port fees up for renewal, they start talking about alternative terminals being built, as a way to ensure the fees don’t rise too much.
I would think that if that has been the case in the past, this specific threat has gone a lot further than any in the past have.
I think moving the terminal is a great idea.
I suspect one of the reasons for moving it will be that they won’t be able to get the ferries up Tory channel any more, once it’s full of salmon farms.
First they came…” is a famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text of the quotation is usually presented roughly as follows:
First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
I know many of you have probably seen this before but it’s the first time I have and history makes it all the more poignant. We could easily add the words beneficiaries, preschoolers, young families, university students, Maori, environmentalists etc( in no particular order)
Feel free to add to the list….Surely a tipping point will be reached!
You will enjoy this then LynW
Thank you MrSmith, you understood my point completely.
If you think New Zealand is anything like Germany in that era you haven’t any idea how lucky you are to live in this country in this time. Yes, we should be vigilant and fight to retain freedoms. But we should appreciate how different it is to the difficult times all preceding generations have lived in.
peteG you’re are just making shit up again and I suspect you are just trying to lead us down the Godwin’s law trail as well.
I have relations who lived in the Sudetenland in the 1930’s. I visited them last year. They talked a bit about what it was like back then. Very hard times. They said that at the end of the war the Americans arrived just in time, otherwise they think they would have been annihilated. Instead they were marched out of their homeland, forever.
We grizzle about fuck all in comparison.
The daily suffering of the people in this video is the closest modern version of what the Jewish people in Europe suffered in the 1930s…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW1-_JmXQt0&feature=related
Guessing, but that makes you German and Catholic, if thats the case it explains a lot, you probably think where mostly a bunch of Communists trying to start a revolution.
We are the Revolution.
I’m neither, related by marriage, nominally Anglican as a child, practically atheist.
Someone I know well lived in West Berlin in the 70s to early 80s, experienced border security often and visited East Berlin a number of times so saw both sides. The East was generally sad, drab and depressing. Failed.
Sad, drab and depressing. And yet, apparently still preferable to being in a reunited, capitalist Germany .
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,634122,00.html
Oh for Pete’s sake, that’s probably your most desperate comment yet.
No-one is saying NZ is like Germany in the 30s you moron. Sheesh what a retard.
Why don’t you read from the start before making a prat of yourself.
I did you idiot, it was your comment at 11.57 am I replied to.
Well aware of the historical relevance and I reiterate that you’re a moron if you think anyone is comparing NZ to 1930s Germany.
(Except you that is.)
Try LynW’s comment at 8.43am.
“about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.”
“…history makes it all the more poignant. We could easily add the words beneficiaries, preschoolers, young families, university students, Maori, environmentalists etc( in no particular order)
Feel free to add to the list….Surely a tipping point will be reached!”
It’s standard under Godwin’s Law – “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.”
The situation today is nothing like the social and political situation in 1930s Germany, or the rest of Europe, or New Zealand. We have legitimate concerns but they are piddling when compared to many other countries now, and from the past.
Pete catch up. As I said I’m well aware of the origins of the words.
Saying the same analysis can apply to the strategies followed by other govts is not the same thing as saying NZ today is like Germany in the 30s.
If I’m wrong, then you need to show where someone has equated the two. If you can’t, you pulled your criticism out of your arse.
That you haven’t been able to pinpoint such an equating in your last two comments says it all IMO but feel free to try again.
You’re up to same old felix. Try someone else.
Or better, try to contribute something useful.
That’s right Pete, I’m up to the same old calling you on your bullshit.
And you’re up to the same old squirming to avoid admitting the truth.
If I’m wrong, prove me wrong. It should be so easy.
ps I’ll be AFK so you’ll have all day.
Remember this:
On Working for Families, Mr English was overheard on the tape suggesting it would need to be “sorted out” once National was in government.
The comments came only a week after National promised to keep the system in place.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/565277
That was in August 2008 – most of the world has moved on from then.
Do you want to set in concrete everything Goff has said since 1982?
It would be very mixed concrete.
I think what was said in 2008, pre-election, is quite relevant to the government, post-election.
However comparing something that Phil Goff said in 1982 about the government in 80’s really doesn’t have terribly much relevance 20 years later. I thought this would have been obvious, but apparently not.
National made promises about Kiwisaver. Promises that they seem to be about to renounce.
“That was in August 2008 – most of the world has moved on from then.”
Except you of-course PeteG, your lot will have us back in the 1930s pretty soon.
I’m pretty sure they’re aiming for the 1530s actually or, perhaps, the 1130s. You know, before the Magna Carta was signed. Rule by the rich for the rich and whatever the rich say goes.
It is a real shame that the Nact government don’t look back to 1984 because HISTORY is repeating itself. In 1984 the deficit was 21.5 billion due to overseas borrowing. Nine years earlier Muldoon killed compulsory superannuation. Even though Muldoon did not sell off assests the Nact government are scheming to sell off what Muldoon borrowed money for (energy projects).
Nact have put the country back 25 years. The most depressing aspect is that back then people had jobs, not like now. I am wondering how long it is going to take Nact to freeze wages?
no need to freeze wages that are shrinking…….
Latest news reporting Govt borrowing $380m per week.
Disastrous handling of the country’s finances by currency trading wizard Prime Mismanagement.
What’s the next gamble with the blood and sweat of the Kiwi working poor?
Yes and also if the employer has to contribute more to Kiwisaver it is likely that a pay increase will be minimal.
As mentioned below the government are borrowing 380 million a week. I heard that they are stock piling money as the interest rate is lower than it has been.
Anyone who was around age twenty in the mid 1980s would see how screwed the country now is because of the level of debt, the cost of housing/rent, low wages and the most concerning, denial by the government that they are failing those on a low income.
That might explain why roughly 700,000 NZ born Kiwis have fled and are now living in Australia. That figure is equivalent to around 1 in 6 of the people still left in NZ now, bailing on this country tomorrow. Disastrous.
Can someone help we with inserting links please , Browser safari , mac os x
Try turning on the wysiwyg editor with the check box under the edit box. It has link button that looks like a chain. Select some text, press that, and paste the link into the dialog box that pops up.
Otherwise there is a section in the FAQ at the top of the pages to do the text version. Look for simple HTML
Thanks
Although I find that the link button is just greyed out for me, even with the WISIWYG editor on! Don’t know why…
So after the house I’m in having survived with pretty much negligible (very minor contents) damage through all of the quakes thus-far, last night’s 5.3 quake has slightly warped one of the doors/door frames in the bathroom so it doesn’t shut cleanly any more. All of the other doors in the house are fine. Go figure.
Probably pay to get it checked Lanth. It won’t be a load bearing frame, but it could be an indicater of stress elsewhere in the house.
On a related matter, I had a look through this list:
http://canterburyearthquake.org.nz/demolitions/
Gutted to see so many of my favourite buildings are gone/going, including the building I would most liked to have owned in the city, Edison Hall. Plus all the shops in Sydenham I used to frequent, the cafes in High St, the pubs and clubs along Colombo and Manchester Streets, all gone. Mind you, it seems the New Excelsior may survive in some form. A small blessing for the thirsty.
I’m renting, so not really my problem 🙂
Will tell the landlords next time I see them (they live in a house on the front of the section so shouldn’t take long).
Mr Smith
(a href=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/565277)English taped(/a)
replace ( and ) with < >
English taped
Tried that exactly Joe. But don’t understand “replace ( and ) with “
Replace the ( symbol and the ) symbol with the lesser and greater symbols that dwell above the comma and full stop.
I just paste the URL, saves faffing about and works. Then everyone can clearly see what you’re linking to, as well.
I prefer people to just paste the URL. I do not like opening unknown web sites. Not a problem from most of the people here, but not a good ideas on the web generally.
It will also tend to get you into auto-moderation periodically. But we’re pretty good at releasing those in reasonable time frame.
Humour, a German TV station gets it wrong.
😆
Key softens up
Try again to link
Hooray! I get it!
(blockquote)your quote(/blockquote)
(p)(i)your itallics(/i)(p)
(strong)your bold text(/strong)
(strike)your strike through text(/strike)
your itallics
your bold text
your strike through texthttp://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/feb/05/top-gear-offensive-steve-coogan?intcmp=239
[deleted]
[lprent: Please don’t quote the whole damn article in the comments section – it isn’t a frigging clipping area. You have the link. All you need to do is to quote enough to get people to go to look at it. In fact just what I did, and you’re just lucky that I was interested enough in the article to do so. Even better would be to put your own content in to say why people should read it. ]
Coogan is a legend.
Indeed he is….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anddn_DbOK8&feature=grec_index
has HEAD OFFICE fixed this election yet or is the branch manger gonna have to do his own dirty work to keep primeministering.
Interesting little piece from Rodney Hide in 2000, I found re the hounding of Ian Mutton by the IRD. In it Hide talks about Section 81 which denies the taxpayer access to the reasons why they are being hounded.
Now why does ‘denies the taxpayer access to the reasons why they are being hounded.’ sound familiar? Perhaps if I changed the word ‘hounded’ to ‘fired’, ‘taxpayer’ to ’employee taxpayer’ and added the words ‘ninety days’, maybe even the idiotological NActMUs would get it.
http://www.act.org.nz/news/ombudsmen-give-taxpayers-greater-ird-rights
NZ steers future of Royal succession
hmmmmm…
Official Information Act: succession response
It appears that the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet lied to an OIA request.
Hattip: I/S via Twitter
That’s no real surprise either – conservatives seem inherently incapable of imagining a society without their special people at the top giving commands to the rest of the populace.
The New Zealand Government is much bigger than just the department of the prime minister and cabinet, you know.
I’m pretty sure you’ll find that such an action as discussing the monarchy succession laws comes under the PMs list of responsibilities.
“…special people at the top giving commands to the rest of the populace.”
A bit silly, Draco. What were the last five commands the Queen gave to us?
Not really. All part of the hierarchical mindset – the people at the top give the commands or the commands are given in their name. It the concept that someone must have authority and that people below them and in the chain of command are then acting with that authority. John Key and most of National will see their authority as being an extension of the queens office.
BBC Hard Talk: New Zealand PM John Key: ‘We are 100% pure’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9480610.stm
History does not repeat, it ryhmes (Mark Twain). Funny how we are 100% clean green when it comes to minning, agriculture etc.. how odd. Do we want our cake and eat it as well… i.e. the tourists flocking to see the 100% Pure Brand…
We just have to look back at Li Lin Fu and see the parallels …Honey-Mouthed And Dagger-Hearted (Kou Mi Fu Jian & Pin Yin kǒu mì fù jiàn):
In 742 AD., a capable minister called Li Shi Zhi was favored by the Emperor of Tang. Li Lin Fu pretended not to care, but in fact was trying to find ways to damage him. One day, Li Lin Fu told Li Shi Zhi about some gold that was hidden over in Hua Mountain, and Li Shi Zhi, as Li Lin Fu expected, soon proposed to the Emperor worried about the decrease of the state revenue to mine the gold deposits.
The Emperor then asked Li Lin Fu for his opinion, Li Lin-fu acted very indifferently, saying “I knew about the gold mine a long time ago, and I didn’t tell it to your Majesty on purpose.”
“Why?” said the king in surprise.
“According to Taoist principles, Hua Mountain is in the place where all of Your Majesty’s auspicious aurora are gathered. Any damage to that area will certainly be harmful to your health and state. Who is it that brings out such a foolish idea? ”
Hearing this, the Emperor thought that Li Shi Zhi was not as considerate as Li Lin Fu, and later demoted the former to remote area.
It gets worse, check this out:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1105/S00126/freshwater-announcements-need-to-go-further.htm
The Environmental Defence Society has expressed concern about aspects of the announcements on freshwater made at the Prime Minister’s press conference today.
“The key concern is that the National Policy Statement, which will become law shortly, has been watered down from the version recommended by the Board of Inquiry last year,” said EDS Chairman Gary Taylor.
So in other words, he who controls the law or standards in this case, controls the truth….
Jonkey has moved on from lying to just us. He’s now lying to the whole world.
I also LOVED the bit where he considers scientific facts as “just one man’s opinion”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9480610.stm
Unbelievable! Actually, come to think of it, it’s not unbelievable—Key’s cynicism and arrogance are hardly a surprise. Note his airy dismissal of scientists—“they’re just like lawyers”—and his scoffing attitude throughout.
Stephen Sackur looks like a second-rater when he goes up against superior intellects—but against Key, Sackur is clearly in the ascendant.
Martyn Payne, a UK migrant who invested his life savings of $700,000 and six years of his life into turning a struggling Northland garage into a thriving business employing seven people was kicked out of New Zealand on April 23rd.
His appeal to Kate Wilkinson, the Associate Immigration Minister, that medical evidence supplied showed he would not be a drain on the New Zealand health service was declined. Kate Wilkinson has stated she will not review this case unless there is new evidence, ignoring additional reports from a doctor and a heart specialist sent to her confirming Payne’s stance.
Is this good for New Zealand?
Is Wilkinson sending a message to entrepreneurs around the world?
Do you think Martyn Payne has been treated fairly.
Info, links and petition here:
http://www.move2nz.com/support_martyn_payne.aspx
This person seems to be suitable for the Govt buy a passport scheme. –
What happened to the woman from India? with 2 NZ born children in the BOP area? who was being deported as an overstayer about 6 months ago?
I wonder if he would be allowed to stay if he was Chinese…
10 May 2011
UPCOMING AUCKLAND ‘EVENT’!
If people can attend – to both find out what is going on plus be there in support – that would be great!
Fellow ‘Public Watchdog’ Lisa Prager and myself each have 10 minutes to address the Auckland Council Property CCO (Auckland Council Properties Ltd – ACPL) about the lack of transparency regarding the ‘interests’ of the unelected Board and staff; information publicly available pertaining to properties administered by the ACPL; and public involvement in the decision-making process as to which properties are deemed ‘surplus to requirements’ and whether or not they should be ‘disposed of’:
‘OPEN LETTER’
10 May 2011
Dear Emma,
Thank you for confirming my 10 minutes ‘speaking rights’ to address the ‘Public Forum’ of the upcoming Auckland Council Property Ltd (ACPL) meeting to be held on:
Thursday 12 May 2011
9.30am,
Bancorp Offices,
Qantas House,
Level 11,
191 Queen Street,
Auckland City.
The subject matter of my ‘deputation’, will include:
1) As a publicly-acknowledged ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner, having attended two internationally significant ‘anti-corruption’ conferences, I am concerned at the apparent lack of structural openness, transparency and accountability in the ACPL ‘framework’.
a) Where is a publicly-available ‘Register of Interests’ for the unelected Board of ACPL CCO appointees and staff responsible for property and procurement?
(How can ‘conflicts of interest’ be avoided if ‘interests’ are not declared beforehand?
Do any unelected Board of ACPL appointees and staff responsible for property and procurement, have links with property developers, business associates/investors/ individuals who could take pecuniary advantage of such connections?)
b) What audit processes have been established by the Auckland Council, to ensure ‘Council control’ over this ACPL ‘Council Controlled Organisation’, in order to prevent the above-mentioned potential ‘conflicts of interest’ ?
c) What audit processes are/have been carried out by ‘independent statutory third party ‘Public Watchdogs such as the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) to double-check that there are ‘open, transparent and accountable’ processes in place to help prevent such potential ‘conflicts of interest’?
d) Has the ACPL entered into contracts with the private sector for any goods or services?
e) Is there a central ‘Register of Contracts’, publicly-available, which details for public scrutiny: the name of the consultant/contractor; the scope, term and value of the contract?
f) How many staff employed by the ACPL are ‘in-house’ employees as opposed to ‘contracted’, or ‘temporary’ employees, and how much money is being spent on each category?
g) j) Where is the publicly-available ‘list’ of ALL property administered by the ACPL, with the following information?
i) Property name.
ii) Physical street address.
iii) Property history (how did it become a ‘council’ property – ie: was it BEQUESTED, and if so – for what purpose).
iv) Who is currently using this property and for what purpose.
v) If property is unused – for how long has this been the case.
h) What is the mechanism by which it is decided which Auckland Council ‘properties’ are deemed ‘surplus to requirements’?
i) Given that ALL Auckland Council property assets are supposedly owned by citizens and ratepayers of the Auckland region – by what process do we ‘the public’ ‘have a say’ in determining which Auckland Council ‘properties’ are deemed ‘surplus to requirements’?
j) What is the ‘consultation’ process that is/will be carried out by the ACPL with citizens and ratepayers of the Auckland region before ANY Auckland Council property assets are sold?
________________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
Penny Bright
I have a meeting or I would have been there to support you. If you have a network I suggest you send them an email and get them to reply with their support for your quest. Then you can stand up and say ‘I am not the only person asking these questions. I have xxxxxx emails in support of me. They also want to know that their assets are not going to be sold.’
I’m sure your network will encompass mine.
This Property CCO does not have the right to sell our assets. The CCOs were not democratically elected. The first bill taking control over Auckland Assets was forced through without access to select committee or a Government run citizen vote.
If you have a network, Penny, your network will have their own networks which will cover New Zealand, and once they know how the government has betrayed Aucklanders and intend to stab other New Zealanders in the back through their once democratic councils, then they will support your fight against the Auckland Property CCO. ECAN knows all about being assassinated by the likes of Hide, Shipley, David Carter and his brother and signed off by Key and Douglas.
Unknown Earthquake Effect #10;
New beaches courtesy of rockfall into the sea.
Bernard Hickey: Havens for rich tax avoiders will cripple NZ
NZ Herald Sunday May 8, 2011
It really is scary to say this, but I honestly believe Key thinks New Zealand Inc is his business, but not serious business. He’s playing it for fun. He’s got other income so if New Zealand Inc falls over, he can move on to his other businesses.
Meanwhile he’s rerouting all money into the accounts of the already wealthy to buy their support for his knighthood.
Then when NZ is totally fxxked, he will of course not be pm and will be able to buy up large before leaving for Hawaii or the next placement.
And me? I’m going to find it very hard to forgive any of my NAct friends for causing it by voting him in, whether 2008 or worse in 2011.
Key and his hordes are going to cause massive and divisive damage in this country. But that was always the plan. Divide the masses and control the treasury.
Our Prime Minister is Corrupt
http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/05/our-prime-minister-is-corrupt.html
There are many questions concerning the inappropriate use of tax-payer money by Prime Minister John Key as well as questions about conflicts of interest in regards to his investment portfolio that need answering. Not only does john Key avoid any investigation into allegations that our NZSAS is in breach of international laws, he avoids any responsibility for his and his fellow MPs misappropriations and lies. This head in the sand mentality must end for New Zealand to have any chance of restoring our democracy. What follows is a Statement by Dayle Takitimu sent to the Gisborne Herald – Challenging John Keys Dishonesty.
Todd,
All ‘consultations’ with JKeyll should be videotaped and any corruption of the discussion by JKeyll should be forced upon media who can be prosecuted for printing lies and misleading people.
Wish we did have laws that held the media accountable for publishing lies and untruths then we might start to see actual real investigative reporting rather than the present method of reporting by the printing unquestioned press release.
todd: I suspect that since many in the population believe that Maori concerns are insignificant and Key believes he can afford to go with the more popular dismissal of the concerns. He may also believe that the Maori Party are not going to be an asset after the Election should by then even exist , and can be dismissive.
But that position is a dangerous risk. Shows a lack of trustworthiness.
The country is, frankly, over and dunne with Peter:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4985054/Dunne-burns-bridges-with-Labour
God this guy takes the cake.
“The Labour Party has the same front bench as the one that was thrown out in 2008.” Now correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t Dunne a minister for six years of that government. Wasn’t he a member of the Labour Party in the 1980’s. So, in that case, which front bench needs refreshing, Labour’s or United Future’s. Peter Dunne, in another profession, might be classified as a “swinger”.
– Newsroom news flash –
“Leading Monarchy Changes – The Prime Minister is lobbying for Monarchy changes to remove discrimination based on gender and religion.”
For fish and chips sake, leave them to it. Focus on relevant issues that really matter in NZ.
Bill English on Checkpoint…approx 5:30pm this evening…
Discussing the defecit, comparing the government attitude to borrowings to what a householder would do, “you cant sell part of the house to reduce your borrowings”
Does this mean asset sales are off the agenda?
Another Winston Pearler Good grief hes even talking about peak oil.
I reckon hes been hanging out on the Standard
And now for something completely different. 😆