With the MMP referrendum questions what happens if you vote to retain it in Part A and don’t vote in Part B because that’s simply ignoring my answer to Part A….don’t dick with it.
counted or invalid? If I want it, why should I have to give them an option to play with.
Can anyone tell me if the photo in this Herald article on Don Brash is one of him near the Speaker in Parliament? Is the Herald pulling a sneaky one? I presume this also breaches standing orders.
Norway govt. What’s Port Arthur Massacre? Could not happen in Norway!
Ch.Ch Council. What’s Liquidifaction? Could not happen in ChCh!
Pike River Coal Mine. Safety standards?
Are public servants are not required to own the problem any more?
Bubble – I think laying the blame at the feet of the Govt in Norway for the massacre is unfair to say the least. The only way to prevent extremists entirely is to remove entirely the freedoms which are vital to a healthy society. Norway has courageously decided against allowing one mans horrendous actions to compromise the trust and liberty which are more precious still than even the many young lives that were lost.
Christchurch City Council – why are you taking a stab at them? Assessments after the Feb 22nd quake found that they are by no means the only city that has buildings which are vulnerable to quake damage – has it got anything to do with greedy Gerrys possible bid to replace the christchurch city council with commissioners? Are you suggesting that the council is somehow responsible? I disagree – but note that this is possibly a line of reasoning that jabba brownlee will use go justify selling council assets to pay for the rebuild.
Pike River Coal Mine – let’s not forget who reduced the number of inspectors ie the government – it’s a bit harsh to blame public servants isn’t it? Have you had a bad experience or are you just ideologically opposed? Or when you say public servants do you mean the government?
– EDIT –
this is a line of reasoning that Nick Smith will use to justify wresting control of RMA out of the mouths of the Trout and Salmon who in a diabolical plot are forcing us to build in earthquake/ volcano/ tsunami/ flood prone areas [pretty much the whole country no?]
Port Arthur a lone gun man shot dozens? Globally governments should have
instituted policies that allowed quick reaction squad to deploy. Like the fire
department. The fact that the Norway government could not get a chopper
into the air in time…
Pike river safety was flawed. Government removed the regulations.
A ship now spews oil into the Bay of plenty.
Governments are there to provide fire fighters, police with guns, ensure
safety in mines, and yes even stop developers building on liquidifiable
sandy water logged soils.
Less of course we just do away with government since that is
what it is supposed to do with our taxes, connect the dots.
I don’t blame Norway for a crazed man, i blame Norway for
thinking it could not happen. Plan for the worse, hope for the best.
Governments that don’t plan for the worse aren’t worth my vote,
and have earnt my contempt. Norways police minister should have
resigned.
Thats how civil servents show leadership. Bennett should resign
over child poverty.
“Globally governments should have instituted policies that allowed quick reaction squad to deploy”
What like Team America World Police!!?
Don’t worry Bubble after the last drone assassination of a US citizen abroad it looks like that plan already being put in place…
“Governments are there to provide …. Police with guns..”
WTF – yeah sure arming everyone up to the eyeballs is guaranteed to usher in a new era of peace /sarc
How about we stop glorifying violence and war and actually try and create caring, just and equitable societies in which instances of mental illness and rebellion are less likely to occur instead of ‘preparing for the worst’ and attempting to crush problems with an iron boot.
I struggle to connect your dots Bubble – you have once again confused ‘civil servant’ with ‘minister’
It is an important distinction when there is an active campaign by some in NZ to discredit the public service – by all means hold the minister to account, but blaming the public service is just passing the buck.
Maybe a little bit confused is just your style – but when your comments are littered with little innuendos like the above I start to feel like you are just using confusion to disguise an agenda.
But hey, benefit of the doubt and all that…
“Afternoons with Jim Mora is a programme based on the daring proposition that people are capable of thinking in the afternoon as well as in the morning. This show aims to banish post-prandial torpor with lots of audience interactivity.”
So while they are on the subject of balance, how have they allowed Farrar, Corbett, Gibson, Franks and Bishop to name but a few, and all with political axes to grind, to be heard occasionally on the show together?
It’s a notion that many businesses would heartily disagree with, but a Massey University researcher has challenged the prevailing belief that resource consent processes create hefty compliance costs.”
As the story says, there’s a first-mover advantage. This makes sense, of course. Because the resource consent process takes so long and costs so much, smaller companies are effectively locked out of the process. This also helps to create artificial scarcity of whatever is being sought, making it all the more valuable once it’s actually granted.
Summary: A well-established group of German hackers has accused the German government of releasing a backdoor Trojan into the wild. Security firm F-Secure has confirmed that the program includes a keylogger and code that can take screenshots and record audio.
The electoral commission has the referendum site up. It has a question on it:
Which voting system is right for me?
Which is completely the wrong question. It should be:
Which voting system is right for the country?
The first question orients upon the selfishness that has become endemic to our society over the last three decades and which has caused massive poverty and inequality both of which are bad for the country. We need to get away from thinking as pure individuals and back to thinking as individuals within a society.
“Finance Minister Bill English said New Zealand would need to run sustained current account surpluses and spend less than it earned. It would have to stop borrowing overseas and selling assets to foreigners.”
Nah, it’s a private debt problem. The government, being public, can sell off all the assets it wants overseas.
Or, alternatively:
The government is going to sell their public assets to private NZ citizens. If they then choose to sell the assets overseas, it’s a problem the private citizens have created and not the government’s fault.
As a small distraction to the lies of our Government we return to the lies of the real experts.
A new and well organised resource for those wanting to understand the basic points of reality that so many have trouble coming to terms with. Originally conceived as a mechanism to assist the media in engaging on 9/11 issues, it is useful for all people. Don’t let fear destroy truth. http://www.consensus911.org/
Being that the Mainstream media has done very little reporting on the topic, you’d be excused for not knowing that there’s a huge groundswell of free people around the world protesting against the current destructive system. People are simply fed up with the corporate agenda, and have started to organize en mass to express their wish for positive change…
Why are national using the same billboards they used last election? either they are cheapskate chisellers or they think Kiwis are so dumb that they wont remember. btw it says “building a better future”. Well they have had three years. Whats gone wrong?
Oh I know. they meant building a better future for themselves after they sell the states assets and piss off to hawaii or somewhere.
Nothings gone wrong if you are in the top 25% of income earners.
You don’t even need to be on $60K pa to hit the top 25% in this shitty tin pot little economy. And trust me $60K pa is not comfortable living by any means, in any of the big cities, raising a family. It is still a penny pinching week by week, bill by bill existence.
A lot of people around that pay mark have had to leave NZ due to a lack of opportunities; and the public sector has had many workers around that pay grade laid off.
We should understand something from the OCCUPY protests against Global Bankster Occupation.
This is not about the top 25%, or even the top 10%.
This is about the top 1% against the other 99%. And if I were being serious about it, we are probably talking about the top half of the top 1% who are the real pricks driving our country off the edge. Not all of them, but too many of them.
$60kpa was enough for the previous government to consider you a “rich prick” worthy of the top tax rate.
The current government seems to think that you deserve the top tax rate at what? 30k or so. How does that figure in your strange wee world of idiotic troll statements
Not to mention of course the rich prick remark was made to a single person John Key (who in all likelihood is now paying more tax as PM than he ever has before) and not to generally people on the highest tax rate.
I guess you never bother think through these idiotic statements before you make them? Perhaps you should shock yourself and do so. It will make you look a little less like a wanker boasting about the fingers you have known.
Ummm I was robbed – the nasty National government hasn’t given me my tax cut they promised so I’d be like all of the other peasants (despite earning 5x as much).
You’re right of course – they failed to do the second taxcut because there wasn’t enough money in the kitty after they gave it away to the wealthy (like John Key) in the first tax cuts.
I was mostly pointing out that his statements were essentially meaningless.
Nope. Work was good. Finally froze the feature set and switched from adding features to killing the list of 15 or so pretty easy bugs (and I have weeks to do it). Now I will have more time to concentrate on things outside of work.
Irritating lack of sleep last night – woke up, failed to get back to sleep, and so got up and spent 4 hours updating my plugin for this site with the multiple google analytics accounts (ours and several for advertisers) to run asynchronously. It has been overdue for a 4 months of so since google finally managed to stabilize that system (and produce usable docs).
Being short of 4 hours of sleep tends to bring out the sarcasm in me when I encounter blatant stupidity, as well as getting a bit vague on the memory access.
Globs of thick black oil started washing up on beaches early this morning. Where are the clean up crews to ensure it doesn’t get washed back into the ocean?
only Dave Armstrong could equate a bribe to a media company whose pricipal business is the selling of advertising space with the building of affordable housing for families
The Maritime Union claims the Rena was riddled with problems, including issues with its charts, which could explain how it ended up getting stuck on a Tauranga reef.
The union released a statement today, claiming Maritime New Zealand found multiple deficiencies with the cargo vessel when it carried out an inspection on the ship in Bluff on September 28.
Prime Minister John Key is calling for answers on how the Liberian-flagged 235m vessel became stuck on the reef in the early hours of October 5.
The Maritime Union says it has information that the Rena had many deficiencies, including problems with its charts, “a possible clue as to how the vessel may have ended up running into the Astrolabe Reef at top speed”……….
Fleetwood said many of these deficiencies were similar to problems reported by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority during inspections of the Rena in Australia.
We have a monitored shipping lanes and Rena was going from Napier to Tauranga….what action was taken once she strayed out of the lane ?
We don’t leave foreign ships to just wander up and down the country FFS…..take a look closer at perhaps a port authority, all to easy to blame the boat etc but don’t we have systems to mitigate for this.
A radionz piece on passing laws under emergency has speech clip from someone saying “We’re here to do things, to get on with it.” Think it is Simon Power. Attempting another Roger Douglas spectacular by the sounds of it – keep things moving and don’t give people time to think and protest and don’t worry about democratic conventions and thinking through the problem.
Representatives from some of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world met in Wellington on the 3rd of October, to promote new deep sea oil exploration and drilling in New Zealand’s frontier basins…
Key denies throwing Act an Epsom lifeline
Rob Hosking | Monday October 10, 2011 | 7 comments
Comments and questions
ACT are history …the two previous votes for Rodney were protest votes against the pathetic non existant offering of Richard whats his face useless..Epsom voters dont want a tired old ‘John’ ..so we will give the new kid a go as hes fresh faced with a bit of mojo!
dukep | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 4:52pm
___________________________________________________________________________
Well said dukep
Yep thats my thoughts TOO
Thats how we will be voting
Fed up with the ongoing shananigins
GO THE ALL BLACKS
Willy Wonka | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:12pm
__________________________________________________________________________
In response to dukep | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 4:52pm
Then I hope you are looking forward to a Labour lead coalition of losers as the next Government, with increased taxes, a capital gains tax, increased spending and increased borrowing – because that is the outcome if Epsom voters don’t vote tactically for John Banks.
Lindsay Fergusson | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:17pm
__________________________________________________________________________
In response to Lindsay Fergusson | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:17pm
don’t forget the land tax…and increased rates….oh…and double the emissions scam tax…
Anonymous | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:48pm
__________________________________________________________________________
In response to Lindsay Fergusson | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:17pm
And the fire and brimstone too, obviously.
We much prefer spin to reality these days, especially where the economy and the lifeblood of businesses are concerned.
Anonymous | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 6:04pm
__________________________________________________________________________
In response to Anonymous | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:48pm
….and the Maori party holding balance of power…..
Ralph | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 8:04pm
__________________________________________________________________________
@ Lindsay Fergusson
Do YOU think that John Banks and Don Brash should be charged as former Directors, for untrue statements in Registered Prospectuses for Huljich Wealth Management (NZ) Ltd, (dated 22 August 2008, and 18 September 2009) , under s.58 (3) of the Securities Act 1978?
How come only Peter Huljich was charged?
Or are you ‘soft’ on ‘white collar’ crime Lindsay?
Or do you think that the former leader of the National Party (Don Brash) and former National Government Minister of Police, Tourism and Local Government (John Banks) should be treated differently , arguably because of their political connections?
Has it occurred to you that a number of the good people of Epsom might arguably feel sick of being treated with contempt by self-serving businesspeople who appear to be seeking public office in order to maximise business opportunities – not serve the interests of the public majority?
Penny Bright
Independent Public Watchdog
Candidate for Epsom
Not quite the sort of all black headline the Bay of Plenty wanted.
Surely, the moment a ship is stranded on a reef, the first action is to get the fuel oils off. History tells us that strandings almost always turn out for the worst. Ministerial directives should have been given to remove the fuel immediately. I thought I was watching a John Clark special when I saw the interviews with Joyce tonight. Where were our leaders? Probably at the Cake Tin or Eden Park.
In saying “Globally governments should have instituted policies that allowed quick reaction squad to deploy” I think that you’ve shown you watch far too many adventure tele-movies.
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
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When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
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For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
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The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
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 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
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With the MMP referrendum questions what happens if you vote to retain it in Part A and don’t vote in Part B because that’s simply ignoring my answer to Part A….don’t dick with it.
counted or invalid? If I want it, why should I have to give them an option to play with.
Can anyone tell me if the photo in this Herald article on Don Brash is one of him near the Speaker in Parliament? Is the Herald pulling a sneaky one? I presume this also breaches standing orders.
Norway govt. What’s Port Arthur Massacre? Could not happen in Norway!
Ch.Ch Council. What’s Liquidifaction? Could not happen in ChCh!
Pike River Coal Mine. Safety standards?
Are public servants are not required to own the problem any more?
Bubble – I think laying the blame at the feet of the Govt in Norway for the massacre is unfair to say the least. The only way to prevent extremists entirely is to remove entirely the freedoms which are vital to a healthy society. Norway has courageously decided against allowing one mans horrendous actions to compromise the trust and liberty which are more precious still than even the many young lives that were lost.
Christchurch City Council – why are you taking a stab at them? Assessments after the Feb 22nd quake found that they are by no means the only city that has buildings which are vulnerable to quake damage – has it got anything to do with greedy Gerrys possible bid to replace the christchurch city council with commissioners? Are you suggesting that the council is somehow responsible? I disagree – but note that this is possibly a line of reasoning that jabba brownlee will use go justify selling council assets to pay for the rebuild.
Pike River Coal Mine – let’s not forget who reduced the number of inspectors ie the government – it’s a bit harsh to blame public servants isn’t it? Have you had a bad experience or are you just ideologically opposed? Or when you say public servants do you mean the government?
– EDIT –
this is a line of reasoning that Nick Smith will use to justify wresting control of RMA out of the mouths of the Trout and Salmon who in a diabolical plot are forcing us to build in earthquake/ volcano/ tsunami/ flood prone areas [pretty much the whole country no?]
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/87859/govt-using-quakes-to-weaken-rma-eds
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/87731/consent-changes-needed-over-other-hazards-minster
Port Arthur a lone gun man shot dozens? Globally governments should have
instituted policies that allowed quick reaction squad to deploy. Like the fire
department. The fact that the Norway government could not get a chopper
into the air in time…
Pike river safety was flawed. Government removed the regulations.
A ship now spews oil into the Bay of plenty.
Governments are there to provide fire fighters, police with guns, ensure
safety in mines, and yes even stop developers building on liquidifiable
sandy water logged soils.
Less of course we just do away with government since that is
what it is supposed to do with our taxes, connect the dots.
I don’t blame Norway for a crazed man, i blame Norway for
thinking it could not happen. Plan for the worse, hope for the best.
Governments that don’t plan for the worse aren’t worth my vote,
and have earnt my contempt. Norways police minister should have
resigned.
Thats how civil servents show leadership. Bennett should resign
over child poverty.
“Globally governments should have instituted policies that allowed quick reaction squad to deploy”
What like Team America World Police!!?
Don’t worry Bubble after the last drone assassination of a US citizen abroad it looks like that plan already being put in place…
“Governments are there to provide …. Police with guns..”
WTF – yeah sure arming everyone up to the eyeballs is guaranteed to usher in a new era of peace /sarc
How about we stop glorifying violence and war and actually try and create caring, just and equitable societies in which instances of mental illness and rebellion are less likely to occur instead of ‘preparing for the worst’ and attempting to crush problems with an iron boot.
I struggle to connect your dots Bubble – you have once again confused ‘civil servant’ with ‘minister’
It is an important distinction when there is an active campaign by some in NZ to discredit the public service – by all means hold the minister to account, but blaming the public service is just passing the buck.
Maybe a little bit confused is just your style – but when your comments are littered with little innuendos like the above I start to feel like you are just using confusion to disguise an agenda.
But hey, benefit of the doubt and all that…
National. Now a cult.
And ACT is its National Front organisation 🙂
This from the RNZ web site …
“Afternoons with Jim Mora is a programme based on the daring proposition that people are capable of thinking in the afternoon as well as in the morning. This show aims to banish post-prandial torpor with lots of audience interactivity.”
So while they are on the subject of balance, how have they allowed Farrar, Corbett, Gibson, Franks and Bishop to name but a few, and all with political axes to grind, to be heard occasionally on the show together?
Here’s an interesting story:
“Red-tape is good for businesses.
It’s a notion that many businesses would heartily disagree with, but a Massey University researcher has challenged the prevailing belief that resource consent processes create hefty compliance costs.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5759689/Red-tape-good-for-business
As the story says, there’s a first-mover advantage. This makes sense, of course. Because the resource consent process takes so long and costs so much, smaller companies are effectively locked out of the process. This also helps to create artificial scarcity of whatever is being sought, making it all the more valuable once it’s actually granted.
Has Big Brother arrived?.
Summary: A well-established group of German hackers has accused the German government of releasing a backdoor Trojan into the wild. Security firm F-Secure has confirmed that the program includes a keylogger and code that can take screenshots and record audio.
none of this matters all that much.
this is a bad luck government and they are about to disappear back into the oblivion from whence they came.
Yeah government is like a magnet when it comes to attracting natural disasters. I’ m just waiting for a tornado to hit the beehive.
A cautionary tale.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Occupy-Organizers-Beware-by-Rob-Kall-111009-752.html
edit: RWNJs original article.
If you haven’t signed in solidarity yet, it’s almost at 500k signatures.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_world_vs_wall_st/?cl=1314986537&v=10623
Livestreams from all #occupy actions, consolidated into one page, amazing..
http://occupymanifesto.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=chat
Nice analysis of the horizontal democracy and 21st century social network fueled movement as expressed by #occupyeverywhere
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/05/opinion/rushkoff-occupy-wall-street/index.html
http://occupylsx.org/
http://www.15october.net
I have signed! 😀
The electoral commission has the referendum site up. It has a question on it:
Which voting system is right for me?
Which is completely the wrong question. It should be:
Which voting system is right for the country?
The first question orients upon the selfishness that has become endemic to our society over the last three decades and which has caused massive poverty and inequality both of which are bad for the country. We need to get away from thinking as pure individuals and back to thinking as individuals within a society.
perhaps the statement “WE ARE THE 99%” will start to undermine that…
it is here..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/08/camila-vallejo-latin-america-revolutionary
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10757576
“Finance Minister Bill English said New Zealand would need to run sustained current account surpluses and spend less than it earned. It would have to stop borrowing overseas and selling assets to foreigners.”
– Voting for Labour then are we Bill?
Nah, it’s a private debt problem. The government, being public, can sell off all the assets it wants overseas.
Or, alternatively:
The government is going to sell their public assets to private NZ citizens. If they then choose to sell the assets overseas, it’s a problem the private citizens have created and not the government’s fault.
As a small distraction to the lies of our Government we return to the lies of the real experts.
A new and well organised resource for those wanting to understand the basic points of reality that so many have trouble coming to terms with. Originally conceived as a mechanism to assist the media in engaging on 9/11 issues, it is useful for all people. Don’t let fear destroy truth.
http://www.consensus911.org/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/blogs/f5/5757530/The-strange-allure-of-internet-comments
Outstanding article and love the cartoon !
Occupy Movement Gains Momentum
Being that the Mainstream media has done very little reporting on the topic, you’d be excused for not knowing that there’s a huge groundswell of free people around the world protesting against the current destructive system. People are simply fed up with the corporate agenda, and have started to organize en mass to express their wish for positive change…
Those marching against corporate fraud are going to be a group to be reckoned with (day of reckoning) by the time the next election is in the USA.
Why are national using the same billboards they used last election? either they are cheapskate chisellers or they think Kiwis are so dumb that they wont remember. btw it says “building a better future”. Well they have had three years. Whats gone wrong?
Oh I know. they meant building a better future for themselves after they sell the states assets and piss off to hawaii or somewhere.
“building a better future” Whats gone wrong?
Nothings gone wrong if you are in the top 25% of income earners.
Yes it has. Don’t like seeing friends, students and my kids wondering if they have a future here.
You don’t even need to be on $60K pa to hit the top 25% in this shitty tin pot little economy. And trust me $60K pa is not comfortable living by any means, in any of the big cities, raising a family. It is still a penny pinching week by week, bill by bill existence.
A lot of people around that pay mark have had to leave NZ due to a lack of opportunities; and the public sector has had many workers around that pay grade laid off.
We should understand something from the OCCUPY protests against Global Bankster Occupation.
This is not about the top 25%, or even the top 10%.
This is about the top 1% against the other 99%. And if I were being serious about it, we are probably talking about the top half of the top 1% who are the real pricks driving our country off the edge. Not all of them, but too many of them.
I know that 60 K is not a lot. To have said the top 10% may have been more reasonable. The ones I worry about are the families on 25 K.
$60kpa was enough for the previous government to consider you a “rich prick” worthy of the top tax rate.
$60kpa was enough for the previous government to consider you a “rich prick” worthy of the top tax rate.
The current government seems to think that you deserve the top tax rate at what? 30k or so. How does that figure in your strange wee world of idiotic troll statements
Not to mention of course the rich prick remark was made to a single person John Key (who in all likelihood is now paying more tax as PM than he ever has before) and not to generally people on the highest tax rate.
I guess you never bother think through these idiotic statements before you make them? Perhaps you should shock yourself and do so. It will make you look a little less like a wanker boasting about the fingers you have known.
Top personal tax rate kicks in at 70k
Ummm I was robbed – the nasty National government hasn’t given me my tax cut they promised so I’d be like all of the other peasants (despite earning 5x as much).
You’re right of course – they failed to do the second taxcut because there wasn’t enough money in the kitty after they gave it away to the wealthy (like John Key) in the first tax cuts.
I was mostly pointing out that his statements were essentially meaningless.
Bad day at work ?
typical Tory tactic of blaming the woman for being emotional and therefore irrelevant
Nope. Work was good. Finally froze the feature set and switched from adding features to killing the list of 15 or so pretty easy bugs (and I have weeks to do it). Now I will have more time to concentrate on things outside of work.
Irritating lack of sleep last night – woke up, failed to get back to sleep, and so got up and spent 4 hours updating my plugin for this site with the multiple google analytics accounts (ours and several for advertisers) to run asynchronously. It has been overdue for a 4 months of so since google finally managed to stabilize that system (and produce usable docs).
Being short of 4 hours of sleep tends to bring out the sarcasm in me when I encounter blatant stupidity, as well as getting a bit vague on the memory access.
Globs of thick black oil started washing up on beaches early this morning. Where are the clean up crews to ensure it doesn’t get washed back into the ocean?
You can keep up to date by visiting this FB page: MV Rena Response Monitoring & Action Group
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/dave-armstrong/5758653/Why-shouldn-t-John-Key-say-pricktuss
only Dave Armstrong could equate a bribe to a media company whose pricipal business is the selling of advertising space with the building of affordable housing for families
RENA riddled with problems and Maritime New Zealand knew about it in Sep 28
We have a monitored shipping lanes and Rena was going from Napier to Tauranga….what action was taken once she strayed out of the lane ?
We don’t leave foreign ships to just wander up and down the country FFS…..take a look closer at perhaps a port authority, all to easy to blame the boat etc but don’t we have systems to mitigate for this.
Monitored shipping lanes. Since when?
A radionz piece on passing laws under emergency has speech clip from someone saying “We’re here to do things, to get on with it.” Think it is Simon Power. Attempting another Roger Douglas spectacular by the sounds of it – keep things moving and don’t give people time to think and protest and don’t worry about democratic conventions and thinking through the problem.
pike river leaky homes freedom of press
Just a heads up people. Please don’t touch the toxic oil that is washing up on Bay of Plenty Beaches with your bare skin.
The Price of Oil
Representatives from some of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world met in Wellington on the 3rd of October, to promote new deep sea oil exploration and drilling in New Zealand’s frontier basins…
I heard that on Radio New Zealand this morning and didn’t believe my ears!
FYI folks!
(Lindsay Fergusson was a former NZ Business Round Table ‘heavyweight’.)
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/key-denies-throwing-act-epsom-lifeline-ne-102211#comment-208590
Key denies throwing Act an Epsom lifeline
Rob Hosking | Monday October 10, 2011 | 7 comments
Comments and questions
ACT are history …the two previous votes for Rodney were protest votes against the pathetic non existant offering of Richard whats his face useless..Epsom voters dont want a tired old ‘John’ ..so we will give the new kid a go as hes fresh faced with a bit of mojo!
dukep | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 4:52pm
___________________________________________________________________________
Well said dukep
Yep thats my thoughts TOO
Thats how we will be voting
Fed up with the ongoing shananigins
GO THE ALL BLACKS
Willy Wonka | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:12pm
__________________________________________________________________________
In response to dukep | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 4:52pm
Then I hope you are looking forward to a Labour lead coalition of losers as the next Government, with increased taxes, a capital gains tax, increased spending and increased borrowing – because that is the outcome if Epsom voters don’t vote tactically for John Banks.
Lindsay Fergusson | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:17pm
__________________________________________________________________________
In response to Lindsay Fergusson | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:17pm
don’t forget the land tax…and increased rates….oh…and double the emissions scam tax…
Anonymous | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:48pm
__________________________________________________________________________
In response to Lindsay Fergusson | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:17pm
And the fire and brimstone too, obviously.
We much prefer spin to reality these days, especially where the economy and the lifeblood of businesses are concerned.
Anonymous | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 6:04pm
__________________________________________________________________________
In response to Anonymous | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:48pm
….and the Maori party holding balance of power…..
Ralph | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 8:04pm
__________________________________________________________________________
@ Lindsay Fergusson
Do YOU think that John Banks and Don Brash should be charged as former Directors, for untrue statements in Registered Prospectuses for Huljich Wealth Management (NZ) Ltd, (dated 22 August 2008, and 18 September 2009) , under s.58 (3) of the Securities Act 1978?
How come only Peter Huljich was charged?
Or are you ‘soft’ on ‘white collar’ crime Lindsay?
Or do you think that the former leader of the National Party (Don Brash) and former National Government Minister of Police, Tourism and Local Government (John Banks) should be treated differently , arguably because of their political connections?
Has it occurred to you that a number of the good people of Epsom might arguably feel sick of being treated with contempt by self-serving businesspeople who appear to be seeking public office in order to maximise business opportunities – not serve the interests of the public majority?
Penny Bright
Independent Public Watchdog
Candidate for Epsom
Not quite the sort of all black headline the Bay of Plenty wanted.
Surely, the moment a ship is stranded on a reef, the first action is to get the fuel oils off. History tells us that strandings almost always turn out for the worst. Ministerial directives should have been given to remove the fuel immediately. I thought I was watching a John Clark special when I saw the interviews with Joyce tonight. Where were our leaders? Probably at the Cake Tin or Eden Park.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSujCHfvTb0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=8-QNAwUdHUQ
you would think so but not according to our government. It should have been off in the first day or two.
NZ SAS Prisoners may have been tortured
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10758412
If the Govt is saying this much, they definitely know more.
Get our boys out of there, now.
In saying “Globally governments should have instituted policies that allowed quick reaction squad to deploy” I think that you’ve shown you watch far too many adventure tele-movies.