—Weatherman Sam Wallace, TV1 Breakfast, 7:40 a.m., Wednesday 10 July 2013
See also….
No. 25 Margaret Thatcher: “…no British government involvement of any kind…with Khmer Rouge…”
No.24 John Key: “…at the end of the day I, like most New Zealanders, value the role of the fourth estate…”
No. 23 Jay Carney: “…expel Mr Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice…”
No. 22 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton had integrity beyond reproach.”
No. 21 Tim Groser: “I think the relationship is genuinely in outstanding form.”
No. 20 John Key: “But if the question is do we use the United States or one of our other partners to circumvent New Zealand law then the answer is categorically no.”
No. 19 Matthew Hooton: “It is ridiculous to say that unions deliver higher wages! They DON’T!” No. 18 Ant Strachan: “The All Blacks won the RWC 2011 because of outstanding defence!”
No. 17 Stephen Franks: “Peter has been such a level-headed, safe pair of hands.”
No. 16 Phil Kafcaloudes: “Tony Abbott…hasn’t made any mistakes over the past eighteen months.”
No. 15 Donald Rumsfeld: “I did not lie… Colin Powell did not lie.”
No. 14 Colin Powell: “a post-9/11 nexus between Iraq and terrorist organizations…connections are now emerging…”
No.13 Barack Obama: “Simply put, these strikes have saved lives.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27052013/#comment-638881
No. 12 U.K. Ministry of Defence: “Protecting the Afghan civilian population is one of ISAF and the UK’s top priorities.”
No. 11 Brendan O’Connor: “Australia’s approach to refugees is compassionate and generous.”
No. 10 Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to look after us and keep us safe.”
No. 9 NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!”
No. 8 Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question….”
No. 7 Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15052013/#comment-633295
No. 6 Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.” No. 5 Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13052013/#comment-632594
No. 4 Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3 John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2 Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.”
No. 1 Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
Humbug Corner is dedicated to gathering, and highlighting, the most striking examples of faux solicitude, insincere apologies, and particularly stupid recycling of official canards. It is produced by the Insincerity Project®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
More disgusting humbugs….
No. 15 John Key: “They know this is an issue of national security.”
No. 14 Charles Saatchi: “I abhor violence of any kind against women…”
No. 13 Toyota NZ: “The more Kiwis that lean, the more motivated our ETNZ crew will be to win.”
No. 12 Pem Bird: “We’re there to do the business of advancing our people.”
No.11 Whenua Patuwai: “They’re my brothers and to see one of them goes [sic]—it’s tough.”
No. 10 [REMOVED]
No. 9 [REMOVED]
No. 8 Barack Obama: “…people standing up for what’s right…yearning for justice and dignity…” No. 7 Barack Obama: “Nelson Mandela is my personal hero…”
No. 6 John Key: “Yeah well the Greens’ answer to everything is rail, isn’t it.”
No.5 Dr. Rodney Syme: “If you want good, open, honest practice, you have to make it transparent.”
No. 4 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton’s… integrity beyond reproach…such great character…”
No. 3 Dean Lonergan: “Y’ know what? The only people who will mock them are people who are dwarfists.”
No. 2 Peter Dunne: “What a load of drivel and sanctimonious humbug…”
No. 1 Dominic Bowden: “It’s okay to be speechless.”
I see the guys over at Scoop have posted the latest Maori Party response to Labour colluding with National to further entrench police brutality as a means of quashing dissent.
Labour/National shut down inquiry
The Māori Party is reeling at the decision of both Labour and National parties, to shut down the proposed Māori Affairs Select Committee inquiry into the impact of Operation Eight.
“The concern for the Māori Party has always been how the events of 15 October 2007 impacted on the affected whānau, and the official responses made to them,” said Te Ururoa Flavell, MP for Waiariki.
“We had hoped that members of parliament from all parties would care about the human cost of Operation Eight; – that they would want to understand how ordinary New Zealanders felt about the initial actions of the Police and subsequent findings that many of those actions were contrary to law, unjustified and unreasonable.”
Not surprising really when considering it was a Labour regime that oversaw the paramilitary raid carried out against Tuhoe. Does anyone know what Meka Whaitiri has been instructed to say by Shearer and his little cartel?
Atrocious but not surprising behaviour from Labour. Silver lining might be greater support for Mana. Maori Party’s already irreparably damaged so hopefully Mana will now pick up the support Labour’s kicking in the guts.
Santi is a known right wing troll who posts obsessively in favour of David Shearer because the longer Shearer keeps his job the better it is for the right.
But no. Santi is trying to emulate INTELLIGENCE – however he picked windows CE running basica as the platform. Makes him look like an early generation virus.
I don’t normally listen to Radiolive but Duncan Garner was interesting last night. He went head to head with Labour bovver boy Clayton Cosgrove and outed him as the head of ABC. Garner was the person who reported on ABC last year and is the best one to say who the leaker of the comments was.
Presuming this is true Cosgrove is guilty of breaching caucus solidarity, undermining a colleague by spinning crap and harming the interests of the Labour Party. He is a disgrace.
Duncan Garner gets a phone-call from a Labour MP on Tuesday night. Did he ring the MP back to check the call was from him? Could he have been hoaxed? In other words it wasn’t the MP but someone else.
And what about the letter Gower is said to have received from a Labour MP. Did Gower check with the writer that it was indeed from him?
Between 1975 and 1985 I knew two individuals – male and female – who did the same kind of thing. The male in particular had a talent for mimicking people’s voices. They caused no end of trouble and included among their victims were high profile politicians. Their motivation was political and designed to create trouble for the persons they targeted. One of them fessed up to being the culprits years later but it was way to late for me to do anything about it.
Duncan Garner gets a phone-call from a Labour MP on Tuesday night. Did he ring the MP back to check the call was from him?
Good question. I’d have never thought of the scenario you posited. In the days of caller ID it should make it harder to do what you described, but you never know.
The story is that garner got a text from an MP. and he rang the MP to talk about it. The MP told him Gower had the letter. Garner’s mistake was not checking in with Gower before running the story.
The only other checking he did was to call a non-mp Labour connected person who only gave him hearsay that the coup was on. they said they had heard it might be, and that they had hears rumours of the letter. garner figured that was enough.
Basically he got owned by his mp source, and remains so.
Basically he got owned by his mp source, and remains so.
This sounds like a Labour MP, but not Cosgrove, pushing the agenda of destabilisation. An interesting question: was the MP who Garner rang the same MP who wrote the “putting Shearer on notice” email of a fortnight ago. Its all very murky and unpleasant in that caucus.
And a lot of MPs are pissed off with Shearer over his handling of the “manban”. If his stock was low two weeks ago, it took another plummet in caucus this week.
Re: And a lot of MPs are pissed off with Shearer over his handling of the “manban”.
Speaking for myself, I was less than happy and I am trying not to be disillusioned with Shearer.
In my eyes, he has been incompetent at brokering, managing and showing leadership abilities in holding, fostering and, indeed, wisely managing, the interface between the caucus/parliamentary and the sectoral/membership/wider party wings.
I am determined not to stay at home on polling day next year. However, I will personally find it quite hard to feel positive about giving Labour a tick, let alone two ticks.
The story is that garner got a text from an MP. and he rang the MP to talk about it.
You could be right Pb. I may have misheard Garner on that link. I thought he said he got a text from an MP and that was followed by a phone-call. I presumed it was from the MP.
I got the impression that he had talked to this mp before (that this texting was not unusual) and so he rang the mp to find out more. What I wondered is given Duncan declared Clayton as a main ‘leaker’ on Cunliffe are there grounds for a complaint to the party council? I seem to remember last year Shearer said there wasn’t enough evidence, but maybe that should be revisited?
Hi Pascals bookie. Had a chance to listen to that link again. Garner did say he received a text AND a phone call from a Labour MP. He also spoke of an ‘outside source’ but he doesn’t elaborate. If my conjecture that he might have been hoaxed has any substance then it may well have been someone other than a Lab. caucus member.
Keep on whistling in the dark James. It’s coming, the cold light of dawn. Whadya gonna say then ?
No “empire” lasts forever James. Strangely, as more and more evidence of advised joint action comes out, ‘sus’ enough for it to have been heavily concealed, you whistle louder, like a frantic thrush.
Anyone else notice the other side of Mr Nice-guy? Turned on the real assassin type tone in the corridors of the Beehive yesterday when asked his stance on the conscience vote – “They can vote against it if they like, but they won’t because they campaigned on the convention centre…”
He did not look a happy chappy. Looked incredibly nasty actually. And after the Campbell Live lead last night I think he will be even less smiling.
But when it comes to an opposition voice that should be making hay – what do we get?
Yeah – Framu – I thought that was a bit odd too because I couldn’t recall the convention centre being a part of the last campaign either ! I reckon it was code for “you’ll lose your seat if you don’t vote for the convention centre” .
As to the would-be Labour coup, all the “would be leaders” named in the media so far – Jones, Little, Cosgrove, Robertson – NONE of them are in an electorate seat. They are all List MPs – – seemingly unable to make a sufficient dent in the Labour vote to get themselves voted in properly.
This tells you heaps of their (non) ability to become a leader !
They are all List MPs – – seemingly unable to make a sufficient dent in the Labour vote to get themselves voted in properly.
I really do wish people would stop this BS. They did get voted in properly. The fact that they’re on the list would also tend to indicate that they have the necessary skills and ambition.
Nope, they’ve proven themselves somehow else they wouldn’t be on the list.
That is the most ridiculous, stupid non-logic I’ve heard. It ignores the politics, horse trading, personal sponsorship, etc. which goes into putting the party list together. It further assumes that merit is the major element for placement on the party list. And finally, it fails to recognise that getting on to the list proves fuck all about performance and ability as an MP, as demonstrated by a good third of the MPs in Parliament today.
The illogic was in thinking that getting an electorate seat was any different. People don’t vote for candidates in the electorate, they still vote for the party. This may change over time but I’m not really expecting it to as it’s easier to track the parties than all the individual candidates.
as demonstrated by a good third of the MPs in Parliament today.
I suspect the same could have been said 30+ years ago.
Some great listener comments on Morning Report with regards to the failed GST tax law.
My Fav (paraphrased): “Maurice Williamson says the new law is impractical to implement. Why doesn’t the government just use the GCSB to make sure NZers comply with the law?”
I wasn’t sure about the Canadian train staffing but guessed that the firm would have a minimum crew, and possibly the one. I was right. Now the top cheese is blaming him, all the expensive, dangerous freight was one man’s responsibility.
There was presumably some emergency system that would operate if he had collapsed at his job, and probably most of it was automatic and he just monitored everything. But while it is okay to run a burger bar in a caravan at a fairground with one person, when there is flammable dangerous freight, having back up staff is important. Especially if the train would be left standing while the guy had a much needed meal, and bed and shower etc. Someone should be with the train in a state of alert at all times, sleeping out would have to be on shift.
I wonder why the highly paid managers at this freight company didn’t accept that as an undeniable truth. Maybe that lack of foresight and care is an example of the low level of effectiveness and practicality of modern management altogether. I hear of other things elsewhere, cuts to staff, pressures on the remainder, acceptance of tenders made with unreasonably optimistic deadlines and costs etc. Corners cut to meet competition yet allow enough profit cream to be skimmed at the top. Right here in NZ of course, as well as overseas. One of the reasons we will never ‘match Australia’s wages’ blah blah blah, or indeed balance our current account.
Erebus! A plane put at risk because of head office fiddling with no respect for the precious cargo. Who got blamed – the pilot. And thereby hangs a tale.
Yes Rosetint I was ‘surprised’ that the driver was able to leave the train with the brake off. Surely there at least there should have been back up systems.
73 rail cars, the hand brakes need to be set car by car manually, a worker set some handbrakes in case the air brakes failed, but not enough to stop the train.
WORKING ALONE
In this case, the train was manned by a single worker, the engineer. There are no rules against one-person crews, Luc Bourdon, Transport Canada’s director general for rail safety, said this week. Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, the train’s owner, successfully applied last year to have just a single operator on the line. Bourdon also said it is rare — but not against the rules — to leave a train unattended on a main line.
In my view: the company saving CA$50,000 per year may have helped contribute to the killing of dozens of people.
Latest news is that the corporation is going to hang out to dry the single employee present, an engineer. Its all his fault for not following company handbrakes procedure, you see.
The rail car tankers involved in the crash have been known in Canada since the 1990’s to be too thin skinned to survive a crash and immediate rupture on impact spilling contents was predictable.
Extra things not mentioned here … there was no limit to the number of this type of carriage that could make up any one individual train .. but possibly most troubling is there was nothing to monitor it or alert anyone to the fact there was a runaway train crashing downhill towards them .. once the train started its 11 km downhill run, steadily increasing speed to more than 100kms it was doing so for a full 18 minutes before derailing .. time at least to have emptied the centre of town and save dozens of lives with a better saafety system in place.
The mighty dollar and profit-talking rules over people every single time.
I have copied Draco T Bastard 6.1.2 from 10/7 – No one was there to meet them –
as it seems to match what I have been saying.
This was one company.
Don’t kid yourself – there’s other businesses out there that are purposefully disregarding safety because it costs money. I know this from listening to my family that happen to be working in fairly dangerous jobs (usually construction).
The real challenge is how do you manage for that through regulations without making it much, much harder for other good companies to operate.
You stop whinging about it being too hard and do the bloody job properly.
My, how you, supreme know not what you say dolt, how you put your stupid foot in your stupid mouth !
“People shouldn’t be able to avoid tax by purchasing offshore”. Very well.
What then was the quid pro quo promised to and taken by the movers and shakers of the National Party when they “purchased” ShonKey Python from offshore back ’round ’02 ?
Good luck policing this, a large number of offshore sales get labelled gift or with a false value on the customs decleration now, they even have space on the order form where you can intruct them what to write. Many of these are large legit companies that don’t large VAT and will post for free from the UK so even if they do hit you with a few dollars gst it will still be way cheaper than nz retail.
Also they will need a small army to open and check the volume of packages coming in many will yield just a few dollars of gst, not even close to covering the costs involved with closing them back up etc…
Funny thing – the main reason why people buy stuff overseas and ship it here is not due to GST costs, it’s because even after you strip off GST and shipping, it’s usually cheaper to buy quite a few things online from overseas. Games, computer hardware, tramping equipment, books etc all are usually much, much cheaper overseas due to sellers meeting the local market, whereas NZ retailers oft run into issues with importers/suppliers charging a premium or they have a monopoly on a particular brand and thus can get away with higher prices.
Though I’ve noticed with tramping gear that some of the importers/suppliers and retailers have much more saner costings while the presence of pricespy.co.nz has lead to huge reductions in computer hardware costs, that occasionally match overseas prices.
If National wanted to keep online purchases in check, they’d push for a lower NZ dollar, something the manufacturing enquiry recommended a little hole back.
Good point Pete. I also thought National was in favour of free trade, which this tax would inhibit. Most bulk importers are already exempt from paying GST on imported goods and the price difference is simply because they’re ripping us off. There is also taxes payable on imported goods to the governments where these items are manufactured, so you would effectively be getting taxed twice.
If National wants to increase their tax take they should help local manufacturers to compete through limiting free trade agreements, lowering the NZ dollar and promoting local businesses. They should also ensure that people have enough money to buy the New Zealand made products they require. Making the consumer pay for a completely failed globalization agenda, which should have raised wages in developing countries instead of lowering ours, is typical of the Natz. Bunch of bloody morons!
Even if the policy could be implemented by making overseas owned companies charge GST at point of sale (not likely) or checking every package that enters New Zealand and wasting time trying to extort more money from already struggling Kiwis, the costs involved in such a logistical nightmare are prohibitive.
There will be no benefit for consumers, which is probably why this proposal is going down like a cold cup of sick even on right wing blogs.
Making the consumer pay for a completely failed globalization agenda, which should have raised wages in developing countries instead of lowering ours,
When at Uni the economics professor put up a chart that showed that wages in developed countries would go down to meet the (supposedly increasing) developing countries. The problem is that there’s actually far too much labour in the world (and there always will be) so wages must always go down in a “free-market” situation. This is the direct result of increasing productivity which we’ve seen ever since we started agriculture.
I see there is a Gay Ski Week on down south. How nice if another group that receives much disapprobation – the single parents group – could afford to have something similar that they could afford to go to, and take their children, and have some fun like the gays. Then everybody would be gay.
Really, this bothers you somehow? A group of people are being marketed at because of a perceived disposable income. Newsflash for you pinktinted, not all “The Gays” will be in any better position to afford a ski week any more than you. Some will. Get over it.
In 2010, Auckland Council became the largest non-bank borrower in domestic capital markets after the New Zealand Government. Award judges said the treasury team overcame many challenges to transform council into a world-class borrower using innovative solutions.
Yes, one the innovative solutions, is Interest Rates Swaps, for starters, another being that AKL has become the default underwriter, not only of its own debt, but that of other regions debt, also!
World Class borrower, is one of the most ridiculous oxy-morons I’ve ever heard.
No doubt, high five’s, back slapping and cigars all round, at the heist!
Assuming the judges panel consisted of the debt holders, and or their representatives!!!
Varoa mite.
P.S.A.
Super white butterfly in Malborough.
Dont worry about that mate.
The most important thing is shifting your arse in a car down a motorway and shaving 5 minutes off your time to work.
Didn’t make the Herald comments again, despite the article only having six comments at the time. I thought it was quite lightweight really, and was surprised it didn’t go up.
Robyn Pearce’s article What my daughter learnt about Mandela’s leadership style was pretty innocuous and inoffensive (if you ignore the description of “sea of ebony-black faces”) and a somewhat self-congratulatory tribute to Mandela.
My response picked up the following from the article” “One of the things Lenora and I had quickly noticed was the (to us) unnatural subservience accorded their leaders. It wasn’t hard to see how such societies are easy targets for corrupt leaders who seek power in order to suck the system dry.”
The gist of my comment : the original of which now only exists on Prism
Africa is not the only place where unquestioning subservience is given to their leaders.
Here in NZ we have a PM that is often flippant, arrogant and inconsistent. It seems our general public and MSM do not have a problem with this, but many would expect our premier statesman to show dignity, integrity and have accountability.
Corruption occurs when leaders and their processes lack integrity, transparency, accountability and consequences. This can occur in a democracy as well as in a tribal society. Corruption is a misuse of power, not a result of an alternative system of government
JMG is really pulling some good stuff together on his blog – required reading for anyone interested in reality and what the hell to do about it.
Look around, dear reader, and you’ll see a civilization in decline, struggling ineffectually with the ecological overshoot, the social disintegration, the institutional paralysis, and the accelerating decay of infrastructure that are part and parcel of the normal process by which civilizations die. This is what the decline and fall of a civilization looks like in its early-to-middle stages—and it’s also what I’ve been talking about, very often in so many words, since not long after this blog got under way seven years ago. Back then, as I’ve already mentioned, it was reasonable to propose that something else might happen, that we’d get the fast crash or the green-energy breakthrough or all the new petroleum that the law of supply and demand was supposed to provide us, but none of those things happened. (Of course, neither did the mass landing of UFOs or any of the other more colorful fantasies, but then that was never really in question.) It’s time to recognize that the repetition of emotionally appealing but failed predictions is not a helpful response to the crisis of our time, and in fact has done a great deal to back us into the corner we’re now in.
The Standard – blog publication originating from early West Coast paper publication also called The Standard, I understand…
This day, today Thursday 11th July, the Greymouth Star an evening publication of similar heritage, opinion page, offers us ….
West Coast Yesteryear column 1963 – complaints about the Council’s “Bailies black budget”, and congratulations for the nation’s highest producing pedgree Jersey herd from Harihari..
Chris Trotter’s column – commanding a solid space to tell us that David Shearer isn’t a Labour leader’s arse..
Fran O’Sullivan’s column – slamming the corporates and their people over Pike River..
and the Faith column – “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.” – Mark 12:1″
Just saw the Campbell Live segment on WINZ making pensioners claim for overseas pensions, or they’ll get their pension cut. And the paper work to apply for an Aussie one is apparently horrendous.
And the woman interviewed only spent a few years in Aussie, probably isn’t entitled to one, but still has to claim for it …. pages and pages of the form to work through.
I’m a little confused also. I have a small amount in an Aussie super scheme which was compulsory to pay into, in the few short years I was there. But it seems there’s another Aussie state pension that anyone who spent time in Aussie, needs to apply for. And if they are elligible for it, they also need to open an Aussie bank accoutn.
I’m thankful that I’ve already sorted out my UK state (and an occupational pension) schemes. WINZ and the IRD know all about them.
But, now I need to fill in an NZ tax return each year, and that’s a horrendous exercise too. Thankfully I also have a trusted accountant acquaintance that does it for me. Apparently it’s not that easy for an accountant to work it out the first time they encounter it.
How in the hell is your average pensioner, especially the less well off ones, meant to sort all this out, if they don’t have some sort of middle-class networks they can draw on?
And quite a few Kiwis have spent some time in Aussie in their lifetimes, some of them on fairly average incomes.
Geezzzz…the government needs to work out a better way to get WINZ to balance their books,
A new name for the national party is needed because the good that was in that partys is history
Maybe the Mamby Pamby Party cos thats the way they all sound to an ordinary person
The latest abuse of power Bennett gone to Malta to look up five Kiwis AND HAVE A BLOODY GOOD HOLIDAY ON OUR MONEY
I hope the old mans ghost makes a mistake and bombs her cruiser when shes sight seeing around the Mediterranean
I suppose they might have been mailed yesterday, so the one to the French would have been sent on the anniversary of the Rainbow Warrior. Curious combination though – but who knows the logic of idiots…
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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: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
“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. ...
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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 ...
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. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
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Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
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Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
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Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
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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, Wednesday 24 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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LIARS OF OUR TIME
No. 26: Sam Wallace
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“So here we are—Otahuhu. It’s just a great place to be, really.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—Weatherman Sam Wallace, TV1 Breakfast, 7:40 a.m., Wednesday 10 July 2013
See also….
No. 25 Margaret Thatcher: “…no British government involvement of any kind…with Khmer Rouge…”
No.24 John Key: “…at the end of the day I, like most New Zealanders, value the role of the fourth estate…”
No. 23 Jay Carney: “…expel Mr Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice…”
No. 22 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton had integrity beyond reproach.”
No. 21 Tim Groser: “I think the relationship is genuinely in outstanding form.”
No. 20 John Key: “But if the question is do we use the United States or one of our other partners to circumvent New Zealand law then the answer is categorically no.”
No. 19 Matthew Hooton: “It is ridiculous to say that unions deliver higher wages! They DON’T!” No. 18 Ant Strachan: “The All Blacks won the RWC 2011 because of outstanding defence!”
No. 17 Stephen Franks: “Peter has been such a level-headed, safe pair of hands.”
No. 16 Phil Kafcaloudes: “Tony Abbott…hasn’t made any mistakes over the past eighteen months.”
No. 15 Donald Rumsfeld: “I did not lie… Colin Powell did not lie.”
No. 14 Colin Powell: “a post-9/11 nexus between Iraq and terrorist organizations…connections are now emerging…”
No.13 Barack Obama: “Simply put, these strikes have saved lives.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27052013/#comment-638881
No. 12 U.K. Ministry of Defence: “Protecting the Afghan civilian population is one of ISAF and the UK’s top priorities.”
No. 11 Brendan O’Connor: “Australia’s approach to refugees is compassionate and generous.”
No. 10 Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to look after us and keep us safe.”
No. 9 NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!”
No. 8 Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question….”
No. 7 Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15052013/#comment-633295
No. 6 Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.” No. 5 Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13052013/#comment-632594
No. 4 Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3 John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2 Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.”
No. 1 Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
Humbug Corner
No. 16: BARACK OBAMA
“I wish Muslims across America & around the world a month blessed with the joys of family, peace & understanding.”
—tweet by President Barack Obama at start of Ramadan, 10 July 2013
Check out Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle’s perfect response….
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1373471691.html
Humbug Corner is dedicated to gathering, and highlighting, the most striking examples of faux solicitude, insincere apologies, and particularly stupid recycling of official canards. It is produced by the Insincerity Project®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
More disgusting humbugs….
No. 15 John Key: “They know this is an issue of national security.”
No. 14 Charles Saatchi: “I abhor violence of any kind against women…”
No. 13 Toyota NZ: “The more Kiwis that lean, the more motivated our ETNZ crew will be to win.”
No. 12 Pem Bird: “We’re there to do the business of advancing our people.”
No.11 Whenua Patuwai: “They’re my brothers and to see one of them goes [sic]—it’s tough.”
No. 10 [REMOVED]
No. 9 [REMOVED]
No. 8 Barack Obama: “…people standing up for what’s right…yearning for justice and dignity…” No. 7 Barack Obama: “Nelson Mandela is my personal hero…”
No. 6 John Key: “Yeah well the Greens’ answer to everything is rail, isn’t it.”
No.5 Dr. Rodney Syme: “If you want good, open, honest practice, you have to make it transparent.”
No. 4 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton’s… integrity beyond reproach…such great character…”
No. 3 Dean Lonergan: “Y’ know what? The only people who will mock them are people who are dwarfists.”
No. 2 Peter Dunne: “What a load of drivel and sanctimonious humbug…”
No. 1 Dominic Bowden: “It’s okay to be speechless.”
Good piece here on some of the dynamics in Syria:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/10/syria-al-nusra-front-jihadi?CMP=twt_gu
And here is evidence that there is popular resistance to al Qaeda type groups taking over the revolution against Bashar al-Assad.
http://syriafreedomforever.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/syria-the-people-will-not-kneel-and-will-accept-no-injustice/
I see the guys over at Scoop have posted the latest Maori Party response to Labour colluding with National to further entrench police brutality as a means of quashing dissent.
Not surprising really when considering it was a Labour regime that oversaw the paramilitary raid carried out against Tuhoe. Does anyone know what Meka Whaitiri has been instructed to say by Shearer and his little cartel?
It might help if the Maori Party had not accepted the role of National’s poodle. Anything they say automatically is dismissed as humbug.
Exactly the response expected from right-wing parties.
Labour also colluded with National to quickly shut down any enquiry into the military’s lying and deceit exposed in Nicky Hager’s Other People’s Wars
Atrocious but not surprising behaviour from Labour. Silver lining might be greater support for Mana. Maori Party’s already irreparably damaged so hopefully Mana will now pick up the support Labour’s kicking in the guts.
He deserves to be praised. Well done David Shearer, strong leader.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10896517
You’r a comedian, right?
Santi is a known right wing troll who posts obsessively in favour of David Shearer because the longer Shearer keeps his job the better it is for the right.
That is correct, National want Shearer to remain as leader for as long as possible. Can you imagine Shearer vs Key in an election debate?
Shearer will win hands down, don’t you think?
Are you umm serious because ahhh if you err are then maybe you umm haven’t seen mumblefuck in umm action
Winston, Santi is on your side.
Yes I know, I was using the opportunity to reiterate why Shearer (and by default the Labour party) is useless
Shearer is not useless. He will lead the Labour Party to victory. Guaranteed.
For that reason he must remain leader.
Even Matthew Hooton has stopped peddling his disingenuous support for Shearer.
Stupidity rulz side..
But no. Santi is trying to emulate INTELLIGENCE – however he picked windows CE running basica as the platform. Makes him look like an early generation virus.
Winston however is the real deal.
Tryin to b a funny guy???
But I see that TV3 is still trying to go on about the Gower coup when it’s all a TV3 made up story.
I don’t normally listen to Radiolive but Duncan Garner was interesting last night. He went head to head with Labour bovver boy Clayton Cosgrove and outed him as the head of ABC. Garner was the person who reported on ABC last year and is the best one to say who the leaker of the comments was.
Presuming this is true Cosgrove is guilty of breaching caucus solidarity, undermining a colleague by spinning crap and harming the interests of the Labour Party. He is a disgrace.
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Clayton-Cosgrove-and-Duncan-Garner-go-head-to-head-over-Shearer-and-coup/tabid/506/articleID/36641/Default.aspx
Yeah, what a complete cock.
Cunliffe should kick his arse, the backstabbing mofo.
Hey BM Bro’Mine at 6.1:
You’ve come a helluva long way mine brother.
First thing (never seen before), we agree.
Second thing, “mofo”. Hone H is genuinely chuffed by the endorsement !
Back to Earth: “bromine” – a dark red toxic liquid halogen with a choking, irritating smell.
Hone aplogised to women for using the word mofo. Just saying.
Haha, very entertaining. What a couple of fools.
SP @ 6 above: Garner and Cosgrove – equally disgraceful blowhard cocks.
Coupla rednecks well past their (self-claimed) seniors days, down the rugby club late on any winter Saturday afternoon. Excruciating !
Couldn’t handle listening to it past the spewy mutual-respect shit. Any resort to “munter” after I switched off ?
Pair of nonces.
Both lying.
Duncan Garner gets a phone-call from a Labour MP on Tuesday night. Did he ring the MP back to check the call was from him? Could he have been hoaxed? In other words it wasn’t the MP but someone else.
And what about the letter Gower is said to have received from a Labour MP. Did Gower check with the writer that it was indeed from him?
Between 1975 and 1985 I knew two individuals – male and female – who did the same kind of thing. The male in particular had a talent for mimicking people’s voices. They caused no end of trouble and included among their victims were high profile politicians. Their motivation was political and designed to create trouble for the persons they targeted. One of them fessed up to being the culprits years later but it was way to late for me to do anything about it.
Good question. I’d have never thought of the scenario you posited. In the days of caller ID it should make it harder to do what you described, but you never know.
The story is that garner got a text from an MP. and he rang the MP to talk about it. The MP told him Gower had the letter. Garner’s mistake was not checking in with Gower before running the story.
The only other checking he did was to call a non-mp Labour connected person who only gave him hearsay that the coup was on. they said they had heard it might be, and that they had hears rumours of the letter. garner figured that was enough.
Basically he got owned by his mp source, and remains so.
This sounds like a Labour MP, but not Cosgrove, pushing the agenda of destabilisation. An interesting question: was the MP who Garner rang the same MP who wrote the “putting Shearer on notice” email of a fortnight ago. Its all very murky and unpleasant in that caucus.
And a lot of MPs are pissed off with Shearer over his handling of the “manban”. If his stock was low two weeks ago, it took another plummet in caucus this week.
Re: And a lot of MPs are pissed off with Shearer over his handling of the “manban”.
Speaking for myself, I was less than happy and I am trying not to be disillusioned with Shearer.
In my eyes, he has been incompetent at brokering, managing and showing leadership abilities in holding, fostering and, indeed, wisely managing, the interface between the caucus/parliamentary and the sectoral/membership/wider party wings.
I am determined not to stay at home on polling day next year. However, I will personally find it quite hard to feel positive about giving Labour a tick, let alone two ticks.
Fortunately you have some alternate choices 🙂
You could be right Pb. I may have misheard Garner on that link. I thought he said he got a text from an MP and that was followed by a phone-call. I presumed it was from the MP.
I got the impression that he had talked to this mp before (that this texting was not unusual) and so he rang the mp to find out more. What I wondered is given Duncan declared Clayton as a main ‘leaker’ on Cunliffe are there grounds for a complaint to the party council? I seem to remember last year Shearer said there wasn’t enough evidence, but maybe that should be revisited?
Hi Pascals bookie. Had a chance to listen to that link again. Garner did say he received a text AND a phone call from a Labour MP. He also spoke of an ‘outside source’ but he doesn’t elaborate. If my conjecture that he might have been hoaxed has any substance then it may well have been someone other than a Lab. caucus member.
There are a lot of very clever geeks out there who know how to circumvent most systems.
conspiracy theorist unite.
Keep on whistling in the dark James. It’s coming, the cold light of dawn. Whadya gonna say then ?
No “empire” lasts forever James. Strangely, as more and more evidence of advised joint action comes out, ‘sus’ enough for it to have been heavily concealed, you whistle louder, like a frantic thrush.
Perhaps James hasn’t understood an iota of the Snowden files over the last month and should renew his membership to “Ostriches Unite”.
Anyone else notice the other side of Mr Nice-guy? Turned on the real assassin type tone in the corridors of the Beehive yesterday when asked his stance on the conscience vote – “They can vote against it if they like, but they won’t because they campaigned on the convention centre…”
He did not look a happy chappy. Looked incredibly nasty actually. And after the Campbell Live lead last night I think he will be even less smiling.
But when it comes to an opposition voice that should be making hay – what do we get?
Yeah the sub-text there from key was pretty blatant
“because they campaigned on the convention centre” – maybe i missed it – but i cant recall any mention of a conference center during the last election
Yeah – Framu – I thought that was a bit odd too because I couldn’t recall the convention centre being a part of the last campaign either ! I reckon it was code for “you’ll lose your seat if you don’t vote for the convention centre” .
As to the would-be Labour coup, all the “would be leaders” named in the media so far – Jones, Little, Cosgrove, Robertson – NONE of them are in an electorate seat. They are all List MPs – – seemingly unable to make a sufficient dent in the Labour vote to get themselves voted in properly.
This tells you heaps of their (non) ability to become a leader !
Robertson is MP for Wellington Central, though he may want to thank Marian Hobbs for that. Unless you mean Ross Robertson, who’s MP for Manukau East.
Sorry – my mistake re Grant Robertson not having a seat.
I really do wish people would stop this BS. They did get voted in properly. The fact that they’re on the list would also tend to indicate that they have the necessary skills and ambition.
You simply have to be kidding me.
Nope, they’ve proven themselves somehow else they wouldn’t be on the list. Of course, the selection process for the list may be less than desirable.
That is the most ridiculous, stupid non-logic I’ve heard. It ignores the politics, horse trading, personal sponsorship, etc. which goes into putting the party list together. It further assumes that merit is the major element for placement on the party list. And finally, it fails to recognise that getting on to the list proves fuck all about performance and ability as an MP, as demonstrated by a good third of the MPs in Parliament today.
The illogic was in thinking that getting an electorate seat was any different. People don’t vote for candidates in the electorate, they still vote for the party. This may change over time but I’m not really expecting it to as it’s easier to track the parties than all the individual candidates.
I suspect the same could have been said 30+ years ago.
And I agree with you.
Which is why I’m mystified you said that getting on to a party list “proves” ability and competence at the job.
True Framu. There was absolutely nothing about any convention centre in my recollection, let alone a SkyCity convention centre.
More ShonKey Python “say whatever suits in the moment” bullshit. To wit……”I voted blah blah blah………the liquour law”.
An infantile pathology going on there methinks.
I think he also said in reply in the house yesterday that they campaigned on it …
Some great listener comments on Morning Report with regards to the failed GST tax law.
My Fav (paraphrased): “Maurice Williamson says the new law is impractical to implement. Why doesn’t the government just use the GCSB to make sure NZers comply with the law?”
geoff
+1
I wasn’t sure about the Canadian train staffing but guessed that the firm would have a minimum crew, and possibly the one. I was right. Now the top cheese is blaming him, all the expensive, dangerous freight was one man’s responsibility.
There was presumably some emergency system that would operate if he had collapsed at his job, and probably most of it was automatic and he just monitored everything. But while it is okay to run a burger bar in a caravan at a fairground with one person, when there is flammable dangerous freight, having back up staff is important. Especially if the train would be left standing while the guy had a much needed meal, and bed and shower etc. Someone should be with the train in a state of alert at all times, sleeping out would have to be on shift.
I wonder why the highly paid managers at this freight company didn’t accept that as an undeniable truth. Maybe that lack of foresight and care is an example of the low level of effectiveness and practicality of modern management altogether. I hear of other things elsewhere, cuts to staff, pressures on the remainder, acceptance of tenders made with unreasonably optimistic deadlines and costs etc. Corners cut to meet competition yet allow enough profit cream to be skimmed at the top. Right here in NZ of course, as well as overseas. One of the reasons we will never ‘match Australia’s wages’ blah blah blah, or indeed balance our current account.
Erebus! A plane put at risk because of head office fiddling with no respect for the precious cargo. Who got blamed – the pilot. And thereby hangs a tale.
Yes Rosetint I was ‘surprised’ that the driver was able to leave the train with the brake off. Surely there at least there should have been back up systems.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/canada-train-derailment-puts-brakes-spotlight-19631805#.Ud3gaNhU1d0
73 rail cars, the hand brakes need to be set car by car manually, a worker set some handbrakes in case the air brakes failed, but not enough to stop the train.
In my view: the company saving CA$50,000 per year may have helped contribute to the killing of dozens of people.
Latest news is that the corporation is going to hang out to dry the single employee present, an engineer. Its all his fault for not following company handbrakes procedure, you see.
The rail car tankers involved in the crash have been known in Canada since the 1990’s to be too thin skinned to survive a crash and immediate rupture on impact spilling contents was predictable.
Extra things not mentioned here … there was no limit to the number of this type of carriage that could make up any one individual train .. but possibly most troubling is there was nothing to monitor it or alert anyone to the fact there was a runaway train crashing downhill towards them .. once the train started its 11 km downhill run, steadily increasing speed to more than 100kms it was doing so for a full 18 minutes before derailing .. time at least to have emptied the centre of town and save dozens of lives with a better saafety system in place.
The mighty dollar and profit-talking rules over people every single time.
I have copied Draco T Bastard 6.1.2 from 10/7 – No one was there to meet them –
as it seems to match what I have been saying.
This was one company.
Don’t kid yourself – there’s other businesses out there that are purposefully disregarding safety because it costs money. I know this from listening to my family that happen to be working in fairly dangerous jobs (usually construction).
The real challenge is how do you manage for that through regulations without making it much, much harder for other good companies to operate.
You stop whinging about it being too hard and do the bloody job properly.
Once again the National govt is preparing to raise taxes, this time it’s GST on anything you buy overseas worth less than $400.
Is there a tax, levy, or fee that these bastards haven’t increased or expanded?
Oh that’s right, income tax on the rich.
People shouldn’t be able to avoid tax by purchasing offshore
Did you see me arguing the rightness or wrongness of that?
What I’m saying is that John Key and National, in spite of all their sloganeering, are a very very tax-happy government.
OR avoid tax by having offshore accounts.
Hahaha !………Sir TFH @ 10.1 above:
My, how you, supreme know not what you say dolt, how you put your stupid foot in your stupid mouth !
“People shouldn’t be able to avoid tax by purchasing offshore”. Very well.
What then was the quid pro quo promised to and taken by the movers and shakers of the National Party when they “purchased” ShonKey Python from offshore back ’round ’02 ?
Avoidance of tax, no ?
The solution to that is to drop GST altogether as it’s just not working and that’s beside the fact that it’s massively regressive.
BTW, do you think National are going to hire the thousands of people necessary to go through everyone’s mail?
Job for the GCSB…
also – that idea is riddled with loopholes and compliance issues
so it would yet again, be rather easy to avoid if youve got the skills or means
Good luck policing this, a large number of offshore sales get labelled gift or with a false value on the customs decleration now, they even have space on the order form where you can intruct them what to write. Many of these are large legit companies that don’t large VAT and will post for free from the UK so even if they do hit you with a few dollars gst it will still be way cheaper than nz retail.
Also they will need a small army to open and check the volume of packages coming in many will yield just a few dollars of gst, not even close to covering the costs involved with closing them back up etc…
Funny thing – the main reason why people buy stuff overseas and ship it here is not due to GST costs, it’s because even after you strip off GST and shipping, it’s usually cheaper to buy quite a few things online from overseas. Games, computer hardware, tramping equipment, books etc all are usually much, much cheaper overseas due to sellers meeting the local market, whereas NZ retailers oft run into issues with importers/suppliers charging a premium or they have a monopoly on a particular brand and thus can get away with higher prices.
Though I’ve noticed with tramping gear that some of the importers/suppliers and retailers have much more saner costings while the presence of pricespy.co.nz has lead to huge reductions in computer hardware costs, that occasionally match overseas prices.
If National wanted to keep online purchases in check, they’d push for a lower NZ dollar, something the manufacturing enquiry recommended a little hole back.
Good point Pete. I also thought National was in favour of free trade, which this tax would inhibit. Most bulk importers are already exempt from paying GST on imported goods and the price difference is simply because they’re ripping us off. There is also taxes payable on imported goods to the governments where these items are manufactured, so you would effectively be getting taxed twice.
If National wants to increase their tax take they should help local manufacturers to compete through limiting free trade agreements, lowering the NZ dollar and promoting local businesses. They should also ensure that people have enough money to buy the New Zealand made products they require. Making the consumer pay for a completely failed globalization agenda, which should have raised wages in developing countries instead of lowering ours, is typical of the Natz. Bunch of bloody morons!
Even if the policy could be implemented by making overseas owned companies charge GST at point of sale (not likely) or checking every package that enters New Zealand and wasting time trying to extort more money from already struggling Kiwis, the costs involved in such a logistical nightmare are prohibitive.
There will be no benefit for consumers, which is probably why this proposal is going down like a cold cup of sick even on right wing blogs.
When at Uni the economics professor put up a chart that showed that wages in developed countries would go down to meet the (supposedly increasing) developing countries. The problem is that there’s actually far too much labour in the world (and there always will be) so wages must always go down in a “free-market” situation. This is the direct result of increasing productivity which we’ve seen ever since we started agriculture.
I see there is a Gay Ski Week on down south. How nice if another group that receives much disapprobation – the single parents group – could afford to have something similar that they could afford to go to, and take their children, and have some fun like the gays. Then everybody would be gay.
Not sure if you noticed all the “child” and “family” pricing deals offered by restaurants, pools, cinemas, zoos, water parks etc.
Single parents and families don’t need a special week to recognize that they exist, because society already does that pervasively.
All families are not equal Lanthanide. Have you started one?
Do you know of any kids or families denied concession rates because they were sole-parent households?
Really, this bothers you somehow? A group of people are being marketed at because of a perceived disposable income. Newsflash for you pinktinted, not all “The Gays” will be in any better position to afford a ski week any more than you. Some will. Get over it.
This is pretty odd…
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1307/S00408/auckland-council-treasury-team-takes-out-top-global-awards.htm
World Class Borrower
Innovative Solutions
Oh, that’s ok then, nothing to see here!
Just what Auckland needs. Financial engineering in the debt markets. Ridiculous.
Yes, one the innovative solutions, is Interest Rates Swaps, for starters, another being that AKL has become the default underwriter, not only of its own debt, but that of other regions debt, also!
World Class borrower, is one of the most ridiculous oxy-morons I’ve ever heard.
No doubt, high five’s, back slapping and cigars all round, at the heist!
Assuming the judges panel consisted of the debt holders, and or their representatives!!!
Oh, that’s nice, the people in Auckland’s treasury got an award for helping rip off the people of Auckland.
Well, it certainly didn’t consist of Aucklanders.
Straight up, B. Its been a pretty much a clean sweep of available awards, by the treasury/financial management teams/individuals, fancy that!
It needs to be seen like the rating agencies, and the lies they tell using AAA etc
Obama’s nobel prize, also comes to mind!
Use your illusion!
Foreign Jihadists bringing money, organisation and sharia law to Syria
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/10/syria-al-nusra-front-jihadi
Varoa mite.
P.S.A.
Super white butterfly in Malborough.
Dont worry about that mate.
The most important thing is shifting your arse in a car down a motorway and shaving 5 minutes off your time to work.
http://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/country/?country=new_zealand
Can’t believe not many people are talking about this:
“According to the survey, 79% of New Zealanders believe the country to be run by ‘a few big entities acting in their own best interests’.”
http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/07/corruption-in-new-zealand-survey-.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fliberationbybryceedwards+%28liberation%29
Didn’t make the Herald comments again, despite the article only having six comments at the time. I thought it was quite lightweight really, and was surprised it didn’t go up.
Robyn Pearce’s article What my daughter learnt about Mandela’s leadership style was pretty innocuous and inoffensive (if you ignore the description of “sea of ebony-black faces”) and a somewhat self-congratulatory tribute to Mandela.
My response picked up the following from the article”
“One of the things Lenora and I had quickly noticed was the (to us) unnatural subservience accorded their leaders. It wasn’t hard to see how such societies are easy targets for corrupt leaders who seek power in order to suck the system dry.”
The gist of my comment : the original of which now only exists on Prism
Africa is not the only place where unquestioning subservience is given to their leaders.
Here in NZ we have a PM that is often flippant, arrogant and inconsistent. It seems our general public and MSM do not have a problem with this, but many would expect our premier statesman to show dignity, integrity and have accountability.
Corruption occurs when leaders and their processes lack integrity, transparency, accountability and consequences. This can occur in a democracy as well as in a tribal society. Corruption is a misuse of power, not a result of an alternative system of government
JMG is really pulling some good stuff together on his blog – required reading for anyone interested in reality and what the hell to do about it.
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.co.nz/2013/07/asking-hard-questions.html
Yep its good stuff.
The Standard – blog publication originating from early West Coast paper publication also called The Standard, I understand…
This day, today Thursday 11th July, the Greymouth Star an evening publication of similar heritage, opinion page, offers us ….
West Coast Yesteryear column 1963 – complaints about the Council’s “Bailies black budget”, and congratulations for the nation’s highest producing pedgree Jersey herd from Harihari..
Chris Trotter’s column – commanding a solid space to tell us that David Shearer isn’t a Labour leader’s arse..
Fran O’Sullivan’s column – slamming the corporates and their people over Pike River..
and the Faith column – “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.” – Mark 12:1″
gotta love it
Crap. This is WINZ madness!
Just saw the Campbell Live segment on WINZ making pensioners claim for overseas pensions, or they’ll get their pension cut. And the paper work to apply for an Aussie one is apparently horrendous.
And the woman interviewed only spent a few years in Aussie, probably isn’t entitled to one, but still has to claim for it …. pages and pages of the form to work through.
I’m a little confused also. I have a small amount in an Aussie super scheme which was compulsory to pay into, in the few short years I was there. But it seems there’s another Aussie state pension that anyone who spent time in Aussie, needs to apply for. And if they are elligible for it, they also need to open an Aussie bank accoutn.
I’m thankful that I’ve already sorted out my UK state (and an occupational pension) schemes. WINZ and the IRD know all about them.
But, now I need to fill in an NZ tax return each year, and that’s a horrendous exercise too. Thankfully I also have a trusted accountant acquaintance that does it for me. Apparently it’s not that easy for an accountant to work it out the first time they encounter it.
How in the hell is your average pensioner, especially the less well off ones, meant to sort all this out, if they don’t have some sort of middle-class networks they can draw on?
And quite a few Kiwis have spent some time in Aussie in their lifetimes, some of them on fairly average incomes.
Geezzzz…the government needs to work out a better way to get WINZ to balance their books,
A new name for the national party is needed because the good that was in that partys is history
Maybe the Mamby Pamby Party cos thats the way they all sound to an ordinary person
The latest abuse of power Bennett gone to Malta to look up five Kiwis AND HAVE A BLOODY GOOD HOLIDAY ON OUR MONEY
I hope the old mans ghost makes a mistake and bombs her cruiser when shes sight seeing around the Mediterranean
Envelopes with baking soda sent to Dunne, Brownlee and the French embassy.
I suppose they might have been mailed yesterday, so the one to the French would have been sent on the anniversary of the Rainbow Warrior. Curious combination though – but who knows the logic of idiots…