There is no serious Left wing political party active in New Zealand….Centre and Centre Right…..The Centre is a political ideology…which is what Labour is.
His premise is that there is a large undetermined vote–that obviously has not early voted–and that this “soft” vote may well lean toward Labour. He also outlines Winston’s close relationship with Hobson’s Choice.
Three polls yesterday suggested that if National is to form the next government, it will have to do a deal with both ACT and NZ First, and that will mean adopting a harder line on race relations and the Treaty of Waitangi. The preference of National Leader Christopher Luxon that there be simply a National-ACT coalition looks highly unlikely.
None of the polls, the Guardian Essential poll, the One News Verian poll and the Newshub Reid Research poll, show National and ACT with enough support to form a government. All of them show support for the combined centre-right vote, which has lost momentum and is falling or stalled. That didn’t stop leader Christopher Luxon from emailing party members last night saying, “We have the momentum.” https://www.politik.co.nz/its-about-to-get-difficult-for-luxon/ | Politik
Harman subtly points us to Luxon's delusion re momentum. An influential media mainstreamer suggesting that the Nat leader is in perverse denial of polling reality is likely to seem entertaining to his readers.
I Voted yesterday. 2 ticks for ourLeft (unsurprisingly : )
When I arrived at the Poll station there was an "older" couple standing in the doorway having a bit of a discussion with a friendly Polling helper .
She looked past them to me asked if I had my EasyVote card….I showed her, she smiled and pointed over to the Polling checkers.
I got verified and given voting paper….meanwhile the doorway discussion was still going on, and another Polling helper had joined them. Seems it was all about their address and where.. to actually vote ! (I was hearing all of this ..)
OK, so me being me, I asked the guy who had taken my EasyVote card, if there had been urgent action to get the process moving (1 million not sent ?)
He seemed maybe not so pleased to be asked this ? And said it was mainly South Auckland.
That didnt really answer my question. The doorway discussion still going.
Anyway I left..having voted Left… and got on my bike and the Sun was shining.
Ah. That might explain him. And maybe the others were just Helpers? Still doesnt help the EasyVote situation. Which was my concern. IMO really not good enough. Especially with the lack/apathy around..Voting !
I am, by the way, basing my reply on my own experience working at the polls in previous elections. I am not doing it at this election because I am laid up after a leg operation.
As polling booth officials, we are given strict instructions on what we can and can't say and do at the venue At times we are challenged by unusual enquiries and events and have to rely on our own common sense when there is no obvious rule to consult.
I would say that polling officials get it right mostly, because they are often very interested in our democratic system of voting and want to participate in helping it, as well as the money. But being human errors can happen. There are a lot of checks designed to spot errors in registration and the voting process but humans can make mistakes. I myself once had occasion to tell my booth officer that all ballot boxes had to be opened before the general electorate count could be started, she had thought only the general electorate box should be opened until I reminded her that almost inevitably at least one person puts their vote in the wrong box and should a general electorate vote end up in the maori electorate box the count would have to be done from scratch again – a time consuming process. I was right, but not particularly popular with her for the rest of the night.
I think there has been a lot of media misinformation spread about voting problems. People in rural areas whining that they can't vote at the exact time it suits them should be reminded that in the old days they had one day only to vote and didn't have the choices that they had today. Some people expect to have a voting booth open at every sheep station along the backroad. That costs a lot of money for not a lot of gain.
Folks ought to watch keenly for co-governance aka treaty rights in tonight's debate!
The alliance between Hobson’s Pledge and NZ First was cemented with the selection of Hobson’s Pledge’s vice president, Casey Costello, as Number Three on their list and, ironically, as their candidate for Port Waikato.
Her speech to New Zealand First’s convention in July was highly critical of National of its signing of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, of its replacement for the Foreshore and Seabed legislation and its inclusion of iwi participation clauses in the Resource Management Law reform of 2017.
“What is clear to me now is that the three years of the absence of New Zealand First has seen enormous harm to race relations in this country,” she told the conference and then announced that she would be a candidate.
ACT has, in the meantime, developed its own hardline on race relations, wanting to put a statement on what the Treaty means, which would go back to before the 1987 Appeal Court judgement of Judge Robin Cooke, which said the Treaty of Waitangi established a partnership between Maori and the Crown. That statement would then be put to a referendum. ACT leader David Seymour said last weekend that policy would be at the top of his list in any coalition negotiation with National. https://www.politik.co.nz/its-about-to-get-difficult-for-luxon/ | Politik
Harman has outlined what this election outcome is likely to hinge on. Aotearoa seeks a better way forward, politicians adopt postures accordingly, then supply what the situation seems to demand. Supply & demand being market forces, the public will buy any agreed deal that seems better than the current situation.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces is moving to a “full offense” against the Gaza Strip… …“I have released all the restraints, we have [regained] control of the area, and we are moving to a full offense,” Gallant said…"
That two groups of humans can come to hate each other so much is just shocking beyond description.
That mutual hatred arose from dispossession after conquering. Jews & Palestinians are both semitic people so orthodox ethnic relations experts have a commons basis for reframing, should they choose to use it.
Do the UN use such experts? Not to my knowledge. What's the point of developing expertise in that field if you don't use it when crises happen??
The average of the last two polls, which were taken within 4 days of election day is:
Lab/Gr/TPM 44.4
Nat/ACT/NZF 51.0
While it is closing, there is still too much of a gap at 6.6.
There is one glimmer of hope-NZF average 6.4 in those last two polls. Just a faint chance they will still come in at 4.9 which would make the election too close to call.
It is also possible the polls understate TPM’s vote and that they do not fully take into account overseas votes, both of which favour the Left.
The pondering of a closing gap and the overall closeness reminds me of a final flourish of a rugby team which gives them a sniff at the end of a game which suggests they could have done it.
The silly penalties and dropped balls earlier are what put them in the position, what eroded their chances.What you might term the ‘Stuart Nash factors.’
the worm made its debut during the first MMP election. Its most notorious moment came when then-PM Jim Bolger had the temerity to acknowledge that “death is always associated with healthcare”.
The worm hated Bolger’s uncontroversial and obviously true statement, and Bolger hated the worm. “I think it’s a total irrelevancy that has no place in intelligent discussion,” he said at the time.
Spinoff founder Duncan Greive plays analytic historian culture vulture:
it is still with us in a way. In fact, it feels like we live in the worm’s world now – you never have to wonder what anyone thinks about anything a politician says. That final year, 2011, is around the time that social media went mainstream and became a giant always-on, all-of-population worm.
And declares us in “vibes era of politics”. Vibes being field effects in physics, he's not wrong. Then outlines the push-me, pull you theory:
our would-be prime ministers are so hyper-aware of this dynamic that public statements and policy announcements are largely driven by a combination of polling, focus groups and the pulse of social media sentiment.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has asked for official advice on whether Hamas – the Islamist military group behind a deadly attack on Israel – should be designated as a terrorist organisation and “disagrees” with Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson who suggested the Israeli Defence Forces should also undergo a terrorist assessment.
I'm with Marama on this. James disagrees with the shift:
Inasmuch as peacemaking requires a negotiating body, I'm with James. The basic problem is ethnicity as basis for sovereignty. Politicians are reluctant to admit this. Just because the old testament God told the Israelites to use genocide to take possession of the promised land doesn't mean such exclusivity is morally right – when it's morally wrong!
But on Wednesday, Hipkins said he disagreed with Davidson’s characterisation.
To err is human. He has every right to demonstrate humanity.
John Key is such a slime. His faux praise for Chris Hipkins being "a man of his word" to remind everyone, especially Hipkins, that if Labour goes with Peters then "he's not a man of his word". Then just yesterday warns everyone that the nats' tax cuts and other promises are at risk because of all the palaver and chaos NZF will cause if part of a coaltion with the nats. What a schmuck.
If Hipkins is a "man of his word" it might be a reason to vote for him. Meanwhile Luxon is man of many words, all pre-scripted and repeated endlessly and irrelevantly upon the stimulus of seeing a microphone. Is he Air NZ's first embarrassing attempt to replace their cabin crews with AI? And you do know that traducing the personal ethics of Saint John is a thought crime?
"Rather than undertaking its duty of protecting the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, Israel has been placing Palestinians under a suffocating blockade, which constitutes an unprecedented form of collective punishment in a stark violation of international humanitarian law."
"“this is an extraordinary warning sign, an alarming trend in the overall situation not only of health for infants but also the health of entire Palestine refugee population in Gaza. Moreover, it is a warning sign on the overall social and economic situation of Gaza, as the Palestine refugees account for more than seventy per cent of the entire populations in Gaza. Infant mortality is a barometer of the health of an entire population”.
Population growth from immigration of temporary workers to replace and supplement emigrating local workers rose to more than 2% in the last year, without nearly enough infrastructure built or planned for two decades at that level, and without any real debate just days before an election.
Nat/Labs will be delirious with joy at this resumption of the Ak property escalator. True neolib believers are already salivating. Make the rich richer, asap!
The reason I say it was a stupid question is that I don't know any fundies who don't believe in dinasours.
A much better question to have asked is if he believes dinasours were alive at the same time as humans. I know fundies who believe the earth is literally 6000 years old who hold that view.
Sure it was on TV, Dino was pet of the Flintstone family in Bedrock.
And they know what will happen at the end time because they read the Left Behind books (thought they will be taken to an airport for rapture to escape it all).
Sure it was on TV, Dino was pet of the Flintstone family in Bedrock.
People with those sort of beliefs usually have better evidence than that to support their views!.
That sort of thinking usually involves finding evidence that confirms a particular theory but ignores the vast amount of evidence that refutes it. For example, fossilized foot-prints of humans and dinosaurs, suggesting they were walking together. The various historical pictures of dragons that looked remarkably similar to some of the historical dinosaurs. And one explanation for how light could have been travelling for billions of years if the universe is only 6000 years old, is the conjecture by some scientists that light has been slowing down.
I don't know if they have given much thought to how much light actually would have needed to slow to explain the fairly stark difference between 14 billion years and 6 thousand years.
As for Guy Williams, he usually isn't very funny, although "NZ Today" had some good moments. He stopped Leo Molloy becoming Auckland mayor, at least. (Wayne Brown was only the second worst candidate in the race).
They have got a bit more scientific about this sort of stuff these days. But, the arguments are still stupid. For instance, if you point to carbon dating of some fossil showing it to be a million years old or something, they will point to some dubious result where, for instance, a live penguin was carbon dated and found to be millions of years old or something.
The inference being that one dodgy result disproves the whole history of carbon dating as a science.
One of the more absurd explanations that I have heard from a fundy to explain the existence of fossils is that that were 2 creations. In the 1st God stuck all these bones and so on in the ground (for what reason I have never been able to fathom) and then of course the 2nd with Adam and Eve.
It's easy to forget how well run our elections are. Compared to the shambles in some other democracies (see Trump), NZ's is a model of efficiency and accessibility. If we take it for granted, we shouldn't. What would our turnout be if we had to queue for hours?
No ID either, something used to block participation in other jurisdictions (again, see USA). EasyVote card, ballot paper, done.
Luxon unsure if he'll lower rents on homes he owns despite policy promise [10 Sept 2023]
Christopher Luxon is unsure whether he will lower the rents on his own investment properties if National's housing policy is enacted despite saying the plans would put a "downward pressure on rents" if the party is elected.
Nats aim to reheat the property market – donors are fuming over falling house prices.
It should be no surprise that the real estate sector, who stand to gain from an influx of affluent foreign buyers, have been the most vocal in their enthusiasm for National’s tax plan.
Along with the dextrous reciprocity we get small owl calls, Marama's whanau & her parlimentary career. This is the best kind of journalism, revealing the dimensions of a politicians connection to community, so we see them in their operating contexts.
Luxon's coined a new election campaign meme: 'up the lux'. Wonderfully fitting. Reminds me of my old mum complaining she's lost something: "oh no, it's probably gone up the lux."
Given that National and their supporters' typical way of communication is negative, dishonest and often abusive, hopefully the moderator on tonight's leaders' debate will have the professionalism to acknowledge this, and not persist with the false narrative that this has been, and is, Labour's usual style.
Dylan Asafo: "Opinion: Last Friday, a study was released finding that 94.5 percent of the National Party’s Facebook posts from September 11 to September 24 had been negative. The academic leading the study, Victoria University’s Dr Mona Krewel, said this finding was “not unexpected, given Labour is the incumbent and National is wanting to change the government”. To many of us, this finding was also unsurprising because it reflected the intense fear that’s been driving its campaign and the campaigns of Act and NZ First".
Dr Mona Krewel.“Results show National is far more negative than Labour, which is campaigning from an incumbent’s position and that means mostly staying positive and trying to emphasise achievements in government.
“If we subtract negative posts from positive posts, about 63 percent more Labour posts included positive self-presentation than negative attacks. In comparison, when we do the same for National, it had a net positivity score of just 5.5 percent".
Viewers surely can expect insightful questions, to help the undecided voters make informed decisions. I hope the moderator lets Chris Hipkins finish his responses rather than talking over him, and gives him equal time as is given to Christopher Luxon.
Paula Bennett!!!. Really!!!! Could not believe it. How in the heck was she brought on as a panelist. She who believed there was no such thing as Poverty, GOLLY GOSH. I’m done.
Not watching any more of this travesty. Straight in delivering the NP lines. Accusing Chris Hipkins of negative accusations against The Lux. Oh, the irony. Do they all sleep in the same bed.
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
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The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
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David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
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The following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...
A $1.8b funding boost for Pharmac still won’t enable it to buy more drugs, raising questions about the Government’s approach to the agency The post Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
An additional bonus of a left win this election, is that Hosking might have a final tanty and shift camp to aus as he has frequently threatened to do.
I imagine they are financially independent, so being unemployable won't be an issue
Sorry, but there’s no final tanty coming, no shifting of camp.
Being aggrieved is oxygen to Hosking. Peters being elected and being in a position of power will energise and invigorate him.
The broadcaster will look on the election as the classic – coming up with a gold watch but having to fall down a sewer to get it.
At last – something good to vote for!
There is no serious Left wing political party active in New Zealand….Centre and Centre Right…..The Centre is a political ideology…which is what Labour is.
There is no serious Left wing political party active in New Zealand
Watch out, Marama will give you a severe telling-off! You've been a naughty boy.
However, with the messiah as precedent you can easily pull a Monty Python on her.
Richard Harman laments “it’s about to get difficult for Luxon” in his latest piece.
https://www.politik.co.nz/its-about-to-get-difficult-for-luxon/
His premise is that there is a large undetermined vote–that obviously has not early voted–and that this “soft” vote may well lean toward Labour. He also outlines Winston’s close relationship with Hobson’s Choice.
An appraisal of yesterday's 3 polls:
Harman subtly points us to Luxon's delusion re momentum. An influential media mainstreamer suggesting that the Nat leader is in perverse denial of polling reality is likely to seem entertaining to his readers.
I Voted yesterday. 2 ticks for our Left (unsurprisingly : )
When I arrived at the Poll station there was an "older" couple standing in the doorway having a bit of a discussion with a friendly Polling helper .
She looked past them to me asked if I had my EasyVote card….I showed her, she smiled and pointed over to the Polling checkers.
I got verified and given voting paper….meanwhile the doorway discussion was still going on, and another Polling helper had joined them. Seems it was all about their address and where.. to actually vote ! (I was hearing all of this ..)
OK, so me being me, I asked the guy who had taken my EasyVote card, if there had been urgent action to get the process moving (1 million not sent ?)
He seemed maybe not so pleased to be asked this ? And said it was mainly South Auckland.
That didnt really answer my question. The doorway discussion still going.
Anyway I left..having voted Left… and got on my bike and the Sun was shining.
Positively Left as it were : )
Officers are supposed to query addresses to ensure the correct electorate is selected but not to discuss turnout or any other EC business.
Ah. That might explain him. And maybe the others were just Helpers? Still doesnt help the EasyVote situation. Which was my concern. IMO really not good enough. Especially with the lack/apathy around..Voting !
I am, by the way, basing my reply on my own experience working at the polls in previous elections. I am not doing it at this election because I am laid up after a leg operation.
As polling booth officials, we are given strict instructions on what we can and can't say and do at the venue At times we are challenged by unusual enquiries and events and have to rely on our own common sense when there is no obvious rule to consult.
I would say that polling officials get it right mostly, because they are often very interested in our democratic system of voting and want to participate in helping it, as well as the money. But being human errors can happen. There are a lot of checks designed to spot errors in registration and the voting process but humans can make mistakes. I myself once had occasion to tell my booth officer that all ballot boxes had to be opened before the general electorate count could be started, she had thought only the general electorate box should be opened until I reminded her that almost inevitably at least one person puts their vote in the wrong box and should a general electorate vote end up in the maori electorate box the count would have to be done from scratch again – a time consuming process. I was right, but not particularly popular with her for the rest of the night.
I think there has been a lot of media misinformation spread about voting problems. People in rural areas whining that they can't vote at the exact time it suits them should be reminded that in the old days they had one day only to vote and didn't have the choices that they had today. Some people expect to have a voting booth open at every sheep station along the backroad. That costs a lot of money for not a lot of gain.
My easy vot card got delivered to a previous address, but had my current one on the card itself??!!
Yes. All seems quite…disjointed ? Not like they only had weeks to sort it out? IMO its slack.
Anway…I did read you got early voting. And Tactically too.
Onya Matey : )
Folks ought to watch keenly for co-governance aka treaty rights in tonight's debate!
Harman has outlined what this election outcome is likely to hinge on. Aotearoa seeks a better way forward, politicians adopt postures accordingly, then supply what the situation seems to demand. Supply & demand being market forces, the public will buy any agreed deal that seems better than the current situation.
So, they’re going to seriously piss off the poor and disenfranchised. At the same time, give them right to buy AR15s. Mmmmmm.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces is moving to a “full offense” against the Gaza Strip… …“I have released all the restraints, we have [regained] control of the area, and we are moving to a full offense,” Gallant said…"
https://www.timesofisrael.com/gallant-israel-moving-to-full-offense-gaza-will-never-go-back-to-what-it-once-was/
Israel basically just issued its own version of the severity order.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severity_Order
That two groups of humans can come to hate each other so much is just shocking beyond description.
Classic landlord/tenant relationship.
That two groups of humans can come to hate each other so much is just shocking beyond description.
That mutual hatred arose from dispossession after conquering. Jews & Palestinians are both semitic people so orthodox ethnic relations experts have a commons basis for reframing, should they choose to use it.
Do the UN use such experts? Not to my knowledge. What's the point of developing expertise in that field if you don't use it when crises happen??
One of them has powerful friends. Doesn't help. The world is f****d.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/lindsey-graham-declares-were-in-a-religious-war-suggests-israel-level-the-place/ar-AA1i3tn7?fullscreen=true&cvid=4c91f609ed684a49ac91a85827630e9c&ei=26#image=2
The average of the last two polls, which were taken within 4 days of election day is:
Lab/Gr/TPM 44.4
Nat/ACT/NZF 51.0
While it is closing, there is still too much of a gap at 6.6.
There is one glimmer of hope-NZF average 6.4 in those last two polls. Just a faint chance they will still come in at 4.9 which would make the election too close to call.
It is also possible the polls understate TPM’s vote and that they do not fully take into account overseas votes, both of which favour the Left.
The pondering of a closing gap and the overall closeness reminds me of a final flourish of a rugby team which gives them a sniff at the end of a game which suggests they could have done it.
The silly penalties and dropped balls earlier are what put them in the position, what eroded their chances.What you might term the ‘Stuart Nash factors.’
Worm-world in retrospect:
Spinoff founder Duncan Greive plays analytic historian culture vulture:
And declares us in “vibes era of politics”. Vibes being field effects in physics, he's not wrong. Then outlines the push-me, pull you theory:
That's an impressive triad he's pointing to!
A shift is pending:
I'm with Marama on this. James disagrees with the shift:
Inasmuch as peacemaking requires a negotiating body, I'm with James. The basic problem is ethnicity as basis for sovereignty. Politicians are reluctant to admit this. Just because the old testament God told the Israelites to use genocide to take possession of the promised land doesn't mean such exclusivity is morally right – when it's morally wrong!
To err is human. He has every right to demonstrate humanity.
John Key is such a slime. His faux praise for Chris Hipkins being "a man of his word" to remind everyone, especially Hipkins, that if Labour goes with Peters then "he's not a man of his word". Then just yesterday warns everyone that the nats' tax cuts and other promises are at risk because of all the palaver and chaos NZF will cause if part of a coaltion with the nats. What a schmuck.
If Hipkins is a "man of his word" it might be a reason to vote for him. Meanwhile Luxon is man of many words, all pre-scripted and repeated endlessly and irrelevantly upon the stimulus of seeing a microphone. Is he Air NZ's first embarrassing attempt to replace their cabin crews with AI? And you do know that traducing the personal ethics of Saint John is a thought crime?
Luxon is absolutely a man of of his words – his weasel words.
Reports of Israeli 'white phosphorus' use in Gaza
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-gaza-report-israeli-white-phosphorus
Suffocation and Isolation
17 Years of Israeli Blockade on Gaza
"Rather than undertaking its duty of protecting the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, Israel has been placing Palestinians under a suffocating blockade, which constitutes an unprecedented form of collective punishment in a stark violation of international humanitarian law."
Infant Mortality In Gaza No Longer In Decline “Alarming Trend” According to New Report by UNRWA
"“this is an extraordinary warning sign, an alarming trend in the overall situation not only of health for infants but also the health of entire Palestine refugee population in Gaza. Moreover, it is a warning sign on the overall social and economic situation of Gaza, as the Palestine refugees account for more than seventy per cent of the entire populations in Gaza. Infant mortality is a barometer of the health of an entire population”.
Nat/Labs neolib wet-dream spurts this:
Nat/Labs will be delirious with joy at this resumption of the Ak property escalator. True neolib believers are already salivating. Make the rich richer, asap!
From the "ask a stupid question" category, I see Guy Williams has asked Luxon if he believes in dinosaurs. Luxon confirmed he did believe in dinasours.
The reason I say it was a stupid question is that I don't know any fundies who don't believe in dinasours.
A much better question to have asked is if he believes dinasours were alive at the same time as humans. I know fundies who believe the earth is literally 6000 years old who hold that view.
Sure it was on TV, Dino was pet of the Flintstone family in Bedrock.
And they know what will happen at the end time because they read the Left Behind books (thought they will be taken to an airport for rapture to escape it all).
People with those sort of beliefs usually have better evidence than that to support their views!.
That sort of thinking usually involves finding evidence that confirms a particular theory but ignores the vast amount of evidence that refutes it. For example, fossilized foot-prints of humans and dinosaurs, suggesting they were walking together. The various historical pictures of dragons that looked remarkably similar to some of the historical dinosaurs. And one explanation for how light could have been travelling for billions of years if the universe is only 6000 years old, is the conjecture by some scientists that light has been slowing down.
I don't know if they have given much thought to how much light actually would have needed to slow to explain the fairly stark difference between 14 billion years and 6 thousand years.
Your last point is a good one.
As for Guy Williams, he usually isn't very funny, although "NZ Today" had some good moments. He stopped Leo Molloy becoming Auckland mayor, at least. (Wayne Brown was only the second worst candidate in the race).
Fossils were planted in the rocks by God to test the faith of humans. Carbon dating is the devil's handiwork. How can you not know this tsmith?
They have got a bit more scientific about this sort of stuff these days. But, the arguments are still stupid. For instance, if you point to carbon dating of some fossil showing it to be a million years old or something, they will point to some dubious result where, for instance, a live penguin was carbon dated and found to be millions of years old or something.
The inference being that one dodgy result disproves the whole history of carbon dating as a science.
Carbon dating doesn’t work on/with dinosaur fossils.
Thanks incognito. Like Maureen Pugh, I'll need to do some reading this weekend.
One of the more absurd explanations that I have heard from a fundy to explain the existence of fossils is that that were 2 creations. In the 1st God stuck all these bones and so on in the ground (for what reason I have never been able to fathom) and then of course the 2nd with Adam and Eve.
lol
I voted today.
It's easy to forget how well run our elections are. Compared to the shambles in some other democracies (see Trump), NZ's is a model of efficiency and accessibility. If we take it for granted, we shouldn't. What would our turnout be if we had to queue for hours?
No ID either, something used to block participation in other jurisdictions (again, see USA). EasyVote card, ballot paper, done.
Luxon's "new favourite dinosaur"? "The TaxReliefosaurus" – except it's not new, is it Chris, nor anywhere near as big as Willux would have voters believe. Can't trust these “bottom feeders“.
Get
Our CountryUnearned LandLORD Income Back on TrackVery National in deed – self-serving scammers absolutely in thrall to Mammon.
Nats aim to reheat the property market – donors are fuming over falling house prices.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/10/election-2023-video-labour-s-chris-hipkins-on-why-he-didn-t-sleep-for-weeks-where-his-trouble-with-pastries-may-have-started.html
Hipkins seeming pretty calm, measured, and philosophical about it all.
Marama does a co-knitting session with Lloyd Burr of Newshub: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/10/election-2023-video-the-greens-marama-davidson-faces-new-level-of-political-pressure-knitting-with-newshub.html
Along with the dextrous reciprocity we get small owl calls, Marama's whanau & her parlimentary career. This is the best kind of journalism, revealing the dimensions of a politicians connection to community, so we see them in their operating contexts.
Luxon's coined a new election campaign meme: 'up the lux'. Wonderfully fitting. Reminds me of my old mum complaining she's lost something: "oh no, it's probably gone up the lux."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300987385/nz-election-2023-live-national-up-the-lux-and-on-the-defensive-over-nz-first
😆
Lol. To me, up the Lux sounds like something stuck in a very questionable, unpleasant, uncomfortable place.
Same. It sounds more like something his non-supporters would say 😖
Definitely does. He's so obviously trying to imitate the "up the Wahs" catchphrase.
Will he go ‘full imitation’ & dip out in a preliminary final? Hope so – suck it up Lux.
True, but as unpleasant as it is, would he rather be in Hipkins' place?
I stole that for twitter 😉
Some would say that Unilever hired him because he was on lux brand.
Trying to over egg it is a little trumpian.
https://www.dealercreative.com/blog/branding-the-denny-crane-way
PS Note that Winston Peters has been wearing his suit as a brand since …
Given that National and their supporters' typical way of communication is negative, dishonest and often abusive, hopefully the moderator on tonight's leaders' debate will have the professionalism to acknowledge this, and not persist with the false narrative that this has been, and is, Labour's usual style.
Dylan Asafo: "Opinion: Last Friday, a study was released finding that 94.5 percent of the National Party’s Facebook posts from September 11 to September 24 had been negative. The academic leading the study, Victoria University’s Dr Mona Krewel, said this finding was “not unexpected, given Labour is the incumbent and National is wanting to change the government”. To many of us, this finding was also unsurprising because it reflected the intense fear that’s been driving its campaign and the campaigns of Act and NZ First".
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/a-chance-to-cut-through-the-fear-and-find-the-best-of-us
Dr Mona Krewel.“Results show National is far more negative than Labour, which is campaigning from an incumbent’s position and that means mostly staying positive and trying to emphasise achievements in government.
“If we subtract negative posts from positive posts, about 63 percent more Labour posts included positive self-presentation than negative attacks. In comparison, when we do the same for National, it had a net positivity score of just 5.5 percent".
https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2023/10/negative-campaiging-in-the-2023-new-zealand-election
Viewers surely can expect insightful questions, to help the undecided voters make informed decisions. I hope the moderator lets Chris Hipkins finish his responses rather than talking over him, and gives him equal time as is given to Christopher Luxon.
The moderator is told what to do by the Nats, and the media, before the leaders debate gets started. my opinion.
So the IDF are bombing homes of journalist now. And first responders going to peoples aid.
We are just going to attack Hamas – yeah right.
https://twitter.com/AbbyMartin
Paula Bennett!!!. Really!!!! Could not believe it. How in the heck was she brought on as a panelist. She who believed there was no such thing as Poverty, GOLLY GOSH. I’m done.
Not watching any more of this travesty. Straight in delivering the NP lines. Accusing Chris Hipkins of negative accusations against The Lux. Oh, the irony. Do they all sleep in the same bed.
Blatant put up job. Sick.
She and other Nats made people on the benefits' lives miserable IMO.
I haven't forgotten what she did with Training Incentive Allowance 😡🤬