“..People who pay a large part of their household income for rent or a mortgage, or who save assiduously for a huge down payment, don’t have much cash left to contribute to the overall economy.
Most of their income simply gets confiscated by inflated home prices, or the resulting high rents and associated expenses.
It’s channeled to landlords, PE firms, and REITs that own the homes; banks and investment funds that own the mortgages or the mortgage-backed securities; and a million other entities.
Most of it becomes part of the grease that keeps Wall Street from squealing.
But nothing happens with that money to move the real economy forward..”
😀
This housing thing has got me thinking….are the costs lower to the government to support a social housing provider, or to pay accommodation supplement?
The answer will depend on whether or not social housing providers can charge market rent or at least enough for their tenants to qualify for AS. Could be a story here…
This housing frenzy to divest by government. It seems to me like a Richard Prebble moment as with our rail system. I think he said he would be prepared to give it away, because of the usual hperbole – gummint can’t be efficient, no good as managers, can’t being the proper commercial controls on running, and finally it would be better if some private organisation could lick into shape.
Which usually means run cheaper and better and be profitable. Which is an oxymoron I think? Can’t be done in a public service, which by their nature are costly and to be affordable and reasonably priced, can at best just meet costs. To give their best value they need thorough examination for viability and usefulness when started, and regular review and monitoring for successful performance along the way. That’s how gummint should be running housing, and providing what is needed in an appropriate way.
Which is important when our banks (mostly) export their profits so it doesnt get re-introduced…. ANZ NZ made a 500m half yearly profit to go with its Aussie heads 3bn…
I tried to live in an impossible city, once. It was impossible. Nothing was possible. So I moved to a possible city, which is marginally better, because while not everything works, there is the hope that something might work if approached in the right way. I pity the fool that saves for 37 years to go live in an impossible city. My dream is to build a plausible city, and if successful, move forward onto building highly likely communities.
TPPA: This from an interview with Elizabeth Warren in which she explains how the Investor-State Dispute Settlement system (ISDS) works.
PLUM LINE: Is it theoretically possible to write ISDS in a way that precludes it from overriding regulation?
WARREN: It doesn’t directly tell countries to repeal regulations. It imposes a financial penalty, which has caused countries to change their regulations…[ISDS mechanisms] never had the authority to override regulations. What they had was the authority to impose a monetary penalty directly against the government and its taxpayers. That’s the point at which governments have backed up and said, “we can’t afford this, we’ll just change the law.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/05/11/elizabeth-warren-fires-back-at-obama-heres-what-theyre-really-fighting-about/
We need our journalists to drill Tim Groser and John Key about this. $6million for the Saudi businessman over the live sheep ban will be very small beer compared to the figures in the ISDS cases. It will be so costly to preserve the environment and our citizens rights.
How can our Nat politicians not see that? Come on, Labour, Greens, NZ First, start making more noise about this!
They can see that – they don’t care. In fact, I’d say that that’s the entire point. Taking governments to the cleaners will be a nice profit making scheme.
““we can’t afford this, we’ll just change the law.””
So they can claim the TPP wasn’t the problem, but the Govts BUT the threat of law suits makes the govt change the law to “save” the taxpayer money from the lawsuit…
More insidious to me is that the decision-making process of the dispute is closed and the adjudicators are former corporate lawyers…
but they see it.
it is just you pretending to believe that they don’t see it.
IF we all would admit that they see it, know it, talk about and take it into account, than we would be really really scared, as we realise that we are nothing but cattle or chattel, utterle expendable and of no value to them what so ever.
The national party that supports the TPPA and the labour party and any other polititian in nz that supports this abomination should be charged with treason.
Yes drill Tim Groser and John Key till all the small beer leaks out. Makes no sense?
Neither does anything they say when studied closely. Let’s all talk politic (otherwise known as gobblegook while they treat us as turkeys to be roasted.)
And of course to balance the ISDS provisions, when regulations are changed that result in increased profits for corporates those corporates are required to pass that profit over to the government….
My puzzlement this morning comes from the fact that nobody seems to want to tell me where the bulk of the 2010 Liberal Democratic voters went. Did they go to the Conservative Party? And did the Conservative pParty lose a quarter of its 2010 votes to UKIP? Or is it that the Liberal Democratic voters see their identity as being neither Labour nor Conservative, and so jumped to UKIP when Nick Clegg turned the Liberal Democrats into Conservatives-not-so-light?
The rest of the rather short article also asks some interesting questions about the UK election.
Over the last few days, I’ve read many sweeping assertions about the swings and counter-swings that supposedly took place between the various parties in the UK Election. Almost always based on hunches or anecdotal evidence. But presented as cold, hard fact.
The vast body of data from pre-Election Opinion Polls remains the only reliable source in my opinion (although anecdotal evidence via discussions with an array of locals – including party activists – in specific electorates is useful as supplementary evidence). Probably most useful of all, though, will be the British Election Study data (from post-Election interviews) when it comes out.
All the polling evidence I’ve seen – both since 2010 in general and, more specifically, over the last few months – suggests Lib Dem deserters were disproportionately heading Labour’s way. How that dovetails with Labour’s woeful inability to win that vast array of Tory Marginals is another matter. Did an unusually large proportion of Lib Dem deserters have a last minute change of heart ?
Or was the Lib Dem swing to Labour nullified by an even greater swing from Labour-to-UKIP or Labour-to-the-Conservatives ?
No wonder the tories fought hard against a change to the electoral system…. Why Labour fought hard too is beyond me.
Labour very much likes two party privilege. Also, Labour Parties throughout the world see all minor left wing political parties as political enemies to be suppressed and sidelined where at all possible, lest they metastasize into left wing nightmares for them like the SNP.
Also remember that in NZ, the National Party were the ones who introduced MMP.
Yep, it’s clear the Non-Vote won in the vast majority of Labour-held seats (Merseyside and parts of Greater London being the key exceptions).
And despite the impressive turnout in Scotland overall, I see the Apathy Party also came first in Greater Glasgow (home of the “Yes” vote) and in poor old Orkney and Shetland (possibly allowing the Lib Dems to hang on by their fingertips in the latter constituency).
What the United States is in fact worried about is independence, what’s called the “threat of a good example,” or a rotten apple which might spoil the barrel, or some formulation of “the domino theory”: The idea that if one country decides to develop crazy ideas about democracy and popular control, other countries might do the same, leading to a widespread revolution.
This is directly antithetical U.S. business interests, so it must be rooted out, brutally and quickly, so that others get the message.
Noam Chomsky writes in Interventions that,
The United States has long reacted harshly to the “successful defiance” of Third World countries like Cuba that sought a path to independent development, assigning priority to domestic needs rather than those of foreign investors and Washington planners.
After the “virus” is removed, “stability” must be established, often through a nasty, corrupt dictator or a national security state which will not give in to such petty concerns as human rights and living conditions.
We can see these types of interventions of the US into other nations around the world. Iran and Iraq are the two most well known interventions but other countries have also fallen under US hegemony.
Been going on for some time. I remember doing an essay at uni in ’73 based around the CIA in cahoots with ITT, getting rid of Allende in Chile cos he nationalised the phone network.
Successive US governments have all had the arrogance to achieve imperialism, but they’ve also lacked the style that a decent imperial power needs. There’s a reason almost all the baddies in the original Star Wars were RADA-trained 😉
In a wee discussion the other day on The Standard, I suggested the Greens were nowhere near as toxic to voters as some pundits (both Left and Right-leaning) seem to assume.
Here’s some data to back-up my argument:
UMR November 2013
Potential Coalition Partners “How good a job do you think the following parties would do if they were part of a coalition government with one of the major parties”
Good = Will do Good Job
Bad = Will do Bad Job
G+N = Good+Neutral combined score
G/B Diff = Good/Bad Difference
Table One: Entire Sample Party…….Good…..Neutral….Bad….Unsure…G+N……..G/B Diff
(In order of Highest to Lowest Good+Neutral) Greens………26………31………..36………….7………..57………. – 10 Maori………..12………39…………41…………8………..51………. – 29 NZF…………..12……….31…………47……….10……….43………. – 35 ACT……………4………..25…………59……….12……….29………. – 55 Cons………….4………..24…………48……….24……….28………. – 44
Clearly, NZ voters are not particularly enamoured of any of the minor parties when it comes to coalition politics. But, taking a Glass Half Full approach, you can see that 57% of voters can live with the Greens as a coalition partner (64% if you include those Unsure). That makes them more popular than the Maori and NZF parties and vastly more acceptable to the voting public than ACT and the Conservatives.
The Greens are even acceptable to a significant minority of National voters:
Table Two: Views of National Party Voters Only Maori………….8………..36………..52………….4………..44………. – 44 Greens……….9…………31………..56………….4………..40………. – 47 ACT…………….6…………31………..56………….7………..37………. – 50 Cons…………..6…………29………..45…………20……….35………. – 39 NZF…………….6…………29………..59………….6………..35………. – 53
The Māori Party was willing to compromise their principles for a place at the table – even if it was sitting on the floor begging for crumbs. Now all but one of the Māori seats have returned to Labour, and the MP face total obliteration at the next election.
PR actually said “outside of Parliament”, not “outside of government”.
Labour are in Parliament and they, and the Greens, played a part in the zero-hours contract debate. Labour got Parliamentary Services to ditch them for the catering staff.
Or they could look at what happens to left/liberal parties who prop up Tory governments (cf LibDems last week). The Greens would accomplish nothing inside a NACT government. Or at least, nothing of substance; for example, can anyone tell me wtf ‘whanau ora’ is or what it has achieved?
As for achievements – I know of quite a few really good outcomes for families and individuals both in Auckland and around the country. I think it is a wonderful approach to accessing services. Holism seems to be a good approach, and contrary to many misguided comments here – I’ve only ever dealt with true professionals within the Whanau Ora framework.
That’s a heartening bit of number crunching there Swordfish. However, I do note that the data comes from November 2013. Now that Mana no longer have a parliamentary presence, the Overton window has moved rightwards and GP can once more be attacked as the Devil-Beast of leftward extremism.
One depressing tidbit from the weekend; I was talking to a GP member who had been at the; male coleader candidate speeches in Dunedin. They seemed to be leaning towards supporting Shaw at the delegate meeting next week, mainly due to him looking good in a suit. They were particularly scathing about Hughes rocking up to speak in more casual dress, especially his wearing scuffed shoes. However, while they were clear about what Hughes and Hague stood for (though unimpressed by Hague’s body language), they were unable to say much about Shaw’s or Tava’s accomplishments or principles.
It says something when even the Green Party is embracing style over substance.
How come Gwynn Compton (the new Dirty Politics guy in John Key’s office) went to such effort yesterday to bleach his online profiles of any mention of the fact that he works in the PM’s Office?
A new word is being used around the world: “Quaxing.” It means: “to shop, in the western world, by means of walking, cycling or public transit.”
Dick Quax wrote “no one in the entire Western world uses the train for their shopping trips…the very idea that people lug home their supermarket shopping on the train is fanciful”.
And now around the world people are sending examples of Quaxing. Dopey Dick eh? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11447071
Well, it’s normal exasperated politician hyperbole. If we give him the benefit of the doubt (and why would we, really. He’s paid to be articulate, and he worked for ACT), what he might mean is, “Not many people carry eight bags of a weekly grocery shop onto the train or bus by themselves, regularly, because it’s too heavy, the silly plastic bag handles cut into your hands or break and there’s nowhere safe to put it so the bags don’t split or get trampled, or so you can move fast enough to get off the train before the doors close for the next station.”
And he’d be right. What people do is make multiple trips with smaller loads over several days. If you don’t own a car, you do what you have to do. This method requires specific knowledge to identify, but not the same kind you need to run for parliament with ACT Party.
He might also mean, “In the entire Western World, it is becoming less likely that a person could afford to buy eight bags of shopping in a weekly supermarket shop, therefore relying on local suppliers, which require no special transport or equipment to carry the food, and in living in cheaper accomodation far from what is now solely commuter transport, never see or use a train during the span of their lives.” However this would require thoughts and abilities that ACT supporters don’t have.
I prefer the interpretation that, “In the entire Western World, there weren’t any supermarkets, and trains ran off into the desert, often following telegraph lines and were ultimately attacked by bandits. This discouraged the problems of suburban living. There were no taxes and everyone considered the natives a nuisance. I dream of a NZ like this. Please vote ACT.”
Using re-usable shopping bags largely resolves the ‘cutting into your hands’ problem, and each bag can individually hold more weight so you won’t need as many of them, so it’s less cumbersome. Doesn’t help with the total weight of course.
Have we contact details for Dick Quax so I can enlighten him on how I, a 64 year old non-driver transport my groceries when I don’t have an obliging niece or foster son to drive me?
I can also describe how I managed in earthquake riven Christchurch should he need more examples.
Sometime soon I hope to find a calm place within myself that helps me to feel empathy for the over-privileged pontificators who seem to be inhabiting Planet Key. Alternatively, perhaps I could find a way to live and experience life as the out of work, unwell and elderly ‘enjoy’ it as a consequence of NACTdom.
How’s this for a leadership comment on the current issue of road safety.
Prime minister John Key, “We have to balance what the police advise with wider public opinion on road speeds.”
but it is funnier when having said that he vehemently denies that he is at all swayed by wider public opinion, possibly against lower limits, and backlash as a result.
You can take the piss out of Key’s approach all you want, but it is far more effective and popular than say, Labour talking about getting trucks out of fast lanes so that holiday makers have it easier.
C.R.
Labour might have been better advised to have suggested getting most trucks off most lanes period and putting freight on trains to strategic rail-heads for distribution by smaller vehicles.
Explain the logic of this one – last week travelling north from Tauranga to Paeroa I was following a fully laden logging truck-and-trailer carrying large Radiata logs. As we passed through the narrow Karangahake gorge, we encountered a fully laden logging truck-and-trailer carrying large Radiata logs heading south.
Locals advise that this a regular occurrence. Perhaps you could remind us why the Kaimai tunnel was created?
My comment was not about roads. It was about Pry Minister Key being glib and expert on absolutely nothing until poll-guided, and then he fails. You missed it CR.
Is everyone having a reading comprehension difficulty day? I mentioned roads primarily in the context of Key’s “glib and expert on absolutely nothing until poll guided” approach, which I commented on as being quite an effective tactic despite peoples inclinations to ridicule it; and certainly more effective than some of Labour’s attempts.
I have opposed the TPPA for always, but reading this today, a couple of extra jigsaw pieces fell into place about why Goldman Sachs Merrill Lynch BOA sock puppet John Key wants this signed at any cost.
The brilliant Elizabeth Warren points out TPPA fastrack could be used in the USA to weaken, prevent or overcome any Wall St or banking reforms. WOW.
This is the nub of it that I had not understood until now. Worth a look.
“WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren hit back at President Barack Obama in their tussle over “fast track” authorization to negotiate a Pacific Rim trade treaty, a power she says could be used in the future to weaken Wall Street reforms.
Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and prominent liberal voice, stuck to her argument in an interview published on Monday with a left-leaning Washington Post blog, saying Obama should release details of the Pacific trade talks so legal experts can determine if a pact could be used to weaken U.S. bank rules.”
I’m begging to wonder if some of the more enlightened US millionaires are bank rolling these candidates to get an alternative narrative out there. Revolutions are costly
I see that Andrew Little, according to this morning’s Dom/Post is wandering of the reservation.
Labour Party claims are that a large increase in the minimum wage won’t cause any job losses don’t they? Say go to $16.00/hour and no jobs will be lost.
Now he is quoted as saying in the paper, and I can’t find it on-line, that the Government must immediately cut the ACC worker levy by 20c per $100 of earnings because not to do so is costing jobs!
How can it be that a 10% increase in the minimum wage won’t cost any jobs but a 0.2% step in the ACC rates costs jobs?
You’re right.
I needed it for my first reaction to his opinion when I had to put it in front of the comment that came to mind.
My thought was “uck! He’s a total idiot.”
No doubt there is something incredibly witty about your remarks.
For the life of me I don’t see what it is or what you are trying to say.
Still if it makes you happy ………
No, its a terrible argument. Funding ACC just funds the government, its the equivalent of taking that spending and locking it in a safe. The government can always fund ACC, even if it doesn’t receive full funding up front anyway. Meanwhile the governments marginal propensity to spend (especially ACC levies) is clearly not influenced by the higher take. Raising the minimum wage the extra business expenditure contributes back to spending, because of who receives it.
Minimum wage increases give more spending power to low-income people, which then gets spent in the local economy and ends up being neutral on job losses (or even gains some jobs.)
ACC levies by comparison are just going to the government to pad a surplus. That money isn’t being spent by workers or invested by businesses. So it costs jobs because it is a deadweight loss that is just money being taken out of the economy when it could be going to consumer spending or investment.
Exactly. It either needs to go to ACC to provide better services, or needs to be returned to the economy. Otherwise it’s just a deadweight loss that is padding National’s budget
Wages tend to be sticky in the upwards direction but really both of these $ are in the same direction.
Increasing wages puts more money in the pockets of the low paid which as it is spent increases jobs and certainly doesn’t cut them. Cutting the ACC levy by 2% also increases money in the pocket, spend among the working and increases jobs.
Quite clear
I heard on Radionz that David Milliband is badmouthing Ed. A good headline for Brit news would be Ed is sinister says David. But in fact they both are, and not, and the word dexter doesn’t apply either. I’ve been looking up etymology. I think,now that Humpty Dumpty has fallen and cracked open. they are inventing new terms of language, so that left doesn’t mean what we thought.
The interesting thing that Bob Jones didn’t mention is the fact that neo-liberalism has been shown by the present world economic situation to be as least as bad a failure as Marxist-Leninism under the USSR.
Once this fact is accepted – and it needs to be repeated over and over again until even people who only read/watch MSM get it – then Bob Jones comments become more about how you can become more selfish as you grow old, than why John Campbell is dangerous
If you are a Whangarei resident you will have heard about the Hundertwasser project. It will be a huge tourist attraction in your city that will attract money-spending people from all over NZ and indeed the world and increased employment. In two days the Referendum about the Hundertwasser-Wairau Maori Art Centre is being sent out.
If you are not local and eligible to vote, and like the idea and have progressive contacts in the city, you could phone them and point out what a good idea it is. People who are too small thinking and provincial often find it difficult to consider the benefits that will result and get stuck on whatever the cost is.
Donate: https://givealittle.co.nz/org/hacnorth
(We’ve raised $4million! We only need $1m more to build the fantastic Whangarei Hundertwasser Art Centre, the last Hundertwasser-designed bu Givealittle is …)
Info on Referendum
Not sure how to vote?
0800 922 822
Election Services
Voting Period
Thursday 14 May until 12 noon Friday 5 June
Result
9th June 2015
News
YES! Blog
Contact us
On Facebook
On Twitter
By Email
Hundertwasser HQ
has posters, caps, t-shirts, bumper stickers at their pop-up shop in Whangarei’s CBD.
Everything purchased raises funds for Prosper Northland Trust to spread more information about the project.
It is worrying – how much effort is going in to cover up something, which is supposed to be nothing.
Even jumping on here to defended her position and the Tory maggots who have jumped in as well. Is at best odd. At worst…
I believe Cactus Kate is a post-fascist. Which is essentially calling someone Ideologically dishonest and a unprincipled opportunist. But hey, you play in the dirt – you get dirty.
Seymour Hersh: official account of Bin Laden’s killing a complete lie
Osama had been captured by the Pakistanis and held since 2006. Seems like the US then sent in a SEAL team to execute the sick old, crippled, man after all. There was no firefight, Osama had no guards (the Pakistani security services had been ordered to leave the compound the moment they heard the US helis closing in), he did not pick up an AK47. He was just shredded on the spot by the SEALs. Stories about Osama’s burial at sea were a fiction improvised by the White House after Barack Obama decided to use the killing to boost his own electability. Also the story that Osama had been tracked down via an elaborate spy game following Al Qaeda couriers who were carrying orders from Osama was utterly false. Bin Laden appears to have been isolated and out of control of Al Qaeda; the compound where he was found was not an operations centre; it was a home detention centre.
Just got an email from Julie Anne Genter and it had this bit of info in it:
He [KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy] also gave me some numbers. By KiwiRail’s estimate, it would cost just $2 billion to electrify the entire North Island, and get 60 new electric locomotive engines up and running. That’s the same amount as it cost to finish building the Western Ring Route, just one of the National Government’s motorway extensions.
There you go, friggen cheap really and the savings, both monetary and environmental, over time from not having to burn diesel would be immense. And it’d be an excellent incentive to get more solar power feeding into the grid out to homes as well.
I just saw this flag petition on Change.org and signed it, Here is the link if you would like to support the petition against changing the flag at this time:
Leading Kiwi thinkers guffaw at “conspiracy theorist” Seymour Hersh The Panel, Radio NZ National, Tuesday 12 May 2015
Jim Mora, David Pagani, Josie Pagani, Noelle McCarthy
This afternoon, Seymour Hersh joined a long list of journalists and intellectuals—including Robert Fisk, Noam Chomsky, Julian Assange, Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden—to be scorned by the intellectual luminaries on the Panel. I’ll try to put up a transcript of this depressing episode, but I did manage to send the constantly laughing host the following email….
Quelle surprise! Your Panelists are having a go at Seymour Hersh.
Dear Jim,
Seymour Hersh is one of the world’s most respected journalists. His reporting is renowned for being thorough, rigorous and scholarly.
I was not amused at all to hear your panelists scoffing, dismissing him as a conspiracy theorist, and guffawing that “This is all turning into a Game of Thrones.”
I am concerned at the lack of standards on your show,
The panelists are not the only one’s referring to the story as a conspiracy Morrissey. This one does put up a strong argument for that being the case….
Thanks very much for that, sheep. Maybe Max Fisher is correct, and Hersh is indeed wrong on this one.
I am just concerned when I hear know-nothings like the four people this afternoon calling Hersh a “conspiracy theorist”, as if he is some 9/11 Truther. I’m quite prepared to read the views of serious writers like Fisher; Noelle McCarthy, Josie Pagani and David Farrar on the other hand have a track record of trivialising serious issues.
I was not necessarily endorsing Sy Hersh, I was contesting the competence and the seriousness of those four chattering, vapid numbskulls.
Morrissey / Felix.
I come from a small town where a favourite saying is..
“Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see”.
And then I always apply Trotsky’s immortal dictum that ‘You can deduce the truth by a comparison of the lies’.
But by any standard, I think Hersh, like Pilger, may have lost a bit of perspective with age…
With Bin Laden though, does it really matter how he died? If I can deduce anything from the lies, it would be a sense that he was fully aware and accepted the ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ ethos.
But by any standard, I think Hersh, like Pilger, may have lost a bit of perspective with age…
Hersh’s piece, for the most part, was not editorialising. Did the US learn about Osama’s location through spying on Al Qaeda’s courier network or did that information walk in the door seeking the CIA reward? Did the US SEAL team kill a crippled, unarmed, elderly man for the sake of imperial vengeance, or was there really a firefight with Osama trying to kill the SEAL team members with an AK47.
Like 9/11, the official narrative on Osama’s death, and even his burial at sea, stinks to high heaven. Hersh goes some way to explaining why.
The expression ‘conspiracy theorist’ is used by the establishment to shut down dissent.
Sad to see you’ve fallen for their lines over 9/11, Morrissey.
It was lie that allowed the US to take over Central Asia and suppress civil rights in their homeland.
The US were already planning to implement mass surveillance over their own citizens pre 9/11. Their pre-9/11 approach to Quest for unhindered access to their telecoms network shows that. 9/11 gave the developing security and surveillance state the best PR in the world for going ahead with what they were going to do any way.
What amused me was Josie Pagani talking about how she had a friend who was a fellow student of Prince Edward’s (youngest son of Queen) and how she went to have tea with the prince several times but romance apparently never blossomed because Josie decided he wasn’t her type. Incredible!
What really appalled me about her behaviour this afternoon was the way she repeatedly tried to ingratiate herself with Farrar. Their “banter” was cringe-inducing.
He pointed to the way his circle of friends had made it into their own homes.
“I look at most of my friends, lawyers, doctors or engineers. All of them went to Auckland Grammar, or St Cuthberts. All of them have done it with parental help.”
With house prices rising up to a reported $1000 a day “houses in Auckland are earning more than people”, he said.
I suppose ACT has to act surprised despite being told that this is the inevitable result of their policies over the last few decades.
The funny thing about this is that Seymour doesn’t think that lawyers, doctors, engineers and others that went to Auckland Grammar aren’t among the privileged.
If these ‘friends’ of his had all bought houses without parental help, then I’m sure this idea that only the privileged can buy houses wouldn’t have even occurred to him…
I am amazed the Labour are suggesting penalising working class people by making Working for Families subject to enrolment to vote. I would have expected such a policy from National and not the Party who claims to support workers.
Will this proposed policy also relate to those on benefits and National Super?
Is this a sign that Labour is starting to panic about their poor showing last election?
won’t do Labour much good if they do….people will just vote Green, NZF or Mana/Int…Labour Party will never get these voters back ….so they are stuck on about 30% imo
….Labour Party has taken no opposition leadership stand on opposing the the TPPA or the mass surveillance Spy Bill
….for many who have abandoned Labour …..they are just a watered down Nact Party
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University A year ago, the AUKUS agreement was formally announced between Australian and UK Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden. The agreement mapped out the “optimal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Helwig, Associate Professor, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern Queensland SmartS/Shutterstock Steam locomotives clattering along railway tracks. Paddle steamers churning down the Murray. Dreadnought battleships powered by steam engines. Many of us think the age of steam has ended. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carrie Leonetti, Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Victims who experience family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand are treated differently, depending on which part of the justice system they turn to for help. But a new member’s bill ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Tesch, Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies, Australian National University In perhaps the least surprising news of the year, Vladimir Putin has triumphed at the Russian ballot box and been enthroned for the fifth time as president. He ...
The Papua New Guinea Supreme Court has stopped a byelection for the Madang Open seat being held until an appeal filed by former MP Bryan Kramer is concluded. Kramer had appealed to the Supreme Court over a National Court decision not to review his application of the Leadership Tribunal decision ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Despite a “historic” ceasefire agreement in Papua New Guinea between Enga authorities and tribal leaders after months of bitter warfare, a young woman has been found brutally killed near Kaekin village, Wapenamanda. Despite the peace agreement and signing concluded in Port Moresby last Thursday ...
The second season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud is a sadder and slower entry into his canon of true story-telling, leaning heavily on a verdict about the cost of a single work of art. Hollywood heavyweight Ryan Murphy has had a bit of “ick” about him in the last few years. ...
Are you deeply passionate about sharing Māori stories? We’re on the hunt for an experienced writer/editor to lead coverage in our Ātea section.Ātea is a deeply valued section of The Spinoff site, offering Māori perspectives and insights across politics, current affairs and culture. We are thrilled to be looking ...
By Aisha Azeemah in Suva With the lights on one of his sneakers blinking as he ran through the gallery, a little boy looked up at several works of art. One of them was a sculpture of his grandfather: the man who changed how we see the Pacific — Epeli ...
WHAT: Uber drivers are holding a rally outside the Court of Appeal in Wellington tomorrow, as the company begins its appeal against 2022’s Employment Court verdict (in a case taken jointly by FIRST Union and E tū) that four drivers were permanent ...
RNZ Pacific The Fiji Meteorological Service has a heavy rain warning still in place for the whole of the country after a weekend of flooding, although some floodwaters have receded. Flood and flash flood warnings and alerts are also in place, including a warning for all flash flood-prone areas, small ...
Responding to Grant Robertson’s recent admission on a Q+A with Jack Tame that his only regret from his time in office was that he didn’t take on more debt, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Alex Murphy, said: “Grant Robertson has now admitted that he ...
http://wolfstreet.com/2015/05/11/how-long-to-save-for-down-payment-on-home-mortgage-in-these-top-10-most-impossible-cities-for-first-time-buyers/
(takeaway from that one:..)
“..People who pay a large part of their household income for rent or a mortgage, or who save assiduously for a huge down payment, don’t have much cash left to contribute to the overall economy.
Most of their income simply gets confiscated by inflated home prices, or the resulting high rents and associated expenses.
It’s channeled to landlords, PE firms, and REITs that own the homes; banks and investment funds that own the mortgages or the mortgage-backed securities; and a million other entities.
Most of it becomes part of the grease that keeps Wall Street from squealing.
But nothing happens with that money to move the real economy forward..”
(embrace the teaser-paragraph there – a.w.w…)
😀
This housing thing has got me thinking….are the costs lower to the government to support a social housing provider, or to pay accommodation supplement?
The answer will depend on whether or not social housing providers can charge market rent or at least enough for their tenants to qualify for AS. Could be a story here…
This housing frenzy to divest by government. It seems to me like a Richard Prebble moment as with our rail system. I think he said he would be prepared to give it away, because of the usual hperbole – gummint can’t be efficient, no good as managers, can’t being the proper commercial controls on running, and finally it would be better if some private organisation could lick into shape.
Which usually means run cheaper and better and be profitable. Which is an oxymoron I think? Can’t be done in a public service, which by their nature are costly and to be affordable and reasonably priced, can at best just meet costs. To give their best value they need thorough examination for viability and usefulness when started, and regular review and monitoring for successful performance along the way. That’s how gummint should be running housing, and providing what is needed in an appropriate way.
A flaw in the money system
Of course the rich, who benefit from it, don’t see it as a flaw.
Which is important when our banks (mostly) export their profits so it doesnt get re-introduced…. ANZ NZ made a 500m half yearly profit to go with its Aussie heads 3bn…
taken from oyur economy and put into Aussie’s.
And Labour is worried about a measly ACC levy cut being important for jobs. Talk about focussing on the molehills.
I tried to live in an impossible city, once. It was impossible. Nothing was possible. So I moved to a possible city, which is marginally better, because while not everything works, there is the hope that something might work if approached in the right way. I pity the fool that saves for 37 years to go live in an impossible city. My dream is to build a plausible city, and if successful, move forward onto building highly likely communities.
It’s posts like this that make me smile…
Notice that the Banks are now making public statements ‘there is no Auckland property bubble’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11446922
AKA ‘we are in deep shit if it bursts’ -> PR campaign.
TPPA: This from an interview with Elizabeth Warren in which she explains how the Investor-State Dispute Settlement system (ISDS) works.
PLUM LINE: Is it theoretically possible to write ISDS in a way that precludes it from overriding regulation?
WARREN: It doesn’t directly tell countries to repeal regulations. It imposes a financial penalty, which has caused countries to change their regulations…[ISDS mechanisms] never had the authority to override regulations. What they had was the authority to impose a monetary penalty directly against the government and its taxpayers. That’s the point at which governments have backed up and said, “we can’t afford this, we’ll just change the law.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/05/11/elizabeth-warren-fires-back-at-obama-heres-what-theyre-really-fighting-about/
We need our journalists to drill Tim Groser and John Key about this. $6million for the Saudi businessman over the live sheep ban will be very small beer compared to the figures in the ISDS cases. It will be so costly to preserve the environment and our citizens rights.
How can our Nat politicians not see that? Come on, Labour, Greens, NZ First, start making more noise about this!
They can see that – they don’t care. In fact, I’d say that that’s the entire point. Taking governments to the cleaners will be a nice profit making scheme.
YUP
““we can’t afford this, we’ll just change the law.””
So they can claim the TPP wasn’t the problem, but the Govts BUT the threat of law suits makes the govt change the law to “save” the taxpayer money from the lawsuit…
More insidious to me is that the decision-making process of the dispute is closed and the adjudicators are former corporate lawyers…
but they see it.
it is just you pretending to believe that they don’t see it.
IF we all would admit that they see it, know it, talk about and take it into account, than we would be really really scared, as we realise that we are nothing but cattle or chattel, utterle expendable and of no value to them what so ever.
The national party that supports the TPPA and the labour party and any other polititian in nz that supports this abomination should be charged with treason.
red pill or blue pill?
+111
Come on, Labour, Greens, NZ First, start making more noise about this!
Ya Hear???
START MAKING MORE NOISE ABOUT THIS.
Or some of us will start to believe you either …
a) don’t care
b) have, as elected MPs, some ‘inside knowledge’ that precludes/prevents any serious questioning of the Government on this issue.
Signing of this nefarious ‘agreement’ is months away.
Where the bloody hell are you?
Yes drill Tim Groser and John Key till all the small beer leaks out. Makes no sense?
Neither does anything they say when studied closely. Let’s all talk politic (otherwise known as gobblegook while they treat us as turkeys to be roasted.)
And of course to balance the ISDS provisions, when regulations are changed that result in increased profits for corporates those corporates are required to pass that profit over to the government….
The rest of the rather short article also asks some interesting questions about the UK election.
Over the last few days, I’ve read many sweeping assertions about the swings and counter-swings that supposedly took place between the various parties in the UK Election. Almost always based on hunches or anecdotal evidence. But presented as cold, hard fact.
The vast body of data from pre-Election Opinion Polls remains the only reliable source in my opinion (although anecdotal evidence via discussions with an array of locals – including party activists – in specific electorates is useful as supplementary evidence). Probably most useful of all, though, will be the British Election Study data (from post-Election interviews) when it comes out.
All the polling evidence I’ve seen – both since 2010 in general and, more specifically, over the last few months – suggests Lib Dem deserters were disproportionately heading Labour’s way. How that dovetails with Labour’s woeful inability to win that vast array of Tory Marginals is another matter. Did an unusually large proportion of Lib Dem deserters have a last minute change of heart ?
Or was the Lib Dem swing to Labour nullified by an even greater swing from Labour-to-UKIP or Labour-to-the-Conservatives ?
And what role did non-voting play ?
Where did LibDem voters come from originally?
That might help analysis.
My National voting brother told me a week out he was voting Green Party. ON the day he “couldn’t bring myself to do it” and voted National.
No wonder the tories fought hard against a change to the electoral system…. Why Labour fought hard too is beyond me.
Labour very much likes two party privilege. Also, Labour Parties throughout the world see all minor left wing political parties as political enemies to be suppressed and sidelined where at all possible, lest they metastasize into left wing nightmares for them like the SNP.
Also remember that in NZ, the National Party were the ones who introduced MMP.
Did you see this about the “Apathy Party.” Looks to me that even in Labour strongholds, most people could not be bothered to vote for them.
In Scotland, it seems clear that most Lib Dems voters went straight to the SNP.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/the-one-map-that-shows-how-nonvoting-would-have-won-the-general-election-if-it-were-a-party-10238290.html
Cheers for that, CV.
Yep, it’s clear the Non-Vote won in the vast majority of Labour-held seats (Merseyside and parts of Greater London being the key exceptions).
And despite the impressive turnout in Scotland overall, I see the Apathy Party also came first in Greater Glasgow (home of the “Yes” vote) and in poor old Orkney and Shetland (possibly allowing the Lib Dems to hang on by their fingertips in the latter constituency).
John Pilger, Noam Chomsky, and Others on the Shameful History of U.S. Interference in Latin America
We can see these types of interventions of the US into other nations around the world. Iran and Iraq are the two most well known interventions but other countries have also fallen under US hegemony.
Been going on for some time. I remember doing an essay at uni in ’73 based around the CIA in cahoots with ITT, getting rid of Allende in Chile cos he nationalised the phone network.
Goes all the way back to 1823 and the Monroe Doctrine.
Successive US governments have all had the arrogance to achieve imperialism, but they’ve also lacked the style that a decent imperial power needs. There’s a reason almost all the baddies in the original Star Wars were RADA-trained 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQJJjcrwXQE
Not many countries where they haven’t interfered.
http://www.yachana.org/teaching//resources/interventions.html
(given our high rates of obesity – this one is more than useful..)
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/10/what-can-parents-do-to-stop-kids-becoming-obese-children-obesity
In a wee discussion the other day on The Standard, I suggested the Greens were nowhere near as toxic to voters as some pundits (both Left and Right-leaning) seem to assume.
Here’s some data to back-up my argument:
UMR November 2013
Potential Coalition Partners
“How good a job do you think the following parties would do if they were part of a coalition government with one of the major parties”
Good = Will do Good Job
Bad = Will do Bad Job
G+N = Good+Neutral combined score
G/B Diff = Good/Bad Difference
Table One: Entire Sample
Party…….Good…..Neutral….Bad….Unsure…G+N……..G/B Diff
(In order of Highest to Lowest Good+Neutral)
Greens………26………31………..36………….7………..57………. – 10
Maori………..12………39…………41…………8………..51………. – 29
NZF…………..12……….31…………47……….10……….43………. – 35
ACT……………4………..25…………59……….12……….29………. – 55
Cons………….4………..24…………48……….24……….28………. – 44
Clearly, NZ voters are not particularly enamoured of any of the minor parties when it comes to coalition politics. But, taking a Glass Half Full approach, you can see that 57% of voters can live with the Greens as a coalition partner (64% if you include those Unsure). That makes them more popular than the Maori and NZF parties and vastly more acceptable to the voting public than ACT and the Conservatives.
The Greens are even acceptable to a significant minority of National voters:
Table Two: Views of National Party Voters Only
Maori………….8………..36………..52………….4………..44………. – 44
Greens……….9…………31………..56………….4………..40………. – 47
ACT…………….6…………31………..56………….7………..37………. – 50
Cons…………..6…………29………..45…………20……….35………. – 39
NZF…………….6…………29………..59………….6………..35………. – 53
The Greens could pick up more then a few National votes but only if they’re prepared to compromise
The Māori Party was willing to compromise their principles for a place at the table – even if it was sitting on the floor begging for crumbs. Now all but one of the Māori seats have returned to Labour, and the MP face total obliteration at the next election.
If they hadn’t compromised they wouldn’t have got Whanau Ora up and running
If they hadn’t compromised they might not have vanished up their own gunga’s.
400 ppm and rising
spot on there.
You can’t compromise with nature.
400 ppm… there’s nothing negotiable there, pr
You’ll also find it hard to achieve much outside of parliament as well so whats more important your principles or a difference?
Parliament will seem a very abstract idea on an unliveable planet with no food.
Parliament will ensure that they have plenty of food while the rest of us get half sized frozen rations from Compass.
No true, a whole lot of fastfood chains just dumped zero hour contracts, and the dumping had NOTHING to do with the current government
noT true
PR actually said “outside of Parliament”, not “outside of government”.
Labour are in Parliament and they, and the Greens, played a part in the zero-hours contract debate. Labour got Parliamentary Services to ditch them for the catering staff.
I think its fair to say that the Greens could accomplish more in power rather then being outside
They need to ask themselves whats more important, their pride or making changes
Or they could look at what happens to left/liberal parties who prop up Tory governments (cf LibDems last week). The Greens would accomplish nothing inside a NACT government. Or at least, nothing of substance; for example, can anyone tell me wtf ‘whanau ora’ is or what it has achieved?
Sure can tell you what Whanau Ora is – go here – last two paragraphs are the charm
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2015/05/power-to-right-people-how-neoliberalism.html
As for achievements – I know of quite a few really good outcomes for families and individuals both in Auckland and around the country. I think it is a wonderful approach to accessing services. Holism seems to be a good approach, and contrary to many misguided comments here – I’ve only ever dealt with true professionals within the Whanau Ora framework.
examples?
That’s a heartening bit of number crunching there Swordfish. However, I do note that the data comes from November 2013. Now that Mana no longer have a parliamentary presence, the Overton window has moved rightwards and GP can once more be attacked as the Devil-Beast of leftward extremism.
One depressing tidbit from the weekend; I was talking to a GP member who had been at the; male coleader candidate speeches in Dunedin. They seemed to be leaning towards supporting Shaw at the delegate meeting next week, mainly due to him looking good in a suit. They were particularly scathing about Hughes rocking up to speak in more casual dress, especially his wearing scuffed shoes. However, while they were clear about what Hughes and Hague stood for (though unimpressed by Hague’s body language), they were unable to say much about Shaw’s or Tava’s accomplishments or principles.
It says something when even the Green Party is embracing style over substance.
Shaw represents the professional middle class aspiration that the Green Party is turning towards.
How come Gwynn Compton (the new Dirty Politics guy in John Key’s office) went to such effort yesterday to bleach his online profiles of any mention of the fact that he works in the PM’s Office?
Isn’t that shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted?
I think it’s a case of the bolting pony’s tail being caught in the door ??
If he was wrong, and he doesn’t work for the PM’s office, I think we would have heard something from Johnny Four Hats
It is reasonable to assume therefore, that he does work for the PM’s office, and the public needed that fact “sanitised”.
Do we REALLY have to do an OIA to find our if this clown does work for Johnny Four Hats??
It’s been confirmed in one of the articles that he does work in the PMs office but as National Party staff.
A new word is being used around the world: “Quaxing.” It means: “to shop, in the western world, by means of walking, cycling or public transit.”
Dick Quax wrote “no one in the entire Western world uses the train for their shopping trips…the very idea that people lug home their supermarket shopping on the train is fanciful”.
And now around the world people are sending examples of Quaxing. Dopey Dick eh?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11447071
Well, it’s normal exasperated politician hyperbole. If we give him the benefit of the doubt (and why would we, really. He’s paid to be articulate, and he worked for ACT), what he might mean is, “Not many people carry eight bags of a weekly grocery shop onto the train or bus by themselves, regularly, because it’s too heavy, the silly plastic bag handles cut into your hands or break and there’s nowhere safe to put it so the bags don’t split or get trampled, or so you can move fast enough to get off the train before the doors close for the next station.”
And he’d be right. What people do is make multiple trips with smaller loads over several days. If you don’t own a car, you do what you have to do. This method requires specific knowledge to identify, but not the same kind you need to run for parliament with ACT Party.
He might also mean, “In the entire Western World, it is becoming less likely that a person could afford to buy eight bags of shopping in a weekly supermarket shop, therefore relying on local suppliers, which require no special transport or equipment to carry the food, and in living in cheaper accomodation far from what is now solely commuter transport, never see or use a train during the span of their lives.” However this would require thoughts and abilities that ACT supporters don’t have.
I prefer the interpretation that, “In the entire Western World, there weren’t any supermarkets, and trains ran off into the desert, often following telegraph lines and were ultimately attacked by bandits. This discouraged the problems of suburban living. There were no taxes and everyone considered the natives a nuisance. I dream of a NZ like this. Please vote ACT.”
Yes, people shop several times a week instead of once on Saturday as Dickey does… or his wife.
and the grocery shops are closer to home i.e. walking distance.
Using re-usable shopping bags largely resolves the ‘cutting into your hands’ problem, and each bag can individually hold more weight so you won’t need as many of them, so it’s less cumbersome. Doesn’t help with the total weight of course.
a back-pack is even more useful…
And bike panniers can carry tens (if not hundreds) of kilos
You might be looked on suspiciously if you go into a supermarket wearing a backpack.
@ ianmac
LOL
Have we contact details for Dick Quax so I can enlighten him on how I, a 64 year old non-driver transport my groceries when I don’t have an obliging niece or foster son to drive me?
I can also describe how I managed in earthquake riven Christchurch should he need more examples.
Sometime soon I hope to find a calm place within myself that helps me to feel empathy for the over-privileged pontificators who seem to be inhabiting Planet Key. Alternatively, perhaps I could find a way to live and experience life as the out of work, unwell and elderly ‘enjoy’ it as a consequence of NACTdom.
Jack of all trades and master of none.
How’s this for a leadership comment on the current issue of road safety.
Prime minister John Key, “We have to balance what the police advise with wider public opinion on road speeds.”
Which expert is advising him?
David Farrar.
but it is funnier when having said that he vehemently denies that he is at all swayed by wider public opinion, possibly against lower limits, and backlash as a result.
must be awful not to know what you think until a prettypollyparrot like Farrar lets you in on the secret echoes.
You can take the piss out of Key’s approach all you want, but it is far more effective and popular than say, Labour talking about getting trucks out of fast lanes so that holiday makers have it easier.
C.R.
Labour might have been better advised to have suggested getting most trucks off most lanes period and putting freight on trains to strategic rail-heads for distribution by smaller vehicles.
Explain the logic of this one – last week travelling north from Tauranga to Paeroa I was following a fully laden logging truck-and-trailer carrying large Radiata logs. As we passed through the narrow Karangahake gorge, we encountered a fully laden logging truck-and-trailer carrying large Radiata logs heading south.
Locals advise that this a regular occurrence. Perhaps you could remind us why the Kaimai tunnel was created?
My comment was not about roads. It was about Pry Minister Key being glib and expert on absolutely nothing until poll-guided, and then he fails. You missed it CR.
And mine was?
Is everyone having a reading comprehension difficulty day? I mentioned roads primarily in the context of Key’s “glib and expert on absolutely nothing until poll guided” approach, which I commented on as being quite an effective tactic despite peoples inclinations to ridicule it; and certainly more effective than some of Labour’s attempts.
I have opposed the TPPA for always, but reading this today, a couple of extra jigsaw pieces fell into place about why Goldman Sachs Merrill Lynch BOA sock puppet John Key wants this signed at any cost.
The brilliant Elizabeth Warren points out TPPA fastrack could be used in the USA to weaken, prevent or overcome any Wall St or banking reforms. WOW.
This is the nub of it that I had not understood until now. Worth a look.
“WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren hit back at President Barack Obama in their tussle over “fast track” authorization to negotiate a Pacific Rim trade treaty, a power she says could be used in the future to weaken Wall Street reforms.
Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and prominent liberal voice, stuck to her argument in an interview published on Monday with a left-leaning Washington Post blog, saying Obama should release details of the Pacific trade talks so legal experts can determine if a pact could be used to weaken U.S. bank rules.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/11/elizabeth-warren-obama-trade_n_7257802.html
I’m begging to wonder if some of the more enlightened US millionaires are bank rolling these candidates to get an alternative narrative out there. Revolutions are costly
I see that Andrew Little, according to this morning’s Dom/Post is wandering of the reservation.
Labour Party claims are that a large increase in the minimum wage won’t cause any job losses don’t they? Say go to $16.00/hour and no jobs will be lost.
Now he is quoted as saying in the paper, and I can’t find it on-line, that the Government must immediately cut the ACC worker levy by 20c per $100 of earnings because not to do so is costing jobs!
How can it be that a 10% increase in the minimum wage won’t cost any jobs but a 0.2% step in the ACC rates costs jobs?
you seem to have lost an ‘f’. wonder what you have done with it ?
You’re right.
I needed it for my first reaction to his opinion when I had to put it in front of the comment that came to mind.
My thought was “uck! He’s a total idiot.”
no need to lose an ‘f’. that’s just your normal default position 😀
No doubt there is something incredibly witty about your remarks.
For the life of me I don’t see what it is or what you are trying to say.
Still if it makes you happy ………
happy ? oh, no !
Good point Alwyn.
No, its a terrible argument. Funding ACC just funds the government, its the equivalent of taking that spending and locking it in a safe. The government can always fund ACC, even if it doesn’t receive full funding up front anyway. Meanwhile the governments marginal propensity to spend (especially ACC levies) is clearly not influenced by the higher take. Raising the minimum wage the extra business expenditure contributes back to spending, because of who receives it.
I see Michael made this same argument just below.
http://thestandard.org.nz/why-insurance-should-be-a-state-monopoly/
Minimum wage increases give more spending power to low-income people, which then gets spent in the local economy and ends up being neutral on job losses (or even gains some jobs.)
ACC levies by comparison are just going to the government to pad a surplus. That money isn’t being spent by workers or invested by businesses. So it costs jobs because it is a deadweight loss that is just money being taken out of the economy when it could be going to consumer spending or investment.
… or ACC could actually use it to provide the service it was set up to do.
Exactly. It either needs to go to ACC to provide better services, or needs to be returned to the economy. Otherwise it’s just a deadweight loss that is padding National’s budget
Wages tend to be sticky in the upwards direction but really both of these $ are in the same direction.
Increasing wages puts more money in the pockets of the low paid which as it is spent increases jobs and certainly doesn’t cut them. Cutting the ACC levy by 2% also increases money in the pocket, spend among the working and increases jobs.
Quite clear
I heard on Radionz that David Milliband is badmouthing Ed. A good headline for Brit news would be Ed is sinister says David. But in fact they both are, and not, and the word dexter doesn’t apply either. I’ve been looking up etymology. I think,now that Humpty Dumpty has fallen and cracked open. they are inventing new terms of language, so that left doesn’t mean what we thought.
Dear old Bob Jones is making his usual fool of himself again. If you can say anything about him there’s no shades of grey with him.http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11446869
The interesting thing that Bob Jones didn’t mention is the fact that neo-liberalism has been shown by the present world economic situation to be as least as bad a failure as Marxist-Leninism under the USSR.
Once this fact is accepted – and it needs to be repeated over and over again until even people who only read/watch MSM get it – then Bob Jones comments become more about how you can become more selfish as you grow old, than why John Campbell is dangerous
If you are a Whangarei resident you will have heard about the Hundertwasser project. It will be a huge tourist attraction in your city that will attract money-spending people from all over NZ and indeed the world and increased employment. In two days the Referendum about the Hundertwasser-Wairau Maori Art Centre is being sent out.
Information below. See here http://yeswhangarei.co.nz/
If you are not local and eligible to vote, and like the idea and have progressive contacts in the city, you could phone them and point out what a good idea it is. People who are too small thinking and provincial often find it difficult to consider the benefits that will result and get stuck on whatever the cost is.
Donate: https://givealittle.co.nz/org/hacnorth
(We’ve raised $4million! We only need $1m more to build the fantastic Whangarei Hundertwasser Art Centre, the last Hundertwasser-designed bu Givealittle is …)
Info on Referendum
Not sure how to vote?
0800 922 822
Election Services
Voting Period
Thursday 14 May until 12 noon Friday 5 June
Result
9th June 2015
News
YES! Blog
Contact us
On Facebook
On Twitter
By Email
Hundertwasser HQ
has posters, caps, t-shirts, bumper stickers at their pop-up shop in Whangarei’s CBD.
Everything purchased raises funds for Prosper Northland Trust to spread more information about the project.
Bazinga !
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11446869
u shd warn people u r linking to that toxic old toad…and his libertarian/neoliberal rants..
Bob Jones in his last line … “But as ever, these deadbeats make lots of noise in lieu of substance,”
ha ha ha – talk about self-description
Interesting seeing the lurkers from Whaleoil piling in on this question of Cactus Kate’s Cheshire cat act.
It is worrying – how much effort is going in to cover up something, which is supposed to be nothing.
Even jumping on here to defended her position and the Tory maggots who have jumped in as well. Is at best odd. At worst…
I believe Cactus Kate is a post-fascist. Which is essentially calling someone Ideologically dishonest and a unprincipled opportunist. But hey, you play in the dirt – you get dirty.
Now this is fascinating – A New super PAC – which is taking a different approach.
Well worth the read.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/05/05/17304/new-super-pac-takes-moon-shot
Seymour Hersh: official account of Bin Laden’s killing a complete lie
Osama had been captured by the Pakistanis and held since 2006. Seems like the US then sent in a SEAL team to execute the sick old, crippled, man after all. There was no firefight, Osama had no guards (the Pakistani security services had been ordered to leave the compound the moment they heard the US helis closing in), he did not pick up an AK47. He was just shredded on the spot by the SEALs. Stories about Osama’s burial at sea were a fiction improvised by the White House after Barack Obama decided to use the killing to boost his own electability. Also the story that Osama had been tracked down via an elaborate spy game following Al Qaeda couriers who were carrying orders from Osama was utterly false. Bin Laden appears to have been isolated and out of control of Al Qaeda; the compound where he was found was not an operations centre; it was a home detention centre.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-10/seymour-hersh-obamas-entire-account-bin-ladens-death-one-big-lie-what-really-happene
Just got an email from Julie Anne Genter and it had this bit of info in it:
There you go, friggen cheap really and the savings, both monetary and environmental, over time from not having to burn diesel would be immense. And it’d be an excellent incentive to get more solar power feeding into the grid out to homes as well.
add 10% to that bill and you could do most of the engineering work in NZ
Now there’s a plank for any progressive left-wing electoral campaign.
Think how many contractors would be kept in business and how many New Zealanders would be employed creating the lines and locomotives…
It is also a plank for a green electoral campaign. Think how much road and rail diesel fuel would be saved…
Looks like Cactus Kate isn’t the only one – Ben Rachinger’s blog and twitter account just got deleted.
Twitter account is still there, meduim.com account has been deleted.
http://twitter.com/B3nRaching3r
Nuked.
That’s not his @ or his current name on twitter, try using his real life name.
I just saw this flag petition on Change.org and signed it, Here is the link if you would like to support the petition against changing the flag at this time:
https://www.change.org/p/john-key-don-t-change-the-new-zealand-flag?tk=8mqxhZQ_DDQMRO7X9Xa3ndRxeRegQlIwFrfuyY8Z2-Y&utm_source=petition_update&utm_medium=email
Leading Kiwi thinkers guffaw at “conspiracy theorist” Seymour Hersh
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Tuesday 12 May 2015
Jim Mora, David Pagani, Josie Pagani, Noelle McCarthy
This afternoon, Seymour Hersh joined a long list of journalists and intellectuals—including Robert Fisk, Noam Chomsky, Julian Assange, Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden—to be scorned by the intellectual luminaries on the Panel. I’ll try to put up a transcript of this depressing episode, but I did manage to send the constantly laughing host the following email….
Quelle surprise! Your Panelists are having a go at Seymour Hersh.
Dear Jim,
Seymour Hersh is one of the world’s most respected journalists. His reporting is renowned for being thorough, rigorous and scholarly.
I was not amused at all to hear your panelists scoffing, dismissing him as a conspiracy theorist, and guffawing that “This is all turning into a Game of Thrones.”
I am concerned at the lack of standards on your show,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
The panelists are not the only one’s referring to the story as a conspiracy Morrissey. This one does put up a strong argument for that being the case….
http://www.vox.com/2015/5/11/8584473/seymour-hersh-osama-bin-laden
They’re all conspiracy theories, sheepie. Unless you’ve got some kooky lone-assassin theory of your own…
Thanks very much for that, sheep. Maybe Max Fisher is correct, and Hersh is indeed wrong on this one.
I am just concerned when I hear know-nothings like the four people this afternoon calling Hersh a “conspiracy theorist”, as if he is some 9/11 Truther. I’m quite prepared to read the views of serious writers like Fisher; Noelle McCarthy, Josie Pagani and David Farrar on the other hand have a track record of trivialising serious issues.
I was not necessarily endorsing Sy Hersh, I was contesting the competence and the seriousness of those four chattering, vapid numbskulls.
Morrissey / Felix.
I come from a small town where a favourite saying is..
“Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see”.
And then I always apply Trotsky’s immortal dictum that ‘You can deduce the truth by a comparison of the lies’.
But by any standard, I think Hersh, like Pilger, may have lost a bit of perspective with age…
With Bin Laden though, does it really matter how he died? If I can deduce anything from the lies, it would be a sense that he was fully aware and accepted the ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ ethos.
But that might just be a fiction…
Hersh’s piece, for the most part, was not editorialising. Did the US learn about Osama’s location through spying on Al Qaeda’s courier network or did that information walk in the door seeking the CIA reward? Did the US SEAL team kill a crippled, unarmed, elderly man for the sake of imperial vengeance, or was there really a firefight with Osama trying to kill the SEAL team members with an AK47.
Like 9/11, the official narrative on Osama’s death, and even his burial at sea, stinks to high heaven. Hersh goes some way to explaining why.
The expression ‘conspiracy theorist’ is used by the establishment to shut down dissent.
Sad to see you’ve fallen for their lines over 9/11, Morrissey.
It was lie that allowed the US to take over Central Asia and suppress civil rights in their homeland.
The US were already planning to implement mass surveillance over their own citizens pre 9/11. Their pre-9/11 approach to Quest for unhindered access to their telecoms network shows that. 9/11 gave the developing security and surveillance state the best PR in the world for going ahead with what they were going to do any way.
Saying “this must be true because it’s Seymour Hersh” is just an appeal to authority.
Fair comment—but I wasn’t saying that. I was criticizing Noelle McCarthy, Jim Mora and those two cackling, sneering guests.
What amused me was Josie Pagani talking about how she had a friend who was a fellow student of Prince Edward’s (youngest son of Queen) and how she went to have tea with the prince several times but romance apparently never blossomed because Josie decided he wasn’t her type. Incredible!
What really appalled me about her behaviour this afternoon was the way she repeatedly tried to ingratiate herself with Farrar. Their “banter” was cringe-inducing.
Didn’t Farrar refer to Josie at one stage as the charming Josie which prompted her to effusively giggle or was it Mora?
Is Farrar still invited after his involvement in Dirty Politics?
Unbelievable.
Seems like he’s been on more frequently since DP.
Home ownership now for privileged few – ACT
I suppose ACT has to act surprised despite being told that this is the inevitable result of their policies over the last few decades.
The funny thing about this is that Seymour doesn’t think that lawyers, doctors, engineers and others that went to Auckland Grammar aren’t among the privileged.
If these ‘friends’ of his had all bought houses without parental help, then I’m sure this idea that only the privileged can buy houses wouldn’t have even occurred to him…
Breaking News: 7.1 earthquake in Nepal at a depth of 10km.
Oh no, those poor people 🙁
I am amazed the Labour are suggesting penalising working class people by making Working for Families subject to enrolment to vote. I would have expected such a policy from National and not the Party who claims to support workers.
Will this proposed policy also relate to those on benefits and National Super?
Is this a sign that Labour is starting to panic about their poor showing last election?
Labour lost its compass a long time ago.
won’t do Labour much good if they do….people will just vote Green, NZF or Mana/Int…Labour Party will never get these voters back ….so they are stuck on about 30% imo
….Labour Party has taken no opposition leadership stand on opposing the the TPPA or the mass surveillance Spy Bill
….for many who have abandoned Labour …..they are just a watered down Nact Party