‘
According to John Key, the Maori Party are prepared to be with him in a coalition arrangement with Brash.
Prime Minister John Key said a National coalition with both the Maori and ACT parties after the election would still be workable.
stuff.co.nz
Meanwhile though prepared to work with Brash in coalition with National, the Maori Party have decided not to honour their agreement with Harawira, not to run against each other.
How can this be wise?
Breaking their agreement with Harawira, in itself is not a good look. To do it for the benefit of the Nats and their coalition partner ACT is even worse.
I believe the Maori Party are making a serious tactical mistake in underestimating the the potential support that Mana will gain in the wider electorate.
It is likely that in a three way split in reward for their treachery, the Maori Party will retain only one seat in parliament after election.
This result would exactly replicate that of Jim Anderton after his betrayal of his own followers against their overwhelming opposition to the bloody war in Afghanistan.
Like Anderton, Turia will receive a sinecure little back office position from her coalition partner in reward for her treachery, achieving nothing further worthwhile for her people. To suffer being patronised in public, but quietly mocked behind her back by her coalition partners.
I think it was interesting rather than game changing or party saving. And Sharples – I’m not in New Zealand by anyone’s invitation, I was naturally born in this country!
Yet another announcement of a poll from TV3 this morning this time stating that 70% of Christchurch residents are very pleased with the government’s response to the earthquakes. No mention of who was asked, what was asked, and when the poll was taken.
I no longer take TV3s coverage of news and politics seriously. They are just an arm of the Nat propaganda machine. I’ve got better and more productive things to do with my time than watch TV3 news or The Ntion.
Ditto TV1 and Prime News as well. Their news presenters spend their time apparently reading National Party press releases, sport news and then weather.
Oh, come on HS. TV3 has gone beyond the line the way it promotes National Party lines these days – especially Duncan Garner. I prefer TV1 & Stratos these days for TV news, and RNZ in particular for NZ news & current events. TV1 also slants to the right more often than not.
That’s always the weak argument used against criticisms of media bias. But I stand by my judgement about TV3. Sometimes TV3 does more positive Labour/left reports, but most of the time it slants to the right. So WHEN it does do a positive left story, it’s worth taking note of and repeating.
The NoW debacle shows just how much media can interfere with political process, and cofirms my judgement from following UK media, that Brown was being undermined by the media.
Also, Dr Margie Comrie has done some research of the coverage of TV news during the last NZ election. I’ve seen her talking about it. Although her focus was on Maori TV, the data shows a bias by TV One & TV3 towards Key & National over Clark & Labour Dduring the 2008 election period. This is seen in the fact that there was a higher percentage of face time given to Nats/Key over Labour & Clark. Key was in the 40-50% range & Clark in the 30-40% range. Maori TV on the other hand were more slanted to Labour & the Maori Party.
The NoW story is proof that we can’t leave news reporting to the private sector as it’s essentially corrupt. They did everything that the privatisers say that government supported news would do. Hell, they were actually worse, the privatisers say that government news would do what the government tells them but in the UK the politicians were doing what the Rupert Murdoch told them.
Along the lines of what I’ve said in the past on TS … the UK Fourth Estate reveals itself to be financially owned and morally mortgaged to the Tory Estate.
Reminds me of the news services in Iraq or Libya where the dictator of the day is proudly announced to have won 98% support in the latest elections. That’s some real vindication there.
When his photo-ops are losing the shine, he desperately looks for issues to fan the fires of public debate. Last week, he attempted euthanasia – stirring a discussion that is. This week, it is asylum seekers but he can’t get much traction as it is evident he is morally bankrupt.
The left should not lose focus on the economy, for which opportunities for improvement and growth have been mismanaged and squandered by this administration.
Gawd. Key must be counting his lucky stars. Just as he and National are on the ropes he gets the chance to engage in a little bit of redneck rascism, and not about ACT either.
No doubt Key is hoping that the debate about Asylum seekers gets as heated as in Australia. When I was there recently I could not believe that a couple of hundred people fleeing their country and wanting to settle in a country of 20 million could attract such heat. The issue seemed to be the political story of the day.
The chances of a boat actually reaching New Zealand are remote beyond belief. Why bypass Australia and travel thousands of miles to reach a similar nation?
And so much for the rule of law. International law requires a country to accept refugees and to consider their claim for status properly. Compassion requires the same.
But what are such considerations when there is an election to win …
He did not have to say a thing. If he was going to say something he should have said that New Zealand is bound by international law and would abide by its obligations.
Bullshit, in this instance he said exactly the correct thing and you’re just practicing partisan political hackery because it didn’t come out of the mouth of a Labour politician.
Step back and imagine the same words coming out of Helen Clark’s mouth and reconsider your position.
I recall clearly Helen Clark’s Government deciding to accept 750 Afghani refugees from the Tampa after John Howard’s government refused to allow it to land. I cheered at the time.
I have since met a number of them and they are very decent generous people.
Helen would not only have talked differently she has shown that she would have decided differently. No dog whistle for her, just compassion.
The Labour Party is also saying no to Sri Lankan asylum seekers.
A group of boat people detained in Indonesia have been seen showing signs that they want to come to New Zealand.
The Government has rejected them.
Labour leader Phil Goff holds a similar view and says we can’t run immigration policy on sympathy and let everyone that turns up her into the country.
He says the way to go is meet our responsibilities with our refugee quota, not promote gain for people smugglers who’re making money out of the misery of others.
By your reasoning Phil is showing his incompassion, nyet?
Labour leader Phil Goff agreed refugees should only be accepted if they came through the official channels.
However, he would not agree with the Prime Minister’s choice of words that the asylum seekers were “not welcome”.
“I’d put it in a different way. I think that shows a lack of human feeling for the suffering of the individuals concerned.”
The Prime Minster was building the situation into a bigger problem than it was, he said.
“It is a potential problem. Not one person has every come by boat to New Zealand. You can’t rule it out entirely. But it is not an overwhelming threat to New Zealand.”
And how the frak do you know they are economic refugees, and not a community being persecuted for their involvement in the Sri Lankan civil war?
Reports say they are Tamils and if they directly supported the losing side in that war they are now screwed and their lives under official or unofficial threat.
Don’t be such an a-hole before you know the facts, and don’t be like John Key who couldn’t give a fuck about any of that minor detail.
Aye. Geriatric serial-adulterer racists who have just ripped off the taxpayers half a bill for a worthless report are welcome in government but persecuted women and kids in fear of their lives can’t get a toe on the beach. Lovely chaps, these NACTZies.
The Nicholson term in Federated Farmers ended with sighs of relief from the agribusiness and agripolitical fraternity. Nicholson went out a fortnight ago, with rantings echoing Brash on the usual suspects – local bodies, Big Govt, climate change denial etc etc.
More moderate characters have now been elected to Feds national leadership, with an apparently genuine urban-friendly look. So even Feds will be backing away from their previous leader.
Looks like another futile attempt at ACT life support. John Key’s enthusiasm for euthanasia should be applied to political parties.
The refugees are indeed unlikely to get here, since according to the story they have already been arrested in Indonesia, and sent to the the controversial processing centre near Malaysia. When I was in Australia recently it was pointed out to me that about 3,000 people a year try to get into Australia off the boats, while a great many more than that are brought in as “experts” to work, their expertise often being a willingness to work for low wages. The former generate a lot of talk back heat, while the latter are virtually ignored. What is creepy and Orwellian though is the way these sorts of stories are internationalised – it’s as if there are news bite forms, for which particulars are sought to add colour, detail and “authenticity” to a concept. If it worked in Australia or perhaps America, the idea seems to be, then let’s run it up the flag pole here and see if anyone salutes it.
“Just as he and National are on the ropes” What ? “On the ropes” would indicate a lack of support and a party which is dysfunctional in the extreme. Even you can’t believe that, or are you thinking of the leaderless Labour Party ? Just because you say it to an already converted audience smacks of cheerleading. Polls and public opinion would disagree with your statements, as I believe the important “poll” at the end of the year will as well. Given the vacuum of opposition policies and personalities, its no wonder they will barely have to try to beat a splintered left wing.
Like most of us, in my professional and my private life, I speak to a wide variety of people.
The one thing i do not see in the real world, that is reported repeatedly in the media and the infamous Polls, is this supposed supremacy of the National Party as preferred leaders of the country. The last few months however I constantly hear from long time National supporters that they do not agree with what the Government is doing and they have no intention of voting for them in November.
One old timer, a wealthy stalwart of the Nats told me the other day this is the worst Government they can remember in New Zealand’s history and he has already watched three of his grandchildren leave NZ with no intention of returning. I have certainly been impressed by the voracity some of these people express when shown the morsels of ineptitude by this Government.
If we could only get the Fourth Estate functioning again , then Democracy may stand a chance.
“The Contracting States shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees who, coming directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened in the sense of article 1, enter or are present in their territory without authorization, provided they present themselves without delay to the authorities and show good cause for their illegal entry or presence.”
CV there’s a number of country’s they could seek refugee status in before taking the dangerous journey to our shores. Why not other asian countries ? Why not India ? Why not Indonesia or the Phillipines ? Why not Australia ?
CV there’s a number of country’s they could seek refugee status in before taking the dangerous journey to our shores. Why not other asian countries ? Why not India ? Why not Indonesia or the Phillipines ? Why not Australia ?
Why NZ ?
You’re trotting out the same tired arguments that were being used against Ahmed Zaoui in 2002-4, and with the same lack of logic. Do you really think these people have any kind of a choice? If they did they wouldn’t be in a boat, and would not have already been arrested, as Olwyn says above.
Ahmed Zaoui was eventually released and the sky didn’t fall. It’s not going to fall if 150 Tamils come here. We’ve got plenty of room, for goodness’ sake, and plenty else as well, contrary to what I heard Key say on the news this morning…
Why on earth would they want to sail more than half way around the world to come here when there’s a multitude of other countries closer by
Because NZ has a reputation for kindness and giving a shit. Especially about seriously listening to the stories of refugees and people seeking asylum from persecution in their home lands. Well, more of a reputation than the Australians.
What of it?
By the way, plenty of people sailed all the way around the world to make their lives here in NZ in the 1800’s, when they too could have chosen a multitude of other countries closer by.
“Argentine songwriter and singer Facundo Cabral, an icon of Latin American folk and protest music, was shot to death early Saturday by unknown gunmen who intercepted his car in Guatemala City and pumped it full of bullets.
…
Cabral, born to a dirt-poor family in provincial Argentina, rose to fame in the 1970s primarily as a writer and performer of protest songs, at a time when Latin America was shackled by military dictatorships, coups and crises. He went into exile in Mexico during Argentina’s military junta from 1976 to 1983.
…
In 1996 UNESCO named him an “international messenger of peace,” and themes of peace and brotherhood dominated his later work.”
Stuff poll currently at 79.2% against helping the boat people
Once again I am ashamed and embarrassed at the growing disregard for others being expressed by people who call themselves New Zealanders. This is not the country i was raised to believe in, this is a quagmire of greedy and selfish sycophants who deserve the pain to come if they continue down this road to hegemony
If the boat has an Austrian-Jewish refugee lady and this were a few decades ago, isn’t it nice to know he would tell her she is unwelcome and turn her away? And New Zealand better off for that?
Turning back the boat could be his new metaphor for kicking away the ladder?
Anyway, the Left should stay focused on the current economic issues and call their own shots as to when and how the asylum issues would be debated.
This year, more so than most, every single person has to be reminded they have a choice to make. The choice today is how much longer we want the degradation of our Nation to continue.
All cliches aside, help each other and we win. Hate each other and we lose.
I hear that at the Pike River enquiry, Pikey lawyers cross examining Don Elder are suggesting his comments yesterday were aimed at driving down PRC’s share price so that Solid Energy can get a better price.
I’m pretty sure that the commissioners will see different things from that line of attack than what the lawyers want.
Interesting comment from John Key in Question Time today, in response to a question by Brendon Burns. The question was about Key’s Hard Talk comment that scientists are like lawyers and he could always find a scientist with an alternative scientific view on NZ’s 1000% pure status. Today Key added economists to the list of people who have as diverse views as lawyers. Leaving aside that lawyers are not scientists but aim to represent one side positively, I think it might be a useful quote to repeat back to Key when he’s quoting an economst to support his policies.
I think the biggest benefit will be to public servants themselves. I think the reason that public servants have a bad reputation in most parts of the country is that people don’t feel like they have a choice but to pay for them to be used. If you don’t like your local supermarket you can drive to the one down the road. What if you don’t like your local public service provider? You can’t do much about it so you develop a negative attitude.
yes – imagine how organised and cost effective the post CHCH quake efforts would have been.
sure the PS can be improved, but what your advocating is a society with even bigger imbalances than we currently have – one where those that can afford it get it while those that cant – dont
If you don’t like your local supermarket you can drive to the one down the road.
Oh if only! But what if you’re a little old lady who doesn’t drive? Or someone with disabilities? And there’s only one supermarket within a realistic distance?
What Cameron is doing is complete idiocy!
Don Nicolson has had views and attitudes at Fed Farmers which have been divisive and ignorant. The man is a shallow twit. Witness Rod Oram’s withering piece on Fed Farmers and Nicolson in the SST this week.
Imagine being at one of their meetings or get-togethers. My god, you would go insane. Or burst your sides with laughter. And imagine when / if Key gets back in and has Brash and Nicolson bleating and screeching and dribbling at the mouth. Put this lot together for the public to see and you will be home and hosed.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10738021 – Federated Farmers leader is going to be an ACT MP – but why are they not brave enough to stand in more than one electorate? That’s right, they aren’t a proper party, with a proper mandate and don’t want their arses being kicked.
Looks like there may be a method to the nuttiness — ACT will stand in ‘safe’ National seats and ask the super extremist cuckoos & rwnjs to vote tactically, eg electorate seat to Nats and party seat to ACT.
The strategy is to ensure NACTzies metastasize and make New Zealand the diseased male, pale and stale body politic of the Pacific.
The question is which is the next electorate that ACT will stand, and who that candidate might be.
I think it’s a very good move for Don Nicolson to stand for Act (any party will do) in Clutha Southland. He’s got relevant experience for the electorate and should be able to spend more time looking after his constituents that Bill English can from Wellington.
I’d like to see him do well (unless a better candidate stands there). We need smarter voting with more electorate focus rather than party palaver.
Don is campaigning for the list vote. he isn’t focusing on the electorate at all. He is going to try and get farmers votes by preaching to them about how hard done by they are and try and get enough ACT votes from the Fed Famers network.
This is exactly the same play that ACT ran with in 08 with the sensible sentencing trust Get somebody with a ready built network of emails and mana within a niche group of easily targetable voters; give him a list spot far enough down that he isn’t guaranteed a spot, and bob’s your uncle, should be good for an extra MP worth of votes, maybe more.
Meh don’t be too worried, ACT has backstabbed all their women, unceremoniously and undemocratically dumped Hide, backstabbed Maori, seen their monied corporate supporters vapourise and resurrected a leader that rural National voters deserted.
Now with Nicholson portraying themselves as principled visionaries with the country at heart.
P’s b, that is just nutty what he is going on about.
Don Nicolson is a nut. “The ETS is a secret plan by the international green movement to create jobs and stave off anarchy”…… that’s what Nicolson thinks. Oh lordy ………..
We have another Garrett / Peters / Bob the builder on our hands………….
New Zealand’s top brains spring into action following Super 15 disaster
Radio Sport, Sunday 10 July 2011 3.30 p.m.
The Canterbury Crusaders lost the Super 15 final on Saturday night. That means New Zealand’s best intellects will be working hard to work out the reason for the calamity….
MURRAY DEAKER: Plenty of spare lines, you’ll get straight through if you ring now. Phil, your thoughts?
CALLER PHIL: I want to talk about the All Black squad. Murray, I am very, very concerned. I think we will have a lack of intelligence, once the ball goes past Daniel Carter.
DEAKER: [long, thoughtful pause] Conrad Smith?
PHIL: Yes, but what if he’s injured, Murray?
DEAKER: [long, thoughtful pause] I know what you’re getting at, Phil.
PHIL: Yes, well, it needs to be said, Murray.
DEAKER: [with utmost gravitas] A lot of people talk about this in private, but are not prepared to talk about it in public. But I don’t give a toss about that! The problem is that in this country we have a lot of boys that are early maturers.
PHIL: Yes, oh yes.
DEAKER: These guys haven’t got the slender build of, say, a Dan Carter, or a Jeff Wilson, or an Andrew Mehrtens.
PHIL: That’s right, Murray.
DEAKER: So they’ve never had to jink, or sidestep, or run around any opponents. They are so huge that all they have ever had to do is barge past them. They’ve never had to think! Because they’re early maturers!
PHIL: It’s a worry. Because these overseas teams, they’re thinkers, Murray! They’re private school boys, and they’re thinkers.! The Australians, Murray, they’re just so educated! I remember once when the lowest-qualified player in the team was a chartered accountant, Murray!
DEAKER: Yes, but we’ll not see the likes of Nick Farr-Jones, David Kirk, Sir John Graham and Sir Wilson Whineray again. They were very bright guys!
PHIL: I’m so worried, Murray….
Of course, Deaker wasn’t implying that the “cultures” of the blood that is coursing around the veins of those outside Carter is significant in “thinking” – of course he wasn’t and neither was the caller.
I thought this was an interesting post by dim-post:
I think (non-empirical statement coming up: if I was a political columnist I’d write ‘some say’ or ‘most New Zealanders think’) that if you asked the public why Labour is unpopular then part of the answer would involve a perception of Labour as an unethical, sleazy party (built up by years of scandals like the repeated funding/election spending rorts, Chris Carter, Shane Jones, Phillip-Field, support for Winston Peters, etc). But I also think that if you suggested to Labour MPs or supporters that their party was sleazy or unethical they would be genuinely shocked, because they see themselves as ‘the good guys’ – and they’d attempt to litigate each of the examples I made above (‘it’s the mainstream media’s fault for reporting it! And what about Double Dipton Bill English?’) With the counter-intuitive result that they continue to behave unethically – damaging the integrity of the Labour Party brand and further alienating voters – while still considering themselves highly ethical, and refusing to even acknowledge any of the damage these scandals have caused them. (Because they didn’t really happen, because Labour is so ethical.)
Sort of what I’ve been saying for awhile but he/she does it more eloquently then I can
1.) Oz government announces subsides for insulating homes
2.) Fletcher’s buys bulk stuff to make insulation and keeps said insulation in stock
3.) Due to some serious issues, Oz government cancels insulation subsidy
4.) Fletcher’s seeks compensation from Oz government
Stuff like this is actually sickening. There was no guarantee on the part of the Oz government that Fletcher’s would sell the stock and so the risk that Fletcher’s took is all on their heads. They didn’t need to buy all that stock and they still have it. They haven’t actually lost anything except what they thought, incorrectly, was government guaranteed profits.
Really, all they need to do is just sell the damn stuff. Knock the price down a bit and I’m sure that they’ll still be able to find people who want to insulate their home.
1.) Oz government announces subsides for insulating homes
2.) Fletcher’s buys bulk stuff to make insulation and keeps said insulation in stock
3.) Due to some serious issues, Oz government cancels insulation subsidy
4.) Fletcher’s seeks compensation from Oz government
You missed a few points…
1.) Oz government announces 4 billion dollars of subsides for insulating homes
1.a oz Govt does deal with Fletchers et al to limit margins on basis of massive amount of work.
3.a Oz Govt forgets to require installers to have any training.
3.b A bunch of guys die during install.
3.c Oz Govt thinks money can be betyter spent elsewhere.
3.d Oz Govt cancells subsidy, leaving tens of thousands of houses cold and wasting energy and money.
4. a . Fletchers rightfully expect to be paid for materials brought specifically for a project.
4.b Fletchers get paid. (hasnt happened yet but it will, behind closed doors)
VTO, Fed Farmers are pretty irrelevant , they have 13000 membership payers ( the other 14k or so is made up of associates like family members ) . and he couldn’t get a majority or 6500 farmers to vote for him, if that.
The papers cannot announce that their purpose is to ventriloquise the concerns of multimillionaires; they must present themselves as the voice of the people. The Sun, the Mail and the Express claim to represent the interests of the working man and woman. These interests turn out to be identical to those of the men who own the papers.
So the rightwing papers run endless exposures of benefit cheats, yet say scarcely a word about the corporate tax cheats.
dtb that’s a good point – the stories about welfare cheats encourage loathing from the employed middle and upper lower class to those less capable. George orwell noted this reaction i think in the road to wigan pier. n the newspapers the financial/business stories are corralled in specialist compartments – sometimes a big story unfolds there unseen by the readers of the everyday news. nbr is read by just a few – the business world is seen as hard to understand or boring. a good move – more people should listen to rod oram.
Why is National Radio, or ANYONE, still talking to the S.S. Trust?
Just a few months ago, Noelle McCarthy, filling in for Jim Mora, interviewed the bloodthirsty Hawkes Bay boer Garth (The Knife) McVicar. Noelle made no attempt to hide her contempt and loathing for McVicar, and tried in vain to get him to say why he had supported the knife-killing of a boy in Auckland, and why he continued to defend the vile criminal and grave-robber David Garrett… http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09032011/#comment-306178
It seemed then that National Radio was declaring publicly that it would have no more to do with that reptile or his disgusting organization.
No such luck, however. On “The Panel” this afternoon, Jim Mora interviewed some fanatic from the Sensible Sentence Trust, this time about the death in jail of a man who murdered a girl in 1967. I was so shocked at the fact that Jim Mora would even countenance interviewing one of these knife enthusiasts, I failed to ascertain if the S.S. Trust supported this murder or was against it.
I whipped off the following e-mail….
From: Morrissey Breen
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 4:30 PM
To: Afternoons
Subject: Why are you continuing to quote the S.S. Trust?
Dear Jim,
Why are you quoting anyone from the Sensible Sentencing Trust? You are aware, I take it, that Garth McVicar loudly and defiantly supported the killer of a teenage boy in Auckland, and still expresses support for the hypocrite and criminal David Garrett.
It’s all very well having Jock Anderson making flippant jokes about Tamil refugees and asylum-seekers, but continuing to quote such a depraved and discredited organization as the S.S. Trust takes the level of irresponsibility on “The Panel” to a new low, and raises serious questions about your integrity and your judgement.
Yours sincerely, Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
At 5.15 p.m. Jim replied….
No it doesn’t. I do not want to censor views. Jim
Which means that Jim Mora says that his mind is as wide open to anything as a fence catching papers in a gale.
I think the problem is his producer. Jim just has to work with what is arranged for him. It’s the same with the extreme right wing commentators Brian Crump has to interview in the evenings.
The list of political “correspondents” that regularly commentate on National Radio is depressing: From New Zealand: Michael Bassett, Michelle Boag, David Farrar, Jock Anderson, Stephen Franks, Deborah Hill Cone, Rosemary McLeod, John Bishop, John Barnett, Graham Bell, Richard Griffin, Neil Miller.
From overseas they are just as bad, if not worse: Lana Shaheen, Liat Collins, Irris Makler, Jason Morrison, Rory Carroll.
Someone actually decides to use such partisan, dishonest, cynical commentators—and it’s not the poor old host.
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
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Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
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Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
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The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
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‘
According to John Key, the Maori Party are prepared to be with him in a coalition arrangement with Brash.
Meanwhile though prepared to work with Brash in coalition with National, the Maori Party have decided not to honour their agreement with Harawira, not to run against each other.
How can this be wise?
Breaking their agreement with Harawira, in itself is not a good look. To do it for the benefit of the Nats and their coalition partner ACT is even worse.
I believe the Maori Party are making a serious tactical mistake in underestimating the the potential support that Mana will gain in the wider electorate.
It is likely that in a three way split in reward for their treachery, the Maori Party will retain only one seat in parliament after election.
This result would exactly replicate that of Jim Anderton after his betrayal of his own followers against their overwhelming opposition to the bloody war in Afghanistan.
Like Anderton, Turia will receive a sinecure little back office position from her coalition partner in reward for her treachery, achieving nothing further worthwhile for her people. To suffer being patronised in public, but quietly mocked behind her back by her coalition partners.
I doubt there will have been many minds changed in the “Bribe the tribe, clash of Brash” debate last night.
I think it was interesting rather than game changing or party saving. And Sharples – I’m not in New Zealand by anyone’s invitation, I was naturally born in this country!
Yet another announcement of a poll from TV3 this morning this time stating that 70% of Christchurch residents are very pleased with the government’s response to the earthquakes. No mention of who was asked, what was asked, and when the poll was taken.
I no longer take TV3s coverage of news and politics seriously. They are just an arm of the Nat propaganda machine. I’ve got better and more productive things to do with my time than watch TV3 news or The Ntion.
Ditto TV1 and Prime News as well. Their news presenters spend their time apparently reading National Party press releases, sport news and then weather.
Ditto all news agencies that I disagree with, they are all clearly paid for and run by the political parties I disagree with.
Oh, come on HS. TV3 has gone beyond the line the way it promotes National Party lines these days – especially Duncan Garner. I prefer TV1 & Stratos these days for TV news, and RNZ in particular for NZ news & current events. TV1 also slants to the right more often than not.
There is pathetic whinging from those of all political persuasions about the perceived bias of various media outlets.
One week they’ll be slighting their perceived bias the next they’ll be quoting the same media operation to support their point of view.
That’s always the weak argument used against criticisms of media bias. But I stand by my judgement about TV3. Sometimes TV3 does more positive Labour/left reports, but most of the time it slants to the right. So WHEN it does do a positive left story, it’s worth taking note of and repeating.
The NoW debacle shows just how much media can interfere with political process, and cofirms my judgement from following UK media, that Brown was being undermined by the media.
Also, Dr Margie Comrie has done some research of the coverage of TV news during the last NZ election. I’ve seen her talking about it. Although her focus was on Maori TV, the data shows a bias by TV One & TV3 towards Key & National over Clark & Labour Dduring the 2008 election period. This is seen in the fact that there was a higher percentage of face time given to Nats/Key over Labour & Clark. Key was in the 40-50% range & Clark in the 30-40% range. Maori TV on the other hand were more slanted to Labour & the Maori Party.
The NoW story is proof that we can’t leave news reporting to the private sector as it’s essentially corrupt. They did everything that the privatisers say that government supported news would do. Hell, they were actually worse, the privatisers say that government news would do what the government tells them but in the UK the politicians were doing what the Rupert Murdoch told them.
And you can’t leave news reporting and journalism to a public sector which has been ordered to behave like the private sector.
Along the lines of what I’ve said in the past on TS … the UK Fourth Estate reveals itself to be financially owned and morally mortgaged to the Tory Estate.
The Government didn’t forward $46 Million to TV3 for nothing.
Reminds me of the news services in Iraq or Libya where the dictator of the day is proudly announced to have won 98% support in the latest elections. That’s some real vindication there.
On potential refugees. “They’re not welcome here,” he said.
Can think of a few “peoples” of this world who a generation or two ago,
were equally as desperate to escape “oppressive” regimes in Europe.
Would he have held the same dismissive attitude towards them?
When his photo-ops are losing the shine, he desperately looks for issues to fan the fires of public debate. Last week, he attempted euthanasia – stirring a discussion that is. This week, it is asylum seekers but he can’t get much traction as it is evident he is morally bankrupt.
The left should not lose focus on the economy, for which opportunities for improvement and growth have been mismanaged and squandered by this administration.
Gawd. Key must be counting his lucky stars. Just as he and National are on the ropes he gets the chance to engage in a little bit of redneck rascism, and not about ACT either.
News that a group of refugees including children expressed a desire to come to New Zealand has allowed him to say they are “not welcome”.
No doubt Key is hoping that the debate about Asylum seekers gets as heated as in Australia. When I was there recently I could not believe that a couple of hundred people fleeing their country and wanting to settle in a country of 20 million could attract such heat. The issue seemed to be the political story of the day.
The chances of a boat actually reaching New Zealand are remote beyond belief. Why bypass Australia and travel thousands of miles to reach a similar nation?
And so much for the rule of law. International law requires a country to accept refugees and to consider their claim for status properly. Compassion requires the same.
But what are such considerations when there is an election to win …
That’s right Mickey he should have said that we would welcome them with open arms rather than discouraging an influx of economic refugees.
No HS
He did not have to say a thing. If he was going to say something he should have said that New Zealand is bound by international law and would abide by its obligations.
Bullshit, in this instance he said exactly the correct thing and you’re just practicing partisan political hackery because it didn’t come out of the mouth of a Labour politician.
Step back and imagine the same words coming out of Helen Clark’s mouth and reconsider your position.
BS yourself HS.
I recall clearly Helen Clark’s Government deciding to accept 750 Afghani refugees from the Tampa after John Howard’s government refused to allow it to land. I cheered at the time.
I have since met a number of them and they are very decent generous people.
Helen would not only have talked differently she has shown that she would have decided differently. No dog whistle for her, just compassion.
Oops it was 150 refugees.
What does your leader say about the issue micky?
By your reasoning Phil is showing his incompassion, nyet?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5269065/Sri-Lankan-community-backs-Key
Methinks some people need some training in how to read the media 😉
And how the frak do you know they are economic refugees, and not a community being persecuted for their involvement in the Sri Lankan civil war?
Reports say they are Tamils and if they directly supported the losing side in that war they are now screwed and their lives under official or unofficial threat.
Don’t be such an a-hole before you know the facts, and don’t be like John Key who couldn’t give a fuck about any of that minor detail.
Key is continue the play of ACT’s racist card. As I said in the Implosion-Watch thread, I bet he knew about these asylum seekers Sunday morning.
Aye. Geriatric serial-adulterer racists who have just ripped off the taxpayers half a bill for a worthless report are welcome in government but persecuted women and kids in fear of their lives can’t get a toe on the beach. Lovely chaps, these NACTZies.
They are madly sprouting. Another mushroom popping out at 3pm today:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5271093/Federated-Farmers-president-Acts-new-candidate
At this rate, are KKK costumes running out of stock?
ACT must be getting truly desperate.
The Nicholson term in Federated Farmers ended with sighs of relief from the agribusiness and agripolitical fraternity. Nicholson went out a fortnight ago, with rantings echoing Brash on the usual suspects – local bodies, Big Govt, climate change denial etc etc.
More moderate characters have now been elected to Feds national leadership, with an apparently genuine urban-friendly look. So even Feds will be backing away from their previous leader.
Looks like another futile attempt at ACT life support. John Key’s enthusiasm for euthanasia should be applied to political parties.
Never to disappoint – ACT is comfy cemetery for yet another male, pale and stale …
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5271093/Nicolson-to-take-on-English-as-ACTs-new-candidate
Maybe Alasdair Thompson would like to be their Women’s Affairs spokesperson?
The refugees are indeed unlikely to get here, since according to the story they have already been arrested in Indonesia, and sent to the the controversial processing centre near Malaysia. When I was in Australia recently it was pointed out to me that about 3,000 people a year try to get into Australia off the boats, while a great many more than that are brought in as “experts” to work, their expertise often being a willingness to work for low wages. The former generate a lot of talk back heat, while the latter are virtually ignored. What is creepy and Orwellian though is the way these sorts of stories are internationalised – it’s as if there are news bite forms, for which particulars are sought to add colour, detail and “authenticity” to a concept. If it worked in Australia or perhaps America, the idea seems to be, then let’s run it up the flag pole here and see if anyone salutes it.
“Just as he and National are on the ropes” What ? “On the ropes” would indicate a lack of support and a party which is dysfunctional in the extreme. Even you can’t believe that, or are you thinking of the leaderless Labour Party ? Just because you say it to an already converted audience smacks of cheerleading. Polls and public opinion would disagree with your statements, as I believe the important “poll” at the end of the year will as well. Given the vacuum of opposition policies and personalities, its no wonder they will barely have to try to beat a splintered left wing.
Like most of us, in my professional and my private life, I speak to a wide variety of people.
The one thing i do not see in the real world, that is reported repeatedly in the media and the infamous Polls, is this supposed supremacy of the National Party as preferred leaders of the country. The last few months however I constantly hear from long time National supporters that they do not agree with what the Government is doing and they have no intention of voting for them in November.
One old timer, a wealthy stalwart of the Nats told me the other day this is the worst Government they can remember in New Zealand’s history and he has already watched three of his grandchildren leave NZ with no intention of returning. I have certainly been impressed by the voracity some of these people express when shown the morsels of ineptitude by this Government.
If we could only get the Fourth Estate functioning again , then Democracy may stand a chance.
Even my dis-illusioned right wing boss is now sick of “smile and wave politics”.
Bit of a difference between refugees trying to gain entry through the legal channels and boat people trying to gain entry illegally, Don’t you think.
Nope.
Article 31 of the UN Convention on the staus of refugees states:
“The Contracting States shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees who, coming directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened in the sense of article 1, enter or are present in their territory without authorization, provided they present themselves without delay to the authorities and show good cause for their illegal entry or presence.”
*Facepalm* of course! Desperate disenfranchised refugees with minimal resources should simply access legal channels!
Perhaps the Sri Lankan government would have helped them to apply for refugee status in NZ while they were being persecuted, what do you think mate?
CV there’s a number of country’s they could seek refugee status in before taking the dangerous journey to our shores. Why not other asian countries ? Why not India ? Why not Indonesia or the Phillipines ? Why not Australia ?
Why NZ ?
You’re trotting out the same tired arguments that were being used against Ahmed Zaoui in 2002-4, and with the same lack of logic. Do you really think these people have any kind of a choice? If they did they wouldn’t be in a boat, and would not have already been arrested, as Olwyn says above.
Ahmed Zaoui was eventually released and the sky didn’t fall. It’s not going to fall if 150 Tamils come here. We’ve got plenty of room, for goodness’ sake, and plenty else as well, contrary to what I heard Key say on the news this morning…
Answer the question Vicky.
Why on earth would they want to sail more than half way around the world to come here when there’s a multitude of other countries closer by
Because NZ has a reputation for kindness and giving a shit. Especially about seriously listening to the stories of refugees and people seeking asylum from persecution in their home lands. Well, more of a reputation than the Australians.
What of it?
By the way, plenty of people sailed all the way around the world to make their lives here in NZ in the 1800’s, when they too could have chosen a multitude of other countries closer by.
What of that?
LA Times reports:
“Argentine songwriter and singer Facundo Cabral, an icon of Latin American folk and protest music, was shot to death early Saturday by unknown gunmen who intercepted his car in Guatemala City and pumped it full of bullets.
…
Cabral, born to a dirt-poor family in provincial Argentina, rose to fame in the 1970s primarily as a writer and performer of protest songs, at a time when Latin America was shackled by military dictatorships, coups and crises. He went into exile in Mexico during Argentina’s military junta from 1976 to 1983.
…
In 1996 UNESCO named him an “international messenger of peace,” and themes of peace and brotherhood dominated his later work.”
Stuff poll currently at 79.2% against helping the boat people
Once again I am ashamed and embarrassed at the growing disregard for others being expressed by people who call themselves New Zealanders. This is not the country i was raised to believe in, this is a quagmire of greedy and selfish sycophants who deserve the pain to come if they continue down this road to hegemony
I love Key, the grateful and compassionate sod.
If the boat has an Austrian-Jewish refugee lady and this were a few decades ago, isn’t it nice to know he would tell her she is unwelcome and turn her away? And New Zealand better off for that?
Turning back the boat could be his new metaphor for kicking away the ladder?
Anyway, the Left should stay focused on the current economic issues and call their own shots as to when and how the asylum issues would be debated.
Seems Goff doesn’t agree with you.
It’s a problem.
This year, more so than most, every single person has to be reminded they have a choice to make. The choice today is how much longer we want the degradation of our Nation to continue.
All cliches aside, help each other and we win. Hate each other and we lose.
I hear that at the Pike River enquiry, Pikey lawyers cross examining Don Elder are suggesting his comments yesterday were aimed at driving down PRC’s share price so that Solid Energy can get a better price.
I’m pretty sure that the commissioners will see different things from that line of attack than what the lawyers want.
If that is the best that Pike River Coal has then it is all bad for them. As it should be. John Dow is firmly in the sights.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html
We are not doing to badly , are we?
Aye Carumba !
Interesting comment from John Key in Question Time today, in response to a question by Brendon Burns. The question was about Key’s Hard Talk comment that scientists are like lawyers and he could always find a scientist with an alternative scientific view on NZ’s 1000% pure status. Today Key added economists to the list of people who have as diverse views as lawyers. Leaving aside that lawyers are not scientists but aim to represent one side positively, I think it might be a useful quote to repeat back to Key when he’s quoting an economst to support his policies.
Next to be added to Key’s growing list of lawyers, scientists and economists: the diversity of bullshit from ex-currency traders?
Of course, nothing equals the singularity of opinion from that of ACT’s living dead on racism, sexism, …..
Fantastic news coming out of the UK. If only our government had the balls to do something like this: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/8630945/David-Cameron-public-services-to-be-opened-up-to-competition.html
I think the biggest benefit will be to public servants themselves. I think the reason that public servants have a bad reputation in most parts of the country is that people don’t feel like they have a choice but to pay for them to be used. If you don’t like your local supermarket you can drive to the one down the road. What if you don’t like your local public service provider? You can’t do much about it so you develop a negative attitude.
yes – imagine how organised and cost effective the post CHCH quake efforts would have been.
sure the PS can be improved, but what your advocating is a society with even bigger imbalances than we currently have – one where those that can afford it get it while those that cant – dont
Oh if only! But what if you’re a little old lady who doesn’t drive? Or someone with disabilities? And there’s only one supermarket within a realistic distance?
What Cameron is doing is complete idiocy!
It is now official… ACT is doomed. The final nail in the coffin has been hit home.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5271093/Nicolson-to-take-on-English-as-ACTs-new-candidate
Don Nicolson has had views and attitudes at Fed Farmers which have been divisive and ignorant. The man is a shallow twit. Witness Rod Oram’s withering piece on Fed Farmers and Nicolson in the SST this week.
Imagine being at one of their meetings or get-togethers. My god, you would go insane. Or burst your sides with laughter. And imagine when / if Key gets back in and has Brash and Nicolson bleating and screeching and dribbling at the mouth. Put this lot together for the public to see and you will be home and hosed.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10738021 – Federated Farmers leader is going to be an ACT MP – but why are they not brave enough to stand in more than one electorate? That’s right, they aren’t a proper party, with a proper mandate and don’t want their arses being kicked.
Looks like there may be a method to the nuttiness — ACT will stand in ‘safe’ National seats and ask the super extremist cuckoos & rwnjs to vote tactically, eg electorate seat to Nats and party seat to ACT.
The strategy is to ensure NACTzies metastasize and make New Zealand the diseased male, pale and stale body politic of the Pacific.
The question is which is the next electorate that ACT will stand, and who that candidate might be.
I think it’s a very good move for Don Nicolson to stand for Act (any party will do) in Clutha Southland. He’s got relevant experience for the electorate and should be able to spend more time looking after his constituents that Bill English can from Wellington.
I’d like to see him do well (unless a better candidate stands there). We need smarter voting with more electorate focus rather than party palaver.
Don Nicolson is a stone cold lunatic.
Read this.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/5211126/Free-enterprise-cooks-up-a-tasty-stew
Now go back and read it again.
Don is campaigning for the list vote. he isn’t focusing on the electorate at all. He is going to try and get farmers votes by preaching to them about how hard done by they are and try and get enough ACT votes from the Fed Famers network.
This is exactly the same play that ACT ran with in 08 with the sensible sentencing trust Get somebody with a ready built network of emails and mana within a niche group of easily targetable voters; give him a list spot far enough down that he isn’t guaranteed a spot, and bob’s your uncle, should be good for an extra MP worth of votes, maybe more.
It’s farming all right.
Meh don’t be too worried, ACT has backstabbed all their women, unceremoniously and undemocratically dumped Hide, backstabbed Maori, seen their monied corporate supporters vapourise and resurrected a leader that rural National voters deserted.
Now with Nicholson portraying themselves as principled visionaries with the country at heart.
Farmers aren’t fools.
P’s b, that is just nutty what he is going on about.
Don Nicolson is a nut. “The ETS is a secret plan by the international green movement to create jobs and stave off anarchy”…… that’s what Nicolson thinks. Oh lordy ………..
We have another Garrett / Peters / Bob the builder on our hands………….
New Zealand’s top brains spring into action following Super 15 disaster
Radio Sport, Sunday 10 July 2011 3.30 p.m.
The Canterbury Crusaders lost the Super 15 final on Saturday night. That means New Zealand’s best intellects will be working hard to work out the reason for the calamity….
MURRAY DEAKER: Plenty of spare lines, you’ll get straight through if you ring now. Phil, your thoughts?
CALLER PHIL: I want to talk about the All Black squad. Murray, I am very, very concerned. I think we will have a lack of intelligence, once the ball goes past Daniel Carter.
DEAKER: [long, thoughtful pause] Conrad Smith?
PHIL: Yes, but what if he’s injured, Murray?
DEAKER: [long, thoughtful pause] I know what you’re getting at, Phil.
PHIL: Yes, well, it needs to be said, Murray.
DEAKER: [with utmost gravitas] A lot of people talk about this in private, but are not prepared to talk about it in public. But I don’t give a toss about that! The problem is that in this country we have a lot of boys that are early maturers.
PHIL: Yes, oh yes.
DEAKER: These guys haven’t got the slender build of, say, a Dan Carter, or a Jeff Wilson, or an Andrew Mehrtens.
PHIL: That’s right, Murray.
DEAKER: So they’ve never had to jink, or sidestep, or run around any opponents. They are so huge that all they have ever had to do is barge past them. They’ve never had to think! Because they’re early maturers!
PHIL: It’s a worry. Because these overseas teams, they’re thinkers, Murray! They’re private school boys, and they’re thinkers.! The Australians, Murray, they’re just so educated! I remember once when the lowest-qualified player in the team was a chartered accountant, Murray!
DEAKER: Yes, but we’ll not see the likes of Nick Farr-Jones, David Kirk, Sir John Graham and Sir Wilson Whineray again. They were very bright guys!
PHIL: I’m so worried, Murray….
…ad absurdum, ad nauseam, ad infinitum….
Every level of rugby is in talent trouble, down to the bloody radio commentators.
The playing talent is just fine. In fact, they are better than they have ever been.
But as you point out, the commentators are, almost without exception, substandard.
Of course, Deaker wasn’t implying that the “cultures” of the blood that is coursing around the veins of those outside Carter is significant in “thinking” – of course he wasn’t and neither was the caller.
Yes he was, and so was his moronic interlocutor “Phil”.
Would “Phil” be you, by some chance?
I thought this was an interesting post by dim-post:
I think (non-empirical statement coming up: if I was a political columnist I’d write ‘some say’ or ‘most New Zealanders think’) that if you asked the public why Labour is unpopular then part of the answer would involve a perception of Labour as an unethical, sleazy party (built up by years of scandals like the repeated funding/election spending rorts, Chris Carter, Shane Jones, Phillip-Field, support for Winston Peters, etc). But I also think that if you suggested to Labour MPs or supporters that their party was sleazy or unethical they would be genuinely shocked, because they see themselves as ‘the good guys’ – and they’d attempt to litigate each of the examples I made above (‘it’s the mainstream media’s fault for reporting it! And what about Double Dipton Bill English?’) With the counter-intuitive result that they continue to behave unethically – damaging the integrity of the Labour Party brand and further alienating voters – while still considering themselves highly ethical, and refusing to even acknowledge any of the damage these scandals have caused them. (Because they didn’t really happen, because Labour is so ethical.)
Sort of what I’ve been saying for awhile but he/she does it more eloquently then I can
Fletcher seeks payback for Pink Batt stack
An interesting story. It goes like this.
1.) Oz government announces subsides for insulating homes
2.) Fletcher’s buys bulk stuff to make insulation and keeps said insulation in stock
3.) Due to some serious issues, Oz government cancels insulation subsidy
4.) Fletcher’s seeks compensation from Oz government
Stuff like this is actually sickening. There was no guarantee on the part of the Oz government that Fletcher’s would sell the stock and so the risk that Fletcher’s took is all on their heads. They didn’t need to buy all that stock and they still have it. They haven’t actually lost anything except what they thought, incorrectly, was government guaranteed profits.
Really, all they need to do is just sell the damn stuff. Knock the price down a bit and I’m sure that they’ll still be able to find people who want to insulate their home.
1.) Oz government announces subsides for insulating homes
2.) Fletcher’s buys bulk stuff to make insulation and keeps said insulation in stock
3.) Due to some serious issues, Oz government cancels insulation subsidy
4.) Fletcher’s seeks compensation from Oz government
You missed a few points…
1.) Oz government announces 4 billion dollars of subsides for insulating homes
1.a oz Govt does deal with Fletchers et al to limit margins on basis of massive amount of work.
3.a Oz Govt forgets to require installers to have any training.
3.b A bunch of guys die during install.
3.c Oz Govt thinks money can be betyter spent elsewhere.
3.d Oz Govt cancells subsidy, leaving tens of thousands of houses cold and wasting energy and money.
4. a . Fletchers rightfully expect to be paid for materials brought specifically for a project.
4.b Fletchers get paid. (hasnt happened yet but it will, behind closed doors)
VTO, Fed Farmers are pretty irrelevant , they have 13000 membership payers ( the other 14k or so is made up of associates like family members ) . and he couldn’t get a majority or 6500 farmers to vote for him, if that.
Thats probably more then Labour has at the moment
This Media is Corrupt
Monbiot
Sounds about par for the course in NZ as well.
but they ( the ones who wouldnt run the ACT ad) did print this…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/5268588/Editorial-Time-Labour-learned-to-play-by-the-rules
Did you read my post at 17? Thats exactly the point hes making.
Ah yes the Dom Post, in the style of Rupert Murdoch. Turning the quibble about a full stop into a media charge of treason for political reasons.
Actually thats Dim-Post, leftie blog if you didn’t know
http://dimpost.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/vicious-circle/
also no right turns wasn’t bad either
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2011/07/goffing-it-up.html
dtb that’s a good point – the stories about welfare cheats encourage loathing from the employed middle and upper lower class to those less capable. George orwell noted this reaction i think in the road to wigan pier. n the newspapers the financial/business stories are corralled in specialist compartments – sometimes a big story unfolds there unseen by the readers of the everyday news. nbr is read by just a few – the business world is seen as hard to understand or boring. a good move – more people should listen to rod oram.
Why is National Radio, or ANYONE, still talking to the S.S. Trust?
Just a few months ago, Noelle McCarthy, filling in for Jim Mora, interviewed the bloodthirsty Hawkes Bay boer Garth (The Knife) McVicar. Noelle made no attempt to hide her contempt and loathing for McVicar, and tried in vain to get him to say why he had supported the knife-killing of a boy in Auckland, and why he continued to defend the vile criminal and grave-robber David Garrett…
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09032011/#comment-306178
It seemed then that National Radio was declaring publicly that it would have no more to do with that reptile or his disgusting organization.
No such luck, however. On “The Panel” this afternoon, Jim Mora interviewed some fanatic from the Sensible Sentence Trust, this time about the death in jail of a man who murdered a girl in 1967. I was so shocked at the fact that Jim Mora would even countenance interviewing one of these knife enthusiasts, I failed to ascertain if the S.S. Trust supported this murder or was against it.
I whipped off the following e-mail….
From: Morrissey Breen
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 4:30 PM
To: Afternoons
Subject: Why are you continuing to quote the S.S. Trust?
Dear Jim,
Why are you quoting anyone from the Sensible Sentencing Trust? You are aware, I take it, that Garth McVicar loudly and defiantly supported the killer of a teenage boy in Auckland, and still expresses support for the hypocrite and criminal David Garrett.
It’s all very well having Jock Anderson making flippant jokes about Tamil refugees and asylum-seekers, but continuing to quote such a depraved and discredited organization as the S.S. Trust takes the level of irresponsibility on “The Panel” to a new low, and raises serious questions about your integrity and your judgement.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
At 5.15 p.m. Jim replied….
No it doesn’t. I do not want to censor views. Jim
Wow, what a deep and meaningful response! I can’t stand Mora and won’t listen to him any longer, which is a pity…
What BS. How many times has he censored the views of people speaking out against the BS positions of the SS Trust.
Giving air time weight to the views of a group of discredited narrow minded idiots like the SST doesn’t help Mora at all.
Giving air time weight to the views of a group of discredited narrow minded idiots like the SST doesn’t help Mora at all.
I note that one of Jim Mora’s Panelists today was the odious Stephen Franks, an S.S. Trust lawyer and close friend of Garth the Knife McVicar.
Morrissey Which means that Jim Mora says that his mind is as wide open to anything as a fence catching papers in a gale.
Which means that Jim Mora says that his mind is as wide open to anything as a fence catching papers in a gale.
I think the problem is his producer. Jim just has to work with what is arranged for him. It’s the same with the extreme right wing commentators Brian Crump has to interview in the evenings.
The list of political “correspondents” that regularly commentate on National Radio is depressing: From New Zealand: Michael Bassett, Michelle Boag, David Farrar, Jock Anderson, Stephen Franks, Deborah Hill Cone, Rosemary McLeod, John Bishop, John Barnett, Graham Bell, Richard Griffin, Neil Miller.
From overseas they are just as bad, if not worse: Lana Shaheen, Liat Collins, Irris Makler, Jason Morrison, Rory Carroll.
Someone actually decides to use such partisan, dishonest, cynical commentators—and it’s not the poor old host.