A question many may be asking is whether the PM, in private conversations with HRH and his missus, would think it appropriate to use such words as “thick as bat… et cetera”.
Perhaps one would wonder if once HRH leaves our shores how long before the PM refers to him as Big Ears and says he dresses like a Queen. That would be on form for our joker PM and I guess get a giggle from the schoolkids he is trying to impress.
Hope they crucify him. No doubt there are other workers whom he treated this way. Is it a sign that workers in this country are so fearful they dare not stand up for their rights?? When I read the article this looks to be the case.
.
“Crucify” – “blacklisting” him certainly isn’t enough, but I doubt much more is going to happen. They’re going to go after him for money? lol
“Behind a string of failed businesses” – but was nevertheless deemed suitable for the subsidies. What, if anything, did W&I do to vet this cowboy they vouched for?
Nothing wrong with that but there should be a look into why he failed. It’s not always bad luck and, considering what the article said, it would seem that his businesses failed because he’s corrupt.
What, if anything, did W&I do to vet this cowboy they vouched for?
At a guess, they didn’t. They would have just looked at his business card, probably checked that the business had a phone number and that would be about it. I would be surprised if they checked the registered businesses list.
The article gives the impression that a helpless person was exploited, but there is nothing to say reality didn’t happen.
Darien Fenton talked about this sort of stuff happening, almost two years ago, in Parliament and recieved the now infamous “…any job is a good job…” reply from Paula Bennett.
As I see it, if we play the blame game we also net the “innocents” i.e. people acting against thier own interests because they either have no choice or are unaware how their beliefs about work snooker them. The only way I can see round this problem, under our current approach to industrial relations, would be to legislate some kind of multicultural law where employers must have an equal percentage of race/culture in their employ. Honestly, I think the chance of that being sold to the electorate, as it stands, is nil. Darien Fenton talked about this stuff in May 2011 and it was old news then; it was happening before the current bunch of Nats came to power; it was happening while Helen was in power; it happened when I was kid. Employee versus employer mentality in our economic reality leaves big gaps that can’t be covered by laws wanting to make things fair. It’s a systemic problem. While people believe work = profit and that profit is a virtue, people will comply with exploitative methods. Change the system and the problem will be reduced. Chances of that happening… very slim.
This carwash scheme is a whitewash. Funny how businesses can be guilty of trying to get money they aren’t entitled to. I thought it was supposed to be beneficiaries who did that.
Hi AWW. I read that article about the car wash dude this am and wasn’t surprised. I was given a voucher in December last year to take our car in for a wash at the “Shop n Shine” in Wakefield St, Wellington. The guy was lecherous with his female customers which made me feel concerned for his female staff. Everything about him was “dodgy geezer”. It felt like a real fly by night operation. I noted the staff were working really hard in the hot sun and I said to a group of young guys “I hope you’re on good money for the great job you’re doing”. I said it because they WERE doing a great job and I had the feeling with a boss like theirs they would be minimum wage and their worth needed to be acknowledged. That business lasted for a few months before it was gone.
The problem is that people will continue to bleat on about individual “bludgers” whose reality and hardship they know nothing of but won’t bat an eyelid at dodgy geezer dude being fraudulent and exploitative because he’s being an “entrepreneur”. Its that scenario where people feel they can beat up on beneficiaries through their own perverse justifications yet somehow business is derserving of sympathy. Watch for his response – He’ll probably claim that he is a victim. He’ll blame everyone but himself.
Now I wonder what sort of Privacy issues this will bring up. I already have serious misgivings about the courts passing information to a bunch of Debt collectors, whose staff will not be under the same rules as to accessing private data as the justice dept would have.
Today is one hundred years since the killing of Frederick Evans on 12 November 1912. Evans was the first trade unionist to be killed in a labour dispute in New Zealand:
This weekend there was a conference at Waihi commerating the bitter 1912 strike that climaxed in Evans being batoned and kicked to death by a mob of strikebreakers out the back of the Miner’s Hall, while police either actively joined in or watched on. This was followed by the remaining Waihi strikers and their families being violently hounded out of the town. The conference was well attended, with a number of well-known historians, trade unionists, and politicians present. For more details, see:
Yesterday, Robert Reid, secretary of First Union, gave a powerful speech by the commerative placque to Evans on Seddon Street. He pointed to the significance of martyrs of NZ trade unionism like Evans, Ernie Abbott, and Christine Clark, and the need to honour their memory. Although sceptical of the present government’s good intentions, Reid also expressed cautious optimism that the Pike River inquiry may lead to improvements in workers’ health and safety conditions, which have been seriously weakened over the last twenty years.
From the same article.
Associate Education Minister Craig Foss told Radio New Zealand today the security breach was a one-off because of human error in entering an incorrect school code.
How does this match with secure systems!!!!
It wasn’t an incorrect code it was another schools!!!
Dont they have a passworded system Craig?
Prime Minister John Key today said it was essential to bring in the Novopay system because the previous system was “effectively falling over”.
National Radio: Sensible Sentencing Trust is a “Victims’ Advocacy organization”
9 a.m. News, National Radio, Monday 12 November 2012
The grieving mother of murdered teenager Christy Marceau has made a bizarre press statement, announcing that Garth McVicar and the Sensible Sentencing Trust have supported her, rather than her daughter’s killer, ever since the murder. “Garth has been there for me a hundred percent of the way,” insisted Mrs Marceau. “He’s never pushed himself, the trust, nothing.”
Many people will share my suspicion that this statement was concocted not by Mrs Marceau, but by Louise Parsons, Phil Kitchin, Peter Jenkins or one of the S.S. Trust’s other spin doctors.
Most of us are by now inured to the S.S. Trust’s cynical and depraved manipulation of vulnerable parents; however, the really concerning aspect of this news item was to hear the newsreader refer to the S.S. Trust as “the victims’ advocacy organization.” Those who remember the brutal and sustained campaign of vilification mounted by McVicar and the S.S. Trust against a slain boy in South Auckland, and recall the ridicule and abuse they heaped on the boy’s mother and family, will be mystified as to why Radio New Zealand’s copywriters call them “victims’ advocates”.
Or does Radio New Zealand, like Mrs Marceau, have its scripts written for it by someone from the S.S. Trust?
(FYI folks – forwarded in the public interest on behalf of Sue Henry who doesn’t have a computer.)
12 November 2012
“Housing New Zealand – call off the dogs!”
Press Release Sue Henry Housing Lobby Spokesperson.
“The latest Housing New Zealand (HNZ) Statement of Corporate Intent 2012 – 2015, quite rightly sets out the statutory obligations which HNZ is required to follow by law.”
The Crown Entities Act 2004 stipulates HNZ ” must exhibit a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates.”
The principal Housing NZ Corporation Act 1974 also stipulates these very same social responsibility obligations.
On 5 November 2012 the new CEO of the Tamaki Redevelopment Company, Deborah Lawson stated in a letter to the NZ Herald:
‘There has been some confusion about the Tamaki Transformation Programme.
It does not include the Northern Glen Innes Housing Redevelopment Project. Housing New Zealand is responsible for this.’
“This is quite correct,” continues Sue Henry.
“This means HNZ are bulldozing through policies in total conflict with their legislative statutory duties.
There is no lawful basis for the removal of State houses in Glen Innes North.
Our community is being ripped apart.
On what lawful basis are Police enforcing the removal State houses in Glen Innes North?
The Housing Lobby demands that the unlawful removal of State houses from Glen Innes North cease forthwith, and calls for support from opposition parties for an immediate inquiry into how HNZ has breached its statutory duties.”
SUMMARY OF THE STATUTORY DUTIES OF HOUSING NZ AS A ‘CROWN AGENT’ UNDER THE HOUSING CORPORATION ACT 1974 AND CROWN ENTITIES ACT 2004:
1) Housing New Zealand Corporation is a CROWN AGENT ( a type of STATUTORY ENTITY).
2) The ’empowering’ legislation for Crown Agent, Housing New Zealand Corporation is the Housing Corporation Act 1974.
3) As a Crown Agent – Housing New Zealand Corporation comes under the CROWN ENTITIES ACT 2004.
4) Under the Housing Corporation Act 1974 (s.3B (a) (i) – HNZ has a STATUTORY DUTY to be an organisation that –
“exhibits a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates;”
5) Under the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.139) as a Crown Agent, HNZ has a statutory duty to prepare a Statement of Intent.
6) In the HNZ Statement of Intent 2012 – 2015 (pg 25) – it states:
“The Corporation is accountable under legislation to give effect to the Crown’s social objectives by providing housing, and services related to housing, in a businesslike manner and to exhibit a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates. ”
7) Under the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.14 (1) (a) the functions of HNZ as a ‘Statutory Entity’ are:
” the functions set out in the entity’s Act”.
(The Housing Corporation Act 1974).
Under the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.14 (2) )
” In performing its functions, a statutory entity must act consistently with its objectives.”
8) Under the Crown Entities Act 2004 (s.19) – “Acts in breach of statute are invalid”.
“(1) An act of a statutory entity is invalid, unless section 20 applies, if it is—
(a) an act that is contrary to, or outside the authority of, an Act; or
(b) an act that is done otherwise than for the purpose of performing its functions.”
_________________________________________________________________
So – how is what HNZ is doing in Glen Innes ” exhibit(ing) a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the
interests of the community in which it operates”?
How is HNZ not breaching their statutory duties as defined in the Housing Corporation Act 1974
(s.3B (a) (i) to be an organisation that –
“exhibits a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates;”
How is HNZ not breaching their statutory duties as defined by the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.14 (2) )
” In performing its functions, a statutory entity must act consistently with its objectives.” ?
Arguably – the actions of HNZ in removing GI state houses are therefore ‘invalid’ (s. 19 (a) Crown Entities Act 2004) because they are:
“contrary to, or outside the authority of” the Housing Corporation Act 1974 (s.3B (a) (i) )
to be an organisation that –
“exhibits a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates;”
and the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.14 (2)
” In performing its functions, a statutory entity must act consistently with its objectives.”
Your post was most enlightening – I have printed it off to read in detail the next time I suffer from insomnia.
Please keep up the good work – in fact are you able to go in to more detail next time about Housing NZ’s responsibilities – these brief summaries are just too insufficient to get a good grasp of the issues which you are espousing.
It’s been somewhat annoying to read through the plethora of propaganda articles that have been published about the Japanese governments policy on nuclear power. Many of these articles are obviously produced by the nuclear power industry and bear no resemblance to reality. In fact some of the articles are so manipulative that they’ve spurred The Jackal into looking a little deeper into Japans nuclear free future…
The experts agreed Sunday that part of Ohi’s underground structure slid as far back as 125,000 years ago but they couldn’t tell if it was because of an active fault line. They will meet again this week.
Chief regulator Shunichi Tanaka has suggested a plant closure if the fault line is judged active.
This week’s New Yorker features a blistering investigation by Jane Mayer into Hans von Spakovsky, a leading propagator of voter fraud myths. His work has led to a flurry of legislation and voting restrictions pushed by Republicans.
I suppose that would be similar to the benefit fraud BS we get from National.
Novopay the new innovative remittance paying scheme that hackers will never be able to break because it changes every time it is used with one-off unpredictable alterations, a fine example of chaos theory. Who knows where it will end up. Buy this novel program and be prepared for surprise and amazement.
Goodness – a Stuff author advocating a 30 hour working week – and it’s not even April 1st. It’s a suggestion written by a reader though, not one of the regular journos.
I suggest that all employment contracts be required to include this, as well as to introduce another clause in that respect: That any employee working more than 30 hours per week be paid time-and-a-quarter for every hour worked after the 30th hour.
In order to avoid harming businesses, they should be able to deduct from their taxes (or otherwise be refunded) part of their losses incurred due to this change for the first years after the introduction.
He obviously doesn’t understand the reasoning behind penal rates.
The idea is that penal rates encourage the employer to invest in capital and thus being able to do more with less people. Our productivity increase has decreased from where it was due to the removal of penal rates. As a secondary effect it also helps to encourage full employment.
Are we ruling over globalization or is globalization ruling over us? Is it possible to speak of solidarity and of “being all together” in an economy based on ruthless competition? How far does our fraternity go?
[…]
But if life is going to slip through my fingers, working and over-working in order to be able to consume more, and the consumer society is the engine-because ultimately, if consumption is paralysed, the economy stops, and if you stop economy, the ghost of stagnation appears for each one of us, but it is this hyper-consumption that is harming the planet. And this hyper-consumption needs to be generated, making things that have a short useful life, in order to sell a lot.
El presidente Mujica concludes:
And one asks this question: is this the fate of human life? These things I say are very basic: development cannot go against happiness. It has to work in favor of human happiness, of love on Earth, human relationships, caring for children, having friends, having our basic needs covered. Precisely because this is the most precious treasure we have; happiness. When we fight for the environment, we must remember that the essential element of the environment is called human happiness.
In addition to a big awhi to joe, I would just like to awhi all you folk on the left end of the political spectrum; the socio-political tension to endeavour course correction is essential.
A thinking person would have to be “blind” to not see the implications of unfolding global and local environmental, economic, political, social and cultural events; it is not going to end well for the majority, which is ironic seeing as Fukuyama once argued that the modern democratic capitalist state was the “end of history” (never bothered reading his entire books, but he is changing his tune as the days unfold).
After catching up on the latest Standard “revelations”, I am actually speechless, and have nothing else political to say,
except,
there is certainly more to this life than meets the eye.
Anyone heard what happened to the dude up north who smashed the window of the WINZ office and then went on a hunger strike? He was meant to be going to court for the window.
Also the other dude in Dunedin, who got awarded a huge backpay from WINZ because they were so incompetent at managing his case, but WINZ were appealing.
Henry’s finally been put out of viewers misery, from crikey’s Glen Dyer:
‘This morning it did a public service when it said it was axing Breakfast…That’s bad luck for the good co-host Kathryn Robinson. But it is good news because Ten is finally getting rid of the apparently useless Paul Henry, imported from NZ at a reported cost of $1 million and who was simply offensive beyond belief, in my opinion..’
The comedians will miss all that material he generated though.
Have standardistas noticed this??
Article in Fridays Dompost saying Polytechnics have lost millions of dollars which has been shifted to (guess where) the private sector. EIT is losing 12 jobs beacause it has lost $2m government money. Stephen Joyce the man responsible
also open at the moment
Allah: A Christian Response. by Miroslav Volf
A Confession. Leo Tolstoy. foreward by Helen Dunmore
Hesperus Press Ltd.2010
(this work influenced Gandhi) and includes the essay
“What is Religion, and What does it’s Essence Consist Of?”
The Politics of Hope. Jonathan Sacks (it’s all about covenant, you know, making a promise or commitment and keeping it)
and for bedtime Lynn, “the telling” -Ursula K. Le Guin (makes the caravan cosy: I hope all the politicians appreciate that a person cannot afford to live independently under their own roof in this country on a single persons income support, meet the “market rent” and have any money left over for contingencies!)
Yeah, that was mentioned a couple of weeks ago. It’s how this government operates – Stop funding public services so that private profits can be boosted.
feijoa
The polytechnics seem to be made culpable of not solving the unemployment problem. We don’t have enough trained builders and tradesmen, so that’s their fault. Pollies feel sure that if all the work classified as ‘jobs’ could be filled, why there would be only very low unemployment.
There are barriers to young people getting further training too, costs including living and then a debt that is a burden if you can’t get a job and which is a continuing burden.
So the government technics and institutes, who now and then mess up their budgets as well as the other gripes about them, are to be punished. Private will do it better, be more onto it etc.and government can be milked to provide business opportunities for people who have no original ideas for start ups.
I am just listening to radionz with a piece on housing for the lower income and ‘new entrants’ into the housing market. They said that Hobsonville is the site of a development, with Housing NZ carrying out a large portion of new housing. They gave the job to an Australian firm and many of the properties are in the $600K to $800K bracket. Sigh!
I’ve started receiving stacks of notification emails from The Standard telling me whenever a new comment has been posted. Can anyone tell me how to turn this off? (Not even sure how I turned this on…)
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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 cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
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. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
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A question many may be asking is whether the PM, in private conversations with HRH and his missus, would think it appropriate to use such words as “thick as bat… et cetera”.
Perhaps one would wonder if once HRH leaves our shores how long before the PM refers to him as Big Ears and says he dresses like a Queen. That would be on form for our joker PM and I guess get a giggle from the schoolkids he is trying to impress.
.
SCUM.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7935849/Boss-fails-to-pass-on-wage-subsidies
Hope they crucify him. No doubt there are other workers whom he treated this way. Is it a sign that workers in this country are so fearful they dare not stand up for their rights?? When I read the article this looks to be the case.
.
And I guess that gets recorded in the stats as $40,000 worth of “welfare fraud”.
“Crucify” – “blacklisting” him certainly isn’t enough, but I doubt much more is going to happen. They’re going to go after him for money? lol
“Behind a string of failed businesses” – but was nevertheless deemed suitable for the subsidies. What, if anything, did W&I do to vet this cowboy they vouched for?
Nothing wrong with that but there should be a look into why he failed. It’s not always bad luck and, considering what the article said, it would seem that his businesses failed because he’s corrupt.
At a guess, they didn’t. They would have just looked at his business card, probably checked that the business had a phone number and that would be about it. I would be surprised if they checked the registered businesses list.
The article gives the impression that a helpless person was exploited, but there is nothing to say reality didn’t happen.
Darien Fenton talked about this sort of stuff happening, almost two years ago, in Parliament and recieved the now infamous “…any job is a good job…” reply from Paula Bennett.
http://blog.labour.org.nz/2011/05/16/any-jobs-a-good-job/
As I see it, if we play the blame game we also net the “innocents” i.e. people acting against thier own interests because they either have no choice or are unaware how their beliefs about work snooker them. The only way I can see round this problem, under our current approach to industrial relations, would be to legislate some kind of multicultural law where employers must have an equal percentage of race/culture in their employ. Honestly, I think the chance of that being sold to the electorate, as it stands, is nil. Darien Fenton talked about this stuff in May 2011 and it was old news then; it was happening before the current bunch of Nats came to power; it was happening while Helen was in power; it happened when I was kid. Employee versus employer mentality in our economic reality leaves big gaps that can’t be covered by laws wanting to make things fair. It’s a systemic problem. While people believe work = profit and that profit is a virtue, people will comply with exploitative methods. Change the system and the problem will be reduced. Chances of that happening… very slim.
That person should be in jail for theft, fraud and god knows what else.
This carwash scheme is a whitewash. Funny how businesses can be guilty of trying to get money they aren’t entitled to. I thought it was supposed to be beneficiaries who did that.
😀
Hi AWW. I read that article about the car wash dude this am and wasn’t surprised. I was given a voucher in December last year to take our car in for a wash at the “Shop n Shine” in Wakefield St, Wellington. The guy was lecherous with his female customers which made me feel concerned for his female staff. Everything about him was “dodgy geezer”. It felt like a real fly by night operation. I noted the staff were working really hard in the hot sun and I said to a group of young guys “I hope you’re on good money for the great job you’re doing”. I said it because they WERE doing a great job and I had the feeling with a boss like theirs they would be minimum wage and their worth needed to be acknowledged. That business lasted for a few months before it was gone.
The problem is that people will continue to bleat on about individual “bludgers” whose reality and hardship they know nothing of but won’t bat an eyelid at dodgy geezer dude being fraudulent and exploitative because he’s being an “entrepreneur”. Its that scenario where people feel they can beat up on beneficiaries through their own perverse justifications yet somehow business is derserving of sympathy. Watch for his response – He’ll probably claim that he is a victim. He’ll blame everyone but himself.
I am reading a beneficiary bashing thread on the IMDB community boards, and they’re even more vicious in the USA than here, as you’d expect.
Now I wonder what sort of Privacy issues this will bring up. I already have serious misgivings about the courts passing information to a bunch of Debt collectors, whose staff will not be under the same rules as to accessing private data as the justice dept would have.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10846724
Today is one hundred years since the killing of Frederick Evans on 12 November 1912. Evans was the first trade unionist to be killed in a labour dispute in New Zealand:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3e10/1
This weekend there was a conference at Waihi commerating the bitter 1912 strike that climaxed in Evans being batoned and kicked to death by a mob of strikebreakers out the back of the Miner’s Hall, while police either actively joined in or watched on. This was followed by the remaining Waihi strikers and their families being violently hounded out of the town. The conference was well attended, with a number of well-known historians, trade unionists, and politicians present. For more details, see:
http://rememberwaihi.wordpress.com/
http://lhp.org.nz/
Yesterday, Robert Reid, secretary of First Union, gave a powerful speech by the commerative placque to Evans on Seddon Street. He pointed to the significance of martyrs of NZ trade unionism like Evans, Ernie Abbott, and Christine Clark, and the need to honour their memory. Although sceptical of the present government’s good intentions, Reid also expressed cautious optimism that the Pike River inquiry may lead to improvements in workers’ health and safety conditions, which have been seriously weakened over the last twenty years.
Thanks, uke. Some very useful links there.
Talent 2 unavailable for comment.
“Key said there were 60,000 teachers and their pay roll system was complex, with three layers of rates teachers could be paid at.”
Oh noes! The software has to work with numbers!
Talent 2, which installed Novopay, is an international payroll systems company. Funny that.
From the same article.
Associate Education Minister Craig Foss told Radio New Zealand today the security breach was a one-off because of human error in entering an incorrect school code.
How does this match with secure systems!!!!
It wasn’t an incorrect code it was another schools!!!
Dont they have a passworded system Craig?
Prime Minister John Key today said it was essential to bring in the Novopay system because the previous system was “effectively falling over”.
Not as badly as NovaPay it seems.
“one-off” – oh, ok. it’s all right then.
National Radio: Sensible Sentencing Trust is a “Victims’ Advocacy organization”
9 a.m. News, National Radio, Monday 12 November 2012
The grieving mother of murdered teenager Christy Marceau has made a bizarre press statement, announcing that Garth McVicar and the Sensible Sentencing Trust have supported her, rather than her daughter’s killer, ever since the murder. “Garth has been there for me a hundred percent of the way,” insisted Mrs Marceau. “He’s never pushed himself, the trust, nothing.”
Many people will share my suspicion that this statement was concocted not by Mrs Marceau, but by Louise Parsons, Phil Kitchin, Peter Jenkins or one of the S.S. Trust’s other spin doctors.
Most of us are by now inured to the S.S. Trust’s cynical and depraved manipulation of vulnerable parents; however, the really concerning aspect of this news item was to hear the newsreader refer to the S.S. Trust as “the victims’ advocacy organization.” Those who remember the brutal and sustained campaign of vilification mounted by McVicar and the S.S. Trust against a slain boy in South Auckland, and recall the ridicule and abuse they heaped on the boy’s mother and family, will be mystified as to why Radio New Zealand’s copywriters call them “victims’ advocates”.
Or does Radio New Zealand, like Mrs Marceau, have its scripts written for it by someone from the S.S. Trust?
NCEA is starting. Here are some ideas from Rimmer of Red Dwarf on ways to cope or not.
Rimmer’s study habits on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5mqbKs1PoI
and on his belief – If you don’t win the first time, try, try again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le1ajH32U-k
(FYI folks – forwarded in the public interest on behalf of Sue Henry who doesn’t have a computer.)
12 November 2012
“Housing New Zealand – call off the dogs!”
Press Release Sue Henry Housing Lobby Spokesperson.
“The latest Housing New Zealand (HNZ) Statement of Corporate Intent 2012 – 2015, quite rightly sets out the statutory obligations which HNZ is required to follow by law.”
The Crown Entities Act 2004 stipulates HNZ ” must exhibit a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates.”
The principal Housing NZ Corporation Act 1974 also stipulates these very same social responsibility obligations.
On 5 November 2012 the new CEO of the Tamaki Redevelopment Company, Deborah Lawson stated in a letter to the NZ Herald:
‘There has been some confusion about the Tamaki Transformation Programme.
It does not include the Northern Glen Innes Housing Redevelopment Project. Housing New Zealand is responsible for this.’
“This is quite correct,” continues Sue Henry.
“This means HNZ are bulldozing through policies in total conflict with their legislative statutory duties.
There is no lawful basis for the removal of State houses in Glen Innes North.
Our community is being ripped apart.
On what lawful basis are Police enforcing the removal State houses in Glen Innes North?
The Housing Lobby demands that the unlawful removal of State houses from Glen Innes North cease forthwith, and calls for support from opposition parties for an immediate inquiry into how HNZ has breached its statutory duties.”
Sue Henry
Housing Lobby Spokesperson
Ph (09) 575 6344
________________________________________________________________________________
SUMMARY OF THE STATUTORY DUTIES OF HOUSING NZ AS A ‘CROWN AGENT’ UNDER THE HOUSING CORPORATION ACT 1974 AND CROWN ENTITIES ACT 2004:
1) Housing New Zealand Corporation is a CROWN AGENT ( a type of STATUTORY ENTITY).
2) The ’empowering’ legislation for Crown Agent, Housing New Zealand Corporation is the Housing Corporation Act 1974.
3) As a Crown Agent – Housing New Zealand Corporation comes under the CROWN ENTITIES ACT 2004.
4) Under the Housing Corporation Act 1974 (s.3B (a) (i) – HNZ has a STATUTORY DUTY to be an organisation that –
“exhibits a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates;”
5) Under the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.139) as a Crown Agent, HNZ has a statutory duty to prepare a Statement of Intent.
6) In the HNZ Statement of Intent 2012 – 2015 (pg 25) – it states:
“The Corporation is accountable under legislation to give effect to the Crown’s social objectives by providing housing, and services related to housing, in a businesslike manner and to exhibit a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates. ”
7) Under the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.14 (1) (a) the functions of HNZ as a ‘Statutory Entity’ are:
” the functions set out in the entity’s Act”.
(The Housing Corporation Act 1974).
Under the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.14 (2) )
” In performing its functions, a statutory entity must act consistently with its objectives.”
8) Under the Crown Entities Act 2004 (s.19) – “Acts in breach of statute are invalid”.
“(1) An act of a statutory entity is invalid, unless section 20 applies, if it is—
(a) an act that is contrary to, or outside the authority of, an Act; or
(b) an act that is done otherwise than for the purpose of performing its functions.”
_________________________________________________________________
So – how is what HNZ is doing in Glen Innes ” exhibit(ing) a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the
interests of the community in which it operates”?
How is HNZ not breaching their statutory duties as defined in the Housing Corporation Act 1974
(s.3B (a) (i) to be an organisation that –
“exhibits a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates;”
How is HNZ not breaching their statutory duties as defined by the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.14 (2) )
” In performing its functions, a statutory entity must act consistently with its objectives.” ?
Arguably – the actions of HNZ in removing GI state houses are therefore ‘invalid’ (s. 19 (a) Crown Entities Act 2004) because they are:
“contrary to, or outside the authority of” the Housing Corporation Act 1974 (s.3B (a) (i) )
to be an organisation that –
“exhibits a sense of social responsibility by having regard to the interests of the community in which it operates;”
and the Crown Entities Act 2004, (s.14 (2)
” In performing its functions, a statutory entity must act consistently with its objectives.”
________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Penny & Sue,
Thank you for your wonderful contribution.
Your post was most enlightening – I have printed it off to read in detail the next time I suffer from insomnia.
Please keep up the good work – in fact are you able to go in to more detail next time about Housing NZ’s responsibilities – these brief summaries are just too insufficient to get a good grasp of the issues which you are espousing.
Regards
PB supporter
Japans nuclear free future
It’s been somewhat annoying to read through the plethora of propaganda articles that have been published about the Japanese governments policy on nuclear power. Many of these articles are obviously produced by the nuclear power industry and bear no resemblance to reality. In fact some of the articles are so manipulative that they’ve spurred The Jackal into looking a little deeper into Japans nuclear free future…
read today Japanese nuclear reactor sits astride a geological fault
NZ Herald article: Decision on Japan nuke plant fault line postponed
This kind of thing is a problem worldwide.
Don’t envy them that arbitrary number ….
Oh, look at that, conservatives spreading lies – again.
I suppose that would be similar to the benefit fraud BS we get from National.
Novopay the new innovative remittance paying scheme that hackers will never be able to break because it changes every time it is used with one-off unpredictable alterations, a fine example of chaos theory. Who knows where it will end up. Buy this novel program and be prepared for surprise and amazement.
With a jingle that goes ‘In Multinationals we trust for we are the Hollow Men’?
The new system is part of the old adage – GIGO – never changes as computers cannot read minds – yet.
Goodness – a Stuff author advocating a 30 hour working week – and it’s not even April 1st. It’s a suggestion written by a reader though, not one of the regular journos.
He obviously doesn’t understand the reasoning behind penal rates.
The idea is that penal rates encourage the employer to invest in capital and thus being able to do more with less people. Our productivity increase has decreased from where it was due to the removal of penal rates. As a secondary effect it also helps to encourage full employment.
Family First’s ideal of motherhood
Sue Bradford and other “do-gooders” wanted to stop good parents like this from lovingly chastising their children…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUkE9qaVgmo
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica addressing the Rio +20 Summit: Human happiness and the environment .
Transcript:
Are we ruling over globalization or is globalization ruling over us? Is it possible to speak of solidarity and of “being all together” in an economy based on ruthless competition? How far does our fraternity go?
[…]
But if life is going to slip through my fingers, working and over-working in order to be able to consume more, and the consumer society is the engine-because ultimately, if consumption is paralysed, the economy stops, and if you stop economy, the ghost of stagnation appears for each one of us, but it is this hyper-consumption that is harming the planet. And this hyper-consumption needs to be generated, making things that have a short useful life, in order to sell a lot.
El presidente Mujica concludes:
And one asks this question: is this the fate of human life? These things I say are very basic: development cannot go against happiness. It has to work in favor of human happiness, of love on Earth, human relationships, caring for children, having friends, having our basic needs covered. Precisely because this is the most precious treasure we have; happiness. When we fight for the environment, we must remember that the essential element of the environment is called human happiness.
In addition to a big awhi to joe, I would just like to awhi all you folk on the left end of the political spectrum; the socio-political tension to endeavour course correction is essential.
A thinking person would have to be “blind” to not see the implications of unfolding global and local environmental, economic, political, social and cultural events; it is not going to end well for the majority, which is ironic seeing as Fukuyama once argued that the modern democratic capitalist state was the “end of history” (never bothered reading his entire books, but he is changing his tune as the days unfold).
After catching up on the latest Standard “revelations”, I am actually speechless, and have nothing else political to say,
except,
there is certainly more to this life than meets the eye.
Paul Henry gets the elbow in oz and likely to come back to TVNZ. shit.
The Australians send back the failure of a racist redneck crasspot. What is wrong with the world.
Anyone heard what happened to the dude up north who smashed the window of the WINZ office and then went on a hunger strike? He was meant to be going to court for the window.
Also the other dude in Dunedin, who got awarded a huge backpay from WINZ because they were so incompetent at managing his case, but WINZ were appealing.
Henry’s finally been put out of viewers misery, from crikey’s Glen Dyer:
‘This morning it did a public service when it said it was axing Breakfast…That’s bad luck for the good co-host Kathryn Robinson. But it is good news because Ten is finally getting rid of the apparently useless Paul Henry, imported from NZ at a reported cost of $1 million and who was simply offensive beyond belief, in my opinion..’
The comedians will miss all that material he generated though.
Has anyone ever diagnosed Henry with Tourettes Syndrome. He has an advanced version of it I think.
Have standardistas noticed this??
Article in Fridays Dompost saying Polytechnics have lost millions of dollars which has been shifted to (guess where) the private sector. EIT is losing 12 jobs beacause it has lost $2m government money. Stephen Joyce the man responsible
Yeah this has been on the cards for months. Kids wanting to do trades and learn hands on skills fucked over.
HBDHB budget blowout; for example, increased elderly care etc etc (where do all these folk carrying on, lifestyle as usual, think all the extra money NZ needs to maintain status quo is going to come from? air?)
anyway,
here is a man with a “point of view”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berdyaev,_Nikolai_Aleksandrovich
something for Draco
http://books.google.co.nz/books/about/The_End_of_Our_Time.html?id=62ZNPgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y
also open at the moment
Allah: A Christian Response. by Miroslav Volf
A Confession. Leo Tolstoy. foreward by Helen Dunmore
Hesperus Press Ltd.2010
(this work influenced Gandhi) and includes the essay
“What is Religion, and What does it’s Essence Consist Of?”
The Politics of Hope. Jonathan Sacks (it’s all about covenant, you know, making a promise or commitment and keeping it)
and for bedtime Lynn, “the telling” -Ursula K. Le Guin (makes the caravan cosy: I hope all the politicians appreciate that a person cannot afford to live independently under their own roof in this country on a single persons income support, meet the “market rent” and have any money left over for contingencies!)
Yeah, that was mentioned a couple of weeks ago. It’s how this government operates – Stop funding public services so that private profits can be boosted.
feijoa
The polytechnics seem to be made culpable of not solving the unemployment problem. We don’t have enough trained builders and tradesmen, so that’s their fault. Pollies feel sure that if all the work classified as ‘jobs’ could be filled, why there would be only very low unemployment.
There are barriers to young people getting further training too, costs including living and then a debt that is a burden if you can’t get a job and which is a continuing burden.
So the government technics and institutes, who now and then mess up their budgets as well as the other gripes about them, are to be punished. Private will do it better, be more onto it etc.and government can be milked to provide business opportunities for people who have no original ideas for start ups.
I am just listening to radionz with a piece on housing for the lower income and ‘new entrants’ into the housing market. They said that Hobsonville is the site of a development, with Housing NZ carrying out a large portion of new housing. They gave the job to an Australian firm and many of the properties are in the $600K to $800K bracket. Sigh!
I’ve started receiving stacks of notification emails from The Standard telling me whenever a new comment has been posted. Can anyone tell me how to turn this off? (Not even sure how I turned this on…)
maybe “unsubscribe rss feed” in google bud
Not sure how to do it from your side – email link or dashboard. But you were subscribed to quite a few posts. Turned them off.
You turn it on with the checkbox under the reply box.
Thank you guys… 🙂