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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Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other. One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the ...
A poll last August found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law. The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. ...
The solo show from Ana Scotney is both sprawling and intimate, and a must-see, writes Mad Chapman. In the opening moments of Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko, writer and performer Ana Scotney lays out the groundwork, literally. Silently moving around the square stage, Scotney is not so much dancing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University Who makes the words? Why are trees called trees and why are shoes called shoes and who makes the names? – Elliot, age 5, Eltham, Victoria Good question Elliot! Let’s start with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne at amRawpixel.com/Shutterstock Roles of health professionals are still unfortunately often stuck in the past. That is, before the ...
COMMENTARY:By Malcolm Evans Last week’s leaked New York Times staff directive, as to what words can and cannot be used to describe the carnage Israel is raining on Palestinians, is proof positive, since those reports are published verbatim here in New Zealand, that our understanding of the conflict is ...
In the case of New Zealand, the results confirm that there is no popular support for the vicious austerity program being imposed by the National Party-led government, which is backed in all fundamental respects by the opposition Labour Party. ...
The ‘Vampire’ singer has never visited our part of the world, but that might all be about to change. We assess the evidence.Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour is pulling in massive crowds as it whips around the US and Europe, even helping to catapult regular supporting act Chappell Roan ...
Testing of drinking water in rural Canterbury over the weekend by Greenpeace revealed that several public town supplies were reaching levels of nitrate above 5 mg/L - the threshold which a growing body of scientific evidence has linked to increased ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rohan Fisher, Information Technology for Development Researcher, Charles Darwin University It may come as a surprise to hear 2023 was Australia’s biggest bushfire season in more than a decade. Fires burned across an area eight times as big as the 2019–20 Black ...
Responding to the Government’s announcement of changes to resource management laws, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: “These changes are a step in the right direction in terms of removing ideological and unworkable ...
More than two years after the Human Rights Council called for the establishment of a national human rights commission, such a body has yet to be formed. ...
Comment:An emergency management system with wide variations in performance, significant capability gaps, funding shortfalls and above all a setup that is not meeting the needs of New Zealanders at times of crisis. The Government’s inquiry into the response to Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events in the North ...
Welcome to the whirring wonders of one brain trying to align its actions with its beliefs within a system it thinks is evil. My brain has been spiralling in a woke conundrum ever since I found out a bookshop I’ve never been to was shutting down. Good Books, a bookshop ...
We repeat our call for criminal justice policy to be based on evidence, something the three strikes regime neglects to recognise – with no evidence that it either reduces crime or assists with rehabilitation. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara With only four more seats in the 50-member Parliament yet to be officially declared, there is no outright winner in the Solomon Islands elections. As of Monday, the two largest blocs in the winner’s circle, independents and the incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh ...
Two/fiftyseven is a multi-purpose space hidden in the heart of Wellington that is paving a way for sustainable building and responsible landlording in Aotearoa and beyond.By 2060 the world is predicted to double its entire building stock, which equates to building an entire New York City every 34 days, ...
Popstars wasn’t just a reality television revolution, it was also a huge moment for Y2K fashion.It’s 25 years since girl group TrueBliss was formed on New Zealand national television, breaking new ground for both the reality television industry and the shiny clothing industry. With the first episode on NZ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Pepping, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, Griffith University Marvin / Shutterstock Are all single people insecure? When we think about people who have been single for a long time, we may assume it’s because single people have insecurities that make ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Geary, Lecturer in Quantitative Ecology & Biodiversity Conservation, The University of Melbourne Trismegist san, Shutterstock Landscapes that have escaped fire for decades or centuries tend to harbour vital structures for wildlife, such as tree hollows and large logs. But these ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher, Lecturer in Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Shutterstock/S Curtis Why are we crossing ecological boundaries that affect Earth’s fundamental life-supporting capacity? Is it because we don’t have enough information about how ecosystems respond to change? Or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Crocker, PhD Student in Economics, Deakin University Here’s something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a charity director outlines how she’s saving for retirement and buying secondhand. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 45 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Charity director, mum of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Yates, Research Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late last year. Now a ...
It’s been called a failed experiment and a judicial straightjacket but the government says the revised three strikes law will be a more workable regime, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Three ...
New Zealand’s Palestinian community and Palestinian Youth Aotearoa are voicing alarm and disappointment with the lack of factual rigour present during the Israeli Ambassador’s appearance as a guest on TVNZ’s Q+A With Jack Tame Sunday (21/04). ...
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Public submissions on proposed gang control laws are being heard today. Rising gang membership has been cited as rationale for a crackdown – but what do we actually know about how many people belong to gangs in New Zealand?What’s all this then?A rise in the number of gang ...
Climate activists are setting their sights on an unpopular target, and hoping to bring lots of the public with them. It’s hard to miss the Majestic Princess: the enormous cruise ship, docked at Auckland’s Prince’s Wharf, looms over the nearby buildings. The ship, which can fit nearly 6,000 people, ...
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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… 🙂