It annoys me when the “Labour – broad church” argument is raised. Sure, a party that is going to lead a FPTP election needs to get around the 50% level, and so to an extent is all things to everybody. But we are now in MMP territory.
Often this broad church stance is often accompanied by another attempt by Labour to dominate or burn off possible coalition partners. National and Labour display a huge amount conceit that they are the natural parties of government. CVs position about Labour being lost in the past and sadly not going get to be government resonates with me.
Being a centrist left right left centre party just paves the way for repeat failure and becoming and increasingly fractured party full of cognitive dissonance: where mutually contradictory positions are held.
Whilst the Mana Party Internet party was a strange beast, Hone should have been not have been opposed by Labour. There appears to be no long term gain to the LP by squashing Mana. Labour cannot be broad enough to accommodate a Minto alongside a Shearer. Having a scorched earth approach is counter productive. Act survives on the margin and attracts lightening bolts away from National. National can withdraw from dogmatic Neo liberal posturing and let Act fill that territory. All the time knowing that it has Acts support on most things.
IMO shedding the desire to be all things to everybody is part of Labour’s healing. Signs of a Labour that has a future include:
1. Being able to articulate what it is and what it is not.
2. Being able to leave space for other political parties.
3. Being excited/passionate about what it is.
The Labour Party needs to be reconceptualised so it thrives when working with (and not necessarily lead) multiple parties to form a government. The broad church is no longer internal to the party but external to it. Potential partners need to be allowed space to live.
Labour needs to accept that 50% voter support is not achievable for them under MMP, and it could take the negative connotations of polling lower than national if they worked out away to sell the fact that unlike national they don’t destroy their partners support,
It is a certain type of voter that needs to understand that Labour does not need 50% as it can form a coalition government with other parties on the left/centre left stage.
And i do believe that the opposition parties have a good chance at beating National. Not one of them by themselves but together. And this is what i am advocating for.
National as a party – only needs to deliver the appearance of a good economy and stoke the fires under the meme that all success is individual. They have a fairly simple task to speak to and coerce the voting public that all is well under their watch (because they don’t care about the environment, the vulnerable, the long-term effects of their policies, global responsibilities).
Progressive voters on the left – however – are passionate about a myriad of issues. Workers rights, global accountability, climate change, environmental degradation, economic reform to benefit all – and that is where the choice of different parties leading to a coalition can work for voters on the left.
However, as you say, this is not occurring. But the strongest message that Labour could perhaps take from the movements that have happened in the UK and the US with the rise of Corbyn and Sanders, is perhaps to stop listening to the PR and political strategies that have not delivered on the last three elections, and consider a clarity of purpose around policy, and a team approach to the next election.
“is perhaps to stop listening to the PR and political strategies that have not delivered on the last three elections”
Or sack the ones they’ve got , get some good ones , get a simple message and don’t waiver .
I don’t agree – 50% is quite achievable for Labour – but it has more to do with the false reputation for economic competence ascribed to National than anything else. These buffoons are only able to forestall a collapse by unprecedented levels of borrowing – none of their policies are sustainable. Once the public understand that, 80% of National’s support is gone.
The idea that the middle in NZ has shifted right is where Labour was misled – as Corbyn & Sanders prove yet again, socioeconomic class is determined economically, so that the further a country goes right, the larger the groundswell on the left. NZ Labour is working this out, but as the Blairites in England find, it is not a welcome truth for long-serving MPs.
National with only a very small party on the right (Act) which doesn’t suck up many votes, with NZs most popular leader since…well John Keys rewriting the record books on popularity and an ineffectual opposition (lets face it if Labour were a patient the life support cord would have been pulled long ago) even with all that National can’t quite break 50%
Yet you think Labour, with the Greens constantly scoring 10%, can somehow hit 50%
Every time I think I’ve read the most delusional post on here someone always manages to top it
“NZs most popular leader since … well John Keys rewriting the record books on popularity.”
Really, Puckers ???
(1) In the Colmar Brunton and Reid Research Preferred PM Polls, Key’s fallen to his lowest average (39%) since becoming PM. That’s 10-14 points down on his First Term ratings.
(2) His Favourability ratings are down to a net positive of just + 2 – that’s his lowest rating ever. Key may be well ahead of Little in the Preferred PM rankings (arguably, a somewhat blunt instrument given the traditional incumbency advantage) but he’s been trailing the Labour Leader on the Favourability measure for most of the last year:
Notice, incidentally, how far Key has fallen since 2015 – a net positive favourability rating of + 22 in the first quarter of 2015 and now, in the immediate wake of the Flag referendum fiasco, a plunge to just + 2. Back in 2009, Key was on + 58. !!!
(3) Over the last year, Key has been only slightly more popular on the Preferred PM measure than Clark was at the same point in her Third Term.
(4) Clark was enjoying higher Favourability and Performance ratings in 2006-2007 (same point in Third Term) than Key is now.
You’ve been reading Farrar and the MSM rather than exploring the actual Poll data.
My comment was about the spin your lot are spinning. I mean apart from the data being old, and I had difficulty find the source – If the spin being done, had been by the left – you’d have been having kittens. It was really in the bubble stuff The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell. Have a read, even you have to admit – a lot of naval gazing going on. Something I’d expect from the liberal branch of the labour party.
Plus it was about the comment section over there at kiwiblog – which is still in the gutter, mistruths, misinformation and out right lies. Do I need to mention it is as low brow as ever. No wonder you come on the standard.
So where did I have a go at Key? That one on you bro. Personal couldn’t care less for the man, he just another Muppet in a long line of Muppets. It’s the national party and a evil economic system it up holds, – I want gone by Friday 😉
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
Yep, in the 2014New Zealand Election Study Key had a net positive Favourability rating of + 32 (as Farrar shows), in UMR Research polling, his 2014Favourability average was very similar: + 27.
By 2015, it had fallen to + 22 in the first quarter, plunged further down to + 10 by the third quarter, recovered slightly to + 16 by the final quarter and has now, as I’ve pointed out, sunk to an unprecedentedly low + 2.
Massive fall from 2014
I’ll get around to Farrar’s amusing Houston we may have a problem spin when I have time.
For the time being, let’s just point out that:
– Farrar’s little graph is a textbook example of how to abuse the Y-axis.
– Fails to mention that leaders always receive their Highest ratings during Election Year (hence Goff’s late rise. Little is actually doing far better than Goff did during his first 16 months as Leader)
– No appreciable difference between the Preferred PM figures for Little and his two immediate predecessors (all within very similar parameters at a demonstrably higher level than Goff). I’ll need to take a close look at Farrar’s stats, but it looks to me like he’s restricting things solely to the Colmar Bruntons. Whereas, I’ve based my figures on all of the main public Pollsters.
Understand that in an MPP environment Labour will never have to reach a 50%. All Labour needs to do is to work cohesively with the other Parties to form a Coalition Government.
So frankly all that pearl clutching, passing of the smelling salts to prevent fainting, its for nought. Labour does not need 50%.
What was National polling when Bill English led it? 27%?
Their economic performance is not a whit better – so of course Labour can get 50% – probably 60, without touching Green or NZFirst votes.
Chances are they’d only get 40 odd though, as both of those parties are solidifying at present, as we see in Northland.
Key’s ‘popularity’ is a balloon full of hot air – he’s done nothing good for New Zealand – and soon he’ll be gone with nary a trace except for a farting sound.
What was National polling when Bill English led it? 27%?
– To be honest the only time I see Labour beating National is when you compare Labout to National under Bill English although the esteemed Mr Little seems to be wanting to do worse
“There appears to be no long term gain to the LP by squashing Mana”
Not so sure about that. Polls (including the just-released 2014 edition of the New Zealand Election Study) suggest Internet Mana was a pretty toxic brand for most voters. They had very low favourability ratings (7% Mana / 4% Internet Party) and very high unfavourability numbers (64% Mana / 75% Internet Party).
(NZES – Respondents were asked to express how much they favoured each Party on a scale of 1-10. Unfavourable = 0-4 / Favourable = 6-10. So, the only caveat is that we don’t know the strength of feeling. How much of the IP’s 75% unfavourability, for instance, involved a mildly negative score of 3 or 4 and how much a truly dismal 0-1 ? But, regardless, you’d have to say that in broad terms a large-to-overwhelming majority of voters didn’t much care for the hybrid party of the Left)
True, ACT, UF and the Conservatives were also far from popular (and you could argue that this didn’t prevent people voting National, despite knowing that Key might have to rely on these smaller parties of the Right). But their Unfavourability ratings weren’t quite on the same scale (mid-40s to mid-50s).
So you could mount a reasonable argument that, by effectively throwing Internet-Mana under a bus, Labour made several long-term gains:
– National prevented from scaremongering over potential Internet-Mana influence on a future Labour-led Govt (as with UK Tories tactics vis-à-vis Labour and SNP). So, less able to scare off ‘swing voters’. (means: the Nats are reduced to scaremongering about the Greens – which just doesn’t have the same resonance)
– Four Parliamentary Opposition parties (rather than the current three) would have been a gift to National’s Dangerous, incompetent, unwieldly Labour-led Coalition, all rowing in different directions meme.
– Four Opposition parties = harder for Peters to head Labour’s way if NZF holds balance of power.
– Polling suggests perhaps half of IMP supporters have been absorbed into the Labour/Green support base (so not much wasted Left vote at next election)
Not saying I’d necessarily agree with all facets of the above argument, mind thee, just that you could make a reasonable case along those lines if you were taking an unsentimental strategic approach. (Big fan of Laila Harre, incidentally. Party-Voted Alliance 1999-2002, so I’m not arguing here from some kind of conservative Labour Establishment perspective. And I do agree, in general, with the argument against Labour heading down the scorched earth route).
The other thing I’d say – It’s generally pretty well accepted that Labour need to be polling above 35% to be seen as serious contenders. That’s gonna be a pretty bloody difficult task in itself, so I really don’t think anyone’s even remotely envisaging a 50% + scenario.
Seems to me that the rise of Bill Shorten In Aussie is going somewhat unheralded here. He was in a hopeless position a few months back given the initial popularity of Turnbull. However he and Chris Bowen have set about articulating some clear differentiated policies and have been gaining traction, even leading in some polls. Helped no doubt by a hapless showing by Turnbull, who is all over the show. Surely they are the template for Little and Labour to follow?
So you could mount a reasonable argument that, by effectively throwing Internet-Mana under a bus, Labour made several long-term gains:
– National prevented from scaremongering over potential Internet-Mana influence on a future Labour-led Govt (as with UK Tories tactics vis-à-vis Labour and SNP). So, less able to scare off ‘swing voters’. (means: the Nats are reduced to scaremongering about the Greens – which just doesn’t have the same resonance)
National are always going to scaremonger about any small left leaning third party which may align with Labour.
Does your argument suggest that Labour will continue to “throw under the bus” such small political parties?
Also note how Left wing UK Labour supporters were not put off by Tory scaremongering over the SNP. In fact, Scottish Labour voters seemed to take Tory scaremongering about the SNP as confirmation that they should vote SNP.
I was playing Devil’s Advocate here, of course, … just throwing around a few ideas. Always useful, I think, to force yourself out of your comfort zone assumptions, look at things from a new perspective (in this case, a cold, clinical, unsentimental one). Personally, I’d love to see Harre and a true Left Party in Parliament – and I’d quite possibly give them my Party Vote. But that doesn’t mean I’m blind to the potential pitfuls from a wider strategic perspective. Like I say, though, I’m not necessarily convinced by the points I made or the assumptions on which they were based, really just tossing about a few musings to mull over.
On the SNP, true – but most post-Election analyses (there are one or two exceptions) suggest a crucial section of English swing voters were indeed influenced by Tory SNP-scaremongering. Probably not quite as important as concerns over Labour’s “economic credibility” or the deep disquiet over Miliband’s suitability as a potential PM, but the scaremongering over the SNP does seem to have been an important secondary factor in Labour’s abject failure to win so many of the key marginals throughout England.
I don’t think that Hone would ever have been the loyal lickspittle that Rimmer is, devotedly running distractions whenever bad news for key comes up.
Although I see that this time they had to use Brash to go racist, so maybe even seymour told them to get stuffed this time.
Too Big to Jail
The firms employing the services of Mossack Fonseca include a rogues’ gallery of brand name corporations with a track record of breaking financial regulations with virtual impunity. Remember back in 2013 when HSBC was slapped with a $1.9 billion fine by the U.S. Justice Department for laundering drug cartel money? Its fine amounted to less than one tenth of its annual profits. And remember when UBS was caught in 2012 spreading false information to manipulate banking exchange rates? It was fined $1.5 billion, which sounds like a lot, until you learn UBS’ revenues are almost $40 billion a year. Both banks are clients of Mossack Fonseca.
The reason banks and financial institutions are ignoring regulations comes down to simple economics. The organized criminal economy is over $2 trillion a year, and someone has to launder it, says journalist Drew Sullivan, co-founder and editor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and a 2014 Institute for the Future (IFTF) Fellow. “You can either be a bank that takes that money or a bank that doesn’t take that money. Because nobody is penalizing you seriously for this, and nobody holds it against you, you don’t get a reputation of being a bad bank, and you can keep doing this.”
These slap-on-the-wrist fines are simply the cost of doing business, says Sullivan, who compares the bank’s criminal behavior to the Koch Brothers’ modus operandi: violate sanctions and fight the fines in court for as long as possible. “It’s a risk minimization plan, rather than honorable business,” he says.
Our financial systems are corrupt and it’s time we started doing something about them but, as the article makes clear and as we’ve seen:
We can’t expect governments alone to solve the problem, especially when government leaders are often entrenched players in the crooked game.
We need to know that our public servants aren’t also the criminals. At the moment we can’t be certain of that. In fact, considering John Key’s profession, we can be almost certainly assured that at least one of them is. “But it’s legal” is no longer good enough.
Auckland average house price now over $800,000 and rising again and creating a “halo” effect all around New Zealand as other regions rise in response. This is a property market going into la la land.
Andrew Little was hammered politically and by the Press for suggesting that employment vacancies could be filled locally before importing people from overseas.
Woodhouse has announced a policy to make it compulsory for employers to prove the need before importing people from overseas.
Have I misunderstood something here?
Employers were already supposed to prove that they had attempted to fill the vacancies locally by providing evidence that they had advertised the position. The issue was that they did not have to engage with Work and Income for lower-skilled positions, whereas now they explicitly are required to do so prior to an application for a work visa being made.
Radionz on cannabis growing in the USA by NZr. Now. Most interesting.
John Lord, legal cannabis dealer
Former Waikato dairy farmer John Lord is at the helm of the Colorado cannabis dispensary chain LivWell which employs 500 people. LivWell is a medicinal and recreational marijuana business. Its success makes John Lord one of the largest legal drug dealers in the US .The firm is seen as a pioneer in the development of the legalised marijuana industry in the state of Colorado. Livwell not only has stores selling cannabis products, but also employs scientists, inventors, and farmers. The cannabis is cultivated at a secret and highly secure location in Denver.
One of my readers asked: Is John Key A Serial Fraudster Who Participates In organized Crime? I thought my response (By means of what some authorities have to say on the subject) might be of interest to the Standardistas and their readers!
Ministry Of Health states “Breastfeeding helps lay the foundations of a healthy life for a baby and also makes a positive contribution to the health and wider wellbeing of mothers and whānau/families. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended until babies are around 6 months”
In NZ only 17% of mothers exclusively breastfeed for 6 months. (I wonder why, when you see the bizarre reactions of some….. sarc).
” why do people seem to get so vitriolic about breastfeeding? ”
Man see booby, man like booby, baby attached to booby, man feel guilty ,
Easier to blame booby owner for making him feel guilty.
Herald on damage control…. notice they do not mention how rich non residents pay 0% tax on NZ trusts or how Facebook pays a pittance and so forth….
From Granny H
“The average single worker in New Zealand pays the second lowest amount of tax in a comparison against similarly wealthy countries.
Single workers in New Zealand face taxes of 17.6 per cent in 2015, compared with the OECD average of 35.9 per cent.
The publication on income tax in OECD countries calculates a “tax wedge” – the amount of tax on wages including social security contributions to the Government, including family benefits and tax provisions.
Some Western European countries happily pay much higher taxes and enjoy better Health, Education, Security and better welfare.
In NZ we spend much less on the above and suffer accordingly.
How come taxing and re-distributing has become dirty words?
Will go back to it later as there were some very interesting comments
relating to economic progress ,or the lack of, and shortage of skilled
labour to boost exports.
Not all the beer & skittles that we are being sold.
Is it just me or is this policy pinching by the party with the better PR machine (or more money to throw at PR)?
I know Labour says some dumb things about race, but they say some things, that when they are not viewed through an ethnicity lense, rather, an economic lense, actually make sense and people agree with.
This is what Labour was trying to elucidate about a month ago. Why did it come out so wrong? When somebody says they should limit immigration and focus on employing, educating, and upskilling the local population why do they get labelled racist? When we don’t have the infrastructure to support more immigration, and you point this out, are you somehow now a keen New Zealand First supporter?
What wound me up the most is when Woodhouse was asked on Morning Report this morning why employers were going to the international labour market he made up some cock and bull story that was obvious spin-doctoring rather than stating the obvious, the point Labour was trying to make: cheaper wages. Flood low-wage local jobs with immigrants who expect less, or see New Zealand wages as more attractive than other countries’, and boom! Our lowest wages stagnate, and locals suffer as a consequence.
Why was this not communicated by Labour, and why did it turn into a farce about chicken chop suey? It was an embarrassment for all concerned.
Hard to get your point across when you constantly have your foot in the mouth or it could be that Mr Little engages his mouth before his brain, possibly a hang over from his union days
Well he was full steam on twin cylinders the last I heard him this afternoon on Parliament TV – an amazing rark up of the Government telling it how it is – methinks Puckish Rogue you protest too much in support of your leader. The best I’ve heard him and by crikey was he giving it to the PM about his lies, corruption you name it. Where there is smoke there is fire and there is lots more to this disgusting state of affairs and eventually it will be revealed. There’s only so much dithering, sarcasm and lying that the PM can deliver before he gets tripped up and makes a complete ass of himself. He is a liability to National and they will roll him soon as look at him if he is lying about his investments.
Today in the house the PM was his usual useless self, not once did he answer a question like any competent leader would. A psychologist would have a field day with him with his body language, he is the ultimate liar personified – its cringe worthy watching it, we deserve a better leader than this, National will be seeing this soon enough., if they haven’t already done so.
Times have been hard for unions PR, it’s not a sector in which worthless sacks of shit like Gerry Brownlee or Nick Smith would be subsidised.
Key is counting on the reverse racism angle to mute criticism of his disasterous anti-NZ policies. Migrants in sufficient numbers are never welcome anywhere, and a large population like China or India can overwhelm NZ’s capacity without even realising it.
Traditionally responsible governments have regulated migration – but as Woodhouse’s backpedalling on National Radio this morning showed, they’ve been letting in anyone without even bothering. Small countries cannot do that and prosper. And we’re not prospering.
It’d make sense – you can’t have two utterly worthless major parties.
National needs Labour to rebuild the economy – and Christchurch, and Auckland housing, and the labour market, and our credit rating. And our international reputation and our standing as a country with the rule of law.
They are simply incapable of governing. So of course they’d support Little.
But a righty like you should be into cutting out the middle man – why retain this useless non-performing National party that can’t balance its books without massive borrowing and whose only trick is shouting in parliament? These fuckwits represent you PR? You must be even stupider than I think.
It seems you can’t just state the obvious in NZ anymore – in particular about migration. Nobody is trying to put migrants down when questioning what’s going on. But if NZ has no jobs, no houses and not enough money for health, education, superannuation, social welfare etc for local people why are we increasing our population approx 1.5% per year with more people! People who have more money in most cases to buy up property and assets. In 35 years we are going to have all these migrants on superannuation with the unemployed millennials to support them and the rest of the population. Does not sound like it will end well. In addition actively encouraging tax evaders with NZ as a tax haven as JK’s economic dream for NZ and creating an underclass of unemployed, homeless Kiwis, bankrupt farmers, and struggling middle class, with a new super rich class financiers who have all their tax affairs set up using off shore trusts so they pay nothing, or lose money in NZ and get tax credits while buying up the country cheap! It’s unreal.
Labour’s mistake was to mention ethnic chefs (although Little made a good point there, it got drowned out by cries of “racism!”), rather than point it directly at the lower-skilled occupations.
Today’s announcement from Michael Woodhouse has been in the works for some time – collaboration between two large government departments (Immigration NZ and MSD) isn’t something that happens literally overnight, and was trialled voluntarily in Queenstown first before being rolled out nationwide.
The main point here is not that employers could bring people in willy-nilly, it was that they were not required to engage with Work and Income before offering the job to a migrant worker, whereas now they are required to do so for lower-skilled occupations (defined as occupations which are skill levels 4 and 5 on the ANZSCO).
Bill put up a post over the weekend, titled Simplicity, about a new French movement, Nuit debout, which had it’s origins in resisting planned labour law changes in France but has spread into more encompassing social issues, such as inequality. The night time mass outdoor meetings have spread from Paris to three other cities. The Guardian link is from Bill’s post:
In the meantime, across the Atlantic Americans are getting fed up with corporate money controlling their democracy and calling for “an end the corruption of big money in our politics” They are expressing their opposition to the status quo with mass sit ins and a 10 day march from Philadelphia to Washington DC, and aim to be the biggest civil disobedience America has seen in a generation.
Last night Al Jazeera stated 400 people had been arrested at the Washington demonstration, but I can’t seem to find that news clip on line, although the link above does state that.
Now surely, in our little corrupt seedy corner of the South Pacific surely we can stand up too? We had a burst of energy in February with the very effective anti TPPA rally which gridlocked the Akld CDB for hours, Joyce took a dildo the face, Brownlee took some matter to his suit, and Key, was loudly booed in a variety of settings.
In Iceland, the PM had to resign over his wife’s shares in Wintris, where as our PM enabled the law change to turn our country into a tax haven and has a deposit with a company that provides tax avoidance advice and he’s still freaking here!
Now is not the time to hibernate! Where’s the action?
Why many of us never reported our abuse, about the harrowing ‘justice’ process in NZ. http://publicaddress.net/speaker/three-times-over-and-never-again/ (I was too young to know, wasn’t until I was in my 20s that it all came back to me). Trigger warning & all that.
Thanks for putting this up, GS. Awful reading, horrific experiences for this young woman …. and it is so unfair, and keeps on happening. We have a lousy justice system for rape and sexual assault victims.
One thing tho – the prominent NZer whose name and details have been suppressed by the Court – he might have a cushy job given to him by rich playmates at a classy golf club, but everyone in the north knows who he is and his name is mud ! It won’t be easy for him to walk down any street in the north any more.
We have a critical system failure on this issue. Right across the system, it is just not capable of bringing justice to anyone.
The basics of a combative justice system, don’t help.
But the thing that makes me mad, it is exactly the same things I wrote after roast busters exploded, then I wrote again after it got swept under the carpet.
It may take time to appreciate it, but these young girls will find they come out the other end so much stronger for what they did. And in the process they did the rest of us a favour. The man was forced to resign from his powerful position and with it… any future control over other citizens.
Never reported my abuse/rape, but the day my mother passed “my” abuser said something so outlandish, so utterly devoid of any decency – and mind this is now several decades after the initial abuse and rapes, that in that instance everyone in the room knew what until then had been hush hush. A lot of people that day made excuses as to why they did not believe me, or did not interfere and help me. Cause it just did not look like it, and he was a man of such good standing and so on and so on..
The one thing i hope for these girls is that by going to court that they have put the fear of heaven and hell in his heart and that he will now stay away from them,
but I am not holding my breath. They way he spoke about them really does seem to me that in his eyes he did nothing wrong.
He might have been not found guilty due to lack of witnesses/evidence, but he was not found innocent either.
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Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
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. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
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 ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
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It annoys me when the “Labour – broad church” argument is raised. Sure, a party that is going to lead a FPTP election needs to get around the 50% level, and so to an extent is all things to everybody. But we are now in MMP territory.
Often this broad church stance is often accompanied by another attempt by Labour to dominate or burn off possible coalition partners. National and Labour display a huge amount conceit that they are the natural parties of government. CVs position about Labour being lost in the past and sadly not going get to be government resonates with me.
Being a centrist left right left centre party just paves the way for repeat failure and becoming and increasingly fractured party full of cognitive dissonance: where mutually contradictory positions are held.
Whilst the Mana Party Internet party was a strange beast, Hone should have been not have been opposed by Labour. There appears to be no long term gain to the LP by squashing Mana. Labour cannot be broad enough to accommodate a Minto alongside a Shearer. Having a scorched earth approach is counter productive. Act survives on the margin and attracts lightening bolts away from National. National can withdraw from dogmatic Neo liberal posturing and let Act fill that territory. All the time knowing that it has Acts support on most things.
IMO shedding the desire to be all things to everybody is part of Labour’s healing. Signs of a Labour that has a future include:
1. Being able to articulate what it is and what it is not.
2. Being able to leave space for other political parties.
3. Being excited/passionate about what it is.
The Labour Party needs to be reconceptualised so it thrives when working with (and not necessarily lead) multiple parties to form a government. The broad church is no longer internal to the party but external to it. Potential partners need to be allowed space to live.
Labour needs to accept that 50% voter support is not achievable for them under MMP, and it could take the negative connotations of polling lower than national if they worked out away to sell the fact that unlike national they don’t destroy their partners support,
.
It is a certain type of voter that needs to understand that Labour does not need 50% as it can form a coalition government with other parties on the left/centre left stage.
And i do believe that the opposition parties have a good chance at beating National. Not one of them by themselves but together. And this is what i am advocating for.
+1 Sabine
National as a party – only needs to deliver the appearance of a good economy and stoke the fires under the meme that all success is individual. They have a fairly simple task to speak to and coerce the voting public that all is well under their watch (because they don’t care about the environment, the vulnerable, the long-term effects of their policies, global responsibilities).
Progressive voters on the left – however – are passionate about a myriad of issues. Workers rights, global accountability, climate change, environmental degradation, economic reform to benefit all – and that is where the choice of different parties leading to a coalition can work for voters on the left.
However, as you say, this is not occurring. But the strongest message that Labour could perhaps take from the movements that have happened in the UK and the US with the rise of Corbyn and Sanders, is perhaps to stop listening to the PR and political strategies that have not delivered on the last three elections, and consider a clarity of purpose around policy, and a team approach to the next election.
“is perhaps to stop listening to the PR and political strategies that have not delivered on the last three elections”
Or sack the ones they’ve got , get some good ones , get a simple message and don’t waiver .
I don’t agree – 50% is quite achievable for Labour – but it has more to do with the false reputation for economic competence ascribed to National than anything else. These buffoons are only able to forestall a collapse by unprecedented levels of borrowing – none of their policies are sustainable. Once the public understand that, 80% of National’s support is gone.
The idea that the middle in NZ has shifted right is where Labour was misled – as Corbyn & Sanders prove yet again, socioeconomic class is determined economically, so that the further a country goes right, the larger the groundswell on the left. NZ Labour is working this out, but as the Blairites in England find, it is not a welcome truth for long-serving MPs.
Really? 50% seriously?
National with only a very small party on the right (Act) which doesn’t suck up many votes, with NZs most popular leader since…well John Keys rewriting the record books on popularity and an ineffectual opposition (lets face it if Labour were a patient the life support cord would have been pulled long ago) even with all that National can’t quite break 50%
Yet you think Labour, with the Greens constantly scoring 10%, can somehow hit 50%
Every time I think I’ve read the most delusional post on here someone always manages to top it
Well done Stuart
“NZs most popular leader since … well John Keys rewriting the record books on popularity.”
Really, Puckers ???
(1) In the Colmar Brunton and Reid Research Preferred PM Polls, Key’s fallen to his lowest average (39%) since becoming PM. That’s 10-14 points down on his First Term ratings.
(2) His Favourability ratings are down to a net positive of just + 2 – that’s his lowest rating ever. Key may be well ahead of Little in the Preferred PM rankings (arguably, a somewhat blunt instrument given the traditional incumbency advantage) but he’s been trailing the Labour Leader on the Favourability measure for most of the last year:
2015 Quarterly Net Ratings
……………..1/4…………2/4………..3/4…………4/4
Key………+ 22………..+ 15………..+ 10………..+ 16
Little…….+ 24………..+ 25………..+ 16………..+ 15
Notice, incidentally, how far Key has fallen since 2015 – a net positive favourability rating of + 22 in the first quarter of 2015 and now, in the immediate wake of the Flag referendum fiasco, a plunge to just + 2. Back in 2009, Key was on + 58. !!!
(3) Over the last year, Key has been only slightly more popular on the Preferred PM measure than Clark was at the same point in her Third Term.
(4) Clark was enjoying higher Favourability and Performance ratings in 2006-2007 (same point in Third Term) than Key is now.
You’ve been reading Farrar and the MSM rather than exploring the actual Poll data.
But you have no other issues with my reasoning as to why Labour will never get near 50%
But speaking of popularity and kiwiblog:
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/04/2014_election_study_on_leaders.html
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/04/houston_we_may_have_a_problem.html
I see the merchants of hate, have fallen out of your little bubble, into the Petri dish, telling each other the same lies.
It’s like any lie will do, as long as it can be a diversion form your utter lack of virtue. And utter lack of moral fortitude.
8 years into John Key’s term and the Left sticks with their line since the beginning: Key losing his mojo!
29 October 2007:
http://thestandard.org.nz/key-losing-his-mojo/#comment-2424
Wow dude, you need to get down to spec savers.
My comment was about the spin your lot are spinning. I mean apart from the data being old, and I had difficulty find the source – If the spin being done, had been by the left – you’d have been having kittens. It was really in the bubble stuff The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell. Have a read, even you have to admit – a lot of naval gazing going on. Something I’d expect from the liberal branch of the labour party.
Plus it was about the comment section over there at kiwiblog – which is still in the gutter, mistruths, misinformation and out right lies. Do I need to mention it is as low brow as ever. No wonder you come on the standard.
So where did I have a go at Key? That one on you bro. Personal couldn’t care less for the man, he just another Muppet in a long line of Muppets. It’s the national party and a evil economic system it up holds, – I want gone by Friday 😉
Sorry, I was talking to swordfish. Apologies for not making this clearer.
@ Young Master Puckers
Yep, in the 2014 New Zealand Election Study Key had a net positive Favourability rating of + 32 (as Farrar shows), in UMR Research polling, his 2014 Favourability average was very similar: + 27.
By 2015, it had fallen to + 22 in the first quarter, plunged further down to + 10 by the third quarter, recovered slightly to + 16 by the final quarter and has now, as I’ve pointed out, sunk to an unprecedentedly low + 2.
Massive fall from 2014
I’ll get around to Farrar’s amusing Houston we may have a problem spin when I have time.
For the time being, let’s just point out that:
– Farrar’s little graph is a textbook example of how to abuse the Y-axis.
– Fails to mention that leaders always receive their Highest ratings during Election Year (hence Goff’s late rise. Little is actually doing far better than Goff did during his first 16 months as Leader)
– No appreciable difference between the Preferred PM figures for Little and his two immediate predecessors (all within very similar parameters at a demonstrably higher level than Goff). I’ll need to take a close look at Farrar’s stats, but it looks to me like he’s restricting things solely to the Colmar Bruntons. Whereas, I’ve based my figures on all of the main public Pollsters.
Labour does not need to get over 50%.
Understand that in an MPP environment Labour will never have to reach a 50%. All Labour needs to do is to work cohesively with the other Parties to form a Coalition Government.
So frankly all that pearl clutching, passing of the smelling salts to prevent fainting, its for nought. Labour does not need 50%.
Unusually stupid even for you PR –
What was National polling when Bill English led it? 27%?
Their economic performance is not a whit better – so of course Labour can get 50% – probably 60, without touching Green or NZFirst votes.
Chances are they’d only get 40 odd though, as both of those parties are solidifying at present, as we see in Northland.
Key’s ‘popularity’ is a balloon full of hot air – he’s done nothing good for New Zealand – and soon he’ll be gone with nary a trace except for a farting sound.
What was National polling when Bill English led it? 27%?
– To be honest the only time I see Labour beating National is when you compare Labout to National under Bill English although the esteemed Mr Little seems to be wanting to do worse
+1 Gristle – Mana were never a threat to Labour, however Labour’s knee jerk reaction was shocking.
Don’t forget many further left voters on party votes, also vote Labour too for electorate to keep Natz out.
“There appears to be no long term gain to the LP by squashing Mana”
Not so sure about that. Polls (including the just-released 2014 edition of the New Zealand Election Study) suggest Internet Mana was a pretty toxic brand for most voters. They had very low favourability ratings (7% Mana / 4% Internet Party) and very high unfavourability numbers (64% Mana / 75% Internet Party).
(NZES – Respondents were asked to express how much they favoured each Party on a scale of 1-10. Unfavourable = 0-4 / Favourable = 6-10. So, the only caveat is that we don’t know the strength of feeling. How much of the IP’s 75% unfavourability, for instance, involved a mildly negative score of 3 or 4 and how much a truly dismal 0-1 ? But, regardless, you’d have to say that in broad terms a large-to-overwhelming majority of voters didn’t much care for the hybrid party of the Left)
True, ACT, UF and the Conservatives were also far from popular (and you could argue that this didn’t prevent people voting National, despite knowing that Key might have to rely on these smaller parties of the Right). But their Unfavourability ratings weren’t quite on the same scale (mid-40s to mid-50s).
So you could mount a reasonable argument that, by effectively throwing Internet-Mana under a bus, Labour made several long-term gains:
– National prevented from scaremongering over potential Internet-Mana influence on a future Labour-led Govt (as with UK Tories tactics vis-à-vis Labour and SNP). So, less able to scare off ‘swing voters’. (means: the Nats are reduced to scaremongering about the Greens – which just doesn’t have the same resonance)
– Four Parliamentary Opposition parties (rather than the current three) would have been a gift to National’s Dangerous, incompetent, unwieldly Labour-led Coalition, all rowing in different directions meme.
– Four Opposition parties = harder for Peters to head Labour’s way if NZF holds balance of power.
– Polling suggests perhaps half of IMP supporters have been absorbed into the Labour/Green support base (so not much wasted Left vote at next election)
Not saying I’d necessarily agree with all facets of the above argument, mind thee, just that you could make a reasonable case along those lines if you were taking an unsentimental strategic approach. (Big fan of Laila Harre, incidentally. Party-Voted Alliance 1999-2002, so I’m not arguing here from some kind of conservative Labour Establishment perspective. And I do agree, in general, with the argument against Labour heading down the scorched earth route).
The other thing I’d say – It’s generally pretty well accepted that Labour need to be polling above 35% to be seen as serious contenders. That’s gonna be a pretty bloody difficult task in itself, so I really don’t think anyone’s even remotely envisaging a 50% + scenario.
Thanks Swordfish, that’s excellent analysis.
Seems to me that the rise of Bill Shorten In Aussie is going somewhat unheralded here. He was in a hopeless position a few months back given the initial popularity of Turnbull. However he and Chris Bowen have set about articulating some clear differentiated policies and have been gaining traction, even leading in some polls. Helped no doubt by a hapless showing by Turnbull, who is all over the show. Surely they are the template for Little and Labour to follow?
National are always going to scaremonger about any small left leaning third party which may align with Labour.
Does your argument suggest that Labour will continue to “throw under the bus” such small political parties?
Also note how Left wing UK Labour supporters were not put off by Tory scaremongering over the SNP. In fact, Scottish Labour voters seemed to take Tory scaremongering about the SNP as confirmation that they should vote SNP.
Some interesting points, CV.
I was playing Devil’s Advocate here, of course, … just throwing around a few ideas. Always useful, I think, to force yourself out of your comfort zone assumptions, look at things from a new perspective (in this case, a cold, clinical, unsentimental one). Personally, I’d love to see Harre and a true Left Party in Parliament – and I’d quite possibly give them my Party Vote. But that doesn’t mean I’m blind to the potential pitfuls from a wider strategic perspective. Like I say, though, I’m not necessarily convinced by the points I made or the assumptions on which they were based, really just tossing about a few musings to mull over.
On the SNP, true – but most post-Election analyses (there are one or two exceptions) suggest a crucial section of English swing voters were indeed influenced by Tory SNP-scaremongering. Probably not quite as important as concerns over Labour’s “economic credibility” or the deep disquiet over Miliband’s suitability as a potential PM, but the scaremongering over the SNP does seem to have been an important secondary factor in Labour’s abject failure to win so many of the key marginals throughout England.
Nice work Swordfish.
It really gets to me the way the whole of the media climbed all over that 28% poll without mentioning Key’s plummeting 39% rating.
If the Nats drop to 45% they are gone.
I don’t think that Hone would ever have been the loyal lickspittle that Rimmer is, devotedly running distractions whenever bad news for key comes up.
Although I see that this time they had to use Brash to go racist, so maybe even seymour told them to get stuffed this time.
Politics really is a popularity contest.
Yup – and look how fast Natalia Kills & Hubbie’s popularity vanished. Overnight. Could happen to Key. Tonight.
Heres something that might help you with that:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/41/5e/f0/415ef01ce833decc902d0bf78701707e.jpg
Panama Papers an the international Art Market.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/arts/design/what-the-panama-papers-reveal-about-the-art-market.html?ref=arts&_r=1
It’s the criminal economy, stupid!
Our financial systems are corrupt and it’s time we started doing something about them but, as the article makes clear and as we’ve seen:
We need to know that our public servants aren’t also the criminals. At the moment we can’t be certain of that. In fact, considering John Key’s profession, we can be almost certainly assured that at least one of them is. “But it’s legal” is no longer good enough.
Auckland average house price now over $800,000 and rising again and creating a “halo” effect all around New Zealand as other regions rise in response. This is a property market going into la la land.
You want la la land? The median house price in Queenstown is now $782k.
This in a local economy where the main employer, the tourist industry, pays $15.25-$19 an hour.
See the little pixies….
Andrew Little was hammered politically and by the Press for suggesting that employment vacancies could be filled locally before importing people from overseas.
Woodhouse has announced a policy to make it compulsory for employers to prove the need before importing people from overseas.
Have I misunderstood something here?
+1 Ianmac
Employers were already supposed to prove that they had attempted to fill the vacancies locally by providing evidence that they had advertised the position. The issue was that they did not have to engage with Work and Income for lower-skilled positions, whereas now they explicitly are required to do so prior to an application for a work visa being made.
Where is Guyon? There on Monday I think, had a good interview, then gone again.
Radionz on cannabis growing in the USA by NZr. Now. Most interesting.
John Lord, legal cannabis dealer
Former Waikato dairy farmer John Lord is at the helm of the Colorado cannabis dispensary chain LivWell which employs 500 people. LivWell is a medicinal and recreational marijuana business. Its success makes John Lord one of the largest legal drug dealers in the US .The firm is seen as a pioneer in the development of the legalised marijuana industry in the state of Colorado. Livwell not only has stores selling cannabis products, but also employs scientists, inventors, and farmers. The cannabis is cultivated at a secret and highly secure location in Denver.
link: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201796878/dairy-farmer-to-legal-cannabis-dealer
One of my readers asked: Is John Key A Serial Fraudster Who Participates In organized Crime? I thought my response (By means of what some authorities have to say on the subject) might be of interest to the Standardistas and their readers!
the IMF were in town in the last few weeks and rumours of a stand-off between them and Key over our debt situation.
Stand off? More like John Key is giving them the heads up on how to loot what’s left!
IMF = International Mafia Federation
On a different topic here, why do people seem to get so vitriolic about breastfeeding? A Sydney cafe offered a free cuppa to breastfeeding mums…. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11621600
Ministry Of Health states “Breastfeeding helps lay the foundations of a healthy life for a baby and also makes a positive contribution to the health and wider wellbeing of mothers and whānau/families. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended until babies are around 6 months”
In NZ only 17% of mothers exclusively breastfeed for 6 months. (I wonder why, when you see the bizarre reactions of some….. sarc).
” why do people seem to get so vitriolic about breastfeeding? ”
Man see booby, man like booby, baby attached to booby, man feel guilty ,
Easier to blame booby owner for making him feel guilty.
claps
hear hear
Herald on damage control…. notice they do not mention how rich non residents pay 0% tax on NZ trusts or how Facebook pays a pittance and so forth….
From Granny H
“The average single worker in New Zealand pays the second lowest amount of tax in a comparison against similarly wealthy countries.
Single workers in New Zealand face taxes of 17.6 per cent in 2015, compared with the OECD average of 35.9 per cent.
The publication on income tax in OECD countries calculates a “tax wedge” – the amount of tax on wages including social security contributions to the Government, including family benefits and tax provisions.
It does not include indirect taxes such as GST.”
Some Western European countries happily pay much higher taxes and enjoy better Health, Education, Security and better welfare.
In NZ we spend much less on the above and suffer accordingly.
How come taxing and re-distributing has become dirty words?
ON the other hand at least in British media, they can have a laugh… (this is funny).
“Politicians don’t know the price of milk – but they do know how to set up a shell company”
by Frankie Boyle
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/12/frankie-boyle-tax-havens-panama-papers
” I sometimes wonder if austerity might be less of an ideology and more of a pathology.”
Keeping the laughs coming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usgOsNhkKVE
No doubt Eddie could be explosive in the wrong hands Adam. Why Eddie could be a suicide bomber. So Samantha stick to innocent guns!
Got love the Bee, if you go on YouTube she has more gun porn.
Heard this on Nine to Noon as I was driving this morning .
http://tinyurl.com/jee7r93 for the audio file.
Will go back to it later as there were some very interesting comments
relating to economic progress ,or the lack of, and shortage of skilled
labour to boost exports.
Not all the beer & skittles that we are being sold.
Great insight into the way the TPPA roadshow and submissions is being run.
National MP Mark Mitchell and his breath-taking display of arrogance
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/04/13/national-mp-mark-mitchell-and-his-breath-taking-display-of-arrogance-2/#comment-332913
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/78860578/why-has-government-proposed-dhbs-decide-on-water-fluoridation-and-what-is-fluoride-anyway
Well its a step in the right direction anyway
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/301350/hire-new-zealanders-first,-govt-says
Is it just me or is this policy pinching by the party with the better PR machine (or more money to throw at PR)?
I know Labour says some dumb things about race, but they say some things, that when they are not viewed through an ethnicity lense, rather, an economic lense, actually make sense and people agree with.
This is what Labour was trying to elucidate about a month ago. Why did it come out so wrong? When somebody says they should limit immigration and focus on employing, educating, and upskilling the local population why do they get labelled racist? When we don’t have the infrastructure to support more immigration, and you point this out, are you somehow now a keen New Zealand First supporter?
What wound me up the most is when Woodhouse was asked on Morning Report this morning why employers were going to the international labour market he made up some cock and bull story that was obvious spin-doctoring rather than stating the obvious, the point Labour was trying to make: cheaper wages. Flood low-wage local jobs with immigrants who expect less, or see New Zealand wages as more attractive than other countries’, and boom! Our lowest wages stagnate, and locals suffer as a consequence.
Why was this not communicated by Labour, and why did it turn into a farce about chicken chop suey? It was an embarrassment for all concerned.
Because Labour are working to the script, the Chinese are taking over NZ and it’s all John Keys fault.
I see you are also sticking slavishly to your own script
NZ is being ruined and BM-the-fuckwit thinks the PM is not responsible. Of course.
Hard to get your point across when you constantly have your foot in the mouth or it could be that Mr Little engages his mouth before his brain, possibly a hang over from his union days
Well he was full steam on twin cylinders the last I heard him this afternoon on Parliament TV – an amazing rark up of the Government telling it how it is – methinks Puckish Rogue you protest too much in support of your leader. The best I’ve heard him and by crikey was he giving it to the PM about his lies, corruption you name it. Where there is smoke there is fire and there is lots more to this disgusting state of affairs and eventually it will be revealed. There’s only so much dithering, sarcasm and lying that the PM can deliver before he gets tripped up and makes a complete ass of himself. He is a liability to National and they will roll him soon as look at him if he is lying about his investments.
Today in the house the PM was his usual useless self, not once did he answer a question like any competent leader would. A psychologist would have a field day with him with his body language, he is the ultimate liar personified – its cringe worthy watching it, we deserve a better leader than this, National will be seeing this soon enough., if they haven’t already done so.
Times have been hard for unions PR, it’s not a sector in which worthless sacks of shit like Gerry Brownlee or Nick Smith would be subsidised.
Key is counting on the reverse racism angle to mute criticism of his disasterous anti-NZ policies. Migrants in sufficient numbers are never welcome anywhere, and a large population like China or India can overwhelm NZ’s capacity without even realising it.
Traditionally responsible governments have regulated migration – but as Woodhouse’s backpedalling on National Radio this morning showed, they’ve been letting in anyone without even bothering. Small countries cannot do that and prosper. And we’re not prospering.
“Times have been hard for unions PR, it’s not a sector in which worthless sacks of shit like Gerry Brownlee or Nick Smith would be subsidised. ”
– Damn strait union leaders are worth every thing they get paid 🙂 especially when they promote numpties like Little in the leadership position
If I seriously believed conspiracies I’d think Little was a National plant
It’d make sense – you can’t have two utterly worthless major parties.
National needs Labour to rebuild the economy – and Christchurch, and Auckland housing, and the labour market, and our credit rating. And our international reputation and our standing as a country with the rule of law.
They are simply incapable of governing. So of course they’d support Little.
But a righty like you should be into cutting out the middle man – why retain this useless non-performing National party that can’t balance its books without massive borrowing and whose only trick is shouting in parliament? These fuckwits represent you PR? You must be even stupider than I think.
+1 Brendon
It seems you can’t just state the obvious in NZ anymore – in particular about migration. Nobody is trying to put migrants down when questioning what’s going on. But if NZ has no jobs, no houses and not enough money for health, education, superannuation, social welfare etc for local people why are we increasing our population approx 1.5% per year with more people! People who have more money in most cases to buy up property and assets. In 35 years we are going to have all these migrants on superannuation with the unemployed millennials to support them and the rest of the population. Does not sound like it will end well. In addition actively encouraging tax evaders with NZ as a tax haven as JK’s economic dream for NZ and creating an underclass of unemployed, homeless Kiwis, bankrupt farmers, and struggling middle class, with a new super rich class financiers who have all their tax affairs set up using off shore trusts so they pay nothing, or lose money in NZ and get tax credits while buying up the country cheap! It’s unreal.
National’s very own social engineering project.
Labour’s mistake was to mention ethnic chefs (although Little made a good point there, it got drowned out by cries of “racism!”), rather than point it directly at the lower-skilled occupations.
Today’s announcement from Michael Woodhouse has been in the works for some time – collaboration between two large government departments (Immigration NZ and MSD) isn’t something that happens literally overnight, and was trialled voluntarily in Queenstown first before being rolled out nationwide.
The main point here is not that employers could bring people in willy-nilly, it was that they were not required to engage with Work and Income before offering the job to a migrant worker, whereas now they are required to do so for lower-skilled occupations (defined as occupations which are skill levels 4 and 5 on the ANZSCO).
Bring on the resistance!
Bill put up a post over the weekend, titled Simplicity, about a new French movement, Nuit debout, which had it’s origins in resisting planned labour law changes in France but has spread into more encompassing social issues, such as inequality. The night time mass outdoor meetings have spread from Paris to three other cities. The Guardian link is from Bill’s post:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/08/nuit-debout-protesters-occupy-french-cities-in-a-revolutionary-call-for-change.
In the meantime, across the Atlantic Americans are getting fed up with corporate money controlling their democracy and calling for “an end the corruption of big money in our politics” They are expressing their opposition to the status quo with mass sit ins and a 10 day march from Philadelphia to Washington DC, and aim to be the biggest civil disobedience America has seen in a generation.
http://www.democracyspring.org/
Last night Al Jazeera stated 400 people had been arrested at the Washington demonstration, but I can’t seem to find that news clip on line, although the link above does state that.
Now surely, in our little corrupt seedy corner of the South Pacific surely we can stand up too? We had a burst of energy in February with the very effective anti TPPA rally which gridlocked the Akld CDB for hours, Joyce took a dildo the face, Brownlee took some matter to his suit, and Key, was loudly booed in a variety of settings.
In Iceland, the PM had to resign over his wife’s shares in Wintris, where as our PM enabled the law change to turn our country into a tax haven and has a deposit with a company that provides tax avoidance advice and he’s still freaking here!
Now is not the time to hibernate! Where’s the action?
I love it, keep up these kind of posts 🙂
Rosie,
The Young Turks youTube channel has a lot on it. RT and Al Jazeera are covering it, so is PBS.
here TyT link
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheYoungTurks
And here is a nice piece on it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8UZ6s4PTPk
Why many of us never reported our abuse, about the harrowing ‘justice’ process in NZ. http://publicaddress.net/speaker/three-times-over-and-never-again/ (I was too young to know, wasn’t until I was in my 20s that it all came back to me). Trigger warning & all that.
Thanks for putting this up, GS. Awful reading, horrific experiences for this young woman …. and it is so unfair, and keeps on happening. We have a lousy justice system for rape and sexual assault victims.
One thing tho – the prominent NZer whose name and details have been suppressed by the Court – he might have a cushy job given to him by rich playmates at a classy golf club, but everyone in the north knows who he is and his name is mud ! It won’t be easy for him to walk down any street in the north any more.
I agree Jenny Kirk.
We have a critical system failure on this issue. Right across the system, it is just not capable of bringing justice to anyone.
The basics of a combative justice system, don’t help.
But the thing that makes me mad, it is exactly the same things I wrote after roast busters exploded, then I wrote again after it got swept under the carpet.
It may take time to appreciate it, but these young girls will find they come out the other end so much stronger for what they did. And in the process they did the rest of us a favour. The man was forced to resign from his powerful position and with it… any future control over other citizens.
Never reported my abuse/rape, but the day my mother passed “my” abuser said something so outlandish, so utterly devoid of any decency – and mind this is now several decades after the initial abuse and rapes, that in that instance everyone in the room knew what until then had been hush hush. A lot of people that day made excuses as to why they did not believe me, or did not interfere and help me. Cause it just did not look like it, and he was a man of such good standing and so on and so on..
The one thing i hope for these girls is that by going to court that they have put the fear of heaven and hell in his heart and that he will now stay away from them,
but I am not holding my breath. They way he spoke about them really does seem to me that in his eyes he did nothing wrong.
He might have been not found guilty due to lack of witnesses/evidence, but he was not found innocent either.
Too true…Stay strong sabine.