It seems National’s response to falling decisively behind in the polls is to launch an all out attack on David Shearer, presumably in the hope of somehow destabilizing Labour. The attack was signalled by an unusually active Mathew Hooten desperately trying to re-frame debate this way on every blog he thought might be read by a journalist and is being vigorously pushed by the right’s liars, repeaters and shills (Slater, Farrar and O’Sullivan) today. It is truly desperate stuff, but cunning in a shit house rat, Steven Joyce kind of way. Ot won’t work, but i would suggest we all start using the frantic mud slinging at Shearer as a reliable indicator of just how ugly the internal polling results are getting for forgetful John and his shambolic government.
In the last week, it looks like Shearer has started to lead the news agenda, rather than just respond to it: bringing up the issue of key talking at the GCSB staff cafe; announcing a joint parliamentary inquiry into manufacturing. National have been put in the position of having to respond to these stories.
On policy, I think Shearer is till too far to the right for me. But on leadership, I think Shearer is starting to show some.
In the last week, it looks like Shearer has started to lead the news agenda, rather than just respond to it:
Hi Karol –
What the above statement really indicates is that the media are seeking to shift control the debate – Shearer is not leading anything, and is no leader, never was, never will be which is why he was selected in the first place.
The aim of the media, as you will be aware is to control the context of the narrative, to shift and subvert, missdirect and deceive, thats what it exists for.
While it is too soon to say the writing is on the wall for NACT next election, the media are hedging their bets by attempting to make Shearer look like potentential (he is also their man), thats all the game is about…We know this because of the way the same media talks unfavourably, for the most part about DC. That said I do not see DC as any saviour of this country, he knows how the system is designed, and what its designed for, its the way a manufactured theatre must function, to mimic democracy
… its the way a manufactured theatre must function, to mimic democracy
From what I can make out, the present system is designed to keep democracy at bay. If we had democracy we certainly wouldn’t have capitalism or the “free-markets” which only benefit the owners.
Sorry Karol Shearer is not leading he is being led by the nose. And until the ‘leaders’ are dug out and gone, then Labour will just be a bunch of wanna be’s, and worst of all HAS BEENS!
down in wellington at work ( on wakefield st) and have posted from here numerous times over the last few years. This last week I am having a ridiculously impossible time posting from computers or phone, at work at home or on public machines.
past 24 hours I have been checking on downforeveryoneorjustme.com and usually get a yes it is down for everyone
On Phone: Most times site doesn’t load, or tells me the comment was not published, then i go to page and it was published, or does the super frustrating jump away from the text entry box when trying to add text etc which has been going on for ages now. Basically entering from the phone is impossible without a lot of patience.
I do nothing to my phone. I use ‘approved supplier aps’ i use it more a s acamera and memo book than i do a phone. It gets turned on. It gets turned off. Any issues with anything relating to software are not coming from me. Every other site i visit is fine, same as for the pc access. They load fine, run fine, text entry is fine. Every other site is fine. Something very screwy going on and i strongly suspect thestandard site is getting messed with.
Anyways, this is not a complaint just trying to understand what is going on
For the apologists and spinners the drive of the last few days has been to slide over the nub of matters, Key’s palpable dishonesty, into a story about the story.
However, as numerous commenters have said, the smell of shit is all over Key. Peoples’ nostrils are already, irreversibly, on alert.
Too late Johnny Boy. You’re in this business up to your neck and in a more or less way everyone knows it including your dissembling soldiers. That’s why we have the story about the story, the shrill attacks on Shearer, and pleas/directions towards indulgence.
Clay feet…….no clothes………fibbing little boy……..rabbit in the headlights.
The increasingly idiotic Fran O’S is advocating for Key to get the GCSB to investigate David Shearer, she obviously wrote the manual for Putin and before that Ol’Joe Stalin himself. She certainly looks and sounds old enough to have been in the shadows in the 40’s!
What these ‘journalists’ like franet, JA and their blog buddies don’t seem to realise because their heads are so far up NACTs butt that this shows just how biased and in the pocket of the hollowmen they are.
Readers of this site and other informed sources already know that but in terms of swaying any swingers it’s probably going to do the opposite and undermine what little credibility, if any, they had.
This is interesting though. It seems Mold’s partner wasn’t at the GCSB at the time of Key’s cafe talk to staff:
The Weekend Herald has been told Dr Rogers was not at the GCSB on the critical dates in the scandal. The Weekend Herald understands he was seconded to another government agency at the time of the Dotcom spying and during Mr Key’s visit….
[Shearer said] “Whether (the video) still exists now as a result of the searches that GCSB has made, I can’t tell you.”
He also gave more detail of Mr Key’s comments. “He mentioned the good work they had done with the Kim Dotcom case. There were a large number of people at that meeting who heard John Key speak.”
Seems increasingly probable there was GCSB surveillance of Dotcom, maybe right from the time he arrived in NZ. The NZ agencies would not have been ‘confused’ or ‘mistaken’ over Dotcom’s residency, they just treated it as irrelevant to their US instructions.
Key had had numerous GCSB briefings from the time he took office, and would surely have known about this before February 2012. A few words then to praise the troops would have been appropriate, given the Dotcom raid circus just weeks before.
If this jolly gathering happened as surmised, and was taped, it would be interesting to watch and maybe highly damaging to the PM. But it is only a small part of the big picture, which it seems stretched back a long time before.
As the minister in charge of GCSB, the real question is whether the admitted crime of illegal surveillance can be laid at the feet of John Key himself. But who watches the watchers?
Be interesting to see if the MSM do some serious follow ups in what Bennett says and does after the meeting, shades of the key visit to the aspirational family in goffs electorate, opportunistic and hollow like their backers.
Mmmm…Bennett (who let’s face it really avoided committing to a meeting with Sam as much as she could without conclusively proving she was a heartless bitch) is likely to meet with him just for show. Need to keep up the pressure on her or it will be shuffled to the back of the media pile quickly.
Sam for office sounds excellent. You can change the world from a wheelchair : )
Sam could take this in a number of directions. I’d like him to contact the Office of Disabilities (run by MSD) and see if he could work to influence MSD by using his experience to help other people on Sickness and IB’s. If Bennett suggests it to him, even better.
Below is the original article before it was edited a couple of days ago. Had to save as text, otherwise the html wanted to link itself to the update version.
Does that make Danya Levy more senior? as her name does not appear on the article below, but does on the 834am update
Rescuing vulnerable kids: Bennett’s master plan
KATE CHAPMAN
Last updated 05:00 11/10/2012
Share
The Government is encouraging people to dob
in suspected child abusers under a raft of changes aimed at reining in our
horrific child abuse rate.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett will today launch the White Paper for
Vulnerable Children – the culmination of four years’ work and consultation with
thousands of community groups and concerned parents.
The cornerstone of the Government’s plan is raising awareness of the signs of
child abuse and neglect, and urging people to report it.
Recent high-profile cases have shown vulnerable children were often known to
multiple agencies but a failure to put the pieces together saw them horribly
reabused and even killed.
Mrs Bennett said the plight of vulnerable children had been her driving force
and the policy changes unveiled today simply had to work. “I feel like this is
what I came into Parliament for.”
The White Paper and accompanying Children’s Action Plan were the best that could
have been produced in the current environment, she said.
A Child Protect telephone line is planned for concerned neighbours, family,
friends and professionals to ring when they suspect a child is being badly
treated.
Comments made to the phone line, and information gathered by government and
community organisations, would be entered into a Vulnerable Kids Information
System to track those deemed at risk.
The system would also hold information on high-risk adults who had abused or
neglected children, regardless of whether they were convicted.
Such information sharing was crucial, Mrs Bennett said.
The system would be password-protected, users would be monitored, and
professionals would have restricted access to different levels of information.
Only children considered vulnerable – at risk of, or already experiencing,
maltreatment – would be entered into the system. While accounts could be made
inactive, it was unlikely they would ever be deleted. An expert panel would be
established to nut out details of the system. “The security and the checks to be
put on this information system is vital to its integrity. More than anything
we’re going to work to get that right.”
There would be children wrongly identified as being vulnerable, Mrs Bennett
said.
“If they’re not becoming a child of concern then, as such, they will effectively
drop out of the system.”
The Child Protect line would have a role in ensuring information in the system
was correct and updated. The contact service did not have to be run by the
Social Development Ministry; it could be contracted out to a non-government
organisation.
Ad Feedback The Government also wants those working with children to take
greater responsibility in reporting suspected neglect or abuse. Teachers and
medical professionals would be among those given training to recognise the
signs, and legislation would be introduced “requiring all agencies working with
children to have policies and reporting systems in place to recognise and report
child abuse and neglect”, the White Paper says.
Mrs Bennett said that was not mandatory reporting. “We’re going to really set
some clear rules around it . . . making sure that they follow through and they
do report; we’re also not making it mandatory so they use their professional
judgment better.”
There were concerns that mandatory reporting would mean at-risk children dropped
out of the system and services would be over-run with notifications.
Under the Children’s Action Plan, there would also be controls on who could have
contact with children. People who posed a continuing and serious threat to their
children could have their parental rights removed by a judge.
Mrs Bennett said it was an extreme step and not one that would be taken lightly.
Look at the opening paragraph of the updated article
DANYA LEVY AND KATE CHAPMAN
Last updated 08:34 11/10/2012
New measures to reduce New Zealand’s appalling rate of child abuse are being welcomed by child advocates but Opposition parties say the Government has failed to address poverty which can exacerbate the risk.
Look at the deliberate framing to pit so called child adovate groups (no mention of who), against the “opposition parties”, this is faux support for the NACT government, being created out of total thin air by the MSM!
The opening of the new article below – So between 5am and the 834am update, the “child advocate groups” gave their support did they – This sort of garbage neds to be called out, and in the original article, only a couple of hours earlier, no mention of suport at all, only mention of critics lower down the article…So the article was updated, sanitized and deliberate lies inserted by the looks of it.
KATE CHAPMAN
Last updated 05:00 11/10/2012
The Government is encouraging people to dob
in suspected child abusers under a raft of changes aimed at reining in our
horrific child abuse rate.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett will today launch the White Paper for
Vulnerable Children – the culmination of four years’ work and consultation with
thousands of community groups and concerned parents.
psychiatry professor says the drugs are being over-prescribed.
Yup what there is , is deliberate misuse of “drugs” used to placate the sheep from wondering why they are feeling so fcked up in the first place…
There you go, have some fluoride, eat some nice lithium, prozac, fluoxetene, have a shed load of mental stress created by all these nice fake systems we are trapping you into, then when you feel bad, go see the nice Dr who will ensure that you stay docile, and if you really feel something is wrong we will send you to the quack who will certify you.
Welfare Justice Dunedin says humiliation of beneficiaries widespread and challenges Work and Income to drop their appeal and use those resources to follow Human Rights Tribunal’s ruling: http://community.scoop.co.nz/2012/10/beneficiary-battles-on/
Quote: ‘We challenge the Ministry to stop using bully tactics and taxpayer money to drag Mr Holmes through the High Court, and to take on board the tribunal’s recommendations. This isn’t an isolated incident. WJD has been inundated with appalling stories of breaches of privacy, humiliation, loss of dignity and a widespread disconnect from professional conduct among WINZ staff.’
I can’t believe I just heard that fool of a Housing Minister, Heatley whining on Radio NZ that Hone should quit bitching about the GI evictions and just be grateful his people up north are going to get hand-me-down houses.
Poor sam wasn’t given a lousy $40 for food,which he travelled miles for in a wheelchair,
but $600.000 of tax payers money can be given for the ‘elite’ to have a weekend of golf
in Queenstown,the Micheal Hill tournament.
My love and support go out to sam and hope that he is ok now and qudos to Hone
for supporting him.
lanth this is only a comparison between the major trading blocks .
They are all reducing the value of their currency at the same time which is not having an effect on their economic performance!
If these trading blocks had not all reduced their currency value at the same time their would be a different story!
Like New Zealand not doing any thing the Aussies have done it for us to a degree.
I dont condone violence but bennett was just on the nation,i actually felt she needed a
slap.
The ignoramace can’t even admit that ‘poverty’ is the problem.
Having hundreds of thousands of NZ go cold and hungry in this land of hydropower and milk is a direct attack on their daily wellbeing and therefore violence on a massive scale.
This illustrates the difference between the left and right when it comes to using humour in a political setting. Basically the right try to be amusing while making a point whereas the left are about as subtle as a sledgehammer.
Its a pleasent way to pass the time. Its interesting though the amount of times I’ve said something on here and got flack for it then a post is written later which is very similar to what I’ve written.
Any time I’ve written about the problems within Labour especially why they lost the last couple of elections theres been a post in similar content. Not saying I influence the posts (more likely that myself and the person writing it have similar ideas) but it seems its not what you say so much as who says it.
“but it seems its not what you say so much as who says it.”
Yep. The Standard (breaking the inconsistently applied policy of referring to The Standard as a singular entity) enjoys frothing and pointing fingers at those who break from the party line. The group think is weird and unwieldy.
“So no examples, then.”
I think you mean to say ‘So, no examples then?’ Grammar matters.
chris73
Humour with excess for the left? Just reminding everyone of the cleverness of Spitting Image in their British satirical forays on Youtube. Bit of fun for everyone – those not being lampooned felt left out.
Oh I’d agree it was juvenile humour. But no subtlety? Remember when you first looked at it – you had to look at it at least twice to figure out if it was real or not
A lot of thought is taken before the sledgehammer is used efficiently by the left,with the
right it is thrown around and aimed at those who just need a hug and some love.
To chris73
Why is this site soooo slow, it’s like stepping back to the days of dial up?
Great looking site but the usability is crap.
The Standard would have to be one of the slowest sites on the web, I don’t get it,the site is 99% text it should load in an instant.
BM
I have been finding that the site is extremely slow often. I haven’t noticed this before. It seems to take ages to get comments up often. Also I click on a recent comment from the right hand box and get sent to some other page or it takes ages to find though I have noticed that there is a difficulty with that when there are over say 100 comments.
I thought it was from my setup. It has been suggested that I use Firefox instead of Opera so I could possibly help from my side, but I haven’t had such problems in the past. I don’t know whether the constant upgrades I get with Opera may introduce some new routine.
Sites going OK for me, but if LPrent or someone can tell me how to stop the new post notifications from being emailed to me it would be really awesome. My smartphone dings non-stop..
The comment on Radionz this morning about the huge annual payments to heads of government agencies in money terms (rather than in percentage terms) sparked a memory of the right wing business interests talking about achieving lower wages for all by using tendering or an auction system to set the rates.
Review of pay for public sector heads wanted
The Green Party wants an urgent review of salaries of public sector chief executives after a report by the State Services Commission showed some are paid more than $600,000.
Now when top salaries are getting into the money gouging level for these executives working supposedly to deliver government efficiency and service to the people (often not achieved) in a non-profit situation, I think that tendering would be an excellent idea as part of the survey of candidates available to human resources. At present setting salaries seems very inflationary and similar to the model that used to be followed prior to 1984 by workers and their unions which the government has stamped out. I think we should be aiming for ability and track record rather than rabbiting on about getting ‘the best’. Let’s get away from high-flown language that builds images and go practical through tendering with the usual careful proviso which I think is – (lowest or any tender not necessarily accepted).
And economically it is counter-productive to combine departments and then multiply the salary of the top executive on that basis, instead of looking at economies of scale with a chance to get more productivity from the top banana. This is a slippery slope that the salary-setting body has started on and it’s time that our responsible? economic entities levelled this yellow brick road presently paved with gold bars.
You can always tell where the power lies in a society by the pay rates, but more easily by the buildings…
When the church has power they build great cathedrals.
When the military has power they build great garrisons and fortresses.
When business has power they build great glass towers.
When governments have power they build great offices etc. Currently the power in society rests with government. That is why pre-earthquake Christchurch’s most expensive building was the IRD building.
Similarly, the new Chch City Council building.
Similarly, the Court of Appeal building in Wellington.
I think a simple cap of $250k for a public servant, including the PM, would be fine. If the CEOs didn’t want to work for that they can wander off to the private sector. There is, after all, plenty of more people below them with the capability of doing the job just as well, if not better, than them.
What about tendering for the top pay? Has this been done anywhere in the world? Are we doing our usual and playing just part of a game that others have already left behind in our devotion to our free market version?
why is the standard so slow?
ask the GCSB
larfffs.
as for public service salaries.
this national party government does not believe in government but it believes in patronage, pelf, peculation and paying off its supporters.
figure it out for yourself.
captain hook
Like your alliteration. And pelf – didn’t know that – good word I see it comes right down from 14th century Old French pelfre meaning booty. The desire for which connects us down the centuries ay!
The crisis has with one stroke not only discredited the particular decisions by those responsible for the crisis—central bankers, financial regulators, and bankers—but it has disproved the entire mainstream “neo-classical” paradigm of thinking about economics and economic policy. The Washington Consensus, the basis for recent government and central bank policies all over the world, has been proven wrong.
But the current crisis is not the only piece of evidence that there has been something seriously amiss with the mainstream economic theories and the policies based on them. Other evidence includes the increasingly visible environmental destruction, or the many previous financial and economic crises the world has seen. Indeed, banking and financial crises have recurred with such frequency over the past centuries that their occurrence must be considered one of the few constants in economic life. Each time, much surprise is exhibited by the experts. Over the past three decades, the number of banking and financial crises has increased (to over 100 countries) and the swings of the business cycle have become more pronounced. (It is noteworthy that this happened, as central bank independence and power over economic policy has increased significantly during this time period).
Unfortunately Draco, the usual method of dealing with major issues will play out.
The conservatives will deny and ignore and do nothing about it. It will take the liberals to make the necessary changes, which will then be embraced by the conservatives.
Gawd I wish that Shane Jones would learn to STFU. Abusing the Greens over their perfectly appropriate suggestion that we should allow satirists to make fun of commercial ads is ridiculous.
If this sort of satire is not allowed the next thing the commercial interests will do is try and ban any sort of adverse comments about them, even when they do things like use slave labour or plunder depleted fish stocks or kill Maui’s dolphin.
Perhaps Shearer should be thinking about Jones when he does his next reshuffle.
How can Jones demoted when he has no portfolio areas in the first place? I don’t like rewarding poor performance, but perhaps he should be given something to keep him occupied. Sport or racing, for example.
A mistake by Helen long overdue for correction, he did well in the 2011 polls but up against Sharples a more credible candidate would have taken that Maori seat. They just needed a plausible alternative to PIta and didn’t get one from Labour, less of the duck more of the deserving is required.
ha ha that spoof is absolutely brilliant and absolutely spot on.
Shane Jones – fuck off and grow up you useless chook. If you can’t handle the heat then get out of the kitchen. Fancy trying to stop people doing this sort of thing …. You belong in the USA Shane Jones – see ya later.
Sealord, Meridian, all the oil companies, they all spout bullshit. Is Shane Jones seriously defending the image and perception they try to convey? What a fucking muppet.
“This is a bill which will definitely lead to the destruction of jobs, which makes it a crackpot idea. Jobs are not going to be maintained if brands are destroyed.”
If the brand can’t stand up to a little satire highlighting the truth behind the brand then it doesn’t deserve to continue. In fact, it probably should have been shut down by government.
exactly Draco, but rather than shut them down someone would certainly be able to take a case against Sealord under the Fair Trading Act – misleading and deceptive conduct in trade. The FTA is one of the easiest pieces of legislation to take court action under. Come on greenie activists, give it a go………
ms
The beef barons in USA actually got nasty when Ophra made some remark about why she wouldn’t eat hamburgers because of the beef not being healthy. Forgotten what happened.
By the look of it, that stats tab was what was causing the recent periodic slowdowns on the site.
It looks like it was locking up on the comment count query when a comment was being stored and queries were stacking up waiting for it. It effectively stalled the page display for many. I set up a graph to look for the numbers of threads active on the database at any one time – was getting these strange spikes.
I’ll have to recode that to do it on a periodic basis or to keep a running total. In the meantime it can go off. Enough playing about. Time to head back to work.
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This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
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Syria: who’s backing who?
http://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/syria-whos-backing-who/
Syria rebels sponsor Bahrain abuses and kills unarmed protestors
Pays CNN to cover up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFDC7zmJgQg&feature=plcp
It seems National’s response to falling decisively behind in the polls is to launch an all out attack on David Shearer, presumably in the hope of somehow destabilizing Labour. The attack was signalled by an unusually active Mathew Hooten desperately trying to re-frame debate this way on every blog he thought might be read by a journalist and is being vigorously pushed by the right’s liars, repeaters and shills (Slater, Farrar and O’Sullivan) today. It is truly desperate stuff, but cunning in a shit house rat, Steven Joyce kind of way. Ot won’t work, but i would suggest we all start using the frantic mud slinging at Shearer as a reliable indicator of just how ugly the internal polling results are getting for forgetful John and his shambolic government.
In the last week, it looks like Shearer has started to lead the news agenda, rather than just respond to it: bringing up the issue of key talking at the GCSB staff cafe; announcing a joint parliamentary inquiry into manufacturing. National have been put in the position of having to respond to these stories.
On policy, I think Shearer is till too far to the right for me. But on leadership, I think Shearer is starting to show some.
Hi Karol –
What the above statement really indicates is that the media are seeking to shift control the debate – Shearer is not leading anything, and is no leader, never was, never will be which is why he was selected in the first place.
The aim of the media, as you will be aware is to control the context of the narrative, to shift and subvert, missdirect and deceive, thats what it exists for.
While it is too soon to say the writing is on the wall for NACT next election, the media are hedging their bets by attempting to make Shearer look like potentential (he is also their man), thats all the game is about…We know this because of the way the same media talks unfavourably, for the most part about DC. That said I do not see DC as any saviour of this country, he knows how the system is designed, and what its designed for, its the way a manufactured theatre must function, to mimic democracy
From what I can make out, the present system is designed to keep democracy at bay. If we had democracy we certainly wouldn’t have capitalism or the “free-markets” which only benefit the owners.
Remember
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/548320_456194924419791_351635435_n.jpg
Thats right JM.
Which is why when people from any spectrum say “but its legal” – I wonder how little they understand that its coming to them some day too…
Legal doesn’t always equal right and that is the truth that people who always cry but it’s legal don’t seem to grok.
Sorry Karol Shearer is not leading he is being led by the nose. And until the ‘leaders’ are dug out and gone, then Labour will just be a bunch of wanna be’s, and worst of all HAS BEENS!
Could you clarify what you mean, please? Afaik, he’s not right wing at all, except in slurs from others.
Fran O’Sullivan, tempted with the baubles of back room banterings, does seem to have drifted to the opposing shore from that which she first patrolled
please help me to understand why this comment was put into moderation?
[Sorry – no idea – if it happens frequently then you share an IP range with a known spammer or troll – let us know if that is the case. r0b]
down in wellington at work ( on wakefield st) and have posted from here numerous times over the last few years. This last week I am having a ridiculously impossible time posting from computers or phone, at work at home or on public machines.
past 24 hours I have been checking on downforeveryoneorjustme.com and usually get a yes it is down for everyone
On Phone: Most times site doesn’t load, or tells me the comment was not published, then i go to page and it was published, or does the super frustrating jump away from the text entry box when trying to add text etc which has been going on for ages now. Basically entering from the phone is impossible without a lot of patience.
I do nothing to my phone. I use ‘approved supplier aps’ i use it more a s acamera and memo book than i do a phone. It gets turned on. It gets turned off. Any issues with anything relating to software are not coming from me. Every other site i visit is fine, same as for the pc access. They load fine, run fine, text entry is fine. Every other site is fine. Something very screwy going on and i strongly suspect thestandard site is getting messed with.
Anyways, this is not a complaint just trying to understand what is going on
For the apologists and spinners the drive of the last few days has been to slide over the nub of matters, Key’s palpable dishonesty, into a story about the story.
However, as numerous commenters have said, the smell of shit is all over Key. Peoples’ nostrils are already, irreversibly, on alert.
Too late Johnny Boy. You’re in this business up to your neck and in a more or less way everyone knows it including your dissembling soldiers. That’s why we have the story about the story, the shrill attacks on Shearer, and pleas/directions towards indulgence.
Clay feet…….no clothes………fibbing little boy……..rabbit in the headlights.
It’s hilarious.
The increasingly idiotic Fran O’S is advocating for Key to get the GCSB to investigate David Shearer, she obviously wrote the manual for Putin and before that Ol’Joe Stalin himself. She certainly looks and sounds old enough to have been in the shadows in the 40’s!
What these ‘journalists’ like franet, JA and their blog buddies don’t seem to realise because their heads are so far up NACTs butt that this shows just how biased and in the pocket of the hollowmen they are.
Readers of this site and other informed sources already know that but in terms of swaying any swingers it’s probably going to do the opposite and undermine what little credibility, if any, they had.
This is interesting though. It seems Mold’s partner wasn’t at the GCSB at the time of Key’s cafe talk to staff:
Just as I thought, Karol, a large number present – is one of them, at least, prepared to testify to what they heard? (Or have I missed something?)
That’s the million dollar question – will any more of these people who were there come forward?
And this sounds on the mark.
http://www.kiwipolitico.com/
Seems increasingly probable there was GCSB surveillance of Dotcom, maybe right from the time he arrived in NZ. The NZ agencies would not have been ‘confused’ or ‘mistaken’ over Dotcom’s residency, they just treated it as irrelevant to their US instructions.
Key had had numerous GCSB briefings from the time he took office, and would surely have known about this before February 2012. A few words then to praise the troops would have been appropriate, given the Dotcom raid circus just weeks before.
If this jolly gathering happened as surmised, and was taped, it would be interesting to watch and maybe highly damaging to the PM. But it is only a small part of the big picture, which it seems stretched back a long time before.
As the minister in charge of GCSB, the real question is whether the admitted crime of illegal surveillance can be laid at the feet of John Key himself. But who watches the watchers?
Which post at Kiwipolitico are you talking about?
Sorry..,,
http://www.kiwipolitico.com/2012/10/more-questions-about-the-dotcom-spying-case/#comment-248793
Gets right to the bone.
The only explanation I’ve seen that makes sense..so far….
Sam lives to fight another day!
http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/news/sam-ends-30-day-hunger-strike/1580887/
Governments all over the world are making Sam Kuha, and thousands like him, bear the brunt of this crisis. Saddening really.
I hope this isnt the last we hear from him…sound opportunistic, but he should have a crack at running for office.
Be interesting to see if the MSM do some serious follow ups in what Bennett says and does after the meeting, shades of the key visit to the aspirational family in goffs electorate, opportunistic and hollow like their backers.
Mmmm…Bennett (who let’s face it really avoided committing to a meeting with Sam as much as she could without conclusively proving she was a heartless bitch) is likely to meet with him just for show. Need to keep up the pressure on her or it will be shuffled to the back of the media pile quickly.
Sam for office sounds excellent. You can change the world from a wheelchair : )
Sam could take this in a number of directions. I’d like him to contact the Office of Disabilities (run by MSD) and see if he could work to influence MSD by using his experience to help other people on Sickness and IB’s. If Bennett suggests it to him, even better.
Below is the original article before it was edited a couple of days ago. Had to save as text, otherwise the html wanted to link itself to the update version.
Does that make Danya Levy more senior? as her name does not appear on the article below, but does on the 834am update
Rescuing vulnerable kids: Bennett’s master plan
KATE CHAPMAN
Last updated 05:00 11/10/2012
Share
The Government is encouraging people to dob
in suspected child abusers under a raft of changes aimed at reining in our
horrific child abuse rate.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett will today launch the White Paper for
Vulnerable Children – the culmination of four years’ work and consultation with
thousands of community groups and concerned parents.
The cornerstone of the Government’s plan is raising awareness of the signs of
child abuse and neglect, and urging people to report it.
Recent high-profile cases have shown vulnerable children were often known to
multiple agencies but a failure to put the pieces together saw them horribly
reabused and even killed.
Mrs Bennett said the plight of vulnerable children had been her driving force
and the policy changes unveiled today simply had to work. “I feel like this is
what I came into Parliament for.”
The White Paper and accompanying Children’s Action Plan were the best that could
have been produced in the current environment, she said.
A Child Protect telephone line is planned for concerned neighbours, family,
friends and professionals to ring when they suspect a child is being badly
treated.
Comments made to the phone line, and information gathered by government and
community organisations, would be entered into a Vulnerable Kids Information
System to track those deemed at risk.
The system would also hold information on high-risk adults who had abused or
neglected children, regardless of whether they were convicted.
Such information sharing was crucial, Mrs Bennett said.
The system would be password-protected, users would be monitored, and
professionals would have restricted access to different levels of information.
Only children considered vulnerable – at risk of, or already experiencing,
maltreatment – would be entered into the system. While accounts could be made
inactive, it was unlikely they would ever be deleted. An expert panel would be
established to nut out details of the system. “The security and the checks to be
put on this information system is vital to its integrity. More than anything
we’re going to work to get that right.”
There would be children wrongly identified as being vulnerable, Mrs Bennett
said.
“If they’re not becoming a child of concern then, as such, they will effectively
drop out of the system.”
The Child Protect line would have a role in ensuring information in the system
was correct and updated. The contact service did not have to be run by the
Social Development Ministry; it could be contracted out to a non-government
organisation.
Ad Feedback The Government also wants those working with children to take
greater responsibility in reporting suspected neglect or abuse. Teachers and
medical professionals would be among those given training to recognise the
signs, and legislation would be introduced “requiring all agencies working with
children to have policies and reporting systems in place to recognise and report
child abuse and neglect”, the White Paper says.
Mrs Bennett said that was not mandatory reporting. “We’re going to really set
some clear rules around it . . . making sure that they follow through and they
do report; we’re also not making it mandatory so they use their professional
judgment better.”
There were concerns that mandatory reporting would mean at-risk children dropped
out of the system and services would be over-run with notifications.
Under the Children’s Action Plan, there would also be controls on who could have
contact with children. People who posed a continuing and serious threat to their
children could have their parental rights removed by a judge.
Mrs Bennett said it was an extreme step and not one that would be taken lightly.
New civil child abuse prevention orders would give judges the power to place
restrictions on people who posed a high risk to a child or future children.
Critics may claim Mrs Bennett has ignored the real threat for a number of Kiwi
children – poverty.
“I was always blatantly targeting these most vulnerable, abused and neglected
children in this country and that’s what this piece of work was always about,”
Mrs Bennett said.
‘WE CAN DO MUCH BETTER FOR FAILED KIDS’
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett puts her mouth where her heart is:
that too many Kiwi kids are failed, but that we can do much better.
“The day I got offered the job of Minister of Social Development the first thing
I said to the prime minister on the phone, at 9pm on a Sunday, was ‘does it
include Child, Youth and Family?’
The former solo mum has a clear idea of what she wants and how to get it. She’ll
listen, but once a plan is set in motion there’s no stopping the determined
Waitakere MP.
New Zealand’s child abuse record is an embarrassment to everyone; none more so
than the woman charged with overseeing child welfare.
Ms Bennett said that was her driving force since entering Parliament.
“It is my key driver, without a doubt.
“I feel like [the White Paper] is one of the biggest and certainly most
significant changes that will be in my time as minister.”
Early in her first term as minister, Ms Bennett was in the United Kingdom when
she decided we needed a White Paper on vulnerable children.
First came the Green Paper – a discussion document launched amongst much
fanfare.
Almost 10,000 submissions later, the Government has released its reaction to the
suggestions: The White Paper and Children’s Action Plan, which Ms Bennett says
will make a difference in the life of the most vulnerable kids in our society.
“I’m unapologetic in my saying we can do a better job for them and that’s where
my focus is.”
– © Fairfax NZ News
Wonder if those “failed kids” she talks about are the same ones who are in the so-called “long tail of failure at school?”
muzza
Thanks for giving us the info.
Look at the opening paragraph of the updated article
DANYA LEVY AND KATE CHAPMAN
Last updated 08:34 11/10/2012
Look at the deliberate framing to pit so called child adovate groups (no mention of who), against the “opposition parties”, this is faux support for the NACT government, being created out of total thin air by the MSM!
The opening of the new article below – So between 5am and the 834am update, the “child advocate groups” gave their support did they – This sort of garbage neds to be called out, and in the original article, only a couple of hours earlier, no mention of suport at all, only mention of critics lower down the article…So the article was updated, sanitized and deliberate lies inserted by the looks of it.
KATE CHAPMAN
Last updated 05:00 11/10/2012
Well spotted muzza, Bennet is obviously looking for cheap/no cost things to promote.
Hang on …. weren’t the police just recently saying those numbers are because of increased reporting because of advertising, community participation?
4 years investigation, culminating in “Tell people to report it” ??
The womans a leech M8!
Thanks for the awhi muzza
There is no depression in new zealand
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=10839802
blam blam blam
Yup what there is , is deliberate misuse of “drugs” used to placate the sheep from wondering why they are feeling so fcked up in the first place…
There you go, have some fluoride, eat some nice lithium, prozac, fluoxetene, have a shed load of mental stress created by all these nice fake systems we are trapping you into, then when you feel bad, go see the nice Dr who will ensure that you stay docile, and if you really feel something is wrong we will send you to the quack who will certify you.
wishy washy!!!!
Welfare Justice Dunedin says humiliation of beneficiaries widespread and challenges Work and Income to drop their appeal and use those resources to follow Human Rights Tribunal’s ruling: http://community.scoop.co.nz/2012/10/beneficiary-battles-on/
Quote: ‘We challenge the Ministry to stop using bully tactics and taxpayer money to drag Mr Holmes through the High Court, and to take on board the tribunal’s recommendations. This isn’t an isolated incident. WJD has been inundated with appalling stories of breaches of privacy, humiliation, loss of dignity and a widespread disconnect from professional conduct among WINZ staff.’
Standard Bullying
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10840262
Thanks, was wondering what was happening with that. Anyone know much about the Welfare Justice group? Apparently they’re operating nationally.
I can’t believe I just heard that fool of a Housing Minister, Heatley whining on Radio NZ that Hone should quit bitching about the GI evictions and just be grateful his people up north are going to get hand-me-down houses.
National needs donations to pay for media training for their Ministers. It’s a Ministerial car crash.
Poor sam wasn’t given a lousy $40 for food,which he travelled miles for in a wheelchair,
but $600.000 of tax payers money can be given for the ‘elite’ to have a weekend of golf
in Queenstown,the Micheal Hill tournament.
My love and support go out to sam and hope that he is ok now and qudos to Hone
for supporting him.
Couldn’t agree more.
Lordy knows how they can play golf with those heavy blinkers on.
We are a society of haves and have nots and it is taking too long for most to realise we are no longer an equal and egalitarian society.
The economist, on why printing money is the new normal:
http://www.economist.com/node/21564210
From the article. “Currency trading is, by its nature, a zero-sum game. For some to fall, others must rise.” Russell Norman?
http://www.interest.co.nz/news/56861/double-shot-interview-bernard-hickey-talks-green-party-co-leader-russel-norman-about-inte
Surely it’s been the new normal for quite a while 🙂
lanth this is only a comparison between the major trading blocks .
They are all reducing the value of their currency at the same time which is not having an effect on their economic performance!
If these trading blocks had not all reduced their currency value at the same time their would be a different story!
Like New Zealand not doing any thing the Aussies have done it for us to a degree.
I dont condone violence but bennett was just on the nation,i actually felt she needed a
slap.
The ignoramace can’t even admit that ‘poverty’ is the problem.
Having hundreds of thousands of NZ go cold and hungry in this land of hydropower and milk is a direct attack on their daily wellbeing and therefore violence on a massive scale.
Well, that would explain John Roughan’s column that tries to tell us that poverty doesn’t exist in NZ.
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/GCSB-SPY.jpg
This illustrates the difference between the left and right when it comes to using humour in a political setting. Basically the right try to be amusing while making a point whereas the left are about as subtle as a sledgehammer.
I would have said that the right, or at least whaleoil are just juvenile. What is subtle about that jpg?
Oh well kiddie humour – I guess there must be a market for it, otherwise the wiggles would never have had a career.
Its subtle in comparison to the attempts at humour here.
Just in, a picture from last night’s Al Gore event. The audience was asked to vote on the priciples of NZ leadership after Al’s big speech.
http://www.jokeoverflow.com/picture-jokes/news-politics/an-inconvenient-truth
Yet you still feel the need to come here and try to “sock it to those dirty lefties”, and poorly at that.
Are you related to Gosman?…
Its a pleasent way to pass the time. Its interesting though the amount of times I’ve said something on here and got flack for it then a post is written later which is very similar to what I’ve written.
Examples please Chris.
Any time I’ve written about the problems within Labour especially why they lost the last couple of elections theres been a post in similar content. Not saying I influence the posts (more likely that myself and the person writing it have similar ideas) but it seems its not what you say so much as who says it.
So no examples, then.
“but it seems its not what you say so much as who says it.”
Yep. The Standard (breaking the inconsistently applied policy of referring to The Standard as a singular entity) enjoys frothing and pointing fingers at those who break from the party line. The group think is weird and unwieldy.
“So no examples, then.”
I think you mean to say ‘So, no examples then?’ Grammar matters.
The grammar was fine.
He wasn’t asking if there were examples to give, he was saying that there were no examples given, then.
Fair cop but nonetheless the syntax is odd.
A comma is a pause so if you say it out loud:
“So (pause) no examples then”
“So no examples (pause) then”
The latter is unwieldy, but admittedly grammatically correct.
Well, if we’re thinking of contexts, the functionary filling in the report and wanting to close the folder says “so, no examples then.”
Darth Vader goes “So no examples, then”.
Emphasises the lack of examples, rather than the conclusion implied by “so”.
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp
Look at that face. That face knows all there is to know about the comma.
From your link, Felix, I thought Rule 3 was pretty apt.
lolz yes I liked that too.
“lolz yes I liked that too.”
That reads as”Law’s yes!” like it is being spoken by some Midwestern US farmer.
As in:
“Law’s yes! I liked that too! M-O-O-N, that spells ‘liked that'”
Grammar
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/156541_444714838927927_945638756_n.jpg
the net is deceptive
Yeah, Grammar matters, as do Kings, and Scots College, and Collegiate……..they all matter to the aspirational wannabee John Keez and other snob-dicks.
The real people are lashing back. That excites and warms me.
To hell with the clay feet of greedy bullshitters .
Oh, might that be Rodney Hyde and wee Stephen Joyce on the left of the picture?
chris73
Humour with excess for the left? Just reminding everyone of the cleverness of Spitting Image in their British satirical forays on Youtube. Bit of fun for everyone – those not being lampooned felt left out.
It certainly does illustrate the difference between left and right approaches to humour. It’s juvenile rubbish, with no subtlety involved at all.
Yeah, the left would never do anything juvenile like that…oh wait
http://bit.ly/PsW6NY
But I am sure this is totally different and you’ll find excuses as to why this is cutting edge and in know way comparable to the other pic from Whale.
errrr I mean ‘In no way…’
shit
So who did that one? They didn’t get the head right.
I was from Bomber.
I mean “it”. Dafuck is going on with my spelling?
Muphry’s law.
If you’re looking for juvenile rubbish with no subtlety involved how about this ?
http://thestandard.org.nz/caption-contest-40/
Oh I’d agree it was juvenile humour. But no subtlety? Remember when you first looked at it – you had to look at it at least twice to figure out if it was real or not
“Remember when you first looked at it – you had to look at it at least twice to figure out if it was real or not”
Really? Seemed pretty fucking obvious and not subtle in the slightest..
Yes, it is amusing. The totally stupid and dimwitted “hero” against a mastermind.
A lot of thought is taken before the sledgehammer is used efficiently by the left,with the
right it is thrown around and aimed at those who just need a hug and some love.
To chris73
John Campbell on media3,he is a great nz’er for what is right and what is wrong in nz,
he is a champion.
Why is this site soooo slow, it’s like stepping back to the days of dial up?
Great looking site but the usability is crap.
The Standard would have to be one of the slowest sites on the web, I don’t get it,the site is 99% text it should load in an instant.
BM
I have been finding that the site is extremely slow often. I haven’t noticed this before. It seems to take ages to get comments up often. Also I click on a recent comment from the right hand box and get sent to some other page or it takes ages to find though I have noticed that there is a difficulty with that when there are over say 100 comments.
I thought it was from my setup. It has been suggested that I use Firefox instead of Opera so I could possibly help from my side, but I haven’t had such problems in the past. I don’t know whether the constant upgrades I get with Opera may introduce some new routine.
It’s the page breaking mechanism they use, all the old links break.
(LPRent is aware of it, but the fix is bigger than a one liner unfortunately)
Sites going OK for me, but if LPrent or someone can tell me how to stop the new post notifications from being emailed to me it would be really awesome. My smartphone dings non-stop..
I’d expect you need to unsubscribe, and just surf to the rss, I don’t use a mobile so not sure bud.
BM for once I agree with you this site is always having problems maybe its popularity!
The comment on Radionz this morning about the huge annual payments to heads of government agencies in money terms (rather than in percentage terms) sparked a memory of the right wing business interests talking about achieving lower wages for all by using tendering or an auction system to set the rates.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political
Now when top salaries are getting into the money gouging level for these executives working supposedly to deliver government efficiency and service to the people (often not achieved) in a non-profit situation, I think that tendering would be an excellent idea as part of the survey of candidates available to human resources. At present setting salaries seems very inflationary and similar to the model that used to be followed prior to 1984 by workers and their unions which the government has stamped out. I think we should be aiming for ability and track record rather than rabbiting on about getting ‘the best’. Let’s get away from high-flown language that builds images and go practical through tendering with the usual careful proviso which I think is – (lowest or any tender not necessarily accepted).
And economically it is counter-productive to combine departments and then multiply the salary of the top executive on that basis, instead of looking at economies of scale with a chance to get more productivity from the top banana. This is a slippery slope that the salary-setting body has started on and it’s time that our responsible? economic entities levelled this yellow brick road presently paved with gold bars.
You can always tell where the power lies in a society by the pay rates, but more easily by the buildings…
When the church has power they build great cathedrals.
When the military has power they build great garrisons and fortresses.
When business has power they build great glass towers.
When governments have power they build great offices etc. Currently the power in society rests with government. That is why pre-earthquake Christchurch’s most expensive building was the IRD building.
Similarly, the new Chch City Council building.
Similarly, the Court of Appeal building in Wellington.
I have no problems with governments having power – just so long as they’re democratic.
Yep – and not just operating units of corporate business interests, like those you see in the US.
I think a simple cap of $250k for a public servant, including the PM, would be fine. If the CEOs didn’t want to work for that they can wander off to the private sector. There is, after all, plenty of more people below them with the capability of doing the job just as well, if not better, than them.
What about tendering for the top pay? Has this been done anywhere in the world? Are we doing our usual and playing just part of a game that others have already left behind in our devotion to our free market version?
why is the standard so slow?
ask the GCSB
larfffs.
as for public service salaries.
this national party government does not believe in government but it believes in patronage, pelf, peculation and paying off its supporters.
figure it out for yourself.
captain hook
Got another p word – persiflage – light frivolous approach. Suits Jokey Hen I think.
captain hook
Like your alliteration. And pelf – didn’t know that – good word I see it comes right down from 14th century Old French pelfre meaning booty. The desire for which connects us down the centuries ay!
Think
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Roughan’s willful ignorance
There are none so blind as those who choose not to see…
Great article Jackal.
National promote the “wringing of hands” and “it’s too hard” when the science has been proven for hundreds of years.
Education is the only real answer.
PO
I would say expand that to – Applied education is the only real answer. That is an essential
addition.
Civics education too.
+1 Well said PlanetOrphan… We also need to re-educate the government about its function.
So true, quantified results, not excuses, failure to reach the “Standard” results in dismissal! 🙂
They should sit an exam before entering office, give democracy a chance M8!
Quantative easing, for politicians 🙂
To the jackyll
Good stuff you should run for parliament jackal.
Thanks tinfoilhat, although I’m not sure saying I’ve got the makings of a politician is strictly a complement.
Understanding and Forecasting the Credit Cycle—Why the Mainstream Paradigm in Economics and Finance Collapsed
Unfortunately Draco, the usual method of dealing with major issues will play out.
The conservatives will deny and ignore and do nothing about it. It will take the liberals to make the necessary changes, which will then be embraced by the conservatives.
‘Tis the way the moon passes ……
Remember
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DtB …
That’s a very good article and written by someone with all the credentials. Well worth the read.
Gawd I wish that Shane Jones would learn to STFU. Abusing the Greens over their perfectly appropriate suggestion that we should allow satirists to make fun of commercial ads is ridiculous.
If this sort of satire is not allowed the next thing the commercial interests will do is try and ban any sort of adverse comments about them, even when they do things like use slave labour or plunder depleted fish stocks or kill Maui’s dolphin.
Perhaps Shearer should be thinking about Jones when he does his next reshuffle.
How can Jones demoted when he has no portfolio areas in the first place? I don’t like rewarding poor performance, but perhaps he should be given something to keep him occupied. Sport or racing, for example.
How about “Spokesperson For Fucking The Fuck Off”?
Chief in charge of getting the fuck out and fucking off with his fucking fuck cunt in charge of sweet fuck all.
tsk tsk. language
anyhoo, this is for the right-wing Godless fasci
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasidic_Judaism
hey, thats what sharing is all about!
A mistake by Helen long overdue for correction, he did well in the 2011 polls but up against Sharples a more credible candidate would have taken that Maori seat. They just needed a plausible alternative to PIta and didn’t get one from Labour, less of the duck more of the deserving is required.
Jones = verbose potato.
Less puke inducing than that parliamentary bennie bludger Tau Henare (aka Ray Henry of “the union”) but a verbose potato nevertheless.
ha ha that spoof is absolutely brilliant and absolutely spot on.
Shane Jones – fuck off and grow up you useless chook. If you can’t handle the heat then get out of the kitchen. Fancy trying to stop people doing this sort of thing …. You belong in the USA Shane Jones – see ya later.
Sealord, Meridian, all the oil companies, they all spout bullshit. Is Shane Jones seriously defending the image and perception they try to convey? What a fucking muppet.
FFS, quoting Jones:
If the brand can’t stand up to a little satire highlighting the truth behind the brand then it doesn’t deserve to continue. In fact, it probably should have been shut down by government.
exactly Draco, but rather than shut them down someone would certainly be able to take a case against Sealord under the Fair Trading Act – misleading and deceptive conduct in trade. The FTA is one of the easiest pieces of legislation to take court action under. Come on greenie activists, give it a go………
Keeping up with the Jones’s
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ms
The beef barons in USA actually got nasty when Ophra made some remark about why she wouldn’t eat hamburgers because of the beef not being healthy. Forgotten what happened.
It was over mad cow disease.
They sued her, and she won!
Hate Speech
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech
By the look of it, that stats tab was what was causing the recent periodic slowdowns on the site.
It looks like it was locking up on the comment count query when a comment was being stored and queries were stacking up waiting for it. It effectively stalled the page display for many. I set up a graph to look for the numbers of threads active on the database at any one time – was getting these strange spikes.
I’ll have to recode that to do it on a periodic basis or to keep a running total. In the meantime it can go off. Enough playing about. Time to head back to work.
RT: “the return of the Caliphate around the Pyramids
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit_(Islam)
it’s an ill wind that blows no good…