Excellent column in the NY Times on the election that Mitt Romney won. Â He set out to win the votes of heterosexual white males and succeeded resoundingly. Â The only problem was that he forgot about women, latinos, gays and the black community.
The article also suggests there is hope. Â Maureen Dowd suggests that while Obama lifted progressive America last time, this time progressive America lifted Obama to victory. Â And there is an expectation, that climate change, minority rights and secularism are now given a chance.
How far out of touch is this guy??? I mean FFS all we are is “Nonsense” . Well Fuck you too Shearer
That’s a real good way to keep your voters, all though I cannot for the life of me see that many staying around if you are left in charge of this bunch of children, your caucus, it’s completely out of touch with reality, and running to individual agenda’s, IE: Shane Bloody Jones, he should have been slapped down hard for going into someone Else’s portfolio, instead of that it’s just ignored. You have had a year to ‘get your shit together’ but you have done little to improve the problems you have with speech, and over interpreting every thing, you have obviously ignored any tips from your media tutors, as it seems you have ignored everyone else. So here’s my prediction if you are in charge in 2014. The Green, Mana, & Labour Government led by Dr Norman, and his deputies, Minister of Maori Affairs Metria Turei And associate Hone Hawaria, and Minister of Finance, the Labour leader David Cunliffe. One of only a handful of MP’s to have retained his seat, in the biggest bloodletting in history, as the traditional Labour voters deserted the party in droves, to the Greens and Mana parties.
[lprent: Fixed links – watch out for the trailing ‘ on links. ]
Here is a thought, following on what you say, David H, and the many posts questioning Shearer’s leadership. Someone, I’ve forgotten who, said in one of those posts, that Helen’s favoured successor’s were in turn Steve Maharey and David Cunliffe, but Phil ended up with the job. And it seems to me that this left/right battle for control of the LP has been going on for some time, and has become a public issue since the right had to turn to an inexperienced man to retain their slender hold. It is said that Shearer has no position. I think that his position is to try to be loyal to the right wingers who want him there, to keep the left at bay.
No doubt these people have their reasons for thinking as they do: that there is no going back, that lefties do not attract business donations, etc, etc. What they need to face is that most people who want to see a LP “modernised” to fit the right wing agenda actually want the poor, the low paid, etc. to have no voice, despite their being mercilessly screwed. This is not a moral position for a LP to be in, and it would also be a dangerous one if Australia stopped serving as a safety valve.
No doubt these people have their reasons for thinking as they do: that there is no going back, that lefties do not attract business donations, etc, etc. What they need to face is that most people who want to see a LP âmodernisedâ to fit the right wing agenda actually want the poor, the low paid, etc. to have no voice, despite their being mercilessly screwed. This is not a moral position for a LP to be in, and it would also be a dangerous one if Australia stopped serving as a safety valve
Oh, see how evil Shearer is! What nonsense.
Don’t you people who hate Shearer see how delighted Matthew Hooton and Duncan Garner are with you? If I were you, that would worry me – if the actual right want Shearer to go, and they very very obviously do, then ask oyurself why they want him gone? Maybe you’ve been had?
Vicky: I have yet to see evidence that Shearer is of the left, and that is what worries me. The Labour Party has been hijacked before. And Matthew Hooton has largely showed approval of Shearer’s leadership.
And Matthew Hooton has largely showed approval of Shearerâs leadership.
I suppose you didn’t hear him on Radio NZ yesterday, then! đ
He was rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of the leadership challenge that he just knows (an insider told him, he said when challenged) is coming.
Ask yourself, why does Hooton cream his jeans at the ;idea of a leadership challenge?
Standatdistas has been campaigning against Shearer for most of this year, and I have never been able to understand why. Someone months ago, even pointed out that an anti-Shearer post deliberately misquoted DS, and yet no one gave a monkeys (except, it would seem for me, and for Labour people out there in the real world.)
Standatdistas has been campaigning against Shearer for most of this year, and I have never been able to understand why.
Ah no. If you have a look at the authors, some are for him for one reason or another and some are against for some reason or another. Ditto with the commentators. I suspect you’re mistaking “volume” for reasoning and failing to read what people are actually saying. Hell I wrote a post explaining it.
In my case I questioned the competence of someone with only a couple of years in parliament to run the parliamentary caucus. He was a neophyte in a area that I have never seen people get competent at in less than 5-6 years as a simple MP. So far he hasn’t shown any signs of exceeding that speed. Quite simply he is at about 3 years now and starting to look like a MP rather than a PM. It is pretty good progress – just not useful to the party who might have to win an early election (if I was a Nat, I’d be calculating when to give John Banks to the police and lose a confidence motion).
Sure John Key became leader after three and a half years. But he was lucky enough to come in just after the Nat’s had repaired most of the party and parliamentary damage from the 1999 and 2002 elections and had nearly won the 2005 and they had a clear campaign strategy underway. There was a pretty experienced and supportive team who helped him a lot. Watching him in 2006 and even 2007 was like watching a fledging try to fly.
With David Shearer this year it has been more like watching him learning how to break the egg.
I question is why the loons in caucus stuck David Shearer in that position with what looks like very limited experienced support. But it has been on a par with some of the other wierdo decisions from caucus over the past few years. I’m annoyed with it.
I question is why the loons in caucus stuck David Shearer in that position with what looks like very limited experienced support.
They saw the icing on the cake (his back-story) and forgot to take into account… whether the ingredients underneath had reached a sufficient mix of knowledge and experience for the job.
My quarrel is not with David Shearer. Its with those in caucus who, in my view, were not thinking of him but rather themselves.
The same is the lack of discipline within the caucus, given the experience of many of those who have self inflicted harm on the party. Mallard, Jones and those who with experience that have been a no show Horomia, Prasad, King. With 34 MP’s there is a dearth of “Team” and it appears to be a few solo efforts holding the party together. Labours issue is not all Shearers but lack of commitment from the dead wood.
I never knew Hooten wants Shearer gone…do you have a link for that (I actually thought he was scared of having Cunliffe as the leader)…Garner I’m not surprised, he’s a political journalist, so he naturally wants political action (I’m not of the opinion that Garner is really that much into National, I’ve always thought of him as being quite fair between Labour and National, despite what some claim here)
I never knew Hooten wants Shearer goneâŠdo you have a link for that (I actually thought he was scared of having Cunliffe as the leader)âŠ
No, I don’t have a link. But he said as much on Radio NZ yesterday.
What craziness. Garner is not too bad, David Shearer is a rightist. Honestly, what has become of the Standard?
most of these blog posts from Garner are anti-National, the fewer times he focuses on Labour he is just as critical of them. I dunno where this idea of a National-bias from Garner comes from. Especially considering he works for media works…and he quit their weekend morning politics bore-fest because it sucks big time. Most of the time he’s pointing out that there is little difference between National and Labour.
I can’t be bothered listening to Hooten…here is an article from him backing Shearer. Hooten wants a lame duck running Labour
Those are his more recent ones – at least at first. Â Garner often spins in the government, or right wing favour: e.g. when analysing TV3 polls. Â He favours Shearer over Cunliffe, and tends to repeat the smears against Cunliffe.
Also, something else I had been thinking about incorporating in a blog post on the MSM, and never got to it. Â Mediaworks repaid its loan to the government back at the beginning of October.Â
How much has that coincided with the likes of Campbell regaining his critical edge?
true…I remember that half-story about Cunliffe that came across as a school yard rumour. That was some b-grade journalism there.
The mediaworks loan relating to channel 3’s critique of the Government would be interesting. I remember years ago when Clark was boosting funding to TVNZ (TVNZ7, Heartland, NZ on air etc) it appeared that she was getting preferential coverage from them – obviously this ended with the nanny-state nonsense around 07-08…not sure if the funding dried up then?
I dunno if what I’ve just written is accurate, just a hunch. Not sure how TVNZ has changed much since TVNZ7 got cut…but I guess if the wages of those in power at TVNZ has increased then who cares if the only channel worth watching gets cut…fat cats and all that.
Sometimes the easiest explanation is the one right in front of you.
A few may “hate Shearer”, but I certainly don’t, and I reckon that goes for most of his critics. We just don’t think he should be leader of the Labour party.
We don’t reach this conclusion by worrying about what Matthew Hooten wants us to think. We get there by observing David Shearer.
I don’t think he should be a ballet dancer or All Black either. Doesn’t mean I hate him. Just exercising the brain. Evidence in, conclusion out.
DH: Â Are you referring to this article: ‘Shearer plays down leadership row‘, by Claire Trevett.? Â Your links go to the NZH main page. Â
They are also running a poll on whether he should stand down, beside the article – no rrecorded votes as yet.
Labour leader David Shearer is brushing off a crescendo of calls for him to step down by left-leaning bloggers and commentators, saying it is “nonsense” and should be ignored….
The series of those calling for Shearer to step down included three bloggers on the Standard blog, although another Standard blogger, former Labour secretary Mike Smith, counselled against a change. Other critics included Brian Edwards, who has consistently been critical of Shearer, and Herald columnist Tapu Misa.
Yesterday the three MPs regarded as having leadership goals – Grant Robertson, David Cunliffe and Andrew Little – all ruled out any immediate challenge and rejected suggestions they were involved in any attempt to undermine Mr Shearer.Â
It crossed my mind this morning that Labour may well have gifted itself an ‘enfant terrible’. I don’t know if that’s quite the right expression, but bashing on…How democratically inclined is a person, simply used to being ensconced in a bureaucracy, likely to be? How likely is years of working in unaccountable bureaucracies likely to foster a mentality along the lines of – “Those ‘poor underlings’ know nothing about how I know what’s good for them. But for them and their better interests, I will persevere”
I’ve been having a problem with the WYSIWYG buttons. Â The blockquote button puts the command around the whole comment, not just the highlighted text. Â I have to go to the html view to sort it out.
It is on my fix list. But the Feed panel was requested by Irish in 2010 according to my notes…..
Nearly through the bugs and features at work – ETA is about 2 weeks for the release of product 2 code.
What I want to do is to drop the tinymce/wysiwg approach and use something a lot simpler more like the the comment editor in the backend. But I have been accumulating holidays while Lyn has been using her’s for festivals and the like. I’ll have to use some of them up shortly and do a site refresh.
He also says the authors here are “feeding off each other” – a similar claim as Farrar’s “co-ordinated strategy to de-stabilise”. Is Shearer running Farrar’s attack lines?
Unless he can prove inside knowledge, perhaps using the footage from a secret camera, the precendent set by The Standard moderation could ban Shearer for implying a hive-mind to a machine. Who’s to say he is not already among us? đŻ
The past three days have given us two further definitions of the word, discussion:
1) co-ordinated strategy to destabilise
2) feeding off each other.
Is Shearer running Farrar’s attack lines? C’mon Uturn, that’s about as silly as Pete George claiming that I’m Shearer’s advisor. RFLMAO Oh how the lines are becoming seriously blurred on this issue. Warning! I just linked to Whaleoil again… Let the cleansing begin.
Ooooh, somebody doesn’t like you, Jackal. You must doing good work! I note that PG is still fixated with my contribution to his downfall, namechecking me in his (sort of) humorous response to the PG5000 joke on Imperator Fish. I think you can take the hatred displayed against you on Whale oil in the same way; proof that you are hitting them where it hurts.
Thanks Te Reo Putake. Yes! The PG5000 is indeed a diabolical super-weapon the likes of which we’ve never seen before. It’s also well past its warranty. Here’s the post we’re talking about btw people: A Day In The Life Of That Labour MP. Excellent!
As an aside, “feeding off each other” is completely different to a coordinated campaign.
  Â
The difference is like between an angry mob that happens to clock off and a gang of bank robbers. The mob mills around, pushes against itself, and basically herds in the direction of least resistance. Robbers move on an objective according to a plan, use targeted force against obstacles, and have a clear endpoint in mind.Â
Comments posted by Eddie on The Standard are quoted. Shearers response is “thats basically people sitting in front of their computers giving their opinions and continuing to drive the discussion of it (his leadership) up”. I found that quite offensive, arrogant and pretty rude given that he is referring to potential Labour supporters and voters. I’ve left a comment on that article but my comments on fairfax only get posted about 50% of the time. I’d encourage others to post on this story. How else are we going to ge them to listen?
We know how to SHOUT online. Not sure about whispering. Is this a whisper? {or this?}
When I read Shearer’s words, ‘whispering’ to me sounds like something that happens at parliament when people want to talk about something but don’t want to be overheard. It’s a strange choice of word to apply to the internet, where in this case authors and commenters at TS are being quite loud and open. Maybe it’s just a case of Shearer not understanding how the internets work. Or having advisors who don’t quite get it either.
Sigh. Yeah, I know DTB, or rather, I give up. I think he is in head in sand territory. Privately he might be in head in hands territory but can’t find the way to front up and face it.
thats basically people sitting in front of their computers
I think he’s going for some kind of riff on “interviewing their keyboards”. However the problem for Shearer – or whoever came up with that line – is that a hell of a lot of people spend quite a bit of their day “sitting in front of their computers”. We’ve got Stuff Nation, for fuck’s sake. That’s a lot of “ordinary New Zealanders” with their fingers typing away, it’s hardly nerds-only territory …
I found that quite offensive, arrogant and pretty rude given that he is referring to potential Labour supporters and voters
It is to laugh, as Bugs Bunny says. When I first questioned the anti-Shearer hate campaign when it got started at the beginning of the year, I was informed that the anti-Shearer people are all Greenies, therefore generally more honest, decent, etc, than Labour people…
(Richer too, and that’s not to be sneezed at, he?)
All the crocodile tears for beneficiaries from the anti-Shearer people make me projectile vomit.
Hi Vicky at post # 3.6.4. You’ve quoted me and in the same sentence you’ve referred to the “anti Shearer hate campaign”. Just because I and many others can’t support Shearer as the leader of the opposition doesn’t mean I/we/whoever hate him. It’s not personal, its practical. I’m not into hating up on folks. I save hate (as a form of disempowerment, frustration and anger) for very special occasions, such as our current govt, not for those I would normally stand beside.
Also, please don’t assume that all Green supporters are rich. You might be heading into stereotype territory there. I support the Greens, always have, and respect their work but I’m as broken arse as they come. No, I’m not a beneficiary but at the same time its not crocodile tears I’ve shed, as you’ve pointed out that the “anti Shearer campaign” have done. It is genuine despair that I feel that at the way that mostly Key, Bennett, retards of NZ inc and Co, but also Shearer have belittled and attacked their fellow NZers. It really sucks. Labour have left their roots Vicky and I’m only about the gazillionth person to say it. I wish that wasn’t the case and I’d still love to vote for them but with Shearer in charge I can’t. Its feels crappy and a bit sad.
Don’t know if you saw 3news tonight but Clayton Cosgrove dismissed journalists questions about the validity of the Labour Party leadership as “its just the blogosphere”. If thats how they respond to their potential and actual voter base can you really trust them to respect you as a voter?
No, Iâm not a beneficiary but at the same time its not crocodile tears Iâve shed, as youâve pointed out that the âanti Shearer campaignâ have done
Well, I am a beneficiary, and not one of the ‘good’ ones (I am not brown, I am not a solo mother (any more) or under 25.) When the rubber meets the road, to use a cliche, Shearer has helped me and others, with issues we have had with Housing NZ and with WINZ, and that matters more to me than his being perfectly politically correct.
As for what Cosgrove said, no, I didn’t hear it (I don’t watch 3 News, I listen to it) but from what I see around me, and what I hear, he was correct. Afaik, it is the blogosphere.
Oddly, I find myself wishing very much that I did come into one of the favoured categories – if I were under 25 I’d have a much better chance of getting a job. The new owner of the language school, that I wrote about on Friday, fired all the previous staff, and everyone he hired to replace them is under 25, and everyone fired, was over 40. I was in there today, with one of those fired staff, she was collecting her property, and I was providing moral support. We spoke to one of the students, and her whispered comment (as the new owner was ear-wigging) about her new teacher was “She’s very young, isn’t she?” Keith seems not to have realised that international students have no faith in teachers who are younger than they are, and that hiring 18-23 year olds because you can pay them in washers is not such a crash-hot idea.
No, they shouldn’t have dumped a former deputy PM and experienced politician with a strong base in the party, a formidable intellect, an impressive grasp of the issues and a total commitment to self-discipline, and the authority to discipline others.
But they should dump David Shearer, because he isn’t any of those things.
formidable intellect, an impressive grasp of the issues and a total commitment to self-discipline, and the authority to discipline others.
Except when she was interviewing and things did not go as Herr Helen liked, then the tears and blathering would come out.
Wonder where she leant such discipline anyway, and wonder if she really thought the faux marriage to the dodgy pervert actually fooled anyone that it was not about hiding both their sexuality from the public. Media sure did a cracking job sitting on that for so many years, and still now it doesnt get much mention. Nah its not about Helens preferences, thats fine, and her business, its about the lies!
Helen Clarke, got as high up at the UN because she is a “great politician & human being”, and contributed so much to humanity! /sarc
Argh, the lies people accept!
PS – Cunliffe has got far too much inside knowledge, having been a member of the Clarke governement, there will be little he is not aware of….How effective can he be given he is part of the establishment, therefore accomplice to the corruption which rules our parliamentary system!
That was two decades ago. There are voters alive today who weren’t even born then and they’ve grown up on twitter and blogs. I may not like it, but it’s a fact. Even assuming that Shearer’s a nice guy (and so what?… and I don’t think that a bene-basher is, BTW), he’s simply not effective in this age. Obama won by knowing who the voters are, not what they “should” be.
Excellent report by Eugenie Sage: The Green Party Minority Report – Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill. Â It incorporates responses from some public submissions on the Bill. Â
Particularly of concern are the cutting back of the kinds of activities local councils are involved in (focus on “core” services) , increased government intervention, increasing the power of mayors
The main things the Green Party opposes:Â
– The changes to the purpose of local government and the deletion of the âfour well-beingsâ (social, economic, environmental and cultural);
– The increased mayoral powers;
– The loss of democracy represented by the increased powers of Ministerial intervention and the processes for how and when this will be used;
– The content of the fiscal benchmarks and
– The undemocratic procedures and criteria for council re-organisation
Also, important is the fact that the proposed changes are not supported by relevant evidence:
The lack of sound data and information or any robust analysis to support the changes in the Bill risks it being ineffective, having unintended consequences, and putting additional costs on councils and ratepayers, such as to amend long term plans.
And, Lynn, I got to this document (and other significant web pages/articles/posts) from the new RSS feeds on the right – very useful, thank-you.
Gaynz editorial: open letter to John Key [on gay red shirt issue].
It explains why the use of such language is an important political issue, and slams the Nats on their anti-gay record.
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: your party seems to be the natural political home for homophobia, whether you like it, or understand it, or want it, or not. From the lowliest newbie MPs right up to yourself your party continues to be steeped in the subtle homophobia of the street, the bar and the schoolyard.
The systems are full of people who are being arm twisted into the decisions that are making, and you can apply this to other sectors which “govern, direct and dicate” our lives.
The question is, what are they being “arm twisted” about!
It has been rather disconcerting to read some of the commentary about all round nice guy David Shearer recently, not least because it takes the focus off more important issues. Of particular concern is the amount of articles that completely write him off without a second chance, and as far as I can tell, without really giving any valid reasons for doing so…
I don’t know which articles you are talking about because the ones I’ve read acknowledge Shearer has had plenty of chances, and give logical, valid reasons for him stepping down. Your paragraph above reads like opinion dressed up as fact. By all means support Shearer, but please don’t make out that people who want him gone don’t have any valid reasons and haven’t given him a chance.
“Then thereâs the claim that Shearer doesn’t hold true to Labours principles, as apparently exhibited by the painter on the roof comments. Despite the various misrepresentation of what Shearer said, I think itâs safe to say that he does believe in a fair and equal society, as exhibited by the brevity and contents of his speeches and press releases. Claims that heâs somehow anti-welfare are quite obviously incorrect, and only promoted by the ignorant or those with a vested interest in seeing his political demise.”
I remember the intellectual tools you used to pull apart Paul Holmes utterances. Use those same tools on Shearers speeches and you’ll see what his detractors have been seeing since his first speech. If Shearer cannot understand basic political rhetoric, he has limited use as a spokesperson for anything. You may think this doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be a leader – a silent leader perhaps? Why not, any policy should be able to stand on it’s own regardles of who presents it.
If someone spends all their time saying something that seems hostile, something that can’t conclusively be proven to be so – since no one can ever truly know the contents and intent of another man’s mind and because words and logic can be pretty, but limited – the only thing left to do is wait and see what happens.
The problem many people have, is that they’ve spent their lives observing people they would prefer to be good – despite the indicators. They want and desperately need other people to be good, and choose it as default judgement. It’s called good faith and the world would be a much worse place if some people did not fight to uphold that concept. The line between good faith, naivety and romanticism becomes blurred when logic is dismissed entirely. People will hold out years, decades, to find the good they see in others and instead one day they find that it isn’t coming. They review the years of action and words and they have to face the fact it all adds up to a picture they wish didn’t exist. They’re then faced with a tough choice.
Experience and logic blind us to possibility, tie us to the known, strangle the life out of the new. Hope and naivety can make us creative visionaries, laying the foundation for advancements or just suckers for punishment. But reality is reality. When the moment comes that each person makes their own decision, there is no right or wrong, just a bet on a roll of the dice.
Fair enough Uturn, you make a compelling argument. Just a few things though… My pulling apart of Holmes’ rhetoric was mainly about his racism, and I see nothing similar in Shearer. I’m also aware that he does need to step up to the plate so to speak, but its policy in my opinion that Labour should focus on, not personality politics.
You’re entirely correct that what people want can cloud their vision of reality. However I don’t believe that’s the case with my observations on David Shearer, and I’m open to the possibility that he’s not right for the job. The main question remains largely unanswered though… Is there anybody better placed to achieve Labours victory at the next election, especially considering the instability caused by changing leaders now?
I wonder if they care about who we advocate for anyway, and after reading today’s Herald article “Shearer plays down leadership row”, it would appear that they don’t. Not much has changed in that respect since Helen Clark was in charge then. Pity!
In my opinion, throwing the dice on such things as leadership is not advisable… But I’ve more than chafed my bit on this issue. Let’s hope it all works out in the end.
On Shearer’s “racism” it could certainly be proven logically, but logic cannot prove if he intended to include a racist element, or whether it is a symptom of poor rhetoric i.e. the gaps in the message are so wide they could mean anything. The measure we normally use, “reasonable doubt”, would rest on a person’s perspective. It certainly isn’t at the same level of intent as Holmes openly saying maori – or anyone else – are this or that. Shearer’s constant promotion of Pakeha middle-class values and attitudes could be said to be racist. The environment he works in and the position he holds will encourage him to take that approach whether he wants to or not. This would be a difficult thing to escape for any politician in our system. Even Hone Harawira likes to play with the idea of Maori abandoning their roots for money and moving to Australia.
On the question of who is better placed to lead Labour to victory next election, if we agree that Labour’s policy is all that matters, it doesn’t matter who leads. It only matters who can promote the policy effectively, interpret it for all scenarios, to make it sound like it’s always fresh. Shearer could do the simple memorise-the-script exercise, but for whatever reason, he can’t re-fit it for all scenarios and variations. Then we get those explanations about what he really meant that meanader in contradictions. If winning is all that matters to Labour, all they need do is enforce an internal environment where everyone sticks to their area of concern, find one salesperson among them to take on the “leader role” and set them loose in the media. Then after they win they can go back to whatever they were up to, safe in the knowledge they have three years to sort it out.
I’m annoyed with shearers attitude to the bloggers that question his leadership,after all it is a democratic right to question the leader of a party if you are not happy with him/her.
There are traditional labour supporters/voters/followers who comment on all sorts of blogs and
media outlets, are they nonsense too ?
Shearers next blog should be ignored as well.
OPEN LETTER TO TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL NZ, THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNANCE AND POLICY STUDIES:
Today, in Wellington, you are ‘launching the New Zealand National Integrity System Assessment.
Leading us into the future’.
Your graphic illustrating ‘National Integrity Foundations’, covering ‘Politics – Society – Economy – Culture’ – shows thirteen ‘pillars’ upon which this ‘National Integrity’ is supposedly based.
These thirteen pillars include:
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Public Sector
Law Enforcement
Electoral Management Body
Ombudsman
Audit Institution
Anti-Corruptiion Agencies
Political Parties
Media
Civil Society
Business
Having studied your programme, and having checked the backgrounds of your speakers and facilitators, I fail to see one person who could be said to represent ‘Civil Society’?
(Perhaps not all ‘pillars’ are equal? Perhaps some ‘pillars’ are more significant than others?)
I say this an a recognised ‘Anti-corruption activist’ / ‘Whistleblower’ who has attended two significant Anti-Corruption Conferences – the Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference in Brisbane in 2009, and the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference in Bangkok in 2010.
My track record is proven in fighting for a genuinely ‘open, transparent and accountable’ NZ local and central government and judiciary.
Had I known about this event – I would have made the effort to attend.
Not only was I not notified – it was only by chance that I even discovered that it was happening.
However, given my previous treatment by Transparency International NZ – I am not surprised that myself, and other ‘civil society / anti-corruption Public Watchdogs/ Whistleblowers’ were not notified.
In 2009, not only did Transparency International NZ refuse to accept me (and others) as a member (no reasons were given), but at the November 2009 AGM, after being denied access to the TINZ AGM address by the Attorney-General (which was open to non-members), again – with no reasons given, myself and judicial ‘Public Watchdog’ – Vince Siemer, were arrested for trespass.
“TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL NEW ZEALAND ORDERS ARREST OF ANTI-CORRUPTION ADVOCATE
11 December 2009
In a stinging irony – on United Nations International Anti-Corruption Day no less – Chairman Gerald McGhie of Transparency International’s “autonomous” New Zealand chapter ordered Police to arrest public watchdog Penny Bright for trespassing at its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday. This was despite the government-funded group riding her coat-tails as a watchdog front ostensibly focused on increasing transparency and exposing corruption. Attendees were given pamphlets with the bold heading “CORRUPTION RUINS LIVES – FIGHT BACK”.
………………………….
________________________________________________________________________________
The Police later dropped the charges – but what sort of purported ‘anti-corruption’ organisation treats genuine ‘anti-corruption activists’ like that?
It is with some concern that I note the prominent role being played in the establishment of this ‘National Integrity System’ by some of the major accountancy firms, such as Deloitte, KPMG, PwC – who arguably have a vested interest in New Zealand being ‘perceived’ as ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – when the reality, in my considered opinion, is that New Zealand is actually a corrupt, polluted tax haven.
For example – to whom is the money going in New Zealand in the establishment of ‘foreign trusts’?
The role of international accountancy firms has been highlighted by internationally acknowledged experts such as Professor Prem Sikka, with whom I am in regular contact.
FYI – I have ‘blown the whistle’, nationally and internationally, and sent the following post around the world on 10 November 2012:
To members of the international Tax Justice Network / separately to my latest Transparency International Secretariat and individual country ‘chapter’ list / to 70 World Bank folk whose addresses I found on the World Bank website / to all NZ MPs / to all Auckland Council elected reps (council + Local Boards) / NZ and some international media / NZ human rights groups …… etc….
Transparency International were in the middle of their 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference, and should be announcing any time soon their 2012 ‘Corruption Perception Index’.
(Which isn’t very transparent – given that it is based upon the subjective opinions of anonymous business people?)
……………………………………………….. ”
Oustanding – These events are the outward promotion of how currupted NZ actually is, and should be roundly protested for the sham society that we have, run by these wrong-uns.
Penny do you have the list of speakers, publish it, then let people play the association game, which involves cross checking the incestuous nature of those who spoke, their “network and business interests”, not to mention the stench of criminal activity which is what they seek to protect.
All the while lecturing outwardly to the masses about pillars, and integrity!
You can read the full nine yards here – the full OPEN LETTER I sent to most of those participating in today’s National Integrity System launch: THANK YOU INDYMEDIA! http://www.indymedia.org.nz/submissions/394
Shearer backed by Norman and Winston will lead the country after the next election.
Shearer will make a good job of our Prime Minister as he grows with the role.
The Nats simply cannot coddle enough MMP seats to retain a third term, so it is natural fall to Labour.
3 News is Little America again… sigh…
In an item about the BBC, the reporter refers to someone walking out of an interview because he was behind ‘sked-yool’… đ
Then, they make a point of referring to Mr McAfee, of anti-virus fame, being wanted for murder, as “Briddish Born”… perish the thought that a murderer could be American – even though Stuff refers to him as a US citizen. It’s not a big deal, but it just struck me as bizarre.Â
Wikipedia thinks he is an American… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McAfee
Now, Hil’ry Berry is banging on about the leadership challenge to Shearer. The Standard wants Shearer to go, says the reporter. Well, I for one, don’t want Shearer gone!
Â
I was a cautious supporter of Shearer, then I got a bit iffy about him, but I now think that he should stay. It’s all well and good to say, ‘let’s stick Cunliffe in’, but what if he turns out a dissapointment, do we ditch him and appoint someone else? Do we just go through Robertson, Ardern, Little, Curran? The ALP tends to do that, and look where that got them…
Perhaps the likes of Mallard, Dyson, King, etc needs to go instead.
Yep, the Standard should be able to hit an order of magnitude above that. A little bit more marketing and self promotion and some interesting things will happen.
I wouldn’t mind reading some of the older The Standard publications from the 1930’s onwards. It would be interesting to compare what they were writing about then to today’s topics. Wonder if there are any old copies lying around the place?
“To appreciate fully the inhumanity of [unemployment] you have to see the hurt and despair in the eyes of a man suddenly told he is redundant without provision made for suitable alternative employment . . . Someone, somewhere has decided he is unwanted, unneeded, and is to be thrown on the industrial scrap heap. ”
It isn’t only men who are made redundant Chris. What about the large number of single parent, working women, who are not only likely to be underpaid relative to men when they are working, but as the sole support if a family, both they and the children suffer from any redundancy. There simply isn’t the same number of single parent families headed by males, so when a male loses a job there is likely to be another potential income earning adult in the household.
BTW I know that redundancy is dreadful for anybody, but it seems Chris limits his sympathy to only one group. His workers seem to consist of only adult males, nobody young, nobody female. Perhaps he’d like to reflect on the groups that returned Obama to power.
The problem about New Zealand RB is NZ’ers are cowards when it comes to protesting and standing up against the elites and the government, as a result our occupy movement only contained a few determined students and lecturers. Remember it was the left that opposed the Springbok tour, while the right such as John Key stood silent and only saw rugby balls in their eyes. Why is society so scared to come out on the streets, like in Spain, Greece or even the US?
My guess is because New Zealand is conditioned to shut up and do what it is told, blindly follow and ignore social injustice. Most New Zealanders ignore politics and party away, ignoring the beggar on the street. But when they fall on hard times only then do they realize the truth, that most of the country have forgotten what compassion, empathy or community really is. National’s religion is selfishness, as is the religion of their supporters.
You can see the mentality here by those who think that blogging means anything, or makes a genuine differnce..
What the internet does, is allows people into a false sense of contribution and involvement, when in fact the “elite” will be more than happy with people sitting on their arses typing shit which is not making a difference!
Hell, just take a look at what the Greeks et al are getting from their real life protests, SFA other than another good hiding and some tear gas, rubber bullets and riot police!
Yeah, typing words is really making the world of difference here!
Shall I attempt a rewrite to satisfy the Labour Party/Liberal Left’s minimum PC quotient requirement for fully inclusive language?
âTo appreciate fully the inhumanity of [unemployment] you have to see the hurt and despair in the eyes of a man, woman, or transgendered individual, whether single or attached, and if they have children, in the eyes of their children too, suddenly told he (or their partner, or parent, as is applicable) is redundant without provision made for suitable alternative employment . . . Someone, somewhere has decided he (she, they) is (are) unwanted, unneeded, to be thrown on the industrial scrap heap. â
Now that we’ve hit the minimum PC quotient for fully inclusive language, can we get on with the FRAKING POINT that Trotter was trying to make – that being made redundant with no alternatives hurts and causes despair to the person it happens to.
No wonder Labour/the Left is nowhere and going fast.
By the way. In his Sickness Bene Bashing speech did Shearer specify that the bene in question was male, female, transgendered? Because it’s very important that you don’t bash people in an inequitable way.
Meh.
    Â
I just don’t see why you’d be outraged that people are pointing out the hypocrisy of complaining about social maltreatment in our society while reinforcing other forms of social maltreatment.Â
I think I made it pretty damn clear why I was “outraged” McFlock: but feel free to continue supporting the languaging police against social maltreatment .
I suppose Labour doesn’t want the Waitakere Man vote anyways.
Or the Waikato Man vote or the Taranaki Man vote or the Wairarapa Man vote or the Marlborough Man vote or the McKenzie Man vote or the Taupo Man vote, or the Otago Man Vote or the Southland Man vote or the Hawkes Bay Man vote or the King Country Man vote.
Oh look! Labour hardly holds any seats in each of those areas, what a co-incidence!
Oh, well then. Shearer should probably amend the RMA so putting cowshit in our rivers isn’t a problem.
Or are you suggesting that the only way to get any vote is to pretend other portions of the country don’t exist? I see Robert Moulden is of voting age. Maybe you want Shearer to buy some spray paint?
I agree with your anger at the counterproductive nature of mindless stereotypes. I’ve squealed about them before myself. The point is that a politically constructed derogatory term that simply uses a place name and a gender is the highest level of stupid. It will capture individuals who might ally themselves with a supportive point of view and instead isolates them. Doesn’t matter if the term is Urban Gays, Northland Maori, Taranaki Man, The Disabled or Housewives. It’s lazy and stupid. It could be argued that those isolated types should then just magically find the bridge to freedom themselves, detaching their identity from their past, but it takes time – longer than a three year term. It could be argued that no one can be allied with an ideology that can only end in the death or oppression of the ally. If that person defers to good faith, they can then see that a person can support the good in another’s ideas, without disabling their own self-preservation. This is the trouble created by politicians simulating enemies to push against, just so there is a point to illuminate or something to say. There is a faster, more direct, plain english way. For example:
âTo appreciate fully the inhumanity of [unemployment] you have to see the hurt and despair in the eyes of a person suddenly told they’re redundant without provision made for suitable alternative employment . . . Someone, somewhere has decided they’re unwanted, unneeded, and is to be thrown on the industrial scrap heap. â
The scope for understanding within the article is then widened considerably – especially for the author. It brings all people together for a shared the message, also tending to details of difference. In our current time of crisis, sharing the known effects of defunct beliefs is important. Yes, sections of society have it tougher than others. The article could deal with each in turn, or defer those who have a direct understanding; once again showing how not having a livelihood can effect anyone and illustrating beliefs that contribute to covert hurdles.
The recent marriage amendmnet bill was an excellent example of this approach. It was about equality under law for all people to marry. It did not force those who did not want to marry some people to go against their wishes. By not forcing other people to do anything differently than they already did, it did not further divide an already divided people into smaller groups. By not forcing other people, did it suppress the voice of a minority? Not at all.
Talking about things, at a higher political level, that collectively effect all people does not actively silence minority voices or make social prejudice go away. If a party or political faction wavering at 30% in the polls thinks dividing 30% by anything is going to help them win, they better think again.
Now that weâve hit the minimum PC quotient for fully inclusive language, can we get on with the FRAKING POINT that Trotter was trying to make â that being made redundant with no alternatives hurts and causes despair to the person it happens to.
For the fourth straight day, Israeli airstrikes are pounding Gaza.
Yesterday, Gaza’s main resistance factions, including the Big Two of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, offered a truce if Israel “stops its aggression”.
The Israeli answer has been â more airstrikes.
And there are indications that Tel Aviv is seriously calculating a major military offensive against the Palestinian enclave.
Yesterday, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of Israel’s foreign ambassadors in what was widely seen as a mission to claim international sympathy for an onslaught against Gaza.
Israel’s leading daily newspaper said Washington had already green-lighted such an Israeli operation.
It remains to be seen how much is politicking and bluff by Netanyahu and his inner cabinet, and how much is a real escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv.
Kia Ora Gaza’s website, kiaoragaza.net, has been carrying multiple daily reports on these potentially serious developments. Here’s a link to their latest story, courtesy of the Palestinian news agency Ma’an:
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealandâs biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealandâs biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a âmoisture-ladenâ long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own governmentâs fiscal policies raised issues of substance. âToday in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media â sure enough â have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willisâ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra â that the Budget âwill deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing.  Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Itâs becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-MÄori andâŠ. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you donât like and donât ...
Don Brash writes –Â As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that countryâs mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isnât already pretty well-off? Itâs as if protecting landlordsâ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of Nationalâs ...
 Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, itâs that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxonâs ...
Robert MacCulloch writes –Â The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this yearâs Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran OâSullivan, 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 â a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon â note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinsonâs 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 â or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. Itâs 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 Zealandâs 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 –Â Â 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 – âIt is often said that behind every great man is a great womanâ. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their âLadies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxonâ. 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 Petersâ 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 â 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 Newshubâs 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 â whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak â 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. ...
âIt is often said that behind every great man is a great womanâ. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their âLadies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxonâ. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Ministerâs ...
The Coalition Governmentâs plan to âget Auckland movingâ 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 sheâs 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 Governmentâs 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 Americaâs 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 wonât stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Memberâs 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 Labourâs 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 Firstâs 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 âco-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 PÄti MÄori 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. âIâm 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 âtake back our countryâ 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 Jonesâ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Governmentâs 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 public service 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 public service on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Governmentâs 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 doesnât 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. âIt 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. âThe 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.  âThis travel will focus on a range of New Zealandâs traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,â 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. âRoad 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. âOur 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 Parliamentâs order paper. âThe Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,â Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams wonât be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. âThe coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. âDam 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. âI 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. âThe Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023â24, 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 governmentâs 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 Governmentâs Budget objectives. âThe 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.                                        âThe 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.  âThese changes are long overdue â 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 Zealandâs growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Ministerâs Prizes for Space today. âNew Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealandâs concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. Â Â âThe 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 Educationâs School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. âThere 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. âToday 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 Peopleâs Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. âThe use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,â 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. âWeâre 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 Zealandâs ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. Â Â âI 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. âI have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commissionâs online consultation portal.â 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. âComprising 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. âI 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. âThis is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women donât ...
Good morning, itâs 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 Governmentâs ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Governmentâs commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools MÄori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. âThe Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, Iâm proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of todayâs 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 Iâm sorry I canât 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 WhangÄrei site where the facility will be constructed. âNorthland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata MÄori 20 years ago, says MÄori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisationâs 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 ...
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 Itâs Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether youâre a boomer, or an â80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fijiâs 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? â 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 thereâs one luxury most Australians wonât sacrifice â 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 Educationâs 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 Luxonâs 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 20â24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50â44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayersâ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the Peopleâs 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 youâre facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, itâs always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. Itâs 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 âoff the booksâ illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Governmentâs announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is âshamefulâ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain â a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata MÄori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is âfar-off sightâ. In the contemporary and living language of te reo MÄori, âwhakaataâ as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israelâs war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Governmentâs decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for âDead in Bedâ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research â and large-scale commercialisation. Whatâs beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martinâs favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martinâs fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Heraâs help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. Iâm 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queenâs crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday â and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli militaryâs genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldnât give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this yearâs budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoffâs morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayersâ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Departmentâs Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayersâ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the countryâs top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, MÄori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina â Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellingtonâs Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservationâs biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the planâs treatment of Auckland passed through the councilâs transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealandâs Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was âimproperâ ...
As a young gymnast, Aimee Didierjean was always conscious of making sure her underwear wasnât showing on the competition floor. A peek of a bra strap, or briefs if a leotard rode up, would cost a gymnast points in her routines. âWhen I was growing and going through puberty, it ...
Jubi/West Papua Daily Repeated cases of Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers torturing civilians in Papua have been evident, as seen in the viral video depicting the torture of civilians in the Puncak Regency allegedly done by soldiers of Raider 300/Brajawijaya Infantry Battalion. There is a pressing need for stringent law enforcement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In 2023, Anthony Albanese was shooting for the moon, his eyes on the Voice referendum. On one view, he looked like the idealist reflecting his left-wing roots. In 2024, weâre seeing a pragmatic, determined, ...
The House - The principle that all MPs are honourable and that they should be taken at their word has been tested multiple times this week in Parliament. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW Sydney Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Since the review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) released its recommendations in December, there has been a series of Town Hall events to discuss them around the country ...
Asia Pacific Report Two of the global Freedom Flotilla ships are being prepared in Turkey and almost ready for the upcoming humanitarian mission to Gaza. It is expected that the flotilla will include a New Zealand medical team. Kia Ora Gaza is a member of the international Freedom Flotilla Coalition ...
You will note the new RSS feeds on the right. These are:-
1This is known as the Whaledreck rule as described here.
2This is known as the PG 5000 rule. Described in here.
like it
Me too. Thanks Lynn.
And I notice the PG5000 has struck in there.
Nice!
…and The Standard on 3 News; curiouser and curiouser…
Excellent column in the NY Times on the election that Mitt Romney won. Â He set out to win the votes of heterosexual white males and succeeded resoundingly. Â The only problem was that he forgot about women, latinos, gays and the black community.
The article also suggests there is hope. Â Maureen Dowd suggests that while Obama lifted progressive America last time, this time progressive America lifted Obama to victory. Â And there is an expectation, that climate change, minority rights and secularism are now given a chance.
Thanks for the link ms, great read.
How far out of touch is this guy??? I mean FFS all we are is “Nonsense” . Well Fuck you too Shearer
That’s a real good way to keep your voters, all though I cannot for the life of me see that many staying around if you are left in charge of this bunch of children, your caucus, it’s completely out of touch with reality, and running to individual agenda’s, IE: Shane Bloody Jones, he should have been slapped down hard for going into someone Else’s portfolio, instead of that it’s just ignored. You have had a year to ‘get your shit together’ but you have done little to improve the problems you have with speech, and over interpreting every thing, you have obviously ignored any tips from your media tutors, as it seems you have ignored everyone else. So here’s my prediction if you are in charge in 2014. The Green, Mana, & Labour Government led by Dr Norman, and his deputies, Minister of Maori Affairs Metria Turei And associate Hone Hawaria, and Minister of Finance, the Labour leader David Cunliffe. One of only a handful of MP’s to have retained his seat, in the biggest bloodletting in history, as the traditional Labour voters deserted the party in droves, to the Greens and Mana parties.
[lprent: Fixed links – watch out for the trailing ‘ on links. ]
Here is a thought, following on what you say, David H, and the many posts questioning Shearer’s leadership. Someone, I’ve forgotten who, said in one of those posts, that Helen’s favoured successor’s were in turn Steve Maharey and David Cunliffe, but Phil ended up with the job. And it seems to me that this left/right battle for control of the LP has been going on for some time, and has become a public issue since the right had to turn to an inexperienced man to retain their slender hold. It is said that Shearer has no position. I think that his position is to try to be loyal to the right wingers who want him there, to keep the left at bay.
No doubt these people have their reasons for thinking as they do: that there is no going back, that lefties do not attract business donations, etc, etc. What they need to face is that most people who want to see a LP “modernised” to fit the right wing agenda actually want the poor, the low paid, etc. to have no voice, despite their being mercilessly screwed. This is not a moral position for a LP to be in, and it would also be a dangerous one if Australia stopped serving as a safety valve.
Stuff have a poll on the Labour Leadership issue if anyone is interested.
And the Herald have one too.
Oh, see how evil Shearer is! What nonsense.
Don’t you people who hate Shearer see how delighted Matthew Hooton and Duncan Garner are with you? If I were you, that would worry me – if the actual right want Shearer to go, and they very very obviously do, then ask oyurself why they want him gone? Maybe you’ve been had?
Vicky: I have yet to see evidence that Shearer is of the left, and that is what worries me. The Labour Party has been hijacked before. And Matthew Hooton has largely showed approval of Shearer’s leadership.
I suppose you didn’t hear him on Radio NZ yesterday, then! đ
He was rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of the leadership challenge that he just knows (an insider told him, he said when challenged) is coming.
Ask yourself, why does Hooton cream his jeans at the ;idea of a leadership challenge?
Standatdistas has been campaigning against Shearer for most of this year, and I have never been able to understand why. Someone months ago, even pointed out that an anti-Shearer post deliberately misquoted DS, and yet no one gave a monkeys (except, it would seem for me, and for Labour people out there in the real world.)
Ah no. If you have a look at the authors, some are for him for one reason or another and some are against for some reason or another. Ditto with the commentators. I suspect you’re mistaking “volume” for reasoning and failing to read what people are actually saying. Hell I wrote a post explaining it.
In my case I questioned the competence of someone with only a couple of years in parliament to run the parliamentary caucus. He was a neophyte in a area that I have never seen people get competent at in less than 5-6 years as a simple MP. So far he hasn’t shown any signs of exceeding that speed. Quite simply he is at about 3 years now and starting to look like a MP rather than a PM. It is pretty good progress – just not useful to the party who might have to win an early election (if I was a Nat, I’d be calculating when to give John Banks to the police and lose a confidence motion).
Sure John Key became leader after three and a half years. But he was lucky enough to come in just after the Nat’s had repaired most of the party and parliamentary damage from the 1999 and 2002 elections and had nearly won the 2005 and they had a clear campaign strategy underway. There was a pretty experienced and supportive team who helped him a lot. Watching him in 2006 and even 2007 was like watching a fledging try to fly.
With David Shearer this year it has been more like watching him learning how to break the egg.
I question is why the loons in caucus stuck David Shearer in that position with what looks like very limited experienced support. But it has been on a par with some of the other wierdo decisions from caucus over the past few years. I’m annoyed with it.
They saw the icing on the cake (his back-story) and forgot to take into account… whether the ingredients underneath had reached a sufficient mix of knowledge and experience for the job.
My quarrel is not with David Shearer. Its with those in caucus who, in my view, were not thinking of him but rather themselves.
Exactly.
And Shearer himself should have said, thanks but no thanks, I’ll take my turn when I’ve time under my belt and it’s right to do so.
The same is the lack of discipline within the caucus, given the experience of many of those who have self inflicted harm on the party. Mallard, Jones and those who with experience that have been a no show Horomia, Prasad, King. With 34 MP’s there is a dearth of “Team” and it appears to be a few solo efforts holding the party together. Labours issue is not all Shearers but lack of commitment from the dead wood.
I never knew Hooten wants Shearer gone…do you have a link for that (I actually thought he was scared of having Cunliffe as the leader)…Garner I’m not surprised, he’s a political journalist, so he naturally wants political action (I’m not of the opinion that Garner is really that much into National, I’ve always thought of him as being quite fair between Labour and National, despite what some claim here)
No, I don’t have a link. But he said as much on Radio NZ yesterday.
What craziness. Garner is not too bad, David Shearer is a rightist. Honestly, what has become of the Standard?
most of these blog posts from Garner are anti-National, the fewer times he focuses on Labour he is just as critical of them. I dunno where this idea of a National-bias from Garner comes from. Especially considering he works for media works…and he quit their weekend morning politics bore-fest because it sucks big time. Most of the time he’s pointing out that there is little difference between National and Labour.
I can’t be bothered listening to Hooten…here is an article from him backing Shearer. Hooten wants a lame duck running Labour
Those are his more recent ones – at least at first. Â Garner often spins in the government, or right wing favour: e.g. when analysing TV3 polls. Â He favours Shearer over Cunliffe, and tends to repeat the smears against Cunliffe.
Also, something else I had been thinking about incorporating in a blog post on the MSM, and never got to it. Â Mediaworks repaid its loan to the government back at the beginning of October.Â
How much has that coincided with the likes of Campbell regaining his critical edge?
true…I remember that half-story about Cunliffe that came across as a school yard rumour. That was some b-grade journalism there.
The mediaworks loan relating to channel 3’s critique of the Government would be interesting. I remember years ago when Clark was boosting funding to TVNZ (TVNZ7, Heartland, NZ on air etc) it appeared that she was getting preferential coverage from them – obviously this ended with the nanny-state nonsense around 07-08…not sure if the funding dried up then?
I dunno if what I’ve just written is accurate, just a hunch. Not sure how TVNZ has changed much since TVNZ7 got cut…but I guess if the wages of those in power at TVNZ has increased then who cares if the only channel worth watching gets cut…fat cats and all that.
To say nothing of Rachael Smalley she got real smarts there. As proved when she interviewed Hone.
Vicky
Sometimes the easiest explanation is the one right in front of you.
A few may “hate Shearer”, but I certainly don’t, and I reckon that goes for most of his critics. We just don’t think he should be leader of the Labour party.
We don’t reach this conclusion by worrying about what Matthew Hooten wants us to think. We get there by observing David Shearer.
I don’t think he should be a ballet dancer or All Black either. Doesn’t mean I hate him. Just exercising the brain. Evidence in, conclusion out.
Shearer would make an excellent Crown Minister in his 2nd or 3rd full term as an MP.
We’ll see what kind of a director he is in the new year ….
(Which is where everyone’s fear really lives)
Trundling along on Planet Shearer as usual…
DH: Â Are you referring to this article: ‘Shearer plays down leadership row‘, by Claire Trevett.? Â Your links go to the NZH main page. Â
They are also running a poll on whether he should stand down, beside the article – no rrecorded votes as yet.
It crossed my mind this morning that Labour may well have gifted itself an ‘enfant terrible’. I don’t know if that’s quite the right expression, but bashing on…How democratically inclined is a person, simply used to being ensconced in a bureaucracy, likely to be? How likely is years of working in unaccountable bureaucracies likely to foster a mentality along the lines of – “Those ‘poor underlings’ know nothing about how I know what’s good for them. But for them and their better interests, I will persevere”
ARRRRRGG The links did’nt work. Thats what you get for trying to be tidy.
Nonsense should be http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10846967
SBJ should be http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10846365
Can some one please fix.
I’ve been noticing a few broken links lately on TS – they all have an errant apostrophe at the end. Is that a cut and paste issue?
I’ve been having a problem with the WYSIWYG buttons. Â The blockquote button puts the command around the whole comment, not just the highlighted text. Â I have to go to the html view to sort it out.
WYSIWYG doesn’t work propery in Safari. I find it’s fine in Firefox (mac)
I’ve been using Chrome a lot lately.
It is on my fix list. But the Feed panel was requested by Irish in 2010 according to my notes…..
Nearly through the bugs and features at work – ETA is about 2 weeks for the release of product 2 code.
What I want to do is to drop the tinymce/wysiwg approach and use something a lot simpler more like the the comment editor in the backend. But I have been accumulating holidays while Lyn has been using her’s for festivals and the like. I’ll have to use some of them up shortly and do a site refresh.
Yes. From the incoming side. Just comment to call them to our attention and someone will fix them eventually.
How could he know if the blogs were nonsense if he doesn’t read them? đ
He also says the authors here are “feeding off each other” – a similar claim as Farrar’s “co-ordinated strategy to de-stabilise”. Is Shearer running Farrar’s attack lines?
Unless he can prove inside knowledge, perhaps using the footage from a secret camera, the precendent set by The Standard moderation could ban Shearer for implying a hive-mind to a machine. Who’s to say he is not already among us? đŻ
The past three days have given us two further definitions of the word, discussion:
1) co-ordinated strategy to destabilise
2) feeding off each other.
Is Shearer running Farrar’s attack lines? C’mon Uturn, that’s about as silly as Pete George claiming that I’m Shearer’s advisor. RFLMAO Oh how the lines are becoming seriously blurred on this issue. Warning! I just linked to Whaleoil again… Let the cleansing begin.
Ooooh, somebody doesn’t like you, Jackal. You must doing good work! I note that PG is still fixated with my contribution to his downfall, namechecking me in his (sort of) humorous response to the PG5000 joke on Imperator Fish. I think you can take the hatred displayed against you on Whale oil in the same way; proof that you are hitting them where it hurts.
Thanks Te Reo Putake. Yes! The PG5000 is indeed a diabolical super-weapon the likes of which we’ve never seen before. It’s also well past its warranty. Here’s the post we’re talking about btw people: A Day In The Life Of That Labour MP. Excellent!
It’s true, there’s no way Shearer is part of a Nat conspiracy…
…or is he?
đŻ
I suggest an immediate purge of commenters who like to throw mangoes.
As an aside, “feeding off each other” is completely different to a coordinated campaign.
  Â
The difference is like between an angry mob that happens to clock off and a gang of bank robbers. The mob mills around, pushes against itself, and basically herds in the direction of least resistance. Robbers move on an objective according to a plan, use targeted force against obstacles, and have a clear endpoint in mind.Â
So… they’ve got you too. I’m not sure who they are anymore, but they’re good…
Must be Vorlons then.
Paranoia much? Honestly, this place has gone insane.
Who did Shearer offend? The identity politics crowd is my guess.
Hi David. Yes, our discussion IS nonsense apparently. Check out this story in the Dom Post:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/7941813/Shearer-confident-knives-won-t-come-out
Comments posted by Eddie on The Standard are quoted. Shearers response is “thats basically people sitting in front of their computers giving their opinions and continuing to drive the discussion of it (his leadership) up”. I found that quite offensive, arrogant and pretty rude given that he is referring to potential Labour supporters and voters. I’ve left a comment on that article but my comments on fairfax only get posted about 50% of the time. I’d encourage others to post on this story. How else are we going to ge them to listen?
Rosie, looks like your comment is the first up this time. Â Well said. And this “whispering” meme is nasty and wrong.
Karol, the choice of the word ‘whispering’ got me. Shades of “innoculation” ala crobsy textor/Nat stylez?
We know how to SHOUT online. Not sure about whispering. Is this a whisper? {or this?}
When I read Shearer’s words, ‘whispering’ to me sounds like something that happens at parliament when people want to talk about something but don’t want to be overheard. It’s a strange choice of word to apply to the internet, where in this case authors and commenters at TS are being quite loud and open. Maybe it’s just a case of Shearer not understanding how the internets work. Or having advisors who don’t quite get it either.
I can’t post I get an error every time, and NO matter how much I E-Mail them, they won’t fix it.
Don’t bother trying – Shearer just proved that, no matter what you do, he isn’t listening.
Sigh. Yeah, I know DTB, or rather, I give up. I think he is in head in sand territory. Privately he might be in head in hands territory but can’t find the way to front up and face it.
thats basically people sitting in front of their computers
I think he’s going for some kind of riff on “interviewing their keyboards”. However the problem for Shearer – or whoever came up with that line – is that a hell of a lot of people spend quite a bit of their day “sitting in front of their computers”. We’ve got Stuff Nation, for fuck’s sake. That’s a lot of “ordinary New Zealanders” with their fingers typing away, it’s hardly nerds-only territory …
It also runs counter to his statement last week: “Now we’ve all got Skype”.
That would be news to a lot of Labour voters.
It is to laugh, as Bugs Bunny says. When I first questioned the anti-Shearer hate campaign when it got started at the beginning of the year, I was informed that the anti-Shearer people are all Greenies, therefore generally more honest, decent, etc, than Labour people…
(Richer too, and that’s not to be sneezed at, he?)
All the crocodile tears for beneficiaries from the anti-Shearer people make me projectile vomit.
Hi Vicky at post # 3.6.4. You’ve quoted me and in the same sentence you’ve referred to the “anti Shearer hate campaign”. Just because I and many others can’t support Shearer as the leader of the opposition doesn’t mean I/we/whoever hate him. It’s not personal, its practical. I’m not into hating up on folks. I save hate (as a form of disempowerment, frustration and anger) for very special occasions, such as our current govt, not for those I would normally stand beside.
Also, please don’t assume that all Green supporters are rich. You might be heading into stereotype territory there. I support the Greens, always have, and respect their work but I’m as broken arse as they come. No, I’m not a beneficiary but at the same time its not crocodile tears I’ve shed, as you’ve pointed out that the “anti Shearer campaign” have done. It is genuine despair that I feel that at the way that mostly Key, Bennett, retards of NZ inc and Co, but also Shearer have belittled and attacked their fellow NZers. It really sucks. Labour have left their roots Vicky and I’m only about the gazillionth person to say it. I wish that wasn’t the case and I’d still love to vote for them but with Shearer in charge I can’t. Its feels crappy and a bit sad.
Don’t know if you saw 3news tonight but Clayton Cosgrove dismissed journalists questions about the validity of the Labour Party leadership as “its just the blogosphere”. If thats how they respond to their potential and actual voter base can you really trust them to respect you as a voter?
Well, I am a beneficiary, and not one of the ‘good’ ones (I am not brown, I am not a solo mother (any more) or under 25.) When the rubber meets the road, to use a cliche, Shearer has helped me and others, with issues we have had with Housing NZ and with WINZ, and that matters more to me than his being perfectly politically correct.
As for what Cosgrove said, no, I didn’t hear it (I don’t watch 3 News, I listen to it) but from what I see around me, and what I hear, he was correct. Afaik, it is the blogosphere.
Oddly, I find myself wishing very much that I did come into one of the favoured categories – if I were under 25 I’d have a much better chance of getting a job. The new owner of the language school, that I wrote about on Friday, fired all the previous staff, and everyone he hired to replace them is under 25, and everyone fired, was over 40. I was in there today, with one of those fired staff, she was collecting her property, and I was providing moral support. We spoke to one of the students, and her whispered comment (as the new owner was ear-wigging) about her new teacher was “She’s very young, isn’t she?” Keith seems not to have realised that international students have no faith in teachers who are younger than they are, and that hiring 18-23 year olds because you can pay them in washers is not such a crash-hot idea.
Well as I wrote earlier A Green / Mana / Labour decimated and all the deadwood gone Hmm Not such a bad outcome after all.
From memory, Labours polling after Clark had been leader for about a year were hovering just below 20%. Should the paryt have dumped her then?
No, they shouldn’t have dumped a former deputy PM and experienced politician with a strong base in the party, a formidable intellect, an impressive grasp of the issues and a total commitment to self-discipline, and the authority to discipline others.
But they should dump David Shearer, because he isn’t any of those things.
Except when she was interviewing and things did not go as Herr Helen liked, then the tears and blathering would come out.
Wonder where she leant such discipline anyway, and wonder if she really thought the faux marriage to the dodgy pervert actually fooled anyone that it was not about hiding both their sexuality from the public. Media sure did a cracking job sitting on that for so many years, and still now it doesnt get much mention. Nah its not about Helens preferences, thats fine, and her business, its about the lies!
Helen Clarke, got as high up at the UN because she is a “great politician & human being”, and contributed so much to humanity! /sarc
Argh, the lies people accept!
PS – Cunliffe has got far too much inside knowledge, having been a member of the Clarke governement, there will be little he is not aware of….How effective can he be given he is part of the establishment, therefore accomplice to the corruption which rules our parliamentary system!
That was two decades ago. There are voters alive today who weren’t even born then and they’ve grown up on twitter and blogs. I may not like it, but it’s a fact. Even assuming that Shearer’s a nice guy (and so what?… and I don’t think that a bene-basher is, BTW), he’s simply not effective in this age. Obama won by knowing who the voters are, not what they “should” be.
Actually, you just broke them in a different way – the NZH doesn’t use trailing / on their URLs.
David, your prediction for 2014 is the best argument I have seen for having Shearer as Labour leader.
You know it may not be so bad after all. Just 2 ticks GREEN.
Well that’d be a tick wasted, David. The Greens are not going to win an electorate seat.
They have before.
Thank you. I will.
Excellent report by Eugenie Sage: The Green Party Minority Report – Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill. Â It incorporates responses from some public submissions on the Bill. Â
Particularly of concern are the cutting back of the kinds of activities local councils are involved in (focus on “core” services) , increased government intervention, increasing the power of mayors
The main things the Green Party opposes:Â
Also, important is the fact that the proposed changes are not supported by relevant evidence:
And, Lynn, I got to this document (and other significant web pages/articles/posts) from the new RSS feeds on the right – very useful, thank-you.
National hates democracy though, unless it suits their interests.
Gaynz editorial: open letter to John Key [on gay red shirt issue].
It explains why the use of such language is an important political issue, and slams the Nats on their anti-gay record.
Â
Nearly half their party are homophobic if we take the recent gay marriage vote as evidence.
I’d re-examine that if I were you..
The systems are full of people who are being arm twisted into the decisions that are making, and you can apply this to other sectors which “govern, direct and dicate” our lives.
The question is, what are they being “arm twisted” about!
Very good editorial. Maybe we should start a trend of using the word Key to mean fuckwit. “Do you have to be such a Key?”
Blood in the water
It has been rather disconcerting to read some of the commentary about all round nice guy David Shearer recently, not least because it takes the focus off more important issues. Of particular concern is the amount of articles that completely write him off without a second chance, and as far as I can tell, without really giving any valid reasons for doing so…
I don’t know which articles you are talking about because the ones I’ve read acknowledge Shearer has had plenty of chances, and give logical, valid reasons for him stepping down. Your paragraph above reads like opinion dressed up as fact. By all means support Shearer, but please don’t make out that people who want him gone don’t have any valid reasons and haven’t given him a chance.
From your blog:
“Then thereâs the claim that Shearer doesn’t hold true to Labours principles, as apparently exhibited by the painter on the roof comments. Despite the various misrepresentation of what Shearer said, I think itâs safe to say that he does believe in a fair and equal society, as exhibited by the brevity and contents of his speeches and press releases. Claims that heâs somehow anti-welfare are quite obviously incorrect, and only promoted by the ignorant or those with a vested interest in seeing his political demise.”
I remember the intellectual tools you used to pull apart Paul Holmes utterances. Use those same tools on Shearers speeches and you’ll see what his detractors have been seeing since his first speech. If Shearer cannot understand basic political rhetoric, he has limited use as a spokesperson for anything. You may think this doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be a leader – a silent leader perhaps? Why not, any policy should be able to stand on it’s own regardles of who presents it.
If someone spends all their time saying something that seems hostile, something that can’t conclusively be proven to be so – since no one can ever truly know the contents and intent of another man’s mind and because words and logic can be pretty, but limited – the only thing left to do is wait and see what happens.
The problem many people have, is that they’ve spent their lives observing people they would prefer to be good – despite the indicators. They want and desperately need other people to be good, and choose it as default judgement. It’s called good faith and the world would be a much worse place if some people did not fight to uphold that concept. The line between good faith, naivety and romanticism becomes blurred when logic is dismissed entirely. People will hold out years, decades, to find the good they see in others and instead one day they find that it isn’t coming. They review the years of action and words and they have to face the fact it all adds up to a picture they wish didn’t exist. They’re then faced with a tough choice.
Experience and logic blind us to possibility, tie us to the known, strangle the life out of the new. Hope and naivety can make us creative visionaries, laying the foundation for advancements or just suckers for punishment. But reality is reality. When the moment comes that each person makes their own decision, there is no right or wrong, just a bet on a roll of the dice.
Fair enough Uturn, you make a compelling argument. Just a few things though… My pulling apart of Holmes’ rhetoric was mainly about his racism, and I see nothing similar in Shearer. I’m also aware that he does need to step up to the plate so to speak, but its policy in my opinion that Labour should focus on, not personality politics.
You’re entirely correct that what people want can cloud their vision of reality. However I don’t believe that’s the case with my observations on David Shearer, and I’m open to the possibility that he’s not right for the job. The main question remains largely unanswered though… Is there anybody better placed to achieve Labours victory at the next election, especially considering the instability caused by changing leaders now?
I wonder if they care about who we advocate for anyway, and after reading today’s Herald article “Shearer plays down leadership row”, it would appear that they don’t. Not much has changed in that respect since Helen Clark was in charge then. Pity!
In my opinion, throwing the dice on such things as leadership is not advisable… But I’ve more than chafed my bit on this issue. Let’s hope it all works out in the end.
I’m sure it will work out in the end.
On Shearer’s “racism” it could certainly be proven logically, but logic cannot prove if he intended to include a racist element, or whether it is a symptom of poor rhetoric i.e. the gaps in the message are so wide they could mean anything. The measure we normally use, “reasonable doubt”, would rest on a person’s perspective. It certainly isn’t at the same level of intent as Holmes openly saying maori – or anyone else – are this or that. Shearer’s constant promotion of Pakeha middle-class values and attitudes could be said to be racist. The environment he works in and the position he holds will encourage him to take that approach whether he wants to or not. This would be a difficult thing to escape for any politician in our system. Even Hone Harawira likes to play with the idea of Maori abandoning their roots for money and moving to Australia.
On the question of who is better placed to lead Labour to victory next election, if we agree that Labour’s policy is all that matters, it doesn’t matter who leads. It only matters who can promote the policy effectively, interpret it for all scenarios, to make it sound like it’s always fresh. Shearer could do the simple memorise-the-script exercise, but for whatever reason, he can’t re-fit it for all scenarios and variations. Then we get those explanations about what he really meant that meanader in contradictions. If winning is all that matters to Labour, all they need do is enforce an internal environment where everyone sticks to their area of concern, find one salesperson among them to take on the “leader role” and set them loose in the media. Then after they win they can go back to whatever they were up to, safe in the knowledge they have three years to sort it out.
I want an all round nice guy as a neighbour looking after my dogs for the weekend, and collecting my mail when I head on holiday for a week.
I’m annoyed with shearers attitude to the bloggers that question his leadership,after all it is a democratic right to question the leader of a party if you are not happy with him/her.
There are traditional labour supporters/voters/followers who comment on all sorts of blogs and
media outlets, are they nonsense too ?
Shearers next blog should be ignored as well.
“basically people sitting in front of their computers giving their opinions”
That says it all, really. A 14th century monarch could only agree.
Future definitions by David Shearer
“people coming along, giving their opinions” (= party conference)
“people answering the phone, giving their opinions” (= opinion polls)
“people with a piece of paper, giving their opinions” (= elections)
Damnit. The Recommend button for Facebook is dead again. No change to the code. I guess that they have changed something in the API yet again.
Fix this evening.
an interesting symbiosis between The Herald and The Standard today; all those links from the Shearer article: like magic
FYI.
Why have proven ‘anti-corruption’ civil society ‘whistleblowers not been invited to today’s launch of the NZ National Integrity System Assessment?
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/viclife/events/conferences/new-zealand-national-integrity-system-assessment
OPEN LETTER TO TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL NZ, THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNANCE AND POLICY STUDIES:
Today, in Wellington, you are ‘launching the New Zealand National Integrity System Assessment.
Leading us into the future’.
Your graphic illustrating ‘National Integrity Foundations’, covering ‘Politics – Society – Economy – Culture’ – shows thirteen ‘pillars’ upon which this ‘National Integrity’ is supposedly based.
These thirteen pillars include:
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Public Sector
Law Enforcement
Electoral Management Body
Ombudsman
Audit Institution
Anti-Corruptiion Agencies
Political Parties
Media
Civil Society
Business
Having studied your programme, and having checked the backgrounds of your speakers and facilitators, I fail to see one person who could be said to represent ‘Civil Society’?
(Perhaps not all ‘pillars’ are equal? Perhaps some ‘pillars’ are more significant than others?)
I say this an a recognised ‘Anti-corruption activist’ / ‘Whistleblower’ who has attended two significant Anti-Corruption Conferences – the Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference in Brisbane in 2009, and the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference in Bangkok in 2010.
My track record is proven in fighting for a genuinely ‘open, transparent and accountable’ NZ local and central government and judiciary.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/central-leader/21588/Hubbard-defends-big-water-bills
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10602660
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10655565
Had I known about this event – I would have made the effort to attend.
Not only was I not notified – it was only by chance that I even discovered that it was happening.
However, given my previous treatment by Transparency International NZ – I am not surprised that myself, and other ‘civil society / anti-corruption Public Watchdogs/ Whistleblowers’ were not notified.
In 2009, not only did Transparency International NZ refuse to accept me (and others) as a member (no reasons were given), but at the November 2009 AGM, after being denied access to the TINZ AGM address by the Attorney-General (which was open to non-members), again – with no reasons given, myself and judicial ‘Public Watchdog’ – Vince Siemer, were arrested for trespass.
http://kiwisfirst.co.nz/index.asp?PageID=2145845357#transparency-international-new-zealand
“TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL NEW ZEALAND ORDERS ARREST OF ANTI-CORRUPTION ADVOCATE
11 December 2009
In a stinging irony – on United Nations International Anti-Corruption Day no less – Chairman Gerald McGhie of Transparency International’s “autonomous” New Zealand chapter ordered Police to arrest public watchdog Penny Bright for trespassing at its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday. This was despite the government-funded group riding her coat-tails as a watchdog front ostensibly focused on increasing transparency and exposing corruption. Attendees were given pamphlets with the bold heading “CORRUPTION RUINS LIVES – FIGHT BACK”.
………………………….
________________________________________________________________________________
The Police later dropped the charges – but what sort of purported ‘anti-corruption’ organisation treats genuine ‘anti-corruption activists’ like that?
________________________________________________________________________________
It is with some concern that I note the prominent role being played in the establishment of this ‘National Integrity System’ by some of the major accountancy firms, such as Deloitte, KPMG, PwC – who arguably have a vested interest in New Zealand being ‘perceived’ as ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – when the reality, in my considered opinion, is that New Zealand is actually a corrupt, polluted tax haven.
For example – to whom is the money going in New Zealand in the establishment of ‘foreign trusts’?
The role of international accountancy firms has been highlighted by internationally acknowledged experts such as Professor Prem Sikka, with whom I am in regular contact.
http://www.publishwhatyoupay.no/conference/speaker/prem-sikka
________________________________________________________________________________
FYI – I have ‘blown the whistle’, nationally and internationally, and sent the following post around the world on 10 November 2012:
To members of the international Tax Justice Network / separately to my latest Transparency International Secretariat and individual country ‘chapter’ list / to 70 World Bank folk whose addresses I found on the World Bank website / to all NZ MPs / to all Auckland Council elected reps (council + Local Boards) / NZ and some international media / NZ human rights groups …… etc….
Transparency International were in the middle of their 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference, and should be announcing any time soon their 2012 ‘Corruption Perception Index’.
(Which isn’t very transparent – given that it is based upon the subjective opinions of anonymous business people?)
……………………………………………….. ”
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
Oustanding – These events are the outward promotion of how currupted NZ actually is, and should be roundly protested for the sham society that we have, run by these wrong-uns.
Penny do you have the list of speakers, publish it, then let people play the association game, which involves cross checking the incestuous nature of those who spoke, their “network and business interests”, not to mention the stench of criminal activity which is what they seek to protect.
All the while lecturing outwardly to the masses about pillars, and integrity!
Phooey!
http://www.transparency.org.nz/National-Integrity-System-Assessment.htm
You can read the full nine yards here – the full OPEN LETTER I sent to most of those participating in today’s National Integrity System launch: THANK YOU INDYMEDIA! http://www.indymedia.org.nz/submissions/394
Penny Bright
Shearer backed by Norman and Winston will lead the country after the next election.
Shearer will make a good job of our Prime Minister as he grows with the role.
The Nats simply cannot coddle enough MMP seats to retain a third term, so it is natural fall to Labour.
Government ignores responsibility and demonstrates little concern for job losses:
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/defending-indefensible.html
My goodness, I just realised I’m wondering where the next Roy Morgan poll is, nay even eagerly anticipating it! I must go and get some fresh air…
3 News is Little America again… sigh…
In an item about the BBC, the reporter refers to someone walking out of an interview because he was behind ‘sked-yool’… đ
Then, they make a point of referring to Mr McAfee, of anti-virus fame, being wanted for murder, as “Briddish Born”… perish the thought that a murderer could be American – even though Stuff refers to him as a US citizen. It’s not a big deal, but it just struck me as bizarre.Â
Wikipedia thinks he is an American…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McAfee
Now, Hil’ry Berry is banging on about the leadership challenge to Shearer. The Standard wants Shearer to go, says the reporter.
Well, I for one, don’t want Shearer gone!
Â
I was a cautious supporter of Shearer, then I got a bit iffy about him, but I now think that he should stay. It’s all well and good to say, ‘let’s stick Cunliffe in’, but what if he turns out a dissapointment, do we ditch him and appoint someone else? Do we just go through Robertson, Ardern, Little, Curran? The ALP tends to do that, and look where that got them…
Perhaps the likes of Mallard, Dyson, King, etc needs to go instead.
Anyone notice that Matt McCarten didnt have his column in the HoS Sunday?
I did. I hope he hasn’t taken a turn for the worse.
Nice work getting the TV promos guys, not a cent spent? …. sweet M8! O-:
Whats next ? ….
More links in the Herald/Truth/KiwiBlog etc etc etc ?
A set “The Standard” as your homepage promo maybe ?
“The Standard” Flyers at the Bank/Post Office/Pub/Cafe ?
The Dreaded email campaign ? )-|
…
H8 me yet anyone ? (-:
4000 more hits this month, not bad Lads but we can do better!
No More HypnoToad!!
Union tables in the Standard from a foggy memory 25 years ago …..
Yep, the Standard should be able to hit an order of magnitude above that. A little bit more marketing and self promotion and some interesting things will happen.
I wouldn’t mind reading some of the older The Standard publications from the 1930’s onwards. It would be interesting to compare what they were writing about then to today’s topics. Wonder if there are any old copies lying around the place?
I have one borrowed copy, 1938 I think. I mean to scan it (so I can return it), then start posting articles from it. Must get on to that…
Laugh at Romney
Chris Trotter is at it with his myopia again.
“To appreciate fully the inhumanity of [unemployment] you have to see the hurt and despair in the eyes of a man suddenly told he is redundant without provision made for suitable alternative employment . . . Someone, somewhere has decided he is unwanted, unneeded, and is to be thrown on the industrial scrap heap. ”
It isn’t only men who are made redundant Chris. What about the large number of single parent, working women, who are not only likely to be underpaid relative to men when they are working, but as the sole support if a family, both they and the children suffer from any redundancy. There simply isn’t the same number of single parent families headed by males, so when a male loses a job there is likely to be another potential income earning adult in the household.
BTW I know that redundancy is dreadful for anybody, but it seems Chris limits his sympathy to only one group. His workers seem to consist of only adult males, nobody young, nobody female. Perhaps he’d like to reflect on the groups that returned Obama to power.
The problem about New Zealand RB is NZ’ers are cowards when it comes to protesting and standing up against the elites and the government, as a result our occupy movement only contained a few determined students and lecturers. Remember it was the left that opposed the Springbok tour, while the right such as John Key stood silent and only saw rugby balls in their eyes. Why is society so scared to come out on the streets, like in Spain, Greece or even the US?
My guess is because New Zealand is conditioned to shut up and do what it is told, blindly follow and ignore social injustice. Most New Zealanders ignore politics and party away, ignoring the beggar on the street. But when they fall on hard times only then do they realize the truth, that most of the country have forgotten what compassion, empathy or community really is. National’s religion is selfishness, as is the religion of their supporters.
KC – You are spot on…
You can see the mentality here by those who think that blogging means anything, or makes a genuine differnce..
What the internet does, is allows people into a false sense of contribution and involvement, when in fact the “elite” will be more than happy with people sitting on their arses typing shit which is not making a difference!
Hell, just take a look at what the Greeks et al are getting from their real life protests, SFA other than another good hiding and some tear gas, rubber bullets and riot police!
Yeah, typing words is really making the world of difference here!
Maybe Chris might like to consider writing from the perspective of Christine Trotter.
FOR FRAKS SAKE
Shall I attempt a rewrite to satisfy the Labour Party/Liberal Left’s minimum PC quotient requirement for fully inclusive language?
Now that we’ve hit the minimum PC quotient for fully inclusive language, can we get on with the FRAKING POINT that Trotter was trying to make – that being made redundant with no alternatives hurts and causes despair to the person it happens to.
No wonder Labour/the Left is nowhere and going fast.
By the way. In his Sickness Bene Bashing speech did Shearer specify that the bene in question was male, female, transgendered? Because it’s very important that you don’t bash people in an inequitable way.
Thanks for that public broadcast from “Waitakere Man”.Â
And thanks for confirming my point.
Meh.
    Â
I just don’t see why you’d be outraged that people are pointing out the hypocrisy of complaining about social maltreatment in our society while reinforcing other forms of social maltreatment.Â
I think I made it pretty damn clear why I was “outraged” McFlock: but feel free to continue supporting the languaging police against social maltreatment .
I suppose Labour doesn’t want the Waitakere Man vote anyways.
Or the Waikato Man vote or the Taranaki Man vote or the Wairarapa Man vote or the Marlborough Man vote or the McKenzie Man vote or the Taupo Man vote, or the Otago Man Vote or the Southland Man vote or the Hawkes Bay Man vote or the King Country Man vote.
Oh look! Labour hardly holds any seats in each of those areas, what a co-incidence!
Oh, well then. Shearer should probably amend the RMA so putting cowshit in our rivers isn’t a problem.
Or are you suggesting that the only way to get any vote is to pretend other portions of the country don’t exist? I see Robert Moulden is of voting age. Maybe you want Shearer to buy some spray paint?
I agree with your anger at the counterproductive nature of mindless stereotypes. I’ve squealed about them before myself. The point is that a politically constructed derogatory term that simply uses a place name and a gender is the highest level of stupid. It will capture individuals who might ally themselves with a supportive point of view and instead isolates them. Doesn’t matter if the term is Urban Gays, Northland Maori, Taranaki Man, The Disabled or Housewives. It’s lazy and stupid. It could be argued that those isolated types should then just magically find the bridge to freedom themselves, detaching their identity from their past, but it takes time – longer than a three year term. It could be argued that no one can be allied with an ideology that can only end in the death or oppression of the ally. If that person defers to good faith, they can then see that a person can support the good in another’s ideas, without disabling their own self-preservation. This is the trouble created by politicians simulating enemies to push against, just so there is a point to illuminate or something to say. There is a faster, more direct, plain english way. For example:
âTo appreciate fully the inhumanity of [unemployment] you have to see the hurt and despair in the eyes of a person suddenly told they’re redundant without provision made for suitable alternative employment . . . Someone, somewhere has decided they’re unwanted, unneeded, and is to be thrown on the industrial scrap heap. â
The scope for understanding within the article is then widened considerably – especially for the author. It brings all people together for a shared the message, also tending to details of difference. In our current time of crisis, sharing the known effects of defunct beliefs is important. Yes, sections of society have it tougher than others. The article could deal with each in turn, or defer those who have a direct understanding; once again showing how not having a livelihood can effect anyone and illustrating beliefs that contribute to covert hurdles.
The recent marriage amendmnet bill was an excellent example of this approach. It was about equality under law for all people to marry. It did not force those who did not want to marry some people to go against their wishes. By not forcing other people to do anything differently than they already did, it did not further divide an already divided people into smaller groups. By not forcing other people, did it suppress the voice of a minority? Not at all.
Talking about things, at a higher political level, that collectively effect all people does not actively silence minority voices or make social prejudice go away. If a party or political faction wavering at 30% in the polls thinks dividing 30% by anything is going to help them win, they better think again.
Well said, CV!
Because of course it’s simply impossible to construct that paragraph using the all-inclusive word person. đ
For the fourth straight day, Israeli airstrikes are pounding Gaza.
Yesterday, Gaza’s main resistance factions, including the Big Two of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, offered a truce if Israel “stops its aggression”.
The Israeli answer has been â more airstrikes.
And there are indications that Tel Aviv is seriously calculating a major military offensive against the Palestinian enclave.
Yesterday, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of Israel’s foreign ambassadors in what was widely seen as a mission to claim international sympathy for an onslaught against Gaza.
Israel’s leading daily newspaper said Washington had already green-lighted such an Israeli operation.
It remains to be seen how much is politicking and bluff by Netanyahu and his inner cabinet, and how much is a real escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv.
Kia Ora Gaza’s website, kiaoragaza.net, has been carrying multiple daily reports on these potentially serious developments. Here’s a link to their latest story, courtesy of the Palestinian news agency Ma’an:
http://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/israel-airstrikes-pound-gaza/
Don’t complain about Israel, they’ve now initiated artillery direct attacks on Assad positions in Syria, so they’re the good guys, right?