Prostituting Otago Oil is about to release their winged monkeys:
“The businessman, who wished to remain anonymous, said… it would be a counterpunch to the actions of Oil Free Otago, such as last week’s visit to the Anadarko drilling site and today’s Banners on the Beach protest at St Clair Beach.”
That was the one – I didn’t see any anti-protestors on the ground, but apparently one of the boats was pro-drilling too. They seem to have much money spread around very few people. A tiny pyramid scheme with Whiley Coyote at it’s apex.
Fortunately, the ODT initial report doesn’t mention it at all:
TVNZs coverage is pretty brief: “Over 2,000 people on 20 beaches across the South Island took part in the ‘Banners on the Beach’ protest” (but the video mistakes Dunedin for Southland):
TV3 shows A Whiley one pimping the employment prospects while neglecting to mention that; the number of jobs generated by the renewable sector would be far higher, and not mostly go to foreigners. The 8 billion figure quoted is over a 45year productive period and amounts to 256 FTE jobs.
“On average, over the 45 years that the field operates, $428 million is spent annually. Of this $179 million is spent regionally, creating 256 jobs and generating $71 million in regional GDP on average each year. [p20]
“While the impacts appear significant, all production is exported directly from offshore facilities. The main regional impacts are from providing services and provisions to the field, along with some maintenance and repair during production. [p21]”
So it is basically the profit margins of bars and brothels about which Stinky POO is getting their knickers in a twist.
Its another poll showing a decline in National’s support and its claim about the likely number of seats for National is difficult to fathom. No doubt it will be discussed today.
I pick you’ll do your best to ignore cold, hard, reality: the trend is still down, and Fairfax routinely overstates National’s support by 6% or more, so yes, I think they’ll be concerned, and I’m sure you would be too, if you had the cognitive chops.
I suspect that the messiah is going through his wilderness experience at the moment. (as shown by labour’s results in this poll.)
What will be interesting is if the great satan (John Key) tries to tempt the messiah in any sneaky way while he is weak and hungry. (for poll results? adulation?)
Thanks Paul. I know of that site but haven’t visited for awhile. Thanks for reminding me, I had a quick read and it made me think of what truth is up against, an almighty lumbering propaganda machine, crashing through the countryside.
Seti, Chris, you’re late to this discussion. Repeat comment:
Something “interesting” is happening with these Fairfax media polls.
On the 28th October they reported that “…National is also up two points … winning the backing of more than 50 per cent of committed voters.
… On the latest poll numbers National would win 63 seats in a 124 seat Parliament and be able to govern alone.”
Today they say that “A new Fairfax Media-Ipsos poll puts National on 49.4 per cent…On those numbers National would win 64 seats…”
My bold.
So can we infer that the previous peak of “over 50%” is now below 50%, a continuation of the downward trend? Or can we infer that Fairfax media don’t know how to convert vote share into seats?
Chris, Seti, I note that in July 2011 Fairfax gave the National Party 56% support. Diddums.
… On the latest poll numbers National would win 63 seats in a 124 seat Parliament and be able to govern alone.”
Today they say that “A new Fairfax Media-Ipsos poll puts National on 49.4 per cent…On those numbers National would win 64 seats…”
My bold.
So can we infer that the previous peak of “over 50%” is now below 50%, a continuation of the downward trend? Or can we infer that Fairfax media don’t know how to convert vote share into seats?
The previous poll had a higher percentage spread across the three parties over the 5% threshold so the discarded vote increases the share of the other parties, ipso facto National picks up another seat.
Interestingly, with the Conservatives polling 2% if they could pick up an electorate they would have 3 MP’s.
I don’t trust any of these FF polls, they will continue to wave the Key-National flag in a hope that those people that pay little interest in politics, and think both main party’s are pretty much the same. It’s the same old tactic of trying to con this group into not showing up to vote because the result is a forgone conclusion. This is what happened last election, let’s not let this happen again.
Both Labour and the Greens need to really drive home the message that ‘your vote counts’ and had you voted last election the continued suffering and hardship that you have had to endure over the last 3 years was completely unnecessary, self inflicted because you got swindled out of your vote which was illustrated by how close the final result was.
Here is what gives me heart and a good back straightener. I was in my old home city midweek at a meeting and this former work colleague comes over to me and tells me ” hey mate I am enrolled to vote and man I can’t wait to vote National out and Labour/Greens in, shit I feel such an idiot for doing the whole A political thing.”
This is what National and the Right are really up against, regardless of the positive polling the 800,000 bloc is their weakness, no matter what they do, like portraying a move Left by things like increased paid parental leave etc. The Employment law changes coming up contradict this, and man do we have a platform there to drive another nail into their coffin.
Oh no, i am totally shattered, National Governs alone after the 2014 election how could i not have seen that coming, i might as well give up the fight right now and become resigned to a third term National Government,
YAWN, you would think that the Herald would have at least the ability to think up a new line of lies for each election, hell they have a three year space between them,
Same old mantra which lead us into the 2011 election where if it were not for the baubles on offer being gladly snatched by Turia and Sharple’s i doubt if this present shower of s**t that is Slippery’s National Government would have made it this far through the electoral cycle,
If Slippery the Prime Minister had 49% of the vote sown up in His back pocket we wouldn’t now be being subject to the ugly stream of s**t currently being spewed forth from National, it’s Prime Minister and it’s Front Bench,
If Slippery the Prime Minister for a moment thought He had this election in the bag we all would be getting episode two of ‘smile’n’wave, how any old intellectual vacant space can rule the roost’, instead of an increasingly snide and abusive, through the onset of fear, Prime Minister…
“YAWN, you would think that the Herald would have at least the ability to think up a new line of lies for each election, hell they have a three year space between them,”
It was a Fairfax poll and reported on the Stuff site, not the Herald/APN.
The point is polls such as this become self-fulfilling, causing the lower turnout we saw in 2011 with the thinking that its a foregone conclusion.
Seti, Yawn again, i stand corrected, Fairfux poll Herald poll, is there really a difference when you yourself describe quite precisely what the actual intent of such polls are, on the surface such polls pretend to provide information, the underlying reason for them tho as you have alluded to is to ‘switch off’ a section of voters likely to have a large streak of defeatism running through their nature,
By the way Seti, ‘the left’ will,only concede to have ‘lost’ the election at the point the vote is counted should ‘the left’ have no chance of forming a Governing coalition…
Fran O’Sullivan’s a good laugh. Doing a bit of spin job against Kim Dotcom, she identifies herself as a “content producer”, against the (alleged) way Dotcom abuses copyright.
Fundamentally – as a content producer myself – I line up with those who want to get paid for their efforts.
How much effort does it take to reel off a bit of pro NAct cheerleading?
Edit: and plenty of bloggers put in more effort, write more, and are (usually) fine with not being paid for it.
I have read the article, and its odd. The Nat spin machine is going hard at the angle that Dotcom is broke (innuendo only), then she moans about being a content provider and people taking her content for free.
It’s been well known for months that Dotcom has financial issues
Really do tell? Shouldn’t gossip be covered by Glucina and not a Business Analysis and Comment. Cough, cough.
Most of her content comes from twitter, Glucina and the 9th Floor.
Note to Fran, when the Herald paywall comes it will not be your friend.
And John Armstrong gets his facts muddled to fit his narrative again today.
The Greens seem to believe that the wide discretion the law gives to the Minister of Justice amounts to carte blanche for the minister to pick and and choose who goes and who stays.
That discretion in the law is obviously there to deal with any anomalies or unforeseen circumstances.
He forgets to mention the illegal spying, the raid on the house and all the current court cases as being an anomaly or unforseen circumstance.
Dunno about that BM unless he’s using a feather – Mr dotcom seems to be coming out of this unhurt. But he’s probably pissed off – oh dear for those that have done that I suspect.
No doubt that’s another thing the New Zealand taxpayer is going to have to compensate him for.
Pretty easy for the new justice minister to make that call. “Mr.com, the National Party has treated you abominably, run roughshod over your legal rights. They are trash who have brought shame upon this country. New Zealand will not compound their corruption by inconveniencing you any further.”
It also depends what you mean by being “paid” for something. Sure, in terms of monetary recompense, blogging time is a total waste. In terms of; building 21st century communities, and; developing social awareness on issues disregarded by a sold-out MSM, the payoff is extremely good (even if inconsistent and unpredictable).
..well..i have over 21,000 subscribers (on r.s.s…)..
..(taking 40-50 stories/links from me..every day..)
..and over 20,000 other websites point at me..
(source:..zeald website-audit..)
(and if those subscribers didn’t like what i have on offer..they would unsubscribe..
..’cos..like i said..i am feeding them 40-50 rss feeds..each/every day..
..and if they didn’t want it..it would be like a major spam-attack for them each/every day..)
..and if you multiply all that..
..that is a hell of a lot of faces..each/every day..
..(and quite a bit of work each/every day..)
..and seeing as you asked..
..i’m open to ideas/offers to somehow monetise that traffic..
..(of course any ads (if going that route..)..have ethical-hoops to jump thru..
..(as a rough-guide..no macdonalds/planet-fuckers etc..eh..?..)
..(and as a footnote:..it was cheering the other day to get a message of appreciation of my news-curating efforts..with a promise of koha in appreciation of those efforts..
..the person said:..’it’s cool to have all the good stuff in one place’
Lolz Phillip, if you have 20,000 adherents and you cannot squeeze enough filthy lucre out of them to suit your lifestyle choices it could be said that perhaps your writing is actually not quite up there as you appear to think it is,
i recommend that you put the degree to good use and get a real fucken job…
Knickers knotted Phillis, not me, the closest i get is wearing shorts and they don’t seem capable of knotting,
Something you said Phillis, indeed it was, you seemed to have asked for any advice on how you could monetize your abysmal writing if any one could call it that, writing that is,
Hardly original which i assume is your intent with your barely decypherable script, a French writer, forgot the name, wrote in the same vein including dot dot dot way early in the piece, think 1800’s,
In little old Noo Zelind the same ‘style’ of dot dot dot was used in a little underground anti-government magazine produced in Wellington in the early 1990’s which would all in all make you hardly original, barely above plagarism, and, as far as content goes, oh so pretty vacant,
You asked for advice, you got it, get a real fucken job,and a haircut along with it i might add…
What a disappointment of an answer Phillis, what happened to the ‘fire’ of your usual elongated barely readable…diatribes…did a small dose of the truth…cut you too close to the bone…
So Phillis…your obviously one of those hero’s in your own lunchtime…what a surprise it is that you find the time to splash your…stream of utter drivel…across the internet…it must be hectic between bouts of…disjointed invective and running to the mirror for another session of…how great you are…
You havn’t as yet told the audience just who you are copying with the…the 1800’s French writer…or…the underground anti-Government mag circulated round Wellington in the early 90’s with the same…as the only form of punctuation…
Whats a real gut-buster of a laugh…is the fact that you seen the need to gain a university degree only to misuse said degree by commenting 1000’s of times here…and…on your own site…90% of which is just bland drivel…containing zilch of substance…which pretty much explains what goes on in your head…but
In no way explains the waste of the Universities time in the actual provision of the higher education…spill the beans Phillis…the Uni???…an exercise in avoiding real work of any substance???…looks like it to me…
Then…to the sounds of crowd-laughter…you have the gall to say you deserve payment Phillis…sorry to inform you…wastes of space get paid what your getting now…and…considering the degree…from the Uni…i am sceptical if you even deserve that…
Here i am tho…besides laughing in the face of one who i see as pretty much vacant…oh so pretty vacant…always helpful…seek your much desired pile of silver…from the effortless writing of that which is mostly vacant…oh so pretty vacant…from a spot of crowd sourcing…you claim to be being read by a big one…crowd that is…if your worth more than 20 cents…the crowd will happily be the source of your desired riches…
A planet where my job pays my bills and provides for my family, and I don’t need to invent one like you seem to have. I assume you draw a benefit whilst you’re doing all this ‘altruistic’ ‘work ‘? Don’t be so precious. If your followers were asked to pay, do you really think they’d stay your followers ? You’re just not that interesting.
Seeing as Phil Ure won’t allow a response despite asking for one; who reads my words? I am a published academic, so people willingly pay to hear my words both written and at conference. Am I good at anything? I am a chartered engineer and an academic, I have had a hand in producing thousands of productive professional engineers in my academic career, I have either designed or supervised infrastructural projects all over New Zealand worth tens of millions of dollars, I have through my work ensured water is clean and transport is safe and efficient, that structures are safe and Local Authorities get sound guidance. Apart from being a recovering heroin addict, which you perversely seem to announce with some pride, what use are you to anyone? You really are a sad little keyboard warrior aren’t you?
Blue, the lack of reply isn’t any ability of Phillis to grant or with-hold, it’s just how the web-page has been set up,
For some reason in ‘a on-going conversation’ the reply tab at the bottom of an individual comment stops appearing,
Not being at all tech savvy i don’t know the intent of how and why the page operates like this, Lprent could explain it to you in 10 seconds,
But, to reply to Phillis you simply need to find the last reply tab that appears at the bottom of a comment in the on-going conversation, hit on that, make and submit your comment, and,it should appear in the right place in the continuing ‘stream’…
Phillis, your continuous stream of barely understandable invective aimed at Blue…who obviously isn’t present in this morning’s conversation…is more than a little weird don’t you think…
Perhaps tho…this explains your need of a benefit…while being in receipt of this ‘fine arts’ degree ha ha ha…excuse the mirth Phillis…but…did you major in driveling bullshit…appears to be the case from my view…
Perhaps Phillis…getting back to the ‘need’ or otherwise of you to be an apparent shirker…with a Uni degree and a welfare benefit…i have been operating under a small misconception…and…as evidenced by your bizarre need to keep spilling invective…long after the target of your invective has left the conversation… you have something seriously amiss inside your cranial cavity…
The light goes on..illumination is achieved…recognition is enlightenment…it would appear from here Phillis…and…you will have to excuse me for borrowing a phrase…that your spewing of invective is simply caused by a brain…that is as weak as piss…
Phillis, pleas refer to my comment at 10.26am…as you raise nothing new but the usual snivel the 10.26am comment is sufficient in answer to your present little whine…
The biggest problem, in my opinion, is not so-called “piracy,” it’s that the “war on piracy” has grown so intense it is having a seriously damaging effect on the culture as a whole. The whole idea of copyright and our understanding of the relationship between artists and their audience and society as a whole has become distorted in a way I feel is increasingly toxic. It’s being used to force control over the Internet by government and corporations, to justify increasing surveillance of online activity, to break down net neutrality, to extend copyright terms ad infinitum, to do away with fair use and the public domain, to curtail free speech, to stifle innovation and prevent young web-savvy experimenters from coming up with new business models that could liberate artists from the kind of constraints and dependency we’ve become accustomed to in dealing with the old art industries.
That, to me, is far more serious than some 13-year old in Alaska or Peru downloading my comics from an unauthorized site. For every 1000 such downloads, maybe one might have bought it if they could? Maybe more — I don’t know. But while we’re fretting over all those possibly mythical lost potential sales, our fears are being exploited in a way that’s causing much more serious harm.
In the interview Horrocks talks about how writing for DC comics (big US corporate) distorted and stifled his creativity.
What were seeing is the new feudalism and it’s far more invasive than the old one. George Orwell had a good term for it – thought crime – and it’s come about through the only agency it could have come through – capitalism and the belief that we’re free when we’re not.
Those who want to make an ordinary living out of something creative should have every right to do so. If they don’t want their property rights enforced, that’s entirely their gig. Dylan Horrocks has found his perfect sine curve, and discovered that it’s not about about working for a company.
Then there are those who want to get spectacularly rich. I think they should have the right to defend their property rights if they want to. To me that is what copyright enforcement is for.
Does John Key have regula chats with Fran also? It would appear that she must be on the contact list so he can ask what she is writing about.
Both her and Whaleoil were twitter stalking Dotcom when he was at Huka Lodge. Creepy.
So, when Dotcom went down to the luxurious Huka Lodge and tweeted, “The view from my bedroom right now. Listening to the river & birds while thinking about the future.”
Key must be worried about Dotcom for WhaleSpew to be publishing that load of shit. Maybe Dotcom does actually have something concrete on the smarmy one?
Now that the boundaries between social gossip and political commentary are all a blur, is it okay to say, that this is just the thick skinned Fran O’Sullivan & Rachel G showing their visible party line?
SD, definitely not OK in my opinion, thick skinned is not a suitable epithet for O’Sullivan and the little cabal of NZHerald ‘writers’ who blatantly side with the National Party,
Willfully, cynically, thick headed would seem more appropriate…
‘Edit: and plenty of bloggers put in more effort, write more, and are (usually) fine with not being paid for it.’
Fantastic, every journalist (and some bloggers are journalists, some are not) should have a private/independent income, because then they won’t be captured by vested interests. Yeah, right. Reminds me of the old Tory argument that politicians should not receive an income, as it attracts careerists. Which in effect meant only those with inherited wealth could stand for Parliament.
Sorting out a business model for new media has to involve a continuation of the advertiser/subscriber model in some form, because despite all its faults, it’s better than the alternatives.
What sort of BS is this? (http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9724858/Blackmailer-rues-her-actions).
A 17 year old threatens to name and shame a client who appeared destined to dishonour a financial deal. She is then named and shamed by the Court and MSM while the client has name suppression. Why should the service provider be subjected to opprobrium for the consequences of the bad conscience of a non-paying blowjobee.
That’s an interesting ‘interpretation’ of the story, it appears that this young lady was paid for all the ‘sexual acts’ but upon learning that the procurer of Her favors was married which prompted Her to openly try and blackmail Him out of cash,
Fact: the young lady pleaded guilty to the blackmail charge,
Fact: the young lady had previously been warned by Police for doing the exact same thing to another of Her ‘clients’,
Fact: After telling His wife of the blackmail the man committed suicide so what benefit is there to anyone of naming this man, He cannot be dug up and charged with procuring sex from an under-aged prostitute,
Fact: In Her own words She decided to be a bitch and blackmail this man even tho She had been previously warned by Police over the earlier incident of the same nature,
Fact: This young lady deserves no-ones sympathy and in my view fits the profile of a cold,cruel, calculating sociopath…
This morning with Kim Hill good interview on education and touching on what is behind the Leaders in Education idea. It has good points – worth a listen.
9:05 Stuart McNaughton
Professor Stuart McNaughton is Director of the Woolf Fisher Research Centre at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education. He researches and publishes widely in areas of children’s development and the design of effective educational programmes including models of large scale interventions with schools. For the past three years he has worked with more than 15 schools instigating the Woolf Fisher Lead Teacher Masters Scholarships that are focused on improving achievement in their schools through leadership problem solving, and recently in a research partnership with Manaiakalani schools in Tamaki has co-developed a post-graduate programme to support the digital learning, community-based programmes they have developed across their cluster. He is a member of a number of international scientific organisations in child development, educational research and literacy, and is about to be inducted into the International Reading Association’s Reading Hall of Fame.
Yes greywarbler. I listened to that and thought it was good and positive, though it was a bit hard to know the specifics. Well worth the listen. Interesting that part of his research dates back to 1998.
I think that Media after 9am Sunday, tomorrow will also have a section on Education.
ianmac
Tomorrow Sunday on Mediawatch after 9am they are tslking about Radionz merry go round.
Mediawatch looks at significant changes announced for some of Radio New Zealand National’s key programmes – and asks the man at the top what it all means for RNZ’s future. Also: How one Australian criminal overseas hogged headlines here; how plumbing, paving and light bulbs overshadowed the Winter Olympics; and how some recent social media activity drew an anti-social response from media people.
Media Watch is a treasure. New CEO Paul Thompson gutted the regional editorial offices when he was Press editor, arguing regional stories had to earn their place against all other stories (i.e no dedicated editorial pages for regions), and that all such stories could be written from Christchurch. So regionally-based reporters with decades of experience lost their jobs, and the Press cut adrift the regions editorially. Stupid decision, especially given the huge changes in the rural economy over the past 10 years.
But he won’t have that degree of freedom at a public broadcaster, and also (hopefully) might have learnt something from those mistakes.
The signs aren’t all bad, as Guyon Espiner, much as I don’t like him, is an improvement on Mercep, who was completely out of his depth. Right-wingers are often better interviewers for some reason, maybe something to do with their degree of detachment from the world and their feelings. I don’t know.
No I don’t think that’s a fair reading of Trotter’s point at all.
What he’s saying is that given there are no economic, nor scientific reasons for the Japanese to actually be whaling, the only motivations left must be primarily emotional and symbolic.
Give them a path to back down without losing face and there is every possible expectation that they may well be happy to stop whaling on rational grounds.
It’s an idea worth exploring. Because while I admire Sea Shepherd intensely (and donate to them) – the current situation stinks of unproductive stalemate.
If there was indeed a legal mechanism that legally outlawed this whaling, and there was a way for the law to be implemented then we would not be having this conversation.
Give them a path to back down without losing face and there is every possible expectation that they may well be happy to stop whaling on rational grounds.
Yep, if ‘diplomacy’ is to be the means of stopping the Japanese from killing whales, and, there appears little else that New Zealand can do, then Chris Trotter is on the right track with what He says,
Murray McCully should put the feelers out to the Japanese Ambassador with an attempt to broker such a ‘face saving victory’ for the Japanese whalers,(which should also involve the US Ambassador),
The alternative if a solution cannot be brokered is for us all to wake up one morning to the news that the Japanese have sunk one of the protest boats with loss of life…
The alternative is that Sea Shepherd continues to stop the Japanese from killing whales.
So we are supposed to ban Sea Shepherd from our ports because…
(a) we can’t let the Japanese lose at anything because they are SO sensitive or
(b) the Japanese are dangerous bullies who might cause the death of protesters or
(c) both.
Huh?
Well if you have to HuH? at attempts to find a diplomatic means of stopping Japanese whaling you are probably too stupid to realize the implications,
For instance, should either side, the Japanese using wire rope and sea Sheppard using traditional rope succeed in snaring a ships propeller via such a ‘tactic’ there is a chance that one of these ships could be sunk via ripping the whole propeller drive out of the rear of the ship,
As this fight has escalated it is also conceivable that the ramming that has occurred will at some stage result in the sinking of one or both the ships involved,
i have a definite admiration for the fight Sea Sheppard has so far taken to the Japanese whaling fleet but it is obvious that this will not stop this whaling, i think Chris Trotter is pointing out another means that should at the least be explored between Foreign Affairs and the Japanese Ambassador…
RedLogix donates to Sea Shepherd. How do you equate this with banning them from our ports?
My view is that Sea Shepherd by itself will never stop the Japanese whaling completely, we cannot use our navy to stop them in our waters, and no other navy is going to step up. Therefore we need to get the Japanese to agree to stopping. Pressure from Sea Shepherd and other organisations might help with this, consumer boycotts could contribute, maybe bans on sporting contacts. Some of us did our bit with South Africa, and in the end there was some progress, but basically when the Boers realised they couldn’t just keep calm and carry on. We can do it with Japan, but I suspect it will be a multi-pronged campaign.
In the meantime, I suspect that seismic exploration connected with oil and gas surveys is killing more whales than the Japanese ever have. Our government is enabling this, and Labour has not really given any signs that they would stop it.
Not so much unproductive stalemate as heading for environmental disaster by fouled prop.
No easy fix im afraid but trying to disable ships down there is a bridge to far tactics wise for me and both sides are playing that game…
Japan’s behaviour over whale killing seems unexplainable and senseless. We would like them to stop but they will not.
If wanting to know how to do something like achieving their agreement to stop, to do it successfully, first it is necessary to understand the best way to do it, what methods to use, and whether it is likely to work effectively.
The fact that we do not like what the Japanese are doing, is a huge reason to try and understand why, looking from their point of view. Other methods have not worked so far. It would be wise to do some study on why this is, and more information will help and may be more successful than kneejerk emotional responses.
As i have given Labour front bench’er Shane Jones plenty of stick in the pages of the Standard over the course of time, such stick having in my opinion been the just rewards of Shane’s efforts as a highly ranked Labour MP, in the interests of balance and fairness i would have to give the MP a 9 out of 10 for this weeks performance in the house,
A BIG UPS to Jones for stepping into the middle of an issue that concerns us all when it comes down to the behavior of those who control the very basics of life, the supermarkets,
Seems that Shane, once He has dropped the barely lucid waffle with which He has previously tried to get His point across, can make a speech in the Parliament in cold clear English with a voice that forced the Government benches to sit up and take notice,
A note to Mr Jones should include the advice that ‘yes Shane we all know you attended Oxford there is no need to prove this by the insertion of grandiose phraseology into your speech that for many would need the intervention of a professor of English literature to interpret, plain, direct English does the job fine’,
it is obvious that in plain English with the vocal ability that He has Jones should be speaking with a passion that is sadly lacking from Labour’s side of the House on a few more issues leading into this election,
The 9 outta 10 Shane is in the vein of what took you so long???…
It often doesn’t. There’s a difference in meaning between the words gigantic and huge. And then we’re also looking at the impression/feeling that someone wants to get across that just doesn’t work with some words.
Having a good understanding of language is often what makes an excellent orator.
Draco, really??? having the target audience being able to fully understand the content of your speech i would think for a politician would be of more import than being able to waffle in 12 letter words at will…
Refer to my answer below Draco, i am not in the slightest bit interest in having an elongated debate with you or anyone else about part of a sentence in part of a paragraph which was part of a comment,
Shall we debate where i choose to put my comma’s and full stops…
You might be getting at something similar to what Trotter said in this article , where he says : “New Zealanders do not admire intellectuals and they positively despise academics.”
+100, Jane McAllister, NICE, takes the cane to National’s Ministers for their stupid attack on Metiria Turei’s life-style in the Herald online,
Hit’s every nail on the head while She is at it as far as the foibles of the ‘silver spoon brigade’ goes, well worth a read,
A small hat tip to the Herald for running with the article, none of us expect the Herald to print a continuous gush of pro Labour/Green propoganda,(which is what most would consider is the daily fair churned out by the likes of O’Sullivn, Armstrong, and, Trevett, just to name a few,
What we want is a balanced view where there are obviously two or more sides to every story and the Herald should be ensuring that all sides of an argument get an equal airing, informing the readership i think it is called as opposed to telling them what they should think…
Herald should be ensuring that all sides of an argument get an equal airing,
And what makes that balanced? Climate change deniers get equal hearing through the MSM and yet only 3% or less of climatologists have an argument against AGW. In such cases I want proportional airing of views.
In the case of National’s attack on Meteria’s jacket the correct response from the journos should have been to laugh in their faces and either not publish as it wasn’t even news or to use such a story so as to point out the contempt that National has for everyone else.
Draco, i would answer that but honestly i don’t understand what your current bee in the bonnet blather is on about and quite frankly cannot be bothered reading it a second or third time to ascertain it’s meaning, which i really think is more to do with your overblown ego than anything i may have written…
“It turns out that, when people are holding something heavy, they will report an issue to be more serious, compared to when they are holding something lighter.”
Just as well Key doesn’t have a conscience, because if he did it would be so heavily laden he would be severely troubled by his friendship with the oily one.
Been thinking about Mr Key hinting at Whaleoil. Would Mr Key hint at that to send we inquirers hunting and away from the real answer. Clearly he knew that the Whaleoil would keep us very exercised. ????
But why didn’t they remember the lessons learned in the thirty years after World War II – that widely-shared prosperity is good for everyone, including them?
Perhaps because they didn’t care to remember. They discovered that wealth is also relative: How rich they feel depends not just on how much money they have, but also how they live in comparison to most other people.
From Robert Reich quoted in today’s “Irascible Cumudgeon”
An important point and one that is not given the consideration it deserves imo.
The uber-competitive mode is not just about individuals desperate to succeed or be rich, it is also about wanting others to fail and suffer badly. This is a major motivation in itself. The worse others do, the greater the extent of the victory for the victor. Poverty is not just some unfortunate by-product of neoliberalism it is an important part of the motivation for the wealthy and even many of the merely comfortably-off. This is part of what we are up against imo.
Poverty is not just some unfortunate by-product of neoliberalism it is an important part of the motivation for the wealthy and even many of the merely comfortably-off.
Yes – this. Herein lies the real ‘politics of envy’. Monbiot wrote a powerful essay on this last year:
1. the circumstance prior to 1975 when there was a means tested rate for the first 5 years before the universal rate kicked in?
Why not excluding those working from age 65 to 70 from super (currently 20% work) rather than increasing the age to 67 (see 2, a policy to apply between now and 2030-2050 to reduce the baby boom period cost – with the impact falling those who can afford it, those still able to work at good wage rates).
A 5-10% cut in super cost without any harm to those seeking to retire at age 65 or losing employment before age 65.
2. delay any age increase to 2030 – then increase the age from 65 to 70 over the next 20 years. To account for the extended life span.
The old system pre 1975 was to assess this by a means test.
It’s simple enough to distinguish between a part-timer earning $20 an hour for 10 -20 hours and someone still working in their profession clearing $100,000+ pa.
A rule of thumb, where if job income is at the median wage or above – then no super till age 70.
An alternative in response to Labour policy in support of young families.
A more clear differentiation to the policy.
1. Parental Leave.
a 12 months total leave available to the 2 parents.
b1 Payment of MW for 6 months or a half rate payment over 12 months (the parental leave period) to either parent while off work. Parents choose (both parents could take 6 months off during the 12 month period) .
b2 Support is also given to a non working partner while the child is under 1 at the same rate – half the MW for the 12 month period.
To differentiate between the working parent and non working parent is to discriminate family support on employment status and not need. It is a poor policy setting and Labour should confront it more directly.
I would not include the beneficiary parent in this.
2. Young family support (for those with children 1 to 3).
As is, the $60 payment – being means tested, but again I would not include the beneficiary parent in this.
The issue here is of course the practice of many women to go back to work after the first child but to take a longer break with the birth of the second (because of the child care cost of two children makes working non rewarding).
Labour is wise to note that many women have two children, and the need to re-design support around modern family practice (the one income period). Thus of course ECE funding reduces child care cost and enables women advantage from a return to full-time employment (either when the youngest turns 3 and the eldest goes to primary school or when the eldest turns 3 and the youngest turns 1). After school care from ages 5-11 completes the support.
3. Beneficiary parents. Simply propose a higher benefit to those raising children. Connect the issue to a GMFI for families dependent on benefit income. Sell it by offering it only to those who spend off a card, if that is the only way to grow a pair.
Well the Countdown smack down looks like it’s in full swing. Went to the local supermarket and two hours after they normally close a bunch of checkouts they were still in full swing, checkies confirmed that more than a few going thr’ were ex Countdown.
And while I am here, what is it with toothpaste, the stuff is made in australia ,england, south africa, india ,thailand. I’d have though we would have consumed enough of it to make some of it here. And for all the blabber about being a low income country we now seem to be importing from higher wage countries than ours. So clearly this low wage stuff doesn’t actually work?
The Right seem desperate to measure stuff and the hidden curriculum is very hard to measure. Developing interest in growing food? Nah! Reading scores? Maybe.
So yes. Borton good to read.
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. 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 ...
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 Zealand’s 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 Zealand’s 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 “moisture-laden” 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 government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ 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 – that the Budget “will 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 – It’s 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-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – 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 country’s 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 isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
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, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – 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 year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 29 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s 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 wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ 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 country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori 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 – 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 Wellington’s 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 Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
“..Can you make meat without killing?..”
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/14/silicon-valley-hack-food-industry
phillip ure..
http://thestandard.org.nz/ethical-meat-on-its-way/
Your brain is made of meat glued together phool
Go back to the beach, please
Prostituting Otago Oil is about to release their winged monkeys:
“The businessman, who wished to remain anonymous, said… it would be a counterpunch to the actions of Oil Free Otago, such as last week’s visit to the Anadarko drilling site and today’s Banners on the Beach protest at St Clair Beach.”
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/291777/progas-actions-add-balance-debate
Any Waipounamu/ South Island beach at noon today is a good time to show resistance to these anonymous businessmen and their Whiley ways.
http://www.getfree.org.nz/banners/
was that plane today flying above st clair, the banner said ‘progas 4 drilling’, bit too cryptic for me.
idlegus
That was the one – I didn’t see any anti-protestors on the ground, but apparently one of the boats was pro-drilling too. They seem to have much money spread around very few people. A tiny pyramid scheme with Whiley Coyote at it’s apex.
Fortunately, the ODT initial report doesn’t mention it at all:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/291799/corwd-turns-out-beach-protest
TVNZs coverage is pretty brief: “Over 2,000 people on 20 beaches across the South Island took part in the ‘Banners on the Beach’ protest” (but the video mistakes Dunedin for Southland):
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/oil-exploration-protesters-take-beaches-5837422
TV3 shows A Whiley one pimping the employment prospects while neglecting to mention that; the number of jobs generated by the renewable sector would be far higher, and not mostly go to foreigners. The 8 billion figure quoted is over a 45year productive period and amounts to 256 FTE jobs.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Dunedin-protests-for-and-against-Anadarko-drilling/tabid/1160/articleID/332375/Default.aspx
http://www.med.govt.nz/sectors-industries/natural-resources/pdf-docs-library/oil-and-gas/economic-contribution-of-oil-and-gas-industry/BERL%20report.pdf
“On average, over the 45 years that the field operates, $428 million is spent annually. Of this $179 million is spent regionally, creating 256 jobs and generating $71 million in regional GDP on average each year. [p20]
“While the impacts appear significant, all production is exported directly from offshore facilities. The main regional impacts are from providing services and provisions to the field, along with some maintenance and repair during production. [p21]”
So it is basically the profit margins of bars and brothels about which Stinky POO is getting their knickers in a twist.
What, nothing yet about the left losing the election?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9724511/National-on-wave-of-optimism-poll
Didn’t you know that polls are only mentioned when they’re good for the left but ignored when its bad
Its another poll showing a decline in National’s support and its claim about the likely number of seats for National is difficult to fathom. No doubt it will be discussed today.
You’ve started my day with a laugh and for that I thank you 🙂
“A new Fairfax Media-Ipsos poll puts National on 49.4 per cent against 31.8 per cent for Labour and 10 per cent for the Greens.”
Yes its a real problem for National at the moment I’d hate to be them at the moment 🙂
I pick you’ll do your best to ignore cold, hard, reality: the trend is still down, and Fairfax routinely overstates National’s support by 6% or more, so yes, I think they’ll be concerned, and I’m sure you would be too, if you had the cognitive chops.
I suspect that the messiah is going through his wilderness experience at the moment. (as shown by labour’s results in this poll.)
What will be interesting is if the great satan (John Key) tries to tempt the messiah in any sneaky way while he is weak and hungry. (for poll results? adulation?)
It’s fearfux, loud-hailer for the Right. No need to get all giddy Chris73
A website for for you ..
http://fearfactsexposed.wordpress.com/
Thanks Paul. I know of that site but haven’t visited for awhile. Thanks for reminding me, I had a quick read and it made me think of what truth is up against, an almighty lumbering propaganda machine, crashing through the countryside.
Well what do you expect when they call land lines in Remuera and all the other rich area’s where they all just love that nice Mr Key.
Meanwhile in the real world of not being able to afford a land line no one can ever call us to ask our opinion.
Seti, Chris, you’re late to this discussion. Repeat comment:
Something “interesting” is happening with these Fairfax media polls.
On the 28th October they reported that “…National is also up two points … winning the backing of more than 50 per cent of committed voters.
… On the latest poll numbers National would win 63 seats in a 124 seat Parliament and be able to govern alone.”
Today they say that “A new Fairfax Media-Ipsos poll puts National on 49.4 per cent…On those numbers National would win 64 seats…”
My bold.
So can we infer that the previous peak of “over 50%” is now below 50%, a continuation of the downward trend? Or can we infer that Fairfax media don’t know how to convert vote share into seats?
Chris, Seti, I note that in July 2011 Fairfax gave the National Party 56% support. Diddums.
The previous poll had a higher percentage spread across the three parties over the 5% threshold so the discarded vote increases the share of the other parties, ipso facto National picks up another seat.
Interestingly, with the Conservatives polling 2% if they could pick up an electorate they would have 3 MP’s.
I don’t trust any of these FF polls, they will continue to wave the Key-National flag in a hope that those people that pay little interest in politics, and think both main party’s are pretty much the same. It’s the same old tactic of trying to con this group into not showing up to vote because the result is a forgone conclusion. This is what happened last election, let’s not let this happen again.
Both Labour and the Greens need to really drive home the message that ‘your vote counts’ and had you voted last election the continued suffering and hardship that you have had to endure over the last 3 years was completely unnecessary, self inflicted because you got swindled out of your vote which was illustrated by how close the final result was.
Here is what gives me heart and a good back straightener. I was in my old home city midweek at a meeting and this former work colleague comes over to me and tells me ” hey mate I am enrolled to vote and man I can’t wait to vote National out and Labour/Greens in, shit I feel such an idiot for doing the whole A political thing.”
This is what National and the Right are really up against, regardless of the positive polling the 800,000 bloc is their weakness, no matter what they do, like portraying a move Left by things like increased paid parental leave etc. The Employment law changes coming up contradict this, and man do we have a platform there to drive another nail into their coffin.
Oh no, i am totally shattered, National Governs alone after the 2014 election how could i not have seen that coming, i might as well give up the fight right now and become resigned to a third term National Government,
YAWN, you would think that the Herald would have at least the ability to think up a new line of lies for each election, hell they have a three year space between them,
Same old mantra which lead us into the 2011 election where if it were not for the baubles on offer being gladly snatched by Turia and Sharple’s i doubt if this present shower of s**t that is Slippery’s National Government would have made it this far through the electoral cycle,
If Slippery the Prime Minister had 49% of the vote sown up in His back pocket we wouldn’t now be being subject to the ugly stream of s**t currently being spewed forth from National, it’s Prime Minister and it’s Front Bench,
If Slippery the Prime Minister for a moment thought He had this election in the bag we all would be getting episode two of ‘smile’n’wave, how any old intellectual vacant space can rule the roost’, instead of an increasingly snide and abusive, through the onset of fear, Prime Minister…
“YAWN, you would think that the Herald would have at least the ability to think up a new line of lies for each election, hell they have a three year space between them,”
It was a Fairfax poll and reported on the Stuff site, not the Herald/APN.
The point is polls such as this become self-fulfilling, causing the lower turnout we saw in 2011 with the thinking that its a foregone conclusion.
Seti, Yawn again, i stand corrected, Fairfux poll Herald poll, is there really a difference when you yourself describe quite precisely what the actual intent of such polls are, on the surface such polls pretend to provide information, the underlying reason for them tho as you have alluded to is to ‘switch off’ a section of voters likely to have a large streak of defeatism running through their nature,
By the way Seti, ‘the left’ will,only concede to have ‘lost’ the election at the point the vote is counted should ‘the left’ have no chance of forming a Governing coalition…
Fran O’Sullivan’s a good laugh. Doing a bit of spin job against Kim Dotcom, she identifies herself as a “content producer”, against the (alleged) way Dotcom abuses copyright.
How much effort does it take to reel off a bit of pro NAct cheerleading?
Edit: and plenty of bloggers put in more effort, write more, and are (usually) fine with not being paid for it.
I have read the article, and its odd. The Nat spin machine is going hard at the angle that Dotcom is broke (innuendo only), then she moans about being a content provider and people taking her content for free.
It’s been well known for months that Dotcom has financial issues
Really do tell? Shouldn’t gossip be covered by Glucina and not a Business Analysis and Comment. Cough, cough.
Most of her content comes from twitter, Glucina and the 9th Floor.
Note to Fran, when the Herald paywall comes it will not be your friend.
And John Armstrong gets his facts muddled to fit his narrative again today.
The Greens seem to believe that the wide discretion the law gives to the Minister of Justice amounts to carte blanche for the minister to pick and and choose who goes and who stays.
That discretion in the law is obviously there to deal with any anomalies or unforeseen circumstances.
He forgets to mention the illegal spying, the raid on the house and all the current court cases as being an anomaly or unforseen circumstance.
Go have a read of whaleoil, it’s all there.
Quite a few kiwi businesses owed money by the chunky German, not a good look.
BM
“Well known on whaleoil” does not equal true.
Like Peters visiting Dot com 3x.
I see lots of articles Jan – Feb 2014, but no evidence. Lots of requests for creditors to go to his tip line.
Could you please give me a link to the evidence that he is not paying people. An email, or scan of a letter would be nice.
Thanks in advance.
Slater’s doing the death by 1000 cuts on Dot com.
No doubt it will all come out over the next few months.
So nothing, your just making stuff up.
Thanks for confirming that.
So a fact free death by a thousand cuts. Good to know what we are dealing with.
Dunno about that BM unless he’s using a feather – Mr dotcom seems to be coming out of this unhurt. But he’s probably pissed off – oh dear for those that have done that I suspect.
Slater also promised follow ups on the Brown extramarital sex story – the other women yet to come forward. Still …
No doubt that’s another thing the New Zealand taxpayer is going to have to compensate him for.
Pretty easy for the new justice minister to make that call. “Mr.com, the National Party has treated you abominably, run roughshod over your legal rights. They are trash who have brought shame upon this country. New Zealand will not compound their corruption by inconveniencing you any further.”
“Go have a read of whaleoil, it’s all there.”
Sorry. I prefer to keep my brunch down thanks.
@ karol..
(ahem..!..)
“.. plenty of bloggers put in more effort, write more, and are (usually) fine with not being paid for it…”
while considering myself one of the above..
..i would just like to go on the record as being not:
“.. fine with not being paid for it..”
phillip ure..
That’s why I said “usually”.
Myself, I’m fine with it.
Karol
It also depends what you mean by being “paid” for something. Sure, in terms of monetary recompense, blogging time is a total waste. In terms of; building 21st century communities, and; developing social awareness on issues disregarded by a sold-out MSM, the payoff is extremely good (even if inconsistent and unpredictable).
Agreed, Pasupial.
Phillip, who exactly do you think should ”pay for it”…
@ bad..
..well..i have over 21,000 subscribers (on r.s.s…)..
..(taking 40-50 stories/links from me..every day..)
..and over 20,000 other websites point at me..
(source:..zeald website-audit..)
(and if those subscribers didn’t like what i have on offer..they would unsubscribe..
..’cos..like i said..i am feeding them 40-50 rss feeds..each/every day..
..and if they didn’t want it..it would be like a major spam-attack for them each/every day..)
..and if you multiply all that..
..that is a hell of a lot of faces..each/every day..
..(and quite a bit of work each/every day..)
..and seeing as you asked..
..i’m open to ideas/offers to somehow monetise that traffic..
..(of course any ads (if going that route..)..have ethical-hoops to jump thru..
..(as a rough-guide..no macdonalds/planet-fuckers etc..eh..?..)
..(and as a footnote:..it was cheering the other day to get a message of appreciation of my news-curating efforts..with a promise of koha in appreciation of those efforts..
..the person said:..’it’s cool to have all the good stuff in one place’
..now..that..and the issues i am fighting for..
..is what gets me up very early in the morning..)
..phillip ure..
Lolz Phillip, if you have 20,000 adherents and you cannot squeeze enough filthy lucre out of them to suit your lifestyle choices it could be said that perhaps your writing is actually not quite up there as you appear to think it is,
i recommend that you put the degree to good use and get a real fucken job…
“You better get yourself a new line
’cause that shit just ain’t worth selling”
i’ll see yr shihad..
..and raise you with a snapper..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhyIV-XLgPo
phillip ure..
Kiwi music rulez
rules
rools
Keeping it on topic
for just one dollar a year, you can keep him in tofu…
you seem quite bitter there..bad..
..knickers well knotted..
..was it something i said..?
..phillip ure..
Knickers knotted Phillis, not me, the closest i get is wearing shorts and they don’t seem capable of knotting,
Something you said Phillis, indeed it was, you seemed to have asked for any advice on how you could monetize your abysmal writing if any one could call it that, writing that is,
Hardly original which i assume is your intent with your barely decypherable script, a French writer, forgot the name, wrote in the same vein including dot dot dot way early in the piece, think 1800’s,
In little old Noo Zelind the same ‘style’ of dot dot dot was used in a little underground anti-government magazine produced in Wellington in the early 1990’s which would all in all make you hardly original, barely above plagarism, and, as far as content goes, oh so pretty vacant,
You asked for advice, you got it, get a real fucken job,and a haircut along with it i might add…
what a strange wee man you seem to be..
..phillip ure..
What a disappointment of an answer Phillis, what happened to the ‘fire’ of your usual elongated barely readable…diatribes…did a small dose of the truth…cut you too close to the bone…
you’re just really very boring..eh..?
..(with really nothing stopping presuming you are the same in real life..eh..?..)
..nothing really there to spark off..
..and you are hovering perilously near to the ignore-list..eh..?
..(expelled there for the crime of ‘boring’..)
..and y’know..vent away..eh..?
..i spent quite a while as the only vegan/leftie/pothead commenting @ the kiwiblog-swamp..eh..?
..you’re pathetic attempts at the art of the ad hom/insult..
..are no more effective than the buzzing of a blow-fly..
..eh..?
..hope that goes some way to clarify all that for you..
(..and ‘phillis’..?
..really..?..
..that’s the best you can come up with..?
..have you been drinking..?..)
..phillip ure..
have you thought of training as a foil..?
..phillip ure..
So Phillis…your obviously one of those hero’s in your own lunchtime…what a surprise it is that you find the time to splash your…stream of utter drivel…across the internet…it must be hectic between bouts of…disjointed invective and running to the mirror for another session of…how great you are…
You havn’t as yet told the audience just who you are copying with the…the 1800’s French writer…or…the underground anti-Government mag circulated round Wellington in the early 90’s with the same…as the only form of punctuation…
Whats a real gut-buster of a laugh…is the fact that you seen the need to gain a university degree only to misuse said degree by commenting 1000’s of times here…and…on your own site…90% of which is just bland drivel…containing zilch of substance…which pretty much explains what goes on in your head…but
In no way explains the waste of the Universities time in the actual provision of the higher education…spill the beans Phillis…the Uni???…an exercise in avoiding real work of any substance???…looks like it to me…
Then…to the sounds of crowd-laughter…you have the gall to say you deserve payment Phillis…sorry to inform you…wastes of space get paid what your getting now…and…considering the degree…from the Uni…i am sceptical if you even deserve that…
Here i am tho…besides laughing in the face of one who i see as pretty much vacant…oh so pretty vacant…always helpful…seek your much desired pile of silver…from the effortless writing of that which is mostly vacant…oh so pretty vacant…from a spot of crowd sourcing…you claim to be being read by a big one…crowd that is…if your worth more than 20 cents…the crowd will happily be the source of your desired riches…
Phil, you capitalist you.
@ blue..
..guilty as charged..
..’ethical’-capitalist tho’..
..eh..?
phillip ure..
Ethical or not the hypocrisy is galling
what ‘hypocrisy’..?
..i don’t remember taking a vow of poverty..
..and you feel i should not be able to earn an income for my news curating efforts..?
..you can stick that in yr pipe..eh..?
..what fucken planet are you from..?
phillip ure..
A planet where my job pays my bills and provides for my family, and I don’t need to invent one like you seem to have. I assume you draw a benefit whilst you’re doing all this ‘altruistic’ ‘work ‘? Don’t be so precious. If your followers were asked to pay, do you really think they’d stay your followers ? You’re just not that interesting.
crikey..!
..still..
..where’s the ‘hypocrisy’..?
..you still haven’t addressed/defined that claim..
..and..um..!..how many read yr ideas/words..?
.(.aside from the face that stares at you from the mirror..
..eh..?..)
..heh..!
..there’s now’t like a fool..eh..?
..blue..?
(see..i can even ad-hom better than you..
..lift yr game..!
..eh..?
..are you any good at anything..?..)
..phillip ure..
Seeing as Phil Ure won’t allow a response despite asking for one; who reads my words? I am a published academic, so people willingly pay to hear my words both written and at conference. Am I good at anything? I am a chartered engineer and an academic, I have had a hand in producing thousands of productive professional engineers in my academic career, I have either designed or supervised infrastructural projects all over New Zealand worth tens of millions of dollars, I have through my work ensured water is clean and transport is safe and efficient, that structures are safe and Local Authorities get sound guidance. Apart from being a recovering heroin addict, which you perversely seem to announce with some pride, what use are you to anyone? You really are a sad little keyboard warrior aren’t you?
i repeat..
..where is the ‘hypocrisy’ you allege..?
..and you are an ‘engineer’..eh..?
..but can’t work out how the reply-button works in this forum..?
..whoar..!
..got a mono-mind there..?..blue..?
..had a lateral-thinking bye-pass..?
..heh..!
..phillip ure..
“..You really are a sad little keyboard warrior aren’t you?..”
maybe..but one with a rather large audience..eh..?
..and despite yr dick-waving..
..more read what i say in one day..
..than have read yr words..
..in the course of yr whole life..
..suck that one up..sunshine..
..tasty..?
(and..um..!..have you applied yr big-engineering brain to the reply function on this site yet..?
..close to a ‘solution’/finding yr way..?..
..heh..!..yr funny..!..)
..phillip ure
rabid rightwing ‘engineer’ for breakfast..
..mm!!!..tasty..!
(how’s that reply-button conundrum going for ya there..?
..tearing yr hair out that i can make comments..at will..
..and you can’t..?
..do you have anyone nearby/you trust.. who could explain it to you..?..
..walk you thru it..?..)
phillip ure..
Blue, the lack of reply isn’t any ability of Phillis to grant or with-hold, it’s just how the web-page has been set up,
For some reason in ‘a on-going conversation’ the reply tab at the bottom of an individual comment stops appearing,
Not being at all tech savvy i don’t know the intent of how and why the page operates like this, Lprent could explain it to you in 10 seconds,
But, to reply to Phillis you simply need to find the last reply tab that appears at the bottom of a comment in the on-going conversation, hit on that, make and submit your comment, and,it should appear in the right place in the continuing ‘stream’…
there ya go..!..blue..!
..ya found a buddy..!..eh..?
..awww!!
..and how will you work this reply-button conundrum that so stumped you..
..(and you an engineer..!..eh..?…)
..how will you work this into yr academic/treatises/lectures..?
..or will you just keep mum about it..?..
..phillip ure..
and really..all the above exchange proves..
..is the superior benefits to be received from a fine-arts degree..
..over an engineering-degree..
..(but we all already knew that..eh..?..)
..poor engineers..
..can’t see the bridge for the bolts..
..eh..?
..phillip ure..
cd someone plse call a zambuck..?..for blue..
..phillip ure..
Phillis, your continuous stream of barely understandable invective aimed at Blue…who obviously isn’t present in this morning’s conversation…is more than a little weird don’t you think…
Perhaps tho…this explains your need of a benefit…while being in receipt of this ‘fine arts’ degree ha ha ha…excuse the mirth Phillis…but…did you major in driveling bullshit…appears to be the case from my view…
Perhaps Phillis…getting back to the ‘need’ or otherwise of you to be an apparent shirker…with a Uni degree and a welfare benefit…i have been operating under a small misconception…and…as evidenced by your bizarre need to keep spilling invective…long after the target of your invective has left the conversation… you have something seriously amiss inside your cranial cavity…
The light goes on..illumination is achieved…recognition is enlightenment…it would appear from here Phillis…and…you will have to excuse me for borrowing a phrase…that your spewing of invective is simply caused by a brain…that is as weak as piss…
“..yawn..!..”
..(like i said..vent yr little heart out..
..and while there..try to define in yr mind the difference between invective..
..and taking the piss..when/where seriously deserved..
..eh..?..
..it was a gift..!..
..and i see you’ve really glommed onto the ‘phillis’ thing…..
..(ouch..!..)
..plse tell/show us you have more to give in the way of wit..
(rhymes with ‘git’….eh..?..)
..surely that can’t be ‘it’..?
..phillip ure..
Phillis, pleas refer to my comment at 10.26am…as you raise nothing new but the usual snivel the 10.26am comment is sufficient in answer to your present little whine…
Largely with O’Sullivan, and journalists, novelists, and film-makers on this one.
Dotcom is aligned with the TPP on copyright.
Ad
This just seems flat out wrong: “Dotcom is aligned with the TPP on copyright.”. Care to elaborate?
Try Dylan Horrocks on copyright & how it’s used by corporates to rip off the content creators, and to increase surveillance, etc – to stifle creativity.
In the interview Horrocks talks about how writing for DC comics (big US corporate) distorted and stifled his creativity.
Yes, it is the gradual commercialisation and corporate control of all culture and literature.
They control what is produced, broadcast, distributed, funded and sponsored.
Anything which helps ordinary people realise their own agency and independence in a world of realism and questioning- no thanks.
+1
What were seeing is the new feudalism and it’s far more invasive than the old one. George Orwell had a good term for it – thought crime – and it’s come about through the only agency it could have come through – capitalism and the belief that we’re free when we’re not.
Those who want to make an ordinary living out of something creative should have every right to do so. If they don’t want their property rights enforced, that’s entirely their gig. Dylan Horrocks has found his perfect sine curve, and discovered that it’s not about about working for a company.
Then there are those who want to get spectacularly rich. I think they should have the right to defend their property rights if they want to. To me that is what copyright enforcement is for.
“Dotcom is aligned with the TPP on copyright.”
Bullshit. On his Twitter feed, for months KDC has been urging people to support all the various anti-TPP protests etc around the world.
Does John Key have regula chats with Fran also? It would appear that she must be on the contact list so he can ask what she is writing about.
Both her and Whaleoil were twitter stalking Dotcom when he was at Huka Lodge. Creepy.
So, when Dotcom went down to the luxurious Huka Lodge and tweeted, “The view from my bedroom right now. Listening to the river & birds while thinking about the future.”
I asked: “Paying the bill?”
And from Whale
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2014/01/money-pay-bills-plenty-plus-time-alone-huka-lodge/
Key must be worried about Dotcom for WhaleSpew to be publishing that load of shit. Maybe Dotcom does actually have something concrete on the smarmy one?
Now that the boundaries between social gossip and political commentary are all a blur, is it okay to say, that this is just the thick skinned Fran O’Sullivan & Rachel G showing their visible party line?
SD, definitely not OK in my opinion, thick skinned is not a suitable epithet for O’Sullivan and the little cabal of NZHerald ‘writers’ who blatantly side with the National Party,
Willfully, cynically, thick headed would seem more appropriate…
‘Edit: and plenty of bloggers put in more effort, write more, and are (usually) fine with not being paid for it.’
Fantastic, every journalist (and some bloggers are journalists, some are not) should have a private/independent income, because then they won’t be captured by vested interests. Yeah, right. Reminds me of the old Tory argument that politicians should not receive an income, as it attracts careerists. Which in effect meant only those with inherited wealth could stand for Parliament.
Sorting out a business model for new media has to involve a continuation of the advertiser/subscriber model in some form, because despite all its faults, it’s better than the alternatives.
this is both brilliant..and funny..
..the daily show nails it..
http://www.alternet.org/russian-spokesman-youre-free-make-sex-table
phillip ure..
Apologies to the Many Voices Dunedin meetup, I won’t be making it today.
What sort of BS is this? (http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9724858/Blackmailer-rues-her-actions).
A 17 year old threatens to name and shame a client who appeared destined to dishonour a financial deal. She is then named and shamed by the Court and MSM while the client has name suppression. Why should the service provider be subjected to opprobrium for the consequences of the bad conscience of a non-paying blowjobee.
That’s an interesting ‘interpretation’ of the story, it appears that this young lady was paid for all the ‘sexual acts’ but upon learning that the procurer of Her favors was married which prompted Her to openly try and blackmail Him out of cash,
Fact: the young lady pleaded guilty to the blackmail charge,
Fact: the young lady had previously been warned by Police for doing the exact same thing to another of Her ‘clients’,
Fact: After telling His wife of the blackmail the man committed suicide so what benefit is there to anyone of naming this man, He cannot be dug up and charged with procuring sex from an under-aged prostitute,
Fact: In Her own words She decided to be a bitch and blackmail this man even tho She had been previously warned by Police over the earlier incident of the same nature,
Fact: This young lady deserves no-ones sympathy and in my view fits the profile of a cold,cruel, calculating sociopath…
I agree completely
This morning with Kim Hill good interview on education and touching on what is behind the Leaders in Education idea. It has good points – worth a listen.
9:05 Stuart McNaughton
Professor Stuart McNaughton is Director of the Woolf Fisher Research Centre at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education. He researches and publishes widely in areas of children’s development and the design of effective educational programmes including models of large scale interventions with schools. For the past three years he has worked with more than 15 schools instigating the Woolf Fisher Lead Teacher Masters Scholarships that are focused on improving achievement in their schools through leadership problem solving, and recently in a research partnership with Manaiakalani schools in Tamaki has co-developed a post-graduate programme to support the digital learning, community-based programmes they have developed across their cluster. He is a member of a number of international scientific organisations in child development, educational research and literacy, and is about to be inducted into the International Reading Association’s Reading Hall of Fame.
Yes greywarbler. I listened to that and thought it was good and positive, though it was a bit hard to know the specifics. Well worth the listen. Interesting that part of his research dates back to 1998.
I think that Media after 9am Sunday, tomorrow will also have a section on Education.
ianmac
Tomorrow Sunday on Mediawatch after 9am they are tslking about Radionz merry go round.
Mediawatch looks at significant changes announced for some of Radio New Zealand National’s key programmes – and asks the man at the top what it all means for RNZ’s future. Also: How one Australian criminal overseas hogged headlines here; how plumbing, paving and light bulbs overshadowed the Winter Olympics; and how some recent social media activity drew an anti-social response from media people.
Media Watch is a treasure. New CEO Paul Thompson gutted the regional editorial offices when he was Press editor, arguing regional stories had to earn their place against all other stories (i.e no dedicated editorial pages for regions), and that all such stories could be written from Christchurch. So regionally-based reporters with decades of experience lost their jobs, and the Press cut adrift the regions editorially. Stupid decision, especially given the huge changes in the rural economy over the past 10 years.
But he won’t have that degree of freedom at a public broadcaster, and also (hopefully) might have learnt something from those mistakes.
The signs aren’t all bad, as Guyon Espiner, much as I don’t like him, is an improvement on Mercep, who was completely out of his depth. Right-wingers are often better interviewers for some reason, maybe something to do with their degree of detachment from the world and their feelings. I don’t know.
Chris Trotter is Glen Inwood’s new best friend.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2014/02/japanese-pride.html
Apparently an intangible feeling of Japanese pride is far more important than actual deaths of whales.
No I don’t think that’s a fair reading of Trotter’s point at all.
What he’s saying is that given there are no economic, nor scientific reasons for the Japanese to actually be whaling, the only motivations left must be primarily emotional and symbolic.
Give them a path to back down without losing face and there is every possible expectation that they may well be happy to stop whaling on rational grounds.
It’s an idea worth exploring. Because while I admire Sea Shepherd intensely (and donate to them) – the current situation stinks of unproductive stalemate.
You planning on applying such logic to other forms of criminal behaviour then?
If there was indeed a legal mechanism that legally outlawed this whaling, and there was a way for the law to be implemented then we would not be having this conversation.
So no I don’t follow your logic.
They already have one – conservation.
Yep, if ‘diplomacy’ is to be the means of stopping the Japanese from killing whales, and, there appears little else that New Zealand can do, then Chris Trotter is on the right track with what He says,
Murray McCully should put the feelers out to the Japanese Ambassador with an attempt to broker such a ‘face saving victory’ for the Japanese whalers,(which should also involve the US Ambassador),
The alternative if a solution cannot be brokered is for us all to wake up one morning to the news that the Japanese have sunk one of the protest boats with loss of life…
The alternative is that Sea Shepherd continues to stop the Japanese from killing whales.
So we are supposed to ban Sea Shepherd from our ports because…
(a) we can’t let the Japanese lose at anything because they are SO sensitive or
(b) the Japanese are dangerous bullies who might cause the death of protesters or
(c) both.
Huh?
Well if you have to HuH? at attempts to find a diplomatic means of stopping Japanese whaling you are probably too stupid to realize the implications,
For instance, should either side, the Japanese using wire rope and sea Sheppard using traditional rope succeed in snaring a ships propeller via such a ‘tactic’ there is a chance that one of these ships could be sunk via ripping the whole propeller drive out of the rear of the ship,
As this fight has escalated it is also conceivable that the ramming that has occurred will at some stage result in the sinking of one or both the ships involved,
i have a definite admiration for the fight Sea Sheppard has so far taken to the Japanese whaling fleet but it is obvious that this will not stop this whaling, i think Chris Trotter is pointing out another means that should at the least be explored between Foreign Affairs and the Japanese Ambassador…
RedLogix donates to Sea Shepherd. How do you equate this with banning them from our ports?
My view is that Sea Shepherd by itself will never stop the Japanese whaling completely, we cannot use our navy to stop them in our waters, and no other navy is going to step up. Therefore we need to get the Japanese to agree to stopping. Pressure from Sea Shepherd and other organisations might help with this, consumer boycotts could contribute, maybe bans on sporting contacts. Some of us did our bit with South Africa, and in the end there was some progress, but basically when the Boers realised they couldn’t just keep calm and carry on. We can do it with Japan, but I suspect it will be a multi-pronged campaign.
In the meantime, I suspect that seismic exploration connected with oil and gas surveys is killing more whales than the Japanese ever have. Our government is enabling this, and Labour has not really given any signs that they would stop it.
Not so much unproductive stalemate as heading for environmental disaster by fouled prop.
No easy fix im afraid but trying to disable ships down there is a bridge to far tactics wise for me and both sides are playing that game…
Japan’s behaviour over whale killing seems unexplainable and senseless. We would like them to stop but they will not.
If wanting to know how to do something like achieving their agreement to stop, to do it successfully, first it is necessary to understand the best way to do it, what methods to use, and whether it is likely to work effectively.
The fact that we do not like what the Japanese are doing, is a huge reason to try and understand why, looking from their point of view. Other methods have not worked so far. It would be wise to do some study on why this is, and more information will help and may be more successful than kneejerk emotional responses.
As i have given Labour front bench’er Shane Jones plenty of stick in the pages of the Standard over the course of time, such stick having in my opinion been the just rewards of Shane’s efforts as a highly ranked Labour MP, in the interests of balance and fairness i would have to give the MP a 9 out of 10 for this weeks performance in the house,
A BIG UPS to Jones for stepping into the middle of an issue that concerns us all when it comes down to the behavior of those who control the very basics of life, the supermarkets,
Seems that Shane, once He has dropped the barely lucid waffle with which He has previously tried to get His point across, can make a speech in the Parliament in cold clear English with a voice that forced the Government benches to sit up and take notice,
A note to Mr Jones should include the advice that ‘yes Shane we all know you attended Oxford there is no need to prove this by the insertion of grandiose phraseology into your speech that for many would need the intervention of a professor of English literature to interpret, plain, direct English does the job fine’,
it is obvious that in plain English with the vocal ability that He has Jones should be speaking with a passion that is sadly lacking from Labour’s side of the House on a few more issues leading into this election,
The 9 outta 10 Shane is in the vein of what took you so long???…
It often doesn’t. There’s a difference in meaning between the words gigantic and huge. And then we’re also looking at the impression/feeling that someone wants to get across that just doesn’t work with some words.
Having a good understanding of language is often what makes an excellent orator.
Draco, really??? having the target audience being able to fully understand the content of your speech i would think for a politician would be of more import than being able to waffle in 12 letter words at will…
How can anyone understand what you’re saying if the words you’re using don’t have the right meaning?
Refer to my answer below Draco, i am not in the slightest bit interest in having an elongated debate with you or anyone else about part of a sentence in part of a paragraph which was part of a comment,
Shall we debate where i choose to put my comma’s and full stops…
You might be getting at something similar to what Trotter said in this article , where he says : “New Zealanders do not admire intellectuals and they positively despise academics.”
link
🙄
+100, Jane McAllister, NICE, takes the cane to National’s Ministers for their stupid attack on Metiria Turei’s life-style in the Herald online,
Hit’s every nail on the head while She is at it as far as the foibles of the ‘silver spoon brigade’ goes, well worth a read,
A small hat tip to the Herald for running with the article, none of us expect the Herald to print a continuous gush of pro Labour/Green propoganda,(which is what most would consider is the daily fair churned out by the likes of O’Sullivn, Armstrong, and, Trevett, just to name a few,
What we want is a balanced view where there are obviously two or more sides to every story and the Herald should be ensuring that all sides of an argument get an equal airing, informing the readership i think it is called as opposed to telling them what they should think…
And what makes that balanced? Climate change deniers get equal hearing through the MSM and yet only 3% or less of climatologists have an argument against AGW. In such cases I want proportional airing of views.
In the case of National’s attack on Meteria’s jacket the correct response from the journos should have been to laugh in their faces and either not publish as it wasn’t even news or to use such a story so as to point out the contempt that National has for everyone else.
Draco, i would answer that but honestly i don’t understand what your current bee in the bonnet blather is on about and quite frankly cannot be bothered reading it a second or third time to ascertain it’s meaning, which i really think is more to do with your overblown ego than anything i may have written…
🙄
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11202504
– This was really worrying and I’m ackshully glad Labour are looking into it
Chris, this is not an argument.
Just a snide remark.
Merely pointing out the important things Labour are focusing on and its good they’re doing it, these are the issuess people care about
This article is interesting
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2014/02/06/thats-heavy-the-mind-body-metaphor-connection/
“It turns out that, when people are holding something heavy, they will report an issue to be more serious, compared to when they are holding something lighter.”
The comments are also worth a read.
Just as well Key doesn’t have a conscience, because if he did it would be so heavily laden he would be severely troubled by his friendship with the oily one.
Been thinking about Mr Key hinting at Whaleoil. Would Mr Key hint at that to send we inquirers hunting and away from the real answer. Clearly he knew that the Whaleoil would keep us very exercised. ????
Me too, he could be doing something that would see him in the dock but he isn’t because he said so.
But why didn’t they remember the lessons learned in the thirty years after World War II – that widely-shared prosperity is good for everyone, including them?
Perhaps because they didn’t care to remember. They discovered that wealth is also relative: How rich they feel depends not just on how much money they have, but also how they live in comparison to most other people.
From Robert Reich quoted in today’s “Irascible Cumudgeon”
An important point and one that is not given the consideration it deserves imo.
The uber-competitive mode is not just about individuals desperate to succeed or be rich, it is also about wanting others to fail and suffer badly. This is a major motivation in itself. The worse others do, the greater the extent of the victory for the victor. Poverty is not just some unfortunate by-product of neoliberalism it is an important part of the motivation for the wealthy and even many of the merely comfortably-off. This is part of what we are up against imo.
+1
Poverty is not just some unfortunate by-product of neoliberalism it is an important part of the motivation for the wealthy and even many of the merely comfortably-off.
Yes – this. Herein lies the real ‘politics of envy’. Monbiot wrote a powerful essay on this last year:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/06/politics-envy-keenest-rich
What is Labour’s CGT policy on residential property inheritance?
As to
1. rental and bach property owned by parent/parents
2. the family home.
On the super age issue
Has any thought been given to
1. the circumstance prior to 1975 when there was a means tested rate for the first 5 years before the universal rate kicked in?
Why not excluding those working from age 65 to 70 from super (currently 20% work) rather than increasing the age to 67 (see 2, a policy to apply between now and 2030-2050 to reduce the baby boom period cost – with the impact falling those who can afford it, those still able to work at good wage rates).
A 5-10% cut in super cost without any harm to those seeking to retire at age 65 or losing employment before age 65.
2. delay any age increase to 2030 – then increase the age from 65 to 70 over the next 20 years. To account for the extended life span.
Why not excluding those working from age 65 to 70 from super (currently 20% work) rather than increasing
Many getting super in that age group work part time – some couldn’t live on just super alone, and some may not be up to working full time.
The old system pre 1975 was to assess this by a means test.
It’s simple enough to distinguish between a part-timer earning $20 an hour for 10 -20 hours and someone still working in their profession clearing $100,000+ pa.
A rule of thumb, where if job income is at the median wage or above – then no super till age 70.
An alternative in response to Labour policy in support of young families.
A more clear differentiation to the policy.
1. Parental Leave.
a 12 months total leave available to the 2 parents.
b1 Payment of MW for 6 months or a half rate payment over 12 months (the parental leave period) to either parent while off work. Parents choose (both parents could take 6 months off during the 12 month period) .
b2 Support is also given to a non working partner while the child is under 1 at the same rate – half the MW for the 12 month period.
To differentiate between the working parent and non working parent is to discriminate family support on employment status and not need. It is a poor policy setting and Labour should confront it more directly.
I would not include the beneficiary parent in this.
2. Young family support (for those with children 1 to 3).
As is, the $60 payment – being means tested, but again I would not include the beneficiary parent in this.
The issue here is of course the practice of many women to go back to work after the first child but to take a longer break with the birth of the second (because of the child care cost of two children makes working non rewarding).
Labour is wise to note that many women have two children, and the need to re-design support around modern family practice (the one income period). Thus of course ECE funding reduces child care cost and enables women advantage from a return to full-time employment (either when the youngest turns 3 and the eldest goes to primary school or when the eldest turns 3 and the youngest turns 1). After school care from ages 5-11 completes the support.
3. Beneficiary parents. Simply propose a higher benefit to those raising children. Connect the issue to a GMFI for families dependent on benefit income. Sell it by offering it only to those who spend off a card, if that is the only way to grow a pair.
Well the Countdown smack down looks like it’s in full swing. Went to the local supermarket and two hours after they normally close a bunch of checkouts they were still in full swing, checkies confirmed that more than a few going thr’ were ex Countdown.
And while I am here, what is it with toothpaste, the stuff is made in australia ,england, south africa, india ,thailand. I’d have though we would have consumed enough of it to make some of it here. And for all the blabber about being a low income country we now seem to be importing from higher wage countries than ours. So clearly this low wage stuff doesn’t actually work?
I’m not a teacher but I agree with this.
RT @Borto74: We are teachers. Image
The Right seem desperate to measure stuff and the hidden curriculum is very hard to measure. Developing interest in growing food? Nah! Reading scores? Maybe.
So yes. Borton good to read.