i think to apply for a kiwi build home you must be on the electoral roll and have voted in the 2017 election because why should none voters get on the ballet ahead of those who got off there backsides and voted
You are clearly a believer in the Tammany Hall system of political corruption. Rather like the Labour Party here I suppose.
They did a lot of good in the first half century. After that they became notoriously corrupt and were finally destroyed. https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-tammany-hall-1774023
I see you have put this in twice.
I is equally as silly the second time as it was the first.
There is no connection between what I have said and what you are rambling on about.
How to get young people to enroll? Along with the carrots, a little bit of stick. Prosecute a dozen or so and fine them for not enrolling (it is a legal requirement), pour encourager les autres.
In my extended family is a person in their late 50s who’s not on the roll. Never has been. Doesn’t stop them posting, and commenting on, enthusiastically, most of National’s more extreme bullshit about Labour on their Facebook page. Irony is that their spouse, also rabid Nat, is an electoral officer.
Agree. We also know rabid politically engaged people who have never voted (democracy is for idiots), but who buy their economic framework by making massive donations to National.
come on labour pick this up , but make the farms lease only so they provide more than one young farmer a stepping stone,
oh and the greens appear to favour corporate farming Hmmmmm insert grumpy emogi
When I heard that thought it was a bit back to the future.
That’s how Landcorp / Lands and Survey used to operate. Farms were developed on pioneer / marginal land and then leased and sold to young farmers. I think a lot of Western Southland was developed like this.
Leasing only would be the way to go now. In today’s world it would just be very difficult for young farmers, without family support, to move into a Landcorp type farm at market price, due to the price pressure put on the market by overseas buyers.
Do you mean Landcorp buys marginal land and then leases it out? Or do you mean that the existing Landcorp farms get given out on permanent lease?
Having Landcorp involved in supporting young farmers into farming would be great especially where it was sustainable or climate change prep. Lots of potential for overlap with the Greens climate and ag policies.
oops i miss read it they favour the land staying in landcorp ownership , which i’m good with but it still could be leased out with rules around looking after the land .
they would be a stepping stone as a young farmer could leese till they own all the stock then move into ownership
come on labour pick this up , but make the farms lease only so they provide more than one young farmer a stepping stone
You do understand that there’s nowhere for the young farmers to step to don’t you? All the farming land has been used up and is owned by old farmers and city ‘farmers’.
That’s why National has decided to sell all the Landcore land – and it won’t be going to young farmers but those old and city ‘farmers’. The ones that can afford to buy it.
It will be like fishing quota.
In a few short years will be in the hands of corporates and the wealthy sqatters next door. “Tenure review” all over again.
Leasehold to beginning youngsters only would genuinely help young farmers who cannot afford the next step.
Every time national comes out with a new policy it has two sides (truth & lies) to it dressed up as a “progressive policy” for a group of ‘intersted parties’ and this time it is young farmers eh!!!
Not in your nellie’
it will be featered off to their mates in large packages not for the 10 acre farming block you can bet.
My dear departed mum was very wise when she told me “If it sounds to good to be true then it is a lie”.
National are good at lies, and this is another one.
Draco you are so right here, (meant 100 acre mininum farm not 10 acres, that’s only what I’ve got. ( toy farm.)
Every time national comes out with a new policy it has two sides to it dressed up as a “progressive policy” for a group of ‘intersted parties’ and this time it is young farmers eh!!!
Not in your nellie’
it will be featered off to their mates in large packages not for the 100 acre farming block you can bet.
My dear departed mum was very wise when she told me “If it sounds to good to be true then it is a lie”.
National are good at lies, and this is another one.
That is incorrect, there is a well established system for young dairy farmers to get into a farm, the sharemilking system has been working for over 50 years.
Starting off as contract Miller’s and finishing up owning the herd and getting 50% of the milk receipts, huilding up to a 1000 cows on a single large farm or multiple farms, selling off a large portion of their herd gives a deposite on first farm purchase.
Other than the few that may take over the family farm (but still have to buy out their sibblings) nearly every dairy farming family has used this route to farm ownership. The system operates as strongly today as it every has. You may be aware of the term gypsie day which is used to describe the mass movement of sharemilkers moving between farms on 1st June each year as they move up to bigger farms or into their first own farm
That is incorrect, there is a well established system for young dairy farmers to get into a farm, the sharemilking system has been working for over 50 years.
And this well established process creates land how?
Or, to put it other words: ZOMG, I didn’t know we had God working for us.
Everything else you say can be safety ignore until you prove we actually do have God on our payroll.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15092017/#comment-1384925on Not ready yet
Plenty of sharemilkers say they haven’t a chance of getting their own place.
They can’t catch up with prices. A quiet word to sharemilkers today on gypsy day may not get them talking about their reality. But away from the group I think the facts would be that for each one that is managing on his own behalf, there are five who have had to borrow excessively, or step back for another couple of years and some have given up because the present day system has killed off that 50 year opportunity.
And I haven’t forgotten the sharemilker struggling to keep up with his plan who found that the farmer he worked with just kept overstocking with his own beasts. The sharemilkers plan was to work the place up and introduce his own cows but every time there was the opportunity to do that the owner took the opportunity to boost his own herd. His wife said he got into the pattern of pushing himself and collapsed from overwork.
I can;t give you any sources for what I have said. I try to keep up with what is happening in the rural sector. I think I would know more about it than the rural sector knows about the non-primary sector.
There’s also a lot of “amalgamations” that could end up in the hands of liquidators once their capital is exhausted. I have a feeling it’s these syndicated operations that are leading the fight against resource charging. there’s probably not that many of them, but they were pushing the boundaries of viability from the start and 30 – 50K per annum for water is the least of their problems.
This is quite interesting to and points to the above
it is not so much the deal (appealing as it was0…it is the barefaced lies, and cover up including support from supposedly non political public servants and public oversight that National have maintained ….a party of moral and ethical bankrupts who have to go before they corrupt our systems beyond repair.
I think that’s because having your leaders lie somehow legitimises your own lying. I’ve noticed a huge increase in lying behaviour among rural and construction people in the last 10 years. It’s now almost accepted. The same people are beside themselves at the prospect of a change in government.
New Zealand is poorly informed about the scam being inflicted upon us ….If Labour will not speak up about the elephant in the room then the the Greens should highlight this tax injustice,….. it would probably help if they cooperate and network with their Aussie compatriots, who have done good work in this area ……. https://greens.org.au/tax-avoidance
Nationals tax policy is apprently for the ‘creative’ …..
John Key: …. “, if they want to be creative and work hard, to significantly reduce their tax liability but in a lawful way.” ….
“, Mr Rozvany said just because something is legal does not mean it is ethical.
“It’s an interesting thing, ‘within the law’,” Mr Rozvany said.
“Many things were once legal. Rape and paedophilia were once legal.
“If you set up a sham transaction in a tax haven with a view to shifting profits from a high tax jurisdiction to a low tax jurisdiction that should be considered unacceptable to the international community.” ……
The amounts of money looted by ‘creative’ accountants’ are huge … sly politicians make it all loophole legal … “In the three years to 2015, Shell had racked up around $60 billion in revenue (when it owned the petrol stations and the upstream business) and appeared to pay zero tax.” …. https://www.michaelwest.com.au/shell-tax-ripped-out-as-in-house-deals-double/
Creative accounting ??? ….. “Ebay Australia and New Zealand does it all: Tax Avoidance 101 – don’t recognise revenue with customers in Australia, and then, Tax Avoidance 102 – minimise the profits on any revenues you do happen to recognise.” …. https://www.michaelwest.com.au/ebay-scores-own-goal-on-tax/
The overseas company CKI, who brought Wellingtons electricity lines network/infrastructure …. and has run at a fictitious loss ( with a underinvestment in maintenance ) ever since …. “Of course, those losses are not real and CKI did not pay $785m for a duffer………Wellington Network is in fact highly profitable, with an earnings margin consistently around 30 per cent before interest and tax.”…..
And then we have ‘legal shell companies and ‘Trusts’……“Working hard at” buying up our land and homes ….
”owner of the former Crafar and Synlait farms in Waikato and Canterbury. Milk New Zealand Holding is wholly owned not by Shanghai Pengxin, but by Milk New Zealand Investment, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The ownership was disclosed to the Companies Office on August 13……….Chalkie reckons owning New Zealand farms through a Caribbean tax haven may have tax advantages “-
The big four accounting firms have been branded as aggressive, unethical, and accused of “perpetrating the greatest tax crimes in history” by a leading corporate tax authority.
If you gut the public service and slash regulation, that’s what you get from right wing governments. Looting the common wealth, privatising profits, and evading tax. Jail the white collar crooks.
Thanks Muttonbird & ropata ….. National are audacious liars to be attacking anyone over tax …..
The Greens should announce they will push for George Rozvany to be part of the tax review ….. They need to quickly raise awareness and illuminate the simple truth.
Being that We do not need new or more taxes ….. just collection of what is due from the richest company s and people in the world.
The greens are the natural party to make some noise about this injustice … the rest seem compromised …..
Not too hard to fix though as it’s closing loopholes, making retrospective changes which comes from 2 main drivers IMO.
1. The right people plugging the laws i.e. hire the architects of these schemes to take them down. They’re hired guns who will happily swap sides if the price is right.
2. Government with a will to tax the top end effectively and not be swayed by the expected PR howls of ‘the sky is falling’.
Lets not forget the banks in particular are dwindling employers with offshore profits, ownership and technology racing toward a fully self service model.
Harmful regulations created our tax segregation and revenue black hole…. Good regulations can fix it.
But it needs to be co-ordination with others i … and globally the Greens are the best political movement …… genuinely working against injustice and exploitation ……
Almost like a vast right wing conspiracy …..there has been a uniformity in the building of networks which has allowed enormous corrupt money flows …… with corresponding harms of homelessness and exploitation of ordinary citizens everywhere …
Its more than just corporate tax evasion …. they have also helped money laundering.
Canada ……. “An agency report suggested there is a close relationship between money laundering in real estate and the services provided by lawyers, such as placing wire transfers in legal trusts and creating investment vehicles that can shield true ownership of property.” http://vancouversun.com/storyline/ottawa-will-attempt-to-close-money-laundering-loophole
You hit the nail on the head reason.
That was the main objective of money puppet john key to create heaps of tax loopholes for his M8 that is the only way to explain wh ffat has happened to our tax systems.
One can donate any amount into a trust and avoid many taxes and there are lots more loopholes to what a sham. !!!!!!!😬
It’s is ridiculous that a person under the bridge will pay more tax than a multi million dollar company and don’t mention gst because the buyer pays that tax the seller is just the collector of gst.
It just shows how unfair OUR society is and this needs to change.
And if the answer is ‘yes’ then you should now subject to the Proceeds of Crime Act and lose everything. After all, using a tax haven should be a crime.
I agree there defiantly needs to be some consequences for the creative types who work hard building the getaway ‘vehicles ‘ …. that make off with billions … and those who use them of course.
Its all reward and no risk at the moment …
Accountants and bankers make normal criminals or welfare fraud look like small chump change amateurs …..
“At least $US1 trillion in tax revenue is lost worldwide, and $50 billion in Australia, as a result of aggressive tax minimisation schemes established by the four giant firms who audit the books of nearly all the world’s major companies, said George Rozvany, a 32-year veteran of the corporate tax industry.”
“And I’m a conservative man, I think the figure is actually much higher,” he told the ABC.”
It is far from a victim-less crime…… “The people who are most affected are the most underprivileged in our society, those without a voice. The homeless, foreign aid programs.”
Where was the father. The rest of us fathers support our children so not sure why he should skip his duties
[You don’t get to interrogate people on their family situations. You want to attempt “doing a Metiria” on this poster and you’ll cop a permanent ban ] – Bill
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Although your comment was removed I would like to answer to help you understand.
The father got in trouble with the law and ended up in jail, after getting out he unfortunately got addicted to meth and is only recently clean and starting to rebuild his relationship with his son.
A relationship I feel is important and that I try to foster despite putting up with years of abuse from him while in his drug addled state.
Bill’s got that guy’s number. The only answer that would satisfy Notreadyet is “Yes, your implied accusation is absolutely correct, it’s my fault I’m living in poverty, I brought it on myself, I deserve it and the government bears no obligation towards me as a citizen to help me out of it.” Much better to leave people like that with an answer that satisfies you rather than them, something like “Fuck you,” perhaps.
Thankyou for filling in a gap in the story. Agree we definetly need safety nets to cover your situation. 5-10 years ago the country had to borrow billions so that the we could continue to give support to those like yourself that needed it. The squeeze you experienced came on because at the time it was all borrowed and precious/scarce $. A lot of people conveniently overlook or fail to remember the situation the whole world was in after 08 and we have generally(obviously not in your case) been better off than most
The amount by which “we” have been better off could easily have been directed to those who needed it most: the reason it wasn’t was a sadistic bad choice you made.
Greedy right wing idiots took bribes and let greedy right wing thieves destroy the global economy.
The squeeze you experienced came on because at the time it was all borrowed and precious/scarce $.
And that would be a load of BS as well. I seem to recall that National gave lots of tax cuts to the rich while increasing taxes upon the poor resulting in a lower tax take.
A lot of people conveniently overlook or fail to remember the situation the whole world was in after 08 and we have generally(obviously not in your case) been better off than most
Actually, we’re worse off because of all the same things that crashed the global economy – we just haven’t realised it yet. That’s the problem that happens when the incumbent government props up a housing bubble pushing a massive increase in private debt as their only economic idea of prosperity.
“…5-10 years ago the country had to borrow billions so that the we could continue to give support to those like yourself that needed it…..”
Oh my gawd! you are a special kind of stupid, aren’t you?
For your little brain, let me try to educate you….Billions were borrowed to BAIL OUT BANKS AND FINANCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, who CAUSED THE FINANCIAL CRASH.
THEY WERE BAILED OUT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE POOR, those who could LEAST afford to cu costs…JUST SO THE FILTHY, GREEDY *U*TS COULD KEEP THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS FAT!
If only IMO Labour had continued with the 2014 line, that any tax changes will not be implemented until after the next election. Then many who want a change of govt. but feel their personal wealth could be threatened by uncertainty (Nats scare tactics) could see that most of the scare mongering was unfounded, and that we have had 3 years that the Lab govt had build up trust in the voter. Then the Nats could have been thrown in disarray as they implode. And that Lab would have kept their integrity, instead of being seen by some as moving to with the mood of the polls.
No Herodotus – your ethical approach would not have worked – you seem to forget that National is a party of liars without memories. How much of a fuss was there when the GST was raised after Key’s assurance that it wouldn’t happen? A solution: Labour need to make sure the Greens get into Government with them then implement a ‘Captain’s call’ using the National line as a precedent – “we had to accommodate the policies of our support party in the coalition”. ACT were credited with Charter Schools on that basis, even though National clearly intended going down that track as they had employed the infamous Lesley Longstone on her UK implementation experience before the election.
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern has been greeted with a massive crowd at University of Otago this morning.
About 700 staff and students turned up to see her speak and pose for selfies on the university’s Union Lawn.
With room at a premium people packed on to the balconies above the University Union.
Any signs that Jacindamania had dimmed were not apparent as she was given rapturous applause and people posed for selfies and stopped to hug Ms Ardern.
and she had a huge reception on the Coast as well Marty, so I ear, I would love our electorate to swing the party vote back to Labour.
And Marty, do you get “The Leader” over your way?
If so check out the back pages for Maureens ad, at the bottom of it is the national “N” with a ticked circled placed next to it, looks like the word “NO” she’s had that ad running for 5 weeks now, cracks me up everytime I see it.
this piece from a writer who everytime he puts finger to keyboard in recent years has raised my blood pressure or had me shaking my head in disbelief at his wilful blindness …a proud supporter (and to me , one eyed) of our current administration appears to had an epithany while out mixing with ‘the common folk’ ….and he senses the winds of change….better late than never is all I will add
(In less than 2 days – this video has had over 45,000 views…)
NZ WHISTLE-BLOWER ALERT!
The TRUTH about the Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ – GENTRIFICATION $CAM!
“Penny Bright has been shining a light into the murky recesses of public/private partnerships in the Tamaki Regeneration scheme and revealed some disturbing details…”
When are mainstream media going to ‘pick up the ball’ on this apparently CENSORED story?
In FIVE years of this Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ project – there are more houses that have come down than gone up.
237 Tamaki State houses removed.
213 New houses built.
92 ‘social’ houses.
39 ‘affordable’ private sale houses for first home buyers.
82 private sale houses (high-end).
In an OIA reply from Tamaki Regeneration Ltd, dated 21 August 2017, information about the exact prices paid by private property developers for each and every former Housing NZ property was refused because of ‘commercial confidentiality’.
How disgraceful is that?
This is / was PUBLIC property!
Is the apparent ‘CENSORSHIP’ of this story, by mainstream media, because the paper trail goes straight to Bill English, Nick Smith and Steven Joyce?
Past and present Crown Shareholding Ministers in Tamaki Regeneration Ltd, to which 2,867 former Housing NZ properties were transferred on 31 March 2016?
Which, IMO, makes this Tamaki SCAM story – political dynamite?
Penny Bright
2017 Independent candidate for Tamaki.
We are now in deep shit as CO2 levels have now stubbornly stayed above the critical 400ppm level now for over the last four years.
Increased CO2 levels now are scientifically confirmed as reducing our plant growth and their nutrient uptake levels causing our loss of minerals/vitamins avalable to us all during consumption. – Here are the facts;
“protein concentrations in grains of wheat, rice and barley, and in potato tubers, are decreased by 5–14% under elevated CO2 (Taub et al. 2008). Crop concentrations of nutritionally important minerals including calcium, magnesium and phosphorus may also be decreased under elevated CO2 (Loladze 2002; Taub & Wang 2008).”
Earth’s CO2 Home Page
Atmospheric CO2
2014 July 401.61ppm.
2015 july 404.50ppm.
2016 July 407.25ppm.
2017 Aug’405.07ppm.
August 2017
405.07
parts per million (ppm)
Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (NOAA-ESRL)
Preliminary data released September 11, 2017
We know that atmospheric CO2 has ranged between 172 and 300 part per million (ppm) for the past 1 million years. The earth cycled through cold glacial and warm inter-glacial periods without atmospheric CO2 exceeding 300 ppm.
The first time in human history that atmospheric CO2 exceeded 300 ppm was about the time the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912.
Now, the crossover to concentrations that stay above 400 ppm CO2 is nearly complete.
The other day on RNZ Phil Twyford told Susie Ferguson that under Labour rents would stabilise or go down, yet he wouldn’t guarantee it.
Do you think Phil will have to eat his words?
It was a bold and risky claim for Phil to make.
And while he didn’t guarantee it, if he’s wrong, not only will his credibility be damaged for asserting it, it will also damage the credibility of the Labour Party as it’s their policies and he is their housing spokesperson.
There’s been speculation that a number of landlords would sell up, thus freeing up more homes for sale and in turn reducing rental demand.
However, as landlords sell off their rentals and tenants move into home ownership, that will reduce the supply of rentals, thus merely offsetting the corresponding drop in rental demand. Hence, there would be no net difference in rental supply and demand from this shift.
Moreover, another aspect being overlooked is the growing trend of taking property off the rental market and setting them up as serviced apartments or Air BnB. Cashing in on our high tourist numbers and the shortage of hotel rooms whilst reaping a far higher nightly yield. Therefore, coming down too hard on landlords may result in further encouraging this shift. Resulting in reducing rental supply.
As for Phil’s claim that Labour will increase the housing supply, he’s overlooking it will take years for Labour’s Kiwibuild to meet current demand let alone get on top of it. Thus, in the meantime, Labour’s policies coupled with the overheated rental market will provide the scope landlords require to further increase rents.
Surely you’re not implying one has to critique National to be allowed to critique Labour?
Being from the left I don’t expect National to represent my left leaning views, hence I seldom waste my time pointing out their many flaws. I waste enough of my time dealing with the right within the left.
not a bad summation…couple of points…you have answered your own question re why he didnt guarantee it and as to eating his own words you will note as an experienced politician he never gave a timeframe so in effect it is neither bold nor risky and there will be no words consumed….however i suspect in their heart of hearts Labour expect the market to fall (not crash) due to a number of their announced policies and this is occurring on top of a faltering market already, so it is entirely possible there will be a rent reduction in the near term even if some investors quit the market , remembering that an investment property sold doesn’t disappear and still has function within the market.
In her attempt to secure a guarantee, Susie did set a time-frame when challenging him. And although he managed to talk his way out of committing to a guarantee (reasserting his reasoning and claim) he didn’t question the time-frame. Nor did he use it as an excuse for not committing when he had the opportunity too. Thus, the opportunity to lower first term voter expectation.
Therefore, he (through his continued assertion) has somewhat painted himself and the Party into a bit of a corner.
While Labour plan to introduce most of their housing policies rather smartly, their impact on house prices (if any at all) will take some time to eventuate, thus it will be market fundamentals and perhaps further Reserve Bank interventions that are more likely to cause a correction/fall.
And a fall in house prices doesn’t necessarily mean their will be a quick and widespread fall in rents. Some simply won’t sell in a depressed market and may decide to increase rents instead. Especially if rental demand remains strong.
beg to differ…the mere prospect or notice of their policies will impact the market …investors will not wait around and so the impact will precede the act….same with the building programme…as to how fast and widespread the impact is, well thats an unknown but the direction is not…and it aint upwards
As a number of their policies largely fall short, the impact you’re expecting may differ from the reality.
Take their so-called ban on offshore investors. The impact may initially result in a flurry (adding upward pressure) with offshore investors getting in before they are shutout.
Therefore, while they may act quickly, it’s not the in the manner you seem to be foreseeing.
Moreover, the ban doesn’t prevent offshore investors from buying new builds. Thus, prevent offshore demand driving upward pressure on land prices, building materials, etc… adding to the overall cost of a new home. Which, in turn, tends to pump up the price of older homes.
again i differ….the tenor and direction is increased restrictions and costs plus a reduction in demand (via migration )and the timing has been stated to be urgent(indeed the tendency may be to quit the market with the knowledge of the existing costs as opposed to the unknown, after all we are only one of many)….any last minute attempt to enter the market will be short lived…..all compounded by nervous banks reluctant to lend at current levels.
A reduction in immigration is not a total halt. And when you have a market that is already struggling to cope with current housing demand, any additional immigration is upward pressure.
Cost are generally passed on. Again, adding upward price pressure on rents. And restrictions (such as ring fencing losses) won’t impact all investors. And those impacted may restructure their affairs and increase rents to offset it.
A number of offshore investors don’t require the backing of our banks to purchase. And banks themselves are walking a fine line.
‘A number of offshore investors don’t require the backing of our banks to purchase. And banks themselves are walking a fine line.’
no they don’t, however those purchasing from them are likely to…part of the reason the banks are self imposing restrictions (over and above RBNZ requirements) is because existing rents are already unsustainable in the local market…as investors are aware any rent rise will simply increase defaults …on portfolios banks are already winding back.Costs cannot be passed on ad infinitum.
worst case most likely outcome would be that it competes with or otherwise extinguishes life forms that we could have learned from.
Like bacterial cane toads or rats.
Worst least likely outcome is that the bacteria is viewed as a declaration of war by an advanced society we hadn’t detected because they were all subspace fields and teleporting, and the species goes all Independence Day on us.
I’m reasonably certain that if there was life there we would have recognised it when Cassini first flew by. The lander would definitely have shown it up.
I’ll make it easy for you. An octopus is weird especially when compared to humans now imagine that weirdness multiplied by a million. A million, not 100 , not 1000, not 10000, and so on. Do you actually think your brain could conceive let alone recognise alien life. I know you do and I blame fucken star trek and their hunamoid aliens.
Do you actually think your brain could conceive let alone recognise alien life.
Yes, it can.
Or, to put in other words: Do you believe pakeha are human?
It’s really easy to recognise life:
1. They’re born
2. They move
3. They breed
4. They die.
All that’s been detected upon Titan id the possible precursor to life. IMO, there isn’t enough energy to go beyond that else it would already exist.
I know you do and I blame fucken star trek and their hunamoid aliens.
I’d say Fuck the humanoid aliens except that logic tells us that humanoid lifeforms are most likely what you’re going to get from an evolutionary process for an intelligent species.
If it is an intelligent being, and uses climate and interactions between organisms to form thoughts like we have neurons, then what thoughts would it have? And is humanity a planetary alzheimers?
Yeah, running back to a doom slogan kind of underlines the fact that you suggested on of humanity’s last acts should be barely a step removed from dumping cowshit in the streams of Titan just to see how bad the contamination will be.
the other point being is that your 5-point criteria that make it “really easy” to recognise life doen’t rule out Earth, which meets none of those points.
Mate your human centric view of the universe is quaint and illogical based on size alone – you cant even conceive how big it is or what is in it, yet your ego can write checks you cant cash and can’t even consider cashing – silly hu man.
And your plan is to leave a smear on a moon to see what happens – ffs come on.
Unless they end up like the dodo because our earth bacteria ate them all when we followed your plan.
And then we maybe never gain some revolutionary knowledge or medicine. Because we dumped a tonne of bacteria on a planet or moon we knew nothing about.
And that’s just the we’d be better off doing real science rather than assuming the universe is ours to shit all over argument, it’s not even the what if an entire ecosystem, of simple organisms maybe so, but an entire ecosystem grew and evolved over billions of years, creating an environment unique in the universe, right up until we came along – what does that say about us question.
Unless they end up like the dodo because our earth bacteria ate them all when we followed your plan.
Life’s a bitch and the you die.
And then we maybe never gain some revolutionary knowledge or medicine.
Extreme possibilities aren’t what makes life work.
hey, did you know that Mars had spent the last few billion years losing its magnetosphere and its atmosphere (in that order) and that the chances for life to survive that is between slim and none?
BTW, I suspect that the first Mars landing failed to have such restrictions in place. I doubt if the Soviets, or the USians immediately after them, had such concerns as you seem to have. Same as the first Europeans who visited NZ had such concerns.
I think you’ll find that even in the 1960s interplanetary probes were developed and constructed in clean rooms. Chances of taking extremophile bacteria to mars are therefore minimal. If only because bacteria would fuck up their chromatograph readings.
Hey, did you know that getting a few metres under Mars surface would provide thermal insulation, protection from cosmic rays, and maybe even water?
In 1991, as Apollo 12 Commander Pete Conrad reviewed the transcripts of his conversations relayed from the moon back to Earth, the significance of the only known microbial survivor of harsh interplanetary travel struck him as profound:
“I always thought the most significant thing that we ever found on the whole…Moon was that little bacteria who came back and lived and nobody ever said [anything] about it.”
“I always thought the most significant thing that we ever found on the whole…Moon was that little bacteria who came back and lived and nobody ever said [anything] about it.”
An interesting point about War of The Worlds was that it was the microbes that ‘won’ the war.
Voted Labour/Greens today and persuaded my friend to do the same, she was going to vote National….only one vote taken away from them, but it still felt good.
Who in their own sanity would vote for this National Party train wreck?
They are ending up selling everything in their next term if elected.
Also the National party will sign us up to corporte controlled trade deals that will control our Government and our lives from overseas for the next 75 yrs and we will loose our country along with our freedoms and democracy.
You mean Advance Voting is up 80k on the same time last election. Which the Electoral Commission was forecasting and doesn’t give anybody a steer on anything really.
Stuff.co is running a very unscientific poll that shows national ahead.
I gave my click to Labour but it looks like a few more clicks wouldn’t go astray to change this flawed poll.
I suppose everyone has commented on this but on the news about Oz the other day was that they had wiped their controls on every possible bit of media? sounds like, being able to be owned by one entity: Corporation Australia Ink I think. Inky dinky di etc. Wind back to flogging convicts on its way (sstart with NZs for practice).
Jian Yang will review his citizenship declaration! That’s nice.
Having listened to Yang speak in Parliament, in my opinion, he doesn’t seem to have a good grasp of the English language at all. Very hard to understand, even when I’m wearing my hearing aids! So now I’m wondering how was he able to teach the English language in the first place?
The police are still hanging around my ass I no that the police and national are blaming me for making them look like idiots well no they are doing fine fucking up there image with there own actions thanks very much.
Big upps for the number one song of the Worlds biggest count down of 1500 rock songs that is a awesome winning song.
Killing in the name
Rage Against The Machine.
Now my main message Fonterra Theo don’t you think It is time you clean up that mess in Mango. It would be wise if you did this because it would stain your image if I have to clean it up. Ka pai
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
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i think to apply for a kiwi build home you must be on the electoral roll and have voted in the 2017 election because why should none voters get on the ballet ahead of those who got off there backsides and voted
Shouldn’t be eligible if you voted National either!
You are clearly a believer in the Tammany Hall system of political corruption. Rather like the Labour Party here I suppose.
They did a lot of good in the first half century. After that they became notoriously corrupt and were finally destroyed.
https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-tammany-hall-1774023
If you voted National then you obviously do not agree with State housing.
Sticking to your principles, you would not accept one.
But, I note, like Ayn Rand, right wingers are quick to accept anything provided by those of us that pay taxes.
If you voted National then you obviously do not agree with State housing.
Sticking to your principles, you would not accept one.
But, I note, like Ayn Rand, right wingers are quick to accept anything provided by those of us that pay taxes. While dodging them, themselves.
I see you have put this in twice.
I is equally as silly the second time as it was the first.
There is no connection between what I have said and what you are rambling on about.
Forgot everything has to be explained to right wingers in words of less than one syllable. Sorry.
‘I is equally silly’… Chuckle chuckle.
Yes, he forgot to leave out the t in it too within that sentence. ☺
And i see that you’ve failed to comprehend it both times.
*Ballot*
How to get young people to enroll? Along with the carrots, a little bit of stick. Prosecute a dozen or so and fine them for not enrolling (it is a legal requirement), pour encourager les autres.
Change the law once in power.
Don’t prosecute those intending to vote lab/gr.
Don’t panic too much. The problem goes both ways.
In my extended family is a person in their late 50s who’s not on the roll. Never has been. Doesn’t stop them posting, and commenting on, enthusiastically, most of National’s more extreme bullshit about Labour on their Facebook page. Irony is that their spouse, also rabid Nat, is an electoral officer.
I just smile….
Agree. We also know rabid politically engaged people who have never voted (democracy is for idiots), but who buy their economic framework by making massive donations to National.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/96834696/national-to-offer-young-farmers-to-buy-landcorp-farms
come on labour pick this up , but make the farms lease only so they provide more than one young farmer a stepping stone,
oh and the greens appear to favour corporate farming Hmmmmm insert grumpy emogi
When I heard that thought it was a bit back to the future.
That’s how Landcorp / Lands and Survey used to operate. Farms were developed on pioneer / marginal land and then leased and sold to young farmers. I think a lot of Western Southland was developed like this.
Leasing only would be the way to go now. In today’s world it would just be very difficult for young farmers, without family support, to move into a Landcorp type farm at market price, due to the price pressure put on the market by overseas buyers.
Do you mean Landcorp buys marginal land and then leases it out? Or do you mean that the existing Landcorp farms get given out on permanent lease?
Having Landcorp involved in supporting young farmers into farming would be great especially where it was sustainable or climate change prep. Lots of potential for overlap with the Greens climate and ag policies.
How would leasing be a stepping stone?
“oh and the greens appear to favour corporate farming”
What does that mean?
oops i miss read it they favour the land staying in landcorp ownership , which i’m good with but it still could be leased out with rules around looking after the land .
they would be a stepping stone as a young farmer could leese till they own all the stock then move into ownership
Cheers, I didn’t realise the stock ownership would make the difference, that’s a good idea.
I put up a news post the other day but might do another one about the potential for Landcorp to do good without selling land,
https://thestandard.org.nz/national-intends-to-sell-another-strategic-asset/
You do understand that there’s nowhere for the young farmers to step to don’t you? All the farming land has been used up and is owned by old farmers and city ‘farmers’.
That’s why National has decided to sell all the Landcore land – and it won’t be going to young farmers but those old and city ‘farmers’. The ones that can afford to buy it.
It will be like fishing quota.
In a few short years will be in the hands of corporates and the wealthy sqatters next door. “Tenure review” all over again.
Leasehold to beginning youngsters only would genuinely help young farmers who cannot afford the next step.
Draco you are so right here,
Every time national comes out with a new policy it has two sides (truth & lies) to it dressed up as a “progressive policy” for a group of ‘intersted parties’ and this time it is young farmers eh!!!
Not in your nellie’
it will be featered off to their mates in large packages not for the 10 acre farming block you can bet.
My dear departed mum was very wise when she told me “If it sounds to good to be true then it is a lie”.
National are good at lies, and this is another one.
Draco you are so right here, (meant 100 acre mininum farm not 10 acres, that’s only what I’ve got. ( toy farm.)
Every time national comes out with a new policy it has two sides to it dressed up as a “progressive policy” for a group of ‘intersted parties’ and this time it is young farmers eh!!!
Not in your nellie’
it will be featered off to their mates in large packages not for the 100 acre farming block you can bet.
My dear departed mum was very wise when she told me “If it sounds to good to be true then it is a lie”.
National are good at lies, and this is another one.
That is incorrect, there is a well established system for young dairy farmers to get into a farm, the sharemilking system has been working for over 50 years.
Starting off as contract Miller’s and finishing up owning the herd and getting 50% of the milk receipts, huilding up to a 1000 cows on a single large farm or multiple farms, selling off a large portion of their herd gives a deposite on first farm purchase.
Other than the few that may take over the family farm (but still have to buy out their sibblings) nearly every dairy farming family has used this route to farm ownership. The system operates as strongly today as it every has. You may be aware of the term gypsie day which is used to describe the mass movement of sharemilkers moving between farms on 1st June each year as they move up to bigger farms or into their first own farm
And this well established process creates land how?
Or, to put it other words: ZOMG, I didn’t know we had God working for us.
Everything else you say can be safety ignore until you prove we actually do have God on our payroll.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15092017/#comment-1384925on Not ready yet
Plenty of sharemilkers say they haven’t a chance of getting their own place.
They can’t catch up with prices. A quiet word to sharemilkers today on gypsy day may not get them talking about their reality. But away from the group I think the facts would be that for each one that is managing on his own behalf, there are five who have had to borrow excessively, or step back for another couple of years and some have given up because the present day system has killed off that 50 year opportunity.
And I haven’t forgotten the sharemilker struggling to keep up with his plan who found that the farmer he worked with just kept overstocking with his own beasts. The sharemilkers plan was to work the place up and introduce his own cows but every time there was the opportunity to do that the owner took the opportunity to boost his own herd. His wife said he got into the pattern of pushing himself and collapsed from overwork.
I can;t give you any sources for what I have said. I try to keep up with what is happening in the rural sector. I think I would know more about it than the rural sector knows about the non-primary sector.
there are still smaller farms in reach and as with all things 1 action won’t solve everything but it will help
There’s also a lot of “amalgamations” that could end up in the hands of liquidators once their capital is exhausted. I have a feeling it’s these syndicated operations that are leading the fight against resource charging. there’s probably not that many of them, but they were pushing the boundaries of viability from the start and 30 – 50K per annum for water is the least of their problems.
This is quite interesting to and points to the above
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/election-2017/339524/water-tax-negligible-for-most-dairy-farms-industry-figures
hmm kind of proves my feeling that the water tax is just wedge politics , i may still vote labour but i will have to hold my nose to do i.
imagine if landcorp had of secured the crafer farms and put young kiwis on as a 10 year leasee ,
A flat-out straight-up lie from McCully and the government. And 2 years of trying to keep it out of the news.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/339438/saudi-sheep-deal-no-mfat-legal-advice-on-lawsuit-risk
Not as prominent as others within national it seems. Yet another dodgy deal the sheeple need reminding about.
it is not so much the deal (appealing as it was0…it is the barefaced lies, and cover up including support from supposedly non political public servants and public oversight that National have maintained ….a party of moral and ethical bankrupts who have to go before they corrupt our systems beyond repair.
sad thing is for good ole NZ is the electorate doesn’t seem to mind their lies based on the last fews GE’s.
I think that’s because having your leaders lie somehow legitimises your own lying. I’ve noticed a huge increase in lying behaviour among rural and construction people in the last 10 years. It’s now almost accepted. The same people are beside themselves at the prospect of a change in government.
lol..crap , just realised it reads ‘appealing’…..edit to ‘appalling’
For some reason Labour has chosen not to point out the enormous black hole in our Governments accounts and book keeping ….. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-11/corporate-tax-minimisation-costs-governments-1-trillion/7587092
New Zealand is poorly informed about the scam being inflicted upon us ….If Labour will not speak up about the elephant in the room then the the Greens should highlight this tax injustice,….. it would probably help if they cooperate and network with their Aussie compatriots, who have done good work in this area ……. https://greens.org.au/tax-avoidance
Nationals tax policy is apprently for the ‘creative’ …..
John Key: …. “, if they want to be creative and work hard, to significantly reduce their tax liability but in a lawful way.” ….
“, Mr Rozvany said just because something is legal does not mean it is ethical.
“It’s an interesting thing, ‘within the law’,” Mr Rozvany said.
“Many things were once legal. Rape and paedophilia were once legal.
“If you set up a sham transaction in a tax haven with a view to shifting profits from a high tax jurisdiction to a low tax jurisdiction that should be considered unacceptable to the international community.” ……
The amounts of money looted by ‘creative’ accountants’ are huge … sly politicians make it all loophole legal … “In the three years to 2015, Shell had racked up around $60 billion in revenue (when it owned the petrol stations and the upstream business) and appeared to pay zero tax.” …. https://www.michaelwest.com.au/shell-tax-ripped-out-as-in-house-deals-double/
Creative accounting ??? ….. “Ebay Australia and New Zealand does it all: Tax Avoidance 101 – don’t recognise revenue with customers in Australia, and then, Tax Avoidance 102 – minimise the profits on any revenues you do happen to recognise.” …. https://www.michaelwest.com.au/ebay-scores-own-goal-on-tax/
More Local examples of Hard and creative work as defined by John key and the Nacts …., “Five big banks face about $2.4 billion of disputed tax assessments for 22 structured finance transactions.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/2946334/Westpac-expected-to-appeal-961m-tax-ruling ……
Or
The overseas company CKI, who brought Wellingtons electricity lines network/infrastructure …. and has run at a fictitious loss ( with a underinvestment in maintenance ) ever since …. “Of course, those losses are not real and CKI did not pay $785m for a duffer………Wellington Network is in fact highly profitable, with an earnings margin consistently around 30 per cent before interest and tax.”…..
“Wellington Network is owned by an entity in the Bahamas, where, like BVI, the tax system is a warm bath for companies to float in the dark and listen to the sound of money – no company tax, no withholding tax, no capital gains tax, nothing.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/10400785/We-need-to-talk-about-that-red-carpet-rollout
And then we have ‘legal shell companies and ‘Trusts’……“Working hard at” buying up our land and homes ….
”owner of the former Crafar and Synlait farms in Waikato and Canterbury. Milk New Zealand Holding is wholly owned not by Shanghai Pengxin, but by Milk New Zealand Investment, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The ownership was disclosed to the Companies Office on August 13……….Chalkie reckons owning New Zealand farms through a Caribbean tax haven may have tax advantages “-
Fixing our broken tax system and stopping corrupt money flows will benefit all taxpayers who are not using tax havens…. http://ctj.org/pdf/offshoreshellgames2016.pdf
Its a pretty simple message …….
Do you use a tax haven ?, …..If the answer is no …… then you will be better off under a fair tax system …….
Stopping the legal cheating of loop-holes would not qualify as a new tax either …. would it ???
If that doesn’t make you angry there is something wrong with you.
+100 great comment and links.
If you gut the public service and slash regulation, that’s what you get from right wing governments. Looting the common wealth, privatising profits, and evading tax. Jail the white collar crooks.
Thanks Muttonbird & ropata ….. National are audacious liars to be attacking anyone over tax …..
The Greens should announce they will push for George Rozvany to be part of the tax review ….. They need to quickly raise awareness and illuminate the simple truth.
Being that We do not need new or more taxes ….. just collection of what is due from the richest company s and people in the world.
The greens are the natural party to make some noise about this injustice … the rest seem compromised …..
Not too hard to fix though as it’s closing loopholes, making retrospective changes which comes from 2 main drivers IMO.
1. The right people plugging the laws i.e. hire the architects of these schemes to take them down. They’re hired guns who will happily swap sides if the price is right.
2. Government with a will to tax the top end effectively and not be swayed by the expected PR howls of ‘the sky is falling’.
Lets not forget the banks in particular are dwindling employers with offshore profits, ownership and technology racing toward a fully self service model.
Agreed…. tc & Eco maori
Harmful regulations created our tax segregation and revenue black hole…. Good regulations can fix it.
But it needs to be co-ordination with others i … and globally the Greens are the best political movement …… genuinely working against injustice and exploitation ……
Almost like a vast right wing conspiracy …..there has been a uniformity in the building of networks which has allowed enormous corrupt money flows …… with corresponding harms of homelessness and exploitation of ordinary citizens everywhere …
Its more than just corporate tax evasion …. they have also helped money laundering.
New Zealand …. “a contentious exemption of professional services firms – mostly lawyers, accountants and real estate agents – from being covered by anti-money laundering laws passed in 2009.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11706741
Austrailia …“Australia’s anti-money laundering law does not cover real estate agents, lawyers and accountants, despite promises when the law was enacted in 2006 that the legislation would be widened.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-13/should-australias-anti-money-laundering-laws-be-extended/8703354
Canada ……. “An agency report suggested there is a close relationship between money laundering in real estate and the services provided by lawyers, such as placing wire transfers in legal trusts and creating investment vehicles that can shield true ownership of property.” http://vancouversun.com/storyline/ottawa-will-attempt-to-close-money-laundering-loophole
U.s.a Funny money’
In Miami, secretive buyers often purchase expensive homes using opaque legal entities such as offshore companies, trusts and limited liability corporations.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article69248462.html#storylink=cpy
Britain …”Foreign investors are using illicit wealth to buy up property in luxury developments across London, out-pricing locals, according to a new anti-corruption report.”… “”This has resulted in an oversupply of prime property whilst Londoners are in desperate need of affordable homes,” https://www.dezeen.com/2017/04/25/overseas-investors-london-housing-market-crisis-faulty-towers-report-property-transparency-international-uk/
Its time to reverse the race to the bottom National have us on ……it’s a harmful world wide failure.
You hit the nail on the head reason.
That was the main objective of money puppet john key to create heaps of tax loopholes for his M8 that is the only way to explain wh ffat has happened to our tax systems.
One can donate any amount into a trust and avoid many taxes and there are lots more loopholes to what a sham. !!!!!!!😬
It’s is ridiculous that a person under the bridge will pay more tax than a multi million dollar company and don’t mention gst because the buyer pays that tax the seller is just the collector of gst.
It just shows how unfair OUR society is and this needs to change.
And if the answer is ‘yes’ then you should now subject to the Proceeds of Crime Act and lose everything. After all, using a tax haven should be a crime.
I agree there defiantly needs to be some consequences for the creative types who work hard building the getaway ‘vehicles ‘ …. that make off with billions … and those who use them of course.
Its all reward and no risk at the moment …
Accountants and bankers make normal criminals or welfare fraud look like small chump change amateurs …..
“At least $US1 trillion in tax revenue is lost worldwide, and $50 billion in Australia, as a result of aggressive tax minimisation schemes established by the four giant firms who audit the books of nearly all the world’s major companies, said George Rozvany, a 32-year veteran of the corporate tax industry.”
“And I’m a conservative man, I think the figure is actually much higher,” he told the ABC.”
It is far from a victim-less crime…… “The people who are most affected are the most underprivileged in our society, those without a voice. The homeless, foreign aid programs.”
found this
https://battletothebeehive.co.nz/
a good thing?
bad thing?
Where was the father. The rest of us fathers support our children so not sure why he should skip his duties
[You don’t get to interrogate people on their family situations. You want to attempt “doing a Metiria” on this poster and you’ll cop a permanent ban ] – Bill
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Was he managing the Reserve Bank of America, and deregulating banking, perhaps.
Or maybe he was the one who cancelled the training incentive allowance.
No, I get it, he must’ve been the one who defunded mental health services.
Or perhaps he’s the one who fostered the poisonous misogynist idea that women should be reliant on men in the first place. No, wait, that was you.
That’s your policy? Blame someone, case closed.
Should the National Party be allowed to breed?
No.
Their children grow up to use much more common resources than ours.
And try and take even more off the rest of us.
“The rich are so envious of the poor, they take what little the poor have left”.
Although your comment was removed I would like to answer to help you understand.
The father got in trouble with the law and ended up in jail, after getting out he unfortunately got addicted to meth and is only recently clean and starting to rebuild his relationship with his son.
A relationship I feel is important and that I try to foster despite putting up with years of abuse from him while in his drug addled state.
Bill’s got that guy’s number. The only answer that would satisfy Notreadyet is “Yes, your implied accusation is absolutely correct, it’s my fault I’m living in poverty, I brought it on myself, I deserve it and the government bears no obligation towards me as a citizen to help me out of it.” Much better to leave people like that with an answer that satisfies you rather than them, something like “Fuck you,” perhaps.
Thankyou for filling in a gap in the story. Agree we definetly need safety nets to cover your situation. 5-10 years ago the country had to borrow billions so that the we could continue to give support to those like yourself that needed it. The squeeze you experienced came on because at the time it was all borrowed and precious/scarce $. A lot of people conveniently overlook or fail to remember the situation the whole world was in after 08 and we have generally(obviously not in your case) been better off than most
How magnanimous of you to give Michelle your approval.
What kindly wank you are.
The amount by which “we” have been better off could easily have been directed to those who needed it most: the reason it wasn’t was a sadistic bad choice you made.
Greedy right wing idiots took bribes and let greedy right wing thieves destroy the global economy.
What’s your excuse?
Disgusting that your brain is stuck in the late 19th century, with your vile self-serving “deserving poor” rhetoric.
What’s your excuse for your disgusting behaviour? Your amygdala got too large?
There’s only one gap in the story that ever needed filling – the gap between what the benefit grants and what is needed to live in dignity.
No we didn’t. The government doesn’t have to borrow – ever. And, in fact, it shouldn’t.
And that would be a load of BS as well. I seem to recall that National gave lots of tax cuts to the rich while increasing taxes upon the poor resulting in a lower tax take.
Actually, we’re worse off because of all the same things that crashed the global economy – we just haven’t realised it yet. That’s the problem that happens when the incumbent government props up a housing bubble pushing a massive increase in private debt as their only economic idea of prosperity.
“The country had to borrow billions”. To give tax cuts to those who didn’t need them! So National could bribe their way into power.
Fixed it for you.
We have to borrow billions to pay landlords. How about you spend your time fixing that rather than attempted to stuff a child back into the womb.
“…5-10 years ago the country had to borrow billions so that the we could continue to give support to those like yourself that needed it…..”
Oh my gawd! you are a special kind of stupid, aren’t you?
For your little brain, let me try to educate you….Billions were borrowed to BAIL OUT BANKS AND FINANCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, who CAUSED THE FINANCIAL CRASH.
THEY WERE BAILED OUT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE POOR, those who could LEAST afford to cu costs…JUST SO THE FILTHY, GREEDY *U*TS COULD KEEP THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS FAT!
Thank you for telling us your story Michelle.
People like you are an inspiration, and your child can grow up, justly proud, of their mother.
Kia kaha Michelle, we did not have these problems in earlier times. Good wishes to you all. Remember to get yourself a little treat now and then xx
Perhaps this was run out of Chris Bishop’s office?
I note he hasn’t condemned the tweets nor denied involvement.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/09/hutt-valley-chamber-of-commerce-gets-facts-wrong-in-twitter-attack-on-jacinda-ardern.html
Grant hart, of husker du has died.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gRwh9u4WLuY
He was 56 and had liver cancer.
Amazing to me that the Media has made very little fuss about the Labour “U-turn” over taxes. That is a relief!
Splashed across the front page of the DomPost today so not quite.
OK Grey but Stuff online have “Editorial: Labour’s tax clarity is welcome” so not condemning anyway.
If only IMO Labour had continued with the 2014 line, that any tax changes will not be implemented until after the next election. Then many who want a change of govt. but feel their personal wealth could be threatened by uncertainty (Nats scare tactics) could see that most of the scare mongering was unfounded, and that we have had 3 years that the Lab govt had build up trust in the voter. Then the Nats could have been thrown in disarray as they implode. And that Lab would have kept their integrity, instead of being seen by some as moving to with the mood of the polls.
No Herodotus – your ethical approach would not have worked – you seem to forget that National is a party of liars without memories. How much of a fuss was there when the GST was raised after Key’s assurance that it wouldn’t happen? A solution: Labour need to make sure the Greens get into Government with them then implement a ‘Captain’s call’ using the National line as a precedent – “we had to accommodate the policies of our support party in the coalition”. ACT were credited with Charter Schools on that basis, even though National clearly intended going down that track as they had employed the infamous Lesley Longstone on her UK implementation experience before the election.
Identity theft shows that “National Party criminal” is a tautology.
nice
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/massive-crowd-greets-ardern-otago-uni
we WILL change this government and kick the gnats out and we will ALL be better off on that day.
and she had a huge reception on the Coast as well Marty, so I ear, I would love our electorate to swing the party vote back to Labour.
And Marty, do you get “The Leader” over your way?
If so check out the back pages for Maureens ad, at the bottom of it is the national “N” with a ticked circled placed next to it, looks like the word “NO” she’s had that ad running for 5 weeks now, cracks me up everytime I see it.
yeah we do – I’ll have a look and a laugh
Thank you Marty Mars. Great post. The labradoodle? knows a great human!!
OMG. Even the woolly wee dog was smitten. 🙂
Just had a coffee at Muffin Break in the Central ChCh Bus Station, and, of course, popped my bean in one of the columns.
Green column had slightly more beans than the Red column, with the Blue column third.
All looking good!
What’s the story with the Eminem case seems to have vanished?
this piece from a writer who everytime he puts finger to keyboard in recent years has raised my blood pressure or had me shaking my head in disbelief at his wilful blindness …a proud supporter (and to me , one eyed) of our current administration appears to had an epithany while out mixing with ‘the common folk’ ….and he senses the winds of change….better late than never is all I will add
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/96824698/martin-van-beynen-a-changing-of-the-guard-is-on-the-way
Amazing for a dreadful Nat man Pat. He must be getting out and about and out of his protective shell. Good eh!
might have been the trip up north…Christchurch has been somewhat internally focused in recent times
(In less than 2 days – this video has had over 45,000 views…)
NZ WHISTLE-BLOWER ALERT!
The TRUTH about the Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ – GENTRIFICATION $CAM!
“Penny Bright has been shining a light into the murky recesses of public/private partnerships in the Tamaki Regeneration scheme and revealed some disturbing details…”
https://www.facebook.com/penny.bright.104/posts/1796625243683493
When are mainstream media going to ‘pick up the ball’ on this apparently CENSORED story?
In FIVE years of this Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ project – there are more houses that have come down than gone up.
237 Tamaki State houses removed.
213 New houses built.
92 ‘social’ houses.
39 ‘affordable’ private sale houses for first home buyers.
82 private sale houses (high-end).
In an OIA reply from Tamaki Regeneration Ltd, dated 21 August 2017, information about the exact prices paid by private property developers for each and every former Housing NZ property was refused because of ‘commercial confidentiality’.
How disgraceful is that?
This is / was PUBLIC property!
Is the apparent ‘CENSORSHIP’ of this story, by mainstream media, because the paper trail goes straight to Bill English, Nick Smith and Steven Joyce?
Past and present Crown Shareholding Ministers in Tamaki Regeneration Ltd, to which 2,867 former Housing NZ properties were transferred on 31 March 2016?
Which, IMO, makes this Tamaki SCAM story – political dynamite?
Penny Bright
2017 Independent candidate for Tamaki.
We are now in deep shit as CO2 levels have now stubbornly stayed above the critical 400ppm level now for over the last four years.
Increased CO2 levels now are scientifically confirmed as reducing our plant growth and their nutrient uptake levels causing our loss of minerals/vitamins avalable to us all during consumption. – Here are the facts;
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/effects-of-rising-atmospheric-concentrations-of-carbon-13254108
“protein concentrations in grains of wheat, rice and barley, and in potato tubers, are decreased by 5–14% under elevated CO2 (Taub et al. 2008). Crop concentrations of nutritionally important minerals including calcium, magnesium and phosphorus may also be decreased under elevated CO2 (Loladze 2002; Taub & Wang 2008).”
https://www.co2.earth/
Earth’s CO2 Home Page
Atmospheric CO2
2014 July 401.61ppm.
2015 july 404.50ppm.
2016 July 407.25ppm.
2017 Aug’405.07ppm.
August 2017
405.07
parts per million (ppm)
Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (NOAA-ESRL)
Preliminary data released September 11, 2017
We know that atmospheric CO2 has ranged between 172 and 300 part per million (ppm) for the past 1 million years. The earth cycled through cold glacial and warm inter-glacial periods without atmospheric CO2 exceeding 300 ppm.
The first time in human history that atmospheric CO2 exceeded 300 ppm was about the time the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912.
Now, the crossover to concentrations that stay above 400 ppm CO2 is nearly complete.
https://www.co2.earth/co2-past-present-future-article
The other day on RNZ Phil Twyford told Susie Ferguson that under Labour rents would stabilise or go down, yet he wouldn’t guarantee it.
Do you think Phil will have to eat his words?
It was a bold and risky claim for Phil to make.
And while he didn’t guarantee it, if he’s wrong, not only will his credibility be damaged for asserting it, it will also damage the credibility of the Labour Party as it’s their policies and he is their housing spokesperson.
There’s been speculation that a number of landlords would sell up, thus freeing up more homes for sale and in turn reducing rental demand.
However, as landlords sell off their rentals and tenants move into home ownership, that will reduce the supply of rentals, thus merely offsetting the corresponding drop in rental demand. Hence, there would be no net difference in rental supply and demand from this shift.
Moreover, another aspect being overlooked is the growing trend of taking property off the rental market and setting them up as serviced apartments or Air BnB. Cashing in on our high tourist numbers and the shortage of hotel rooms whilst reaping a far higher nightly yield. Therefore, coming down too hard on landlords may result in further encouraging this shift. Resulting in reducing rental supply.
As for Phil’s claim that Labour will increase the housing supply, he’s overlooking it will take years for Labour’s Kiwibuild to meet current demand let alone get on top of it. Thus, in the meantime, Labour’s policies coupled with the overheated rental market will provide the scope landlords require to further increase rents.
The Chairman
I am looking for how many National Ministers statements that you have held to such a high standard as this.
Can you advise me please?
I just want examples of the National Ministers mistakes by example as this, (like mcCully for example) just to log into our data base please.
Surely you’re not implying one has to critique National to be allowed to critique Labour?
Being from the left I don’t expect National to represent my left leaning views, hence I seldom waste my time pointing out their many flaws. I waste enough of my time dealing with the right within the left.
Easy sleazy out: You are not from the left – you fake that rubbish.
not a bad summation…couple of points…you have answered your own question re why he didnt guarantee it and as to eating his own words you will note as an experienced politician he never gave a timeframe so in effect it is neither bold nor risky and there will be no words consumed….however i suspect in their heart of hearts Labour expect the market to fall (not crash) due to a number of their announced policies and this is occurring on top of a faltering market already, so it is entirely possible there will be a rent reduction in the near term even if some investors quit the market , remembering that an investment property sold doesn’t disappear and still has function within the market.
In her attempt to secure a guarantee, Susie did set a time-frame when challenging him. And although he managed to talk his way out of committing to a guarantee (reasserting his reasoning and claim) he didn’t question the time-frame. Nor did he use it as an excuse for not committing when he had the opportunity too. Thus, the opportunity to lower first term voter expectation.
Therefore, he (through his continued assertion) has somewhat painted himself and the Party into a bit of a corner.
While Labour plan to introduce most of their housing policies rather smartly, their impact on house prices (if any at all) will take some time to eventuate, thus it will be market fundamentals and perhaps further Reserve Bank interventions that are more likely to cause a correction/fall.
And a fall in house prices doesn’t necessarily mean their will be a quick and widespread fall in rents. Some simply won’t sell in a depressed market and may decide to increase rents instead. Especially if rental demand remains strong.
beg to differ…the mere prospect or notice of their policies will impact the market …investors will not wait around and so the impact will precede the act….same with the building programme…as to how fast and widespread the impact is, well thats an unknown but the direction is not…and it aint upwards
As a number of their policies largely fall short, the impact you’re expecting may differ from the reality.
Take their so-called ban on offshore investors. The impact may initially result in a flurry (adding upward pressure) with offshore investors getting in before they are shutout.
Therefore, while they may act quickly, it’s not the in the manner you seem to be foreseeing.
Moreover, the ban doesn’t prevent offshore investors from buying new builds. Thus, prevent offshore demand driving upward pressure on land prices, building materials, etc… adding to the overall cost of a new home. Which, in turn, tends to pump up the price of older homes.
again i differ….the tenor and direction is increased restrictions and costs plus a reduction in demand (via migration )and the timing has been stated to be urgent(indeed the tendency may be to quit the market with the knowledge of the existing costs as opposed to the unknown, after all we are only one of many)….any last minute attempt to enter the market will be short lived…..all compounded by nervous banks reluctant to lend at current levels.
A reduction in immigration is not a total halt. And when you have a market that is already struggling to cope with current housing demand, any additional immigration is upward pressure.
Cost are generally passed on. Again, adding upward price pressure on rents. And restrictions (such as ring fencing losses) won’t impact all investors. And those impacted may restructure their affairs and increase rents to offset it.
A number of offshore investors don’t require the backing of our banks to purchase. And banks themselves are walking a fine line.
‘A number of offshore investors don’t require the backing of our banks to purchase. And banks themselves are walking a fine line.’
no they don’t, however those purchasing from them are likely to…part of the reason the banks are self imposing restrictions (over and above RBNZ requirements) is because existing rents are already unsustainable in the local market…as investors are aware any rent rise will simply increase defaults …on portfolios banks are already winding back.Costs cannot be passed on ad infinitum.
I see your red door, I want it painted black, no colors any more, I want them to turn black…
Best response, Marty!
A major builder has just announced his intentions to exit the residential building industry… So an already under strained industry is about to lose some of its capacity. And this after ONLY 7,200 homes last year were built in Auckland.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1709/S00468/horncastle-downsizes-as-retirement-looms.htm
Horncastle Homes is taking a new business direction and exiting the volume home building business in both Auckland and Christchurch.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1709/S00468/horncastle-downsizes-as-retirement-looms.htm
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/horncastle-shuts-down-owner-eyes-retirement-vy-207731
If you need a laugh, still political, but a laugh. 14.17 length
So it wasn’t the IRD, it wasn’t the MSD.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11922751
Paula, Anne, Wayne …. we’re looking at ya!
So, if it wasn’t the staff at MSD or IRD then it must have been the minster.
Simple process of deduction really. Holmes would have been horrified that we didn’t get it.
Stuff poll has Natz way ahead!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96897026/were-curious-who-are-you-going-to-vote-for
#letsdothis
Bogus as, can vote multiple times by opening up a new window on your browser, also depends on who reads Stuff #nzpol
Opening it up in a new window on my browser didn’t allow me to vote twice.
Not that I wanted too. Merely testing your assertion.
It’s Stuff – no surprises there, if you’ve looked a the usual tone of the comments that appear on that site.
goodbye friend – you have shown us so much, I’m going to miss you, your photos, your insights, safe travels to the end
https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grand-finale/overview/
https://youtu.be/hFjzFSidX3s
For sure, it seems unfair after all Cassini has done. Couldn’t they have let it hurtle off into space to keep doing what it does?
No, not enough fuel.
To escape Saturn’s gravity well you mean?
Yep. It was going to crash eventually. Better to have that in a time and place where we could watch.
Integration with the planet is such a human action, I wonder what Cassini would want, to fly free forever would surely be high on the list.
And here’s me thinking that the best thing we could do is dump a thousand kilos or so of bacteria across Titan and see WTF happens.
I dunno that seems pretty irresponsible sorta like interplanetary littering.
worst case most likely outcome would be that it competes with or otherwise extinguishes life forms that we could have learned from.
Like bacterial cane toads or rats.
Worst least likely outcome is that the bacteria is viewed as a declaration of war by an advanced society we hadn’t detected because they were all subspace fields and teleporting, and the species goes all Independence Day on us.
I’m reasonably certain that if there was life there we would have recognised it when Cassini first flew by. The lander would definitely have shown it up.
Ever looked at an octopus? Well times that by a million – you’d recognise it when it wanted you to.
Nope, NFI WTF you’re implying. An octopus is easily recognisable as living.
I’ll make it easy for you. An octopus is weird especially when compared to humans now imagine that weirdness multiplied by a million. A million, not 100 , not 1000, not 10000, and so on. Do you actually think your brain could conceive let alone recognise alien life. I know you do and I blame fucken star trek and their hunamoid aliens.
Yes, it can.
Or, to put in other words: Do you believe pakeha are human?
It’s really easy to recognise life:
1. They’re born
2. They move
3. They breed
4. They die.
All that’s been detected upon Titan id the possible precursor to life. IMO, there isn’t enough energy to go beyond that else it would already exist.
I’d say Fuck the humanoid aliens except that logic tells us that humanoid lifeforms are most likely what you’re going to get from an evolutionary process for an intelligent species.
Is the planet earth an intelligent being?
Still to be decided. The actions of the organisms, except humanity, do seem to act as a single organism though.
If it is an intelligent being, and uses climate and interactions between organisms to form thoughts like we have neurons, then what thoughts would it have? And is humanity a planetary alzheimers?
Humanity would be a disease that it needs to be rid of and is in the process of doing so by making the climate uninhabitable for it.
Yeah, running back to a doom slogan kind of underlines the fact that you suggested on of humanity’s last acts should be barely a step removed from dumping cowshit in the streams of Titan just to see how bad the contamination will be.
the other point being is that your 5-point criteria that make it “really easy” to recognise life doen’t rule out Earth, which meets none of those points.
Mate your human centric view of the universe is quaint and illogical based on size alone – you cant even conceive how big it is or what is in it, yet your ego can write checks you cant cash and can’t even consider cashing – silly hu man.
And your plan is to leave a smear on a moon to see what happens – ffs come on.
>95% of all life on Earth is now extinct.
I don’t have Human Centric view. My view is reality as it is and not how people would like it to be.
Sure ‘mr my view is reality’ – the funny thing is you are so silly and arrogant you can’t see the idiocy of your arrogance. I feel sorry for you.
really? Which instrument would have detected it?
We’re not even sure there’s no life on Mars yet.
And maybe complex life lives underground.
It’s doubtful there are Klingons living there, but nothing is certain from a pinprick of a single probe.
Well, so far indications are that it still only hosts the possibility of life.
If there ever was life on Mars, it’s been irradiated by now.
Some fungi eat radiation. Sure, it isn’t solar radiation, but subsurface extremophiles are definitely possible.
I’m going to have to point out that I’m not really concerned about fungi – they’ll adapt fast enough.
Unless they end up like the dodo because our earth bacteria ate them all when we followed your plan.
And then we maybe never gain some revolutionary knowledge or medicine. Because we dumped a tonne of bacteria on a planet or moon we knew nothing about.
And that’s just the we’d be better off doing real science rather than assuming the universe is ours to shit all over argument, it’s not even the what if an entire ecosystem, of simple organisms maybe so, but an entire ecosystem grew and evolved over billions of years, creating an environment unique in the universe, right up until we came along – what does that say about us question.
Life’s a bitch and the you die.
Extreme possibilities aren’t what makes life work.
hey, did you know that Mars had spent the last few billion years losing its magnetosphere and its atmosphere (in that order) and that the chances for life to survive that is between slim and none?
BTW, I suspect that the first Mars landing failed to have such restrictions in place. I doubt if the Soviets, or the USians immediately after them, had such concerns as you seem to have. Same as the first Europeans who visited NZ had such concerns.
I think you’ll find that even in the 1960s interplanetary probes were developed and constructed in clean rooms. Chances of taking extremophile bacteria to mars are therefore minimal. If only because bacteria would fuck up their chromatograph readings.
Hey, did you know that getting a few metres under Mars surface would provide thermal insulation, protection from cosmic rays, and maybe even water?
So?
Was that because they were concerned with pollution upon another world or because it was necessary for the electronics to continue to work?
I think you’ll find it as the latter.
[citation needed]
And what difference does that make to life there?
In 1991, as Apollo 12 Commander Pete Conrad reviewed the transcripts of his conversations relayed from the moon back to Earth, the significance of the only known microbial survivor of harsh interplanetary travel struck him as profound:
“I always thought the most significant thing that we ever found on the whole…Moon was that little bacteria who came back and lived and nobody ever said [anything] about it.”
https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/1998/ast01sep98_1
An interesting point about War of The Worlds was that it was the microbes that ‘won’ the war.
Limited contamination might have occurred, but NASA was looking at sterilization in 1963.
Martian life might exist in some form. Your confidence exceeds the available data.
As for War of the Worlds, that’s another reason to avoid just dropping a tonne of bacteria on every rock we manage to reach.
There’s reasonably strong support for extraterrestrial origins of life on earth – nothing cinematic – just protists in cometary ice.
Voted Labour/Greens today and persuaded my friend to do the same, she was going to vote National….only one vote taken away from them, but it still felt good.
Well done Nick,
Who in their own sanity would vote for this National Party train wreck?
They are ending up selling everything in their next term if elected.
Also the National party will sign us up to corporte controlled trade deals that will control our Government and our lives from overseas for the next 75 yrs and we will loose our country along with our freedoms and democracy.
Psychopaths and sociopaths do, as a matter of fact, think that they’re sane.
Nick, if she had voted National then she shouldn’t be your friend.
Great work!!
Voter turnout is 80,000 up according to RNZ news.
Bodes well.
OMG Ad !!! Don’t go there girlfriend …. It’s far too soon !
Let it go honey-child
Could be the ‘can’t wait til this shocker of an election is over so I’m getting it out of the way’ vote.
You mean Advance Voting is up 80k on the same time last election. Which the Electoral Commission was forecasting and doesn’t give anybody a steer on anything really.
Elections.org.nz advance voting stats.
Updated at 2pm weekdays and Saturdays.
Stuff.co is running a very unscientific poll that shows national ahead.
I gave my click to Labour but it looks like a few more clicks wouldn’t go astray to change this flawed poll.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96897026/were-curious-who-are-you-going-to-vote-for
I gave mine to ACT 😀
But, I guess if Stuff are going to take it as an indicator maybe I should give another to Labour… and another to Greens.
I just voted 3 times on the Stuff poll. Once each on Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. I think they counted.
They chose the worst picture that they could find for Ardern.
Great work!!
I suppose everyone has commented on this but on the news about Oz the other day was that they had wiped their controls on every possible bit of media? sounds like, being able to be owned by one entity: Corporation Australia Ink I think. Inky dinky di etc. Wind back to flogging convicts on its way (sstart with NZs for practice).
Jian Yang will review his citizenship declaration! That’s nice.
Having listened to Yang speak in Parliament, in my opinion, he doesn’t seem to have a good grasp of the English language at all. Very hard to understand, even when I’m wearing my hearing aids! So now I’m wondering how was he able to teach the English language in the first place?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11922788
The police are still hanging around my ass I no that the police and national are blaming me for making them look like idiots well no they are doing fine fucking up there image with there own actions thanks very much.
Big upps for the number one song of the Worlds biggest count down of 1500 rock songs that is a awesome winning song.
Killing in the name
Rage Against The Machine.
Now my main message Fonterra Theo don’t you think It is time you clean up that mess in Mango. It would be wise if you did this because it would stain your image if I have to clean it up. Ka pai
All the Kings Horses and all the Kings men couldn’t put Humpty to gather again