S.S. Trust’s “Offender Database” still looking threadbare
I have yet to receive an acknowledgement from the people at the S.S. Trust, after having informed them yesterday of three major oversights in their “Offender Database”, viz., the absence of three notorious criminals: BRUCE EMERY, DAVID GARRETT and ALAN TITFORD.
Our good friend and colleague Murray Olsen also took the trouble to alert the S.S. Trust about Alan Titford—did you hear back from them, Murray?
On its site, the S.S. Trust features the statement: “The Sensible Sentencing Trust believes in an open and transparent Justice System.” I urge other Standardistas to help the S.S. Trust get its Offender Database in order. The form is very easy to fill in and can be found here…. http://www.sst.org.nz/offenders-database/
All you have to do is scroll to the bottom of that page and fill in the form “Submit Offender Information”. In the “Message” box, you can simply summarize the crimes of the offender you are naming. They will get back to you for more precise details—or so they told me. You may copy or adopt the following if you like….
BRUCE EMERY: In late 2008, he chased down a boy on a South Auckland street, then stabbed him repeatedly, killing him.
DAVID GARRETT: 1.) Convicted of assaulting a doctor in Tonga; 2.) convicted of Passport fraud (he assumed the identity of a dead baby in the commission of that crime); 3.) belongs to an extreme racist hate organization. Acts as “legal counsel” to an extreme racist hate organization.
ALAN TITFORD: Convicted arsonist, vandal, serial liar. Acts as “legal counsel” to an extreme racist hate organization.
UPDATE: I’ve just sent them information (at 7:18 a.m.) about David Garrett. I got back this reply: “Thanks for contacting us! We will get in touch with you shortly.”
[lprent: Be more careful. I have put in the changes from your comment below leaving your original screwup in place. ]
ERRATUM
To my horror, I see that I wrote above that ALAN TITFORD “acts as legal counsel to an extreme racist hate organization.” Titford merely BELONGS to that organization; it is DAVID GARRETT that acts as its legal counsel.
Here is the correct version of those summaries for the S.S. Trust Offender Database….
BRUCE EMERY: In late 2008, he chased down a boy on a South Auckland street, then stabbed him repeatedly, killing him.
DAVID GARRETT: 1.) Convicted of assaulting a doctor in Tonga; 2.) convicted of Passport fraud (he assumed the identity of a dead baby in the commission of that crime); 3.) Acts as “legal counsel” to an extreme racist hate organization.
ALAN TITFORD: Convicted arsonist, vandal, serial liar, member of an extreme racist hate organization.
14 charges of assault with a weapon, seven of assault, four of male assaults female, three of assault on a child, three of sexual violation, two of arson, and single charges of using a document with intention to defraud, threatening to kill, assault using a weapon, perjury, attempting to pervert the course of justice and discharging a firearm.
you’ve spelled his name wrongly, or they ahve accepted your information
Name Location Offences
Titford, Allan Prison Arson, Assault, Child Abuse, Rape, attempted rape, Threatening to Kill, Intimidation, or any Threatening Behaviour, Weapons or firearms charges
$100k to keep a shithead for a year is ridiculous, pack these scum in some old railway containers.
All the sex and drugs they want in motel like accommodation with all their mates. No great surprise that they keep going back for more.
They are not scum. You should be locked up too as your contempt for other human beings is extremist. Our own version of the Taliban can be found in “Nakiban.”
I disagree: Funi Man has the same freedom of speech as you or I. On the other hand I think the police and SIS should take a close interest in far-right racist hate groups, so I hope he’s caught in that net somewhere.
Fucknuckle
I am not racist or far right. You might be a apologist for pedo’s murderer’s and thieves. That’s what i don’t like, trust your type to try and play the racist card. My partner is not a kiwi. You fool
Of course you are racist. Of course you are hate filled. Of course you are sadistic. The more you hate the more that is what you become. Even a six year old understands see that.
Oh, sorry, I suppose xenophobic would be a better term. Many right-wingers exhibit these symptoms as a result of your “low levels of contact with out-groups” (Hodson & Busseri 2011).
It seems that in your case, you channel your hatred against prisoners. I further note that the hate-based policies you struggle to articulate (while supporting wholeheartedly) lead to New Zealand prisons having one of the highest recidivism rates in the world, therefore creating more crime in the process.
Now, let’s unpack your witless and baseless smear. I promote policies that will reduce recidivism (if we adopt best practice we could get it down to at least 25%) and therefore crime. You do the opposite. Which one of us is pro-crime?
Of course Naki Man, we understand that, a Jersey Friesian, by another name is still a Jersey Friesian. Up there in the back-blocks, I guess a man’s friend is well…………………
John Key would understand.
Yes I have read the article. If you don’t like prison then behave. We should get China, Thailand
and a few others to tender for locking up the worst offenders. They wont pander to these scum
I reckon naki man did the godwin first when he suggested throwing people into railway containers. I wonder why he went there immediately (rather than hard labour, for example)? It seems very Schindler’s List.
What I would like to know is why it costs $100,000 in the first place to house a single prisoner. I live on about $28,000 a year and I think my lifestyle is significantly better than a prison inmate. So why the gigantic costs?
Andrew Geddis over at the Pundit site,(link is over on the right of the page),gives a good ‘legal opinion’ on the criminal case presented to the Auckland District Court against Auckland Mayor Len Brown,
i fully agree with the analysis presented, it can be proved that SkyCity gave Len Brown free hotel accommodation, it can also be proved that Len Brown gave His support to the SkyCity convention center,
What has to be proved tho, and i like Geddis struggle to see how such ‘proof’ can be provided to the Court, is that one lead to the other, in other words there must be a proven link that clearly shows that Len Brown was given the free hotel accommodation as payment for His support of the convention center,
Now we all, Penny Bright and Graham Mac included, have the right to ‘think’ that the two actions, free hotel rooms and support for the convention center are glove in hand but the Court requires more than ”i thunk it therefore it is so” as proof in most matters,( i am sure most of us could provide an example to debunk what i have just written),
As Geddis says to Penny Bright over at Pundit when She insinuates ‘there’s more, lots more, you just wait and see’, Bring It, if there is ‘more’ in the way of FACT to be either put to the Court, or in the likely event the Court refuses to proceed with this prosecution, put into the Public arena, minds just well might be changed,
As it is tho, ‘i thunk it therefor it is’ and ‘i have attended a number of international conferences therefor I Know’ are in my opinion well below the test of proof that any Court would require as ‘proof’ of the contention that the free hotel rooms were payment for Brown’s support of the convention center…
Can any one confirm the papers filed are against Len Brown and not his wife Shan Inglis or both. As I just heard McCready on Radio Live saying he was filing against Inglis, not Brown and Inglis.
Yours
Confused Auckland Ratepayer
[Edit]
Today he announced he also plans to file the same two counts of bribery and corruption against Mr Brown’s wife, Shirley Anne Inglis, saying she was involved in a “laundering exercise” by accepting the upgrades on behalf of her husband.
Wow, that’s harsh. Not sure the court of public opinion will be behind filing against Len’s poor wife.
Yeah, McCready is drawing a long bow against Brown, never mind Inglis. So are you. incidentally, with your poison words about her. I am loath to explain this because politicians’ families and private lives are out of bounds, motherfucker, but one thing I know for sure is that you have no more knowledge of the internal dynamics of that family than I do.
Yeah, just up on the Herald on lines website is confirmation that McCready and i will make a assumption here and pre-apologize if i have it wrong, Penny Bright are now alleging that Brown’s wife was ‘laundering’ illicit proceeds gained by Brown by Her having booked most of the hotel rooms in question,
Now that to me is just Fucking Sick, if anyone is a victim in this whole sordid pile of s**t it is the Wife of Len Brown and to attempt to slur Her by alleging that She knew Brown was being paid off with free and upgraded accommodation that she was knowingly booking is to simply re-victimize Her all over again,
Penny Bright and Graham Mac, enjoy your five minutes of fame, hopefully with these two prosecutions the Courts note that you have become vexatious litigants and toss anything you may bring befor them in the future into the rubbish bin…
Ditto for the assumption that anyone is in a position to assign “victimhood”. Leave the personal family stuff out of it completely. You are playing Palino/Slater/Wewege’s game.
Bad12, I was responding to you. If we want family to be out of bounds in politics (and I believe we do) that extends to presuming to speak for politician’s family members, who are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves.
That is just spurious bullshit OAK, it is not i who have dragged Brown’s wife into the public spotlight with these threatened tawdry charges,
Now that McCready and Co have made this a public spectacle then the nature of family relationships has changed and i for one won’t be silenced by your puerile call for ‘vow of silence’ which in effect is a silent round of applause from you for what McCready and Co are about to attempt to inflict upon Brown’s Wife,
If you OAK wanted family to be kept out of politics then you also should be giving McCready and Co the same message i am, which is to proclaim loudly to these people that dragging brown’s Wife through the Courts on what appears to be even bigger spurious bullshit than you are capable of writing is totally fucking unacceptable,
i have never called for any form of ‘blanket’ leaving of families out of politics, in the ‘Brown affair’ i have simply taken the position that what Brown gets up to in His private life between mature consenting adults is a matter that should be left to him and his family, i am not the moral police,
Leaving ‘family out of politics’ is definitely a laudable aim, but, that depends entirely upon what is alleged when an attempt to drag family into politics is made by anyone and whether we have any slightest shred of fact to back up any such claims made against a politicians family,
As far as presuming to speak for Brown’s wife, i don’t, like many others here at the Standard i am of the opinion that Brown’s affair with Ms Chuang was His private life and that the only people Brown had to justify such actions to were his family,
In my opinion Brown’s wife was and is the major victim of His affair with Ms Chuang the latest actions of McCready and Co will simply lead to Her re-victimization as i have not the slightest belief that McCready has a shred of evidence that what He alleges occurred,
Lastly this is Open Mike a page specifically set aside for discussion of anything and everything, telling me or anyone else what they can or cannot comment on is likely to gain you the response of go eat s**t…
Oh I completely agree about McCready – I hope the courts reject his brief in no uncertain terms, and based on Andrew Geddis’ analysis it seems they will.
You can’t simultaneously want family out of politics and then use the alleged feelings of family members in your argument. That is simply another form of revictimising, thus, playing Palino/Slater/Wewege’s game. Or having your cake and eating it.
I prefer families be kept out of politics. Do as you will.
Wow! That’s some serious assholism going on right there folks. I mean attacking a public figure is all well and good, but attacking their partners or families is another thing entirely.
Such underhanded tactics make it appear that the whole exercise isn’t about moral outrage or justice and is instead simply about getting rid of Len Brown as Mayor. Considering the right wing Palino would likely become Mayor of Auckland in that case, why on earth are so called left wing activists like Penny Bright on the warpath?
It would be nice if the right wing could come up with something more original than a simple honey trap (you should have seen that one coming Len) and a few false allegations to try and take out their opposition. Besides, isn’t Brown’s affair a private matter between him and his wife?
Making a false allegation against Shirley Anne Inglis for simply accepting upgrades to their accommodation arrangements is entirely unacceptable! I’m with bad12 on this one, Graham McCready should be found to be a vexatious litigant and his case thrown out.
“Considering the right wing Palino would likely become Mayor of Auckland in that case, why on earth are so called left wing activists like Penny Bright on the warpath?”
Maybe some people aren’t hopelessly partisan and will go after anyone who is at fault, regardless of their affiliation?
I believed that is generally called “having principles”.
Lanth, while i somewhat agree with the point of your argument, the major point of all this is not ‘having principles’ it is ‘having proof’,
As i point out above, we all are entitled to ‘think’ what we want vis a vis Len Brown accepting free hotel rooms and upgrades measured against the fact that Len Brown supported the SkyCity convention center,
However, while the two facts above could be directly related any thinking person would, without actual proof, have to consider the possibility that both facts are not linked,
‘We thunk it therefor it is’ does not in a Court of Law constitute proof and Penny Bright in particular, seemingly up to Her armpits in these prosecutions is wont to drop grand screeds of text here at the Standard, i have yet to see Her production of such ‘proof’ appear here for some strange reason,
What the threatened charges against Browns wife look like to me is the two Ronnies after having filed charges against Brown Himself have come to the belated realization that it was Brown’s Wife who booked the majority of rooms which were subsequently upgraded or given for free,
Such a big OOOP’s moment has in my opinion then lead the two Ronnies into what i would call a recovering drunks hamfisted attempt to criminalize the person who was the actual ‘receiver’ of the upgrades and freebies and i have to wonder in a quiet moment whether at least one of the Two Ronnies has in fact fallen far far off of the hypothetical wagon,(while only hearing the soundtrack to the movie Fame i might add)…
McCready is a loose cannon who has so far managed a wounding shot on Banks. It doesn’t seem to matter to him whom he prosecutes. He’s the Tim Shadbolt of the courtrooms; it doesn’t matter, as long as he’s there. Penny Bright has made it her mission in life to be the conscience of the capitalist state. In my view, neither of them does much to advance left wing causes.
I’m sorry I must have missed something, but what happened to Cameron Brewer’s undeclared little junket? Why is he not being sued, if McCready wants to be consistent?
And for that matter, did John Key and Steven Joyce received and declared any gifts for their very friendly engagement with SkyCity biz?
I thought it had been revealed by the Council that Cameron Brewer did report his Australia trip, and that the Council had overlooked the fact, until it was brought to their attention. It was done in an em.from Brewer.
i heard cameron brewer on rnz say his situation was different regarding the freebies, because he was always upfront about acceding to sky cities wishes. in other words his principles were already bought.
(np dead moon – kicked out, kicked in “who sold out, & whos for sale”)
When I accept an upgrade I’m doing the Hotel or the Airplane a favor. Where there is an empty room and the Hotel has sold all its regular rooms, its good business to reward repeat visitors with upgrades and on sale the freed room.
So it astonished me when the NR Moro guests kept harping on about them. Its call basic business commonsense. Now if Brown were the only one getting them, and getting an envelope of cash left in the room, then yeah. But this practice is commonplace.
I am against deepsea oil exploration anyway, but even if I wasn’t; this new groups spokeswoman would have given me pause:
” Mrs Broughton said Pro Oil and Gas Otago was in ”regular” contact with the oil companies… The businessmen behind the new group did not yet want to be identified, preferring to work behind the scenes, but there was ”nothing sinister” in that, she said.”
Exactly Pasupial. Anonymous pro oil group made up of business people who want to keep their identity hidden? Seems that Robyn Broughton herself perceives it as sinister as she thought to use the word. Verging on a form of Freudian slip.
I hope these aren’t the same people that parrot “nothing to hide, nothing to fear” when they defend their mates in the National Govt over the GCSB and TICS Act’s.
I’m reasonably willing to hear what these residents and business people of Dunedin have to say in putting forward their case. In particular, I’m very eager to hear about assurances and guarantees regarding the specific economic benefits that Otago will receive as a region, from any gas or oil extraction.
IF any commercial extraction does go ahead, I personally think that 1% of the value of fossil fuels extracted should go into a Dunedin City economic investment fund, 1% into a wider Otago Region economic investment fund, and 1% held in escrow in a clean up contingency fund.
A group of Dunedin businesses is moving to construct castles as debate intensifies over the arrival of oil companies in Otago waters.
However, with A Dark Co’s drilling ship, the igNoble Doug Roberts, due by the end of the month, protest group Oil Free Otago has also warned the peasants are building barricades.
The warning came days after a group of four Dunedin businessmen created a new group; Prostituting Otago Oil, to spell out their support for gas exploration off Dunedin’s coast.
Spokeswoman Robem Blind, of Dunedin, said the group wanted to counter ”scaremongering” by opponents of oil and gas exploration, and said that; “listening to that kind of person” would infect you with a disease akin to syphillis.
Mrs Blind said Prostituting Otago Oil was in “regular contact with the forces of Satan”. The businessmen behind the new group did not yet want to be identified, preferring to work behind the scenes, but there was ”nothing sinister” in that, she said. “Nor should the issue of blood sacrifice be pertinent” to this discussion, added Mrs Blind as she dabbed her lips; with a torn scrap of children’s clothing printed with bunny rabbits.
A Dark Co., New Zealand, corporate affairs manager Acraven Shill said the company was ”a long way” from deciding whether to proceed to full extraction, and whether to use Dunedin or Invercargill as a supply base. All oil companies play this Shell Game of pitting local communities against one another for this dubious benefit ;“it’s better than having the drilling but getting nothing for it; so some one usually knuckles under”, he cackled.
However, it was ”wonderful” to see growing support for the group, which confirmed what the company already knew, he said.
“Similar groups have been very useful in the past and they should be worth every penny we pay them.”
“A key chapter allowed foreign companies to sue the government in an overseas tribunal if it raised environmental standards in a way that hurt foreign investor profits.
The risk of million-dollar lawsuits would discourage governments from addressing environmental problems, with “serious environmental consequences”, he said.
A spokeswoman for Trade Minister Tim Groser said the TPP environment chapter would “promote high standards of environmental protection, and enhance the capacity of TPP members to address trade-related environment issues”.
Asked if the section would be beneficial for the New Zealand environment, she said that “trade and environmental policies can be and should be mutually supportive”.”
The herald doesnt trust us to read it ourselves so no link given. Found it at huffington.
“Further, where private sector entities or non-governmental organizations develop
voluntary mechanisms for the promotion of products based on their environmental
qualities, each Party should encourage those entities and organizations to develop such
mechanisms that among other things:
(a)
are truthful, not misleading and take into account scientific and technical
information;
(b)
where applicable and available, are based on relevant international standards,
recommendations or guidelines, and best practices”
You see? As I keep saying, the TPP changes my vote and sovereignty by changing what laws can and can’t be made (by way of financial compensation / litigation). This means the government has no ability to enter into the TPP.
The TPP will be null and void.
Why can’t business simply accept the risk of doing business in another person’s house? Why can’t they accept that the house-dweller is supreme and that the risk of the rules of the house changing is part of business?
This is simply business pushing people out of the way to get its own way. Business needs to learn its place i.e. subject to the requirements of the house in which it operates. This is all a colossal historic anomaly.
“Mexico refused to deposit toxic waste from the US in her country. However, that was an infringement against the Trade Agreement with the United States and based on this mechanism the waste disposal company was ordered to get 70 million US Dollar in compensation.”
… Remember reading this somewhere – was difficult to find a link in the MSM, but could have been using the wrong key words.
responsibilities on corporates appear to be voluntary only. Speaks volumes that it has to be written down that if corporates DO engage in voluntary audits or promote themselves s environmentally friendly, the NZ govt should encourage them to do so truthfully…”Encourage”!!!
i have had nothing to add to the TPP debate until now, my thinking on this ‘free trade deal’ having been solidified by a couple of articles read from the Herald Onlines site,
Given what i have read there today it is in fact imperative that David Cunliffe again states clearly that an incoming Labour lead Government reserves the right to withdraw from this TPP as it is now obvious that this agreement will prohibit a sovereign government from making whatever laws and regulations it chooses,
While Cunliffe is at it and befor the damage Goff is doing to the Labour Party becomes irreversable, He should strip Goff of any ability to talk on trade issues at the least…
I agree. BUT unfortunately he will only say the public should see the drat… but appointed goff and dodged my question on that very apparent contradiction
From: Tracey
Sent: Wednesday, 25 September 2013 1:41 p.m.
To: Hon. David Cunliffe
Subject: TPPA
Can you confirm that the appointment of Goff to Trade wont see you water down
your promise on the TPPA draft to be made public before it would be signed?
Congrats on your recent election.
I used to vote labour but moved away in recent times despite being a fan of Clark.
I want a caring society where we help the vulnerable and dont turn them into punching bags. I will vote Green unless Mr Cunliffe can show me a turn away from cow towing to a few small big businesses
Tracey
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Hon. Phil Goff
Date: Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 4:31 PM
Subject: RE: TPPA
To: “redacted”
Thank you for your email to Hon David Cunliffe concerning the Trans Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. Apologies for the delay in my reply.
There is genuine concern about what might be included in the final outcome of the negotiations, which the Government has not adequately addressed by making clear where it stands on important issues in the negotiation.
Labour demands more openness and transparency from the Government. As Minister of Trade negotiating the China and Asean Free Trade Agreements in 2008, I involved a cross-section of groups in the process including the Council of Trade Unions and Greenpeace as well as businesses and exporters. That helped ensure we got good input and it also won trust and confidence in what we were doing.
Those trade agreements hugely helped economic growth and jobs in New Zealand with New Zealand exports to China increasing from $2 billion to over $7 billion dollars in five years and closing the trade deficit with that country. It helped save us from suffering as badly as the US and Europe from the Global Financial Crisis.
Labour has also set bottom lines for support for a TPP agreement. It must result in a clear and significant net benefit to our country. It must be a high quality agreement allowing New Zealand to gain access for our major exports to countries like the US, Japan, Canada and Mexico, removing barriers like the current exorbitant tariff rates on dairy (200-300 per cent), tight quotas and behind the borders barriers. For our services and manufacturing industries we would also want access to government procurement contracts, a market in the US alone worth $334 billion from which we are currently excluded.
Labour recognises that the TPP is not just a trade agreement but deals with behind the borders issues and could impact on domestic policy settings. New Zealand must not sacrifice Pharmac or give up our sovereign right to regulate and legislate such areas as health, the environment and economic policy or in areas like gambling, tobacco and alcohol. The policy protections must be tight enough to prevent multinational companies from winning law suits against us when we regulate in these areas to their commercial disadvantage. We support intellectual property protection but not where it goes to extremes which would hinder innovation and create excess profits at the expense of the consumer. The Government needs to heed the concerns of smaller companies in New Zealand including those in the IT sector.
Labour supports trade deals which genuinely benefit our country. We need growth in exports so we can close the gap between the value of what we export and import. A trade deficit which has persisted over 40 years has meant New Zealand having to borrow to pay the difference. Growing debt has resulted in us increasingly losing ownership of our own country.
We need growth for jobs and higher incomes. We need growth to increase government revenue to pay for higher quality services in areas like health and education.
The Petri study from Brandeis University shows that a TPP would likely lead to export growth to New Zealand of over $5 billion a year. The Parliamentary Library, based on the Brandeis study, states that could lead to job growth of up to 22,000 jobs.
Half of our trade goes to the TPP countries. If we did not participate in a successful agreement our exporters would be disadvantaged by facing barriers in the key TPP markets that our competitors do not.
We continue to insist that the Government better inform parliament and civil society as to its negotiating objectives and its position on issues of concern. Only then can the public be involved in an informed and mature debate. Labour will support a deal only if it is genuinely in the interests of New Zealand.
Thanks for the reminder Tracey, i remember this from the first time you posted it here, it just begs the question where then is Cunliffe’s RED Labour doesn’t it,
It’s definitely saddening that to get rid of Slippery’s abysmal shower of you know what we have to have the same old Neo-liberal bullshit rammed down our throats by the leader of this RED Labour Party and the business as usual brigade masquerading in the wings,
The only real hope of avoiding this disaster would seem to be that the talks collapse completely or the US Congress and Senate refuse to ratify the TPP…
yup. You know i wonder if the talks are now irrelevant because the 400 corp reps with the us delegation have already got a huge insight into their trading competitors govt policy?
Thanks for sharing Goff’s reply.
Btw, Tracey, are you really ok with making your email address publicly available? My gut feeling tells me that should not be quite necessary and can be left out to minimise potential misuses of your email address as well as unsolicited or unwelcome contact with you??
Well, she’s safe from me.
I was actually doing a public service by letting her know, google’s the ultimate stalking tool and it’s very easy to find out lots of information very quickly especially if you have a web presence.
But how do you think you did me a favour by warning me about having my email online and then searching it? If you can’t see that contradiction I pity you more than ever for your reasoning deficiencies….
In simple language BM
YOU didn’t warn me, Jim did, you know this because you replied to his warning post not to mine.
you could have warned me and NOT searched my email. My question was why you searched it. Because it was there is a ridiculous answer, think a bit deeper, tell the truth, it won’t hurt you.
I was making an observation. Such an observation and emailing lprent are not mutually exclusive.
Interesting I have received two emails so far. Nothing wierd, or evil, just people making contact who don’t usually post here but do read. Bm, of course beat the guiness world record for copying and pasting an email address and googling it.
I will feel creeped out when I receive emails from places I have never before and so forth. For now I remain just saddened at how national, pull the wool so easily over the eyes of the unthinking, such as BM… no critical thinking ability, at all.
God that’s such a fucking shambles. Nothing screams “really want to connect with supporters” like responding to a simple yes/no question with 11 paragraphs of boilerplate.
I know it wouldn’t be satisfactory in terms of answering-the-fucking-question, but how much better would this have been:
“Hi Tracey,
Thanks for your email to Hon David Cunliffe. It’s been forwarded to me as the Labour spokesperson on the TPPA.
Unfortunately David and I haven’t discussed an official position on releasing a draft since he’s become leader.
I can assure you that Labour will only support a deal if it is genuinely in the interests of New Zealand and New Zealanders.
Yours sincerely etc”
Yes, still a bunch of waffle, but at least you’d know someone in his office read the damn thing and didn’t just scan for the words “TPPA” then copypaste in the generic response.
So, apart from Goff praising previous FTAs (which, given that he’s a neo-lib can’t be any surprise), it would appear that Labour has put the kibosh on the TPPA, given this passage…
New Zealand must not sacrifice Pharmac or give up our sovereign right to regulate and legislate such areas as health, the environment and economic policy or in areas like gambling, tobacco and alcohol. The policy protections must be tight enough to prevent multinational companies from winning law suits against us when we regulate in these areas to their commercial disadvantage.
Correct me I’m wrong, but ceding the right to regulate and legislate is normally central to FTAs.
“We need growth for jobs and higher incomes. We need growth to increase government revenue to pay for higher quality services in areas like health and education”.
“The Petri study from Brandeis University shows that a TPP would likely lead to export growth to New Zealand of over $5 billion a year. The Parliamentary Library, based on the Brandeis study, states that could lead to job growth of up to 22,000 jobs”.
22,000 jobs “could” be created still leaves 130,000 to 230,000 people unemployed so where are they all meant to go? And are those potential 22,000 jobs part time, full time, casual, temporary??? How much will those jobs actually pay? Minimum wage perhaps? It’s all guesswork cos Goff really has no real information. It sounds like only Dairy farmers get more money and everyone else has to accept this as the new global neo-liberal norm (orthodoxy).
On the one hand globalisation favours the strong. On the other hand it connects the weak. The exchange of ideas that comes with it is a genuine force for global improvement (naive as that sounds).
The National Party’s ability to pretend things depends on when the MSM decides it’s “time for a change”.
This ferry contract could have gone to an NZ firm, and I’m sure its owners have taken notice of the fact that the National Party is happy to help roading contractors and casinos, but boat builders, not so much.
What to do? Find out the bank account number of the Waitemata Trust? Encourage the workforce to register to vote? Decisions, decisions 🙂
“We need growth for jobs and higher incomes. We need growth to increase government revenue to pay for higher quality services in areas like health and education”.
That is something only a person who has NFI WTF the economy is would say.
Growth doesn’t provide those things, increased productivity and diversity within the economy does. The exact opposite of what you get from free-trade.
““I hear from sole parents every week who say they’re really grateful for the support from Work and Income case managers; who are often the first to ask them what they want to do with their lives and then help them find work,” Bennett said. ”
hmm – she wouldn’t be extrapolating from the results of WINZ phone surveys by any chance? After my last visit I got the ‘just to check our services are up to speed’ bullshit phone call. Of course, the questions were weighted, far too general and open to massive interpretation.
So if I said I was happy enough with the service i received on that particular occasion…does that equate in someones mind with ‘grateful’? And since WINZ staff are now meant to quiz about work stuff on every contact…does that equate to ‘helping find work’ in someones mind? And so it goes…
I just wonder whether “hear” can possibly mean verbal. Does she even expose herself to the possibility of meeting sole parents thrust back into the workplace on low wages because the training subsidy has been cut?
The Main Stream Media has come out in election year with the full artillerary in a desperate assault on the minds of the electorate with the aim of restoring this incompetent government to power.
International Dairy prices are high which means farmers are able to pay loans back to foreign bankers.
Other than that the real economny is in further retreat with unemploment more than triple what a ‘rock star economy’ should be.
While our kids starve, the bankers buy another bach at Pauanui.
That is why every political party has a policy of feeding the starving kids at school.
Yes that’s right, even Key has acknowledged it. He caused it and his tory charity policy is goood for fuck all. But it shows your statement to be full of shit.
We love good news. You watch the mood of the nation rise on election night when Key and English are kicked out of office.
The only thing which would make us smile more is if the next government had the balls to put them both on trial for corruption and selling our country to their rich mates.
Just heard a news flash that yet another Forestry worker has been killed on the job in the Wairau Valley Marlborough
When will the National Far Right Government concede that we do need something to be done about the number of accidents occurring in the workplace especially in Forestry.
We do need Health & Safety laws to be beefed up and their vindictive cancelling of payments to CTU for H&S training needs urgent revisiting
When will the National Far Right Government concede that we do need something to be done about the number of accidents occurring in the workplace especially in Forestry.
They won’t. People being killed in service to their masters is fine with National.
by cancelling, people think they will use the money a different way to make workplaces safe, but notice there was no announcement of what will replace it?
national are at war… maybe some folks are just starting to wake up to that?
with less than 25% of the workforce in unions (not including the non members who join when they are dismissed to get free representation) why the almost pathological dislike of uinions?
funni man is just another shill for the tories repeating their lies and expecting people to believe them.
he should stay on tr*deme opinions with all the other creeps where he belongs.
A man has been killed in a forestry accident in Marlborough’s Wairau Valley and another worker has been seriously injured near Whakatane.
Last year forestry-related accidents claimed 10 lives.
WorkSafe NZ said it had sent expert forestry health and safety inspectors to investigate both of today’s incidents.
Ambulance officers pronounced the Marlborough forestry worker dead about 10.30am. The incident was reported to emergency services about 10am.
WorkSafe NZ general manager health and safety operations Ona de Rooy said that to have a death just 16 days into the new year, following an appalling safety record in 2013, showed how much the forestry sector needed to change its behaviour.
“We have identified an alarming rate of safety non-compliance amongst cable logging operators – nearly half of the 162 we’ve visited weren’t operating in compliance with the industry code and we had to take 203 enforcement actions to force those operators to comply. We had to shut 15 of them down they were so dangerous.
“We are so concerned at this level of unsafe practice that we have sought meetings with individual forest owners to make very clear to them that they have significant responsibilities,” de Rooy said.
“We will want to see their safety plans for the contractor crews demonstrate active management of safety standards. If they are deficient, we will be holding them to account.
Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Helen Kelly has made many calls for immediate interim regulation for the industry.
Lol. Oh dear, never mind. People can still have a party and pay for their own drinks on the day. Bomber might want to shout – although possibly he’s already got an unexpected headache. Wouldn’t this be better posted in the Internet Party thread?
” A senior Italian IOC member criticised the United States for including openly gay athletes in its official delegation for next month’s Sochi Olympics.
“It’s absurd that a country like that sends four lesbians to Russia just to demonstrate that in their country gay rights have (been established),” Mario Pescante said at an Italian Olympic Committee meeting in Milan, in comments widely reported by Italian media.
“The games should not be an occasion and a stage to promote rights that sports supports daily.”
The Italian Olympic Committee would not confirm or deny Pescante’s comments, but his speech was reported by the Gazzetta dello Sport and the ANSA news agency.
Asked for clarification later, Pescante said he is not anti-gay.
“Of course not,” the 75-year-old Pescante he said. “I just wanted to make the point not to let politics interfere with the Olympics.” “
David Farrar gets told to criticise the Dom Post when it forgets to act as a mouthpiece for the government.
“Good boy, David,” said his Tory masters. ” You’ll get your overseas holidays if you keep this .”
I have nothing contempt for that paid Tory propagandist.
Yet you use him as a source!
As someone who once knew Boscawen, I baulk at the “safe pair of hands and a positive outcome for ACT” meme pushed by the politically ignorant blonde reporter who fronts the item.
He was regarded by those who knew him (including me) as an old woman. He’s obsessive and completely lacking in even a modicum of vision. He’s an ideologically based Climate Change denier who has close links to the NZ Climate Science Education Trust – that’s the outfit that took NIWA to court and lost. They were ordered to pay costs to the tune of around $80,000 plus (if I remember correctly) but have never paid them. He’s an accountant by profession. Need I say more.
In short, a one eyed pratt who thinks because he has a few bob in the bank that makes him an important person.
gareth Morgan is a trick. Gareth became rich through capital gains.Untaxed capital gains. He is a hihpocritical fraud, Got to go and feed the cats.
[lprent: Back again? Lift your game up a bit. I looked at this comment, decide that it was by someone mindless repeating crap that they hadn’t bothered to think about, and started the “stupid troll parrot” scan. It won’t take too many of those before I decide to boot you again as wasting too much of my time moderating a stupid simpleton.
BTW: While I have very limited respect for him. As I remember it, Gareth Morgan made most of his money in ventures that were and are taxable. This includes such things as the sale of trademe shares. Perhaps you should read the wikipedia entry and point to untaxed capital gains in OpenMike. Because at this point I rather consider that you are a really idiotic and foolish liar.
Adding you to moderation so that you don’t divert on this post. And moving this comment to OpenMike. ]
Tesla and GM have both issued fire-related recalls, but Tesla’s fix doesn’t require owners to bring their cars in.
Tesla Motors is using over-the-air software updates to quickly fix the sort of problems that often arise when bringing a new car to market. This forward-looking approach is an important part of the company’s success.
Then, you might care to have a good, hard look at section 8 – which deals with ‘Compliance’, particularly:
____________________________________________________________________________
8.5. Conduct Review Independent Panel
The governing body shall constitute a Conduct Review Independent Panel.
The members of the Panel will be selected from a list of persons with appropriate skills and knowledge, to be recommended by the Chief Executive.
The Independent Panel is not a Committee of the governing body and its sole function is to investigate those matters referred to it and to make recommendations on those matters to the governing body/local board.
Up to three members on the list will be deemed to be ‘convenors’ who will be the Council’s primary contact in relation to convening a panel when required. ‘Convening’ a panel includes
chairing that panel. A convenor may appoint other convenors to a panel.
8.6. Procedures of the Conduct Review Independent Panel
The Independent Panel will establish and notify standard procedures, fair to both
complainants and respondents, which it will apply to the investigation and consideration of
all complaints referred to it. ”
__________________________________________________________________________
Why was this process not followed with this ‘inquiry’ into Mayor Len Brown?
Upon what lawful basis did (former) CEO Doug McKay, apparently chose a ‘process’ which he just made up – then appointed his own people (Ernst and Young) to carry out this ‘inquiry’?
In my considered opinion, the purpose of so doing was to attempt to protect Mayor Len Brown from prosecution for arguable statutory breaches of the LAWS which cover the role and conduct of elected representatives, as outlined in the above-mentioned APPENDIX 2.
Other ‘conflicts of interest’?
Anybody else noticed how (former) Auckland Council CEO Doug McKay, Ernst and Young and Sky City are all members of the unelected private sector lobby group Committee for Auckland?
Oh yes – who did Auckland Mayor Len Brown commission to write a (favourable) report on Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) – none other than – Ernst and Young:
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
S.S. Trust’s “Offender Database” still looking threadbare
I have yet to receive an acknowledgement from the people at the S.S. Trust, after having informed them yesterday of three major oversights in their “Offender Database”, viz., the absence of three notorious criminals: BRUCE EMERY, DAVID GARRETT and ALAN TITFORD.
Our good friend and colleague Murray Olsen also took the trouble to alert the S.S. Trust about Alan Titford—did you hear back from them, Murray?
On its site, the S.S. Trust features the statement: “The Sensible Sentencing Trust believes in an open and transparent Justice System.” I urge other Standardistas to help the S.S. Trust get its Offender Database in order. The form is very easy to fill in and can be found here….
http://www.sst.org.nz/offenders-database/
All you have to do is scroll to the bottom of that page and fill in the form “Submit Offender Information”. In the “Message” box, you can simply summarize the crimes of the offender you are naming. They will get back to you for more precise details—or so they told me. You may copy or adopt the following if you like….
BRUCE EMERY: In late 2008, he chased down a boy on a South Auckland street, then stabbed him repeatedly, killing him.
DAVID GARRETT: 1.) Convicted of assaulting a doctor in Tonga; 2.) convicted of Passport fraud (he assumed the identity of a dead baby in the commission of that crime); 3.)
belongs to an extreme racist hate organization.Acts as “legal counsel” to an extreme racist hate organization.ALAN TITFORD: Convicted arsonist, vandal, serial liar.
Acts as “legal counsel” to an extreme racist hate organization.UPDATE: I’ve just sent them information (at 7:18 a.m.) about David Garrett. I got back this reply: “Thanks for contacting us! We will get in touch with you shortly.”
[lprent: Be more careful. I have put in the changes from your comment below leaving your original screwup in place. ]
ERRATUM
To my horror, I see that I wrote above that ALAN TITFORD “acts as legal counsel to an extreme racist hate organization.” Titford merely BELONGS to that organization; it is DAVID GARRETT that acts as its legal counsel.
Here is the correct version of those summaries for the S.S. Trust Offender Database….
BRUCE EMERY: In late 2008, he chased down a boy on a South Auckland street, then stabbed him repeatedly, killing him.
DAVID GARRETT: 1.) Convicted of assaulting a doctor in Tonga; 2.) convicted of Passport fraud (he assumed the identity of a dead baby in the commission of that crime); 3.) Acts as “legal counsel” to an extreme racist hate organization.
ALAN TITFORD: Convicted arsonist, vandal, serial liar, member of an extreme racist hate organization.
Good work!
I see they exclude white collar crimes
i thought titforsd was convicted of
14 charges of assault with a weapon, seven of assault, four of male assaults female, three of assault on a child, three of sexual violation, two of arson, and single charges of using a document with intention to defraud, threatening to kill, assault using a weapon, perjury, attempting to pervert the course of justice and discharging a firearm.
you’ve spelled his name wrongly, or they ahve accepted your information
Name Location Offences
Titford, Allan Prison Arson, Assault, Child Abuse, Rape, attempted rape, Threatening to Kill, Intimidation, or any Threatening Behaviour, Weapons or firearms charges
Haven’t heard back. You’d think they’d want to thank me for helping to keep the country safe.
Foreigners are stealing your tax dollars!
Stuff’s latest dog-whistle to
racist authoritariansThe National Party base.$100k to keep a shithead for a year is ridiculous, pack these scum in some old railway containers.
All the sex and drugs they want in motel like accommodation with all their mates. No great surprise that they keep going back for more.
Naki Man
They are not scum. You should be locked up too as your contempt for other human beings is extremist. Our own version of the Taliban can be found in “Nakiban.”
I disagree: Funi Man has the same freedom of speech as you or I. On the other hand I think the police and SIS should take a close interest in far-right racist hate groups, so I hope he’s caught in that net somewhere.
Intolerant hateful speech should not be given the same voice or space as other speech.
Well exactly, which is why it warrants the close attention of the security services.
Fucknuckle
I am not racist or far right. You might be a apologist for pedo’s murderer’s and thieves. That’s what i don’t like, trust your type to try and play the racist card. My partner is not a kiwi. You fool
Of course you are racist. Of course you are hate filled. Of course you are sadistic. The more you hate the more that is what you become. Even a six year old understands see that.
Oh, sorry, I suppose xenophobic would be a better term. Many right-wingers exhibit these symptoms as a result of your “low levels of contact with out-groups” (Hodson & Busseri 2011).
It seems that in your case, you channel your hatred against prisoners. I further note that the hate-based policies you struggle to articulate (while supporting wholeheartedly) lead to New Zealand prisons having one of the highest recidivism rates in the world, therefore creating more crime in the process.
Now, let’s unpack your witless and baseless smear. I promote policies that will reduce recidivism (if we adopt best practice we could get it down to at least 25%) and therefore crime. You do the opposite. Which one of us is pro-crime?
Of course Naki Man, we understand that, a Jersey Friesian, by another name is still a Jersey Friesian. Up there in the back-blocks, I guess a man’s friend is well…………………
John Key would understand.
Many racists have mail order brides. You often see it among the aging ACT types, who don’t really see women or foreigners as equal.
That’s what you get when you privatise prisons for corporate profit.
You liked that idea so I’m afraid you’ll have to shut up and swallow this one whole.
Naki Man, once a brainless wanker, always so, we all know this and wonder why you daily keep providing the proof that you were once…
Right on cue, here comes a typical National Party member to make my point for me.
Thanks, Funi Man.
Have you actually read the article and not just formed an opinion based on the headline ?
Most people don’t get past the headline: roughly 66%.
Of those that start reading the article, by the third paragraph, ~66% of them have gone too. A tiny minority make it to the end.
So if you’re dog whistling it makes sense to do so in the headline and the first three paragraphs.
Oh, and the very nature of a dog whistle is that it isn’t overt, but I note the article makes much of the nationality and ethnicity of its subjects.
The answers to your questions are yes and no.
Yes I have read the article. If you don’t like prison then behave. We should get China, Thailand
and a few others to tender for locking up the worst offenders. They wont pander to these scum
That was a political message from The National Party.
From the National Socialist Party, more like.
Paging Dr. Godwin 🙂
Lol 🙂
I reckon naki man did the godwin first when he suggested throwing people into railway containers. I wonder why he went there immediately (rather than hard labour, for example)? It seems very Schindler’s List.
What I would like to know is why it costs $100,000 in the first place to house a single prisoner. I live on about $28,000 a year and I think my lifestyle is significantly better than a prison inmate. So why the gigantic costs?
You don’t require 24hr surveillance and a multi-layered containment system.
Hopefully 🙂
falloon and bruce springsteen do a number on chris christie..
..(and springsteen does a fine parody of himself..)
http://www.alternet.org/culture/must-watch-fallon-and-springsteens-brilliant-born-run-parody-takes-down-chris-christie
phillip ure..
and this is just very very funny..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/devil-baby-attacks-nyc-thinkmodo_n_4596931.html?a_dgi=gravity
phillip ure..
‘hate’ is a strong word..
..but does anyone else hate ‘hulu’ as much as i do..?
..they have now put the daily show and the colbert report behind their pissy..
..’cos of where you live..you cannot watch this video..’
..fuck hulu..!
phillip ure..
Andrew Geddis over at the Pundit site,(link is over on the right of the page),gives a good ‘legal opinion’ on the criminal case presented to the Auckland District Court against Auckland Mayor Len Brown,
i fully agree with the analysis presented, it can be proved that SkyCity gave Len Brown free hotel accommodation, it can also be proved that Len Brown gave His support to the SkyCity convention center,
What has to be proved tho, and i like Geddis struggle to see how such ‘proof’ can be provided to the Court, is that one lead to the other, in other words there must be a proven link that clearly shows that Len Brown was given the free hotel accommodation as payment for His support of the convention center,
Now we all, Penny Bright and Graham Mac included, have the right to ‘think’ that the two actions, free hotel rooms and support for the convention center are glove in hand but the Court requires more than ”i thunk it therefore it is so” as proof in most matters,( i am sure most of us could provide an example to debunk what i have just written),
As Geddis says to Penny Bright over at Pundit when She insinuates ‘there’s more, lots more, you just wait and see’, Bring It, if there is ‘more’ in the way of FACT to be either put to the Court, or in the likely event the Court refuses to proceed with this prosecution, put into the Public arena, minds just well might be changed,
As it is tho, ‘i thunk it therefor it is’ and ‘i have attended a number of international conferences therefor I Know’ are in my opinion well below the test of proof that any Court would require as ‘proof’ of the contention that the free hotel rooms were payment for Brown’s support of the convention center…
penny and her groiup are sometimes right but their scattergun approah to accusing people leaves some innocent victims in their wake.
AAm not saying Brown is an innocent victim.
Yes. That’s Penny’s problem, she always champions any little thing that comes her way, which makes her look silly and petty most of the time.
And her refusal to pay Council Rates, while benefiting from council services, paid for by everyone else, rubs most people the wrong way.
Unlike a refusal to listen to the ratepayer while benefitting from the ratepayers payments you mean?
Lolz i said it a week or so ago as every week a ‘new’ target for a Graham Mac private prosecution was announced,
Each subsequent announcement triggered in my mind the soundtrack to ‘Fame’…
lol
Can any one confirm the papers filed are against Len Brown and not his wife Shan Inglis or both. As I just heard McCready on Radio Live saying he was filing against Inglis, not Brown and Inglis.
Yours
Confused Auckland Ratepayer
[Edit]
Today he announced he also plans to file the same two counts of bribery and corruption against Mr Brown’s wife, Shirley Anne Inglis, saying she was involved in a “laundering exercise” by accepting the upgrades on behalf of her husband.
Wow, that’s harsh. Not sure the court of public opinion will be behind filing against Len’s poor wife.
Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/Court-action-possible-for-Len-Browns-wife/tabid/1607/articleID/328611/Default.aspx#ixzz2qV5WUbud
Nothing like kicking a woman in the guts when she is down and making her re-live her husbands hotel room proclivities in court.
Seems a little cruel and unusual.
Yeah, McCready is drawing a long bow against Brown, never mind Inglis. So are you. incidentally, with your poison words about her. I am loath to explain this because politicians’ families and private lives are out of bounds, motherfucker, but one thing I know for sure is that you have no more knowledge of the internal dynamics of that family than I do.
yes, cos our system of justice is all about public opinion.
Pretty sure there has to be intent to accept the rooms in return for a vote or knowing that was why they were offered.
Yeah, just up on the Herald on lines website is confirmation that McCready and i will make a assumption here and pre-apologize if i have it wrong, Penny Bright are now alleging that Brown’s wife was ‘laundering’ illicit proceeds gained by Brown by Her having booked most of the hotel rooms in question,
Now that to me is just Fucking Sick, if anyone is a victim in this whole sordid pile of s**t it is the Wife of Len Brown and to attempt to slur Her by alleging that She knew Brown was being paid off with free and upgraded accommodation that she was knowingly booking is to simply re-victimize Her all over again,
Penny Bright and Graham Mac, enjoy your five minutes of fame, hopefully with these two prosecutions the Courts note that you have become vexatious litigants and toss anything you may bring befor them in the future into the rubbish bin…
Ditto for the assumption that anyone is in a position to assign “victimhood”. Leave the personal family stuff out of it completely. You are playing Palino/Slater/Wewege’s game.
OAK, can you repeat that in English that can be understood and perhaps add who exactly you are responding too…
Bad12, I was responding to you. If we want family to be out of bounds in politics (and I believe we do) that extends to presuming to speak for politician’s family members, who are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves.
That is just spurious bullshit OAK, it is not i who have dragged Brown’s wife into the public spotlight with these threatened tawdry charges,
Now that McCready and Co have made this a public spectacle then the nature of family relationships has changed and i for one won’t be silenced by your puerile call for ‘vow of silence’ which in effect is a silent round of applause from you for what McCready and Co are about to attempt to inflict upon Brown’s Wife,
If you OAK wanted family to be kept out of politics then you also should be giving McCready and Co the same message i am, which is to proclaim loudly to these people that dragging brown’s Wife through the Courts on what appears to be even bigger spurious bullshit than you are capable of writing is totally fucking unacceptable,
i have never called for any form of ‘blanket’ leaving of families out of politics, in the ‘Brown affair’ i have simply taken the position that what Brown gets up to in His private life between mature consenting adults is a matter that should be left to him and his family, i am not the moral police,
Leaving ‘family out of politics’ is definitely a laudable aim, but, that depends entirely upon what is alleged when an attempt to drag family into politics is made by anyone and whether we have any slightest shred of fact to back up any such claims made against a politicians family,
As far as presuming to speak for Brown’s wife, i don’t, like many others here at the Standard i am of the opinion that Brown’s affair with Ms Chuang was His private life and that the only people Brown had to justify such actions to were his family,
In my opinion Brown’s wife was and is the major victim of His affair with Ms Chuang the latest actions of McCready and Co will simply lead to Her re-victimization as i have not the slightest belief that McCready has a shred of evidence that what He alleges occurred,
Lastly this is Open Mike a page specifically set aside for discussion of anything and everything, telling me or anyone else what they can or cannot comment on is likely to gain you the response of go eat s**t…
Oh I completely agree about McCready – I hope the courts reject his brief in no uncertain terms, and based on Andrew Geddis’ analysis it seems they will.
You can’t simultaneously want family out of politics and then use the alleged feelings of family members in your argument. That is simply another form of revictimising, thus, playing Palino/Slater/Wewege’s game. Or having your cake and eating it.
I prefer families be kept out of politics. Do as you will.
Interestingly Key was happy to have his son filmed playing golf with he and Obama…
Wee Wegee Winky?
plus 1
(re macready suing sian inglis..my fiv cents worth..)
(ed:..macready has stepped over the line here..
..he is basically further victimising/humiliating a victim in this whole sorry saga..
..if there is an innocent in this..
..it is shan inglis..
..and macready is turning a citizens’ fight for justice..
..into a tawdry witch-hunt..
..and he should withdraw those charges..
..right now..
..(n.b..were macready to after..say..the spouse of one of those rip-off scumbag finance company douchebags..
..who is still living high on the hog..
..on those ill-gotten gains..
..i would say..
..’good on him..!’
..but this is just tawdry..
..and creating an injustice all of its’ own..)
phillip ure..
Wow! That’s some serious assholism going on right there folks. I mean attacking a public figure is all well and good, but attacking their partners or families is another thing entirely.
Such underhanded tactics make it appear that the whole exercise isn’t about moral outrage or justice and is instead simply about getting rid of Len Brown as Mayor. Considering the right wing Palino would likely become Mayor of Auckland in that case, why on earth are so called left wing activists like Penny Bright on the warpath?
It would be nice if the right wing could come up with something more original than a simple honey trap (you should have seen that one coming Len) and a few false allegations to try and take out their opposition. Besides, isn’t Brown’s affair a private matter between him and his wife?
Making a false allegation against Shirley Anne Inglis for simply accepting upgrades to their accommodation arrangements is entirely unacceptable! I’m with bad12 on this one, Graham McCready should be found to be a vexatious litigant and his case thrown out.
“Considering the right wing Palino would likely become Mayor of Auckland in that case, why on earth are so called left wing activists like Penny Bright on the warpath?”
Maybe some people aren’t hopelessly partisan and will go after anyone who is at fault, regardless of their affiliation?
I believed that is generally called “having principles”.
Lanth, while i somewhat agree with the point of your argument, the major point of all this is not ‘having principles’ it is ‘having proof’,
As i point out above, we all are entitled to ‘think’ what we want vis a vis Len Brown accepting free hotel rooms and upgrades measured against the fact that Len Brown supported the SkyCity convention center,
However, while the two facts above could be directly related any thinking person would, without actual proof, have to consider the possibility that both facts are not linked,
‘We thunk it therefor it is’ does not in a Court of Law constitute proof and Penny Bright in particular, seemingly up to Her armpits in these prosecutions is wont to drop grand screeds of text here at the Standard, i have yet to see Her production of such ‘proof’ appear here for some strange reason,
What the threatened charges against Browns wife look like to me is the two Ronnies after having filed charges against Brown Himself have come to the belated realization that it was Brown’s Wife who booked the majority of rooms which were subsequently upgraded or given for free,
Such a big OOOP’s moment has in my opinion then lead the two Ronnies into what i would call a recovering drunks hamfisted attempt to criminalize the person who was the actual ‘receiver’ of the upgrades and freebies and i have to wonder in a quiet moment whether at least one of the Two Ronnies has in fact fallen far far off of the hypothetical wagon,(while only hearing the soundtrack to the movie Fame i might add)…
The Two Ronnies, heh! Except they are two very humourless people in public.
McCready is a convicted blackmailer, kinda makes his case against Inglis a bit creepier.
They are more like Dr Bunsen Honeydew & Beacker (Bright being Beaker, the perpetual victim of others ‘experiments’).
http://youtu.be/Mggl7cC8iys
“Considering the right wing Palino would likely become Mayor of Auckland in that case,”
What makes you think Palino would win the election??? He certainly wouldnt get in without an election simply by being runner-up?
McCready is a loose cannon who has so far managed a wounding shot on Banks. It doesn’t seem to matter to him whom he prosecutes. He’s the Tim Shadbolt of the courtrooms; it doesn’t matter, as long as he’s there. Penny Bright has made it her mission in life to be the conscience of the capitalist state. In my view, neither of them does much to advance left wing causes.
I’m sorry I must have missed something, but what happened to Cameron Brewer’s undeclared little junket? Why is he not being sued, if McCready wants to be consistent?
And for that matter, did John Key and Steven Joyce received and declared any gifts for their very friendly engagement with SkyCity biz?
I thought it had been revealed by the Council that Cameron Brewer did report his Australia trip, and that the Council had overlooked the fact, until it was brought to their attention. It was done in an em.from Brewer.
i heard cameron brewer on rnz say his situation was different regarding the freebies, because he was always upfront about acceding to sky cities wishes. in other words his principles were already bought.
(np dead moon – kicked out, kicked in “who sold out, & whos for sale”)
When I accept an upgrade I’m doing the Hotel or the Airplane a favor. Where there is an empty room and the Hotel has sold all its regular rooms, its good business to reward repeat visitors with upgrades and on sale the freed room.
So it astonished me when the NR Moro guests kept harping on about them. Its call basic business commonsense. Now if Brown were the only one getting them, and getting an envelope of cash left in the room, then yeah. But this practice is commonplace.
Can I up-size that burger for free?
I am against deepsea oil exploration anyway, but even if I wasn’t; this new groups spokeswoman would have given me pause:
” Mrs Broughton said Pro Oil and Gas Otago was in ”regular” contact with the oil companies… The businessmen behind the new group did not yet want to be identified, preferring to work behind the scenes, but there was ”nothing sinister” in that, she said.”
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/288328/new-group-formed-support-drilling
When you have to come out and say that your group is not sinister in your very first press release, then you may have PR problems.
Exactly Pasupial. Anonymous pro oil group made up of business people who want to keep their identity hidden? Seems that Robyn Broughton herself perceives it as sinister as she thought to use the word. Verging on a form of Freudian slip.
I hope these aren’t the same people that parrot “nothing to hide, nothing to fear” when they defend their mates in the National Govt over the GCSB and TICS Act’s.
I’m reasonably willing to hear what these residents and business people of Dunedin have to say in putting forward their case. In particular, I’m very eager to hear about assurances and guarantees regarding the specific economic benefits that Otago will receive as a region, from any gas or oil extraction.
IF any commercial extraction does go ahead, I personally think that 1% of the value of fossil fuels extracted should go into a Dunedin City economic investment fund, 1% into a wider Otago Region economic investment fund, and 1% held in escrow in a clean up contingency fund.
That’s fairly reasonable, I think.
A group of Dunedin businesses is moving to construct castles as debate intensifies over the arrival of oil companies in Otago waters.
However, with A Dark Co’s drilling ship, the igNoble Doug Roberts, due by the end of the month, protest group Oil Free Otago has also warned the peasants are building barricades.
The warning came days after a group of four Dunedin businessmen created a new group; Prostituting Otago Oil, to spell out their support for gas exploration off Dunedin’s coast.
Spokeswoman Robem Blind, of Dunedin, said the group wanted to counter ”scaremongering” by opponents of oil and gas exploration, and said that; “listening to that kind of person” would infect you with a disease akin to syphillis.
Mrs Blind said Prostituting Otago Oil was in “regular contact with the forces of Satan”. The businessmen behind the new group did not yet want to be identified, preferring to work behind the scenes, but there was ”nothing sinister” in that, she said. “Nor should the issue of blood sacrifice be pertinent” to this discussion, added Mrs Blind as she dabbed her lips; with a torn scrap of children’s clothing printed with bunny rabbits.
A Dark Co., New Zealand, corporate affairs manager Acraven Shill said the company was ”a long way” from deciding whether to proceed to full extraction, and whether to use Dunedin or Invercargill as a supply base. All oil companies play this Shell Game of pitting local communities against one another for this dubious benefit ;“it’s better than having the drilling but getting nothing for it; so some one usually knuckles under”, he cackled.
However, it was ”wonderful” to see growing support for the group, which confirmed what the company already knew, he said.
“Similar groups have been very useful in the past and they should be worth every penny we pay them.”
Excellent
Shades of Aramoana aluminium smelter 1982 there.
More TPP leaks
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11187155
“A key chapter allowed foreign companies to sue the government in an overseas tribunal if it raised environmental standards in a way that hurt foreign investor profits.
The risk of million-dollar lawsuits would discourage governments from addressing environmental problems, with “serious environmental consequences”, he said.
A spokeswoman for Trade Minister Tim Groser said the TPP environment chapter would “promote high standards of environmental protection, and enhance the capacity of TPP members to address trade-related environment issues”.
Asked if the section would be beneficial for the New Zealand environment, she said that “trade and environmental policies can be and should be mutually supportive”.”
The herald doesnt trust us to read it ourselves so no link given. Found it at huffington.
https://wikileaks.org/tpp2/static/pdf/tpp-treaty-environment-chapter.pdf
“Further, where private sector entities or non-governmental organizations develop
voluntary mechanisms for the promotion of products based on their environmental
qualities, each Party should encourage those entities and organizations to develop such
mechanisms that among other things:
(a)
are truthful, not misleading and take into account scientific and technical
information;
(b)
where applicable and available, are based on relevant international standards,
recommendations or guidelines, and best practices”
You see? As I keep saying, the TPP changes my vote and sovereignty by changing what laws can and can’t be made (by way of financial compensation / litigation). This means the government has no ability to enter into the TPP.
The TPP will be null and void.
Why can’t business simply accept the risk of doing business in another person’s house? Why can’t they accept that the house-dweller is supreme and that the risk of the rules of the house changing is part of business?
This is simply business pushing people out of the way to get its own way. Business needs to learn its place i.e. subject to the requirements of the house in which it operates. This is all a colossal historic anomaly.
Always think of the situation Mexico found itself in when it refused to accept toxic waste from the US.
“Mexico refused to deposit toxic waste from the US in her country. However, that was an infringement against the Trade Agreement with the United States and based on this mechanism the waste disposal company was ordered to get 70 million US Dollar in compensation.”
… Remember reading this somewhere – was difficult to find a link in the MSM, but could have been using the wrong key words.
YUP.
responsibilities on corporates appear to be voluntary only. Speaks volumes that it has to be written down that if corporates DO engage in voluntary audits or promote themselves s environmentally friendly, the NZ govt should encourage them to do so truthfully…”Encourage”!!!
Try this link or this one.
i have had nothing to add to the TPP debate until now, my thinking on this ‘free trade deal’ having been solidified by a couple of articles read from the Herald Onlines site,
Given what i have read there today it is in fact imperative that David Cunliffe again states clearly that an incoming Labour lead Government reserves the right to withdraw from this TPP as it is now obvious that this agreement will prohibit a sovereign government from making whatever laws and regulations it chooses,
While Cunliffe is at it and befor the damage Goff is doing to the Labour Party becomes irreversable, He should strip Goff of any ability to talk on trade issues at the least…
I agree. BUT unfortunately he will only say the public should see the drat… but appointed goff and dodged my question on that very apparent contradiction
From: Tracey
Sent: Wednesday, 25 September 2013 1:41 p.m.
To: Hon. David Cunliffe
Subject: TPPA
Can you confirm that the appointment of Goff to Trade wont see you water down
your promise on the TPPA draft to be made public before it would be signed?
Congrats on your recent election.
I used to vote labour but moved away in recent times despite being a fan of Clark.
I want a caring society where we help the vulnerable and dont turn them into punching bags. I will vote Green unless Mr Cunliffe can show me a turn away from cow towing to a few small big businesses
Tracey
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Hon. Phil Goff
Date: Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 4:31 PM
Subject: RE: TPPA
To: “redacted”
Thank you for your email to Hon David Cunliffe concerning the Trans Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. Apologies for the delay in my reply.
There is genuine concern about what might be included in the final outcome of the negotiations, which the Government has not adequately addressed by making clear where it stands on important issues in the negotiation.
Labour demands more openness and transparency from the Government. As Minister of Trade negotiating the China and Asean Free Trade Agreements in 2008, I involved a cross-section of groups in the process including the Council of Trade Unions and Greenpeace as well as businesses and exporters. That helped ensure we got good input and it also won trust and confidence in what we were doing.
Those trade agreements hugely helped economic growth and jobs in New Zealand with New Zealand exports to China increasing from $2 billion to over $7 billion dollars in five years and closing the trade deficit with that country. It helped save us from suffering as badly as the US and Europe from the Global Financial Crisis.
Labour has also set bottom lines for support for a TPP agreement. It must result in a clear and significant net benefit to our country. It must be a high quality agreement allowing New Zealand to gain access for our major exports to countries like the US, Japan, Canada and Mexico, removing barriers like the current exorbitant tariff rates on dairy (200-300 per cent), tight quotas and behind the borders barriers. For our services and manufacturing industries we would also want access to government procurement contracts, a market in the US alone worth $334 billion from which we are currently excluded.
Labour recognises that the TPP is not just a trade agreement but deals with behind the borders issues and could impact on domestic policy settings. New Zealand must not sacrifice Pharmac or give up our sovereign right to regulate and legislate such areas as health, the environment and economic policy or in areas like gambling, tobacco and alcohol. The policy protections must be tight enough to prevent multinational companies from winning law suits against us when we regulate in these areas to their commercial disadvantage. We support intellectual property protection but not where it goes to extremes which would hinder innovation and create excess profits at the expense of the consumer. The Government needs to heed the concerns of smaller companies in New Zealand including those in the IT sector.
Labour supports trade deals which genuinely benefit our country. We need growth in exports so we can close the gap between the value of what we export and import. A trade deficit which has persisted over 40 years has meant New Zealand having to borrow to pay the difference. Growing debt has resulted in us increasingly losing ownership of our own country.
We need growth for jobs and higher incomes. We need growth to increase government revenue to pay for higher quality services in areas like health and education.
The Petri study from Brandeis University shows that a TPP would likely lead to export growth to New Zealand of over $5 billion a year. The Parliamentary Library, based on the Brandeis study, states that could lead to job growth of up to 22,000 jobs.
Half of our trade goes to the TPP countries. If we did not participate in a successful agreement our exporters would be disadvantaged by facing barriers in the key TPP markets that our competitors do not.
We continue to insist that the Government better inform parliament and civil society as to its negotiating objectives and its position on issues of concern. Only then can the public be involved in an informed and mature debate. Labour will support a deal only if it is genuinely in the interests of New Zealand.
Yours sincerely
Phil Goff
Hon Phil Goff
MP for Mt Roskill
Labour Spokesman on Defence
Trade, Ethnic Affairs, Veterans’ Affairs
Associate Foreign Affairs
Private Bag 18 888, Parliament Buildings
Wellington 6160, New Zealand
T: + 64 4 817 6775 | F: + 64 4 817 6461
Thanks for the reminder Tracey, i remember this from the first time you posted it here, it just begs the question where then is Cunliffe’s RED Labour doesn’t it,
It’s definitely saddening that to get rid of Slippery’s abysmal shower of you know what we have to have the same old Neo-liberal bullshit rammed down our throats by the leader of this RED Labour Party and the business as usual brigade masquerading in the wings,
The only real hope of avoiding this disaster would seem to be that the talks collapse completely or the US Congress and Senate refuse to ratify the TPP…
yup. You know i wonder if the talks are now irrelevant because the 400 corp reps with the us delegation have already got a huge insight into their trading competitors govt policy?
Thanks for sharing Goff’s reply.
Btw, Tracey, are you really ok with making your email address publicly available? My gut feeling tells me that should not be quite necessary and can be left out to minimise potential misuses of your email address as well as unsolicited or unwelcome contact with you??
You may want to get lprent to remove your email address.
If you stick it into google it goes straight to your work website.
That’s only if you don’t want people to know who you are though.
It will be a test of wingnut ethics, and if Tracey does get harassed by typical National Party members, won’t that be a good look in an election year?
Well, she’s safe from me.
I was actually doing a public service by letting her know, google’s the ultimate stalking tool and it’s very easy to find out lots of information very quickly especially if you have a web presence.
“I would never release this information, but I have given copies of it to all my lawyers”.
you mean after you copied and pasted it into your google BM?
Everyone has the same google, Tracey.
why did you google my email BM?
Ummm, because it was there?.
Tracey, I was actually doing you a favor by letting you know.
I wouldn’t have even noticed it, if Jim hadn’t have pointed it out, therefore it’s Jims fault.
But how do you think you did me a favour by warning me about having my email online and then searching it? If you can’t see that contradiction I pity you more than ever for your reasoning deficiencies….
In simple language BM
YOU didn’t warn me, Jim did, you know this because you replied to his warning post not to mine.
you could have warned me and NOT searched my email. My question was why you searched it. Because it was there is a ridiculous answer, think a bit deeper, tell the truth, it won’t hurt you.
Interestingly you searched it before warning me.
You really are a sad little man/woman BM.
i thought I had editted it out…
I imagine by now any damage would be done?
[Bill: just read the comments and have removed your email]
Pretty sure Lprent (or any other editor) would do something for you; perhaps damage has been done, so why run the risk of it magnifying?
I was making an observation. Such an observation and emailing lprent are not mutually exclusive.
Interesting I have received two emails so far. Nothing wierd, or evil, just people making contact who don’t usually post here but do read. Bm, of course beat the guiness world record for copying and pasting an email address and googling it.
I guess that means BM failed the ethics test.
Have to say it would creep me out a bit, I think.
I will feel creeped out when I receive emails from places I have never before and so forth. For now I remain just saddened at how national, pull the wool so easily over the eyes of the unthinking, such as BM… no critical thinking ability, at all.
Thanks Bill
God that’s such a fucking shambles. Nothing screams “really want to connect with supporters” like responding to a simple yes/no question with 11 paragraphs of boilerplate.
I know it wouldn’t be satisfactory in terms of answering-the-fucking-question, but how much better would this have been:
“Hi Tracey,
Thanks for your email to Hon David Cunliffe. It’s been forwarded to me as the Labour spokesperson on the TPPA.
Unfortunately David and I haven’t discussed an official position on releasing a draft since he’s become leader.
I can assure you that Labour will only support a deal if it is genuinely in the interests of New Zealand and New Zealanders.
Yours sincerely etc”
Yes, still a bunch of waffle, but at least you’d know someone in his office read the damn thing and didn’t just scan for the words “TPPA” then copypaste in the generic response.
or better still, an answer from the leader to whom I addressed it.
So, apart from Goff praising previous FTAs (which, given that he’s a neo-lib can’t be any surprise), it would appear that Labour has put the kibosh on the TPPA, given this passage…
New Zealand must not sacrifice Pharmac or give up our sovereign right to regulate and legislate such areas as health, the environment and economic policy or in areas like gambling, tobacco and alcohol. The policy protections must be tight enough to prevent multinational companies from winning law suits against us when we regulate in these areas to their commercial disadvantage.
Correct me I’m wrong, but ceding the right to regulate and legislate is normally central to FTAs.
Bill, it depends on whether the subjective nature of the following statement early in his reply takes precedence
” It must result in a clear and significant net benefit to our country.”
my emphasis
Goff has contradicted himself here:
“We need growth for jobs and higher incomes. We need growth to increase government revenue to pay for higher quality services in areas like health and education”.
“The Petri study from Brandeis University shows that a TPP would likely lead to export growth to New Zealand of over $5 billion a year. The Parliamentary Library, based on the Brandeis study, states that could lead to job growth of up to 22,000 jobs”.
22,000 jobs “could” be created still leaves 130,000 to 230,000 people unemployed so where are they all meant to go? And are those potential 22,000 jobs part time, full time, casual, temporary??? How much will those jobs actually pay? Minimum wage perhaps? It’s all guesswork cos Goff really has no real information. It sounds like only Dairy farmers get more money and everyone else has to accept this as the new global neo-liberal norm (orthodoxy).
It’s a double-edged sword.
On the one hand globalisation favours the strong. On the other hand it connects the weak. The exchange of ideas that comes with it is a genuine force for global improvement (naive as that sounds).
yup. it means Bangladesh get to build a ferry for NZ while National pretends to be creating an environment for jobs
The National Party’s ability to pretend things depends on when the MSM decides it’s “time for a change”.
This ferry contract could have gone to an NZ firm, and I’m sure its owners have taken notice of the fact that the National Party is happy to help roading contractors and casinos, but boat builders, not so much.
What to do? Find out the bank account number of the Waitemata Trust? Encourage the workforce to register to vote? Decisions, decisions 🙂
That is something only a person who has NFI WTF the economy is would say.
Growth doesn’t provide those things, increased productivity and diversity within the economy does. The exact opposite of what you get from free-trade.
““I hear from sole parents every week who say they’re really grateful for the support from Work and Income case managers; who are often the first to ask them what they want to do with their lives and then help them find work,” Bennett said. ”
Shame it’s not in writing then I could do an OIA.
hmm – she wouldn’t be extrapolating from the results of WINZ phone surveys by any chance? After my last visit I got the ‘just to check our services are up to speed’ bullshit phone call. Of course, the questions were weighted, far too general and open to massive interpretation.
So if I said I was happy enough with the service i received on that particular occasion…does that equate in someones mind with ‘grateful’? And since WINZ staff are now meant to quiz about work stuff on every contact…does that equate to ‘helping find work’ in someones mind? And so it goes…
I just wonder whether “hear” can possibly mean verbal. Does she even expose herself to the possibility of meeting sole parents thrust back into the workplace on low wages because the training subsidy has been cut?
And for everyone that she hears from there’s 10,000+ just wishing that WINZ would get out of the fucking way.
Rock Star Economy pfftttt.
The Main Stream Media has come out in election year with the full artillerary in a desperate assault on the minds of the electorate with the aim of restoring this incompetent government to power.
International Dairy prices are high which means farmers are able to pay loans back to foreign bankers.
Other than that the real economny is in further retreat with unemploment more than triple what a ‘rock star economy’ should be.
While our kids starve, the bankers buy another bach at Pauanui.
And we are told the country is doing well.
Fuck off MSM. Stand up and tell the real story.
+1 Enough is Enough
No kids are starving in NZ, lots of them are obese, you fool
Pull your head out of your arse
.Our economy is growing faster than most.
Farmer’s paying their loans down is not a bad thing.
Leftards cant stand good news.
Finally real news from the MSM
Funi Man, you’re a liar as well as a racist, eh.
That comes with the territory, though.
No kids are starving in NZ….Yeah Right
That is why every political party has a policy of feeding the starving kids at school.
Yes that’s right, even Key has acknowledged it. He caused it and his tory charity policy is goood for fuck all. But it shows your statement to be full of shit.
We love good news. You watch the mood of the nation rise on election night when Key and English are kicked out of office.
The only thing which would make us smile more is if the next government had the balls to put them both on trial for corruption and selling our country to their rich mates.
Fuck me sideways. If there was any other proof needed what a dork you are, funni man, it’d have to be your comment “Finally, real news from the MSM”.
FTFY
It’s called Confirmation bias
Yes, or: “Finally MSM telling me what I want to believe is true“
Just heard a news flash that yet another Forestry worker has been killed on the job in the Wairau Valley Marlborough
When will the National Far Right Government concede that we do need something to be done about the number of accidents occurring in the workplace especially in Forestry.
We do need Health & Safety laws to be beefed up and their vindictive cancelling of payments to CTU for H&S training needs urgent revisiting
They won’t. People being killed in service to their masters is fine with National.
by cancelling, people think they will use the money a different way to make workplaces safe, but notice there was no announcement of what will replace it?
national are at war… maybe some folks are just starting to wake up to that?
with less than 25% of the workforce in unions (not including the non members who join when they are dismissed to get free representation) why the almost pathological dislike of uinions?
funni man is just another shill for the tories repeating their lies and expecting people to believe them.
he should stay on tr*deme opinions with all the other creeps where he belongs.
…. don’t mind the repeat from Helen Kelly’s thread ….
Another man has just been killed this morning while at work in the forests.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9616939/Forestry-worker-killed-in-Marlborough
It is the fortnightly headline.
Collins, Farrar, Williams – hang your heads in shame.
Disgusting.
appalling
A man has been killed in a forestry accident in Marlborough’s Wairau Valley and another worker has been seriously injured near Whakatane.
Last year forestry-related accidents claimed 10 lives.
WorkSafe NZ said it had sent expert forestry health and safety inspectors to investigate both of today’s incidents.
Ambulance officers pronounced the Marlborough forestry worker dead about 10.30am. The incident was reported to emergency services about 10am.
WorkSafe NZ general manager health and safety operations Ona de Rooy said that to have a death just 16 days into the new year, following an appalling safety record in 2013, showed how much the forestry sector needed to change its behaviour.
“We have identified an alarming rate of safety non-compliance amongst cable logging operators – nearly half of the 162 we’ve visited weren’t operating in compliance with the industry code and we had to take 203 enforcement actions to force those operators to comply. We had to shut 15 of them down they were so dangerous.
“We are so concerned at this level of unsafe practice that we have sought meetings with individual forest owners to make very clear to them that they have significant responsibilities,” de Rooy said.
“We will want to see their safety plans for the contractor crews demonstrate active management of safety standards. If they are deficient, we will be holding them to account.
Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Helen Kelly has made many calls for immediate interim regulation for the industry.
Slow but sure.
http://blog.norml.org/2014/01/15/after-lengthy-floor-debate-new-hampshire-general-assembly-approves-marijuana-legalization/
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/07/legal-weed-states-where-cannabis-is.html
Looks like the Party party is off…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11187592
Lol. Oh dear, never mind. People can still have a party and pay for their own drinks on the day. Bomber might want to shout – although possibly he’s already got an unexpected headache. Wouldn’t this be better posted in the Internet Party thread?
Lol, what a numpty.
Shades of Weedle.
Nah he just lacks a bit of class, like you. 🙂
here’s a funny old yarn from the old days, while the big important story of the day is media outlets with owners who do politics and stuff
http://publicaddress.net/onpoint/gotcha/
” A senior Italian IOC member criticised the United States for including openly gay athletes in its official delegation for next month’s Sochi Olympics.
“It’s absurd that a country like that sends four lesbians to Russia just to demonstrate that in their country gay rights have (been established),” Mario Pescante said at an Italian Olympic Committee meeting in Milan, in comments widely reported by Italian media.
“The games should not be an occasion and a stage to promote rights that sports supports daily.”
The Italian Olympic Committee would not confirm or deny Pescante’s comments, but his speech was reported by the Gazzetta dello Sport and the ANSA news agency.
Asked for clarification later, Pescante said he is not anti-gay.
“Of course not,” the 75-year-old Pescante he said. “I just wanted to make the point not to let politics interfere with the Olympics.” “
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2014/01/a_newspaper_that_pays_no_tax_complains_about_tax_avoidance.html
– and the msm wonder why people are turning away from newspapers…
David Farrar gets told to criticise the Dom Post when it forgets to act as a mouthpiece for the government.
“Good boy, David,” said his Tory masters. ” You’ll get your overseas holidays if you keep this .”
I have nothing contempt for that paid Tory propagandist.
Yet you use him as a source!
You should read it
Yeah, if only the NZH had as many readers as DPF. lol
John’s had his cheque book out, again.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Boscawen-puts-hand-up-for-ACT-leader/tabid/1607/articleID/328731/Default.aspx
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2010/08/good-investment.html
Joe 90 has beaten me to it.
TV1’s take on it
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/john-boscawen-makes-bid-act-leadership-5801517?autoStart=true
As someone who once knew Boscawen, I baulk at the “safe pair of hands and a positive outcome for ACT” meme pushed by the politically ignorant blonde reporter who fronts the item.
He was regarded by those who knew him (including me) as an old woman. He’s obsessive and completely lacking in even a modicum of vision. He’s an ideologically based Climate Change denier who has close links to the NZ Climate Science Education Trust – that’s the outfit that took NIWA to court and lost. They were ordered to pay costs to the tune of around $80,000 plus (if I remember correctly) but have never paid them. He’s an accountant by profession. Need I say more.
In short, a one eyed pratt who thinks because he has a few bob in the bank that makes him an important person.
Lolz, i have trouble in what to refer to Boscowan as, the prez of ACT or the ‘new owner’…
gareth Morgan is a trick. Gareth became rich through capital gains.Untaxed capital gains. He is a hihpocritical fraud, Got to go and feed the cats.
[lprent: Back again? Lift your game up a bit. I looked at this comment, decide that it was by someone mindless repeating crap that they hadn’t bothered to think about, and started the “stupid troll parrot” scan. It won’t take too many of those before I decide to boot you again as wasting too much of my time moderating a stupid simpleton.
BTW: While I have very limited respect for him. As I remember it, Gareth Morgan made most of his money in ventures that were and are taxable. This includes such things as the sale of trademe shares. Perhaps you should read the wikipedia entry and point to untaxed capital gains in OpenMike. Because at this point I rather consider that you are a really idiotic and foolish liar.
Adding you to moderation so that you don’t divert on this post. And moving this comment to OpenMike. ]
I could get used to servicing like this.
Tesla and GM have both issued fire-related recalls, but Tesla’s fix doesn’t require owners to bring their cars in.
Tesla Motors is using over-the-air software updates to quickly fix the sort of problems that often arise when bringing a new car to market. This forward-looking approach is an important part of the company’s success.
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/523621/tesla-motors-over-the-air-repairs-are-the-way-forward/
SEEKING TRUTH – FROM FACTS?
I respectfully suggest that those who have yet to do so have a very good read of the following Auckland Council ‘Code of Conduct’ – particularly :
APPENDIX 1: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST POLICY FOR THE AUCKLAND COUNCIL and
APPENDIX 2: LEGISLATION BEARING ON THE ROLE AND CONDUCT OF ELECTED
MEMBERS
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/aboutcouncil/governingbody/codeofconductelectedmembers.pdf
Then, you might care to have a good, hard look at section 8 – which deals with ‘Compliance’, particularly:
____________________________________________________________________________
8.5. Conduct Review Independent Panel
The governing body shall constitute a Conduct Review Independent Panel.
The members of the Panel will be selected from a list of persons with appropriate skills and knowledge, to be recommended by the Chief Executive.
The Independent Panel is not a Committee of the governing body and its sole function is to investigate those matters referred to it and to make recommendations on those matters to the governing body/local board.
Up to three members on the list will be deemed to be ‘convenors’ who will be the Council’s primary contact in relation to convening a panel when required. ‘Convening’ a panel includes
chairing that panel. A convenor may appoint other convenors to a panel.
8.6. Procedures of the Conduct Review Independent Panel
The Independent Panel will establish and notify standard procedures, fair to both
complainants and respondents, which it will apply to the investigation and consideration of
all complaints referred to it. ”
__________________________________________________________________________
Why was this process not followed with this ‘inquiry’ into Mayor Len Brown?
Upon what lawful basis did (former) CEO Doug McKay, apparently chose a ‘process’ which he just made up – then appointed his own people (Ernst and Young) to carry out this ‘inquiry’?
In my considered opinion, the purpose of so doing was to attempt to protect Mayor Len Brown from prosecution for arguable statutory breaches of the LAWS which cover the role and conduct of elected representatives, as outlined in the above-mentioned APPENDIX 2.
Other ‘conflicts of interest’?
Anybody else noticed how (former) Auckland Council CEO Doug McKay, Ernst and Young and Sky City are all members of the unelected private sector lobby group Committee for Auckland?
http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/membership/member-organisations
How many of you know that Mayor Len Brown has been reporting to ‘members only’ meetings of the Committee for Auckland on a regular quarterly basis, behind closed doors, with no media allowed?
http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/events/127-regular-bi-monthly-quarterly-events
Oh yes – who did Auckland Mayor Len Brown commission to write a (favourable) report on Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) – none other than – Ernst and Young:
http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/document/pdf/201348/PPPStudyForAttachmen1.pdf
(First CCOs – then PPPs?)
There is a LOT more to come…………….
Penny Bright
Steve Keen explains the Laws of Thermodynamics to economists and politicians.
+1 i.e. the physical reality of the economy, not the financialised paper account of the economy.