The Government’s housing accords legislation needs some intense scrutiny. Already Len Brown has come out and suggested very gently that the legislation does not comply with the accord.
The Herald reports:
Auckland Mayor Len Brown welcomed the introduction of the legislation to formalise last Friday’s housing accord aimed at tackling issues of land supply and housing affordability in the city.
But he said there were a number of clauses in the bill that appeared to be inconsistent with the Auckland Housing Accord, which sets a target of 39,000 new homes through a fast-track planning process.
Mr Brown said he would be seeking clarification on a number of inconsistencies that relate to people having a say on new developments, rules applying to new houses, who runs the process and the extent of appeals.
Interestingly the Accord states that publicity about it was to be agreed to by the Mayor and Nick Smith prior to its release. Looks like Len does not believe that this occurred.
The bill itself is a disaster. It will ensure greenfield urban sprawl over brownfield regeneration development because brownfield development will have a height limitation and will be too expensive. One way or the other this Government wanted urban sprawl to happen.
Under the accord the Council recommends and the Government approves. The Government cannot recommend itself. This continues until the accord is finished under clause 17 of the accord.
under section 16(4)(a)(ii) of the Bill the Minister can propose if he gives notice of the government’s intention to withdraw from the accord. This is 6 months before the accord finishes and contradicts the accord.
Ah, while the standard was offline I was doing a post on this. Penny Hulse was more blunt on RNZ this morning about the Bill breaching the agreement. Thanks for the other links, micky. I didn’t see you post before I added mine below, then the site went offline. I’ll add links to your comments on my post.
That was quite quite irritating. Third time for the same platform reasons. Finally found out why no-one ever acted on my problem tickets – they apparently went to the wrong place (grr – yeah right). It was only after I called their answering service that fixed whatever the problem was.
I’ll be warming up a new server tomorrow despite them refunding the costs for the month. I can’t afford the time and the uncertainty of their not monitoring their own systems is unacceptable…
From this budget one can only deduce the fact that this government supports the private provision of services rather than public provision. This is reflected most in the extension of HNZ rent subsidies to the community sector (but not councils), and its funding freeze for public tertiary providers.
And we all have every reason to worry about fixed term tenancies for state houses. At first I thought that this would benefit private landlords, because of the effect that dumping 4000 people into the private market would have on (already crippling) rent levels. But no. Those who benefit will be those who own boarding houses and motor camps, because you can bet your life on the fact that those 4000 tenants, who lose their secure home because of some arbitary tenancy review, will end up in a boarding house or in a motor camp, because a private landlord simply will not house them, or they cannot afford the rent, or both.
That is, from what I can make out, what National want as forcing people into poverty generally means that they will be willing to work for less which means that profits for the few go up. It is, quite simply, in everything that they do as government.
Sheesh. Did I just hear Penny Hulse say the government’s urgency Bill on the local council-government “housing accord” could mean the Auckland Council-government accord is dead in the water if the Bill is not changed?
More lies from bullshitting Bill, announcing in the budget that beneficiaries will be able to buy fridges and washing machines via a recoverable WINZ grant,
Beneficiaries have been able to purchase these items of whiteware by this means for quite a few years, WINZ offices can even download photos of what is available (second hand) from their provider and delivery is arranged on the spot,
Clever Bill from Dipton announcing what was put in place by the previous Labour Government as some ‘new’ spending on welfare…
“Beneficiaries have been able to purchase these items of whiteware by this means for quite a few years,”
Since the 1980’s as a matter of fact. It is a long standing process that reflected the ‘social need’ part of our Social Welfare system. Unfortunately like all generous aspects of the system, some have seen fit to abuse it and various checks and balances were introduced. Nowadays it is only available through a few approved vendors and these items are usually more expensive than some whiteware people might be able to source elsewhere, but the fraud component has certainly been curtailed.
On a plus side the expectation is these vendors have better service and repair guarantees so the overall benefit to the consumer no doubt makes up for the increased cost.
Aha, i am highlighting the system that WINZ has had in place for at least the last 6 years where the whole purchase of whiteware, (fridges, washing machines), is completed through the WINZ office via their approved providers,
As you point out, honest beneficiaries are paying a higher price for these second hand appliances than they might if the items were sourced through the likes of Trademe to curtail the small frauds of a few beneficiaries and the secondhand dealers who in the past have happily also indulged,
On the plus side for beneficiaries is the guarantee, unspecified at the time of purchase but inherent in the consumer guarantee Act, repayment to WINZ of as little as $5 a week on the purchase and the delivery costs included in the price of the items bought, it would seem a reasonable system for providing for beneficiary needs which curtails fraudulent misbehavior and my opinion is that this should be extended to include other ‘large ticket’ items and even small loans to beneficiaries,
Having said all that, it is total bullshit, outright lies from the Minister of Finance to stand in the Parliament of New Zealand and claim this scheme as a ‘new’ Government initiative from the present Government when it has been the common practice of WINZ for at least the last 6 years, to do this is not only to mislead the people of New Zealand, (who in most cases wouldn’t have a clue), it is also misleading the Parliament with an outright lie with which the opposition party’s should flay the Minister…
” it is also misleading the Parliament with an outright lie with which the opposition party’s should flay the Minister…”
I understand the emotive phrase that history is a foreign country
and there are times it certainly feels like it happened somewhere else
but what really grates, is apparently everyone was looking in the opposite direction.
Good on ya. Minor mistake but make no difference. The problem would seem to arise between us weka because I only heard the words, whereas you heard the words and all of this …
“it’s not an issue of not being allowed to raise the points. It’s how it is done. Also, it’s not about the ‘race’ of the person asking the questions, it’s about their mana and their politics”
We clearly see things differently.
I generally try to weed out those sorts of elementes whereas you want them to lead the way. vto
(nah, what you quote of me there is before I listened to the panel discussion, and was a general comment on discussing racism in NZ).
Leaving aside that it’s not a minor mistake, and that you obviously misled readers on what actually happened in the panel (albeit unintentionally), here is the question that you consider to be important outside of its context.
Given that polls tell us that 80% of New Zealanders are distressed at seeing their country being slowly surrendered to the part descendants of the minority of Maori who breached the Treaty by rebelling against the Crown in the 1860s, could we use a republican referendum process to entrench racial equality?
weka, I have answered the question around the identity of the questioner, twice. Not going to re-hash. You’ve set out your position I’ve set out mine and they are different for the reasons outlined. What you see as important and what I see as important are different. You look at things one way and I look at things another way and they are different.
As to that piece marty mars has pulled out if you read through the whole lot, including previous threads, you would realise the context and the highly selective quoting (selectiveness admitted to). As to the particular issue in that though, the extreme sensitivity that is shown by you and marty interestingly matches the divisiveness witnessed on the ground. It seems far from settled. You are as feverish about it as they.
As to the 80% question above, what do you think? I was not so much interested in the actual question, more in the interaction of peoples and the allowing of the question followed by the refusal to answer and the wider implications surrounding that.
As to a marty list, the issues have all been raised over time – governance without representation, privilege based on birthright and race, the place of indigeneity, ….. on it goes. They will continue to arise and no doubt be commented on. And I expect you will be right there to pounce if you can.
Yes vto i couldn’t fit all of your quotes in there. I’ll leave it up to weka to debate the finer points of your response. For me it is more of the same – mistruth, misrepresentation and misinformation from you to push your barrow which you can’t move from – your attitude is part of the problem and until that changes there is hardly any point engaging with you unless you come up with a list but oh no that’s too hard you’d rather snipe and hurt from a distance – so be it.
my list again
1 the Treaty is historical and a new one needs to be drafted to take into consideration the multicultural aspect of NZ society.
2 too much emphasis (money) is on tangata whenua and that they have received enough emphasis (money)
3 Māori were the first here and that could be called indigenous but it is irrelevant in today’s world
4 Māori are inherently violent and warlike
5 No one represents the ‘white man’ who gets abuse and derision when they say something that others perceive as racist
6 Non-Māori who talk about race get accused of being racist
7 Māori are racist to ‘white people’
8 Celts were here before Māori and taught them everything of what they know until Māori killed them all
9 The chinese bought slave-wives here to breed with Māori
10 Barry Brailsford doesn’t talk shit
losing it again – you always do that when you are cornered. I never abused or insulted you, that is your imagination AGAIN
but if you want to go the insult way to distract from the series of posts about your misunderstandings we can do that – I’ll let those ones go and see if you can control yourself with your replies
That list has been posted a few times in the past few days. If you don’t like it, or disagree with it, then why not post another one that better matches your views? We are waiting to hear what you specifically think vto.
Despite what you might think I believe that Pakeha do need to have this conversation in order to move on.
hey be fair it was the first cut – point out the ones that are correct and I’ll amend it – seriously I thought they were mostly correct and not that bad really
That’s not really personal vto. It’s marty making observations about your behaviour. You may not like them, and you may disagree, but it’s not personal. Personal would be calling someone a racist fuckwit, something neither of us are doing (although I will happily call Ansell that). Or personal would be taking things known about your personal life and using them against you or to put you down.
I note that in marty’s analysis of your behaviour, he gives you a way out. Did you see that?
It is about the person and not the issue. You even admit it here “It’s marty making observations about your behaviour” That is personal. Your reference to “fucking racist” is nasty personal. Where is discussion about the issue?
I am a little astounded at the idea that I dont want to talk specifics. I posted on the issue of accusations of racism when speaking of race. That was what started the thread. That was specific. I have posted on it before. I posted on it again here, with reference to the radio show. There was an error in this piece of backup which we have now thrashed to death. The thread has since been made all personal and lost its way. I started the thread with a particular issue. Answered. You may notice another further downthread.
The call for specifics is specific to the convo from the last few days. Getting past the hooha about the RNZ reference, what is left? I don’t know and you won’t say. I guess that’s the end of the discussion for now.
“As to the 80% question above, what do you think? I was not so much interested in the actual question, more in the interaction of peoples and the allowing of the question followed by the refusal to answer and the wider implications surrounding that.”
Right, I’ve really misunderstood then, because I thought you were interested in the question itself.
Ok, fair enough, it’s not the question, it’s the interaction of the people and the refusal to answer. There is no way to look at that unless we put those things in their original context. As has been stated clearly, you misunderstood entirely what happened. The panelists didn’t want to answer teh questions because Ansell’s questions was (a) loaded and (b) an attempt to hijack the discussion (even the presenter noted that).
You want to draw the conclusion that they didn’t want to answer because of fear of talking about racism, but by your own admission you didn’t listen to the thing properly and missed the context and the person asking the question (and don’t pretend now that the identity of the person answering doesn’t matter). There were in fact some other references in the talk to Maori and the implications of constitutional change (not alot but they were there), which belies the idea that people were avoiding talking about race.
Sorry mate, you’ve dug a pretty big hole here. If you quit now we’ll give you hand up and out 🙂
“And I expect you will be right there to pounce if you can.”
“You are as feverish about it as they.”
“extremely sensitive”
That’s just nasty, and an attempt at marginalisation. It’s beneath you. Play the ball not the wo/man. If you don’t want robust debate, than say so, and ask for different terms. There is nothing wrong with me focussing on the things in your arguments that stand out to me. Your views on Kai Tahu and Southern Maori women are hugely offensive and simply add to the Pakeha distorted narrative that we know more about Maori than they do. That does immeasurable damage. I’m not feverish or extremely sensitive, I’m really fucking angry that someone like you would do that shit in a place like this.
Like marty, I am disappointed that you won’t engage on the actual issues at this point in time. But I can also see that it would be hard to defend your points of view.
Well weka, when it comes to that particualar issue that you are super-sensitive about don’t point the finger at me. I merely describe what I have witnessed on the ground and seen on here. It is feverish. Sorry if that offends you but that is what is seen.
As for not wanting to engage on the actual issues, sorry, not accepted. Always engage on the issue but when it turns to the personal, nup.
I think genuinely that you just need to ease up when someone says, for example, “the treaty is flawed” because at the moment when words like that are posted you can hear the sound of the soldiers turning to face the ‘threat’ instead of listening and thinking about what is being posted first. Marty rushes straight to arms hup two three four
vto, please, please say “the treaty is flawed”. Then we can talk.
But you didn’t say that. You referenced something on Natrad, and completely misrepresented it, and unfortunately for you the thing you referenced was presented by a racist fuckwit. You just made a mistake, and had it been another person making such a mistake on a different topic, someone here would have taken them to task for it. It’s about intellectual rigour or truthfullness.
“I merely describe what I have witnessed on the ground and seen on here.”
What do you mean by ‘witnessed on teh ground’? Can you please be specific about which part of this issue you are referring to as well?
weka I have said the treaty is flawed (for certain purposes) on countless other occasions and swapped posts with others on it. It will come up again there is no doubt.
on the ground generally refers to real-life encounters. And detailed specifics are not possible unfortunately due to our small population and possible ramifications.
Seems to me that a lot of the spin National had around the last Labour government, which keeps coming up all the time in comments on stuff etc by people who obviously believe it, is that Labour got us into a horrible economic situation and borrowed and wasted all that money, because of the ridiculous “decade of deficits” report by the Treasury that National jumped on a parroted wide and far.
Well, turn abouts fair play, I think. Now that the commentary around this budget is that a $75m surplus in 2014-2015 is margin of error and unimportant, it seems like Labour need to say something like this:
“National want a $75m rounding-error surplus in 2014-2015. When we were in government between 1999 and 2008, we ran a surplus of $$$$ every single year. We got our borrowing down to 8% of GDP while reducing unemployment down to record lows, National are promising we’ll be at 20% debt of GDP by 2020. National has squandered the good work done by the Labour party.”
If you can stomach it, watch Hoots once again missing his medication and doing Tory Bullshit Bingo. It’s actually quite hilarious: “liberal elite” “lunatic left” and so on and so on – and then he tries to say that the Tories are, um, kinda liberal, because Muldoon’s father had syphilis.
He must be expecting a huge paycheque for that. Under all that grease, there’s only slime.
Dunno Rhino. I always find it worthwhile to hear what the other side is thinking. Of course as Mathew says he is in the Reagan, Douglas, Richardson mould. OK so how does he view stuff? Of course he is anti left but often what he says is the repeat of what the right want us too hear and even hope we might believe. Ha! But the risk is that the discussion also exposes the weakness of that rightist position and therefore good stuff.
Matthew does get excited about his often shaky positions but so does Martyn. Well worth a watch. Thanks for the link.
Yes, I do agree that Hoots has one use, and that’s to let us know what the Tories want us to believe. If he gets pleasure out of winding people up, then that sad act of masturbation shows just what an empty shell he is.
Watched it this morning. Bomber was surprisingly polite in the circumstances. The bombastic Hoots did his usual…. wouldn’t let Keith Locke get a word in edge-wise.
I think Hooton’s over the top language is a deliberate ploy to rile us. He knows the majority of people who hit the Daily Blog are – to varying degrees- on the Left of the political spectrum. He gets perverse pleasure winding them up.
We should ignore him and then the enjoyment will go out of the game.
Just watching the committees today and I am left wondering: Why is it that the maori party have only 2 votes but 3 MP’s? Is Te Ururoa Flavell already crossed the floor to Mana?
“Who can vote?
Only members who have been sworn in can vote. Members can vote even if they are absent, by the use of proxies. A formula is used which determines how many votes each party can have when a number of its members are absent from the parliamentary precincts. Thus a party may not always be able to cast the same number of votes as the party has members in the House.”
Oh I see, there was my conspiracy forming mind that jumped to all sorts of conclusions. I do believe that Mr Flavell is made of better stuff than his co-leaders however. Pita Sharples is an embarrassment and I’m sorry for ever thinking he would be any different. Turia is poison too.
In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society.
Personal, denigrating mockery like the bully boy you are, again.
Irrelevant.
The issue (which you have demanded in a list like some dumb cock, then mocked me for not responding to your demand).
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society”
… if you imagine this has gone unnoticed in Christchurch then you are not just a bully boy but a fool too. It has been commented on a surprising number of times by people in significant positions in the city.
To date you have had no answer to this issue cunt.
a cock and two cunts now – your insults are degrading yourself and your people and showing you for the cluck cluck cluck you are – lucky adele isn’t here eh?
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
lol look at a silly wee man using swearwords – what a joke you are vto – hardmanfail. Try a different one – you know the one you really want to use but are too scared to
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
bit worked up this morning eh vto why is that I wonder – maybe your undies are too tight – have you checked recently I think they may be riding up a bit I’m certainly sensing skidmarks – time for a check – it’s okay I’ll wait.
the dumb cunt has no answer to the issue, just personal…
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society”
1 the Treaty is historical and a new one needs to be drafted to take into consideration the multicultural aspect of NZ society.
2 too much emphasis (money) is on tangata whenua and that they have received enough emphasis (money)
3 Māori were the first here and that could be called indigenous but it is irrelevant in today’s world
4 Māori are inherently violent and warlike
5 No one represents the ‘white man’ who gets abuse and derision when they say something that others perceive as racist
6 Non-Māori who talk about race get accused of being racist
7 Māori are racist to ‘white people’
8 Celts were here before Māori and taught them everything of what they know until Māori killed them all
9 The chinese bought slave-wives here to breed with Māori
10 Barry Brailsford doesn’t talk shit
11 chicken and can’t answer a question without swearing like a fool
Got to go to work for an hour but I’ll come back soon to help you through your anger and abuse issues.
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
in through the nose out through the mouth breathe deep it’s okay I forgive your outrageous abuse but try and forgive yourself while I’m away it will make the session go better after lunch.
Ngai Tahu may make a healthy check and balance to the ChCh oldboys who have long made decisions of governance with no accountability at all, to anyone.
At least Ngai Tahu are accountable to their iwi members for the money they intend to spend in the rebuild.
That gives them certain “rights” to effect decisions…does it not ?
Ngai Tahu may make a healthy check and balance to the ChCh oldboys who have long made decisions of governance with no accountability at all, to anyone.
At least Ngai Tahu are accountable to their iwi members for the money they intend to spend in the rebuild.
That gives them certain “rights” to effect decisions…does it not ?”
Of course what has gone in in the oldboy etc past that you mention had very similar flawed and unsustainable pratices and policies. That had certain results which were not good for maori or society as a whole. It is not that which is referred to however, although it is acknowledged. It should be similarly acknowledged that what was flawed in the past is flawed now and will be in the future.
There can be no governance without represention.
Your point about Ngai Tahu being a healthy check and balance is of course correct, but neither is that the point.
Your point about Ngai Tahu being accountable to their iwi members is also correct, but slides off the side of the issue. If Ngai Tahu wishes to exercise governance over others then they must be accountable in the same way to those others, no to just their iwi members.
This of course is a relatively minor development in the practical scheme of day to day things, but the principle is crucial. There must not be governance without representation. It applies to every socety. It is bad for Ngai Tahu – such a system gets no respect.
vto – it’s up to the City of Christchurch to take into account all views in the RMA process. I’m not sure why you are focussing on Ngai Tahu when they haven’t been delegated consenting powers by the City Council (unless I missed something?).
Consent decisions are still made by the City Council and not by Ngai Tahu. You want representation? Go to the Council that’s what they are there for.
colonial viper – “vto – it’s up to the City of Christchurch to take into account all views in the RMA process. I’m not sure why you are focussing on Ngai Tahu when they haven’t been delegated consenting powers by the City Council (unless I missed something?).
Consent decisions are still made by the City Council and not by Ngai Tahu. You want representation? Go to the Council that’s what they are there for.”
Consent decisions are now made by Ngai Tahu (and Council and cera). This is the problem.
Here are some facts, as explained by Mark Solomon on the Ngai Tahu website. Ngai Tahu is not just having input, or consultation etc, it is making the decisions. This is the governance…. “He says the tribal representative body, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, along with its statutory partners, the Christchurch City Council and CERA, each appoint a member to panel hearings to consider resource consent applications ”
We have representation through Council, good. We have representation through cera, good. We have no representation through Ngai Tahu, bad. This is the point. The principle is crucial to a healthy society. I’m sure you understand the principle of no governance without representation. Well, these are the facts pointing the principle being ignored. That is the problem.
In addtion, the point you intimate re conflicts of interest has been front page here too. As mentioned way up thread somewhere I mentioned that this crops up in dicussion with people in various positions in the rebuild and the city generally. It has been noticed and is news. It needs to be dealt with – both the conflict of interest (chinese walls, yeah right), but much much much more importantly the governance without representation.
It is wrong and unsustainable. A couple of links (more concentrated on the lesser though still important issue of conflict of interest)…
your beef is with central or local government numbnuts not the iwi – sheesh talk about myopic.
on another point your excessive use of the word cunt – it reminds me that there are no demeaning terms for ‘woman’ in the Māori language, and that the first human was a woman – Hine-ahu-one, and that as all come from women at birth, at death the same occurs through Hine-nui-te-pō, and that Papa-tū-ā-nuku is our earth mother and sustainer of life and that women are mediators of tapu. Thanks for reminding me of these things vto even though you were trying to insult.
The superb investigative journalist Jeremy Scagill is being interviewed by Kim Hill on National Radio tomorrow morning. His specialty is the American government being allowed to assassinate anyone it wants to, even Americans. It should be fascinating if you haven’t followed this before.
That’s a must-listen. Scahill is a brilliant and uncompromising speaker. I’ve seen him transform the Letterman and John Stewart shows from shallow laugh-fests into serious discussions, simply by the moral force of his message, backed up by his compelling personal style. That rarely happens on American television, and it’s even rarer on British television.
Laughingly reproaching the pizza-guzzling sybarites of Gaza The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 17 May 2013
Finlay Macdonald, Denise L’estrange-Corbet, Simon Pound
That brief resurgence in quality on this programme that I noted a couple of weeks ago is well and truly over and done with. The situation reached its nadir on Tuesday when Jim Mora’s guests were the brutal right wing “pundit” John Bishop and the right wing beer writer and self-styled “wit” Neil Miller, but today’s guests, while they are clearly more humane and decent individuals than Bishop and Miller, are not much better when it comes to discussing serious issues. Look at how they trivialize and scoff at the situation of the besieged residents of Gaza…..
FINLAY MACDONALD: That was David Bowie with “Lady Grinning Soul” from 1973. All right, it’s 3:45; time for Susan Baldacci with what the wooooooorld’s talking about!
SUSAN BALDACCI: News today of the kind of thing being smuggled through the tunnels from Egypt into Gaza! Of course there are many of these tunnels.
FINLAY MACDONALD: These tunnels are from Sinai, aren’t they.
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yes. They smuggle all SORTS of items through them, and you know what? You can order a pizza for thirty dollars!
SIMON POUND: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
SUSAN BALDACCI: When you think of what they are needing, and THAT is what they want!?!?!?!?!!!???
SIMON POUND: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
FINLAY MACDONALD: The pizza would be cold, by the time it got to them, wouldn’t it?
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET:[sniffily] I wouldn’t order a pizza if I was in Gaza.
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yeah, well, that’s what they want. When you think of what they SHOULD be ordering….
4:25 p.m. As I write this, I am listening to that mealy-mouthed twit Simon Pound trying to defend John Key’s latest offensive remarks. This time Key has described the situation of Christchurch people as “some hard-luck stories at a micro level.”
Pound is an intelligent and perceptive fellow, but he is quite clearly afraid to voice his real feelings.
Thought of your rage Morrissey as I listened to this but could swear I heard not “pizza” but “Kentucky Fried”. A bucket of the same delivered via the tunnels in 4 hours – $US30. Anyway, the tone I detected was a little mockingly amused, especially from Baldacci as I recall. I exclude Macdonald from that.
Put me in mind of transiting in Manila in 1977, a National Youth Council group of 20 “Young Workers” bound for China. I guess few of them have maintained their then much vaunted “leftiness”. But then there are a number of horrid examples of that – Rob Campbell (Ports of Auckland) for example.
As the aircraft taxied to the terminal we observed the meanest shacks dotted in the banana palms not 100 metres from the runway – TV aerials poking up into the air.
Several of my fellows expressed judgment thus – “Look at that, they’re as poor as hell and they’ve got televisions !” (“Tut Tut Tut !” sort of thing). No walking in the mocassins there.
Sadly, I was not terribly well supported when I aggressively expressed my disgust with that tone. Some might say there’s still little maturity in Mr North nearly 40 years on but I’d like to think I was capable even then of appreciating that when people are grindingly poor and deprived we should not reflexively clutch our pearls when a little succour is taken wherever it can be found. At least try to walk in the mocassins maybe.
Perhaps clever wee laughies radio-girl Baldaccci would benefit from a spell in Gaza when the Zionists fly over dropping death on children.
1.) Thought of your rage Morrissey as I listened to this but could swear I heard not “pizza” but “Kentucky Fried”.
You are of course correct, my friend. In mitigation, I must say that I was driving and therefore could not scribble down any transcript in my usual manner, and so I was forced to rely on my (imperfect) recall.
2.) A bucket of the same delivered via the tunnels in 4 hours – $US30. Anyway, the tone I detected was a little mockingly amused, especially from Baldacci as I recall. I exclude Macdonald from that.
You’ve got that exactly right. Last year Susan Baldacci sneered at Sean Penn for “cuddling up to the likes of Hugo Chávez”; twenty years ago I am sure she was condemning other celebrities for cuddling up to Nelson Mandela. Balducci is very similar to another American on Radio NZ, Marty Duda: superficially affable, but just below the surface there is a vat of completely unexamined prejudices bubbling away. Duda’s right wing rancour boiled over hilariously late last year when he launched into an ignorant and disconnected radio rant against my Lancastrian namesake (the singer).
3.) Put me in mind of transiting in Manila in 1977, a National Youth Council group of 20 “Young Workers” bound for China. I guess few of them have maintained their then much vaunted “leftiness”. But then there are a number of horrid examples of that – Rob Campbell (Ports of Auckland) for example.
I have a book with a picture of this glib scumbag in his PYM days, posing with a rifle. Campbell the revolutionary foot-soldier-cum-Guinness Peat director.
4.) As the aircraft taxied to the terminal we observed the meanest shacks dotted in the banana palms not 100 metres from the runway – TV aerials poking up into the air.
Several of my fellows expressed judgment thus – “Look at that, they’re as poor as hell and they’ve got televisions !” (“Tut Tut Tut !” sort of thing). No walking in the mocassins there.
Sadly, I was not terribly well supported when I aggressively expressed my disgust with that tone.
I hear those sentiments every time I listen to squawk radio, which I haven’t done for a long time now. The withdrawal programme is working. (I’m pretending, for the sake of argument, that Radio NZ’s Panel is qualitatively different to the commercial chat. Really, though, there’s little to separate them.)
5.) Perhaps clever wee laughies radio-girl Baldaccci would benefit from a spell in Gaza when the Zionists fly over dropping death on children.
I’m sure she’d still find something whimsical, like KFC deliveries via tunnels, to distract her audience in the usual manner.
True. The “superiority” of RNZ is marked only by the absence of fulsomely excited, breathless exhortations to make our lives fabulous by “popping on down to wherever to get whatever – open 7 days…….”. And discordant jingles.
The saving grace to that carry-on, infuriating as it is, is that at least it doesn’t make light of appalling inhumanity, as is Gaza.
nobody here or anywhere else in nz will bother, and will not know for a start, as today, starting 11 am outside vector arena in auckland city, off quay st, there was a massive and vocal protest by aaap, by various unions (unite, first union, sfu and so), same as some community groups, to protest against the budget by the nat government not delivering much or anything to the poor and unemployed. there was a lot of media presence, all leading tv stations had sent cameras, there was a lot of upheaval, with some protestors trying to push their way into a convention or meeting hearing pm john key, to speak to the hundreds of attending cross tasman and pacific business people. most business people turned up in taxis, expensive vehicles and with suits and ties, and they faced a barrage of challenging chants and so forth. one person got arrested for dubious reasons, and was later released from the watchhouse at auckland central police station at 2 pm, with no charge laid. supporters were there to welcome him. there was no mention at all in the media, be this radio nz’s checkpoint, the leading tv stations or so about this. it seems the business lobby run and control the media in nz solidly. it is clear that they frown on protestors and dissenters, and the arrogance and demeanour of those that went to this meeting at vector arena spoke volumes. so we have a society here in nz, that is oligopolist, monopolits in some areas, and where an elite run and rule, they even determine government by financial and other support. they have control over the media, so they refrain from reporting what people do and say, and protest about. this is practically a dictatorship here in nz, but most are ignorant and complacent, relying on a fool’s belief that they still have some say in what they want.
so that is it, the truth, but i am only a stupid migrant, always have been treated wit h some contempt by locals, so why should i care a shit about a shit country like nz.
Sorry, Murray, I get my bad moments, and I have not had an easy lot, still trying to get some major issues addressed by “Commissioners” of sorts, holding office, most appointed by Nat governments.
Apart from that I thank you for your tolerance towards my “rant”.
I am working on a number of issues, personal and not so personal. So I am at times also joining forces at the frontline, and the Vector Arena protest or pickets was one good experience. Sad to see and hear the MSM have little time for the ordinary folk here, born and bred Kiwis or migrants.
We will keep up the struggle, as that is a moral mission kind of. I would hate to be on the side of the mercenaries and foot soldiers of this system, rewarding a few, that frown on the rest, no matter where it happens in the world.
Listening to Annette King give attempting to give the government a dressing down over the way its dealing with the issue of paying parents who care for their disabled adult children was truly sickening. The initial claim was made when Labour were the government and they rejected it outright. And now Annette King thinks she can take the moral high ground on the issue. Well, Annette, you need to just shut the fuck up on this matter. You and your mates have no right to call foul on this whatsoever. Ryall simply continued with the dirty work that you began, and now you think you can bag him for that? Total hypocrisy. Just sickening. Apologise for what you did, or keep your mouth shut.
See and learn about the true history and course of events in the Chilean dictatorship, overthrowing Salvador Allende, if anybody in rather indifferent nz bothers to care. oh, sorry the first letter of chilean was misspelled in caps again. sorry lprent, i am working on it:
The Standard may well be losing the credit it deserves, to be independent and strong on that on the left, but I fear (sorry the caps) it is becoming another mainstream media turnout. I wish it won’t but we will have to see.
Food for thought for the supporters of the Green/Labour plans for electricity prices.
I especially like this bit ‘But socialist President Nicolás Maduro (who was hand-picked by Chavez to succeed him) blamed the toilet paper shortage on “anti-government forces,”’
He’s right. If they imprisoned all the traitors, RWNJs, and media barons, there’d be far less shit floating about. We must learn from them that kindness to your enemy might win points in heaven, but if you want a clean bum, get rid of the right wingers. Of course, if Key decided to take a trip to Venezuela, he could always take you and Slater along and he’d never even notice the shortage.
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
2024 is now officially my best-ever year for short stories. My 1,850-word dark fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens, has been accepted for the upcoming solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/), thereby making that six published short stories for the calendar year. As always, see the Bibliography page for ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
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A simple but informative reflection on the Budgets implications for Education.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/education-vote-private-sector-win.html
more dec. lines; this government won’t “catch up”; just continue to drag the line down.
The Government’s housing accords legislation needs some intense scrutiny. Already Len Brown has come out and suggested very gently that the legislation does not comply with the accord.
The Herald reports:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10884202
Interestingly the Accord states that publicity about it was to be agreed to by the Mayor and Nick Smith prior to its release. Looks like Len does not believe that this occurred.
The bill itself is a disaster. It will ensure greenfield urban sprawl over brownfield regeneration development because brownfield development will have a height limitation and will be too expensive. One way or the other this Government wanted urban sprawl to happen.
Sorry for replying to myself …
Under the accord the Council recommends and the Government approves. The Government cannot recommend itself. This continues until the accord is finished under clause 17 of the accord.
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/aboutcouncil/planspoliciespublications/aucklandhousingaccord.pdf
BUT
under section 16(4)(a)(ii) of the Bill the Minister can propose if he gives notice of the government’s intention to withdraw from the accord. This is 6 months before the accord finishes and contradicts the accord.
http://legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2013/0117/latest/whole.html#DLM5204771
It is a big stick the Government has handed itself and it smacks of bad faith bargaining.
Are you really surprised by that from this government?
Ah, while the standard was offline I was doing a post on this. Penny Hulse was more blunt on RNZ this morning about the Bill breaching the agreement. Thanks for the other links, micky. I didn’t see you post before I added mine below, then the site went offline. I’ll add links to your comments on my post.
That was quite quite irritating. Third time for the same platform reasons. Finally found out why no-one ever acted on my problem tickets – they apparently went to the wrong place (grr – yeah right). It was only after I called their answering service that fixed whatever the problem was.
I’ll be warming up a new server tomorrow despite them refunding the costs for the month. I can’t afford the time and the uncertainty of their not monitoring their own systems is unacceptable…
And if the Nats force this thru then “Lenny it Will Be a disaster of biblical proportions”
From this budget one can only deduce the fact that this government supports the private provision of services rather than public provision. This is reflected most in the extension of HNZ rent subsidies to the community sector (but not councils), and its funding freeze for public tertiary providers.
And we all have every reason to worry about fixed term tenancies for state houses. At first I thought that this would benefit private landlords, because of the effect that dumping 4000 people into the private market would have on (already crippling) rent levels. But no. Those who benefit will be those who own boarding houses and motor camps, because you can bet your life on the fact that those 4000 tenants, who lose their secure home because of some arbitary tenancy review, will end up in a boarding house or in a motor camp, because a private landlord simply will not house them, or they cannot afford the rent, or both.
This is going to be ugly. You can count on it.
That is, from what I can make out, what National want as forcing people into poverty generally means that they will be willing to work for less which means that profits for the few go up. It is, quite simply, in everything that they do as government.
good thoughts millsy; welcome to sub-prime US of A
Sheesh. Did I just hear Penny Hulse say the government’s urgency Bill on the local council-government “housing accord” could mean the Auckland Council-government accord is dead in the water if the Bill is not changed?
More lies from bullshitting Bill, announcing in the budget that beneficiaries will be able to buy fridges and washing machines via a recoverable WINZ grant,
Beneficiaries have been able to purchase these items of whiteware by this means for quite a few years, WINZ offices can even download photos of what is available (second hand) from their provider and delivery is arranged on the spot,
Clever Bill from Dipton announcing what was put in place by the previous Labour Government as some ‘new’ spending on welfare…
“Beneficiaries have been able to purchase these items of whiteware by this means for quite a few years,”
Since the 1980’s as a matter of fact. It is a long standing process that reflected the ‘social need’ part of our Social Welfare system. Unfortunately like all generous aspects of the system, some have seen fit to abuse it and various checks and balances were introduced. Nowadays it is only available through a few approved vendors and these items are usually more expensive than some whiteware people might be able to source elsewhere, but the fraud component has certainly been curtailed.
On a plus side the expectation is these vendors have better service and repair guarantees so the overall benefit to the consumer no doubt makes up for the increased cost.
Aha, i am highlighting the system that WINZ has had in place for at least the last 6 years where the whole purchase of whiteware, (fridges, washing machines), is completed through the WINZ office via their approved providers,
As you point out, honest beneficiaries are paying a higher price for these second hand appliances than they might if the items were sourced through the likes of Trademe to curtail the small frauds of a few beneficiaries and the secondhand dealers who in the past have happily also indulged,
On the plus side for beneficiaries is the guarantee, unspecified at the time of purchase but inherent in the consumer guarantee Act, repayment to WINZ of as little as $5 a week on the purchase and the delivery costs included in the price of the items bought, it would seem a reasonable system for providing for beneficiary needs which curtails fraudulent misbehavior and my opinion is that this should be extended to include other ‘large ticket’ items and even small loans to beneficiaries,
Having said all that, it is total bullshit, outright lies from the Minister of Finance to stand in the Parliament of New Zealand and claim this scheme as a ‘new’ Government initiative from the present Government when it has been the common practice of WINZ for at least the last 6 years, to do this is not only to mislead the people of New Zealand, (who in most cases wouldn’t have a clue), it is also misleading the Parliament with an outright lie with which the opposition party’s should flay the Minister…
” it is also misleading the Parliament with an outright lie with which the opposition party’s should flay the Minister…”
I understand the emotive phrase that history is a foreign country
and there are times it certainly feels like it happened somewhere else
but what really grates, is apparently everyone was looking in the opposite direction.
Continuing from the other day. Background is here and here –
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14052013/#comment-632878
http://thestandard.org.nz/so-very-funny/#comment-634131
Good on ya. Minor mistake but make no difference. The problem would seem to arise between us weka because I only heard the words, whereas you heard the words and all of this …
“it’s not an issue of not being allowed to raise the points. It’s how it is done. Also, it’s not about the ‘race’ of the person asking the questions, it’s about their mana and their politics”
We clearly see things differently.
I generally try to weed out those sorts of elementes whereas you want them to lead the way. vto
(nah, what you quote of me there is before I listened to the panel discussion, and was a general comment on discussing racism in NZ).
Leaving aside that it’s not a minor mistake, and that you obviously misled readers on what actually happened in the panel (albeit unintentionally), here is the question that you consider to be important outside of its context.
Given that polls tell us that 80% of New Zealanders are distressed at seeing their country being slowly surrendered to the part descendants of the minority of Maori who breached the Treaty by rebelling against the Crown in the 1860s, could we use a republican referendum process to entrench racial equality?
How about we discuss that as it stands?
It’s a bit like trying to pick up that last sliver of wet soap 🙂
But it is good to see that question – bloody hell only 80% I thought it was at least 140% by now.
Lol.
weka, I have answered the question around the identity of the questioner, twice. Not going to re-hash. You’ve set out your position I’ve set out mine and they are different for the reasons outlined. What you see as important and what I see as important are different. You look at things one way and I look at things another way and they are different.
As to that piece marty mars has pulled out if you read through the whole lot, including previous threads, you would realise the context and the highly selective quoting (selectiveness admitted to). As to the particular issue in that though, the extreme sensitivity that is shown by you and marty interestingly matches the divisiveness witnessed on the ground. It seems far from settled. You are as feverish about it as they.
As to the 80% question above, what do you think? I was not so much interested in the actual question, more in the interaction of peoples and the allowing of the question followed by the refusal to answer and the wider implications surrounding that.
As to a marty list, the issues have all been raised over time – governance without representation, privilege based on birthright and race, the place of indigeneity, ….. on it goes. They will continue to arise and no doubt be commented on. And I expect you will be right there to pounce if you can.
Yes vto i couldn’t fit all of your quotes in there. I’ll leave it up to weka to debate the finer points of your response. For me it is more of the same – mistruth, misrepresentation and misinformation from you to push your barrow which you can’t move from – your attitude is part of the problem and until that changes there is hardly any point engaging with you unless you come up with a list but oh no that’s too hard you’d rather snipe and hurt from a distance – so be it.
my list again
1 the Treaty is historical and a new one needs to be drafted to take into consideration the multicultural aspect of NZ society.
2 too much emphasis (money) is on tangata whenua and that they have received enough emphasis (money)
3 Māori were the first here and that could be called indigenous but it is irrelevant in today’s world
4 Māori are inherently violent and warlike
5 No one represents the ‘white man’ who gets abuse and derision when they say something that others perceive as racist
6 Non-Māori who talk about race get accused of being racist
7 Māori are racist to ‘white people’
8 Celts were here before Māori and taught them everything of what they know until Māori killed them all
9 The chinese bought slave-wives here to breed with Māori
10 Barry Brailsford doesn’t talk shit
bugger missed the cutoff
my list about what you think around these issues vto
Making it personal again i see. And plain stupid. You can’t help yourself can you.
Don’t bother engaging arsehole. Go stick your head back in the sand.
losing it again – you always do that when you are cornered. I never abused or insulted you, that is your imagination AGAIN
but if you want to go the insult way to distract from the series of posts about your misunderstandings we can do that – I’ll let those ones go and see if you can control yourself with your replies
imagination? look at your fucked list
That list has been posted a few times in the past few days. If you don’t like it, or disagree with it, then why not post another one that better matches your views? We are waiting to hear what you specifically think vto.
Despite what you might think I believe that Pakeha do need to have this conversation in order to move on.
hey be fair it was the first cut – point out the ones that are correct and I’ll amend it – seriously I thought they were mostly correct and not that bad really
That’s not really personal vto. It’s marty making observations about your behaviour. You may not like them, and you may disagree, but it’s not personal. Personal would be calling someone a racist fuckwit, something neither of us are doing (although I will happily call Ansell that). Or personal would be taking things known about your personal life and using them against you or to put you down.
I note that in marty’s analysis of your behaviour, he gives you a way out. Did you see that?
It is about the person and not the issue. You even admit it here “It’s marty making observations about your behaviour” That is personal. Your reference to “fucking racist” is nasty personal. Where is discussion about the issue?
We’re waiting for you to be specific about what you want to talk about. Honestly, I’d like to know.
All I can say is that I don’t think of you as a racist fuckwit at all. Ansell on the other hand… Do you see the difference?
Noted ta. Of course there is a difference.
I am a little astounded at the idea that I dont want to talk specifics. I posted on the issue of accusations of racism when speaking of race. That was what started the thread. That was specific. I have posted on it before. I posted on it again here, with reference to the radio show. There was an error in this piece of backup which we have now thrashed to death. The thread has since been made all personal and lost its way. I started the thread with a particular issue. Answered. You may notice another further downthread.
The call for specifics is specific to the convo from the last few days. Getting past the hooha about the RNZ reference, what is left? I don’t know and you won’t say. I guess that’s the end of the discussion for now.
weka, you haven’t commented on the post at 10 below.
1, 3 (minus could be and irrelevant), 5 (first bit of sentence), 6 (including the word often) seem about right.
And 8 is probably rubbish, but we’re here now and lovely
“As to the 80% question above, what do you think? I was not so much interested in the actual question, more in the interaction of peoples and the allowing of the question followed by the refusal to answer and the wider implications surrounding that.”
Right, I’ve really misunderstood then, because I thought you were interested in the question itself.
Ok, fair enough, it’s not the question, it’s the interaction of the people and the refusal to answer. There is no way to look at that unless we put those things in their original context. As has been stated clearly, you misunderstood entirely what happened. The panelists didn’t want to answer teh questions because Ansell’s questions was (a) loaded and (b) an attempt to hijack the discussion (even the presenter noted that).
You want to draw the conclusion that they didn’t want to answer because of fear of talking about racism, but by your own admission you didn’t listen to the thing properly and missed the context and the person asking the question (and don’t pretend now that the identity of the person answering doesn’t matter). There were in fact some other references in the talk to Maori and the implications of constitutional change (not alot but they were there), which belies the idea that people were avoiding talking about race.
Sorry mate, you’ve dug a pretty big hole here. If you quit now we’ll give you hand up and out 🙂
“And I expect you will be right there to pounce if you can.”
“You are as feverish about it as they.”
“extremely sensitive”
That’s just nasty, and an attempt at marginalisation. It’s beneath you. Play the ball not the wo/man. If you don’t want robust debate, than say so, and ask for different terms. There is nothing wrong with me focussing on the things in your arguments that stand out to me. Your views on Kai Tahu and Southern Maori women are hugely offensive and simply add to the Pakeha distorted narrative that we know more about Maori than they do. That does immeasurable damage. I’m not feverish or extremely sensitive, I’m really fucking angry that someone like you would do that shit in a place like this.
Like marty, I am disappointed that you won’t engage on the actual issues at this point in time. But I can also see that it would be hard to defend your points of view.
Well weka, when it comes to that particualar issue that you are super-sensitive about don’t point the finger at me. I merely describe what I have witnessed on the ground and seen on here. It is feverish. Sorry if that offends you but that is what is seen.
As for not wanting to engage on the actual issues, sorry, not accepted. Always engage on the issue but when it turns to the personal, nup.
I think genuinely that you just need to ease up when someone says, for example, “the treaty is flawed” because at the moment when words like that are posted you can hear the sound of the soldiers turning to face the ‘threat’ instead of listening and thinking about what is being posted first. Marty rushes straight to arms hup two three four
vto, please, please say “the treaty is flawed”. Then we can talk.
But you didn’t say that. You referenced something on Natrad, and completely misrepresented it, and unfortunately for you the thing you referenced was presented by a racist fuckwit. You just made a mistake, and had it been another person making such a mistake on a different topic, someone here would have taken them to task for it. It’s about intellectual rigour or truthfullness.
“I merely describe what I have witnessed on the ground and seen on here.”
What do you mean by ‘witnessed on teh ground’? Can you please be specific about which part of this issue you are referring to as well?
weka I have said the treaty is flawed (for certain purposes) on countless other occasions and swapped posts with others on it. It will come up again there is no doubt.
on the ground generally refers to real-life encounters. And detailed specifics are not possible unfortunately due to our small population and possible ramifications.
imo, you do let yourself down on this topic vto; sorry to say, when you display such comprehension of other natural areas of discussion.
well that is telling isn’t it……. if you think about it………. where does the lack of comprehension therefore really lie?
worldviews; as The Al1en “suggested”; the future’s shaded brown.
Free download
http://www.f3music.com/1285
The race down – Free dl
http://www.f3music.com/1285
Seems to me that a lot of the spin National had around the last Labour government, which keeps coming up all the time in comments on stuff etc by people who obviously believe it, is that Labour got us into a horrible economic situation and borrowed and wasted all that money, because of the ridiculous “decade of deficits” report by the Treasury that National jumped on a parroted wide and far.
Well, turn abouts fair play, I think. Now that the commentary around this budget is that a $75m surplus in 2014-2015 is margin of error and unimportant, it seems like Labour need to say something like this:
“National want a $75m rounding-error surplus in 2014-2015. When we were in government between 1999 and 2008, we ran a surplus of $$$$ every single year. We got our borrowing down to 8% of GDP while reducing unemployment down to record lows, National are promising we’ll be at 20% debt of GDP by 2020. National has squandered the good work done by the Labour party.”
etc etc.
Check out Citizen A
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/05/16/citizen-a-with-martyn-bradbury-keith-locke-matthew-hooton-on-budget-keys-deal-gilmore-wrap/
If you can stomach it, watch Hoots once again missing his medication and doing Tory Bullshit Bingo. It’s actually quite hilarious: “liberal elite” “lunatic left” and so on and so on – and then he tries to say that the Tories are, um, kinda liberal, because Muldoon’s father had syphilis.
He must be expecting a huge paycheque for that. Under all that grease, there’s only slime.
Dunno Rhino. I always find it worthwhile to hear what the other side is thinking. Of course as Mathew says he is in the Reagan, Douglas, Richardson mould. OK so how does he view stuff? Of course he is anti left but often what he says is the repeat of what the right want us too hear and even hope we might believe. Ha! But the risk is that the discussion also exposes the weakness of that rightist position and therefore good stuff.
Matthew does get excited about his often shaky positions but so does Martyn. Well worth a watch. Thanks for the link.
Yes, I do agree that Hoots has one use, and that’s to let us know what the Tories want us to believe. If he gets pleasure out of winding people up, then that sad act of masturbation shows just what an empty shell he is.
Watched it this morning. Bomber was surprisingly polite in the circumstances. The bombastic Hoots did his usual…. wouldn’t let Keith Locke get a word in edge-wise.
I think Hooton’s over the top language is a deliberate ploy to rile us. He knows the majority of people who hit the Daily Blog are – to varying degrees- on the Left of the political spectrum. He gets perverse pleasure winding them up.
We should ignore him and then the enjoyment will go out of the game.
I’m all for not replying to anything he posts. All he is is a freshly showered and perfumed WhaleSpew.
Just watching the committees today and I am left wondering: Why is it that the maori party have only 2 votes but 3 MP’s? Is Te Ururoa Flavell already crossed the floor to Mana?
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/Features/b/0/0/00NZPHomeNews061120091-Voting-in-the-House-of-Representatives.htm
“Who can vote?
Only members who have been sworn in can vote. Members can vote even if they are absent, by the use of proxies. A formula is used which determines how many votes each party can have when a number of its members are absent from the parliamentary precincts. Thus a party may not always be able to cast the same number of votes as the party has members in the House.”
Oh I see, there was my conspiracy forming mind that jumped to all sorts of conclusions. I do believe that Mr Flavell is made of better stuff than his co-leaders however. Pita Sharples is an embarrassment and I’m sorry for ever thinking he would be any different. Turia is poison too.
In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society.
add that to the list lol
Democracy under attack!
Adding mockery to your quiver now too. It does you and your people only ill.
lol You love putting the boot in and when asked for a list of what you want to moan about you run for cover – keep hiding mate it suits you.
Go fuck yourself
You ask for specifics, I give you one, you simply mock and get personal and avoid the issue. As you always do.
Answer the issue cunt.
tell me noddy what came first – were you a chicken or an egg?
Personal, denigrating mockery like the bully boy you are, again.
Irrelevant.
The issue (which you have demanded in a list like some dumb cock, then mocked me for not responding to your demand).
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society”
… if you imagine this has gone unnoticed in Christchurch then you are not just a bully boy but a fool too. It has been commented on a surprising number of times by people in significant positions in the city.
To date you have had no answer to this issue cunt.
a cock and two cunts now – your insults are degrading yourself and your people and showing you for the cluck cluck cluck you are – lucky adele isn’t here eh?
Still no answer. Just personal.
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed and unsustainable in every society”
Cunt.
lol look at a silly wee man using swearwords – what a joke you are vto – hardmanfail. Try a different one – you know the one you really want to use but are too scared to
answer the issue cunt
you demanded it so now answer it
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed and unsustainable in every society”
bit worked up this morning eh vto why is that I wonder – maybe your undies are too tight – have you checked recently I think they may be riding up a bit I’m certainly sensing skidmarks – time for a check – it’s okay I’ll wait.
the dumb cunt has no answer to the issue, just personal…
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society”
You demanded an issue, answer it.
I’ll make a list
there we go – what vto thinks
1 the Treaty is historical and a new one needs to be drafted to take into consideration the multicultural aspect of NZ society.
2 too much emphasis (money) is on tangata whenua and that they have received enough emphasis (money)
3 Māori were the first here and that could be called indigenous but it is irrelevant in today’s world
4 Māori are inherently violent and warlike
5 No one represents the ‘white man’ who gets abuse and derision when they say something that others perceive as racist
6 Non-Māori who talk about race get accused of being racist
7 Māori are racist to ‘white people’
8 Celts were here before Māori and taught them everything of what they know until Māori killed them all
9 The chinese bought slave-wives here to breed with Māori
10 Barry Brailsford doesn’t talk shit
11 chicken and can’t answer a question without swearing like a fool
Got to go to work for an hour but I’ll come back soon to help you through your anger and abuse issues.
Answer the fucking issue cunt
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed and unsustainable in every society”
in through the nose out through the mouth breathe deep it’s okay I forgive your outrageous abuse but try and forgive yourself while I’m away it will make the session go better after lunch.
Whats good for the goose is…
Ngai Tahu may make a healthy check and balance to the ChCh oldboys who have long made decisions of governance with no accountability at all, to anyone.
At least Ngai Tahu are accountable to their iwi members for the money they intend to spend in the rebuild.
That gives them certain “rights” to effect decisions…does it not ?
answer the fucking issue that you demanded fuckwit
answer it
Excellent, thanks pw, some sanity at last..
“Whats good for the goose is…
Ngai Tahu may make a healthy check and balance to the ChCh oldboys who have long made decisions of governance with no accountability at all, to anyone.
At least Ngai Tahu are accountable to their iwi members for the money they intend to spend in the rebuild.
That gives them certain “rights” to effect decisions…does it not ?”
Of course what has gone in in the oldboy etc past that you mention had very similar flawed and unsustainable pratices and policies. That had certain results which were not good for maori or society as a whole. It is not that which is referred to however, although it is acknowledged. It should be similarly acknowledged that what was flawed in the past is flawed now and will be in the future.
There can be no governance without represention.
Your point about Ngai Tahu being a healthy check and balance is of course correct, but neither is that the point.
Your point about Ngai Tahu being accountable to their iwi members is also correct, but slides off the side of the issue. If Ngai Tahu wishes to exercise governance over others then they must be accountable in the same way to those others, no to just their iwi members.
This of course is a relatively minor development in the practical scheme of day to day things, but the principle is crucial. There must not be governance without representation. It applies to every socety. It is bad for Ngai Tahu – such a system gets no respect.
vto – it’s up to the City of Christchurch to take into account all views in the RMA process. I’m not sure why you are focussing on Ngai Tahu when they haven’t been delegated consenting powers by the City Council (unless I missed something?).
Consent decisions are still made by the City Council and not by Ngai Tahu. You want representation? Go to the Council that’s what they are there for.
colonial viper – “vto – it’s up to the City of Christchurch to take into account all views in the RMA process. I’m not sure why you are focussing on Ngai Tahu when they haven’t been delegated consenting powers by the City Council (unless I missed something?).
Consent decisions are still made by the City Council and not by Ngai Tahu. You want representation? Go to the Council that’s what they are there for.”
Consent decisions are now made by Ngai Tahu (and Council and cera). This is the problem.
Here are some facts, as explained by Mark Solomon on the Ngai Tahu website. Ngai Tahu is not just having input, or consultation etc, it is making the decisions. This is the governance…. “He says the tribal representative body, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, along with its statutory partners, the Christchurch City Council and CERA, each appoint a member to panel hearings to consider resource consent applications ”
We have representation through Council, good. We have representation through cera, good. We have no representation through Ngai Tahu, bad. This is the point. The principle is crucial to a healthy society. I’m sure you understand the principle of no governance without representation. Well, these are the facts pointing the principle being ignored. That is the problem.
Do you see it?
OK, I see that arrangement as being problematic. Is it Ngai Tahu’s corporate arm which is represented or their tribal arm?
Yes it is problematic.
In addtion, the point you intimate re conflicts of interest has been front page here too. As mentioned way up thread somewhere I mentioned that this crops up in dicussion with people in various positions in the rebuild and the city generally. It has been noticed and is news. It needs to be dealt with – both the conflict of interest (chinese walls, yeah right), but much much much more importantly the governance without representation.
It is wrong and unsustainable. A couple of links (more concentrated on the lesser though still important issue of conflict of interest)…
http://www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz/News/Media/Media-Releases/2013/Leadership-Recovery-and-Rebuild.php
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/8588335/Ngai-Tahu-to-meet-CBD-property-owners
your beef is with central or local government numbnuts not the iwi – sheesh talk about myopic.
on another point your excessive use of the word cunt – it reminds me that there are no demeaning terms for ‘woman’ in the Māori language, and that the first human was a woman – Hine-ahu-one, and that as all come from women at birth, at death the same occurs through Hine-nui-te-pō, and that Papa-tū-ā-nuku is our earth mother and sustainer of life and that women are mediators of tapu. Thanks for reminding me of these things vto even though you were trying to insult.
Is that it? Is that your answer? That my beef is with Council and Government? You haven’t even addressed the issue.
As I said way to you back at the very start – go stick your head back in the sand dumbfuck.
lol
umm it answers your question doesn’t it? That is what you wanted isn’t it?
Maybe you could go on another rant like this one to get your point across
http://thestandard.org.nz/say-goodbye-to-nanny-state/#comment-131126
lol, issue number 1 dealt with.
next issue coming soon to a standard screen near you (perhaps the fundamental flaws in the treaty?)….
but that’s it for now, I’m off to better spend my energy. See ya rude prick.
lol bye bye ‘sob’ ‘sob’
another one for my list I think
For those who wish to understand a little context around vto and his insults
http://mars2earth.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/i-dont-tolerate-race-baiters.html
“aged care, dementia, diabetes and heart disease”; the future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades. http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/news/budgets-focus-on-key-issues-pleases-dhb/1871837/
The superb investigative journalist Jeremy Scagill is being interviewed by Kim Hill on National Radio tomorrow morning. His specialty is the American government being allowed to assassinate anyone it wants to, even Americans. It should be fascinating if you haven’t followed this before.
That’s a must-listen. Scahill is a brilliant and uncompromising speaker. I’ve seen him transform the Letterman and John Stewart shows from shallow laugh-fests into serious discussions, simply by the moral force of his message, backed up by his compelling personal style. That rarely happens on American television, and it’s even rarer on British television.
Laughingly reproaching the pizza-guzzling sybarites of Gaza
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 17 May 2013
Finlay Macdonald, Denise L’estrange-Corbet, Simon Pound
That brief resurgence in quality on this programme that I noted a couple of weeks ago is well and truly over and done with. The situation reached its nadir on Tuesday when Jim Mora’s guests were the brutal right wing “pundit” John Bishop and the right wing beer writer and self-styled “wit” Neil Miller, but today’s guests, while they are clearly more humane and decent individuals than Bishop and Miller, are not much better when it comes to discussing serious issues. Look at how they trivialize and scoff at the situation of the besieged residents of Gaza…..
FINLAY MACDONALD: That was David Bowie with “Lady Grinning Soul” from 1973. All right, it’s 3:45; time for Susan Baldacci with what the wooooooorld’s talking about!
SUSAN BALDACCI: News today of the kind of thing being smuggled through the tunnels from Egypt into Gaza! Of course there are many of these tunnels.
FINLAY MACDONALD: These tunnels are from Sinai, aren’t they.
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yes. They smuggle all SORTS of items through them, and you know what? You can order a pizza for thirty dollars!
SIMON POUND: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
SUSAN BALDACCI: When you think of what they are needing, and THAT is what they want!?!?!?!?!!!???
SIMON POUND: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
FINLAY MACDONALD: The pizza would be cold, by the time it got to them, wouldn’t it?
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: [sniffily] I wouldn’t order a pizza if I was in Gaza.
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yeah, well, that’s what they want. When you think of what they SHOULD be ordering….
4:25 p.m. As I write this, I am listening to that mealy-mouthed twit Simon Pound trying to defend John Key’s latest offensive remarks. This time Key has described the situation of Christchurch people as “some hard-luck stories at a micro level.”
Pound is an intelligent and perceptive fellow, but he is quite clearly afraid to voice his real feelings.
Thought of your rage Morrissey as I listened to this but could swear I heard not “pizza” but “Kentucky Fried”. A bucket of the same delivered via the tunnels in 4 hours – $US30. Anyway, the tone I detected was a little mockingly amused, especially from Baldacci as I recall. I exclude Macdonald from that.
Put me in mind of transiting in Manila in 1977, a National Youth Council group of 20 “Young Workers” bound for China. I guess few of them have maintained their then much vaunted “leftiness”. But then there are a number of horrid examples of that – Rob Campbell (Ports of Auckland) for example.
As the aircraft taxied to the terminal we observed the meanest shacks dotted in the banana palms not 100 metres from the runway – TV aerials poking up into the air.
Several of my fellows expressed judgment thus – “Look at that, they’re as poor as hell and they’ve got televisions !” (“Tut Tut Tut !” sort of thing). No walking in the mocassins there.
Sadly, I was not terribly well supported when I aggressively expressed my disgust with that tone. Some might say there’s still little maturity in Mr North nearly 40 years on but I’d like to think I was capable even then of appreciating that when people are grindingly poor and deprived we should not reflexively clutch our pearls when a little succour is taken wherever it can be found. At least try to walk in the mocassins maybe.
Perhaps clever wee laughies radio-girl Baldaccci would benefit from a spell in Gaza when the Zionists fly over dropping death on children.
1.) Thought of your rage Morrissey as I listened to this but could swear I heard not “pizza” but “Kentucky Fried”.
You are of course correct, my friend. In mitigation, I must say that I was driving and therefore could not scribble down any transcript in my usual manner, and so I was forced to rely on my (imperfect) recall.
2.) A bucket of the same delivered via the tunnels in 4 hours – $US30. Anyway, the tone I detected was a little mockingly amused, especially from Baldacci as I recall. I exclude Macdonald from that.
You’ve got that exactly right. Last year Susan Baldacci sneered at Sean Penn for “cuddling up to the likes of Hugo Chávez”; twenty years ago I am sure she was condemning other celebrities for cuddling up to Nelson Mandela. Balducci is very similar to another American on Radio NZ, Marty Duda: superficially affable, but just below the surface there is a vat of completely unexamined prejudices bubbling away. Duda’s right wing rancour boiled over hilariously late last year when he launched into an ignorant and disconnected radio rant against my Lancastrian namesake (the singer).
3.) Put me in mind of transiting in Manila in 1977, a National Youth Council group of 20 “Young Workers” bound for China. I guess few of them have maintained their then much vaunted “leftiness”. But then there are a number of horrid examples of that – Rob Campbell (Ports of Auckland) for example.
This prick?…
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/lunch-boardroom-rob-campbell-gb-123023
I have a book with a picture of this glib scumbag in his PYM days, posing with a rifle. Campbell the revolutionary foot-soldier-cum-Guinness Peat director.
4.) As the aircraft taxied to the terminal we observed the meanest shacks dotted in the banana palms not 100 metres from the runway – TV aerials poking up into the air.
Several of my fellows expressed judgment thus – “Look at that, they’re as poor as hell and they’ve got televisions !” (“Tut Tut Tut !” sort of thing). No walking in the mocassins there.
Sadly, I was not terribly well supported when I aggressively expressed my disgust with that tone.
I hear those sentiments every time I listen to squawk radio, which I haven’t done for a long time now. The withdrawal programme is working. (I’m pretending, for the sake of argument, that Radio NZ’s Panel is qualitatively different to the commercial chat. Really, though, there’s little to separate them.)
5.) Perhaps clever wee laughies radio-girl Baldaccci would benefit from a spell in Gaza when the Zionists fly over dropping death on children.
I’m sure she’d still find something whimsical, like KFC deliveries via tunnels, to distract her audience in the usual manner.
True. The “superiority” of RNZ is marked only by the absence of fulsomely excited, breathless exhortations to make our lives fabulous by “popping on down to wherever to get whatever – open 7 days…….”. And discordant jingles.
The saving grace to that carry-on, infuriating as it is, is that at least it doesn’t make light of appalling inhumanity, as is Gaza.
Your Lancastrian namesake deserves any amount of crap that’s thrown at him.
Reports of UFO activity over Hamilton last night.
Wasn’t me, I don’t fly any more.
Sorry, my bad. Didn’t think anyone would notice in the rain.
nobody here or anywhere else in nz will bother, and will not know for a start, as today, starting 11 am outside vector arena in auckland city, off quay st, there was a massive and vocal protest by aaap, by various unions (unite, first union, sfu and so), same as some community groups, to protest against the budget by the nat government not delivering much or anything to the poor and unemployed. there was a lot of media presence, all leading tv stations had sent cameras, there was a lot of upheaval, with some protestors trying to push their way into a convention or meeting hearing pm john key, to speak to the hundreds of attending cross tasman and pacific business people. most business people turned up in taxis, expensive vehicles and with suits and ties, and they faced a barrage of challenging chants and so forth. one person got arrested for dubious reasons, and was later released from the watchhouse at auckland central police station at 2 pm, with no charge laid. supporters were there to welcome him. there was no mention at all in the media, be this radio nz’s checkpoint, the leading tv stations or so about this. it seems the business lobby run and control the media in nz solidly. it is clear that they frown on protestors and dissenters, and the arrogance and demeanour of those that went to this meeting at vector arena spoke volumes. so we have a society here in nz, that is oligopolist, monopolits in some areas, and where an elite run and rule, they even determine government by financial and other support. they have control over the media, so they refrain from reporting what people do and say, and protest about. this is practically a dictatorship here in nz, but most are ignorant and complacent, relying on a fool’s belief that they still have some say in what they want.
so that is it, the truth, but i am only a stupid migrant, always have been treated wit h some contempt by locals, so why should i care a shit about a shit country like nz.
Some of my best friends are stupid migrants. I’d probably treat you OK.
Sorry, Murray, I get my bad moments, and I have not had an easy lot, still trying to get some major issues addressed by “Commissioners” of sorts, holding office, most appointed by Nat governments.
Apart from that I thank you for your tolerance towards my “rant”.
I am working on a number of issues, personal and not so personal. So I am at times also joining forces at the frontline, and the Vector Arena protest or pickets was one good experience. Sad to see and hear the MSM have little time for the ordinary folk here, born and bred Kiwis or migrants.
We will keep up the struggle, as that is a moral mission kind of. I would hate to be on the side of the mercenaries and foot soldiers of this system, rewarding a few, that frown on the rest, no matter where it happens in the world.
No apologies required. We would be less than human if we didn’t feel a bit down now and then.
Listening to Annette King give attempting to give the government a dressing down over the way its dealing with the issue of paying parents who care for their disabled adult children was truly sickening. The initial claim was made when Labour were the government and they rejected it outright. And now Annette King thinks she can take the moral high ground on the issue. Well, Annette, you need to just shut the fuck up on this matter. You and your mates have no right to call foul on this whatsoever. Ryall simply continued with the dirty work that you began, and now you think you can bag him for that? Total hypocrisy. Just sickening. Apologise for what you did, or keep your mouth shut.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2555505/government-accused-of-shonky-process-over-family-carers-bill.asx
“Was Aaron Gilmore an inside job.”
Check out the Daily Blog.
If this is true it is pretty nasty stuff and a disaster for Democracy.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/05/17/was-aaron-gilmore-an-inside-political-hit-job/
Yes. I saw that. The first question in my mind was, why did Hooton drop that information into the public arena?
Now that’s thinking.
I suspect the answer is that he’s with (being paid by) a different faction than the one which set up Gilmore.
Because he’s a Steven Joyce supporter? Now if CV has it right, then that really makes it interesting doesn’t it.
Perhaps rub this under your Kiwi noses also, maybe not quite mainstream as you like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-1P68DlVZo
Many a movements not necessarily recognised.
a dead body taken apart, that is of a revolutionary, and they would do the same in cowardly nz, rest assured:
Well well well.
So the Keyster’s “tentacles” comment is forgotten, and the TPPA is not anti-China – despite what Obama explicitly stated.
And yet.
Kiwi mutton rotting on Chinese wharves.
Thanks tories.
Our self-appointed master-class strikes again.
The rule of Hone Nice-but-Dim, in the forgotten land of Shonkey Python.
See and learn about the true history and course of events in the Chilean dictatorship, overthrowing Salvador Allende, if anybody in rather indifferent nz bothers to care. oh, sorry the first letter of chilean was misspelled in caps again. sorry lprent, i am working on it:
Viva, el pueblo, not in stupid cowardly and brainwashed NZ, a crap country with too many cowards living here!!!
Por el pueblo en latin america y international, fuerca …
international workers songs, perhaps de chile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWlkWPXfvXc
history lesson, must learn material, especially for NZ workers and engaged!
Vina del mar de chile another great concert, only dreamt about for such events in nz:
The Standard may well be losing the credit it deserves, to be independent and strong on that on the left, but I fear (sorry the caps) it is becoming another mainstream media turnout. I wish it won’t but we will have to see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhwHgsUmZWw
enjoy or not
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/17/bathroom-blues-venezuelas-toilet-paper-crisis/
Food for thought for the supporters of the Green/Labour plans for electricity prices.
I especially like this bit ‘But socialist President Nicolás Maduro (who was hand-picked by Chavez to succeed him) blamed the toilet paper shortage on “anti-government forces,”’
He’s right. If they imprisoned all the traitors, RWNJs, and media barons, there’d be far less shit floating about. We must learn from them that kindness to your enemy might win points in heaven, but if you want a clean bum, get rid of the right wingers. Of course, if Key decided to take a trip to Venezuela, he could always take you and Slater along and he’d never even notice the shortage.
That would be telling, Murray. 😀