….What we really need to do is change our behaviour, but Sovacool’s research has shown that people are unlikely to do so unless politicians force them. Offsetting also carries the risk of the rebound effect, in which people feel that because they offset, they can eat more meat or drive a petrol-guzzling car, he says.
With her refusal to fly Greta Thunberg has shown leadership, her example changing the behaviour of many. in her country.
Our Green Party MPs are in the position to create flygskam in this country. Why won't they do it?
None of them are electorate MPs, what's to stop them all moving to Wellington?
Yes it will mean a personal sacrifice and possibly even hardship for some, but if our Green MPs are not prepared to forego their personal comforts and convenience in the interests of protecting the climate, how can they expect anyone else to?
It is not about "personal comforts and convenience" but rather their ability to do their jobs. It is very clear that you don't understand what MPs do or how very hard Green MPs work.
Exactly. And that is why I drive to work, and will continue to do so. No way whatsoever willn8 take the bus. Thtatbwould significantly add to my work day and impair my ability to perform my job.
It is about efficiency whether a 'hard working Green MP' orbthe great hard working masses.
The comment that List MPs, which is what all the Green MPs are, should move to Wellington when they are elected has nothing to do with whether they have to travel around the country. They can still, as individuals, travel for Parliamentary reasons wherever in New Zealand they need to go. They don't have to travel backwards and forwards to some desirable location where they choose to live because the weather is nice there, or there are lovely vineyards to eat lunch at or whatever. Al their business travel could start right here in Wellington.
Shift the List MPs, and their families to Wellington when they are elected. Pay to shift them back when they are evicted. Let them, as individuals, travel on Parliamentary business at any time to any place in New Zealand. Don't supply them with accommodation in Wellington if they choose not to live there. Don't provide free travel for spouses or children either.
There used to be a contributor here who used the pseudonym of Weka. She offered up the standard fairy stories about how all the Green MPs worked so terribly hard in the electorates they were supposed to "represent". They all had Electorate Offices apparently and they all were supposed to work so terribly hard on behalf of their "constituents" in those electorates. I asked for the addresses of some of these Electorate Offices. That got her (or at least I think it was a her), to regularly ban me. Never did tell me where I could find an Electorate Office though.
If the List MPs really do work so hard then moving to Wellington could only improve their productivity. They could cut out the travel back and forth to where they have chosen to live. It would probably save them 10 or 15 hours travel a week, and the emission of an enormous amount of Carbon wouldn't it? It would also mean that they could go home every night to their families instead of haunting the restaurants and bars in Wellington each night that Parliament is operating.
A gain both ways I should think. Although their spouses might be quite happy not to have to put up with them when Parliament is in session, as they can do now.
[Why are you criticising a moderator of this site who is no longer around? Do you think you can get away with this because there won’t be any repercussions? Guess what, you are wrong! I’ll give you the choice of taking back what you said about Weka and accept the bans you received at the time or you show you disrespect moderators, are not willing to correct your behaviour, and you have in fact not learned a thing and I will have to use a dice – Incognito]
I thought "contributor" best described her . She did, after all, write an awful lot of comments, as well as judging others opinions. And she was obviously a moderator. Otherwise how else could she have so freely banned me?
Yeah she was a very astute judge of character and as we know you failed that test alwyn – and now you're putting the book into her? Shows what a nobody lowlife you are.
It would probably save them 10 or 15 hours travel a week
Ummm, it only takes a couple of hours to fly from Wellington to any main centre. They don't commute daily.
Each Green MP is "buddied" with a number of electorates so that all electorate are covered. Green MPs based in Auckland, for example, live relatively close to the electorates allocated to them and can travel then from Auckland.
Parliament does not sit every week of the year and MPs are usually more productive if they can return to their home base.
Like Jenny it seems that you have little knowledge of what Green MPs actually do.
"Ummm, it only takes a couple of hours to fly from Wellington to any main centre. They don't commute daily."
Firstly you don't seem to understand how much time is really involved in travelling by air. If they lived in Wellington it would take them about half an hour to get home.
If they go to Auckland it will take them about 30 minutes to get to the Airport from Parliament. You are required to be there about 30 minutes before flight time. The flight to Auckland takes about 60 minutes. To get your luggage and get to the taxi stand takes another 15 minutes. Then it will take you 45 minutes to get home. That is 3 hours for a single flight to, or from home, as compared to 30 minutes for someone who is resident in Wellington
As for not commuting daily. Well at times it looks as if they do. In 2018 the air travel expenses for a couple of the back bench Green MPs was.
Ghahraman ran up $32,276 and Swarbrick $31,111. That is one hell of a lot of travel isn't it, for someone who is a junior MP?
As for Parliament sitting. Well the House doesn't sit that much but there are Select Committees that sit even when the House isn't. And if they only come to Wellington occasionally how can they possibly run up those enormous travel bills? Each of them spends as much as a couple gets in New Zealand Super to live on for the year.
While you are about it can you please tell us what any List MP really does that cannot be done just as well if they were resident in Wellington but could travel to anywhere else in the country when it was required.
List MPs travel around the country meeting with people and visiting sites that are relevant to their portfolios, and in the case of the Green MPs to their buddied electorates.
Great. I am all in favour of that. I fact if you look at the last line of the comment you are replying to that is precisely what I am advocating. However they can start their travel in Wellington where I think they should live. Then they can rather more easily get home to see their families, they won't need taxpayer provided second homes in Wellington and they won't need to spend their time travelling vast distances between their home and their primary place of work.
Electorate MPs are in a totally different category. They have real electorates to deal with and not some phantom "buddy" electorate.
Incidentally where can I find what MP is associated as a "buddy" with which Electorate. The MPs seem to be very much associated with the large cities don't they. Of the 8 Green MPs there seem to be 4 in Auckland, 2 in Wellington, 1 in Christchurch and 1 (Logie) who doesn't seem to want to tell us.
Who are the buddy MPs for all the Electorates in the rest of the country? Surely Sage doesn't cover the whole of the South Island and there must be someone between Wellington and Auckland. There are an awful lot of people live there you know.
Maintaining community connections with people outside Wellington. It's a New Zealand government, not the Wellington Occupational Forces.
As for flight times, if it were that onerous more list mps would stay in wellington. But how many commute every day to the capital? I mean, it could probably be done (and you can actually get work done on a plane), but I suspect most would be like electorate MPs, so your commute time is 6 hours a week.
Me too. I refused to even look at this site after the way I was bullied and harangued. It was like a closed door and there was zero happiness on my part.
But she isn't here to defend herself so… But I have wondered what happened to her, thanks for the links.
A Moderator doesn’t need to defend themselves here but IMO they should explain and clarify if they have the time. The idea of moderation is to modify behaviour through self-moderation in the first instance. Alwyn is ‘on bail’ at the moment as you can see from my Moderation note left @ 1.1.1.1.1.
yeah sure marty mars – you're a bully too with your sneering ways and instant and constant personal attacks.. the sort of thing that children are told off for…
I wasn't complaining about her activities as a moderator. I was talking about her banning people who replied to her normal comments and who showed that her comments were, on occasion, in fact inaccurate.
Does that mean that if a moderator, such as yourself, was to make a comment such as "John Key was jailed for 10 years for fraud" it would be impossible to point out that the statement was in fact false because that would be attacking a moderator?
If that is the case can we please have a full list of all moderators. I will then never reply to any of them.
[Moderating is an ‘art’, not an ‘exact science’. It is almost impossible to comment and moderate at the same time, especially in the same discussion thread. Many good Moderators who were (and still are) also good Authors have fallen into this trap. I actually don’t like moderating and I’d rather be commenting or, even better, writing posts.
You knew that Weka was a commenter, Author, and Moderator. You were being a smart alec by asking about Electorate Offices knowing full well that the Greens didn’t have Electorate MPs. For this you got banned “regularly” [your word] by Weka, which suggests recidivist behaviour on your behalf.
To me, it looks very much like you are now complaining about Weka’s moderating of you, not “people”; if Weka had been just another commenter you wouldn’t have complained about the bans you have received. Regardless, moderation is not up for debate and you have to accept it and move on. Weka cannot defend the comments and moderation of the past and you know this, which makes your comment a low and sly one in my eyes.
You seem to have a problem with being told to modify your behaviour here and you don’t like to accept the consequences of your behaviour. Avoiding discussions with Moderators is not going to help much in this sense. In addition, your example is utter nonsense when you state “it would be impossible to point out that the statement was in fact false because that would be attacking a moderator”. Again, in my eyes, you come across as a smart alec – Incognito]
Unless this were adopted on mass (unlikely) it will do little other than inconvenience those who take part.
I like the idea of more people working from home via the internet and avoid travel (especially as I live in Wgtn and worry about people trapped in the city after a big quake). It shouldn't need encouragement to do this but a tax incentive might help speed things along.
Thunberg lives somewhere conveniently well-supplied with rail to most other places she needs to be. Seen her visit the US yet?
Leadership is more than you appear to think it is.
A good leader leads from the front and never asks people to do something that they themselves would not be prepared to do.
A good leader sets an example.
Because of her leadership and example setting Greta Thunberg has been invited to address the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York in September.
Thunberg has announced that she intends to travel to New York by taking passage on a container ship, Or if that doesn't work out, make her address to the UN by tele-presence.
A poor leader says do as I say, not as I do.
We have way too much of this last type of leadership.
Which probably goes some way to explain Greta Thunberg’s popularity.
"None of them are electorate MPs, what's to stop them all moving to Wellington?"
Their families?
Their love of their turangawaewae?
Their communities of support?
Friends?
Obligations to site-based projects, such as a farm or market garden?
Responsibilities they might have at home, outside of their political obligations (they don't work 24 hours a day on parliamentary stuff, do they? There must be some time during the day for them to garden, wash their bicycles, make a salad etc?
They can do all those things in Wellington you know Robert. The weather here isn't really that bad.
If they really want to rule over us they will just have to make some sacrifices won't they. The idea that they are tied to their home soil really is stretching things you know.
Look at some of their history. The former un-lamented MP Ms Turei happily moved around the country. didn't she? She was born in Palmerston North. The she moved to Auckland. Then she wandered off to Dunedin. Hardly sticking close to friends or family was she?
Yes! 🙂 Truly we need a Greta Thunberg here in New Zealand. For me it'd indicate our youth haven't already been crushed into soul dead conformity but have a divine spark of creativity and independence and integrity that'd possibly transform our society.
sekhmetsdaughterThe time to change our ways is long past. When large groups of homo sap declared they were not part of Earth and All Our Relations, and that they had the right to take, and take, and take…without giving…that was when we were doomed to extinction. Perhaps, if our children en masse realize they are part of a huge whole, and decide that constant consumption is not a path to happiness, some may survive. We’re facing huge forces that are basically sociopathic. Giving up private cars, giving up urban sprawl, giving up war…won’t happen. See you on the other side of the Sixth Great Extinction. ( Our Planet has responded with immense power to our destruction we have front row seats to our own slow motion demise )
NOAA's Finding That Last Month Was Hottest June Ever Recorded Bolsters Calls for Radical Climate Action
"Action is urgently needed at the world, federal, state, and local levels to rapidly cut fossil fuel pollution and to protect and rebuild naturally stored carbon."
Humans pump CO2 into the atmosphere at a steadily-accellerating rate,doubling every 40 years, so the greenhouse forcing, and Earth’s energy imbalance, double every 40 years just as steadily. The reason the surface temperature anomaly goes up unsteadily is because more or less of that extra heat (around 90% of it) dives into the ocean every year. From there, tracking where the heat went gets hela complicated: ocean currents are stratified by temperature and salinity in wonderful ways – and some deep ocean currents cycle for centuries. If we were able to accurately measure the whole Earth’s temperature, including deep ocean, then every month would be a new record. The temperature increase, along with its accelleration, is inexorable (so long as CO2 pollution continues).
But the heat we drop off in the ocean doesn’t just stay there. It keeps welling up, as ocean waters do, with inconvenient consequences such as destroying the ice cap PDQ. 2019’s melt season, up there in the neglected Arctic, is turning into a real monster.
There is a belief with some that the Green MPs should put their money where their mouths are and walk or ride bikes everywhere.
Some of those also say that the PM should not take plane flights. Maybe the Green MPs could lead the charge to have no MPs fly anywhere or use transport powered by fossil fuels.
Then again maybe all people who think that should show leadership themselves and get the community motivated. Their action in having all Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays carless would be the best way to put their own money where it should be.
‘ “We need to do something, and act as if we are in a crisis, because otherwise people won't understand that we are in a crisis”.
Greta Thunberg
Grandma, what did you do about climate change when you were Prime Minister?'
'Hello Darling, what a great question'
Way back in 2019, when the Green Party, in response to the climate emergency, on principle banned all internal flights for the their MPs, as the leader of the country, I had to act immediately to prevent our parliamentary ally, the Green Party, becoming isolated, or put at any disadvantage, compared to the climate change denying parties.
My first response as Prime Minister, was to pledge my party's full support for a Private Members Bill brought by the Green Party, to legislate to ban all domestic air travel for all government and opposition MPs.
(As part of this package, and to win over our other government ally, the New Zealand First Party, in talks with the Finance Minister Grant Robertson we agreed to release emergency funding toward a New Zealand First initiative to double track the rail connection to Northland).
Combined, these initiatives became a leading example to the world, and marked the beginning of the world wide switch away from commercial aviation, towards surface travel that you see today.
I also supported legislation to move the subsidy for free domestic air travel, into supplying all MPs, (both government and opposition), with the latest video conferencing and IT suites, to put them more in touch with their constituents and each other without the need to travel as much.
Happy birthday darling, I hope you like the mini-AI electric train set I bought you.
No, the opposite was the case, and democracy was the winner.
And like the anti-nuclear legislation before it – (which the Nats also opposed), as the argument got thrashed out in parliament and wider society fully for the very first time, the Nats had no reasonable rebuttal and the National Party was left looking wanting, they were faced with embracing these policies, or becoming unelectable.
The Prime Ministers leadership was widely applauded around the world. As a result of international acclaim the coalition government became more unified and strengthened than ever.
(Especially on the back of Prime Minister Ardern’s performance at the Oxford debate, where her comment I can smell the CO2 on your breath went into folklore).
And Prime Minister Ardern went on to lead the country for a full three terms.
I know the Green Party don't support cutting air travel, in this case by setting a leading example. But they should. This is what I have just been arguing they could be doing.
How can anyone take them seriously when the Greens say ‘We are in a climate emergency’, if they don’t personally act like we are.
For those among us who complain about the low level of payout the pension provides, please think about those on Supported Living Payment who are long term beneficiaries, often unable to save for their own retirements, and who experience a sense of overwhelming relief when they become eligible for the much higher payout of the pension. ♡
Nobody is listening yet, but with enough people talking to the Human Rights Commission maybe we can at least get this recorded as a serious issue
RCPD section being breached:
Article 28
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right without discrimination on the basis of disability.
=====
2. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to social protection and to the enjoyment of that right without discrimination on the basis of disability, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right, including measures:
( a) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to clean water services, and to ensure access to appropriate and affordable services, devices and other assistance for disability-related needs;
…
( c) To ensure access by persons with disabilities and their families living in situations of poverty to assistance from the State with disability elated expenses, including adequate training, counselling, financial assistance and respite care;
….
( d) To ensure access by persons with disabilities to public housing programmes;
…..
( e) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to retirement benefits and programmes.
=====
Please encourage the government to implement all recommendations of the WEAG report as soon as possible. Cheers.
Having subsisted on the SLP for a number of years whilst sinking into the mire of debt trying to keep hearth and home together and to maintain health and welfare in a system that is hostile to very high needs disabled (the Misery of Health) I can attest to the fact that living on the National Super is a comparative cakewalk.
At the very least, Supported Living Payments should be equal to the pension rate.
Being unable to work due to being disabled or falling ill (for the long term) assigns one to a life of fiscal hardship on top of the difficulties they already suffer. Most people I've spoken too (left and right) find this unacceptable, yet Governments of both stripes have done nothing to address this.
TC. Ask yourself a further question. "Why have successive governments been happy to see the huge disparities between those disabled through accident and covered by ACC and those disabled since birth or though an illness become firmly embedded to the point of acceptability?
Hint. It has its roots way back when those who were born 'perfect and healthy' and who tragically were disabled through some kind of injury (work, war, sports etc) were considered more worthy of support than those poor unfortunate 'incurables and cripples'.
Now I'm pretty sure the fearless warriors of the Third Reich were not trundled off in their wheelchairs to the camps.
Those born perfectly healthy can later become ill and end up disabled due to their illness. Yet, you'e right. There are huge disparities between those disabled through accident and covered by ACC and those disabled since birth.
However, though your suggestion holds some merit, one would think we've come a long way (albeit not far enough) since the doctrine of the Third Reich.
“However, though your suggestion holds some merit, one would think we’ve come a long way (albeit not far enough) since the doctrine of the Third Reich. ”
one would ‘hope ‘but if we examine history we might conclude otherwise
Do you believe Eugenics is somewhat embedded and people won't admit it? Moreover, this disparity (between age and forms of disability) in how people are treated is a result of that?
Vague?…wouldnt have thought so. History both distant and recent, is littered with examples of "survival of the fittest' thinking especially when the pressure for resources comes on.
And funny you should mention eugenics given its history in NZ and recent tentative steps exploring its themes again
This isn't about survival of the fittest, Pat. This is about the disparity (between people born with disabilities or those who have fallen ill opposed to the elderly or someone who has become disabled via an accident) in how they are financially treated by the state. Therefore, what do you think is the reason/s behind that?
Would have thought that well covered by Rosemary's post and my reply to it …an underlying sense that those born disabled are inferior/of no use or a burden whereas those disabled by accident could be myself
Underlying sense that those born disabled are inferior/of no use or a burden whereas those disabled by accident could be myself
The underlying sense that those born disabled are inferior doesn't explain why healthy people who later become ill are also treated differently than someone who falls victim to or has an accident.
Nevertheless, are you saying the Government hold this underlying sense, thus believe those born disabled are inferior, of no use or a burden?
Oh dear…nevermind, on this occasion I shall indulge you but if you wish to seriously discuss the topic the it would help if you read what I write rather than placing your own spin on it.
I havnt mentioned either disparity between illness and accident, nor government…though would suggest that in that instance it is purely a financial decision, whereas the original point as raised by Rosemary re born diasbled v resulting disability and subsequent attitudes I suggest that it is widespread and therefore will be found in all segments of society including government, civil service and the medical profession.
As previously stated I think this supported by historical acts.
Now should you wish to continue there is no need to rush to reply as I have a job to do and will be away for a couple of hours.
Don't be an egg, Pat. I wasn't spinning anything. Merely trying to clarify what you are saying. Hence, the questions.
While you may not have mentioned disparity between illness and accident, nor government, clearly that was what I was asking you about. To which you replied: "Would have thought that well covered by Rosemary's post and my reply to it." But as I went on to show, it wasn't.
As for your recent answer, why do you believe it is a purely financial decision? And who's financial interest is being served here? Taxpayers? It isn't in their interest if they ever fall ill. And that could happen to anyone at any given time.
As for the underlying sense being widespread, you must believe it's particularly rife in Government of both stripes for it to be preventing change? Apart from this discussion, I haven't spoken to anyone who believes those born disabled are inferior, of no use or a burden, thus must be fiscally punished. So where is your evidence this belief (they must be fiscally punished) is widespread?
Anybody here feel we must fiscally punish the disabled?
I have no option but to accept your graceful departure from the discussion, Pat. Nonetheless, disappointed you couldn't face questioning of your position.
I haven't spoken to anyone who believes those born disabled are inferior, of no use or a burden, thus must be fiscally punished. So where is your evidence this belief (they must be fiscally punished) is widespread?
You too, TC, really need to get out more. Sharing a life with a person with an obvious physical disability you have no idea of the number of times it has been made clear to him and me how more acceptable his disability is because he was not born that way. Seriously….you obviously have no idea. The number of times folk have been outraged that by mere dint of a date he is not under ACC. Because if you ever want proof, absolute proof, of how little New Zealanders value those not disabled through injury you only have to compare the amount spent on each group in the way of treatment, equipment, medicines, home support, therapy, travel, vehicles, home modifications etc, etc, etc.
Easy for me to do because this is my life….but in one area….that of home based care…for one year ACC was paying over $20,000 per month for a tetraplegic's care. In the same year, the Miserly of Health paid zero dollars for my partner's care (the same level of injury and same age) and the Ministry of Social Development paid me a benefit of about $200 per week.
Out of that income we also had to fund for ourselves a raft of other stuff that ACC would routinely fund for their tetraplegic clients.
A study, yes an actual study found that comparing household incomes of ACC spinal impaired and MOH spinal impaired the ACC group enjoyed household incomes more than twice tht of the non ACC group.
But hey, there are not that many kids being born with spina bifida anymore because most parents choose to abort them. Making Michael Laws positively orgasmic with delight. Because as we all remember…when Laws did that whole 'You'd be mad not to abort your disabled baby' thing there could be no complaint to the Human Rights Commission because then there were few protections for disabled people against hate speech that advocated violence. There are not many more now.
Little know factoid….ACC disabled are entitled to supports. Ministry of health disabled are entitled to nothing.
(Apologies for the rant.)
You don't have to apologies to me, Rosemary. I know you have lived through it.
Because if you ever want proof, absolute proof, of how little New Zealanders value those not disabled through injury you only have to compare the amount spent on each group in the way of treatment, equipment, medicines, home support, therapy, travel, vehicles, home modifications etc, etc, etc.
While that is proof of how little value the Government places on those not disabled through injury, it doesn't prove why. Why are they treating people so differently?
I've never heard anybody say it's because they were born that way, thus they must be fiscally punished.
A former friend, an ACC client, once chided me after I was a little short at her complaining because ACC was making her wait for a month for the funding for her new modified Nissan Patrol 4wd. I had somewhat snarkily asked how she thought young Sally (not her real name) felt knowing that there's no way in hell she'd ever get funding for a self drive vehicle being, as she was, a young adult with spina bifida.
Cue an un reasonable level of defensive outrage…."But! But, I'm being compensated by ACC because I have lost something! Sally never had it so doesn't deserve to be compensated! "
Another stand out was while my man was having a spider bite wound dealt to in hospital. The four registered nurses doing the dressing (it was a bad wound) were talking about a recent story about a woman trying to get ACC cover for her daughter's spina bifida because had the condition been picked up on a scan she would have had an abortion. These nurses went on and on about the hideous physical ramifications of spina bifida and how these kids were better off not being born. When we pointed out that Peter too was paralysed. and at a much higher level of lesion (therefore more foobarred) than most with sb and did they think that he would be better off dead? They said "Oh, no!! You were born normal".) As if that made any difference. We then went on to impart a few home truths. We also pointed out that if the Ministry of Health was willing to give those with spina bifida equal access to treatment and therapies enjoyed by ACC funded paraplegics then the outcomes for the spina bifida people would be much, much better. They left, did the older RNs. But the young student nurse held back. She had been born with spina bifida despite her mother having been advised to abort. To look at her you would not have an inkling. Her colleagues had not a clue and and she needed, for obvious reasons, to keep this vital part of herself secret.
These nurses went on and on about the hideous physical ramifications of spina bifida and how these kids were better off not being born.
As I can't speak for them, I'm speculating here. But to me what you described sounds like the nurses were being cruel in a nice way – ie better not to be born than to suffer a lifetime. Now while people will have their own opinions on that notion (better not to be born than to suffer a lifetime) it's not the same as people willingly wanting to fiscally punish someone simply because they were born with a disability opposed to via an accident.
Those born perfectly healthy can later become ill and end up disabled …yes, and there is a tendency to either blame these illnesses on genetics or some kind of irresponsible action or inaction by the sufferer.
Whatever, our 'envy of the world' no-fault ACC scheme, either unintentionally or by design, perpetuates that 'inferior being' and 'less worthy' narrative.
You're right, we haven't come any where near far enough towards changing this.
I think he is more xenophobic than racist, Likewise his tweet if racist does not in necessity make him a racist What is a racist anyway the loony left have so abused the word it is becoming meaningless to most people, Hell even Nancy Pelosi is a racist now
[On 15 July, I asked you to leave the sockpoppets to the moderators and stick to one alias yourself. The same day, Lynn banned you for two weeks for starting a flame war. You have now deliberately tried to bypass the ban and used a sockpoppet, and bad one at that. I add another two months for using a sockpoppet, another two months for trying to bypass the ban, and another two months for treating the moderators as fools. Because I feel generous today and I feel like it, I add another six months. This means we might see you again in a year’s time. Bye for now – Incognito]
the title says it all really. The Labour right would rather have a sycophantically pro-Israel Boris Johnson government than a critical Corbyn one.
And it is increasingly obvious to any observer that the (neo)"liberal" establishment of white collar managerialists that reads the Guardian prefer the establishment option of the Lib-Dems to the idea of a transformational left wing government under Labour.
The power of the establishment forces lining up against Labour in the UK are awesome, and tells you all you need to know about how threatened they feel by Corbyn.
I am inclined to agree with the author of the article. Britain probably does need a general election. Too much uncertainty at the moment, and not enough of a mandate, especially with a change of Prime Minister. I reckon Boris would win.
The Calombaris penalty of $200,000 in restitution is dismally low and a reflection of how weak our laws are. The main penalty for these rich men appears to be public shame.
They get to keep their fortunes and spend them, if they so choose, on a public relations rehabilitation.
Too often the exploited workers – many of whom are temporary migrants – get nothing or a fraction of what they are entitled to.
With what little respect I had for this Government fast waning, I call bullshit on the recent Grand Announcement that they are going to repeal the Part 4A amendment to the Public Health and Disability Act and start treating family carers more fairly.
1. I recently communicated with Julie Anne Genter's office and was told…
"We can only repeal Part 4A when we know what will replace it"
Wrong. If this government is speaking truly when it claims it will treat family carers fairly and without discriminating there is absolutely no need at all to replace the Part 4A amendment with anything.
Simply… The payment would be madefor explicit roles required within customised client care plans. Family carers could have other paid employment. The only requirement for a family member to receive payment for care work would be that they provide the designated services.
As the family member would be contracted to undertake specific tasks, they would be paid the market rate for the tasks being performed. In other words, payment would equate to that received by workers delivering formal care services.
2. The real issues, which this Government is proudly carrying on the tradition of its predecessors by ignoring, are a) the inefficiencies, inconsistencies and often adversarial nature of the NASC Needs Assessment process, and b) the lack of any real entitlement to funded supports to meet assessed needs, and c) the massive disparities in access to funded supports between ACC and Ministry of Health Disability Support Services.
None of these are insurmountable, but it would appear that the good old Miserly of Health have convinced yet another crop of newbies in Parliament that they are.
Nearly three hundred family carers of MOH;DSS clients were being paid despite the policy stating it was not allowed and as one of the Judges in one of the many court hearing commented 'The sky did not fall.'. These family carers did not have 'special' policies or have discriminatory employment conditions. No, they were paid…
for explicit roles required within customised client care plans. Family carers could have other paid employment. The only requirement for a family member to receive payment for care work would be that they provide the designated services.
As the family member would be contracted to undertake specific tasks, they would be paid the market rate for the tasks being performed. In other words, payment would equate to that received by workers delivering formal care services.
I challenge this Government to do the right thing and stop the discriminatory treatment of family carers once and for all.
Have the guts, the puku, to address the real issues.
Thanks Rosemary … its good to have honest people cut through PR spin and inform us..
Its a justice issue that could end up affecting any of us ….
And its about priorities …. No more multi million welfare to Americas cup crap … No more buying Billions of war toys …. to keep the wayne mapps and sir kiddy killer john key 'realists' happy.
Its quite simple …. spend money on New Zealand people who need and Deserve it.
Julie Anne Genter needs to get her values back ….. or get out of the way and let someone who has some do her job.
…. Shame on her … and the Green party who she represents/
I'm not blaming JAG for this. She will not be making the decisions here. The poor woman merely has the misfortune to have the portfolio this festering sore is attached to.
This Government has failed like its predecessors to break apart the corporate mafia that is the Ministry of Health.
All we are asking is that family carers delivering the assessed care are treated no differently than the carers employed by the Ministry's Contracted Providers.
Especially since some of us are performing care tasks that those Contracted Providers refuse to perform because the Miserly will not fund that level of advanced care.
Thanks for the considered reply … I guess I'm just dissapointed in the spin versus being honest … as at least when their honest its easier to get on the path to fixing things.
The last Nact Govt did a lot of sneaky 'sliver' privitisation in health … meals / hospital food being one area …. and the Ministry's Contracted Providers another … in the Wellington area at least.
This used to be administered / run by a church affiliated group … who lost the contract to a commercial outfit …. and they were a bit like Nova pay in regards to this lady I know, who is paid to care for her stroke affected mother aged in her early 70's …..
She was only paid / contracted, for 14 hours care / home help … but she did at least 35hrs or more .
The private company was named Green cross at first ,,, which I thought a bit cheeky given the long established 'green cross' medical cannabis organisation … But it quickly underwent a name change to Geneva health …. and I think its been taken over again…
I seem to recall a $ 10 Million profit in a trading year … as Geneva Health.
But back to her pay ,,,,,I audited her pay slips after being asked ,,, despite static hours every week, her pay was up and down … or more down than anything… . I tallied up 70 odd hours missing over a year and a bit.
She got what she was owed …The proof was on their payslips …but I wondered how widespread this 'cribbing' of hours was… for all the other workers under them.,,, I doubt they were overpaying others.
Fonterra pledges no more coal boilers, bringing the planned change forward over a decade.
While existing boilers still operate more pressure is needed. Existing public pressure appears to be working.
This is minor PR, remove all the coal (and start to clean up your fleet) and you'll begin creating customer loyalty like you've never seen before.
Advertising sucks huge money from business to annoy people and push psychological ploys for their dollars. It is irritating as billboards and print, and outright intrusive in digital media/television. There is a better way than trying to manipulate.
Operate with integrity and watch your loyal customer base soar.
They could hardly propose to install any new ones; the outcry would be deafening.
Fonterra are making hay from something that would have not have happened anyway, imo. They are delaying the change from burning huge amounts of lignite brown coal at Edendale for as long as possible, even when alternative waste-wood systems are available. I expect the other forces on the industry are saying, hold out as long as possible, this run won't last forever anyway. In the meantime, their coal-burning plants are spewing greenhouse gases out at an appalling rate but because they're invisible, no one notices.
If greenhouse gases were black, there'd be daily protests along the boundary fences of these milk-powder plants. The billowing black clouds would advertise their climate crimes for all to see.
I have posted before that in the late 70's the Hikurangi Dairy factory was run on a wood chip fired boiler, it had problems but 40 years should have resolved these and they could be in use every where. I believe growing trees to burn and growing more trees does not add to the greenhouse gases because of it is a cycle and there is balance , the problem comes from burning the sequesterd carbon from coal and oil. I may be wrong.
The factory was awarded an environmental award. I took some pictures of the yellow food colouring from the cheezel powder flowing into the river from the factory outlet with the powder from the dryer billowing out behind and then the black smoke from the boiler behind this. I think these are the sort of pictures you are referring too.
Yes it is behind the iniquitous Herald paywall. But what the writers ( Kirsty Johnston and Chris Knox ) found …
Plummeting vaccination rates are being driven largely by the failure to immunise babies born into poor or Māori families – not by parents deliberately opting out.
(Yes, I succumbed and paid up. Only so I could read articles by one of the abovenamed. I do hope that particular journalist is being paid a bonus for being bait. )
I read somewhere this morning that immunising children against measles will be compulsory as all schools are state schools and home schooling is banned. Germany I think.
To equate Nazi Germany with the Germany of today is disingenuous (to put it nicely) or downright despicable (to put it bluntly).
When idiots choose to believe a ragtag bunch of quacks who inhabit the internet – as opposed to highly qualified scientists who have been through umpteen years of study and research – and accordingly place the lives of people (children in particular) in considerable danger, then it is incumbent on the government to take measures to prevent them from spreading their nutbar conspiracies.
Any government that does not do so is reneging on their responsibility to safeguard the citizens of their respective countries.
Should Germany return to forced medical procedures by using strategies such as coersion, that nation will indeed have completed a full circle , and become , once again…a fa**ist state.
Against its entire new born, infant and young persons population.
Thereby far exceeding population penetration of experimental medical acts carried out on children in the naz* era.
There is no requirement for me to address your uninformed position on vaccination, as that speaks for itself through your commentary…
And we have had that discussion multiple times previously. Haven’t we.
If you are so inclined to uplift your understanding on that subject and the historical context, there is a link in my response to RM at 9.1.
Anne. I would have though at least you would have at least read the few lines of the Herald article I linked to which explains in some detail…with multi colour graphs and everything…what I said in my comment.
So-called anti-vaxxers are not to blame for declining immunisation rates.
So why are you banging on about the idiots (who) choose to believe a ragtag bunch of quacks who inhabit the internet when the article is referring to research done by an actual live New Zealand scientist…Associate professor Dr Nikki Turner, Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre?
You are right about one thing though…any government which continues to ignore the real reasons why parents are not accessing healthcare of all kinds is is reneging on their responsibility to safeguard the citizens …
How nasty of the Germans to vaccinate people & prevent them from their "Right" to contract Polio & spend a few years in an Iron Lung courtesy of the taxpayer !
I think they're drawing too much from the data. Access to primary healthcare is a big equity issue, but isn't the only issue.
The question I'd be trying to find an answer to is whether socioeconomically alienated people are particularly vulnerable to the antivaxx BS. ISTR they showed the movie up in Northland and a few other High-dep places. Maybe run a similar analysis to primary-healthcare-avoidable hospitalisations, and see if there's much of a difference. That might help start looking for an attributable risk level.
The existence of one factor doesn't preclude the existence of another factor in producing a particular outcome, and sometimes those factors have a multiplicative effect, not just additive.
tl,dr: if antivaxx BS had no effect, they wouldn’t do it. like tobacco advertisers.
The question I'd be trying to find an answer to is whether socioeconomically alienated people are particularly vulnerable to the antivaxx BS.
Why don't you step outdoors McFlock, and go and speak with some of those people and find out?
I assume that you too read the article I linked to entire?
Whatever your personal feelings about vaccines and that you believe they are all safe and effective is besides the point.
Most of the people whose children are unvaccinated are not choosing not to vaccinate, just as they are not choosing to take their children to the doctor or to get prescriptions filled or to buy healthy food so their children are better able to fight off illnesses. They are also not attending hospital appointments…and not because they were told by some nutbar on the internet not too.
It is too easy, nay downright fucking lazy to simply ignore the research and go off on your (and others') usual anti anti-vaxxers rant.
They really aren't as influential as you think.
Now, what do you know about the rates of rheumatic fever in Aotearoa and how can you twist the narrative and blame the same on anti-vaxxers?
Anecdata is no data. I doubt that any feedback I get from the wilds of Dunedin will be applicable to Northland.
I read the article, and it's an overreach. From memory, some areas/dhbs do not display the same deprivation inequity for vaccination as other DHBs. What makes those ones different?
As the article says, a quarter of the effect is documented as explicit refusal. How big is the gap for the implicit refusal, though – the Did Not Attends because the baby seemed fine and the jabs weren't worth the trouble of crossing those other primary healthcare barriers?
I'm not attributing everything to antivaxxers. Nor should you keep trying to exonerate them from any responsibility. 4.3% outright decline. That's well in excess of contraindication levels.
We all know there are socioeconomic inequities when it comes to primary healthcare. We all know there are antivax nutbars.
Wouldn't it be fucking weird if they actually interacted with each other to multiply their inequitable effect, like how smoking and unsafe sleeping arrangements multiply each other as risk factors for SUDI and having an effect much larger than the risk of each being added together? Gosh, but then we might have to still address the infective influence of paranoid jerks.
The government has said in a report by the Institute of Medicine, and by the way I’m a member of the Institute of Medicine, I love the Institute of Medicine… but a report in 2004, it basically said,
‘Do not pursue susceptibility groups, don’t look for those patients whose children who may be vulnerable.
I really take issue with that conclusion. The reason why they didn’t want to look for those susceptibility groups is because they are afraid is that if they found them, however big or small they were, that that would scare the public away.
… I don’t think you should ever turn your back on any scientific hypothesis because you’re afraid of what it might show.
One never should shy away from science.
One should never shy away from getting causality information in a setting in which you can test it.
Populations do not test causality, they test association.
You have to go into the laboratory and you have to do designed research studies in animal
'It is sad that our societal memory is so brief and mutable that there is now a resurgence of diseases that maim and kill, despite these being preventable. If you speak to your grandparents and great grandparents, they will tell you of this. Listen to their wisdom. Or read a few sensible books from the past.
But some would rather listen to conspiracy theorists with flecks of foam on their lips. Even allowing for their deceived state, there’s one point they miss…
It’s about balance of risk.
Vaccines do not cause autism. But even if they did cause it in a tiny number of people—so small that we’ve failed to detect it despite diligent scrutiny—the balance of risk would still be in favour of stamping out these diseases, diseases that have caused untold misery and death.
Denying this balance would be like legislators mandating that a “cancer warning” appears on every coffee cup because of a tiny theoretical risk of cancer, despite the clear overall benefits of coffee.
The New Zealand "Defence" Force is busy trying to confuse politicians about its role in the killing of Afghan villagers….
Politicians were shown edited footage of the Hit and Run raid which throws into question the NZDF version of events, reports the NZ Herald’s (paywalled) David Fisher. 12 seconds of footage were deleted from the logs of the US helicopter, which showed civilians sheltering behind a building that had been hit by stray high-explosive rounds. But when the NZDF presented the footage at Beehive screenings, politicians shown it are now split on whether they were told it had been edited. The footage was used as part of an NZDF campaign to demonstrate an inquiry wasn’t needed.
Send him back to socialist nirvana, Scandinavia. Exporting their potty mouths has made them stable rich and equal. Send out potty mouths to the state's too.
With this acknowledgment, one wonders why they (the Government) haven't increased core benefit rates? The Government's own working group even told them so. So what's the hold up?
Moreover, how much extra money and time is it costing the Government to process this massive increase in individual hardship claims? Wouldn't it be far easier, thus cost taxpayers far less, to simply increase core benefit rates?
Does the Government like having massive weekly queues outside welfare offices being plastered all over the media? One would think not. So when are they going to do something about this growing problem?
And by the way, where are the Greens on this issue? MIA.
Seems (along with parliamentary questions) she is leaving it to Simon Bridges to stand up for the poor?
“Hardship grants are through the roof. That’s because of the taxes and the costs that the Government is piling on,” says Opposition leader Simon Bridges.
No doubt. Just an excuse (albeit there is some truth in it) for him to beat down on the Government. But at least he fronted on it.
Whereas, the Greens are meant to be fighting this fight, yet we hear little or nothing from them on it.
Last time I saw Marama she said she was working hard to get more recommendations (from the welfare working group) through. And we haven’t heard anything more from her about it since. Bit like when she said she was going to sort out the solar power issue for state home tenants. Once again, nada.
Maybe the hardship grant applications are increasing because now there's a hope that they'll come through. And the "delay" you your preferred benefit increase is maybe down to the budget or having to wait to see what the nature of the problem actually is – median grant and frequency of applications, regional differences – so they know how much to lift base rates by?
Fuel tax, which is a non progressive tax and adds to the cost of just about everything. Also added rental compliance costs are two that come to mind.
Maybe the hardship grant applications are increasing because now there's a hope that they'll come through.
The large queues for AAAP representation would suggest otherwise.
They had a welfare group to identify the nature of the problems. And we all know what the main problem is, benefits aren't fit for purpose due to the fact they don't pay out enough from the onset.
The government gets back a huge portion of the $ that go on ciggies. From what I have heard smokers pay more than their fair share of tax with all that they pay + some smokers claim their shorter lives mean they get less of the pension than tofu eating bores who live to 102.
Rental compliance cost is a bullshit excuse – landlords already charge as much as possible. Fuel tax is one that might actually increase some downstream costs, but the queues existed before the tax came in (but after the change in government). So nah, not them.
And it's all very well to say "they don't pay out enough". How much should they actually pay? What should be done to sort out that additional cost?
You have previously written that the NZDF purchases should be delayed, but surely having the jet break down and delay the PM is not, as you might put it, "a good look". And that's the second time this year that it's happened. Aren't we lucky we don't need NZDF aircraft for things like earthquakes and cyclones…
Rental compliance cost is a bullshit excuse – landlords already charge as much as possible.
No they don't. We've been through this before. Landlords will generally try to avoid increasing rents if possible if they have good reliable tenants they wish to keep. However, they can only hold back costs for so long and the current market (high demand low supply) gives landlords far more scope to increase rents and still maintain those good tenants. The cost of rental accommodation is on the up. The larger increases tend to happen when old tenants move on and new ones enter.
While the queues may have existed before the fuel tax came in (there is also the impact of tobacco tax to take into account) the increase in hardship grants indicates the queues have gotten bigger. Just as we are seeing with the massive increases at food banks.
How much should they actually pay?
I'd say double what they are paying now. The working group say 47% more and to be done urgently.
You have previously written that the NZDF purchases should be delayed
I said halved with the rest being deferred. And some of that half could go to fix those planes if it’s the best use of that funding.
Firstly landlords don't lower rents in my experience. They simply delay raising them. They are paying the tenants to stay, in effect. Only a moron would go "yay, now I have no tenants and insulation costs to recoup".
As for NZDF funding, they are fixing the planes. That's the trouble. They're old planes that require more maintenance, still break down more often, and are more expensive to keep in the air. That's why they need new ones,because now there's a good chance that when we really need them, they'll be stuck in the hanger. This was all explained in very small words when the purchase decision was announced.
The National Party and their seat warmer leader haven't earned the right to comment on MSD issues. Their history is one of uncaring and bitterness towards people who need help. Beneficiary bashing is the Nats favorite dog whistle.
They probably only "lifted their game" because of TC lol
Could well have been the case. The story was reported after I prodded them on here. Then again, it could have just be a coincidence.
Nevertheless, it's good to see them actually breaking their silence on this for a change. Let's hope it wasn't a one off. They need to keep the media momentum on this going.
I figure there's a 30% chance you actually think that might be the case.
They've probably actually been working on it for days if not weeks. Given the report uses data that was only released a couple of days ago (given by the creation date of the benefit snapshot pdf), I suspect they got all their ducks in a row and waited for the June results to come out.
At $2 a litre at the pump your dealing with a highly politicised situation. We don't really have an interventionist Prime Minister that pressures oil retailers and producers to give us better petrol prices. I don't think you can get the Prime Minister into it with the oil lobby running interference. So with the elections next year it could be a different story. Of course you'd want to miss the first 20% of the story and wait for it to turn. Easing on the Consumer Index probably won't happen in the short but medium to long term Y'know you could do some work on it because it will be one to watch later on.
"10 favourite things about the current government?"!!
One certainly seems to be that ‘They never fail to disappoint!‘
The Chairman would struggle to find one favourite thing that doesn't contradict their “relentlessly soggy commentary on the endless failings of Labour/Green MPs/policies. National MPs/policies, not so much.
Funny that, particularly for a self-confessed “lefty” who is “more left than most”
If you want further insight into my political position, check out this debate I had with Shadrach. It starts off from this comment at 4.3.3 in the linked thread
Although it has fallen far short and could be better delivered, I like the notion of Kiwibuild.
But in saying that, I also support the building of far more state homes.
I like the regional investment fund, but again falls short and lacks robust oversight. The living wage should be a contractual condition in any new employment created via the funding.
Reducing doctors fees. But again, the promise was $8 fees, however they only dropped them to $18.
Addressing the flawed P tests was a good move.
The new tourist entry tax/levy, that was a good achievement which also fell well short.
Medicinal cannabis is another achievement but also another fall short.
Wealth redistribution via a CGT, which they batted away under Jacinda watch.
I support them investing in rail.
Increasing the minimum wage, another however that falls short.
The benefit changes announced, indexing etc.
There is more, but I'm sure you will get the gist from the list provided.
Not a peep out of The Chairman yesterday (Thursday 18 July), but a heavy presence here today on Open Mike, with 20 comments so far including their invitation @14.1.2.1.2.2 to "check out" 'their' beautifully choreographed 'debate'.
“are you saying the Government hold this underlying sense, thus believe those born disabled are inferior, of no use or a burden?”
“While that is proof of how little value the Government places on those not disabled through injury”
“one wonders why they (the Government) haven’t increased core benefit rates
“Does the Government like having massive weekly queues outside welfare offices being plastered all over the media? One would think not. So when are they going to do something about this growing problem?
And by the way, where are the Greens on this issue? MIA.”
“Seems (along with parliamentary questions) she [Marama Davidson] is leaving it to Simon Bridges to stand up for the poor?”
“Whereas, the Greens are meant to be fighting this fight, yet we hear little or nothing from them on it.
Last time I saw Marama she said she was working hard to get more recommendations (from the welfare working group) through. And we haven’t heard anything more from her about it since. Bit like when she said she was going to sort out the solar power issue for state home tenants. Once again, nada.“
For the super-rich, giving is really taking. Taking power, that is, from the rest of society. The billionaires will get exclusive access to the “vision” for the reconstruction of a national landmark and they can veto those plans, because if they don’t like them they can withhold their cash. Money is always the most powerful casting vote, and they have it.
In spite of this barrage of propaganda by the DNC and its media megaphones, hardly a soul believes a word of it. The American people are not stupid, just like the British people who, polls show, almost entirely reject the ludicrous character assassination campaign by old Yenta Hodge and Tom Watson against Jeremy Corbyn, are not stupid.
Will this stop politicians and their media megaphones (CNN, the NY Times, leading intellectuals like Stephen Colbert and Keith Olbermann, the Grauniad (groan), the ABC, RNZ, and the rest of them) continuing to repeat the lies?
My imagination runs away on me sometimes…most of the time, I love life.
I was thinking today about how when we learn a language it sticks with us. After a long hiatus, a week of immersion and it's like we never left.
I wonder if there is an army of 60+ women that made 100's of buffoons' lives unfold favourably that if given an auxiliary text scratch pad could chat in the secret code of Pitman's Shorthand.
I think participation of this variety is currently the best medicine we have for dementia etc. Use it or lose it. Flexing our minds is more important than our arms. Who wants to be a ripped nut-job? Give me flabby arms everytime.
Seems to me, that for Brexit to be momentous, the cabinet is sacked, trade deal with President Trump, prorogation of parliament to push through the people's vote in the moribund political system.
All three coming together with great Gusto, a no bull people's British bulldog through thick and thin.
Sending in Another actor I know who you're actor's are one get a job in a professional environment with no qualifications how they are actors for the sandflys the sandflys bribe them with good jobs I had to deal with fatty and dopey yesterday muppets
Happy birthday to Barby for her 100 year ka pai you have a big whanau/family
trump thats human caused climate change the heatwave over half of America at the MINUTE.
Milisa Eco Maori has heard that tape worms cures other things to .
Farmers don't have to worry about being put in a position of losses because of our government climate change policies but they have to reduce their carbon footprint. I say James Shaw will redward the farmer's who have Already reduced their carbon footprint.
I , ,, Te Waiapu AWA is a taonga to Eco Maori I have swam in it since I was a boy Thanks to the 1 billion tree fund for the 5 million being invested in fixing the Awa but they have to start at the head the start of the Awa and plant trees from their first than continue down the Waiapu planting trees right up to the mouth the Waiapu has eroded a lot of my Wahnaus whenua from flooding caused by all the natives trees being cut down in the region.
James it a pity im in Hawksbay instead of Rotorua I would have gone and Watched the Maori Allblacks play in Rotorua.
Tova there you go national ran our Airforce into the ground that is the reason the planes are breaking down.
Its cool that the Airforce is cleaning up that dump by a awa in foxglacia region it would be nice to see the arned forces doing so community mahi in te taiwhiti.
simon if national ran the country correctly we would no have a big mess in transportation and roads the trucking and Roadwork companies had national in there hip pockets
We will see how Japan copes with the Rugby World Cup I did a post about slowing down the traffic and keeping cars close to reducing or stop traffic Jams in Auckland.
Its cool to see Ngati Te Rangiti and tand other Iwi working to gather in their treaty negotiations with the crown That is one of Eco Maori wishes to see Tangata Whenua working together like the old days ka pai many hands make light Mahi.
Eco Maori tau toko the tangata whenua O Hawaiians for protesting that huge telescope being forced on their sacred Moanga Mauna kia its cool that Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa is tau toko there cause awesome.
Warmer Kiwi homes insulating heaps of homes in Porirua a insulated whare ia a must for happy healthy Mokopuna.
Were Eco Maori is at the minute we have to light the fire to cook and eat Eco Maori aroha it Ka kite ano
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 in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
If we are in a 'Climate Emergency' why do the Green Party not act like it?
Why are the Green Party MPs still flying?
Changing our behaviour. Leadership is vital.
With her refusal to fly Greta Thunberg has shown leadership, her example changing the behaviour of many. in her country.
Our Green Party MPs are in the position to create flygskam in this country. Why won't they do it?
None of them are electorate MPs, what's to stop them all moving to Wellington?
Yes it will mean a personal sacrifice and possibly even hardship for some, but if our Green MPs are not prepared to forego their personal comforts and convenience in the interests of protecting the climate, how can they expect anyone else to?
Leadership!
Our supposed leaders have refused to show any.
Greta Thunberg has it in spades
It is not about "personal comforts and convenience" but rather their ability to do their jobs. It is very clear that you don't understand what MPs do or how very hard Green MPs work.
Exactly. And that is why I drive to work, and will continue to do so. No way whatsoever willn8 take the bus. Thtatbwould significantly add to my work day and impair my ability to perform my job.
It is about efficiency whether a 'hard working Green MP' orbthe great hard working masses.
Does your job require you to travel all over the country?
The comment that List MPs, which is what all the Green MPs are, should move to Wellington when they are elected has nothing to do with whether they have to travel around the country. They can still, as individuals, travel for Parliamentary reasons wherever in New Zealand they need to go. They don't have to travel backwards and forwards to some desirable location where they choose to live because the weather is nice there, or there are lovely vineyards to eat lunch at or whatever. Al their business travel could start right here in Wellington.
Shift the List MPs, and their families to Wellington when they are elected. Pay to shift them back when they are evicted. Let them, as individuals, travel on Parliamentary business at any time to any place in New Zealand. Don't supply them with accommodation in Wellington if they choose not to live there. Don't provide free travel for spouses or children either.
There used to be a contributor here who used the pseudonym of Weka. She offered up the standard fairy stories about how all the Green MPs worked so terribly hard in the electorates they were supposed to "represent". They all had Electorate Offices apparently and they all were supposed to work so terribly hard on behalf of their "constituents" in those electorates. I asked for the addresses of some of these Electorate Offices. That got her (or at least I think it was a her), to regularly ban me. Never did tell me where I could find an Electorate Office though.
If the List MPs really do work so hard then moving to Wellington could only improve their productivity. They could cut out the travel back and forth to where they have chosen to live. It would probably save them 10 or 15 hours travel a week, and the emission of an enormous amount of Carbon wouldn't it? It would also mean that they could go home every night to their families instead of haunting the restaurants and bars in Wellington each night that Parliament is operating.
A gain both ways I should think. Although their spouses might be quite happy not to have to put up with them when Parliament is in session, as they can do now.
[Why are you criticising a moderator of this site who is no longer around? Do you think you can get away with this because there won’t be any repercussions? Guess what, you are wrong! I’ll give you the choice of taking back what you said about Weka and accept the bans you received at the time or you show you disrespect moderators, are not willing to correct your behaviour, and you have in fact not learned a thing and I will have to use a dice – Incognito]
A moderator, you mean. Whose actions you are commenting on now..
I thought "contributor" best described her . She did, after all, write an awful lot of comments, as well as judging others opinions. And she was obviously a moderator. Otherwise how else could she have so freely banned me?
Yeah she was a very astute judge of character and as we know you failed that test alwyn – and now you're putting the book into her? Shows what a nobody lowlife you are.
Jenny is talking about ALL air travel.
It would probably save them 10 or 15 hours travel a week
Ummm, it only takes a couple of hours to fly from Wellington to any main centre. They don't commute daily.
Each Green MP is "buddied" with a number of electorates so that all electorate are covered. Green MPs based in Auckland, for example, live relatively close to the electorates allocated to them and can travel then from Auckland.
Parliament does not sit every week of the year and MPs are usually more productive if they can return to their home base.
Like Jenny it seems that you have little knowledge of what Green MPs actually do.
"Ummm, it only takes a couple of hours to fly from Wellington to any main centre. They don't commute daily."
Firstly you don't seem to understand how much time is really involved in travelling by air. If they lived in Wellington it would take them about half an hour to get home.
If they go to Auckland it will take them about 30 minutes to get to the Airport from Parliament. You are required to be there about 30 minutes before flight time. The flight to Auckland takes about 60 minutes. To get your luggage and get to the taxi stand takes another 15 minutes. Then it will take you 45 minutes to get home. That is 3 hours for a single flight to, or from home, as compared to 30 minutes for someone who is resident in Wellington
As for not commuting daily. Well at times it looks as if they do. In 2018 the air travel expenses for a couple of the back bench Green MPs was.
Ghahraman ran up $32,276 and Swarbrick $31,111. That is one hell of a lot of travel isn't it, for someone who is a junior MP?
As for Parliament sitting. Well the House doesn't sit that much but there are Select Committees that sit even when the House isn't. And if they only come to Wellington occasionally how can they possibly run up those enormous travel bills? Each of them spends as much as a couple gets in New Zealand Super to live on for the year.
While you are about it can you please tell us what any List MP really does that cannot be done just as well if they were resident in Wellington but could travel to anywhere else in the country when it was required.
List MPs travel around the country meeting with people and visiting sites that are relevant to their portfolios, and in the case of the Green MPs to their buddied electorates.
Great. I am all in favour of that. I fact if you look at the last line of the comment you are replying to that is precisely what I am advocating. However they can start their travel in Wellington where I think they should live. Then they can rather more easily get home to see their families, they won't need taxpayer provided second homes in Wellington and they won't need to spend their time travelling vast distances between their home and their primary place of work.
Electorate MPs are in a totally different category. They have real electorates to deal with and not some phantom "buddy" electorate.
Incidentally where can I find what MP is associated as a "buddy" with which Electorate. The MPs seem to be very much associated with the large cities don't they. Of the 8 Green MPs there seem to be 4 in Auckland, 2 in Wellington, 1 in Christchurch and 1 (Logie) who doesn't seem to want to tell us.
Who are the buddy MPs for all the Electorates in the rest of the country? Surely Sage doesn't cover the whole of the South Island and there must be someone between Wellington and Auckland. There are an awful lot of people live there you know.
Maintaining community connections with people outside Wellington. It's a New Zealand government, not the Wellington Occupational Forces.
As for flight times, if it were that onerous more list mps would stay in wellington. But how many commute every day to the capital? I mean, it could probably be done (and you can actually get work done on a plane), but I suspect most would be like electorate MPs, so your commute time is 6 hours a week.
There used to be a contributor here who used the pseudonym of Weka. … That got her (or at least I think it was a her), to regularly ban me.
You and me both, alwyn. She ran this place with an iron fist. For iron-headed refusal to engage, "Weka" took the biscuit…..
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/weka-has-go-at-john-pilger-aug-22-2015.html
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/07/that-foul-bag-of-wind-dr-phil-mcgraw.html
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/12/standardistas-debate-merits-or.html
Me too. I refused to even look at this site after the way I was bullied and harangued. It was like a closed door and there was zero happiness on my part.
But she isn't here to defend herself so… But I have wondered what happened to her, thanks for the links.
A Moderator doesn’t need to defend themselves here but IMO they should explain and clarify if they have the time. The idea of moderation is to modify behaviour through self-moderation in the first instance. Alwyn is ‘on bail’ at the moment as you can see from my Moderation note left @ 1.1.1.1.1.
Yeah it was so great when she was around and all the running dog cowards cowered in their kennels – ahh good times
yeah sure marty mars – you're a bully too with your sneering ways and instant and constant personal attacks.. the sort of thing that children are told off for…
See my Moderation note @ 10:17 AM.
I wasn't complaining about her activities as a moderator. I was talking about her banning people who replied to her normal comments and who showed that her comments were, on occasion, in fact inaccurate.
Does that mean that if a moderator, such as yourself, was to make a comment such as "John Key was jailed for 10 years for fraud" it would be impossible to point out that the statement was in fact false because that would be attacking a moderator?
If that is the case can we please have a full list of all moderators. I will then never reply to any of them.
[Moderating is an ‘art’, not an ‘exact science’. It is almost impossible to comment and moderate at the same time, especially in the same discussion thread. Many good Moderators who were (and still are) also good Authors have fallen into this trap. I actually don’t like moderating and I’d rather be commenting or, even better, writing posts.
You knew that Weka was a commenter, Author, and Moderator. You were being a smart alec by asking about Electorate Offices knowing full well that the Greens didn’t have Electorate MPs. For this you got banned “regularly” [your word] by Weka, which suggests recidivist behaviour on your behalf.
To me, it looks very much like you are now complaining about Weka’s moderating of you, not “people”; if Weka had been just another commenter you wouldn’t have complained about the bans you have received. Regardless, moderation is not up for debate and you have to accept it and move on. Weka cannot defend the comments and moderation of the past and you know this, which makes your comment a low and sly one in my eyes.
You seem to have a problem with being told to modify your behaviour here and you don’t like to accept the consequences of your behaviour. Avoiding discussions with Moderators is not going to help much in this sense. In addition, your example is utter nonsense when you state “it would be impossible to point out that the statement was in fact false because that would be attacking a moderator”. Again, in my eyes, you come across as a smart alec – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 12:38 PM.
The day is fast approaching when change will be forced upon you, no matter who is in government.
Unless this were adopted on mass (unlikely) it will do little other than inconvenience those who take part.
I like the idea of more people working from home via the internet and avoid travel (especially as I live in Wgtn and worry about people trapped in the city after a big quake). It shouldn't need encouragement to do this but a tax incentive might help speed things along.
Except, the internet is a significant contributor to global warming, well established by research.
More of a contributor than both a fossil fuel powered journey and using the internet all day at work?
Thunberg lives somewhere conveniently well-supplied with rail to most other places she needs to be. Seen her visit the US yet?
Leadership is more than you appear to think it is.
A good leader leads from the front and never asks people to do something that they themselves would not be prepared to do.
A good leader sets an example.
Because of her leadership and example setting Greta Thunberg has been invited to address the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York in September.
Thunberg has announced that she intends to travel to New York by taking passage on a container ship, Or if that doesn't work out, make her address to the UN by tele-presence.
A poor leader says do as I say, not as I do.
We have way too much of this last type of leadership.
Which probably goes some way to explain Greta Thunberg’s popularity.
There is more than one way of leading well, including for political change. Whole body of literature about it even.
‘
“There is no such thing as bad soldiers, only bad generals”
Napoleon
"None of them are electorate MPs, what's to stop them all moving to Wellington?"
Their families?
Their love of their turangawaewae?
Their communities of support?
Friends?
Obligations to site-based projects, such as a farm or market garden?
Responsibilities they might have at home, outside of their political obligations (they don't work 24 hours a day on parliamentary stuff, do they? There must be some time during the day for them to garden, wash their bicycles, make a salad etc?
They can do all those things in Wellington you know Robert. The weather here isn't really that bad.
If they really want to rule over us they will just have to make some sacrifices won't they. The idea that they are tied to their home soil really is stretching things you know.
Look at some of their history. The former un-lamented MP Ms Turei happily moved around the country. didn't she? She was born in Palmerston North. The she moved to Auckland. Then she wandered off to Dunedin. Hardly sticking close to friends or family was she?
‘
“What is the most important thing that we can do as individuals to fight climate change? is go vegan and not fly…”
George Monbiot
George Monbiot?!!???!?!?
Cowardly, craven, mealy-mouthed ratbag….
https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/george-monbiot-and-the-iraq-war-bullshit-brigade-6287c7bd5f1c
Yes! 🙂 Truly we need a Greta Thunberg here in New Zealand. For me it'd indicate our youth haven't already been crushed into soul dead conformity but have a divine spark of creativity and independence and integrity that'd possibly transform our society.
"For me it'd indicate our youth haven't already been crushed into soul dead conformity…"
lol wtf – I'm sure the youth thank you for your vote of confidence you wanker.
sekhmetsdaughterThe time to change our ways is long past. When large groups of homo sap declared they were not part of Earth and All Our Relations, and that they had the right to take, and take, and take…without giving…that was when we were doomed to extinction. Perhaps, if our children en masse realize they are part of a huge whole, and decide that constant consumption is not a path to happiness, some may survive. We’re facing huge forces that are basically sociopathic. Giving up private cars, giving up urban sprawl, giving up war…won’t happen. See you on the other side of the Sixth Great Extinction. ( Our Planet has responded with immense power to our destruction we have front row seats to our own slow motion demise )
NOAA's Finding That Last Month Was Hottest June Ever Recorded Bolsters Calls for Radical Climate Action
"Action is urgently needed at the world, federal, state, and local levels to rapidly cut fossil fuel pollution and to protect and rebuild naturally stored carbon."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/18/noaas-finding-last-month-was-hottest-june-ever-recorded-bolsters-calls-radical
Aleph_Null
1
1h
Humans pump CO2 into the atmosphere at a steadily-accellerating rate,doubling every 40 years, so the greenhouse forcing, and Earth’s energy imbalance, double every 40 years just as steadily. The reason the surface temperature anomaly goes up unsteadily is because more or less of that extra heat (around 90% of it) dives into the ocean every year. From there, tracking where the heat went gets hela complicated: ocean currents are stratified by temperature and salinity in wonderful ways – and some deep ocean currents cycle for centuries. If we were able to accurately measure the whole Earth’s temperature, including deep ocean, then every month would be a new record. The temperature increase, along with its accelleration, is inexorable (so long as CO2 pollution continues).
But the heat we drop off in the ocean doesn’t just stay there. It keeps welling up, as ocean waters do, with inconvenient consequences such as destroying the ice cap PDQ. 2019’s melt season, up there in the neglected Arctic, is turning into a real monster.
https://commons.commondreams.org/t/noaas-finding-that-last-month-was-hottest-june-ever-recorded-bolsters-calls-for-radical-climate-action/65835
There is a belief with some that the Green MPs should put their money where their mouths are and walk or ride bikes everywhere.
Some of those also say that the PM should not take plane flights. Maybe the Green MPs could lead the charge to have no MPs fly anywhere or use transport powered by fossil fuels.
Then again maybe all people who think that should show leadership themselves and get the community motivated. Their action in having all Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays carless would be the best way to put their own money where it should be.
‘
“We need to do something, and act as if we are in a crisis, because otherwise people won't understand that we are in a crisis”.
Greta Thunberg
And did she suspend elections and invoke martial law? Or did we get a National gummint a year later who then reversed this?
No, the opposite was the case, and democracy was the winner.
And like the anti-nuclear legislation before it – (which the Nats also opposed), as the argument got thrashed out in parliament and wider society fully for the very first time, the Nats had no reasonable rebuttal and the National Party was left looking wanting, they were faced with embracing these policies, or becoming unelectable.
The Prime Ministers leadership was widely applauded around the world. As a result of international acclaim the coalition government became more unified and strengthened than ever.
(Especially on the back of Prime Minister Ardern’s performance at the Oxford debate, where her comment I can smell the CO2 on your breath went into folklore).
And Prime Minister Ardern went on to lead the country for a full three terms.
But there is reasonable rebuttal and not even the Greens would support this.
If there is reasonable rebuttal, Solkta, what is it?
Maybe you would like to make it now.
So imagine yourself Solkta as a representative of the National Party arguing before the whole country that MPs should not be setting an example.
Maybe you would like to make the case solkta, that business as usual, in this specific case air travel should continue at current levels?
Or maybe you would like to make the case Solkta, that everyone should stop flying unless absolutely necessary, except MPs?
I know the Green Party don't support cutting air travel, in this case by setting a leading example. But they should. This is what I have just been arguing they could be doing.
How can anyone take them seriously when the Greens say ‘We are in a climate emergency’, if they don’t personally act like we are.
To my mind emergency means taking drastic action.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/114320907/pension-its-like-a-lotto-win-for-kiwis-aged-65
For those among us who complain about the low level of payout the pension provides, please think about those on Supported Living Payment who are long term beneficiaries, often unable to save for their own retirements, and who experience a sense of overwhelming relief when they become eligible for the much higher payout of the pension. ♡
Nobody is listening yet, but with enough people talking to the Human Rights Commission maybe we can at least get this recorded as a serious issue
RCPD section being breached:
Article 28
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right without discrimination on the basis of disability.
=====
2. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to social protection and to the enjoyment of that right without discrimination on the basis of disability, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right, including measures:
( a) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to clean water services, and to ensure access to appropriate and affordable services, devices and other assistance for disability-related needs;
…
( c) To ensure access by persons with disabilities and their families living in situations of poverty to assistance from the State with disability elated expenses, including adequate training, counselling, financial assistance and respite care;
….
( d) To ensure access by persons with disabilities to public housing programmes;
…..
( e) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to retirement benefits and programmes.
=====
Please encourage the government to implement all recommendations of the WEAG report as soon as possible. Cheers.
Having subsisted on the SLP for a number of years whilst sinking into the mire of debt trying to keep hearth and home together and to maintain health and welfare in a system that is hostile to very high needs disabled (the Misery of Health) I can attest to the fact that living on the National Super is a comparative cakewalk.
At the very least, Supported Living Payments should be equal to the pension rate.
Being unable to work due to being disabled or falling ill (for the long term) assigns one to a life of fiscal hardship on top of the difficulties they already suffer. Most people I've spoken too (left and right) find this unacceptable, yet Governments of both stripes have done nothing to address this.
Why is that? Can anyone answer that?
Why is that? Can anyone answer that?
TC. Ask yourself a further question. "Why have successive governments been happy to see the huge disparities between those disabled through accident and covered by ACC and those disabled since birth or though an illness become firmly embedded to the point of acceptability?
Hint. It has its roots way back when those who were born 'perfect and healthy' and who tragically were disabled through some kind of injury (work, war, sports etc) were considered more worthy of support than those poor unfortunate 'incurables and cripples'.
Now I'm pretty sure the fearless warriors of the Third Reich were not trundled off in their wheelchairs to the camps.
https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/nazi-persecution-of-the-disabled
While likely an accurate assessment I doubt you will ever receive confirmation from anyone, even if they are honest enough to admit it to themselves
Those born perfectly healthy can later become ill and end up disabled due to their illness. Yet, you'e right. There are huge disparities between those disabled through accident and covered by ACC and those disabled since birth.
However, though your suggestion holds some merit, one would think we've come a long way (albeit not far enough) since the doctrine of the Third Reich.
“However, though your suggestion holds some merit, one would think we’ve come a long way (albeit not far enough) since the doctrine of the Third Reich. ”
one would ‘hope ‘but if we examine history we might conclude otherwise
Your comments are somewhat vague, Pat.
Do you believe Eugenics is somewhat embedded and people won't admit it? Moreover, this disparity (between age and forms of disability) in how people are treated is a result of that?
Vague?…wouldnt have thought so. History both distant and recent, is littered with examples of "survival of the fittest' thinking especially when the pressure for resources comes on.
And funny you should mention eugenics given its history in NZ and recent tentative steps exploring its themes again
This isn't about survival of the fittest, Pat. This is about the disparity (between people born with disabilities or those who have fallen ill opposed to the elderly or someone who has become disabled via an accident) in how they are financially treated by the state. Therefore, what do you think is the reason/s behind that?
Would have thought that well covered by Rosemary's post and my reply to it …an underlying sense that those born disabled are inferior/of no use or a burden whereas those disabled by accident could be myself
The underlying sense that those born disabled are inferior doesn't explain why healthy people who later become ill are also treated differently than someone who falls victim to or has an accident.
Nevertheless, are you saying the Government hold this underlying sense, thus believe those born disabled are inferior, of no use or a burden?
Oh dear…nevermind, on this occasion I shall indulge you but if you wish to seriously discuss the topic the it would help if you read what I write rather than placing your own spin on it.
I havnt mentioned either disparity between illness and accident, nor government…though would suggest that in that instance it is purely a financial decision, whereas the original point as raised by Rosemary re born diasbled v resulting disability and subsequent attitudes I suggest that it is widespread and therefore will be found in all segments of society including government, civil service and the medical profession.
As previously stated I think this supported by historical acts.
Now should you wish to continue there is no need to rush to reply as I have a job to do and will be away for a couple of hours.
Don't be an egg, Pat. I wasn't spinning anything. Merely trying to clarify what you are saying. Hence, the questions.
While you may not have mentioned disparity between illness and accident, nor government, clearly that was what I was asking you about. To which you replied: "Would have thought that well covered by Rosemary's post and my reply to it." But as I went on to show, it wasn't.
As for your recent answer, why do you believe it is a purely financial decision? And who's financial interest is being served here? Taxpayers? It isn't in their interest if they ever fall ill. And that could happen to anyone at any given time.
As for the underlying sense being widespread, you must believe it's particularly rife in Government of both stripes for it to be preventing change? Apart from this discussion, I haven't spoken to anyone who believes those born disabled are inferior, of no use or a burden, thus must be fiscally punished. So where is your evidence this belief (they must be fiscally punished) is widespread?
Anybody here feel we must fiscally punish the disabled?
Well that was obviously a misjudgement on my part.
Have a good evening
I have no option but to accept your graceful departure from the discussion, Pat. Nonetheless, disappointed you couldn't face questioning of your position.
A good evening to you to sir.
I haven't spoken to anyone who believes those born disabled are inferior, of no use or a burden, thus must be fiscally punished. So where is your evidence this belief (they must be fiscally punished) is widespread?
You too, TC, really need to get out more. Sharing a life with a person with an obvious physical disability you have no idea of the number of times it has been made clear to him and me how more acceptable his disability is because he was not born that way. Seriously….you obviously have no idea. The number of times folk have been outraged that by mere dint of a date he is not under ACC. Because if you ever want proof, absolute proof, of how little New Zealanders value those not disabled through injury you only have to compare the amount spent on each group in the way of treatment, equipment, medicines, home support, therapy, travel, vehicles, home modifications etc, etc, etc.
Easy for me to do because this is my life….but in one area….that of home based care…for one year ACC was paying over $20,000 per month for a tetraplegic's care. In the same year, the Miserly of Health paid zero dollars for my partner's care (the same level of injury and same age) and the Ministry of Social Development paid me a benefit of about $200 per week.
Out of that income we also had to fund for ourselves a raft of other stuff that ACC would routinely fund for their tetraplegic clients.
A study, yes an actual study found that comparing household incomes of ACC spinal impaired and MOH spinal impaired the ACC group enjoyed household incomes more than twice tht of the non ACC group.
But hey, there are not that many kids being born with spina bifida anymore because most parents choose to abort them. Making Michael Laws positively orgasmic with delight. Because as we all remember…when Laws did that whole 'You'd be mad not to abort your disabled baby' thing there could be no complaint to the Human Rights Commission because then there were few protections for disabled people against hate speech that advocated violence. There are not many more now.
Little know factoid….ACC disabled are entitled to supports. Ministry of health disabled are entitled to nothing.
(Apologies for the rant.)
You don't have to apologies to me, Rosemary. I know you have lived through it.
While that is proof of how little value the Government places on those not disabled through injury, it doesn't prove why. Why are they treating people so differently?
I've never heard anybody say it's because they were born that way, thus they must be fiscally punished.
@ TC…no reply button.
A former friend, an ACC client, once chided me after I was a little short at her complaining because ACC was making her wait for a month for the funding for her new modified Nissan Patrol 4wd. I had somewhat snarkily asked how she thought young Sally (not her real name) felt knowing that there's no way in hell she'd ever get funding for a self drive vehicle being, as she was, a young adult with spina bifida.
Cue an un reasonable level of defensive outrage…."But! But, I'm being compensated by ACC because I have lost something! Sally never had it so doesn't deserve to be compensated! "
Another stand out was while my man was having a spider bite wound dealt to in hospital. The four registered nurses doing the dressing (it was a bad wound) were talking about a recent story about a woman trying to get ACC cover for her daughter's spina bifida because had the condition been picked up on a scan she would have had an abortion. These nurses went on and on about the hideous physical ramifications of spina bifida and how these kids were better off not being born. When we pointed out that Peter too was paralysed. and at a much higher level of lesion (therefore more foobarred) than most with sb and did they think that he would be better off dead? They said "Oh, no!! You were born normal".) As if that made any difference. We then went on to impart a few home truths. We also pointed out that if the Ministry of Health was willing to give those with spina bifida equal access to treatment and therapies enjoyed by ACC funded paraplegics then the outcomes for the spina bifida people would be much, much better. They left, did the older RNs. But the young student nurse held back. She had been born with spina bifida despite her mother having been advised to abort. To look at her you would not have an inkling. Her colleagues had not a clue and and she needed, for obvious reasons, to keep this vital part of herself secret.
Its there TC, everywhere.
As I can't speak for them, I'm speculating here. But to me what you described sounds like the nurses were being cruel in a nice way – ie better not to be born than to suffer a lifetime. Now while people will have their own opinions on that notion (better not to be born than to suffer a lifetime) it's not the same as people willingly wanting to fiscally punish someone simply because they were born with a disability opposed to via an accident.
Those born perfectly healthy can later become ill and end up disabled …yes, and there is a tendency to either blame these illnesses on genetics or some kind of irresponsible action or inaction by the sufferer.
Whatever, our 'envy of the world' no-fault ACC scheme, either unintentionally or by design, perpetuates that 'inferior being' and 'less worthy' narrative.
You're right, we haven't come any where near far enough towards changing this.
I wonderf tRump would call these germans traitors …. to their 'proud' past / race
rumps daddy was a proud klansman ….
The bitchute link avoids youtube r18 censorship / hassles
Enjoy … its more stimulating than caffeine ..
https://www.bitchute.com/video/OKBk6xjaE9KW/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0NfI2NeDHI
Thanks for that 😀
Cheers A …. I have a theory that 'haters' just need to learn how to dance …. and most probably also how to fuck properly … and they'd stop hating.
Social activity…. makes social people
…. heres some hard case south african anti racists …. who do very good music vids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2hq9HEtKRU
I like this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJbKZWky6O0
And this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uee_mcxvrw
be happy and enjoy…
https://youtu.be/vQhqikWnQCU
Ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy8kmNEo1i8
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g0Hsp4rVzU
Chumpy won't stop being a nasty racist but his mouthiness about it may help minimise some of the consequences: https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1151487133904986117
Interesting fact from the comments section re the destruction of the Twin Towers on 9/11:
I think he is more xenophobic than racist, Likewise his tweet if racist does not in necessity make him a racist What is a racist anyway the loony left have so abused the word it is becoming meaningless to most people, Hell even Nancy Pelosi is a racist now
[On 15 July, I asked you to leave the sockpoppets to the moderators and stick to one alias yourself. The same day, Lynn banned you for two weeks for starting a flame war. You have now deliberately tried to bypass the ban and used a sockpoppet, and bad one at that. I add another two months for using a sockpoppet, another two months for trying to bypass the ban, and another two months for treating the moderators as fools. Because I feel generous today and I feel like it, I add another six months. This means we might see you again in a year’s time. Bye for now – Incognito]
Feel free to link us to examples of him badmouthing any foreigners who are not brown. #racist
See my Moderation note @ 2:33 PM.
An interesting backgrounder on the UK Labour Lords who have launched the latest round of innuendo based smearing of Jeremy Corbyn.
https://novaramedia.com/2019/07/18/the-labour-right-prefers-a-johnson-government-to-a-corbyn-one-its-time-to-replace-them/
the title says it all really. The Labour right would rather have a sycophantically pro-Israel Boris Johnson government than a critical Corbyn one.
And it is increasingly obvious to any observer that the (neo)"liberal" establishment of white collar managerialists that reads the Guardian prefer the establishment option of the Lib-Dems to the idea of a transformational left wing government under Labour.
The power of the establishment forces lining up against Labour in the UK are awesome, and tells you all you need to know about how threatened they feel by Corbyn.
I am inclined to agree with the author of the article. Britain probably does need a general election. Too much uncertainty at the moment, and not enough of a mandate, especially with a change of Prime Minister. I reckon Boris would win.
I reckon wayne would vote for Boris ….
I also reckons rumps terrific endorsement of that marvelous man Boris ..will hack the election …
A few more false anti-semitic smears against Corbyn … will also help him no end …
Hopefully our Labour party offers him some support this time around too ….
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ….rolling around on floor……your sense of humour is improving Wayne.
Next you will be telling me "let 'em leave" will be re-elected.
A petulant toddler on one side of the pond and a drunken horse on the other. Marvelous.
https://twitter.com/EmmaKennedy/status/1151551054028427269
So true Sanc….thanks for the link…Blairism lives on.
Australia also grappling with rampant wage theft in their hospitality industry: https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/wage-theft-is-a-business-model-let-s-criminalise-it-20190718-p528c4.html
With what little respect I had for this Government fast waning, I call bullshit on the recent Grand Announcement that they are going to repeal the Part 4A amendment to the Public Health and Disability Act and start treating family carers more fairly.
1. I recently communicated with Julie Anne Genter's office and was told…
"We can only repeal Part 4A when we know what will replace it"
Wrong. If this government is speaking truly when it claims it will treat family carers fairly and without discriminating there is absolutely no need at all to replace the Part 4A amendment with anything.
Simply… The payment would be madefor explicit roles required within customised client care plans. Family carers could have other paid employment. The only requirement for a family member to receive payment for care work would be that they provide the designated services.
As the family member would be contracted to undertake specific tasks, they would be paid the market rate for the tasks being performed. In other words, payment would equate to that received by workers delivering formal care services.
https://women.govt.nz/sites/public_files/NACEW-Financial-support-for-family-carers-2008.pdf
2. The real issues, which this Government is proudly carrying on the tradition of its predecessors by ignoring, are a) the inefficiencies, inconsistencies and often adversarial nature of the NASC Needs Assessment process, and b) the lack of any real entitlement to funded supports to meet assessed needs, and c) the massive disparities in access to funded supports between ACC and Ministry of Health Disability Support Services.
None of these are insurmountable, but it would appear that the good old Miserly of Health have convinced yet another crop of newbies in Parliament that they are.
Nearly three hundred family carers of MOH;DSS clients were being paid despite the policy stating it was not allowed and as one of the Judges in one of the many court hearing commented 'The sky did not fall.'. These family carers did not have 'special' policies or have discriminatory employment conditions. No, they were paid…
for explicit roles required within customised client care plans. Family carers could have other paid employment. The only requirement for a family member to receive payment for care work would be that they provide the designated services.
As the family member would be contracted to undertake specific tasks, they would be paid the market rate for the tasks being performed. In other words, payment would equate to that received by workers delivering formal care services.
I challenge this Government to do the right thing and stop the discriminatory treatment of family carers once and for all.
Have the guts, the puku, to address the real issues.
Thanks Rosemary … its good to have honest people cut through PR spin and inform us..
Its a justice issue that could end up affecting any of us ….
And its about priorities …. No more multi million welfare to Americas cup crap … No more buying Billions of war toys …. to keep the wayne mapps and sir kiddy killer john key 'realists' happy.
Its quite simple …. spend money on New Zealand people who need and Deserve it.
Julie Anne Genter needs to get her values back ….. or get out of the way and let someone who has some do her job.
…. Shame on her … and the Green party who she represents/
I'm not blaming JAG for this. She will not be making the decisions here. The poor woman merely has the misfortune to have the portfolio this festering sore is attached to.
This Government has failed like its predecessors to break apart the corporate mafia that is the Ministry of Health.
All we are asking is that family carers delivering the assessed care are treated no differently than the carers employed by the Ministry's Contracted Providers.
Especially since some of us are performing care tasks that those Contracted Providers refuse to perform because the Miserly will not fund that level of advanced care.
Thanks for the considered reply … I guess I'm just dissapointed in the spin versus being honest … as at least when their honest its easier to get on the path to fixing things.
The last Nact Govt did a lot of sneaky 'sliver' privitisation in health … meals / hospital food being one area …. and the Ministry's Contracted Providers another … in the Wellington area at least.
This used to be administered / run by a church affiliated group … who lost the contract to a commercial outfit …. and they were a bit like Nova pay in regards to this lady I know, who is paid to care for her stroke affected mother aged in her early 70's …..
She was only paid / contracted, for 14 hours care / home help … but she did at least 35hrs or more .
The private company was named Green cross at first ,,, which I thought a bit cheeky given the long established 'green cross' medical cannabis organisation … But it quickly underwent a name change to Geneva health …. and I think its been taken over again…
I seem to recall a $ 10 Million profit in a trading year … as Geneva Health.
But back to her pay ,,,,,I audited her pay slips after being asked ,,, despite static hours every week, her pay was up and down … or more down than anything… . I tallied up 70 odd hours missing over a year and a bit.
She got what she was owed …The proof was on their payslips …but I wondered how widespread this 'cribbing' of hours was… for all the other workers under them.,,, I doubt they were overpaying others.
Fonterra pledges no more coal boilers, bringing the planned change forward over a decade.
While existing boilers still operate more pressure is needed. Existing public pressure appears to be working.
This is minor PR, remove all the coal (and start to clean up your fleet) and you'll begin creating customer loyalty like you've never seen before.
Advertising sucks huge money from business to annoy people and push psychological ploys for their dollars. It is irritating as billboards and print, and outright intrusive in digital media/television. There is a better way than trying to manipulate.
Operate with integrity and watch your loyal customer base soar.
No more coal burners?
They could hardly propose to install any new ones; the outcry would be deafening.
Fonterra are making hay from something that would have not have happened anyway, imo. They are delaying the change from burning huge amounts of lignite brown coal at Edendale for as long as possible, even when alternative waste-wood systems are available. I expect the other forces on the industry are saying, hold out as long as possible, this run won't last forever anyway. In the meantime, their coal-burning plants are spewing greenhouse gases out at an appalling rate but because they're invisible, no one notices.
Haven't they just installed a batch of them anyway?
If greenhouse gases were black, there'd be daily protests along the boundary fences of these milk-powder plants. The billowing black clouds would advertise their climate crimes for all to see.
I have posted before that in the late 70's the Hikurangi Dairy factory was run on a wood chip fired boiler, it had problems but 40 years should have resolved these and they could be in use every where. I believe growing trees to burn and growing more trees does not add to the greenhouse gases because of it is a cycle and there is balance , the problem comes from burning the sequesterd carbon from coal and oil. I may be wrong.
The factory was awarded an environmental award. I took some pictures of the yellow food colouring from the cheezel powder flowing into the river from the factory outlet with the powder from the dryer billowing out behind and then the black smoke from the boiler behind this. I think these are the sort of pictures you are referring too.
"more pressure is needed" 🙂
Thank god someone has finally had the guts to call bullshit on apportioning blame to so called 'anti-vaxxers' for the falling immunisation rates.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12250703
Yes it is behind the iniquitous Herald paywall. But what the writers ( Kirsty Johnston and Chris Knox ) found …
Plummeting vaccination rates are being driven largely by the failure to immunise babies born into poor or Māori families – not by parents deliberately opting out.
(Yes, I succumbed and paid up. Only so I could read articles by one of the abovenamed. I do hope that particular journalist is being paid a bonus for being bait. )
Historical Context of Cover Up.
FOIA document releases and leaked docs from closed door sessions.
I read somewhere this morning that immunising children against measles will be compulsory as all schools are state schools and home schooling is banned. Germany I think.
Could well have been Germany.
Certainly that nations history with genocidal medical experimentation including vaccinations, would preclude forced medication.
Same applies to any nations government which seeks to force medicate human beings againt their will.
To equate Nazi Germany with the Germany of today is disingenuous (to put it nicely) or downright despicable (to put it bluntly).
When idiots choose to believe a ragtag bunch of quacks who inhabit the internet – as opposed to highly qualified scientists who have been through umpteen years of study and research – and accordingly place the lives of people (children in particular) in considerable danger, then it is incumbent on the government to take measures to prevent them from spreading their nutbar conspiracies.
Any government that does not do so is reneging on their responsibility to safeguard the citizens of their respective countries.
Should Germany return to forced medical procedures by using strategies such as coersion, that nation will indeed have completed a full circle , and become , once again…a fa**ist state.
Against its entire new born, infant and young persons population.
Thereby far exceeding population penetration of experimental medical acts carried out on children in the naz* era.
There is no requirement for me to address your uninformed position on vaccination, as that speaks for itself through your commentary…
And we have had that discussion multiple times previously. Haven’t we.
If you are so inclined to uplift your understanding on that subject and the historical context, there is a link in my response to RM at 9.1.
Funny world you live in, when saving lives is worse than murdering millions of people.
Nothing that one of your Dodgy homeopathic potions won't fix I bet!
Anne. I would have though at least you would have at least read the few lines of the Herald article I linked to which explains in some detail…with multi colour graphs and everything…what I said in my comment.
So-called anti-vaxxers are not to blame for declining immunisation rates.
So why are you banging on about the idiots (who) choose to believe a ragtag bunch of quacks who inhabit the internet when the article is referring to research done by an actual live New Zealand scientist…Associate professor Dr Nikki Turner, Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre?
You are right about one thing though…any government which continues to ignore the real reasons why parents are not accessing healthcare of all kinds is is reneging on their responsibility to safeguard the citizens …
How nasty of the Germans to vaccinate people & prevent them from their "Right" to contract Polio & spend a few years in an Iron Lung courtesy of the taxpayer !
I think they're drawing too much from the data. Access to primary healthcare is a big equity issue, but isn't the only issue.
The question I'd be trying to find an answer to is whether socioeconomically alienated people are particularly vulnerable to the antivaxx BS. ISTR they showed the movie up in Northland and a few other High-dep places. Maybe run a similar analysis to primary-healthcare-avoidable hospitalisations, and see if there's much of a difference. That might help start looking for an attributable risk level.
The existence of one factor doesn't preclude the existence of another factor in producing a particular outcome, and sometimes those factors have a multiplicative effect, not just additive.
tl,dr: if antivaxx BS had no effect, they wouldn’t do it. like tobacco advertisers.
A big reason anti-vax BS artists do it is coz it's a good little earner for them.
The question I'd be trying to find an answer to is whether socioeconomically alienated people are particularly vulnerable to the antivaxx BS.
Why don't you step outdoors McFlock, and go and speak with some of those people and find out?
I assume that you too read the article I linked to entire?
Whatever your personal feelings about vaccines and that you believe they are all safe and effective is besides the point.
Most of the people whose children are unvaccinated are not choosing not to vaccinate, just as they are not choosing to take their children to the doctor or to get prescriptions filled or to buy healthy food so their children are better able to fight off illnesses. They are also not attending hospital appointments…and not because they were told by some nutbar on the internet not too.
It is too easy, nay downright fucking lazy to simply ignore the research and go off on your (and others') usual anti anti-vaxxers rant.
They really aren't as influential as you think.
Now, what do you know about the rates of rheumatic fever in Aotearoa and how can you twist the narrative and blame the same on anti-vaxxers?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018686731/nz-s-heart-breaker-rheumatic-fever-rates-on-the-rise
Maybe one day you'll get it that the prejudice you (and the negligent DHB heads) display just might be part of the problem.
Anecdata is no data. I doubt that any feedback I get from the wilds of Dunedin will be applicable to Northland.
I read the article, and it's an overreach. From memory, some areas/dhbs do not display the same deprivation inequity for vaccination as other DHBs. What makes those ones different?
As the article says, a quarter of the effect is documented as explicit refusal. How big is the gap for the implicit refusal, though – the Did Not Attends because the baby seemed fine and the jabs weren't worth the trouble of crossing those other primary healthcare barriers?
I'm not attributing everything to antivaxxers. Nor should you keep trying to exonerate them from any responsibility. 4.3% outright decline. That's well in excess of contraindication levels.
I read the article, and it's an overreach.
Well, whew! Thank god for that. No need for us to worry about piffling old deprivation. Silly Dr Turner and her wacky ideas!
Yeah, lucky I never said that last bit, eh.
We all know there are socioeconomic inequities when it comes to primary healthcare. We all know there are antivax nutbars.
Wouldn't it be fucking weird if they actually interacted with each other to multiply their inequitable effect, like how smoking and unsafe sleeping arrangements multiply each other as risk factors for SUDI and having an effect much larger than the risk of each being added together? Gosh, but then we might have to still address the infective influence of paranoid jerks.
Former Director of the NIH – Federal Health Agency
'It is sad that our societal memory is so brief and mutable that there is now a resurgence of diseases that maim and kill, despite these being preventable. If you speak to your grandparents and great grandparents, they will tell you of this. Listen to their wisdom. Or read a few sensible books from the past.
But some would rather listen to conspiracy theorists with flecks of foam on their lips. Even allowing for their deceived state, there’s one point they miss…
It’s about balance of risk.
Vaccines do not cause autism. But even if they did cause it in a tiny number of people—so small that we’ve failed to detect it despite diligent scrutiny—the balance of risk would still be in favour of stamping out these diseases, diseases that have caused untold misery and death.
Denying this balance would be like legislators mandating that a “cancer warning” appears on every coffee cup because of a tiny theoretical risk of cancer, despite the clear overall benefits of coffee.
Oh, I see, they’ve just done that in California.
I sometimes weep for humanity.'
Anyone out there still waiting for their Assange schadenfreude itch to be scratched ?
You'll be waiting for a long time yet
https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/07/06/swedish-prosecutor-says-its-not-on-the-cards-to-interview-assange-after-hanging-arrest-warrant-over-him-for-seven-years/
Seems they need to analyse and "review" the evidence
7 years hasn't been enough
It was never about interviewing Assange. It was all about getting him out of the embassy and extradition to the US.
And somewhat related…I'm beginning to feel sickened by our eager participation in American wars
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/18-07-2019/the-trouble-with-nzs-role-at-the-biggest-us-bombing-base-in-the-middle-east/
The New Zealand "Defence" Force is busy trying to confuse politicians about its role in the killing of Afghan villagers….
Send him back to socialist nirvana, Scandinavia. Exporting their potty mouths has made them stable rich and equal. Send out potty mouths to the state's too.
Jaysus, that is a big blast!
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/07/christchurch-explosion-dramatic-footage-emerges-of-scene-covered-with-debris.html
Ford Ranger in the driveway.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12250970
Bing bang even for a Ford, tho 🙂
^big. Damned stubby fingers.
The number of hardships grants, helping people pay for everyday items like food and housing, issued by the Government has skyrocketed.
The Government says the problem isn't new and that the demand was there before they came into office.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/07/we-don-t-get-enough-hardships-give-outs-and-benefits-skyrocket.html
With this acknowledgment, one wonders why they (the Government) haven't increased core benefit rates? The Government's own working group even told them so. So what's the hold up?
Moreover, how much extra money and time is it costing the Government to process this massive increase in individual hardship claims? Wouldn't it be far easier, thus cost taxpayers far less, to simply increase core benefit rates?
Does the Government like having massive weekly queues outside welfare offices being plastered all over the media? One would think not. So when are they going to do something about this growing problem?
And by the way, where are the Greens on this issue? MIA.
Latest tweet from Marama
“Need cuppa and lie down.”
Big night watching the netball.
Seems (along with parliamentary questions) she is leaving it to Simon Bridges to stand up for the poor?
“Hardship grants are through the roof. That’s because of the taxes and the costs that the Government is piling on,” says Opposition leader Simon Bridges.
Simon says….
Pretending he gives a fuck.
No doubt. Just an excuse (albeit there is some truth in it) for him to beat down on the Government. But at least he fronted on it.
Whereas, the Greens are meant to be fighting this fight, yet we hear little or nothing from them on it.
Last time I saw Marama she said she was working hard to get more recommendations (from the welfare working group) through. And we haven’t heard anything more from her about it since. Bit like when she said she was going to sort out the solar power issue for state home tenants. Once again, nada.
What truth? What taxes and costs are piling on?
Maybe the hardship grant applications are increasing because now there's a hope that they'll come through. And the "delay" you your preferred benefit increase is maybe down to the budget or having to wait to see what the nature of the problem actually is – median grant and frequency of applications, regional differences – so they know how much to lift base rates by?
Thanks for your concern, though.
Fuel tax, which is a non progressive tax and adds to the cost of just about everything. Also added rental compliance costs are two that come to mind.
The large queues for AAAP representation would suggest otherwise.
They had a welfare group to identify the nature of the problems. And we all know what the main problem is, benefits aren't fit for purpose due to the fact they don't pay out enough from the onset.
But you just spend your benefit on cigarettes.
Tobacco tax was another which widely impacted the poor. Thanks for reminding us.
The government gets back a huge portion of the $ that go on ciggies. From what I have heard smokers pay more than their fair share of tax with all that they pay + some smokers claim their shorter lives mean they get less of the pension than tofu eating bores who live to 102.
Time to light up ??
Unrepentant smokers like The Chairman are implicit in continuing to advertise the filthy habit to our young people. They legitimise it.
Factor that in.
bit unfair im sure c.hairman has said hew never blows a smoke around people so either very alone or a secret smoker
@ marty
Indeed, thanks.
Rental compliance cost is a bullshit excuse – landlords already charge as much as possible. Fuel tax is one that might actually increase some downstream costs, but the queues existed before the tax came in (but after the change in government). So nah, not them.
And it's all very well to say "they don't pay out enough". How much should they actually pay? What should be done to sort out that additional cost?
You have previously written that the NZDF purchases should be delayed, but surely having the jet break down and delay the PM is not, as you might put it, "a good look". And that's the second time this year that it's happened. Aren't we lucky we don't need NZDF aircraft for things like earthquakes and cyclones…
No they don't. We've been through this before. Landlords will generally try to avoid increasing rents if possible if they have good reliable tenants they wish to keep. However, they can only hold back costs for so long and the current market (high demand low supply) gives landlords far more scope to increase rents and still maintain those good tenants. The cost of rental accommodation is on the up. The larger increases tend to happen when old tenants move on and new ones enter.
While the queues may have existed before the fuel tax came in (there is also the impact of tobacco tax to take into account) the increase in hardship grants indicates the queues have gotten bigger. Just as we are seeing with the massive increases at food banks.
I'd say double what they are paying now. The working group say 47% more and to be done urgently.
I said halved with the rest being deferred. And some of that half could go to fix those planes if it’s the best use of that funding.
Firstly landlords don't lower rents in my experience. They simply delay raising them. They are paying the tenants to stay, in effect. Only a moron would go "yay, now I have no tenants and insulation costs to recoup".
As for NZDF funding, they are fixing the planes. That's the trouble. They're old planes that require more maintenance, still break down more often, and are more expensive to keep in the air. That's why they need new ones,because now there's a good chance that when we really need them, they'll be stuck in the hanger. This was all explained in very small words when the purchase decision was announced.
The cost of vegetables are 9% lower than at the same last year.
The government and our PM can take credit for that (my spin).
The National Party and their seat warmer leader haven't earned the right to comment on MSD issues. Their history is one of uncaring and bitterness towards people who need help. Beneficiary bashing is the Nats favorite dog whistle.
Yes, indeed. But it's no excuse for the Greens being MIA on this.
Missing in action, you say?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/07/greens-call-out-labour-over-failure-to-increase-benefits.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRjZoRtu0Y
They probably only "lifted their game" because of TC lol
You know it lol
Could well have been the case. The story was reported after I prodded them on here. Then again, it could have just be a coincidence.
Nevertheless, it's good to see them actually breaking their silence on this for a change. Let's hope it wasn't a one off. They need to keep the media momentum on this going.
"Could well have been the case. The story was reported after I prodded them on here. Then again, it could have just be a coincidence."
maybe the first time or even the second but all the other ones after? You sell yourself short I reckon.
bwahahahahahaha
I figure there's a 30% chance you actually think that might be the case.
They've probably actually been working on it for days if not weeks. Given the report uses data that was only released a couple of days ago (given by the creation date of the benefit snapshot pdf), I suspect they got all their ducks in a row and waited for the June results to come out.
What taxes? There aren't any apart from the usual petrol tax increase. $5/week, tops.
Yes there was a fuel tax, as I stated above. And it's not only paid at the pump as it is generally passed on. So consumers cop it everywhere.
At $2 a litre at the pump your dealing with a highly politicised situation. We don't really have an interventionist Prime Minister that pressures oil retailers and producers to give us better petrol prices. I don't think you can get the Prime Minister into it with the oil lobby running interference. So with the elections next year it could be a different story. Of course you'd want to miss the first 20% of the story and wait for it to turn. Easing on the Consumer Index probably won't happen in the short but medium to long term Y'know you could do some work on it because it will be one to watch later on.
Geez chairman, do you spend so long in here because the people you live with steer you in here because they pine for a secret illicit moment of joy?
You claim to be of the left. Prove it, what are your 10 favourite things about the current government? Fess up or fuck off.
"10 favourite things about the current government?"!!
One certainly seems to be that ‘They never fail to disappoint!‘
The Chairman would struggle to find one favourite thing that doesn't contradict their “relentlessly soggy commentary on the endless failings of Labour/Green MPs/policies. National MPs/policies, not so much.
Funny that, particularly for a self-confessed “lefty” who is “more left than most”
He even quoted Bridges today to support his "concern".
If you want further insight into my political position, check out this debate I had with Shadrach. It starts off from this comment at 4.3.3 in the linked thread
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-07-2019/#comment-1636389
Although it has fallen far short and could be better delivered, I like the notion of Kiwibuild.
But in saying that, I also support the building of far more state homes.
I like the regional investment fund, but again falls short and lacks robust oversight. The living wage should be a contractual condition in any new employment created via the funding.
Reducing doctors fees. But again, the promise was $8 fees, however they only dropped them to $18.
Addressing the flawed P tests was a good move.
The new tourist entry tax/levy, that was a good achievement which also fell well short.
Medicinal cannabis is another achievement but also another fall short.
Wealth redistribution via a CGT, which they batted away under Jacinda watch.
I support them investing in rail.
Increasing the minimum wage, another however that falls short.
The benefit changes announced, indexing etc.
There is more, but I'm sure you will get the gist from the list provided.
"Check out" the timely debate 'between' The Chairman and Shadrach.
In another quirk of timing, The Chairman and Shadrach were 'both' very busy commenting here last Wednesday, until Shadrach's one-week ban took effect.
Shadrach's last comment:
And the Chairman's last comment:
Not a peep out of The Chairman yesterday (Thursday 18 July), but a heavy presence here today on Open Mike, with 20 comments so far including their invitation @14.1.2.1.2.2 to "check out" 'their' beautifully choreographed 'debate'.
That debate wasn't choreographed.
This (below) is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mKzJIW9w2c
Did you miss me?
So "relentlessly soggy" today; anyone know the forecast for tomorrow?
Oh please, PLEASE let it be a one off!
The lineup for the next Dem debates :
July 30
July 31
So Harris and Biden get another crack at each other. Sanders and Warren get to go head to head.
Trump in 2020, with an increased majority. Get your deranged reaction ready now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvrbddzXZZE
All those billionaires who promised to help rebuild Notre Dame? The money is almost nonexistent.
My favourite bit:
Gallup Poll: Less than one per cent of Americans believe Russia is a top problem
That choice nugget of information comes at the 8:23 mark in this clip….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0krkHRBaVI
In spite of this barrage of propaganda by the DNC and its media megaphones, hardly a soul believes a word of it. The American people are not stupid, just like the British people who, polls show, almost entirely reject the ludicrous character assassination campaign by old Yenta Hodge and Tom Watson against Jeremy Corbyn, are not stupid.
Will this stop politicians and their media megaphones (CNN, the NY Times, leading intellectuals like Stephen Colbert and Keith Olbermann, the Grauniad (groan), the ABC, RNZ, and the rest of them) continuing to repeat the lies?
Don't count on it.
My imagination runs away on me sometimes…most of the time, I love life.
I was thinking today about how when we learn a language it sticks with us. After a long hiatus, a week of immersion and it's like we never left.
I wonder if there is an army of 60+ women that made 100's of buffoons' lives unfold favourably that if given an auxiliary text scratch pad could chat in the secret code of Pitman's Shorthand.
I think participation of this variety is currently the best medicine we have for dementia etc. Use it or lose it. Flexing our minds is more important than our arms. Who wants to be a ripped nut-job? Give me flabby arms everytime.
Seems to me, that for Brexit to be momentous, the cabinet is sacked, trade deal with President Trump, prorogation of parliament to push through the people's vote in the moribund political system.
All three coming together with great Gusto, a no bull people's British bulldog through thick and thin.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/politics/westminster/1799494/mps-back-move-to-stop-parliament-being-suspended-and-prevent-no-deal-brexit/
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/hlfQVvsNLFk
These sandflys in Hawksbay are cheeky BARSTARDS They will be sorry
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/wE4TpnYIsW4
Sending in Another actor I know who you're actor's are one get a job in a professional environment with no qualifications how they are actors for the sandflys the sandflys bribe them with good jobs I had to deal with fatty and dopey yesterday muppets
Kia ora Newshub.
Happy birthday to Barby for her 100 year ka pai you have a big whanau/family
trump thats human caused climate change the heatwave over half of America at the MINUTE.
Milisa Eco Maori has heard that tape worms cures other things to .
Farmers don't have to worry about being put in a position of losses because of our government climate change policies but they have to reduce their carbon footprint. I say James Shaw will redward the farmer's who have Already reduced their carbon footprint.
Ka kite ano.
Kia ora Te Ao Maori News.
I , ,, Te Waiapu AWA is a taonga to Eco Maori I have swam in it since I was a boy Thanks to the 1 billion tree fund for the 5 million being invested in fixing the Awa but they have to start at the head the start of the Awa and plant trees from their first than continue down the Waiapu planting trees right up to the mouth the Waiapu has eroded a lot of my Wahnaus whenua from flooding caused by all the natives trees being cut down in the region.
James it a pity im in Hawksbay instead of Rotorua I would have gone and Watched the Maori Allblacks play in Rotorua.
Ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/q-wBWZm3quQ
The sandflys think Eco Maori can't see right through there actor's they always given them selves up quite easily.
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/mOFvJVroAJE
Thanks for the VIP escorts
Some Eco Maori music for the minute
https://youtu.be/ktvTqknDobU
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/tgIqecROs5M
Some Eco Maori music for the minute
https://youtu.be/Xo7WjnC8ekQ
Mana Wahine good win congratulations Silver ferns Eco Maori new with Top coaches that you would get better.
Kia ora Newshub.
The gun buy back skeem is going great
Tova there you go national ran our Airforce into the ground that is the reason the planes are breaking down.
Its cool that the Airforce is cleaning up that dump by a awa in foxglacia region it would be nice to see the arned forces doing so community mahi in te taiwhiti.
simon if national ran the country correctly we would no have a big mess in transportation and roads the trucking and Roadwork companies had national in there hip pockets
We will see how Japan copes with the Rugby World Cup I did a post about slowing down the traffic and keeping cars close to reducing or stop traffic Jams in Auckland.
Ka kite ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Its cool to see Ngati Te Rangiti and tand other Iwi working to gather in their treaty negotiations with the crown That is one of Eco Maori wishes to see Tangata Whenua working together like the old days ka pai many hands make light Mahi.
Eco Maori tau toko the tangata whenua O Hawaiians for protesting that huge telescope being forced on their sacred Moanga Mauna kia its cool that Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa is tau toko there cause awesome.
Warmer Kiwi homes insulating heaps of homes in Porirua a insulated whare ia a must for happy healthy Mokopuna.
Were Eco Maori is at the minute we have to light the fire to cook and eat Eco Maori aroha it Ka kite ano