Will we have. to have similiar rallies here before our law makers start taking climate change seriously?
:“I hope that Americans are fed up with being ignored and with having Congress controlled by the big polluting industries and that they have decided that they are simply not going to stop until their voices are heard.”
Did anyone just hear our beloved leader on Radio New Zealand this morning? He sounded well under the weather and as if he had a hard night the night before.
Anyone else detecting signs Key has developed a drinking problem?
He was slurring at the RWC opening, something politely overlooked by the media – but hey, he a Kiwi guy just like us and who would deny the man a drink?
John Key “fainted” in a Christchurch restaurant, and no real suitable explaination was given. it was immediately after his holiday, so fatigue could hardly be the reason.
Audrey Young sent out a not so subtle hint Key was suffering a hangover recently in Queenstown:
“…During a wreath-laying ceremony, Key appeared to have difficulty keeping his eyes open for a couple of minutes. He kept rubbing his eyes, but no sooner had he opened them than they would shut. He said later, through a spokeswoman, that the problem was because of the glare on the war memorial, which made his eyes water…”
Muldoon famously announced an election drunk as a skunk, and our media studiously avoided mentioning that.
Alcohol abuse is probably endemic in parliament, like hospo I would imagine it is an occupational hazard linked to ready access, long hours and work pressure. But would our media have the courage to expose a drunkard PM?
I worked in Parliament for about 3 years and never saw any of this binge drinking you mention. And as a heavy drinker myself I would have loved to have joined in but alas – it doesn’t really exist.
And if John Key had a drinking problem then the opposition would be all over it. How better to win an election than to portray your opponent as a drunk?
It could be any number of things.
Hell, he might have brain cancer, hence the desire to finish his bucket list.
Whatever it is, it might be getting worse – hopefully for him it’ll clear up when he leaves office. Less stress and all that. I don’t think anyone can fuck up a country this badly without it having a corrosive effect on their soul.
I didn’t think it sounded like him,maybe he has a speech double.He sounded like he either had a hangover or had taken meds for something or other. Probably something to “relax” him.
Increasingly looking like, despite Labour’s best efforts, it’s status quo for the next few years.
We’re on our people.
Look after your mums, your neighbours and by the grace of dog, we’ll all make it through.
God forbid that women should decline to take contraception that has risks and side effects. Why is the govt not free funding other kinds of contraception?
God forbid the media ask why men aren’t sharing responsibility for contraception. I say we offer free vasectomies along with all types of contraception.
This poll was on TV1 breakfast news yesterday. Extract from today’s Herald
The poll also had good news for National, with a 5 percentage point jump in support taking them to 49 per cent. Labour was on 33 per cent and the Greens 11 per cent.
Mr Key also gained five points, according to the preferred prime minister measure, giving him 44 per cent, with Labour leader David Shearer on 15 per cent.
“TheDailyBlog.co.nz will bring together 30 of the best left-wing bloggers and progressive opinion shapers in NZ all onto one site to critique the news, the media, and politics to provide the other side of the story.”
“Launching March 1st TheDailyBlog.co.nz will feature: Chris Trotter, Selwyn Manning, Professor Jane Kelsey, Keith Locke, Sue Bradford, John Minto, David Slack, Morgan Godfery, Gareth Renowden, Coley Tangerina, Phoebe Fletcher, Dr Wayne Hope, Queen of Thorns, Burnt out Teacher, Steve Grey, Aaron Hawkins, Marama Davidson, Tim Selwyn, James Ritchie, Efeso Collins, Robert Winter, Lynn Prentice, Frank MacsKasy, Matt McCarten, Wayne Butson, Chris Flatt, Allan Alach, TheDailyBlog Reposts and The Liberal Agenda.”
I am just scared about what happens when you put that many self satisfied, know it alls in the same place. The mix of with pathetic whinging and misplaced sense of entitlement could blow up the internet.
“The Daily Blog” sounds like a sterling idea with a big enough roster to pace people or let them quietly slide off if the pace is too much. BUT it had better have like buttons, moderation and one off registration not the the google account login nightmare Tumeke is, if this daily blogger is going to use it.
Yeah that’s what pissed my off about Tumeke as well. I didnt want to log in under my real name to post. I would very much prefer to post under “millsy”, the post name I have had for the past 13 years…
Bloody awesome. Sounds bloody good. A powerhouse of good decent left wingers who belive in things like taxing the rich to pay for schools and hospitals and locking up all DOC land from mining forever.
Ill definitely be going there on my daily web trawls.
This is what is needed! Combining voices and forces, using the power of synergy, to establish a resolute opposition to what we get served up by incompetent, indifferent or even damned biased, misinforming, manipulating and increasingly disgusting privately controlled, commercial mainstream media.
I look forward to this blog.
Just one worry I have, I hope it does not come with the features and technical hiccups that Tumeke has caused. Just trying to open that website once again, it instantly made my browser collapse.
Also I hope it will allow pseudonyms and fair, open debate, similar to what we have here on TS.
“Also I hope it will allow pseudonyms and fair, open debate, similar to what we have here on TS.”
As do I. No point in haven’t a big blog with numerous editors if you are just going to shut off dissenting POV’s which unfortunately seems to be the case at Tumeke
Now that’s a really good leftie line-up, including many people whose posts I usually read.
When Bomber dropped his teasers, I was hoping for something with an audio component (like radio) rather than print based. Maybe a left radio/TV station is still something waiting for it’s time to come.
However, hopefully it’s a line-up that will gain critical mass, and widespread significant mainstream attention. Also, Bomber will likely include some of his bloggers (if not all) as guests on Citizen A.
Hmm… some of us can’t listen to the radio at work. But, I agree a leftie radio station would be an excellent innovation – could be done online. Could be listened to while traveling/commuting.
Is this legal?
The insurance industry does not know much about it.
Insurance Council insurance manager John Lucas had never heard of such a charge.
“From discussions I’ve had with insurers, it would appear to be a new practice.”
And if it is legal, can accident victims recover costs if the road is not up to standard?
Jeeze, is there no such thing as an accident any more? Wouldn’t NZTA have to prove that the ‘accident’ was the fault of the car owner, if that’s who they are billing?
Generally people take out insurance to cover their mistakes. The only people who might go bankrupt from this are the selfish who expect everyone else to pick up the tab for their fuck ups.
It’s called “being a prick to people who have better things to worry about than your 0.03% increase in budget expenditure”.
The issue seems to be that the fuel levy and other incomes no longer fund our roads, so regional cost centres are forced to be fuckwits to worried or grieving relatives.
Because the chances are the insurance won’t pay for it. The NZTA has determined that the driver was at fault and such a determination will let the insurance companies off. It’d be the same as not having a WoF on your car even though the car was up to standard.
As this would seem to be part of the cost of an accident, guess who will be paying for this piece of stupidity, and i am talking about the billing of this person for these costs as the stupidity,
The arms of the State shuffling paperwork in an idiots dance will result by the time all the shuffling is done in the costs being double what the original bill was…
depends under what circumstances. Were they billing families of hospitalised drivers ten years ago? I reckon they were probably billing people for vandalism or diesel on the roads for donuts, and it’s encroached from there into full fuckwitted behaviours.
I can confirm charging of some kind has been going on for some years. A nephew of mine took out a guardrail in the Cromwell Gorge ’bout 2007 and got billed for it.
This is shocking stuff. Assistance to citizens should be part of the national support of road users. If it is a commercial vehicle being used for business then it could be argued that this be done.
How can it be that daft bu..s go off to sea or on tramping trips with no proper equipment, or tourists hit their emergency beacon for a helicopter and I don’t think there is a charge for this.
Yachties floating around on the sea, wanting to be rescued of course, if their lifestyle or sport goes badly wrong. Do they pay the ships diverted to help them?
Some things are just unreasonable – like tenants being asked to pay for a house they were renting if it burns down. How can ordinary people have to shoulder these extra costs which should be borne elsewhere?
Coastguard does not charge for rescuing people, only if you want them to save your boat as well. Even this is free if you have paid the, modest, membership fee.
Same with shipping companies. I have never heard of a shipping company charging for rescueing people after a Mayday. There is a fund available to reimburse rescuers. I don’t think it has ever been claimed.
Loss of income, or damage, from having to divert for a mayday is, however, covered in marine insurance.
Which means we can come and rescue you without worrying being sued for risking the owners ship, so long as you have made it a “Mayday”.
If you want a commercial vessel to go to the time, trouble and expanse of picking up your boat as well, though, expect to pay. In most cases this risks the ships insurance cover as well as extra delays and costs. At 50k plus a day they add up quick.
We’re all very highly critical of the government, but I think we should applaud Cabinet’s decision to go ahead with plain packaging on cigarette packets. I think it will remove the cachet some brands have – like Marlboro, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Camel. I don’t think it will deter those who stick with more downmarket brands, but it will take some of the glamour away for those who might take up smoking. A positive move, in my opinion.
Lolz, i don’t think it will have the slightest effect on those who take up smoking, having been a smoker during the limited amount of time i spent at college and also having had the displeasure of watching the same (mis)behavior from my nieces during their incarceration at the same institution i can assure you that for the young smoker ‘brand’ isn’t a consideration,
These days cigarettes aren’t shared as freely as they were when i was a young smoker, but, the size of the school of smokers that gather in those out of the way places on the college campus for a quick puff befor class looks to be remarkably the same in number as it was during my stint in the corridors of such august edifices of learning,
These days in the ‘smoking school’ one person usually has found the cash with which to buy a packet of filtered cigarettes and the other smokers in the ‘school’ usually have a dollar each to buy a smoke,
Bit like a ‘drunks school’ or a ‘druggies school’ it’s the addiction what brings them together as they know that the numbers mean at least one of them on any given occasion will have the means to supply the group with whatever the addiction is…
As far as applauding the Government on this issue i fell that you are viewing the whole issue very simplistically through the lens of the manipulation of your mind,
With at least a billion dollars of tobacco tax being collected from users being over and above the actual cost to society of the use of tobacco products the Health budget could now be said to be being propped up by that taxation on tobacco products,
Should the use of the products decrease radically from Government taxation and other ‘moves’ against the product Government would have to ‘find’ that extra billion dollars from somewhere else or cut that money from the Health or other budgets,
The Government tho knows that very few users will actually quit the product and within 6 months most of those who quit have taken to using the product again,
The chairman of the Quit program admitted in its annual report 2011 that ‘they’ only reach 2% of smokers and a study by a university Professor, (both of which i have provided links to befor on open mike),says that only 1.9% of smokers who try end up actually quitting the addiction,
Meanwhile there is an unknown number of young people who take up the habit and become addicted constantly replacing the small % of users who have managed to kick their addiction,
The only means of actually reducing the number of addicts to this product would be to declare tobacco a prescription poison only available via Doctor’s prescription and register all the present cohort of addicts with their Doctors,
Within a year of such a registration program tobacco could then be made only available to registered addicts thus dramatically curtailing access to the product for anyone not a registered addict…
lol
whatever, pete.
Now I’m not allowed to see what they have to sell me, they’re not allowed to tell me, and I can’t see what they sold me. The absurdity of zealotry.
If it weren’t for the inevitable organised crime, I’d outlaw tobacco entirely. If you’re buying it, I’d question your wisdom to make rational purchasing decisions in the first place.
Luckily for me, my personal habits are none of your business.
Maybe I looked at the relative odds and decided it’s better to live life and have fun than to live in fear. My level of smoking is probably about as harmful to me as your sanctimonious attitude is to you. Each to their own, I guess.
On what point?
That what I do in my own home is none of your business?
Or that stress is a major cause of early mortality, on a par with <3 cigarette equivalents per day?
As the largest cohort of the 20 odd % of the population who do indulge in the product are in the lowest income brackets ‘health issues’ are merely a smokescreen for Government revenue farming off of those who are addicted,
There is one ‘thing’ that will kill a person faster than will the tobacco addiction and that is ‘poor diet’ and extremely poor diet will speedily result in a number of health issues becoming apparent in those that suffer from that poor diet,
So, constant revenue farming of tobacco products by Governments simply leaves those addicted and suffering low and extremely low incomes then have a ‘choice’, kick the addiction or face a severely restricted diet as the food spend is in most cases for the poor the only area of expense where cuts can be made,
As i point out above, the chairman of the quit program admitted in the annual report,(first sentence), that the program is accessed by barely 2% of smokers, the further study i allude to above,(which i have previously posted a link to) shows that barely 2% of those who try actually manage to quit the addiction,
What then going forward will be the health results for the other 98% of tobacco addicts unable to quit their addictions and being forced to exist on an increasingly severe poor diet,
i wont argue here about the rationality of purchasing the product except to say what addict do you know of that makes an entirely rational decision to support such an addiction, it is however given the facts, totally irrational for governments to attempt to stop addicts accessing the product at the center of their addiction by continuously raising the price of that product thus putting the health of those addicted in as much if not more danger from another causative than the original addiction,
All of that tho is only relevant if you believe the raising of such taxation is based upon rational health decisions by that Government…
A new website has been set up by someone, to offer a forum for those that have suffered bad, unfair treatment, wrong decisions and whatever else at the hands of NZ’s largest government department/agency:
I am not sure who is behind this, and “fascist” may be over the top for some, but it seems, that the increasing harrassment, denial of rights and entitlements, off-loading from some benefits and shifting of claimants and applicants onto other, lower rated ones (e.g. from sickness to UB or invalid’s benefit to SB), is leading to increasing anger and people seeing a need to let off steam.
Bennett is creating a lot of adversaries with the policies she and her government are introducing, now forcing not only sole parents, but also increasingly sick, and soon even disabled, into some kinds of work, same as the Department of Work and Pensions have been doing in the UK for years, using private assessor ATOS and bizarre work capability tests, that led to over 1,100 deaths from Jan. to August 2011 alone:
See also Bennett’s speech that is considered to be a “game changer” in the way seriously, longer term sick and disabled will be put under pressure in future:
She is clearly a fan of those assessments and test that are used in the UK, and she was already consulted and lobbied by the man who saw to it, that the tests (designed in principle by highly controversion US insurance giant Unum) were implemeted by governments in Britain.
So lots to be worried about, that is on top of what WINZ and MSD throw at beneficiaries already now, to make life a misery.
Perhaps use this website to vent your anger, WINZ dependent, disentitled and disowned NZers?
Hah, Kathryn Ryan on RadioNZ nine to noon trying to twist what Economics and Business commentator Rob Oram was saying about ‘the living wage’ into some right wing political framing,
Oram told that tool that He was talking economics not politics, that shut Her up…
Needing some ideas….friend of mine is only 19 with a 10 week old baby, yes she is a solo mum, currently back at school and working part time also. She currently lives in the redzone and has until May to leave. She like so many others is having a hell time finding a rental. Her rental payments are guaranteed, thanks to Paula B – her landlord is happy to be a referee….I have been sending out emails for housing rentals and the tone of the reply is all about her being a young solo mum, and then declining her. She has good credit, no previous rental issues…can anyone suggest a way to get past the stigma of being a young solo mum. 🙂
Tell her to meet with the agents/landlord with a grown up (preferably one in a suit) and then state her case ie she is studying and working and will always meet the rent payments. This is what I did in the same situation and got a rental when they were in short supply.
Also tell them you are happy to have inspections more frequently. Don’t take baby (but of course tell them about baby) and make sure she is dressed well.
Lolz, if there is no specifics in the ad for the places your mate is trying to rent about babies DON’T TELL THEM, there is nothing in any legislation that would require Her to do so,
Suggest you also tell them that your friend is a ‘student’ who works part-time and can pay the rent through the help of the accommodation supplement, might have to stretch the ‘student’ one to include the field of study,
The only other suggestion which probably is a non starter is that your friend shift to a city/town that doesn’t have the accommodation problems currently being experienced there which are probably going to get worse as the re-build ramps up…
Hi Anakereiti. There is nothing about your friend that would indicate that landlords should be wary of her. In fact, she has things in favour as a tenant, regular guaranteed rent payments, a referal, part time work and is in education. So I would say its the landlords that have the problem and doesn’t their response sound like discrimination?
I wonder what the tenancy act would have to say about declining a reliable prospective tenant on the grounds of solo parenting?
Sorry not that helpful but maybe call the DBH on 0800 83 62 62 to clarify her rights
Don’t think the tenancy law says anything about a landlord discriminating against anyone, if anyone wanted to buy into a fight, a long one, with landlords appearing to discriminate the Human Rights Commissioner would be the place to start,
Wouldn’t tho solve the immediacy of the housing problem…
Hi bad12. I think its wise to always be aware of your rights, not necesssarily in the event that you will take issue with another party and take it up at a formal level – its just something that may help at an informal level and maybe can be used in an opportunistic way. Nothing like a subtle mention of the other parties legal obligations/or your rights to get things moving.
Sometimes works. Sometimes doesn’t.
We have had the experience on two occasions of being selected as tenants due to our child free status and have been chosen over couples with children. I’ve found this out later once via the landlord herself and once via a friend of the landlord. Great to get a flat but sucks to be partly responsible for an outcome in that discriminates against children. It happens, landlords are excluding children from their right to housing. This is happening in Anakereiti’s friends’ instance.
I think if Anakereiti is receiving regular responses that refer to the prospective tenant being a “solo Mum” then it wouldn’t hurt to look into her rights as parent seeking accomodation. No it won’t solve the immediate problem (and it is a major one especially if she’s settled into study). Its not for the tenant to carry stigma and work out ways around that to get into a flat, its up to the landlord to put their prejudice aside. Easier said than done I know, but I wish her well for finding a good place to live soon.
True, the one answer i forgot to put to AnaKereiti was her friend could apply to the State for housing as, (i assume),Her friend is on a low income and a single parent,
Unfortunately the friend also appears to live in Christchurch where accommodation is becoming scarcer,
Other than suffer renting a wreck of a house which i have seen highlighted on the TV i cannot think of any other good advice,
Yes the problem with ‘our rights’ is that while many of us know them,(or know discrimination when we are subject to it), in most cases we are left to fight such battles on our own behalf which can be one hell of a battle for those without the skills,
This is the uneven playing field of the past 30 years of deregulation, instead of having a relevant Government department to complain to which then investigates such complaints and prosecutes in the case of wrong-doings being found we all have been left having to investigate and prosecute on our own behalves,
Such ‘thinking’ which presupposes the honesty and integrity of those in ‘higher’ positions in society is obviously failed ideology and we need return to a system where alleged breaches of rules and laws across all facets of society are investigated and ,(if warranted), prosecuted by the relevant Government Department which deals with that legislation…
I agree with you there TRP. But Charles performed quite a specialised and important role. Carol is and will be good because she is staunch and understands the party and the trade union movement very well.
In CB we have a good union presence in Parliament. I think you have to go back to the 30’s to see the same amount of union bod in parliamentary Labour.
(Matthew Hooton will be crying in his beer tonight, he has been worrying about this for a while)
I’m really curious to see what will happen in Ohariu now. We desparately need to get rid of Peter Dunne in this area for the sake of the electorate but most importantly for the sake of the country. (I know I’m repeating myself) Looking at previous election results, it could be done.
He is pretty much embedded in there really I am afraid. I think he is the reason why the 5th Labour government drifted to the right back from 02-08.
Hopefully Labour and the Greens will win enough seats to render him irrelevant in the post election horse trading, and he will spend 3 years in the wilderness.
Kiwibank, Radio New Zealand and the water supply should be ruled out of any future asset sales programmes, UnitedFuture Leader Peter Dunne said today.
Speaking to the Auckland Rotary Club, he said that given that National has a manifesto that includes asset sales, New Zealanders need to start a proper debate on the future limits of those sales.
“To this point there has not been a proper national debate beyond National saying yes and Labour saying no.
“We need a conversation that is more detailed and drills down into what New Zealanders really think are acceptable bottom lines,” he said.
“New Zealanders, I believe, are not definitively pro-asset sales, but under certain conditions, it is no longer the bogeyman issue that Labour would have you believe.”
Mr Dunne said UnitedFuture’s role as a support partner is not just to contribute its own policies, but to help keep a government to a reasonable, centrist path.
……….. ”
In my considered opinion – the voting public of Ohariu were thus effectively misled by United Future and Peter Dunne on the issue of support for the ‘Mixed Ownership Model’ for State-Owned electricity assets and Air New Zealand.
In my considered opinion, United Future and Peter Dunne SOLD OUT the voting public of Ohariu by voting in support of the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership) Amendment Act 2012.
Had Peter Dunne kept faith with the voting public of Ohariu – the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill should have BEEN DEFEATED 60 – 61.
I thus believe that I am absolutely correct in my statement that THERE IS NO MANDATE FOR ASSET SALES – given that this minority National Government (which DID campaign on asset sales) has only 59 out of 121 MPs.
ACT did not specifically campaign on asset sales – but their support for privatisation is hardly a secret.
However –
” UF did not specifically campaign for the ‘mixed ownership model for the electricity companies and Air New Zealand’ because it was not UF policy”
National said what they were going to do if they won, they won so now they’re trying to do what they said they were going to do, I’m not surprised the left arn’t keen on this but National are in power because the majority of voters wanted them in power
Don’t want this to happen? Then make sure Labour get the majority, quite simple really
National did not get a majority, Chris. That’s why they are in a coalition. They rely on John Banks and the vote of Peter Dunne to get the sales passed and Dunne didn’t even campaign on the issue, preferring to stay silent to fool the electors of Ohariu into trusting that he wouldn’t do it.
War memorials may be chattels of nationhood, built of the lives lost in endless blood they are also mausoleums for the freedoms sold long afore their sacrifice, but this embroiders every campaign badge with shame
Dom-on T.V; risk of having a criminal conviction by early adulthood increases approx 30% with every hour (?) children and teens spend watching T.V on an average weeknight.-Professor Bob Hancox, Otago Uni.
conclusion: a strong association
“We read all our mail. We welcome leaks, news-tips, feedback, and suggestions for content. Please feel free to email us: thestandardnz@gmail.com. One or more of the editors look at this during the day.”
Yeah right!
Does anyone really read the emails that get sent to the Standard or is that line from the contact page a joke? I don’t want to get sniffy about it, but for the second time, I’ve sent through a guest post and not heard diddly back. Fine if you’re not going to publish it, that’s your call, but I’m confused as to why I’m not at least worth the courtesy of a reply.
Cheers.
TRP
[yeah, it’s not easy finding good help when you’re offering no pay and lots of hours. Your post is already in the queue for tomorrow. Eddie]
[lprent: I looked at this (again) this morning. But after staggering home at or after 2000 after a hard days coding, cooking, blobbing in front of the TV before bed, and then heading to work at 0630 the following day for the last few weeks…. Well the last few bugs are all that stands between me and a life. The time required to set up a guest post is a bit too long. But the guest posts have been a bit neglected over the last month or so. I think we’re all a bit busy. ]
Cheers, my blue skinned friend. And thanks to LP, and all the other authors and mods. It’s easy to forget that TS is volunteer run; its just looks a million bucks because of the efforts of some pretty cool people.
What point are you actually trying to make here???, if you are attempting to pillory Hone for the actions of His nephews you would also have to pillory Nick Smith over His brother being prosecuted by the Canterbury Regional Council…
Carry on with your defamation, i hope Hone reads that and drags you through the courts to ransack every last cent you possess from what can only be described as a sorry sack of you what…
What get’s me is that there’s no “valour” or “exceptionalism” involved – what counts as exceptional drone flying? It’s basically down to logged hours and maybe attributed deaths.
I don’t think they’re too far from going back to “citizen-soldiers”, but someone comes home from work, logs on, plays a computer game for a couple of hours, and gets experience points that count towards a medal.
The only change from today is that people on the other side of the planet die.
It’s a bad thing to be able to do it too easily, with little or no effort. Becomes easier than thinking about a long term solution – or at least that’s one point the General quoted in the article made.
And of course, it’s all very well being able to blow shit up and then bounce the rubble around, but the acid test is whether your guy can walk down the street in broad daylight. But then that particular debate goes back to Douhet.
It’s a bad thing to be able to do it too easily, with little or no effort.
– Depends if you’re the one sitting safely at HQ or the one at the pointy end I guess…
The risk is in the degrees of control which these methods lead to. Are drones patrolling skies in war zones and out, really something which is going to take humanity in a positive direction!
If you’re a parent, or going to be, I hope for your families sake that your comments are not reflective of your actual views!
I’m thinking of the poor grunt at the sharp end that has to implement the policies of whatever government of the day is running…hes the one that has to go and do the dirty work.
Someones son, brother, nephew, father, cousin, uncle, friend has to go and do it and if theres a safer way for that guy to do the job then I’m all for it.
There ia always a choice, nobody has to do the dirty work, they chose to, situational or not, you’re talking about taking lives by remote control, based on it being safer for someone else, this is madness.
Scope creep, mission creep etc, your words are supporting it!
You can tell your family and friends that your position lead to NZ skies being droned, because thats where its headed!
Correct, they chose to do a job…kill the enemy without (preferably) being killed yourself. They have the technology to do the job safer then ever so it would be morally wrong to deny them the opportunity to do so.
You want the killing stopped then look at the governments not the soldiers, its not the soldiers (at least in western democratic countries) that decide to go to war its the politicians and the people that elect (or keep electing them)
its the politicians and the people that elect (or keep electing them)
Actually its nothing to do with the politicians deciding anything, The decisions to go to war run far deeper than any front facing political entity, which is not elected!
That’s why its even more important that people do not buy into this system, and as such the choice being made to wage war using remote control, is trite!
True. But that’s the difference between political leadership and soldiers. The leader needs to not just take the easy course, but to find a long term solution to the situation.
Because if drone strikes happen in perpetuity, what are the odds of people responding to that constant terror putting a bomb in the pilot’s local shopping mall? Or the areas involved shift geopolitically to China or Russia to preserve their internal stability, so the US loses some regional influence, and fifty years down the line the drone pilots’ grandkids end up on the pointy end of ww3? And what happens when opponents get the hang of evading detection/slipping through the surveillance filters – classic assymetric problem. If you kill the chaps as soon as you think you’ve found them, you don’t find out who their friends are or what they’re doing.
sooo, the Ozzie “manufacturing confidence” index is in the low 40’s (N0rty)
Cosgrove-“significant losses of sub-contractors due to Mainzeal flattening may have an effect on the entire construction industry…
Williamson up against the wall
Excellent work by Eugenie Sage nailing and hoeing into Tremain (HBRC debt to increase in excess of 500% by 2021; don’t we love spending other peoples money!)
Spirituality is In The House, thanks to Winning some tutae 🙂
If I may briefly slip into my professional field – the Overseas parliamentary news has this fascinating snippet about archiving of email for Danish MPs (it’s about half way down the page).
MPs will be able to select emails for preservation by the State Archives as part of their day to day email management. Members’ correspondence held in the Archives is generally accessible to the public after 75 years.
I will be fascinated to see how it will actually work in practice (in my experience recordkeeping is not one of the strengths of most politicians).
Interesting in light of the recent responses to the Law Commission’s recommendation to extend our OIA to cover Parliament.
Pssst, when you get time to look Lprent, the edit function has thrown a spaz, i can access it but none of the comment that needs editing is showing up…
Seriously, the amount of mistakes I make, the edit function was the second thing I looked for after the ‘self publicise’ button.
Never found either, even if I only really need the one.
I run music studio software without breaking (many) synapses, and I’m getting really envious when I read posts with *edit in them. :grrr: 😆
I’m on Chrome, with pop ups blocked and that’s about it. No edit button.
Seriously, i mean hell pull the other one,leg that is, it plays Jesus my Lord come unto me, that’s with the backing of the full NZ Symphony orchestra as well,
The edit function appears next to the delete function on the bottom of your posted comment, Yeee-essss, i feel so computer literacerially superior after having said that,
And even more so with my coining of a brand new word, wonder if i can patent it…
I can only say how saddened i am for your loss as i eagerly await seeing both functions appear as my comment comes up on the page,
i also now have the sudden urge to deliberately make a large number of errors, both spelling and grammatical, in this latest comment just so i may avail myself of such functions others are not in possession of,
i will tho resist such an egotistical aberration in character as the aforementioned function tonight only leads to the production of a blank page which in turn leads me to thoughts that perhaps this is the true value of my posted comments…
The edit function has not been working for me for a couple of hours; javascript is turned on in my browser and I don’t believe that i have made any system changes.
Is David Shearer still the leader of the Labour Party?
And is the Labour Party still the major opposition party?
There’s been so much going on and it seems that neither David Shearer or anyone else in the Labour party have anything to say. About anything…
Aw god not another one, next you will be telling us all your a disgruntled member and, ”shrill voice” you wont be voting for them again with that Shearer there….
Apart from female dogs is there an actual point here that you are trying to get across to me, i fear that if there is my attempts to de-cypher this point,limited i must admit, have failed…
Well I was unclear whether you were being sarky in your first comment, so chose to hedge my bets and be sarky in response.
I am commenting on this trend of criticizing people’s views that express concern about Labour’s or Mr Shearer’s effectiveness, and how it is seeming kind of arse about face in a democracy.
Despite apparently living in a democracy there appears to be an increasing message that we have to “be nice” and not express dissent to the sham that is going on on both sides of the parliamentary house.
I mean if everyone just shut up and voted for Labour, it stands to reason they would win. Guess that is how the logic goes.
I understand that people are paid good money to play the role of political strategist and if any ordinary person not in parliament did their job as badly, as both this government and the Labour party strategists over the last 5 years we would have our arses fired; so a wee bit of negative feedback here and there, really is a very small price to pay, and if listened to, would improve their game.
In answer to that, how many comments have you seen the commenter i was replying to make on the Standard,
There ‘seems’ to be a trend developing here, and i highlight the word ‘seems’ as this is only a personal observation, that when the ‘i hate Dave S’ crew quiets down it’s criticism of Him up will pop a few ‘names’ here and there who will poke the anti-Shearer fire for signs of life, or to get it raging again,
These odd commenters who seem like strangers to me could be genuine in their concern about Shearer and having found this site cannot but help unloading such concerns into whatever post they have ‘landed in’ so to speak be that open mike or a specific post on a topic,
Because of this i give far more ‘weight’ to comments from ‘names’ i recognize as having commented on the site befor and tend to view comments such as the one we are discussing above as just as likely to be posted into the site by those with the specific goal of attempting to destabilize the current Labour leadership for reasons other than concern for that Party…
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
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While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
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On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
‘
“The biggest climate change rally in US history”
Will we have. to have similiar rallies here before our law makers start taking climate change seriously?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/17/keystone-xl-pipeline-protest-dc
Did anyone just hear our beloved leader on Radio New Zealand this morning? He sounded well under the weather and as if he had a hard night the night before.
Audio is at http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2546817/pm-confident-report-will-clear-way-for-convention-centre.asx
Anyone else detecting signs Key has developed a drinking problem?
He was slurring at the RWC opening, something politely overlooked by the media – but hey, he a Kiwi guy just like us and who would deny the man a drink?
John Key “fainted” in a Christchurch restaurant, and no real suitable explaination was given. it was immediately after his holiday, so fatigue could hardly be the reason.
Audrey Young sent out a not so subtle hint Key was suffering a hangover recently in Queenstown:
“…During a wreath-laying ceremony, Key appeared to have difficulty keeping his eyes open for a couple of minutes. He kept rubbing his eyes, but no sooner had he opened them than they would shut. He said later, through a spokeswoman, that the problem was because of the glare on the war memorial, which made his eyes water…”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10864459
Muldoon famously announced an election drunk as a skunk, and our media studiously avoided mentioning that.
Alcohol abuse is probably endemic in parliament, like hospo I would imagine it is an occupational hazard linked to ready access, long hours and work pressure. But would our media have the courage to expose a drunkard PM?
Well, who do you think he is drinking with half of the time?
And yes, binge drinking is endemic in Parliament. MPs, staffers, advisors, what have you.
I worked in Parliament for about 3 years and never saw any of this binge drinking you mention. And as a heavy drinker myself I would have loved to have joined in but alas – it doesn’t really exist.
And if John Key had a drinking problem then the opposition would be all over it. How better to win an election than to portray your opponent as a drunk?
*cough* Maybe no one liked you *cough*
🙂
“well dressed and all that”
Surely the Armani would have made a difference.
And you know this because alot of MP’s and Parliamentary staffers carry out this binge drinking in your back bedroom in Dunedin?
KK. Parliament has not been in Dunedin for a very long time.
“Anyone else detecting signs Key has developed a drinking problem?”
It’s hard to tell – he has such lazy speech. As mother used to say….. ‘Lazy speech, lazy thinking, lazy mind’
It’s why he has to rely on an ideology learned parrot-fashion – and a failed one at that!
I thought it was a speech impediment he had as a child. Read it somewhere though can’t find any reference for it.
It could be any number of things.
Hell, he might have brain cancer, hence the desire to finish his bucket list.
Whatever it is, it might be getting worse – hopefully for him it’ll clear up when he leaves office. Less stress and all that. I don’t think anyone can fuck up a country this badly without it having a corrosive effect on their soul.
Yep, it’s a speech impediment.
Oddly enough it only seems to surface when he’s on the piss.
Sound’s like he’s still half shickered. must have been a big nite last nite.
That was a mean all-nighter !
I didn’t think it sounded like him,maybe he has a speech double.He sounded like he either had a hangover or had taken meds for something or other. Probably something to “relax” him.
More on the horror of ATOS in the U$K. Coming here if Johnny Keyshine can only work up the nerve:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm4UHyurzjY&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=2
Oh look that Shearer person is a really tolerant fellow. He says there is room in the Labour Party for MPs with homophobic views.
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/02/shearer_on_homophobes_and_labour.html#comments
Hardly breaking news since two Labour MPs met an anti-marriage equality petition on Parliament’s steps. And they’re still MPs. New diversion thanks.
Increasingly looking like, despite Labour’s best efforts, it’s status quo for the next few years.
We’re on our people.
Look after your mums, your neighbours and by the grace of dog, we’ll all make it through.
35 women are saved from having more babies while they are on a benefit or low income. Victory!
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/01/free_contraception_uptake.html
God forbid people actually pay for their own kids instead of lumping them on to everyone else.
God forbid we create an extra 150,000 jobs so that everyone who wants a family can have a working income.
God forbid that women should decline to take contraception that has risks and side effects. Why is the govt not free funding other kinds of contraception?
God forbid the media ask why men aren’t sharing responsibility for contraception. I say we offer free vasectomies along with all types of contraception.
That’s not a bad idea. Problem is, Bennett wants teenagers to stop having babies, and I doubt many young men want to get the snip.
Virtually all forms of contraception are majority funded by the state in NZ.
available to the middle class as well as the rich, then.
So, in your view, what is the purpose of the economy?
This poll was on TV1 breakfast news yesterday. Extract from today’s Herald
The poll also had good news for National, with a 5 percentage point jump in support taking them to 49 per cent. Labour was on 33 per cent and the Greens 11 per cent.
Mr Key also gained five points, according to the preferred prime minister measure, giving him 44 per cent, with Labour leader David Shearer on 15 per cent.
Bomber’s media announcement is up
http://www.tumeke.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/announcing-my-new-media-project.html
“TheDailyBlog.co.nz will bring together 30 of the best left-wing bloggers and progressive opinion shapers in NZ all onto one site to critique the news, the media, and politics to provide the other side of the story.”
“Launching March 1st TheDailyBlog.co.nz will feature: Chris Trotter, Selwyn Manning, Professor Jane Kelsey, Keith Locke, Sue Bradford, John Minto, David Slack, Morgan Godfery, Gareth Renowden, Coley Tangerina, Phoebe Fletcher, Dr Wayne Hope, Queen of Thorns, Burnt out Teacher, Steve Grey, Aaron Hawkins, Marama Davidson, Tim Selwyn, James Ritchie, Efeso Collins, Robert Winter, Lynn Prentice, Frank MacsKasy, Matt McCarten, Wayne Butson, Chris Flatt, Allan Alach, TheDailyBlog Reposts and The Liberal Agenda.”
It’s a strong line up. I assume Bomber hisself will also be posting, but maybe not.
Best of luck to them (you) all.
I am just scared about what happens when you put that many self satisfied, know it alls in the same place. The mix of with pathetic whinging and misplaced sense of entitlement could blow up the internet.
Bankers, financiers and the 0.1% are the ones with the grand sense of self-entitlement.
Kiwiblog and other similar sites haven’t blown up the internet yet and they’ve got heaps of whingers full of self-entitlement and other RWNJs.
I saw that list and on about half of them I either said “who” or “why” .
One just hopes that like Kiwiblog and The Standard (and unlike Tumeke) that commentary is free and moderated sparingly.
With Bradbury at the helm though I am not very optimistic of this.
You just hate him because you are a hard-core rightwinger who wants to close schools and hospitals, to pay for tax cuts.
“The Daily Blog” sounds like a sterling idea with a big enough roster to pace people or let them quietly slide off if the pace is too much. BUT it had better have like buttons, moderation and one off registration not the the google account login nightmare Tumeke is, if this daily blogger is going to use it.
Yeah that’s what pissed my off about Tumeke as well. I didnt want to log in under my real name to post. I would very much prefer to post under “millsy”, the post name I have had for the past 13 years…
Wow – nice non-sequiter, Millsy.
Sounds like it came from a quote generator.
Bloody awesome. Sounds bloody good. A powerhouse of good decent left wingers who belive in things like taxing the rich to pay for schools and hospitals and locking up all DOC land from mining forever.
Ill definitely be going there on my daily web trawls.
Great!
This is what is needed! Combining voices and forces, using the power of synergy, to establish a resolute opposition to what we get served up by incompetent, indifferent or even damned biased, misinforming, manipulating and increasingly disgusting privately controlled, commercial mainstream media.
I look forward to this blog.
Just one worry I have, I hope it does not come with the features and technical hiccups that Tumeke has caused. Just trying to open that website once again, it instantly made my browser collapse.
Also I hope it will allow pseudonyms and fair, open debate, similar to what we have here on TS.
“Also I hope it will allow pseudonyms and fair, open debate, similar to what we have here on TS.”
As do I. No point in haven’t a big blog with numerous editors if you are just going to shut off dissenting POV’s which unfortunately seems to be the case at Tumeke
sadly, not enough rogues.
Now that’s a really good leftie line-up, including many people whose posts I usually read.
When Bomber dropped his teasers, I was hoping for something with an audio component (like radio) rather than print based. Maybe a left radio/TV station is still something waiting for it’s time to come.
However, hopefully it’s a line-up that will gain critical mass, and widespread significant mainstream attention. Also, Bomber will likely include some of his bloggers (if not all) as guests on Citizen A.
I hope it’s an extremely successful blog.
I think a leftie radio network would be more effective than a tv station. Most people can’t watch telly at work.
Hmm… some of us can’t listen to the radio at work. But, I agree a leftie radio station would be an excellent innovation – could be done online. Could be listened to while traveling/commuting.
NZTA bills crash victim $1300
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8320507/NZTA-bills-crash-victim-1300
The mother of a teenager nearly killed in a car crash has been billed by the New Zealand Transport Agency for the cost of closing the road while she was cut free.
Is this legal?
The insurance industry does not know much about it.
Insurance Council insurance manager John Lucas had never heard of such a charge.
“From discussions I’ve had with insurers, it would appear to be a new practice.”
And if it is legal, can accident victims recover costs if the road is not up to standard?
OMG
welcome to America
I damaged my car on a pothole last month. Invoicing NZTA as we speak…
I damaged my car on a pothole last month. Invoicing NZTA as we speak…
Jeeze, is there no such thing as an accident any more? Wouldn’t NZTA have to prove that the ‘accident’ was the fault of the car owner, if that’s who they are billing?
Innocent bystanders to be billed next.
I guess the NZTA need this money for more valuable highways?
There is NO such thing as an Accident. They are all just Incidents, with differing degree’s of fault, and or blame.
If we all had to pay through the nose for the mistakes we made, then there would be huge queues at the bankruptcy courts.
Quite frankly I think this charge is BS, and it sets a worrying precedent.
But the generous souls will not be invoicing dead people. They are so kind???
Not quite.
‘would not ORDINARILY be invoiced’!!!!
I note the rednecks on the stuff site think its OK. Nothing turns a redneck on like bankrupting someone because they made a mistake.
Generally people take out insurance to cover their mistakes. The only people who might go bankrupt from this are the selfish who expect everyone else to pick up the tab for their fuck ups.
So you think its OK to financially cripple this woman? I bet you would have everything taken from her and her out on the street.
All because you want a tax cut.
She has got insurance so they should pay it. What is wrong with that?
It’s called “being a prick to people who have better things to worry about than your 0.03% increase in budget expenditure”.
The issue seems to be that the fuel levy and other incomes no longer fund our roads, so regional cost centres are forced to be fuckwits to worried or grieving relatives.
Because the chances are the insurance won’t pay for it. The NZTA has determined that the driver was at fault and such a determination will let the insurance companies off. It’d be the same as not having a WoF on your car even though the car was up to standard.
As this would seem to be part of the cost of an accident, guess who will be paying for this piece of stupidity, and i am talking about the billing of this person for these costs as the stupidity,
The arms of the State shuffling paperwork in an idiots dance will result by the time all the shuffling is done in the costs being double what the original bill was…
Are you saying that this goes on all the time?
That NZTA regularly bills people in accidents for closing the road, but we never heard about it until now because it’s usually covered by insurance?
Highly unlikely KK. I hardly think our insurance companies would be paying out such fees and not telling us.
According to NZTA they have been doing it for years. Obviously you know better.
depends under what circumstances. Were they billing families of hospitalised drivers ten years ago? I reckon they were probably billing people for vandalism or diesel on the roads for donuts, and it’s encroached from there into full fuckwitted behaviours.
And yet it seems to be the first time that the insurance companies have heard of it.
Obviously King Kong knows better…
I can confirm charging of some kind has been going on for some years. A nephew of mine took out a guardrail in the Cromwell Gorge ’bout 2007 and got billed for it.
I once ordered a cheesecake and I had to pay for that too, but so what?
And the most efficient and cheapest insurance is living in a community which is something we all do and, in fact, have to do.
This is shocking stuff. Assistance to citizens should be part of the national support of road users. If it is a commercial vehicle being used for business then it could be argued that this be done.
How can it be that daft bu..s go off to sea or on tramping trips with no proper equipment, or tourists hit their emergency beacon for a helicopter and I don’t think there is a charge for this.
Yachties floating around on the sea, wanting to be rescued of course, if their lifestyle or sport goes badly wrong. Do they pay the ships diverted to help them?
Some things are just unreasonable – like tenants being asked to pay for a house they were renting if it burns down. How can ordinary people have to shoulder these extra costs which should be borne elsewhere?
Call the Coast Guard and you will be charged. Of course, the Coast Guard is a volunteer organisation and not (or minimally) government funded.
Coastguard does not charge for rescuing people, only if you want them to save your boat as well. Even this is free if you have paid the, modest, membership fee.
Same with shipping companies. I have never heard of a shipping company charging for rescueing people after a Mayday. There is a fund available to reimburse rescuers. I don’t think it has ever been claimed.
Loss of income, or damage, from having to divert for a mayday is, however, covered in marine insurance.
Which means we can come and rescue you without worrying being sued for risking the owners ship, so long as you have made it a “Mayday”.
If you want a commercial vessel to go to the time, trouble and expanse of picking up your boat as well, though, expect to pay. In most cases this risks the ships insurance cover as well as extra delays and costs. At 50k plus a day they add up quick.
I think ambulances have a charge that’s more commonly applied now, too.
Everyone gets short of public funds, everyone finds incremental revenue.
National’s “brighter future”.
Yup!
cereally though, cobber, there is always “The Sunbird” or “Ancient Evenings” (Smith and Mailer) 🙂
We’re all very highly critical of the government, but I think we should applaud Cabinet’s decision to go ahead with plain packaging on cigarette packets. I think it will remove the cachet some brands have – like Marlboro, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Camel. I don’t think it will deter those who stick with more downmarket brands, but it will take some of the glamour away for those who might take up smoking. A positive move, in my opinion.
Lolz, i don’t think it will have the slightest effect on those who take up smoking, having been a smoker during the limited amount of time i spent at college and also having had the displeasure of watching the same (mis)behavior from my nieces during their incarceration at the same institution i can assure you that for the young smoker ‘brand’ isn’t a consideration,
These days cigarettes aren’t shared as freely as they were when i was a young smoker, but, the size of the school of smokers that gather in those out of the way places on the college campus for a quick puff befor class looks to be remarkably the same in number as it was during my stint in the corridors of such august edifices of learning,
These days in the ‘smoking school’ one person usually has found the cash with which to buy a packet of filtered cigarettes and the other smokers in the ‘school’ usually have a dollar each to buy a smoke,
Bit like a ‘drunks school’ or a ‘druggies school’ it’s the addiction what brings them together as they know that the numbers mean at least one of them on any given occasion will have the means to supply the group with whatever the addiction is…
As far as applauding the Government on this issue i fell that you are viewing the whole issue very simplistically through the lens of the manipulation of your mind,
With at least a billion dollars of tobacco tax being collected from users being over and above the actual cost to society of the use of tobacco products the Health budget could now be said to be being propped up by that taxation on tobacco products,
Should the use of the products decrease radically from Government taxation and other ‘moves’ against the product Government would have to ‘find’ that extra billion dollars from somewhere else or cut that money from the Health or other budgets,
The Government tho knows that very few users will actually quit the product and within 6 months most of those who quit have taken to using the product again,
The chairman of the Quit program admitted in its annual report 2011 that ‘they’ only reach 2% of smokers and a study by a university Professor, (both of which i have provided links to befor on open mike),says that only 1.9% of smokers who try end up actually quitting the addiction,
Meanwhile there is an unknown number of young people who take up the habit and become addicted constantly replacing the small % of users who have managed to kick their addiction,
The only means of actually reducing the number of addicts to this product would be to declare tobacco a prescription poison only available via Doctor’s prescription and register all the present cohort of addicts with their Doctors,
Within a year of such a registration program tobacco could then be made only available to registered addicts thus dramatically curtailing access to the product for anyone not a registered addict…
lol
whatever, pete.
Now I’m not allowed to see what they have to sell me, they’re not allowed to tell me, and I can’t see what they sold me. The absurdity of zealotry.
If it weren’t for the inevitable organised crime, I’d outlaw tobacco entirely. If you’re buying it, I’d question your wisdom to make rational purchasing decisions in the first place.
Luckily for me, my personal habits are none of your business.
Maybe I looked at the relative odds and decided it’s better to live life and have fun than to live in fear. My level of smoking is probably about as harmful to me as your sanctimonious attitude is to you. Each to their own, I guess.
same
We’ll agree to disagree.
On what point?
That what I do in my own home is none of your business?
Or that stress is a major cause of early mortality, on a par with <3 cigarette equivalents per day?
“you don’t send me flowers, anymore.” 🙂
As the largest cohort of the 20 odd % of the population who do indulge in the product are in the lowest income brackets ‘health issues’ are merely a smokescreen for Government revenue farming off of those who are addicted,
There is one ‘thing’ that will kill a person faster than will the tobacco addiction and that is ‘poor diet’ and extremely poor diet will speedily result in a number of health issues becoming apparent in those that suffer from that poor diet,
So, constant revenue farming of tobacco products by Governments simply leaves those addicted and suffering low and extremely low incomes then have a ‘choice’, kick the addiction or face a severely restricted diet as the food spend is in most cases for the poor the only area of expense where cuts can be made,
As i point out above, the chairman of the quit program admitted in the annual report,(first sentence), that the program is accessed by barely 2% of smokers, the further study i allude to above,(which i have previously posted a link to) shows that barely 2% of those who try actually manage to quit the addiction,
What then going forward will be the health results for the other 98% of tobacco addicts unable to quit their addictions and being forced to exist on an increasingly severe poor diet,
i wont argue here about the rationality of purchasing the product except to say what addict do you know of that makes an entirely rational decision to support such an addiction, it is however given the facts, totally irrational for governments to attempt to stop addicts accessing the product at the center of their addiction by continuously raising the price of that product thus putting the health of those addicted in as much if not more danger from another causative than the original addiction,
All of that tho is only relevant if you believe the raising of such taxation is based upon rational health decisions by that Government…
Pete – next thing to do: all alcohol advertising, packaging and labelling to be in black and white only.
only Scotch
The only winners here are the manufacturers of branded cigarette tins.
And the minimalists…
true
Fascist Work and Income NZ –
A new website has been set up by someone, to offer a forum for those that have suffered bad, unfair treatment, wrong decisions and whatever else at the hands of NZ’s largest government department/agency:
http://workandincomerfascis.wix.com/fascistworkandincome#!name-n-shame/c1qno
I am not sure who is behind this, and “fascist” may be over the top for some, but it seems, that the increasing harrassment, denial of rights and entitlements, off-loading from some benefits and shifting of claimants and applicants onto other, lower rated ones (e.g. from sickness to UB or invalid’s benefit to SB), is leading to increasing anger and people seeing a need to let off steam.
Bennett is creating a lot of adversaries with the policies she and her government are introducing, now forcing not only sole parents, but also increasingly sick, and soon even disabled, into some kinds of work, same as the Department of Work and Pensions have been doing in the UK for years, using private assessor ATOS and bizarre work capability tests, that led to over 1,100 deaths from Jan. to August 2011 alone:
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/10/31/government-use-might-of-american-insurance-giant-to-destroy-uk-safety-net-by-mo-stewart-update/
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/05/31/a-tale-of-two-models-disabled-people-vs-unum-atos-government-and-disability-charities-by-debbie-jolly-dpac/
See also Bennett’s speech that is considered to be a “game changer” in the way seriously, longer term sick and disabled will be put under pressure in future:
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-medical-professionals
She is clearly a fan of those assessments and test that are used in the UK, and she was already consulted and lobbied by the man who saw to it, that the tests (designed in principle by highly controversion US insurance giant Unum) were implemeted by governments in Britain.
So lots to be worried about, that is on top of what WINZ and MSD throw at beneficiaries already now, to make life a misery.
Perhaps use this website to vent your anger, WINZ dependent, disentitled and disowned NZers?
Hah, Kathryn Ryan on RadioNZ nine to noon trying to twist what Economics and Business commentator Rob Oram was saying about ‘the living wage’ into some right wing political framing,
Oram told that tool that He was talking economics not politics, that shut Her up…
Poor John, he had a busy night at Antoine’s on Parnell Rise. He was very well looked after.
That genius Tony A never disappoints.
Good thing John lives around the corner!
Needing some ideas….friend of mine is only 19 with a 10 week old baby, yes she is a solo mum, currently back at school and working part time also. She currently lives in the redzone and has until May to leave. She like so many others is having a hell time finding a rental. Her rental payments are guaranteed, thanks to Paula B – her landlord is happy to be a referee….I have been sending out emails for housing rentals and the tone of the reply is all about her being a young solo mum, and then declining her. She has good credit, no previous rental issues…can anyone suggest a way to get past the stigma of being a young solo mum. 🙂
Tell her to meet with the agents/landlord with a grown up (preferably one in a suit) and then state her case ie she is studying and working and will always meet the rent payments. This is what I did in the same situation and got a rental when they were in short supply.
Also tell them you are happy to have inspections more frequently. Don’t take baby (but of course tell them about baby) and make sure she is dressed well.
Lolz, if there is no specifics in the ad for the places your mate is trying to rent about babies DON’T TELL THEM, there is nothing in any legislation that would require Her to do so,
Suggest you also tell them that your friend is a ‘student’ who works part-time and can pay the rent through the help of the accommodation supplement, might have to stretch the ‘student’ one to include the field of study,
The only other suggestion which probably is a non starter is that your friend shift to a city/town that doesn’t have the accommodation problems currently being experienced there which are probably going to get worse as the re-build ramps up…
Hi Anakereiti. There is nothing about your friend that would indicate that landlords should be wary of her. In fact, she has things in favour as a tenant, regular guaranteed rent payments, a referal, part time work and is in education. So I would say its the landlords that have the problem and doesn’t their response sound like discrimination?
I wonder what the tenancy act would have to say about declining a reliable prospective tenant on the grounds of solo parenting?
Sorry not that helpful but maybe call the DBH on 0800 83 62 62 to clarify her rights
http://www.dbh.govt.nz/tenancy-index
Thanks to all, for your help. Il try a couple of different ways ….see which one gets her in first lol. Thanks
Don’t think the tenancy law says anything about a landlord discriminating against anyone, if anyone wanted to buy into a fight, a long one, with landlords appearing to discriminate the Human Rights Commissioner would be the place to start,
Wouldn’t tho solve the immediacy of the housing problem…
Hi bad12. I think its wise to always be aware of your rights, not necesssarily in the event that you will take issue with another party and take it up at a formal level – its just something that may help at an informal level and maybe can be used in an opportunistic way. Nothing like a subtle mention of the other parties legal obligations/or your rights to get things moving.
Sometimes works. Sometimes doesn’t.
We have had the experience on two occasions of being selected as tenants due to our child free status and have been chosen over couples with children. I’ve found this out later once via the landlord herself and once via a friend of the landlord. Great to get a flat but sucks to be partly responsible for an outcome in that discriminates against children. It happens, landlords are excluding children from their right to housing. This is happening in Anakereiti’s friends’ instance.
I think if Anakereiti is receiving regular responses that refer to the prospective tenant being a “solo Mum” then it wouldn’t hurt to look into her rights as parent seeking accomodation. No it won’t solve the immediate problem (and it is a major one especially if she’s settled into study). Its not for the tenant to carry stigma and work out ways around that to get into a flat, its up to the landlord to put their prejudice aside. Easier said than done I know, but I wish her well for finding a good place to live soon.
True, the one answer i forgot to put to AnaKereiti was her friend could apply to the State for housing as, (i assume),Her friend is on a low income and a single parent,
Unfortunately the friend also appears to live in Christchurch where accommodation is becoming scarcer,
Other than suffer renting a wreck of a house which i have seen highlighted on the TV i cannot think of any other good advice,
Yes the problem with ‘our rights’ is that while many of us know them,(or know discrimination when we are subject to it), in most cases we are left to fight such battles on our own behalf which can be one hell of a battle for those without the skills,
This is the uneven playing field of the past 30 years of deregulation, instead of having a relevant Government department to complain to which then investigates such complaints and prosecutes in the case of wrong-doings being found we all have been left having to investigate and prosecute on our own behalves,
Such ‘thinking’ which presupposes the honesty and integrity of those in ‘higher’ positions in society is obviously failed ideology and we need return to a system where alleged breaches of rules and laws across all facets of society are investigated and ,(if warranted), prosecuted by the relevant Government Department which deals with that legislation…
In breaking news Charles Chauvel has resigned as a list MP to take up a job at the UN.
Bugger, he was once of the best performing Labour MPs …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10866354
And an pretty damn good left MP comes in, Carol Beaumont.
I agree with you there TRP. But Charles performed quite a specialised and important role. Carol is and will be good because she is staunch and understands the party and the trade union movement very well.
That is a bugger.
Why cant Trevor get a job with the UN (anywhere else for that matter).
Would you hire him?
😈
In CB we have a good union presence in Parliament. I think you have to go back to the 30’s to see the same amount of union bod in parliamentary Labour.
(Matthew Hooton will be crying in his beer tonight, he has been worrying about this for a while)
Excellent observation. And what an imcomparably Left Wing party that has created under their watch.
You beat me to it MS! Just read it on Scoop
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1302/S00258/charles-chauvel-announces-resignation.htm
I’m really curious to see what will happen in Ohariu now. We desparately need to get rid of Peter Dunne in this area for the sake of the electorate but most importantly for the sake of the country. (I know I’m repeating myself) Looking at previous election results, it could be done.
He is pretty much embedded in there really I am afraid. I think he is the reason why the 5th Labour government drifted to the right back from 02-08.
Hopefully Labour and the Greens will win enough seats to render him irrelevant in the post election horse trading, and he will spend 3 years in the wilderness.
WHAT ‘mandate’ for asset sales?
DEBUNKING THIS ‘URBAN (AND RURAL?) MYTH’!
Do the maths!!!!!
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/cabinet-holds-back-pushing-asset-sales-waits-supreme-court-bd-136063#comment-607156
The final vote on the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Act 2012, was 61 – 60
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Debates/Debates/e/8/e/50HansD_20120626_00000012-State-Owned-Enterprises-Amendment-Bill-Public.htm
A party vote was called for on the question, That the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill be now read a third time.
Ayes 61
New Zealand National 59; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.
Noes 60
New Zealand Labour 34; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 8; Māori Party 3; Mana 1.
__________________________________________________________
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/02/a_lie.html/comment-page-1#comment-1097573
[ Pete(r) George – Dunedin North candidate – United Future )
(16,292) Says: February 15th, 2013 at 10:28 pm]
” UF did not specifically campaign for the ‘mixed ownership model for the electricity companies and Air New Zealand’ because it was not UF policy”
WHAT UNITED FUTURE DID CAMPAIGN ON: RE ASSET SALES:
http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/asset-sales-policy-announcement/
Asset Sales Policy Announcement
10 October 2011
Kiwibank, Radio New Zealand and the water supply should be ruled out of any future asset sales programmes, UnitedFuture Leader Peter Dunne said today.
Speaking to the Auckland Rotary Club, he said that given that National has a manifesto that includes asset sales, New Zealanders need to start a proper debate on the future limits of those sales.
“To this point there has not been a proper national debate beyond National saying yes and Labour saying no.
“We need a conversation that is more detailed and drills down into what New Zealanders really think are acceptable bottom lines,” he said.
“New Zealanders, I believe, are not definitively pro-asset sales, but under certain conditions, it is no longer the bogeyman issue that Labour would have you believe.”
Mr Dunne said UnitedFuture’s role as a support partner is not just to contribute its own policies, but to help keep a government to a reasonable, centrist path.
……….. ”
In my considered opinion – the voting public of Ohariu were thus effectively misled by United Future and Peter Dunne on the issue of support for the ‘Mixed Ownership Model’ for State-Owned electricity assets and Air New Zealand.
In my considered opinion, United Future and Peter Dunne SOLD OUT the voting public of Ohariu by voting in support of the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership) Amendment Act 2012.
Had Peter Dunne kept faith with the voting public of Ohariu – the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill should have BEEN DEFEATED 60 – 61.
I thus believe that I am absolutely correct in my statement that THERE IS NO MANDATE FOR ASSET SALES – given that this minority National Government (which DID campaign on asset sales) has only 59 out of 121 MPs.
ACT did not specifically campaign on asset sales – but their support for privatisation is hardly a secret.
However –
” UF did not specifically campaign for the ‘mixed ownership model for the electricity companies and Air New Zealand’ because it was not UF policy”
THEREFORE! NO MAJORITY – NO MANDATE!
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
Auckland Mayoral Candidate 2013
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
National said what they were going to do if they won, they won so now they’re trying to do what they said they were going to do, I’m not surprised the left arn’t keen on this but National are in power because the majority of voters wanted them in power
Don’t want this to happen? Then make sure Labour get the majority, quite simple really
National did not get a majority, Chris. That’s why they are in a coalition. They rely on John Banks and the vote of Peter Dunne to get the sales passed and Dunne didn’t even campaign on the issue, preferring to stay silent to fool the electors of Ohariu into trusting that he wouldn’t do it.
War memorials may be chattels of nationhood, built of the lives lost in endless blood they are also mausoleums for the freedoms sold long afore their sacrifice, but this embroiders every campaign badge with shame
http://rt.com/news/sandhurst-mons-rename-bahrain-457/
I for one would be very interested in what our Prime Minister, who has so often spoken of his respect for the fallen, has to say on this deal.
Dom-on T.V; risk of having a criminal conviction by early adulthood increases approx 30% with every hour (?) children and teens spend watching T.V on an average weeknight.-Professor Bob Hancox, Otago Uni.
conclusion: a strong association
“We read all our mail. We welcome leaks, news-tips, feedback, and suggestions for content. Please feel free to email us: thestandardnz@gmail.com. One or more of the editors look at this during the day.”
Yeah right!
Does anyone really read the emails that get sent to the Standard or is that line from the contact page a joke? I don’t want to get sniffy about it, but for the second time, I’ve sent through a guest post and not heard diddly back. Fine if you’re not going to publish it, that’s your call, but I’m confused as to why I’m not at least worth the courtesy of a reply.
Cheers.
TRP
[yeah, it’s not easy finding good help when you’re offering no pay and lots of hours. Your post is already in the queue for tomorrow. Eddie]
[lprent: I looked at this (again) this morning. But after staggering home at or after 2000 after a hard days coding, cooking, blobbing in front of the TV before bed, and then heading to work at 0630 the following day for the last few weeks…. Well the last few bugs are all that stands between me and a life. The time required to set up a guest post is a bit too long. But the guest posts have been a bit neglected over the last month or so. I think we’re all a bit busy. ]
Cheers, Eddie, much appreciated. As is everything about TS really …
Big Ups TRP (i never bought that “bukkake” line neither)
Cheers, my blue skinned friend. And thanks to LP, and all the other authors and mods. It’s easy to forget that TS is volunteer run; its just looks a million bucks because of the efforts of some pretty cool people.
ya been peeking at my stash you hound
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=15nmydh&s=4
Gotta few of the eighties originals stashed away myself. Good times.
I’m very sorry to se Chalres Chauvel leaving Parliament. I really am.
I’m very sorry to see Charles Chauvel leaving Parliament. I really am.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Harawira-nephews-in-alleged-assault/tabid/423/articleID/287287/Default.aspx
Sound like nice guys…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10866356
– Wait its ok, Hones offering to help settle this
First time I’ve heard violent assault and home invasion being described as a dispute…
What point are you actually trying to make here???, if you are attempting to pillory Hone for the actions of His nephews you would also have to pillory Nick Smith over His brother being prosecuted by the Canterbury Regional Council…
The point is they’re drop kick losers who should be in jail but they probably won’t because an mp will use their influence to effect the out come
Carry on with your defamation, i hope Hone reads that and drags you through the courts to ransack every last cent you possess from what can only be described as a sorry sack of you what…
Sorry my mistake…alleged drop kick losers
Charming.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmoral/articles/20130218.aspx
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/13/new-medal-for-drone-pilots/1917735/
you psychic marionette you
Yep.
What get’s me is that there’s no “valour” or “exceptionalism” involved – what counts as exceptional drone flying? It’s basically down to logged hours and maybe attributed deaths.
I don’t think they’re too far from going back to “citizen-soldiers”, but someone comes home from work, logs on, plays a computer game for a couple of hours, and gets experience points that count towards a medal.
The only change from today is that people on the other side of the planet die.
Quintessential alienation.
On the other hand its actually a good thing if you can kill the enemy without any of your own side dying…kinda makes it easier for your side
Ahh – channelling Paton:
“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.”
Patton obviously!
Its a good quote
It’s a bad thing to be able to do it too easily, with little or no effort. Becomes easier than thinking about a long term solution – or at least that’s one point the General quoted in the article made.
And of course, it’s all very well being able to blow shit up and then bounce the rubble around, but the acid test is whether your guy can walk down the street in broad daylight. But then that particular debate goes back to Douhet.
It’s a bad thing to be able to do it too easily, with little or no effort.
– Depends if you’re the one sitting safely at HQ or the one at the pointy end I guess…
Moronic attitude C73.
The risk is in the degrees of control which these methods lead to. Are drones patrolling skies in war zones and out, really something which is going to take humanity in a positive direction!
If you’re a parent, or going to be, I hope for your families sake that your comments are not reflective of your actual views!
Come on man, think a little deeper eh!
I’m thinking of the poor grunt at the sharp end that has to implement the policies of whatever government of the day is running…hes the one that has to go and do the dirty work.
Someones son, brother, nephew, father, cousin, uncle, friend has to go and do it and if theres a safer way for that guy to do the job then I’m all for it.
There ia always a choice, nobody has to do the dirty work, they chose to, situational or not, you’re talking about taking lives by remote control, based on it being safer for someone else, this is madness.
Scope creep, mission creep etc, your words are supporting it!
You can tell your family and friends that your position lead to NZ skies being droned, because thats where its headed!
Correct, they chose to do a job…kill the enemy without (preferably) being killed yourself. They have the technology to do the job safer then ever so it would be morally wrong to deny them the opportunity to do so.
You want the killing stopped then look at the governments not the soldiers, its not the soldiers (at least in western democratic countries) that decide to go to war its the politicians and the people that elect (or keep electing them)
Actually its nothing to do with the politicians deciding anything, The decisions to go to war run far deeper than any front facing political entity, which is not elected!
That’s why its even more important that people do not buy into this system, and as such the choice being made to wage war using remote control, is trite!
True. But that’s the difference between political leadership and soldiers. The leader needs to not just take the easy course, but to find a long term solution to the situation.
Because if drone strikes happen in perpetuity, what are the odds of people responding to that constant terror putting a bomb in the pilot’s local shopping mall? Or the areas involved shift geopolitically to China or Russia to preserve their internal stability, so the US loses some regional influence, and fifty years down the line the drone pilots’ grandkids end up on the pointy end of ww3? And what happens when opponents get the hang of evading detection/slipping through the surveillance filters – classic assymetric problem. If you kill the chaps as soon as you think you’ve found them, you don’t find out who their friends are or what they’re doing.
Short term “solutions” can be long term mistakes.
Shades of “Ender’s Game”.
From couple of years ago, Barbara Ehrenreich: War Without Humans and a ted talk, The Robots of War, by P W Singer, the author of Wired for War and Corporate Warriors:The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry.
This too.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/hubris-rachel-maddow-documentary-iraq-war-david-corn
Here’s the documentary.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show#50852099
sooo, the Ozzie “manufacturing confidence” index is in the low 40’s (N0rty)
Cosgrove-“significant losses of sub-contractors due to Mainzeal flattening may have an effect on the entire construction industry…
Williamson up against the wall
Excellent work by Eugenie Sage nailing and hoeing into Tremain (HBRC debt to increase in excess of 500% by 2021; don’t we love spending other peoples money!)
Spirituality is In The House, thanks to Winning some tutae 🙂
If I may briefly slip into my professional field – the Overseas parliamentary news has this fascinating snippet about archiving of email for Danish MPs (it’s about half way down the page).
MPs will be able to select emails for preservation by the State Archives as part of their day to day email management. Members’ correspondence held in the Archives is generally accessible to the public after 75 years.
I will be fascinated to see how it will actually work in practice (in my experience recordkeeping is not one of the strengths of most politicians).
Interesting in light of the recent responses to the Law Commission’s recommendation to extend our OIA to cover Parliament.
Pssst, when you get time to look Lprent, the edit function has thrown a spaz, i can access it but none of the comment that needs editing is showing up…
A breath of fresh air – well almost.
I can’t even see how to edit in the first place, you must have a bourgeoisie pc. 🙂
Lolz and i thought i was the only computer illiterate round here…
Seriously, the amount of mistakes I make, the edit function was the second thing I looked for after the ‘self publicise’ button.
Never found either, even if I only really need the one.
I run music studio software without breaking (many) synapses, and I’m getting really envious when I read posts with *edit in them. :grrr: 😆
I’m on Chrome, with pop ups blocked and that’s about it. No edit button.
Seriously, i mean hell pull the other one,leg that is, it plays Jesus my Lord come unto me, that’s with the backing of the full NZ Symphony orchestra as well,
The edit function appears next to the delete function on the bottom of your posted comment, Yeee-essss, i feel so computer literacerially superior after having said that,
And even more so with my coining of a brand new word, wonder if i can patent it…
There’s a delete button? Now I’m really getting pissed off 😆
All I see is ‘reply’, and that’s it, even when logged in.
If you’re making up words – Is the site being al1enistic by denying me buttons others have?
I’d write to my mp if it wasn’t macindope.
I can only say how saddened i am for your loss as i eagerly await seeing both functions appear as my comment comes up on the page,
i also now have the sudden urge to deliberately make a large number of errors, both spelling and grammatical, in this latest comment just so i may avail myself of such functions others are not in possession of,
i will tho resist such an egotistical aberration in character as the aforementioned function tonight only leads to the production of a blank page which in turn leads me to thoughts that perhaps this is the true value of my posted comments…
Do you have JavaScript enabled? Doesn’t work without it.
i better look at that on my computer, i haven’t disabled it, but you never know with my machine,
no hurries it will make me spell things properly first time round…
The edit function has not been working for me for a couple of hours; javascript is turned on in my browser and I don’t believe that i have made any system changes.
Same here.
Test…
I see what you mean…
Pops up ok, but fails to get the comment loaded. There was no plugin update.
Ummm. I’d guess a cache problem? Clearing..
Nope.. Definitely a morning job.
Ok. In the morning….
Tah much…
Is David Shearer still the leader of the Labour Party?
And is the Labour Party still the major opposition party?
There’s been so much going on and it seems that neither David Shearer or anyone else in the Labour party have anything to say. About anything…
Aw god not another one, next you will be telling us all your a disgruntled member and, ”shrill voice” you wont be voting for them again with that Shearer there….
@bad12
Yeah what a bitch that the punters don’t respond the way the Labours strategists (if they have any) think they should.
Shame on the New Zealand public for being so disobedient!
Bad New Zealanders!
(…and take care not criticisze the strategists, its not as though its their job to predict correctly how people will respond…./sarc)
Apart from female dogs is there an actual point here that you are trying to get across to me, i fear that if there is my attempts to de-cypher this point,limited i must admit, have failed…
Well I was unclear whether you were being sarky in your first comment, so chose to hedge my bets and be sarky in response.
I am commenting on this trend of criticizing people’s views that express concern about Labour’s or Mr Shearer’s effectiveness, and how it is seeming kind of arse about face in a democracy.
Despite apparently living in a democracy there appears to be an increasing message that we have to “be nice” and not express dissent to the sham that is going on on both sides of the parliamentary house.
I mean if everyone just shut up and voted for Labour, it stands to reason they would win. Guess that is how the logic goes.
I understand that people are paid good money to play the role of political strategist and if any ordinary person not in parliament did their job as badly, as both this government and the Labour party strategists over the last 5 years we would have our arses fired; so a wee bit of negative feedback here and there, really is a very small price to pay, and if listened to, would improve their game.
In answer to that, how many comments have you seen the commenter i was replying to make on the Standard,
There ‘seems’ to be a trend developing here, and i highlight the word ‘seems’ as this is only a personal observation, that when the ‘i hate Dave S’ crew quiets down it’s criticism of Him up will pop a few ‘names’ here and there who will poke the anti-Shearer fire for signs of life, or to get it raging again,
These odd commenters who seem like strangers to me could be genuine in their concern about Shearer and having found this site cannot but help unloading such concerns into whatever post they have ‘landed in’ so to speak be that open mike or a specific post on a topic,
Because of this i give far more ‘weight’ to comments from ‘names’ i recognize as having commented on the site befor and tend to view comments such as the one we are discussing above as just as likely to be posted into the site by those with the specific goal of attempting to destabilize the current Labour leadership for reasons other than concern for that Party…