The question, as the philosopher Karl Popper pointed out, is not how to get good people to rule. Most people attracted to power, Popper wrote, are at best mediocre and usually venal. The question is how to build movements to stop the powerful from doing sustained damage to the citizenry, the nation and the environment. It is not our job to take power. It is our job to keep power constantly off balance and fearful of overstepping its reach to pillage on behalf of the elites.
Thank you for the link, and exactly the sort of thoughtful intelligent debate we need to be having.celebrity politics is having a filed day, but as it’s power wanes, and we get closer to the source, it feels like walking through a minefield of trolls and traps. I guess it’s what any army may do when defending their base.
Not much is known about the Trade in Services Agreement, otherwise known as TISA. However the little that has been made public, or the little that has been leaked, has caused much concern. The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) pales in comparison to TISA and it makes the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) seem small. It is, however, most similar to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is a massive “free trade” agreement that has been negotiated entirely in secret with 24 countries and the European Union. Altogether, TISA accounts for over 70 percent of world trade in services. You may be asking: “how does this affect me?” The best one sentence response I can come up with is: “how does this not affect you.”
….. New Republic reports that under the agreement, “governments may not be able to regulate staff to patient ratios in hospitals, or ban fracking, or tighten safety controls on airlines, or refuse accreditation to schools and universities. Foreign corporations must receive the same “national treatment” as domestic ones, and could argue that such regulations violate their ability to provide the service. Allowable regulations could not be ‘more burdensome than necessary to ensure the quality of the service,’ according to TISA’s domestic regulation annex. No restrictions could be placed on foreign investment—corporations could control entire sectors.”
Wait: foreign corporations must receive the same national treatment as domestic ones? Since when do we allow foreign countries and foreign companies dictate what we must or must not do? Thanks to Investor State Dispute Settlements (ISDS), we have officially given up our democracy to foreign entities.
Thanks for that Tautoko. This is the bit that particularly struck me: The building of movements and sustained civil disobedience is far more important than voting. Voting without powerful and organized movements is futile. Voting without profound electoral reform, including banishing corporate money from politics, is useless.
We have a good electoral system here in NZ. If 30% of people voted Green we would see real change. Civil disobedience/demonstrations certainly have their place though.
I agree that to say that voting is a complete waste of time is going too far. But a vote for change can achieve very little without a grassroots movement pushing from behind. Neoliberalism was achieved by right wing movements, hungry for things to go their way, lobbying, threatening, getting like-minded people into positions of influence, etc. Meanwhile the left have been persuaded that voting is a bit like choosing an item from a menu, and getting disappointed when the resultant dish doesn’t match the description. And the more real power the right gets, the less effective that attitude becomes.
Thanks for picking out the most important point, Olwyn.
We are spending too much time criticizing Labour for not getting their act together instead of creating the movement ourselves and thus pointing the opposition parties in the required direction. National are laughing at the fact that they can slag off Labour and then watch us join in the slagging. Labour are only impotent and unsure because we are sitting on the sidelines. We need to lead from the streets in a movement which is not allied to any particular political party but which provides a vision of a better and fairer political system that makes neocapitalism obselete.
Thanks, and a great comment too. Especially this: We need to lead from the streets in a movement which is not allied to any particular political party but which provides a vision of a better and fairer political system…
From Granny
“Since 2011, the Government has put $18 million into the Matavai resort as part of its efforts to boost tourism to Niue. That included $7.5 million to build a conference centre soon after Scenic Hotels took over.”
What the Fuck? In what planet can private conference centres be seen as aid??? Is that to bring in more ‘chefs’ and ‘waiting staff’ to keep the locals as poorly paid serfs? So that overseas politicians can have a nice place to stay and ‘do business’ as tax havens to hide money?
+100…yes it is weird the fixation on conference centres…when there are far more important community facilities and issues on which the scarce public money should be spent first
…imo it is a way of making local councils bankrupt so they have to sell up valuable publicly , locally owned, strategic utilites eg airports, port facilities
…just look at how this jonkey nact government annexed Environment Canterbury away from its elected local democratic representation and governance
Thanks for the additional information about this, what appears to be, rotten corrupt deal with Scenic Hotels, Niue, and this wealthy Nat and ACT donating Earl Hagaman character. (whose tax affairs should be looked into incidentally, as Niue is a tax haven)
Part two of the problem, once you move away from the link between party donations and “aid” is why is NZ funding private business in another country? That is not aid to benefit the people of Niue and support their infrastructure. That’s taxpayers propping up Scenic Hotels. This isn’t the Pacific aid programme that you would associate with legitimate aid work.
“Sunday’s devastating earthquake in Ecuador might just be the beginning, according to a seismologist who says that current conditions in the Pacific Rim could trigger at least four quakes with magnitudes greater than 8.0….
Reply to Chooky and save NZ at 3 and 3.1. (The reply button doesn’t appear to be working).
Convention centre mania is rife. Even Wellington is likely to be getting one, when we don’t need one, when the heavily indebted WCC has to borrow more money and pay the thing off over 50 years, when rates will be going up, and when people may not be travelling to conference centres in 20 years when the full impact of climate change is felt and the brakes will have gone on air travel (which currently contributes 3% to greenhouse gas).
But you have groups like the Property Council cheerleading for such wasteful projects that bring little benefit to people:
http://www.propertynz.co.nz/wellington
Handy when you have the deputy mayor on the executive board of the Property Council to help move the project along smoothly.
It’s all about the money honey and for a bonus insult Peter Jackson gets to tag along and get his film museum paid for by us. Joy!
The conference enters have also the added advantage of driving up rates and therefore the poor out of the main cities as well as even better, sell of council assets like water! There is always a helpful crony from wall street and banks keen to buy up the part/partial/private or whatever weasel words they describe to seize former public assets. (I hear the idea of a sports stadium is being floated for Auckland on top of the Sky City convention centre and of course the 1 billion of wasted IT that the council does not care about).
And it gets worse for Detroit inhabitants… from 4 days ago…
High copper or lead levels seen in 19 Detroit schools’ water
“The testing was prompted by the crisis in Flint, where lead flowed from taps after state authorities switched that city’s water supply from Detroit’s system to the Flint River to save money. About 8,000 Flint-area children under age 6 have potentially been exposed to lead.
In Detroit, school officials discovered that even though the municipal water complies with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, elevated levels of lead and some of copper were found in the drinking water fountains or kitchens at 19 of the 62 schools tested so far…..
“It provides clear evidence that schools have to be proactive in finding and fixing these problems – it is not going to go away by itself,” said Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor who helped expose Flint’s water crisis.”
Ok so they privatise the water, try to save money, but now it is the SCHOOL’s responsibility to protect the kids from the water…
On top of this…
“Michigan lawmakers recently approved $48.7 million in emergency funding just to keep Detroit schools open this academic year. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder also is pushing a $720 million school restructuring plan to pay off the district’s operating debt, and wants to spend $18 million over two years to test water in every state school.”
What an amazing country the US is and how efficient is neoliberalism, sarc.
I watched a doco about poor cities in the States in regard to accessing basic services like water connections. They suffer in ways that hard to fathom in a first world country. They are totally at the mercy of “business”, whose needs come first, and private water supply is big business in the States, with cost cutting leading to a lack of maintenance and care.
These poor areas also seem to suffer the worst of non regulation for safe rental accommodation, affecting health and even physical safety when landlords refuse to repair dilapidated locks, doors and windows, as well as broken electrical circuits. The advantages of council bylaws was weighted in favour of the landlord.
Saw this doco on Al Jazeera a couple of months ago but can’t recall the name sorry, or the city where they interviewed the tenants.
In the wake of the latest Colmar Brunton, one or two of our regular Tory Gentlemen-Callers have been enthusiastically pushing some of David Farrar’s carefully misleading and de-contextualised rhetorical strategies:
On (1) … Farrar’s modus operandi is to only make Poll comparisons when it favour’s National or looks particularly bad for Labour. You’ll only see these very brief comparative analyses when Labour / the Left have (I) fallen in a recent poll and (ii) the comparative poll from a previous term was unusually good for Labour / the Left. So that, overall, the comparison looks particularly bad for Labour’s current prospects. He disingenuously presents both the previous and current figures as typical.
Look at the Colmar Bruntons taken either side of the April 2013 one that Farrar cherry-picks for comparison and you’ll see that Labour were doing appreciably worse than 36%, with the Left and Opposition Bloc also well down on the April figures. 36% was the very highest Labour ever rated under Shearer and was entirely atypical.
Or go back to the same point in Key’s First Term (April 2010) and you’ll find that National in 2016 are 4 points down, the Govt a significant 6 points down, while the Opposition Bloc is now a massive 9 points up.
Notice too that Farrar, for instance, made no comparison when the July 2015 Colmar Brunton put the Opposition Bloc as much as 5 points ahead of the Government. If he had, we would have seen that the Nats were (in July 2015) down 9 points (on July 2009), with the Govt Bloc down 12. You could say similar things about the Sep 2015, Oct 2015 and Feb 2016 Colmar Bruntons.
On (2) … In the Colmar Brunton and Reid Research Preferred PM Polls, John Key has fallen to his lowest average (39%) since becoming PM. That’s 10-14 points down on his First Term.
Meanwhile, his net Favourability ratings are down to a net positive of just + 2. That’s his lowest rating ever. Key may be well ahead of Little in the Preferred PM rankings (arguably a somewhat blunt instrument given the traditional incumbency advantage) but he’s been lagging behind the Labour leader on the Favourability measure for most of the last year.
Notice, incidentally, how far Key has fallen since 2015 – a net positive Favourability rating of + 22 in the first quarter of 2015 and now, in the immediate wake of the failed Flag Referendum, a plunge to just + 2. Back in 2014 Key was on + 27, and in his first year as PM (2009) on an average + 58 rating !!!
He’s become a polariser in the same mould as Muldoon. As many people consider him Unfavourably as have a Favourable attitude towards him.
Kind of missing the main point though (or is this a gee up the troops thing?) National is still far ahead of Lab/Greens after eight years in power, John Key is still far ahead of Andrew Little in preferred PM, in fact Andrew Little is behind Winston Peters for preferred PM
In broad terms, don’t dispute anything you’ve said there. Labour certainly want to be up above 35%, with the Lab+Green total 45% + to be in with a reasonable chance of pulling Peters their way …
Do, however, want to point out that:
(1) The Preferred PM measure is not necessarily the gold standard. In the UK, for instance, Approval, Favourability and Satisfaction ratings are very much at the heart of leadership poll analysis. They assign much lower priority to the (infrequently sampled) Preferred PM stats. There’s no particular theoretical reason why the New Zealand MSM should focus so obsessively on the Preferred PM stats, apart from the fact that most local pollsters tend towards that measure.
(2) As I’ve said, there’s an obvious incumbency effect that renders the Preferred PM rating’s usefulness questionable (though it’s still up for debate)
(3) Key is by no means as popular as he’s always been (despite constant repetition of this meme in the MSM and among you highly enthusiastic Tory interlopers)
(4) Just how misleading Farrar’s Party Support numbers are. Very good at leaving entirely misleading impressions (always, of course, in National’s favour) for any passing strapped-for-time journos to gratefully pick up on. (As they so often do). Things are rather more finely balanced than Farrar (or indeed you (above) Nats far ahead of Lab+Green) imply.
This is beginning to sound like insubordination, Mr Gormster.
Is that your little plan ? It is isn’t it ? Insurrection ? Mutiny, Mr Gormster, Mutiny ??? What ? Seize the good ship Labour from us loyalists ?, sail her through the treacherous Seas of High Finance, turning her in the direction of no-man’s land before ruthlessly scuttling her on the Reef of Despair ? Is that your little plan ? Aye, but not before you Tory Blaggards and Scurvy Cut-throats have rowed ashore every last barrel of rum, I’ll be bound !!!
Least ways, that’s how I sees it.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 6.2.1.1
No, you’re confusing National with the entire Government Bloc. Nats down 4 points (in terms of the respective Colmar Bruntons), Government down 6 points, Opposition Bloc up a massive 9 points.
The Key Government’s honeymoon was in 2009 when it averaged 59% in the polls. By 2010, it had fallen to 56% and remained there throughout 2011 (we’re talking annual averages here).
With the exception of this latest poll, all of the Colmar Bruntons and Reid Research polls since May 2015 (that’s 8 consecutive polls) had the Government on 48%. 11 points Down on its 2009 honeymoon average and 8 points Down on its 2010-2011 average.
Yeah, I preferred your earlier reply: “Fair enough”. Had a slightly more … respectful, almost obsequious tone about it. Suddenly you seem to have become emboldened all over again. It’s almost as if you are Jean-Claude Van Damme !!! I have a feeling Gormy and Magisterium turning up at the last minute has lifted your morale, stiffened your resolve, as it were. Three former Young Nats together, none of you wanting to lose face in front of the others.
The ICIJ said it will publish the full list of involved companies and individuals linked to them in early May, citing emails, financial spreadsheets and passports among its evidence.
OAB, Wayne is one of the few right wingers who comments here without being an outright troll, is it really necessary to stalk him when there are many other more right wingers who are deserving of your attention.
I pay his wages. He’s been deriving his income from the public purse for long enough to cope with a bit of personal responsibility for his decisions, don’t you think?
In any case, I’m genuinely interested: he was a member of the executive that involved us in organised crime, after all. Did anyone bring it up at the Cabinet table? “John, why are you cuddling up to crims?” That sort of thing.
Edit: I suspect he can’t answer the question because he’s in the National Party’s pocket. Aren’t you even a little bit curious?
Hey Lynn, that bug is back where the Name and Mail fields are blank on every new comment (my browser normally stores them). I noticed this first yesterday.
The TPP has a two-track outcome on biologics protection. Parties can choose to provide effective market protection through at least 8 years of data protection. Alternatively, Parties can choose to provide effective market protection through at least 5 years of data protection, along with other measures, These measures and circumstances include regulatory settings, patents, and the time it takes for follow-on medicines to become established in the market.
Froman: U.S. Sending Out TPP Implementation Teams, Undecided On Fixes
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Monday (April 18) said the U.S. government is sending teams to Trans-Pacific Partnership countries to discuss how they will implement their obligations on intellectual property (IP) and other issues, as well as the capacity building they may require in order to meet them.
http://insidetrade.com/
We need to make sure that the information from these team discussions is fully reported.
The process of coercing farmers into voting for this deal was always suspect. My understanding is there is much more to run on this story yet. Good on Winston for taking up the cause.
Yep. The NZ Taxpayer could have prevented this sell off for the price of a couple of flag referendums. No surprises that SFF management are closely watching how Talley’s are getting away with brutalizing their workforce.
Follow The Money Or Why We Should Arrest People Like John Key And His Banking Mates
Probably, most people, when reading about the Panama tax dodgers and New Zealand’s quiet achievement in becoming as “tax” haven, wonder how the rich always getaway with shit like this and kind of wished they were in the same predicament: Filthy rich and hiding their money from the tax people.
The next thought is probably if they can get away with it why should I pay tax? Both are legitimate sentiments but what it does not address is that apart from the obvious crime of theft these rich people are committing and the subsequent deprivation of the poor as a result of that theft, the money is not just resting in a safe place. It is being used.
Tax havens therefore should not be called tax havens but more correctly Secrecy Jurisdictions.
“The whiff of corruption follows McCully around” …. the ultra-cleverness of the ultimate coder out-wits the GUI / WYSIWIG / reasonably intelligent expectations of the Joe Evridge poster (unrelated to Edna).
If it was going to get any more complicated or time consuming – why bother?
Here’s a comment that may or may not appear on that thread.
(The whiff of corruption follows McCully around). btw L …. as you know – you’ll never be able to code for every pillock, but if you consider it worth your marriage, and an aid to dealing with whatever your obsession avoidance – it’s worth a shot – arrogant cunt eh?) – or maybe just bleeding obvious
Christ Almighty – it goes a frikken sight deeper than McCully who probably only succumbed to his own naivety, aided and abetted by that Chez Longe upholstery material cladded vixen; know-it-all member of something we used to call a 4th Estate – now more aptly described as the ass-licking Thorndon bubble press gang. (Most of whom don’t/can’t see the medium/long term). Just another Rosemary McCluck lookalike aspiring to claim their rights to a higher class (otherwise known as social climbing wankers)
…… NOW we have our dearest Leader, John Key (side-by-side with knock-kneed Adonis son Mex – whose beauteous presence pervades as much social media as he and his acolytes can muster) suggesting he’s ‘open’ to an extradition treaty (provided of course, ewwmun roights britches en the deth penty don’t figure in such an arrangement).
Apparently there are 50 on a list (that is 50 that are known of presumably)
They reap what they sow. I wonder jst hear relexed he’s gunna b when he reterns home on Earforce 1. (John – you really must get that 757 repainted!)
Aaron Hawkins has announced his intention to run for mayor of Dunedin under the Green Party banner. I think he’s been a good councillor so far and I’ll be interested in his mayoral platform. One good thing about Dunedin is that the voting system for mayor is STV, so the left bloc won’t be split.
Tuesday, 19 April 2016, 10:56 am
Press Release: Professor Jane Kelsey
Government seeking to stymie Waitangi Tribunal report on TPPA
“Why the government suddenly announced it is fast-tracking the report date for the select committee considering the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) from the end of May to 4 May is now clear.
It gives the Waitangi Tribunal three rather than seven weeks to produce its urgent report on the claim brought by prominent Maori that the Agreement violates the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi”, says Professor Jane Kelsey who has been advising the claimants.
“Bernie Sanders is not only taking on the Washington establishment in his campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, he is also challenging many of the received truths that make up the ideological foundations upon which its power rests…
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
The NZQA proposal released to staff today would involve a net loss of 35 roles. There are 66 roles being disestablished with 13 of those currently vacant, and 31 new roles proposed, said Fleur Fitzsimons Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga ...
Alex Casey talks to Loren Taylor, the writer, director and star of new film The Moon is Upside Down, about assembling her dream ensemble cast, toilet paper pads and turning literal dreams into reality. There’s a moment in The Moon is Upside Down where frazzled anaesthetist Briar (Loren Taylor) gets ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassy Dittman, Senior Lecturer/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology), Research Fellow, Manna Institute, CQUniversity Australia With winter sports swinging into action, adults around the country have volunteered or been volunteered by others (humorously known as being “volun-told”) to coach junior sports teams. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University richardernestyap/Shutterstock Parents are often advised to burp their babies after feeding them. Some people think burping after feeding is important to reduce or prevent discomfort crying, or to ...
Workers at a major ASB contact centre in Auckland have voted to take strike action and withdraw their labour following disappointing pay negotiations with the employer and an "offer" to workers that would leave them worse off than the previous year. ...
As the government tries to get the country back on track with a school phone ban, Tara Ward has an idea for where they should turn their attention to next.New Zealand students returned to school on Monday morning, but their cellphones did not. The government’s new phone ban began ...
The Labour Party is demanding Peters be stood down, saying "he's embarrassed the country" with a "totally unacceptable" attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. ...
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, whose members were victims of a China-backed cyber attack, is discussing forming a standing committee to deal with foreign influence. ...
The PSA is concerned that the voluntary redundancies being offered to staff by Stats NZ will impact on the agency’s ability to deliver on its core functions. ...
Results ranged from surprisingly yum to soul-destroying. I love cooking. The kitchen is a hearth of culinary creation, of sensory delights, of gastronomic poetry. I also can’t afford anything nice. Why does a pack of instant noodles and some milk cost ten bucks? I love you, Aotearoa, but I miss ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Police in Solomon Islands are on high alert ahead of the election of the prime minister today. The two candidates for the top job are former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele at the head of the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation, which is ...
He’s fine but it feels like I’m losing a friend and it’s making me bitter. How do I say ‘enough is enough’? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzHey Hera,I’ve recently moved in with a girlfriend, her partner Steve, and his friend. We all live in a lovely little house. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney shutterstockAhmet Misirligul/Shutterstock You go to the gym, eat healthy and walk as much as possible. You wash your hands and get vaccinated. You control your health. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin University Children and young people may be seeing news headlines about men murdering women or footage of people rallying to call for action. Perhaps they or their friends have even gone to the protests. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, 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. Unemployment ...
The campaign will engage the community and encourage submissions on the bill to the New Zealand government by the closing submission deadline of Friday 31st of May 2024 4pm. ...
The paper raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand's political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency plays in that. ...
The Urban Habitat Collective was an attempt to built an innovative new form of apartment building in Wellington. Here’s why it failed, and why the idea could still work, writes co-founder Bronwen Newton. When we started the Urban Habitat Collective in November 2018, we thought we were starting a revolution, ...
Two decades ago this week, a controversial law that attempted to define ownership of the foreshore and seabed prompted a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga as 15,000 marched to parliament. Jamie Tahana looks back.‘Hīkoi, hīkoi,” they chanted by the thousands as the biggest Māori march in a generation ...
On an unusually hot night in January 2019, a little boy’s lifeless body was found face up in a small town’s sewage oxidation pond. To the police, it was an open and shut case: three-year-old Lachlan Jones had run away from his home in the Southland town of Gore, climbed ...
A Labour Party Member’s Bill aims to plug a culpability gap between manslaughter and health and safety breaches The post New push for corporate killing laws appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Terence O’Brien had the rare and no doubt undesired distinction of rising to one of the most exalted positions in New Zealand diplomacy, then being unceremoniously recalled to Wellington without explanation just when his career was at its zenith. What is perhaps more surprising is that he appears to have ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 2 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Why has New Zealand slipped from third to 12th on Quality of Death Indexes over the past decade or so? Hospice New Zealand Chief Executive Wayne Naylor has a list of reasons. “We don’t have a current national strategy – the Government hasn’t renewed our 2001 strategy, so we don’t ...
While women’s sport is exploding in Aotearoa and around the world, you still don’t hear a lot of talk about athletes and their periods, RED-S, breastfeeding and visible panty-lines. SASS (Suze and Sez Sports)Talk isn’t afraid to have that kōrero.LockerRoom founder Suzanne McFadden and Olympian broadcaster Sarah ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
It’s time to act! Chris Hedges:
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/04/18/revolution-air
+1
Thank you for the link, and exactly the sort of thoughtful intelligent debate we need to be having.celebrity politics is having a filed day, but as it’s power wanes, and we get closer to the source, it feels like walking through a minefield of trolls and traps. I guess it’s what any army may do when defending their base.
Here’s another reason to take to the streets.
http://economyincrisis.org/content/prepare-for-tpps-big-brother-the-trade-in-services-agreement
Update on TPP by Lori Wallach
Thanks for that Tautoko. This is the bit that particularly struck me: The building of movements and sustained civil disobedience is far more important than voting. Voting without powerful and organized movements is futile. Voting without profound electoral reform, including banishing corporate money from politics, is useless.
Saying voting is a waste of time is stupid.
We have a good electoral system here in NZ. If 30% of people voted Green we would see real change. Civil disobedience/demonstrations certainly have their place though.
I agree that to say that voting is a complete waste of time is going too far. But a vote for change can achieve very little without a grassroots movement pushing from behind. Neoliberalism was achieved by right wing movements, hungry for things to go their way, lobbying, threatening, getting like-minded people into positions of influence, etc. Meanwhile the left have been persuaded that voting is a bit like choosing an item from a menu, and getting disappointed when the resultant dish doesn’t match the description. And the more real power the right gets, the less effective that attitude becomes.
@Olwyn
+100 Points right on target.
Thanks for picking out the most important point, Olwyn.
We are spending too much time criticizing Labour for not getting their act together instead of creating the movement ourselves and thus pointing the opposition parties in the required direction. National are laughing at the fact that they can slag off Labour and then watch us join in the slagging. Labour are only impotent and unsure because we are sitting on the sidelines. We need to lead from the streets in a movement which is not allied to any particular political party but which provides a vision of a better and fairer political system that makes neocapitalism obselete.
Thanks, and a great comment too. Especially this: We need to lead from the streets in a movement which is not allied to any particular political party but which provides a vision of a better and fairer political system…
Support political organisers beyond the party system, like ActionStation and Generation Zero.
Kia ora
Aucklanders beware – is the Great Auk a candidate for de-extinction ?
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/longnow/~3/awGewgeEdTw/
It is sad to see a site established for positive change misused by biassed and viciously deceitful propaganda for no positive purpose for New Zealand:
https://www.change.org/p/united-nations-helen-clark-is-not-a-suitable-candidate-for-un-secretary-general/c
I suspect many of the comments were made by the same person
I believe the person commenting can be traced back to the Mana party.
http://mananews.co.nz/wp/?p=9236
From Granny
“Since 2011, the Government has put $18 million into the Matavai resort as part of its efforts to boost tourism to Niue. That included $7.5 million to build a conference centre soon after Scenic Hotels took over.”
What the Fuck? In what planet can private conference centres be seen as aid??? Is that to bring in more ‘chefs’ and ‘waiting staff’ to keep the locals as poorly paid serfs? So that overseas politicians can have a nice place to stay and ‘do business’ as tax havens to hide money?
Conference center in Christchurch for Brownlee vanity project, conference centre in Auckland for Sky City for John Key (btw Sky City fraudster venue of choice
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11624732).
Yep, can really see the appeal of ‘aid’ to private real estate projects as a great way to launder tax payers money as bribes.
+100…yes it is weird the fixation on conference centres…when there are far more important community facilities and issues on which the scarce public money should be spent first
…imo it is a way of making local councils bankrupt so they have to sell up valuable publicly , locally owned, strategic utilites eg airports, port facilities
…just look at how this jonkey nact government annexed Environment Canterbury away from its elected local democratic representation and governance
Thanks for the additional information about this, what appears to be, rotten corrupt deal with Scenic Hotels, Niue, and this wealthy Nat and ACT donating Earl Hagaman character. (whose tax affairs should be looked into incidentally, as Niue is a tax haven)
Part two of the problem, once you move away from the link between party donations and “aid” is why is NZ funding private business in another country? That is not aid to benefit the people of Niue and support their infrastructure. That’s taxpayers propping up Scenic Hotels. This isn’t the Pacific aid programme that you would associate with legitimate aid work.
Beyond bonkers.
‘The Big Ones: Scientist warns up to 4 quakes over 8.0 possible under ‘current conditions’ ‘
https://www.rt.com/news/340033-scientist-warns-big-one-earthquake/
“Sunday’s devastating earthquake in Ecuador might just be the beginning, according to a seismologist who says that current conditions in the Pacific Rim could trigger at least four quakes with magnitudes greater than 8.0….
Reply to Chooky and save NZ at 3 and 3.1. (The reply button doesn’t appear to be working).
Convention centre mania is rife. Even Wellington is likely to be getting one, when we don’t need one, when the heavily indebted WCC has to borrow more money and pay the thing off over 50 years, when rates will be going up, and when people may not be travelling to conference centres in 20 years when the full impact of climate change is felt and the brakes will have gone on air travel (which currently contributes 3% to greenhouse gas).
But you have groups like the Property Council cheerleading for such wasteful projects that bring little benefit to people:
http://www.propertynz.co.nz/wellington
Handy when you have the deputy mayor on the executive board of the Property Council to help move the project along smoothly.
It’s all about the money honey and for a bonus insult Peter Jackson gets to tag along and get his film museum paid for by us. Joy!
The conference enters have also the added advantage of driving up rates and therefore the poor out of the main cities as well as even better, sell of council assets like water! There is always a helpful crony from wall street and banks keen to buy up the part/partial/private or whatever weasel words they describe to seize former public assets. (I hear the idea of a sports stadium is being floated for Auckland on top of the Sky City convention centre and of course the 1 billion of wasted IT that the council does not care about).
This is what happens when things go wrong….
https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-bankruptcy-judge-allows-detroit-water-shutoffs-continue-135707328–business.html?ref=gs
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/25/un-detroit-human-rights-taps
And it gets worse for Detroit inhabitants… from 4 days ago…
High copper or lead levels seen in 19 Detroit schools’ water
“The testing was prompted by the crisis in Flint, where lead flowed from taps after state authorities switched that city’s water supply from Detroit’s system to the Flint River to save money. About 8,000 Flint-area children under age 6 have potentially been exposed to lead.
In Detroit, school officials discovered that even though the municipal water complies with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, elevated levels of lead and some of copper were found in the drinking water fountains or kitchens at 19 of the 62 schools tested so far…..
“It provides clear evidence that schools have to be proactive in finding and fixing these problems – it is not going to go away by itself,” said Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor who helped expose Flint’s water crisis.”
http://www.cbs8.com/story/31722710/high-copper-or-lead-levels-seen-in-19-detroit-schools-water
Ok so they privatise the water, try to save money, but now it is the SCHOOL’s responsibility to protect the kids from the water…
On top of this…
“Michigan lawmakers recently approved $48.7 million in emergency funding just to keep Detroit schools open this academic year. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder also is pushing a $720 million school restructuring plan to pay off the district’s operating debt, and wants to spend $18 million over two years to test water in every state school.”
What an amazing country the US is and how efficient is neoliberalism, sarc.
I watched a doco about poor cities in the States in regard to accessing basic services like water connections. They suffer in ways that hard to fathom in a first world country. They are totally at the mercy of “business”, whose needs come first, and private water supply is big business in the States, with cost cutting leading to a lack of maintenance and care.
These poor areas also seem to suffer the worst of non regulation for safe rental accommodation, affecting health and even physical safety when landlords refuse to repair dilapidated locks, doors and windows, as well as broken electrical circuits. The advantages of council bylaws was weighted in favour of the landlord.
Saw this doco on Al Jazeera a couple of months ago but can’t recall the name sorry, or the city where they interviewed the tenants.
Judging from tonights Checkpoint with John Campbell most Christchurch residents don’t want a convention centre
…so why is it being foisted on them?
In the wake of the latest Colmar Brunton, one or two of our regular Tory Gentlemen-Callers have been enthusiastically pushing some of David Farrar’s carefully misleading and de-contextualised rhetorical strategies:
Here are two of these strategies:
(1) At this point in National’s Second Term (April 2013), Labour was polling at 36% and “went on to get thrashed”. Labour is presently polling at 28%
(Farrar’s post here … http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/04/latest_poll-36.html)
(Tory Gentlemen-Callers comments here … http://thestandard.org.nz/bowron-on-a-tired-government/#comment-1162085 and here http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11042016/#comment-1158863 and here )
(2) That Andrew Little is deeply unpopular, while John Key is overwhelmingly loved, admired and celebrated.
(Farrar … amongst many other posts of the same ilk … http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/04/houston_we_may_have_a_problem.html)
(Gentlemen-Callers … http://thestandard.org.nz/can-we-trust-john-key/#comment-1159832 and here http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10042016/#comment-1158359 and here http://thestandard.org.nz/can-we-trust-john-key/#comment-1160612 and here http://thestandard.org.nz/can-we-trust-john-key/#comment-1159836 and here http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13042016/#comment-1159795)
On (1) … Farrar’s modus operandi is to only make Poll comparisons when it favour’s National or looks particularly bad for Labour. You’ll only see these very brief comparative analyses when Labour / the Left have (I) fallen in a recent poll and (ii) the comparative poll from a previous term was unusually good for Labour / the Left. So that, overall, the comparison looks particularly bad for Labour’s current prospects. He disingenuously presents both the previous and current figures as typical.
Look at the Colmar Bruntons taken either side of the April 2013 one that Farrar cherry-picks for comparison and you’ll see that Labour were doing appreciably worse than 36%, with the Left and Opposition Bloc also well down on the April figures. 36% was the very highest Labour ever rated under Shearer and was entirely atypical.
Or go back to the same point in Key’s First Term (April 2010) and you’ll find that National in 2016 are 4 points down, the Govt a significant 6 points down, while the Opposition Bloc is now a massive 9 points up.
Notice too that Farrar, for instance, made no comparison when the July 2015 Colmar Brunton put the Opposition Bloc as much as 5 points ahead of the Government. If he had, we would have seen that the Nats were (in July 2015) down 9 points (on July 2009), with the Govt Bloc down 12. You could say similar things about the Sep 2015, Oct 2015 and Feb 2016 Colmar Bruntons.
On (2) … In the Colmar Brunton and Reid Research Preferred PM Polls, John Key has fallen to his lowest average (39%) since becoming PM. That’s 10-14 points down on his First Term.
Meanwhile, his net Favourability ratings are down to a net positive of just + 2. That’s his lowest rating ever. Key may be well ahead of Little in the Preferred PM rankings (arguably a somewhat blunt instrument given the traditional incumbency advantage) but he’s been lagging behind the Labour leader on the Favourability measure for most of the last year.
2015 Quarterly Net Ratings
………………..1/4……………2/4……………3/4…………….4/4
Key…………..+ 22……………+ 15 ………….+ 10……………+ 16
Little…………+ 24……………+ 25…………..+ 16……………+ 15
Notice, incidentally, how far Key has fallen since 2015 – a net positive Favourability rating of
+ 22 in the first quarter of 2015 and now, in the immediate wake of the failed Flag Referendum, a plunge to just + 2. Back in 2014 Key was on + 27, and in his first year as PM (2009) on an average + 58 rating !!!
He’s become a polariser in the same mould as Muldoon. As many people consider him Unfavourably as have a Favourable attitude towards him.
Kind of missing the main point though (or is this a gee up the troops thing?) National is still far ahead of Lab/Greens after eight years in power, John Key is still far ahead of Andrew Little in preferred PM, in fact Andrew Little is behind Winston Peters for preferred PM
But hey its all good
Da, Comrade, Da.
In broad terms, don’t dispute anything you’ve said there. Labour certainly want to be up above 35%, with the Lab+Green total 45% + to be in with a reasonable chance of pulling Peters their way …
Do, however, want to point out that:
(1) The Preferred PM measure is not necessarily the gold standard. In the UK, for instance, Approval, Favourability and Satisfaction ratings are very much at the heart of leadership poll analysis. They assign much lower priority to the (infrequently sampled) Preferred PM stats. There’s no particular theoretical reason why the New Zealand MSM should focus so obsessively on the Preferred PM stats, apart from the fact that most local pollsters tend towards that measure.
(2) As I’ve said, there’s an obvious incumbency effect that renders the Preferred PM rating’s usefulness questionable (though it’s still up for debate)
(3) Key is by no means as popular as he’s always been (despite constant repetition of this meme in the MSM and among you highly enthusiastic Tory interlopers)
(4) Just how misleading Farrar’s Party Support numbers are. Very good at leaving entirely misleading impressions (always, of course, in National’s favour) for any passing strapped-for-time journos to gratefully pick up on. (As they so often do). Things are rather more finely balanced than Farrar (or indeed you (above) Nats far ahead of Lab+Green) imply.
Fair enough
You’ve convinced me. Labour are sweeping to power. They are unprecedentedly popular with an adoring public.
Keep up the good work.
This is beginning to sound like insubordination, Mr Gormster.
Is that your little plan ? It is isn’t it ? Insurrection ? Mutiny, Mr Gormster, Mutiny ??? What ? Seize the good ship Labour from us loyalists ?, sail her through the treacherous Seas of High Finance, turning her in the direction of no-man’s land before ruthlessly scuttling her on the Reef of Despair ? Is that your little plan ? Aye, but not before you Tory Blaggards and Scurvy Cut-throats have rowed ashore every last barrel of rum, I’ll be bound !!!
Least ways, that’s how I sees it.
Nice!
Nobody expects the Crimson Permanent Assurance!
This in itself is astounding. A government in its third term – six years later! – is polling only 4 points lower than during its honeymoon.
No, you’re confusing National with the entire Government Bloc. Nats down 4 points (in terms of the respective Colmar Bruntons), Government down 6 points, Opposition Bloc up a massive 9 points.
The Key Government’s honeymoon was in 2009 when it averaged 59% in the polls. By 2010, it had fallen to 56% and remained there throughout 2011 (we’re talking annual averages here).
With the exception of this latest poll, all of the Colmar Bruntons and Reid Research polls since May 2015 (that’s 8 consecutive polls) had the Government on 48%. 11 points Down on its 2009 honeymoon average and 8 points Down on its 2010-2011 average.
So not necessarily all that “astounding”.
and yet, somehow after all that analysis, National will win a fourth term
Crazy old world eh
Yeah, I preferred your earlier reply: “Fair enough”. Had a slightly more … respectful, almost obsequious tone about it. Suddenly you seem to have become emboldened all over again. It’s almost as if you are Jean-Claude Van Damme !!! I have a feeling Gormy and Magisterium turning up at the last minute has lifted your morale, stiffened your resolve, as it were. Three former Young Nats together, none of you wanting to lose face in front of the others.
The word is “embiggened”
Cromulent !
Not so much stiffened as engorged or turgid perhaps…
Complete list of names from the Panana Papers. No kiwis thankfully.
http://anonymous.com.pt/complete-list-of-people-named-in-the-panama-papers-videos-at-the-end-of-the-article/
But but but how can that be, John Key must be neck deep in it…its a conspiracy to protect John Key I tells ya
But seriously its good this information has come to light
A complete list, really?.
The ICIJ said it will publish the full list of involved companies and individuals linked to them in early May, citing emails, financial spreadsheets and passports among its evidence.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/panama-papers-what-are-they-who-is-involved-and-why-are-they-important-illegal-legal-tax-avoidance-a6967176.html
Those crazy anonymous guys, what can you say 🙂
BREAKING: NZ Labour Leader Andrew Little is named in the Panama Papers as many times as Prime Minister John Key!
I knew it! Little is neck-deep as much as Key, if not more!!!
But seriously, I’m glad no NZ names were mentioned regardless of political perspectives.
Pedro Almodóvar
Salvatore Bizzarro
I predict Bernie Sanders will win the New York primary.
http://usuncut.com/politics/bernie-hillary-campaign-finance/
Bernie Sanders Just Accused Hillary Clinton of Violating Campaign Finance Laws
___________________________________
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
What are your predictions for your mayoralty race?
As, in my opinion, the female ‘Bernie Sanders’ of the 2016 Auckland Mayoralty – I predict that I am going to do VERY well 😉
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Sadly my friends in the US believe that Bernie will be reasonably easily beaten in the NY primary.
Big call by you Penny, given the polls. We will know tomorrow whether you a seer, or then again, not
Will we ever find out whether you feel ashamed of your personal involvement in money-laundering?
OAB, Wayne is one of the few right wingers who comments here without being an outright troll, is it really necessary to stalk him when there are many other more right wingers who are deserving of your attention.
I pay his wages. He’s been deriving his income from the public purse for long enough to cope with a bit of personal responsibility for his decisions, don’t you think?
In any case, I’m genuinely interested: he was a member of the executive that involved us in organised crime, after all. Did anyone bring it up at the Cabinet table? “John, why are you cuddling up to crims?” That sort of thing.
Edit: I suspect he can’t answer the question because he’s in the National Party’s pocket. Aren’t you even a little bit curious?
🙄
Wow OAB that’s a big call out. I’m curious to see what you have to back that up.
Don’t you understand the connection between tax havens and money laundering?
Big call Wayne – given the trend in the Polls
You could be in for a surprise.
Yep.
A week is a LONG time in politics ….
Bernie Sanders – with his clear, anti-corporate Wall Street 1% platform – has risen in the polls from zero to hero.
As I understand it – at 1pm NZ time tomorrow – voting for the New York democratic primary will close.
I predict a BIG turnout.
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Yeah and last weekend was rather telling too. Bernie was out of the country at the Vatican, whilst Hillary was in California for a dinner hosted by George Clooney and charging $343,000 a pop for the privilege where she was showered with 1000 $1 bills. I think that sends a clear message to the voters.
+100 Penny…GO GIRL!…and GO Bernie Sanders!
Hey Lynn, that bug is back where the Name and Mail fields are blank on every new comment (my browser normally stores them). I noticed this first yesterday.
it’s happening on my iphone too.
Me too Weka, name and address goes from my field as well. Weird, hope it isn’t a bug.
Same here. Looks like this bug doesn’t like women.
The TPP has a two-track outcome on biologics protection. Parties can choose to provide effective market protection through at least 8 years of data protection. Alternatively, Parties can choose to provide effective market protection through at least 5 years of data protection, along with other measures, These measures and circumstances include regulatory settings, patents, and the time it takes for follow-on medicines to become established in the market.
http://insidetrade.com/
We need to make sure that the information from these team discussions is fully reported.
Winston has just thrown a spanner in the works re Silver Fern Farms sellout to Shanghai Maling. Nicely timed to coincide with the PMs China visit.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/79089207/nz-first-lays-complaints-over-silver-fern-farms-conduct
The process of coercing farmers into voting for this deal was always suspect. My understanding is there is much more to run on this story yet. Good on Winston for taking up the cause.
Yep. The NZ Taxpayer could have prevented this sell off for the price of a couple of flag referendums. No surprises that SFF management are closely watching how Talley’s are getting away with brutalizing their workforce.
Follow The Money Or Why We Should Arrest People Like John Key And His Banking Mates
Probably, most people, when reading about the Panama tax dodgers and New Zealand’s quiet achievement in becoming as “tax” haven, wonder how the rich always getaway with shit like this and kind of wished they were in the same predicament: Filthy rich and hiding their money from the tax people.
The next thought is probably if they can get away with it why should I pay tax? Both are legitimate sentiments but what it does not address is that apart from the obvious crime of theft these rich people are committing and the subsequent deprivation of the poor as a result of that theft, the money is not just resting in a safe place. It is being used.
Tax havens therefore should not be called tax havens but more correctly Secrecy Jurisdictions.
Nearly 10,000 dead in the ongoing Haiti cholera epidemic. The CDC knows exactly how it started and who’s to blame, but isn’t allowed to tell anyone.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2016/04/what_caused_haiti_s_cholera_epidemic_the_cdc_s_museum_knows_but_won_t_say.html
“The whiff of corruption follows McCully around” …. the ultra-cleverness of the ultimate coder out-wits the GUI / WYSIWIG / reasonably intelligent expectations of the Joe Evridge poster (unrelated to Edna).
If it was going to get any more complicated or time consuming – why bother?
Here’s a comment that may or may not appear on that thread.
(The whiff of corruption follows McCully around). btw L …. as you know – you’ll never be able to code for every pillock, but if you consider it worth your marriage, and an aid to dealing with whatever your obsession avoidance – it’s worth a shot – arrogant cunt eh?) – or maybe just bleeding obvious
Christ Almighty – it goes a frikken sight deeper than McCully who probably only succumbed to his own naivety, aided and abetted by that Chez Longe upholstery material cladded vixen; know-it-all member of something we used to call a 4th Estate – now more aptly described as the ass-licking Thorndon bubble press gang. (Most of whom don’t/can’t see the medium/long term). Just another Rosemary McCluck lookalike aspiring to claim their rights to a higher class (otherwise known as social climbing wankers)
…… NOW we have our dearest Leader, John Key (side-by-side with knock-kneed Adonis son Mex – whose beauteous presence pervades as much social media as he and his acolytes can muster) suggesting he’s ‘open’ to an extradition treaty (provided of course, ewwmun roights britches en the deth penty don’t figure in such an arrangement).
Apparently there are 50 on a list (that is 50 that are known of presumably)
They reap what they sow. I wonder jst hear relexed he’s gunna b when he reterns home on Earforce 1. (John – you really must get that 757 repainted!)
Oh wow….. it appears to have worked from the submitter that’s not the dedicated follower of fashion or fad or hero worship.
Y’all are really gorgeous tho’. Have a nice day. Missing you already
Aaron Hawkins has announced his intention to run for mayor of Dunedin under the Green Party banner. I think he’s been a good councillor so far and I’ll be interested in his mayoral platform. One good thing about Dunedin is that the voting system for mayor is STV, so the left bloc won’t be split.
Cool. Good man.
What’s the rush, Mr Key?
Tuesday, 19 April 2016, 10:56 am
Press Release: Professor Jane Kelsey
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1604/S00251/government-seeking-to-stymie-report-on-tppa.htm
Seen this?
http://www.brandonturbeville.com/2016/04/nafta-and-tpp-hillary-clintons-free.html?m=1
NAFTA And The TPP – Hillary Clinton’s Free Trade History
Hillary Clinton is not my ‘sister’.
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
(Who is actively opposed to the TPPA and corporate control by the 1% – locally, nationally and internationally.)
+100…”Hillary Clinton is not my ‘sister’. “
Seen this?
https://twitter.com/smilefestival/status/722257767290023936
damn you, now I’ve gone and followed.
Emergency kittens is a must as well: https://twitter.com/search?q=Emergency%20kittens&src=typd
Where do you stand Wayne, on New Zealand’s secretive ‘foreign trusts’?
Do you think that there is any legitimate purpose for New Zealand secretive ‘foreign trusts’?
If so – what – in your view is this ‘legitimate purpose’?
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
‘Sanders’s criticism of Israel is long overdue’
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/340073-sanders-israel-palestinians-gaza-us/
“Bernie Sanders is not only taking on the Washington establishment in his campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, he is also challenging many of the received truths that make up the ideological foundations upon which its power rests…