It’s legged up from the 27% to 30% channel. Now sitting in the 30% to 34% channel. It’s better, but if Labour doesn’t want to rely on ol’ Winston, they need to do one more and consistently sit in the 35% to 40% channel.
Particularly as I expect them to lose a solid few percent in the last months of campaigning when Key brings out the electoral bribes.
You lot still remind me of the England rugby team doing a ‘victory lap’ in 1997 when they got beaten by ‘only’ 17 points when you go on about the polls.
Reality in, they are embedded in National’s favour. No putting lipstick, eye shadow and blusher on that pig can deny that pig is still a pid.
Is a pity that Shearer has just blown it with the failure to record the foreign bank account. In itsself its a minor error of no real consequence but politically he has just thrown away the best stick Labour had to beat the NACT’s with, now every time there is a brain fade the retort will be ‘so how’s that 50k then?’, ‘remembered any big piles of cash lately?’. Mallard was trying to shut it down during question time but he came across as a tired old grumpy hack with little clue, not a encouraging scene.
Isn’t is facinating how when there is an opportunity of *poking some eyes* of the govt, the door gets shut, by a show of curruption around that very same opportunity, they’re all at it, and its *convenient* this time it just *happens* to be Shearer!
This is a dirty little exposure into the world of bent over politicians!
‘its *convenient* this time it just *happens* to be Shearer!’
Oh absolutely! A great distraction – and I have already seen that the Standardistas are all over it, because, as I have noticed before, many if not most, being Blue-Greens, feel far more loathing for Shearer than they ever have for Key… 🙁
“I have already seen that the Standardistas are all over it, because, as I have noticed before, many if not most, being Blue-Greens, feel far more loathing for Shearer than they ever have for Key”
Do you have any examples of blue greens, and or more loathing for Shearer than key?
Walter Nash – 1951 – neither for nor against. Different times I acknowledge but if anything these different times (no Cold War issues today) should make it easier to spring from a principled standpoint.
“those who hate Shearer, as most on the Standard seem to, will be overjoyed that Banks and 3 News have your backs!”
Hate, such the wrong word, but just because banks is correct that DS should resign, won’t I’m sure, bring anything near comfort to many left wingers, whether they post here or not.
Many of us don’t particularly care who the leader is and haven’t entered that debate.
In the absence of caring benevolent left wing policy I don’t see that it much matters.
Is labour going to:
Increase benefit rates by $20-00
Remove age discrimination in benefit rates Eg 18-24 year old rate
Reinstate an 8 hour working day 40 hour working week
Reduce shop opening hours so workers get a weekend
Reintroduce cross employer wage bargaining
Build state houses and let low income earners stay in them
Increase tax rates
Reintroduce death duties on estates
Follow and monitor the principles of the NZ disability strategy across all govt departments
Take state assets back
Take funding away from private schools and put it back into public schools
Any three of the above would be an improvement
As I said who cares who the leader is. They have nothing to offer.
The “Cyprus solution” for New Zealand banks is getting some air time. Its not clear whether the Reserve Bank is already implementing “OBR” or whether legislation changes are being proposed.
It seems that under John Key, your money may no longer be safe in a bank . . .
“Kiwis with money in the bank could see their nest eggs and savings dwindle in a government move the Greens say is a “Cyprus-style solution” to help out failing banks.
New Zealand banks are readying their IT systems for Open Bank Resolution, a Reserve Bank policy that in extreme cases like insolvency would see a bank’s losses shouldered in part by its shareholders and creditors – including everyday depositors.
The Reserve Bank has the power to freeze bank deposits but up to now has lacked the technical infrastructure to implement it – hence their requirement for banks with retail deposits of more than $1 billion to change their systems and meet their requirements by July 1.
Under the policy, which can only be activated by the Minister of Finance, if a bank fails a statutory manager is appointed to calculate the bank’s liabilities.”
Why the hell is this Government pursuing Open Bank Resolution? Message to the Government – do not go down this track. This is theft and is unfair and unjust. The Cyprus Government has today overwhelmingly rejected the EU’s demands to tax all bank accounts by 10% to bail out the banks. According to the Herald article, virtually no other country in the OECD uses OBR.
It is all about banks – not about people. Bailing out banks which are considered “too big to fail” cannot continue. Things have got to change – the world’s financial system cannot carry on like this.
But they will carry on like this, until of course the ‘next round’ of failures occurs and an attempt is made to snatch depositors monies to prop them up,
Lolz, the depositors then will be told that they are all unsecured creditors and if they be good and wait a couple of years they might get some of their money back,
Larfs, the sparks will then begin to fly as the middle classes take to the streets, was saying on the weekend that the safest place for your spare cash aint the banks, it’s a hole in the ground,
When the losses of Capitalism during it’s ‘recessions’ doubles and triples when compared against the gains made in the ensuing ‘growth’ periods then Capitalism as a system of economics is all but dead,
That situation is pretty much ‘the where we are at now’, what most call wealth, from the lowliest of mortgage holders to the loftiest of banks with the most zeroes on the balance sheet, it is reality DEBT,
The only ‘real’ monies are to be found as the numbers you have in your bank accounts accrued there by the sweat of your labour, your small share of the profits of Capitalism,
The time will come when those that planned the crime of the century will come looking for that money….
And what needs to happen is to inform people that having their money in the bank earning interest is a risk and that they may lose their money then, when a bank actually fails, let it fail. No more of this bailing them out.
Oh, and stop calling the money that people give banks deposits and start calling them what they are – loans.
The OBR policy is designed to ensure that first losses are borne by the bank’s existing shareholders. In addition, a portion of depositors’ and other unsecured creditors’ funds will be frozen to bear any remaining losses
Lolz, the USA inc in trouble you mean, this is what most people do not understand, we talk here in New Zealand of the Aussie owned banks,
Well they aint, Aussie owned that is, we all are simply ‘lead to believe’ that such a cozy situation exists where those people just like us across the ditch ‘own’ the banks in New Zealand,
You wont find a list of US banks on the Australian sharemarket showing which % of those Aussie banks they actually own, such ownership is hidden among and in Nominee Company’s which hold the shares on behalf of the true owners,
The same situation exists here in New Zealand where 50 odd % of the construction company Fletcher Construction is held in the name of a nominee company owned by the NZ Reserve Bank,
Only the Nominee Company’s name appears on the Fletcher Construction share register and only the nominee company knows who the true owners of the shares are…
Lolz, the USA inc in trouble you mean, this is what most people do not understand, we talk here in New Zealand of the Aussie owned banks,
Its the BIS which controls it all – The UK controls the USA in the banking sense which most understand is the case. Do not be fooled by thinking thr US is the major player in banking, its simply not the case.
Annoys me badly when people still thnk its OZ or the US who controls our shit!
Thanks for the info, which I am well aware of!
When I said NZ inc, I meant, NZ inc, banking aside!
” Bailing out banks which are considered “too big to fail” cannot continue. Things have got to change – the world’s financial system cannot carry on like this.”
To big to manage,to big to police,to big to exist time to break them up eg Ma Bell
All this is going to do is result in long lines at the ATM’s with people withdrawing their money. The people is is going to hurt is those who live from pay to pay, 10% of their money is going to leave a big whole in their budget, and giving up smokes, booze and takeaways is not going to cover it.
Under the new OBR policy, Tripe said bank shareholders would lose first,then the balance of losses would be faced by creditors. But in other countries deposit guarantee schemes meant depositors were promised some, though perhaps not all, of their money. For example, in Australia the guarantee was for A$250,000, backed up by other banks.
It was lucky that cyprus happened , otherwise this would have completely under the radar.
This was already in play once the original deposit underwrite lapsed in 2011, now its being played out via Cyprus, lets see the cockroaches run in all directions.
With the big bank in NZ being so *profitable* why would their be any reason to believe one/any/all might collapse – Thats rhetorical, and should be obvious to work out.
Banks can be crashed at any time, its a rather simple process, called off balance sheet exposures!
I haven’t commented on this site before and I know y’all have been critisised for dissing Shearer. But I’m bursting with frustration about his continuing ineptitude. The $50, 000? I don’t care but I do care about his inability to express himself clearly, his hesitant speech, his lack of conviction. He was interviewed by Rachael Smalley this morning and was his usual self. Better than six months ago but far below most other pollies. A very young fellow fighting youth wages came on later (James Sleep?) and outshone him by miles: passionate, eloquent, articulate.
He was weak on Native Affairs last week too.
I don’t think that David Shearer has the ability to be a Prime Minister. It’s more than just a lack of speaking skills; he lacks conviction.He’s indecisive. His political values are not clear to him let alone us punters. I couldn’t vote Labour with him in charge because I have no faith in him. I’m sure there is a level at which he works brilliantly but it’s not at Leader of the Op/Prime Ministerial level.
Thanks for having the patience to repeatedly point this out. $50K is the minimum limit it can be. Hell if it was exactly $50K you could draw out a $20 note at the corner ATM and drop it under the reporting threshold.
Assuming the actual number is between $50K and $500K…with an average of $225K…your number is not outlandish in the least.
Who the hell forgets to report $200K – $300K (US) stashed overseas?
If people and the media, will not stand up against the probably theft of their already taxed savings/deposits (note I say taxed, as the big money evaders will not use regular deposit accounts, so this will hit the average Kiwi hardest, as its designed to do), then their really is nothing that will get people off their seats.
If Cyprus does not pull off this coup, what odds that NZ will be first!
So much for any nonsene talk about increasing savings in NZ, this is hardly going to be catalyst to encourage it eh. Which means, that there is more intent to this OBR than its face value, lets start listing what consequences could be expected from the OBR, when is comes to go live!
Its hands in pockets time, lets see who is paying attention!
I heard it was $50 million, grumpy. My made up figure is just as likely to be true as your made up figure. The point isn’t the amount, it’s allowing John Banks a lifeline that pisses me off.
Some government members are calling for his resignation. Which reminds me of the proverb about being careful what you wish for, since your wish may come true.
Grumpy on fire, CV? It took him 3 and half hours to recognise the $50 mil figure. And even then he still didn’t get why I chose it and repeated the joke. Still, he was 15 minutes quicker than you, 😉
Good on ya, Maureen, that’s a good summary of the problems Labour faces under Shearer’s leadership.
At a time when the left should be bolting ahead, we seem to be limping to victory. However, MMP allows you to vote strategically, so if you can’t party vote Labour, the Greens would welcome your support. And whatever Shearer’s faults, I hope you will consider electorate voting for your local Labour candidate; its important that local communities have local MP’s who care for local people.
Actually she is useless bailed from Hamilton east ( leaving the LEC in a mess)to stand in west. Because she was well in on the party list, didn’t even bother to go out door knocking! Too fat & lazy. West is a seat that should have been won back by Labour, get a decent candidate who is prepared to door knock!
Two time loser in Hamilton East before she jumped over the river to Martin Gallagher’s safe seat and then lost twice to god’s man, macindoh, and no doubt on course for a threepeat.
I’ve nothing much against Sue either, but she’s list material, and I’m not voting Labour.
Cool, Alien, John Key thanks you for rewarding his incompetence (while sniggering at your naivety). Mind you, if the Green electorate candidate is that nice Mr Servian, I’d be tempted too.
I can’t work out if you’re serious or not. You’ve tried the ‘it’s all your fault’ trick on me before.
No naivety here, bruv. I’m all for tactical voting, but only if the recipient is on par with my principles – Labour are not.
Thing is, not only am I not voting for a Labour candidate, I’m going to do all I can to actively campaign against them. The more votes the Greens get, the more likely they are to try and win a seat. I hope they get serious about fighting for votes.
Again, just like the pm thanking me, DS owes all the suck ups and mediocrity apologists a pint or two.
At least we know he aint short of a few bob.
Sup up.
Well, you’re way out of sync with both MMP and the Green Party’s electoral strategy. If you attend a election public meeting, the GP candidate will almost certainly say, if asked, that they really want the party vote. The GP are sensibly focussed on the party vote, because they know that there aren’t the concentrations of symapthetic populations in any NZ electorate currently. When Auckland hits 3 or 4 million, then maybe they could pick up an inner city seat. It’s one of the lessons learned from ’99, where their fortunes seemed entirely dependent on one candidate winning a seat.*
The end result of your vote is that you are supporting the return of a Tory MP. So, yeah, I’m serious. I don’t like National and I don’t much like lefties who prefer to enable Tories rather than use their vote to help their fellow citizens. Oddly enough, Russel Norman used to be a member of an Aussie Trotskyist party who were viciously anti-Labor and, by default, pro-Liberal. They reasoned that Labor were a false dawn and as the workers were more oppressed under the Liberals, they would move to a pre-revolutionary position quicker. Total childish bollocks, obviously, but, to be fair, I found their equally do-lally free love policy very much to my liking.
I’m optimistic that Norman has moved on from that sectarian kind of politics. He seems genuinely convinced of the need to work positively with Labour to acheive Green goals. Perhaps you might consider doing the same?
*As it turned out, they both won the seat and scraped over the 5% threshold. And the electorate seat was won because Labour voters, including myself, were mature to vote intelligently.
“Well, you’re way out of sync with both MMP and the Green Party’s electoral strategy.”
Nope, I’m fully aware how mmp works, and if you read my post, you’ll see I say “The more votes the Greens get, the more likely they are to try and win a seat. I hope they get serious about fighting for votes.”
“The end result of your vote is that you are supporting the return of a Tory MP. ”
One way of looking at it. I prefer Labour are shit and their fault entirely why they’re not worthy of my vote and why they’ll be in opposition in 2014.
“So, yeah, I’m serious.”
😆
“I don’t like National and I don’t much like lefties who prefer to enable Tories rather than use their vote to help their fellow citizens.”
Nearly the same as me. I don’t like National and I don’t much like lefties who prefer to enable self interest groups in caucus, rather than use their vote to help their fellow citizens.
“He seems genuinely convinced of the need to work positively with Labour to acheive Green goals. Perhaps you might consider doing the same?”
Give me a proper Labour party and there wouldn’t be an issue. All those with the ‘make do with what we’ve got’ and ‘let’s pull together’ attitudes are big part responsible for killing Labour. Enable losers and that’s what happens.
Won’t be done by me, fact.
“Labour voters, including myself, were mature to vote intelligently.”
Let’s hope more Labour voters realise that and give two ticks for Green in 2014.
Just because I prefer Cunliffe to be leader this does not mean that I hate Shearer. I realise that this may be seen to be disloyal to the leader. Second best is second best. For me Robertson and Shearer do not work well together as both are inexperienced. I could live with Robertson being leader and Cunliffe being deputy.
I do not doubt that Shearer is putting in a lot of effort and in a few years he may excel. It took Clark 18 years to become PM and I always had full confidence in her.
Re Key, I would not shake his hand, Shearer’s hand I would, I would accept it if he did not want to shake my hand. I support the team first and not the captain.
She should be winning Hamilton West against a fundy homophobe like Macindoe. She is ineffective and will hopefully just go on the list next time around so we can get a strong contender in to win back HW.
Wrong question, CV. What you should be asking is “are there any electorates that National or Labour won’t win?” The answer is ‘not many, if any’. Currently, its only 4 Maori seats and Ohariu. Epsom doesn’t count as independant of National. So, a vote for any party other than Labour in a marginal electorate is an endorsement of your local Nat MP, by default. That’s just how MMP works.
And its worth remembering that having a tory as your electorate MP does make life worse for most people. The electorate MP’s have the ability to take up issues for their constituents, to work with local councils to improve the area, to be a voice for their people. That good stuff doesn’t happen if your MP wears a blue rosette.
What if the Labour candidate is Robertson? I get the impression the guy is just playing the game, not rocking the Labour Waka UNTIL he gets the opportunity to break lose and let rip – kinda like waiting for someone else to do the dirty work.
I really hate to say this but Key’s response to Shearer’s predicament was exquisitely balanced.
He said:
“People make mistakes. I make mistakes and when I do, I try and tell people I’ve made them. It’s just that you don’t get cut any slack from the Labour Party when you say you’ve made a mistake, but when they make one they don’t want anyone to have a look at it.”
At an emotional level his comment was pitched perfectly. Rather than the rapacious merchant banker we know he is he came across as a decent human being, acknowledging human frailty, showing forgiveness but at the same time undermining Labour’s current approach.
I think Labour has to forget hunting for the personal headshot and instead concentrate on policies and talk about the future.
Just like the Greens.
Instead of playing their beltway games they need to do something different.
Key is frakking good. The man may be an Investment Banking Cylon, but he’s damn good at what he’s been assigned to do. (It seems the team he’s pulled together in his office are pretty sharp as well).
There is no way key could use this as a flogging stick(Shearers admission) as you only need to go back to all his videos online showing him lying and prevaricating time and time again.Remember Tranzrail shares interview.He will keep pretty quiet on this one. As for Moroney I think she is brilliant.Would love to see her go against bouncy bennett.
There is no way key could use this as a flogging stick(Shearers admission) as you only need to go back to all his videos online showing him lying and prevaricating time and time again.Remember Tranzrail shares interview.
Except that’s exactly what he’s doing and getting away with it because the MSM aren’t holding him to account and showing all the times that he’s lied.
Key talking about human frailty, forgiveness etc may just mean that he’s trying to set the stage for when more NAct dirty dealings become public. But anyway, the opposition as a whole could learn from the Greens and move around policy rather than personalities. It shouldn’t take Shearer too long to learn what a few of the core opposition policies should be. Cunliffe and Hone already know.
It’s deliberate. The powers that be want the neo-liberal revolution to stay in lace. Solution – hire
someone who won’t upset the apple cart if Key gets booted out.
Indeed. It was apparent to some of us 6-12 months ago that the Labour Leadership was going to become a big problem. Month by month, those concerns have grown, not decreased.
If Labour is still polling in the low 30’s at Congress in Christchurch this year, it will be a very interesting get together.
Well here’s hoping that the HUTT electorate will have the balls to put up a decent candidate. And tell Mallard to go and get a real job, and stop annoying the voters.
So true Dr Terry, it’s obvious that Goff should have remained leader rather than bringing in an incompetent pretender. Just yesterday Goff gave an impassioned speech on youth rates that highlighted (to me at least) just how far backwards we have gone.
Welcome to the DICTATORSHIP of Aotearoa – New Zealand, where the one chamber Parliament allows governments like the present National led one, supported by ACT and the “Dunney” UF get away with pushing through legislation against all serious objections, concerns and opposition.
The Submission Process before Select Committee(s) has proved to be a time-wasting “circus” once again, where the ‘Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill’ was “considered” without seriously listening to, and considering, the vast majority of submissions opposing very major changes to the Social Security Act 1964. They will be the biggest changes for at least a generation, and they will bring in a draconian regime for most beneficiaries, with discriminatory and thus illegal social obligations and a questionable drug testing regime to be introduced.
Sick will be turned into “job seekers” practically with the stroke of the administrative pen, once the Governor General will give his assent to the law changes.
Outsourced services, including ones for assessing “work capability” for sick and disabled will be introduced and implemented, which are UK style, and which will be at the discretion of the Chief Executive and her/his staff, when it comes to frequency and types. We can expect similar disasters like in the UK, where Atos Healthcare is the privately run assessor, getting paid for performance rates, and having driven people into early death, not coping with work expected of them, or by simply opting out of life altogether.
The Minister and her staff where challenged how these assessments would in future look like, but no details have been provided. Yet the law to enable such an outsourced assessment regime will be put into place. The few changes the majority of the committee now agreed to are mostly rather miniscule and “cosmetic”. This means the bill will be pushed through a 2nd Reading and become law in July 2013.
You can read the minority party reports in this report, and yes, strong opposition from Labour and the Greens, but only moderate criticism from NZ First. Where are the public voices by Labour MPs and by especially Jacinda Ardern, and please, Jan Logie, speak out loud publicly, and the summarised criticism appears rather “soft” to “weak” to me.
There has been NO MEDIA REPORTS of significance at all on the bill and the likely changes, and here we go again, it smells damned much like a DICTATORSHIP of sorts we live in here in NZ.
Once a government has just one vote majority support, they get away with almost anything, even introducing illegal, human rights and dignity breaking new laws. The media, mostly mainstream, is basically “neutered”. Shame, shame and more shame on NZers putting up with all this SHIT!
Hi Xtasy
+1 Thankyou for your insight into the lamentable lack of real democracy here in in NZ. I operate on a much simpler level than yourself: This RWNJ government will copy any BS they see RWNJ U$ or U$K governments getting away with because they’re empty and heartless and are continuing to demolish everything that once made New Zealand a great and socially just place to live with opportunity for all.
Johnm – Its not so much a case of copying, its the centrally distributed hub/spoke style neo-colonial, neo-liberal approach, think central banking system!
Make no mistake, this comes externally, and is rolled out into NZ, not copied!
Mankind is social and thus builds networks thus political parties have networks with other, similar, parties. Within that network will be a hierarchy with one at the top and for the parties of the right that will most likely be the republicans in the US. Which would explain our present government rolling out failed policies from the last conservative US government.
We need to take back our country from the present ruling clique and that means referenda. The majority of people won’t have such narrow international networks.
IME most people just don’t want to know, muzza. I’ve pretty much given up trying to explain/convince people that the whole system is a sham (amongst other things)
I’m so sick of hearing “i’m sure the Govt. has our best interest at heart”, or worse “if it was really that bad someone would do something” or “ooh a conspiracy theorist, eh?”
Sheeple and ostriches, mate, the world is full of them.
clashman: Sounds a bit like the jews that did not bother leaving Germany and some other countries in Central Europe, after the Nazis took power, and after the first ominous signs showed. Yeah right, she’ll be right somehow, but once the truth comes, nobody wants anything to do with it. It was all meant to be for the right reasons, I can hear such excuses ring into my ears already.
The Labour Party minority view is to be found on pages 13 to 15 (top of page 16 is one last line), and the Green Party minority view on this bill is to be found on pages 16 to 19, and NZ First’s minority view is found on pages 19 to 21. As it appears certain that Labour and the Greens will vote against the bill, I am not clear on how NZ First intends to vote, but at first sight it seems, that they are also not impressed and convinced this bill will improve conditions for beneficiaries and lead to more employment in a depressed job market.
I am dismayed about the lack of resolute opposition, as much criticism from all minorities is rather about the jobs not being there, not focusing staunchly enough on the injustices, illegallity and draconian, inhumane measures also proposed. Only to some degree d I read clear criticism.
The majority in the committee are or were National MPs, so no wonder it has ended up with this report.
Thanks, xtasy for that valuable report. I see the Bill is currently first on the order paper for debate in the House today – any idea what time? The schedule on my TV says Live broadcast starts at 2pm with QT.
Barbara and Karol – As it is Wednesday, usually there is a debate under “Miscelleaneous Business” after Question Time. So I am unsure whether it will already be up at 02 pm. It could instead be after that more general “debate” by members.
On Wednesday you get QT, typically an hour or so, from 2.00pm
Then there is General Business, 12 speechs each max 5 minutes, say 3.00 to 4.00pm.
Then you get the Social Security amendment bill from about 4.00pm.
Question time might run on a bit today as there are likely to be a few POO re comments about Shearer’s F.U.
I’ve just looked at Parliamentary TV and they are still on quesstion time at 3.21pm so they will be running late.
Not only points of order, the question time today was turned into a parody of the absurd by the Speaker allowing question number one to Slippery the Prime Minister to be transferred to State owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall,
The question??? what warnings had Slippery the Prime Minister been given by Bill the Member for Dipton about the sale of Mighty River Power in discussions between the 2 on the sale process,
In allowing Ryall to answer the question the Speaker simply allowed the Prime Minister to make a mockery of the Parliament as Ryall ducked any answer by simply saying He did not know,
We can expect ‘the Speaker’ of the house to show slight bias toward the Party of Government, but we should neither expect nor condone ‘the Speaker’ making a mockery of the whole Parliamentary question time by allowing a Slippery little Shyster like the current New Zealand Prime Minister to ‘game’ the place when it is more than obvious that if the SOE Minister Tony Ryall was not at such a meeting between the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance He could not answer the question diverted to Him by the Prime Minister…
karol: The Speaker is an utter embarrassment for any democratic system, and it does not make NZ’s Parliament look like a sound House, rather one not much in order. The concerns about his appointment have proved to have been justified.
It seems a pity the Governor General doesn’t have a power of veto similar to that enjoyed by President Obama.T he GG can withhold his consent, but by convention always accepts the advice of the prime minister. However, this convention would seem to be based on the assumption that the prime minister’s advice encapsulates the “will of the people”, since the PM and cabinet are selected from amongst MPs elected by the people. It seems to me though that the convention ought to be considered inoperative where the PMs advice is clearly at odds with the wishes of the people, as might be demonstrated in a referendum.
In the case of asset sales, for example, if the forthcoming referendum goes against the government, and flogging off assets in seen not to be in the public interest, the GG it seems to me should prepared to intervene.
Out of interest, does anyone know why we don’t have cheaper dentist care in NZ? I know if you are under a certain age it’s free or discounted.
Most people have such bad teeth, and it’s so expensive to fix.
Really hoping someone like spec savers of the dentist industry come and and nail them. It’s the last untouched profession that seems to rape people. Optometrists got away with it for so long.
Out of interest, does anyone know why we don’t have cheaper dentist care in NZ?
The first Labour Govt didn’t have enough political support against the dentistry lobby to take dental care fully public. So dental care remained largely private sector private provider driven from that time on, whereas care from a medical doctor became largely public sector and socially provided, from that time on.
No Government since then has tackled the hard political issue of providing full dental care to adults, mainly because it would cost Treasury an arm and a leg.
Yeah I know it would be expensive. It’s probably one thing I’d support though. Growing up in Taihape, we had to take fluoride tablets. Partner was from down south with the same issue. She has a few teeth problems, and now has to have one pulled.
I had an accident where I lost a tooth, had to have an implant. 3 months and $2k later it was in. Subsidised by ACC ($5k originally).
I blame the student loan scheme for the high cost of dental care. By the time someone has qualified through Dental School, they owe the price of a small house. They understandably want to get this paid off. A government that was serious about providing affordable dental care would only need to subsidise the training, perhaps even with new practitioners bonded to community clinics for a few years after graduation. I’m sure it could be done, and wouldn’t be horrendously expensive.
Well no, of course they don’t – what with being fair minded types who couldn’t bring themselves to undercut the young ‘uns out of the market. See, they had to charge like wounded bulls, though it hurt them so!
Thailand.
It’s where every one goes, have a holiday and get all your dental work done at a 1/3rd of the price it costs in NZ.
In the reputable clinics, the Thai dentists are US trained with the latest gear, makes our dentist clinics look stone age.
I am not a dentist but one reason it is expensive is that the training takes a long time and even then it is a high stress job (the people you deal with seriously don’t want to be there) and because it is a physical job they can’t work on into their dotage like lawyers and doctors
You used to be able to get work done at the Dentist schools for cost and if you wait some at hospitals
Yes Kenepuru Hospital in Porirua does ‘pain relief’ work which in the main is taking out any painfull teeth,(only one at a time tho),
To access this you need at least a Community Service card and 30 dollars for the part charge, also you have to have the Hospitals dental clinic phone number and ring to see if there is a time for the day to fit you in,
They only make appointments for ‘on that day’ and you have to ring right on 8 in the morning otherwise you wont get an appointment,
If they cannot see you that day you have to ring dead on 8 the next morning to try and get an appointment,
True. The last time I went to the dentist, about a quarter of an hour of sanding down and bogging up cost me about $300. Assuming about half an hour’s time (including preparation) each of the dentist, of the dentist’s hander-over-of-tools, and the dentist’s answerer-of-phones-and-writer-of-bills; depreciation on capital of all the dentist’s medical equipment (that stuff is likely to be as expensive as hell), the rent of the offices, that all adds up, even before paying off the student loans; so that was a reasonably fair price, I thought.
A public dental service would be a good thing, but it would either have to be set up from scratch (at monumental expense) or contracted out to existing dentists who’d have to charge back (and considering how the current incompetent bunch can’t even pay schoolteachers, I wouldn’t blame any dentist for not believing a word from Wellington).
Might be an idea to enable people to use their KiwiSaver accounts to pay for dental care, would be a good start without too much effort, and be an incentive for more people to sign up.
So I dare do ask, where is “the left” in NZ when it comes to showing solidarity with the beneficiaries facing the most mean spirited, draconian, in part illegal law and system changes in at least a generation?
I watched Question Time in Parliament and hear endless questions asked about Novopay, affecting a small number of otherwise comparatively well paid teachers, where questions are raised about car parking and mobile phone use taxes affecting employed, mostly well earning middle-class workers, where questions are asked about charter schools, same sex marriage and a range of other issues, housing affordability for those who can afford to pay a nice deposit, but NONE about the unjust welfare reforms to be introduced this year.
I read and listen to the bulk of the media reporting on same and similar topics and news endlessly, also about crime, traffic accidents and how some celebrities “suffer” and face personal issues, where a rugby player gets caught and arrested with a (rather large) knife in Japan, where another young rugby player gets out of hand at times due to alcoholism and alcohol abuse, where some journalists out themselves by making submissions for the same sex marriage amendment to existing law and endless other stuff, like the drought affecting farmers.
But NADA about welfare issues and reforms, except where the odd beneficiary, or seemingly more often WINZ staff, abuse the system.
There is little if none coming from the so-called “opposition”, there is zilch in the press, there is a lack of interest by the middle class of professionals, wanting support for their causes (teachers, doctors, nurses, childcare providers, professional workers), but offering NO support for the poorest and least powerful in NZ society.
National is still supported by most of them, and there is a UNITE Union, that proclaims to also be there for those without jobs (i.e. beneficiaries), but I hear damned little from Matt McCarten on welfare reform and the likes. So that is the left in NZ, is it? The only consolation I get is some commenting here showing understanding and support, but society has written beneficiaries off as bludgers, dodgers, free-loaders, bene cheats and malingerers bullying doctors to give the medical certs to go on benefits.
NO solidarity from me to all those middle class do well people, coming with their petty stuff, Thanks for nothing!
It is my ANGRY voice, trying to represent the growing UNDERCLASS and DISENTITLED in NZ! That in includes the working poor, although many of them sadly jump on the envy train, raising anger against beneficiaries (see also Shearer’s sickness bene roofpainter comments, trying to appeal to those).
“…… although many of them sadly jump on the envy train…..”
Indeed they do – right up until the time they’re made redundant and have to suffer WINZ for a wee while. Sometimes they even regret all that ‘nothing to pay for 12 months’ or ‘first 12 months interest free’ shit they signed up for.
Yeah Xtasy you are not alone. UNITE Waitemata Branch has a useful fb page fighting for unemployed and beneficiaries which draws comments and contributions from across the country.
The NACTs policy is to stigmatise beneficiaries as an underclass to shift the blame for their rip, shit, bust policies onto their ‘dependency’ on working class taxpayers, and shame them into workfare.
The solution is to organise unemployed as self-help collectives to take direct action against their victimisation, punishment and deprivation. They must not be forced to compete for the few jobs there are driving down wages for all workers.
Individuals cannot fight alone without exhausting themselves, we need a UNION of unemployed and beneficiaries urgently.
The “Hobbit” has led to more US visitors, and Marmite is back on our supermarket shelves.
Yeah, wonderful, NZ is doing well.
Re beneficiaries: NO MENTION, NO WELFARE REFORM COVERAGE, so the message is: “Stop moaning, shut up, get a job and a f***ing life. Otherwise we will dig a big hole, shoot you and dig you under”. Not worth mentioning in the news, that is for sure.
Love Bennett, love Aotearoa NatACT style, yeah right.
You have a valid message, but who hears it, who listens to it, who takes action?
Sad truth is, most unemployed and other beneficiaries do not even know what these new reforms are all about. They have no information, as the media treats these developments as a “non event”, as most NZers battling every day have a totally dim view of beneficiaries. It is a bit like the plague, keep it well away from me, so I and my family or close ones are kept from infection of this negative shit.
Many are also ostriches, digging deep, to bury their heads under the sand. I do not want to hear, know or learn more about what may be in store if I cannot keep up battling to keep the ship afloat, that is the thinking. It is everyone against each other, me first, stuff the rest and do not think of tomorrow, as it may bring bad news.
It is time for a social and economic breakdown, so ALL get a taste of when the shit hits the fan, that is my only conclusion about what is going on. Sorry, I am sick to death of what goes on.
I hear it about that he’s lost alot of friends, and respect too, in the league world that is.
Since he started his assiduous burrowing up Key’s nether. Having spent years doing the same in relation to HC’s nether.
Still, thanks be for his philanthropy and thanks be to whomsoever gave him his honorific. I guess there’s a sort of ongoing balance to it all.
Seems like Karol’s THE BLUE ROSE cotribution (below) might rhyme with “THE BROWN NOSE”, written, produced and directed by whoever was in flavour at the time, and critiqued positively by Jum Mora and a ‘panel’.
(Oz parliament has become more interesting when it comes to background noise)
I have been watching the TV3 NZ drama The Blue Rose. Last night one of the main villains (Petersen) was shown to be the head of a company doing frakking and paying off, behind closed doors, a worker who got severely injured in the destructive enterprise. The heroine, the show’s “moral compass” was opposed and shown to be a Greenpeace supporter, Jane March (Antoonia Prebble)..
There’s been a long running debate on the intellectual right about whether the GOP suffers from “epistemic closure,” a condition in which conservatives block out all dissenting voices until eventually their own arguments sound nonsensical to anyone who doesn’t already agree with them. The RNC report concludes this is a real and growing problem.
Which explains why the right sound so disconnected from reality – because they are. They seem to, quite literally, live in an echo chamber.
Jude 10
Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals-these are the very things that destroy them.
This monetary system also means that although individually we might pay off our debts, collectively we are in debt forever, paying interest to the banks. So this money system makes increasing inequality a mathematical certainty. Is it any wonder that 2% of the world’s population controls about half the world’s wealth?
Whether in business, investment, philanthropy, or politics, there are few more important, less understood and less pursued objectives today than monetary reform. It is time to direct more of our time and resources to the underlying causes of our multiple crises, and swiftly learn about the pros and cons of alternative systems.
Our monetary system, which is based upon debt, needs growth so that it can be maintained. Without that growth the whole system collapses. The problem is that we cannot grow infinitely on a finite world. Monetary reform is something that needs to happen if we want a sustainable economy.
Our financial system is, slowly but surely, killing us.
Not a bad effort??? what a load of s**t, by Friday with luck Slippery’s National Government will be able to gloat that 10% of New Zealander’s (mum and dads snigger), will have preregistered in an effort to steal half of Mighty River Power off of the other 90% of New Zealander’s who haven’t registered an interest in such legislated thievery,
So 10% of the New Zealand public are going to purchase 49% of Mighty River Power are they, hah watch Slippery and Co flog it off to overseas interests and call that a success…
My belief is that if you have a KiwiSaver account with a private provider you should read the fine print,
You will find among the blah blah blah that you have signed an agreement which says that from time to time your provider will buy and sell shares in any company on your behalf without specifically notifying you of the actions taken,
i am of the opinion that a large number of KiwiSaver providers have signed up a large number of their customers using such a provision..
Power company ownership should belong in the public sector. Plenty of other companies in the stock market for investors to put their cash in without eyeing up the public and co-op sector.
“The partial-listing of the state owned energy generator and retailer again has made headlines after it was revealed institutional investors had been privy to a number of research reports from brokerages involved in the deal.
Meanwhile retail investors, who stand first in line to buy the shares, are still waiting for the official prospectus and investment statement to be released about the middle of next month.
A source in the investment community, who asked not to be named, said the reports appeared to be based on information that was mostly available in the public arena and were a typical part of pre-IPO marketing activities. The reports put the price range at between $2.36 and $3.06 though this is not indicative of final pricing, such is subject to the Government’s final sign off.
The only non-public information appeared to be MRP’s financial estimates for 2013 and 2014, but these would come out when the investment statement and prospectus were released.
“There’s three months of heavy petting that goes on before anything happens (on these deals) and we are well in the heavy petting phase,” the source said.”
Apart from the sexualisation of the selling of shares which seems bizarre at best, the natural conversational tone shows what they in the industry really think about mum and dad investors and the general public.
Touch em up and then screw them over can be the only conclusion you can draw from such a statement.
“Touch em up and then screw them over can be the only conclusion you can draw from such a statement.”
Your are so right, and since even the huge share crash in 1987, many NZers still have not learned how to invest carefully and smartly.
What may happen is a sudden awareness of home energy savings, alternative, home based energy generation, solar and wind generation on site taking off, and the power companies can say good night, and the investors flush their shares down the toilet, like it happened with certain other “investments” in shares years ago.
ghost Scary stuff in Chch. I wonder what Gerry Brownlee has up his sleeve (apart from his arm) to cope with these sort of problems that could be expected for months after the earthquake but have turned into years and getting worse.
A registered cancer charity has donated less than 5 per cent of the $1.1 million it has collected from New Zealanders over four years.
The Department of Internal Affairs has launched a review of the Cancer Research Charitable Trust, which pays its staff a commission of up to 40 per cent to collect funds and hand out information door-to-door.
The trust’s financial records show it has donated $48,563.25 towards cancer research between July 2007 and June 2011 – only 4.2 per cent of the $1.1 million it received.
And that is pretty much why charity doesn’t actually work. It has to actually pay for the administration that it needs but it’s also open to abuse by that administration.
I referred to rural attitudes of young men to the law and continuing bad behaviour in Amnesty 17/13 at 5:42 pm.
Rural Women are running a study getting opinions on the ground. I think they are wise to take an interest in this. Especially since they are under-policed and vulnerable and unprotected from any criminal element in their area that will utilise violence. It is thought that much crime is not reported. http://www.ruralwomen.org/_blog/News_and_Inspiration/post/Rural_Crime_and_Safety_Survey/
Now a road worker has been shot. Whatever the reason it adds a dark stain on the mindset of rural people in general, though probably a man (and not necessarily young as I notice a surprising number of 40 and 50 year olds are behaving criminally).
What’s wrong in farming country – why too many parents’ inability to teach their boys self-control, moral values, and respect for others. The Macdonald man didn’t seem to have learned good behaviour while a boy. Are the fathers bad role models, or don’t they have a relationship with their children so they can provide good guidance on handling life’s difficulties without meanness, law breaking and/or violence? An example of mean and aggressive attitudes was a blogger in Amnesty who was banned for his foul language. Their animals behave better.
10 examples of why you really don’t need to pay for digital tv below – legal. Why is it that the music industry can’t just follow their example and adapt to the changing environment? Why is their business model OUR responsibility?
Exactery….. which is why I’ve suggested elsewhere, a regime whereby anything TRANSMITTED as unencrypted, should not be re-broadcast in an ENCRYPTED format.
(Ooops, there goes a shitlaod of SKY’s convenience …. and I’m sure they’ll be moaning like squealing pigs in heat when there’s a gubbamint change.
Patrick Gower’s (Freudian) blooper on 3 News tonight. I had set myfreeview onto “pause live TV” then played it, so I could wind back to check what I heard (twice):. On the GCSB issue, Gower definitely said:
“Labour said it’s a stuff up, Key says it’s a cover up”.
overheard on the Q.T today;
Joyce : on the Open Bank Resolution; evades amount; however, concedes “exports growth has come off.”
Q.2-just dynamite.
Smith : wants new land development in AK on :” a non-notifiable basis”
Bennett : “get (a graduate) “work ready”
(quotes NZ Herald editorial from last year to justify policy) ??? (great Minister Nat; keep it up)
MOH-” we expect negative impacts on children from financial sanctions” (thanks Jac.)
Speaker is “bringing the house into disorder.”
Key : “GCSB got it wrong.”
Brownlee ” “allegations of fraud and corruption have been forwarded to his office” (for consumption, no doubt) (est. 130-240M-Winston.)
sadly, Maori Party Leadership = farce; ego ego ego (mofo bulls*it as Hone would exclaim).
Dr Russel Norman: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I agree with you that it has become very noisy. I would argue the key problem is that the decision or the ruling of Speaker Smith that a straight question gets a straight answer is no longer being upheld under your new Speakership. That is creating disorder.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is now questioning the competence and the bias of the Speaker. That is very serious. I am attempting to elicit sensible answers for members, but on many occasions members are wanting the answer designed to their satisfaction. That is not what question time is. The question must be addressed, but it will not necessarily mean that the question at all times will be answered to the satisfaction of the member asking the questions.
Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I want to agree with what Dr Norman said, but to make it clear that no one—and I do not think Dr Norman did—attributed bias to you. What he indicated what was that there is a different set of rulings, and they are quite different.
Mr SPEAKER: I accept there are certainly different styles. From the moment you have a different Speaker, you will have a different style.
More Nat spin – it’s not a different style, it’s incompetence.
Yeah, QT reveals some interesting bits, every time! Sadly so few bother watching and dissecting it. It would assist “informed voting” if the wider public would watch it.
Main server is getting a bit of a hammering at present (pretty freakingly high bearing in mind that most of the load gets handled at cloudflare). Looks like a rather large overseas audience.
Probably will be a bit slow for a while particularly posting comments.
Don’t know how it happened but I was surfing through today’s comments on Open Mike when I inadvertently found myself reading stuff from a Standard post on the15th July last year (2012). What astonished me were two comments that were supposedly submitted by me that most definitely didn’t come from me. They were totally outside my sphere of thinking yet the gravator was mine. Is that possible? Could someone steal my identity and post in my name? Truly weird.
So weird in fact I’m wondering if I imagined it, but I didn’t.
In Parliament’s question time today, Russel Norman, and supported by Peters and that Christchurch member from Labour, asked some tricky questions to the Finance Minister, represented by Steven Joyless of course. It was about open banking policies, and some new agenda for NZ banks, or those operating here.
So Joyce was diverting, dodging questions and did the big bow of answering, and the useless Speaker let him get away with it. Like with other questions before, the Nat benches clearly enjoyed the session, as “their” Speaker was letting their ministers off the hook all the time.
But nevertheless, while there is this discussion about bank depositors in Cyprus facing losing up to 10 per cent of deposits, to “bail out” their banks, indeed Joyce at least indirectly admitted the same could happen here.
Not being able to draw on the full amounts of money deposited is exactly that, but Joyce did not want to give a straight answer, he implied it, yet explained, this would not happen to all those good banks here in NZ. Winston challenged him on another proposal he made 2008, to ensure up to 100 k in NZ owned banks, but Joyce said that other banks would be robbed if that was the plan. So he justified the foreign owned, robbery like banking system that controls the bulk of lending in NZ.
I propose now that NZ Parliament will be renamed the “National Parliament”, to bring it into line with the true spirit of the new Speaker and his regime. He did today, that is Wednesday, just now, let off so many ministers from the government’s benches, with giving crap answers, that in many cases were not real answers at all, but he hit out at any opposition questioner who asked and objected to not being answered. If anybody is bringing NZ Parliament into disrepute, I think that Mr Carter needs to stand in front of a mirror and ask himself some bloody serious questions.
“This is not a good look”, Bill English once admitted, re another matter. But the same comment is justified in this matter, for sure.
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TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
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. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
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 ...
An Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says Pillar Two could raise the industry to state of the art capability - or "crush" it "under the weight of the globe's biggest player". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marlene Longbottom, Associate Professor, Indigenous Education & Research Centre, James Cook University ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the violence experienced by First Nations people in encounters with the Australian carceral system. It also contains references to ...
“Instead of following along countries that are investing in death and better ways of killing people faster, we need to invest in life and in making Aotearoa a fair, just and equitable place where everyone has what they need for a dignified life.” ...
MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI, TPM MP FOR TAI TOKERAU This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori. CHRISTOPHER LUXON Oh well look you know I don’t think that hard-working Kiwis want to hear language like that. It’s just really unhelpful rhetoric. My Government is genuinely committed to advancing outcomes ...
The body positivity movement started with women confronting the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of them in media and advertising. Men weren’t part of it … their bodies hadn’t been sexualised to the same extremes and they didn’t really need it. But now that’s changed. And in a warped sort ...
The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. In 1981, Ginette McDonald stood on the stage of Auckland’s St James Theatre and directly addressed Queen Elizabeth II. It was a ...
An essay by Lily Duval from the just-released anthology Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child adjacent.I was 22 when my friend Alice gave birth in the living room of our pokey Addington flat. She laboured in the blow-up pool for hours. Garish fish swam along the inflated ...
Ella Borrie on the best books about motherhood she’s come across so far. Over the past few years I’ve been drawn to books about motherhood. I’m fascinated by the joys and horrors of becoming a parent. The question of children also feels more pressing than it used to. It’s like ...
Out of gift ideas for mum? You can’t go wrong with a bottle of toilet cleaner and a new squeegee. Emily Writes is the writer and editor of Emily Writes Weekly. This week marks five years since I published a post on The Spinoff about Mother’s Day marketing titled ‘A ...
My husband is posted overseas for 12 months and I’m armed with an expensive, newfangled vibrator. Will I miss him? The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.A few days after my husband leaves, a new sex toy arrives at the front door. Nestled ...
Jaimie Baird’s new book Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a record of four decades of graffiti and street art in Wellington, told through more than 1,200 photographs. He spoke with Joel MacManus about what inspired the book. How did you first get interested in photographing street art? I remember ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at a busy week where food of all political leanings dominated. Sometimes you’re just going about your week thinking you’ve got a good handle on what might be coming as far as news topics and then someone (usually a politician) says something so ridiculous that ...
In a week of cold rain and frost, the climate in courtroom four upstairs at the Invercargill courthouse was simmering with restrained indignation. At times it felt like the famous Mexican standoff scene from Reservoir Dogs, or, as someone watching the proceedings described it, there was so much throwing of ...
A banner notification alerts me to the fact that I’ve received an Instagram message from @felicity.loves. She always comments on my posts. I shouldn’t have opened the message, but clicked on the notification before rationalising this. OMG! Are you in Wellys? X I debate not replying, but Instagram will inform ...
In Melbourne’s hardscrabble western suburbs where AFL – Aussie rules football – is a state religion, Callum Donaldson has been quietly grafting away, four months into an odyssey that he hopes will take him to another promised land: the NRL. It was a solid 2023 for the softly spoken 20-year-old ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
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http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2013/4874/
Looking better. Back to the upward trend line. Although one swallow doesn’t a summer make etc.
It’s legged up from the 27% to 30% channel. Now sitting in the 30% to 34% channel. It’s better, but if Labour doesn’t want to rely on ol’ Winston, they need to do one more and consistently sit in the 35% to 40% channel.
Particularly as I expect them to lose a solid few percent in the last months of campaigning when Key brings out the electoral bribes.
Agreed.
I know, it scares me too 🙂
You lot still remind me of the England rugby team doing a ‘victory lap’ in 1997 when they got beaten by ‘only’ 17 points when you go on about the polls.
Reality in, they are embedded in National’s favour. No putting lipstick, eye shadow and blusher on that pig can deny that pig is still a pid.
Pelvic inflammatory disease?
Labour still less popular than the 2008 election defeat.
Another rogue poll they’ll claim.
Nothing to be upbeat about here.
But the reality is that the Greens are now integral to the total % count for Labour etc. etc.
Is a pity that Shearer has just blown it with the failure to record the foreign bank account. In itsself its a minor error of no real consequence but politically he has just thrown away the best stick Labour had to beat the NACT’s with, now every time there is a brain fade the retort will be ‘so how’s that 50k then?’, ‘remembered any big piles of cash lately?’. Mallard was trying to shut it down during question time but he came across as a tired old grumpy hack with little clue, not a encouraging scene.
*headdesk*
Isn’t is facinating how when there is an opportunity of *poking some eyes* of the govt, the door gets shut, by a show of curruption around that very same opportunity, they’re all at it, and its *convenient* this time it just *happens* to be Shearer!
This is a dirty little exposure into the world of bent over politicians!
‘its *convenient* this time it just *happens* to be Shearer!’
Oh absolutely! A great distraction – and I have already seen that the Standardistas are all over it, because, as I have noticed before, many if not most, being Blue-Greens, feel far more loathing for Shearer than they ever have for Key… 🙁
“I have already seen that the Standardistas are all over it, because, as I have noticed before, many if not most, being Blue-Greens, feel far more loathing for Shearer than they ever have for Key”
Do you have any examples of blue greens, and or more loathing for Shearer than key?
He has already admitted it’s more than $US100,000
Bigger than that, Shearers biggest mistake is his “not ruling it in, not ruling it out”.
It’s massive. He’s a laughing stock. He needs to plug that asap.
Some clever dicky of a political advisor to the Leaders office thought that gem up, no doubt.
As long as it hastens the demise of his ‘leadership’ then I wont lose any sleep.
“As long as it hastens the demise of his ‘leadership’ then I wont lose any sleep.”
Really, there’s no comment necessary.
(I’ll make one anyway, that at least you are honest. )
Tell me, how much on a scale of 1 to 10, do you love Key? Really?
If I were replying I’d say not as much as you love shearer.
Walter Nash – 1951 – neither for nor against. Different times I acknowledge but if anything these different times (no Cold War issues today) should make it easier to spring from a principled standpoint.
On the other hand, John Banks made a right prat of himself on Morning Report trying to make Shearer look bad, this morning.
Mind you, those who hate Shearer, as most on the Standard seem to, will be overjoyed that Banks and 3 News have your backs!
“those who hate Shearer, as most on the Standard seem to, will be overjoyed that Banks and 3 News have your backs!”
Hate, such the wrong word, but just because banks is correct that DS should resign, won’t I’m sure, bring anything near comfort to many left wingers, whether they post here or not.
Many of us don’t particularly care who the leader is and haven’t entered that debate.
In the absence of caring benevolent left wing policy I don’t see that it much matters.
Is labour going to:
Increase benefit rates by $20-00
Remove age discrimination in benefit rates Eg 18-24 year old rate
Reinstate an 8 hour working day 40 hour working week
Reduce shop opening hours so workers get a weekend
Reintroduce cross employer wage bargaining
Build state houses and let low income earners stay in them
Increase tax rates
Reintroduce death duties on estates
Follow and monitor the principles of the NZ disability strategy across all govt departments
Take state assets back
Take funding away from private schools and put it back into public schools
Any three of the above would be an improvement
As I said who cares who the leader is. They have nothing to offer.
“Cheap” $350K to $500K housing.
SAD state of affairs – so far!
The “Cyprus solution” for New Zealand banks is getting some air time. Its not clear whether the Reserve Bank is already implementing “OBR” or whether legislation changes are being proposed.
It seems that under John Key, your money may no longer be safe in a bank . . .
In todays’ NZ Herald –
“Kiwis with money in the bank could see their nest eggs and savings dwindle in a government move the Greens say is a “Cyprus-style solution” to help out failing banks.
New Zealand banks are readying their IT systems for Open Bank Resolution, a Reserve Bank policy that in extreme cases like insolvency would see a bank’s losses shouldered in part by its shareholders and creditors – including everyday depositors.
The Reserve Bank has the power to freeze bank deposits but up to now has lacked the technical infrastructure to implement it – hence their requirement for banks with retail deposits of more than $1 billion to change their systems and meet their requirements by July 1.
Under the policy, which can only be activated by the Minister of Finance, if a bank fails a statutory manager is appointed to calculate the bank’s liabilities.”
You can read the full article at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10872361
Why the hell is this Government pursuing Open Bank Resolution? Message to the Government – do not go down this track. This is theft and is unfair and unjust. The Cyprus Government has today overwhelmingly rejected the EU’s demands to tax all bank accounts by 10% to bail out the banks. According to the Herald article, virtually no other country in the OECD uses OBR.
It is all about banks – not about people. Bailing out banks which are considered “too big to fail” cannot continue. Things have got to change – the world’s financial system cannot carry on like this.
NZ still part of the global neoliberal bankster experiment.
But they will carry on like this, until of course the ‘next round’ of failures occurs and an attempt is made to snatch depositors monies to prop them up,
Lolz, the depositors then will be told that they are all unsecured creditors and if they be good and wait a couple of years they might get some of their money back,
Larfs, the sparks will then begin to fly as the middle classes take to the streets, was saying on the weekend that the safest place for your spare cash aint the banks, it’s a hole in the ground,
When the losses of Capitalism during it’s ‘recessions’ doubles and triples when compared against the gains made in the ensuing ‘growth’ periods then Capitalism as a system of economics is all but dead,
That situation is pretty much ‘the where we are at now’, what most call wealth, from the lowliest of mortgage holders to the loftiest of banks with the most zeroes on the balance sheet, it is reality DEBT,
The only ‘real’ monies are to be found as the numbers you have in your bank accounts accrued there by the sweat of your labour, your small share of the profits of Capitalism,
The time will come when those that planned the crime of the century will come looking for that money….
And what needs to happen is to inform people that having their money in the bank earning interest is a risk and that they may lose their money then, when a bank actually fails, let it fail. No more of this bailing them out.
Oh, and stop calling the money that people give banks deposits and start calling them what they are – loans.
B – Not quite! Some people have a positive net balance with banks (however that came to be), which would mean for you to say…
Stop calling the money people give banks deposits, and start calling them what they are – Other People’s Loans
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/finstab/banking/4368385.html
Why should depositors bail-out banks?
The OBR policy is designed to ensure that first losses are borne by the bank’s existing shareholders. In addition, a portion of depositors’ and other unsecured creditors’ funds will be frozen to bear any remaining losses
NZ inc – In serious trouble!
Lolz, the USA inc in trouble you mean, this is what most people do not understand, we talk here in New Zealand of the Aussie owned banks,
Well they aint, Aussie owned that is, we all are simply ‘lead to believe’ that such a cozy situation exists where those people just like us across the ditch ‘own’ the banks in New Zealand,
You wont find a list of US banks on the Australian sharemarket showing which % of those Aussie banks they actually own, such ownership is hidden among and in Nominee Company’s which hold the shares on behalf of the true owners,
The same situation exists here in New Zealand where 50 odd % of the construction company Fletcher Construction is held in the name of a nominee company owned by the NZ Reserve Bank,
Only the Nominee Company’s name appears on the Fletcher Construction share register and only the nominee company knows who the true owners of the shares are…
Its the BIS which controls it all – The UK controls the USA in the banking sense which most understand is the case. Do not be fooled by thinking thr US is the major player in banking, its simply not the case.
Annoys me badly when people still thnk its OZ or the US who controls our shit!
Thanks for the info, which I am well aware of!
When I said NZ inc, I meant, NZ inc, banking aside!
A deposit in a bank is, as a matter of fact, a loan to the bank.
Yes, the unsecured creditor variety no less…
Beautiful
” Bailing out banks which are considered “too big to fail” cannot continue. Things have got to change – the world’s financial system cannot carry on like this.”
To big to manage,to big to police,to big to exist time to break them up eg Ma Bell
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/les-leopold/too-big-to-fail_b_2897649.html
All this is going to do is result in long lines at the ATM’s with people withdrawing their money. The people is is going to hurt is those who live from pay to pay, 10% of their money is going to leave a big whole in their budget, and giving up smokes, booze and takeaways is not going to cover it.
You can’t be surprised the banksters suggested actions which would hurt the rank and file the most?
After all, the rich have the majority in stocks, bonds and property – not grandma style bank deposits.
Ed here is a stuff report.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/8446573/Kiwis-could-face-Cyprus-style-trim
Under the new OBR policy, Tripe said bank shareholders would lose first,then the balance of losses would be faced by creditors. But in other countries deposit guarantee schemes meant depositors were promised some, though perhaps not all, of their money. For example, in Australia the guarantee was for A$250,000, backed up by other banks.
It was lucky that cyprus happened , otherwise this would have completely under the radar.
This was already in play once the original deposit underwrite lapsed in 2011, now its being played out via Cyprus, lets see the cockroaches run in all directions.
With the big bank in NZ being so *profitable* why would their be any reason to believe one/any/all might collapse – Thats rhetorical, and should be obvious to work out.
Banks can be crashed at any time, its a rather simple process, called off balance sheet exposures!
I haven’t commented on this site before and I know y’all have been critisised for dissing Shearer. But I’m bursting with frustration about his continuing ineptitude. The $50, 000? I don’t care but I do care about his inability to express himself clearly, his hesitant speech, his lack of conviction. He was interviewed by Rachael Smalley this morning and was his usual self. Better than six months ago but far below most other pollies. A very young fellow fighting youth wages came on later (James Sleep?) and outshone him by miles: passionate, eloquent, articulate.
He was weak on Native Affairs last week too.
I don’t think that David Shearer has the ability to be a Prime Minister. It’s more than just a lack of speaking skills; he lacks conviction.He’s indecisive. His political values are not clear to him let alone us punters. I couldn’t vote Labour with him in charge because I have no faith in him. I’m sure there is a level at which he works brilliantly but it’s not at Leader of the Op/Prime Ministerial level.
Just had to say that.
Fool, it’s more than $50,000. He has admitted to Duncan Garner that it’s more than $100,000.
I have heard it’s $320,000 and remember, it’s all US dollars. No wonder he wants to talk down the $NZ.
Thanks for having the patience to repeatedly point this out. $50K is the minimum limit it can be. Hell if it was exactly $50K you could draw out a $20 note at the corner ATM and drop it under the reporting threshold.
Assuming the actual number is between $50K and $500K…with an average of $225K…your number is not outlandish in the least.
Who the hell forgets to report $200K – $300K (US) stashed overseas?
Someone with much more to keep hidden, than just the cash!
People who can’t wrap their heads around the 50K explanation, are the same people who will be losing their deposit money, when that time comes!
+1… we’re being readied for it.
Correct, we are being readied!
If people and the media, will not stand up against the probably theft of their already taxed savings/deposits (note I say taxed, as the big money evaders will not use regular deposit accounts, so this will hit the average Kiwi hardest, as its designed to do), then their really is nothing that will get people off their seats.
If Cyprus does not pull off this coup, what odds that NZ will be first!
So much for any nonsene talk about increasing savings in NZ, this is hardly going to be catalyst to encourage it eh. Which means, that there is more intent to this OBR than its face value, lets start listing what consequences could be expected from the OBR, when is comes to go live!
Its hands in pockets time, lets see who is paying attention!
Cyprus government has rules out taking bank deposits.
The proposed “haircut” is capitalism at it’s most corrupt. Just as well Shearer has his money stashed offshore.
I wish I could.
Bet he checks the exchange rate every day on the internet – just hoping that somehow it will go down……….
Rich Pricks!
I heard it was $50 million, grumpy. My made up figure is just as likely to be true as your made up figure. The point isn’t the amount, it’s allowing John Banks a lifeline that pisses me off.
Some government members are calling for his resignation. Which reminds me of the proverb about being careful what you wish for, since your wish may come true.
Groan. Why does this feel like Shearer is giving us another one of those scoring-your-own-goal moments?
Won’t be $50m, if it was he’d be leading the National Party.
shit dude you on fire today
Jeez, I hope you guys keep him on. Just listened to Duncan’s interview…………………….
Grumpy on fire, CV? It took him 3 and half hours to recognise the $50 mil figure. And even then he still didn’t get why I chose it and repeated the joke. Still, he was 15 minutes quicker than you, 😉
lol haha 🙂
If it was the first time I commented and I was called a fool I would call you tactless. Grumpy when you know the figure let me know.
I agree a lot with what Maureen had to say.
TRP says $50m and I say $350k. Shearer says over $100k.
One thing for sure, it’s in $US and it’s a shitload.
Good on ya, Maureen, that’s a good summary of the problems Labour faces under Shearer’s leadership.
At a time when the left should be bolting ahead, we seem to be limping to victory. However, MMP allows you to vote strategically, so if you can’t party vote Labour, the Greens would welcome your support. And whatever Shearer’s faults, I hope you will consider electorate voting for your local Labour candidate; its important that local communities have local MP’s who care for local people.
Hope to see more comments from you in the future!
At this moment in time, Green party two ticks.
No way am I giving a vote to Labour’s shower. Never reward incompetence.
Sue Moroney in Hamilton West. -1
Moroney has always seemed very competent to me.
Likewise. She is serious minded, thoughtful and focussed on helping her consituents.
Actually she is useless bailed from Hamilton east ( leaving the LEC in a mess)to stand in west. Because she was well in on the party list, didn’t even bother to go out door knocking! Too fat & lazy. West is a seat that should have been won back by Labour, get a decent candidate who is prepared to door knock!
Two time loser in Hamilton East before she jumped over the river to Martin Gallagher’s safe seat and then lost twice to god’s man, macindoh, and no doubt on course for a threepeat.
I’ve nothing much against Sue either, but she’s list material, and I’m not voting Labour.
A bit of an edit with fact, opposed to dodgy recall, about Sue’s record.
Surprisingly enough, it doesn’t harm my case or make one for someone else.
96 Karapiro – Lost
02 Piako – Lost
05 Piako – Lost
08 Ham East – Lost
11 Ham West – Lost
Easy prediction:
14 Ham West – Lost
Cool, Alien, John Key thanks you for rewarding his incompetence (while sniggering at your naivety). Mind you, if the Green electorate candidate is that nice Mr Servian, I’d be tempted too.
I can’t work out if you’re serious or not. You’ve tried the ‘it’s all your fault’ trick on me before.
No naivety here, bruv. I’m all for tactical voting, but only if the recipient is on par with my principles – Labour are not.
Thing is, not only am I not voting for a Labour candidate, I’m going to do all I can to actively campaign against them. The more votes the Greens get, the more likely they are to try and win a seat. I hope they get serious about fighting for votes.
Again, just like the pm thanking me, DS owes all the suck ups and mediocrity apologists a pint or two.
At least we know he aint short of a few bob.
Sup up.
Well, you’re way out of sync with both MMP and the Green Party’s electoral strategy. If you attend a election public meeting, the GP candidate will almost certainly say, if asked, that they really want the party vote. The GP are sensibly focussed on the party vote, because they know that there aren’t the concentrations of symapthetic populations in any NZ electorate currently. When Auckland hits 3 or 4 million, then maybe they could pick up an inner city seat. It’s one of the lessons learned from ’99, where their fortunes seemed entirely dependent on one candidate winning a seat.*
The end result of your vote is that you are supporting the return of a Tory MP. So, yeah, I’m serious. I don’t like National and I don’t much like lefties who prefer to enable Tories rather than use their vote to help their fellow citizens. Oddly enough, Russel Norman used to be a member of an Aussie Trotskyist party who were viciously anti-Labor and, by default, pro-Liberal. They reasoned that Labor were a false dawn and as the workers were more oppressed under the Liberals, they would move to a pre-revolutionary position quicker. Total childish bollocks, obviously, but, to be fair, I found their equally do-lally free love policy very much to my liking.
I’m optimistic that Norman has moved on from that sectarian kind of politics. He seems genuinely convinced of the need to work positively with Labour to acheive Green goals. Perhaps you might consider doing the same?
*As it turned out, they both won the seat and scraped over the 5% threshold. And the electorate seat was won because Labour voters, including myself, were mature to vote intelligently.
“Well, you’re way out of sync with both MMP and the Green Party’s electoral strategy.”
Nope, I’m fully aware how mmp works, and if you read my post, you’ll see I say “The more votes the Greens get, the more likely they are to try and win a seat. I hope they get serious about fighting for votes.”
“The end result of your vote is that you are supporting the return of a Tory MP. ”
One way of looking at it. I prefer Labour are shit and their fault entirely why they’re not worthy of my vote and why they’ll be in opposition in 2014.
“So, yeah, I’m serious.”
😆
“I don’t like National and I don’t much like lefties who prefer to enable Tories rather than use their vote to help their fellow citizens.”
Nearly the same as me. I don’t like National and I don’t much like lefties who prefer to enable self interest groups in caucus, rather than use their vote to help their fellow citizens.
“He seems genuinely convinced of the need to work positively with Labour to acheive Green goals. Perhaps you might consider doing the same?”
Give me a proper Labour party and there wouldn’t be an issue. All those with the ‘make do with what we’ve got’ and ‘let’s pull together’ attitudes are big part responsible for killing Labour. Enable losers and that’s what happens.
Won’t be done by me, fact.
“Labour voters, including myself, were mature to vote intelligently.”
Let’s hope more Labour voters realise that and give two ticks for Green in 2014.
“The more votes the Greens get, the more likely they are to try and win a seat. I hope they get serious about fighting for votes.”
So, may I take it that 99% of people here are Greens? Good to know. I am off again. Bye! 🙂
“So, may I take it that 99% of people here are Greens?”
I’ve never asked, but I’d very much doubt it.
“Good to know. I am off again. Bye!”
Thanks for all the fish.
Hey, V32, been wondering where you were at. Y’all come back now, y’hear?
Reinforcements 😆
“One by one, all at once, I’ll take you all on.
One by one, all at once, until you’re all gone.”
Just because I prefer Cunliffe to be leader this does not mean that I hate Shearer. I realise that this may be seen to be disloyal to the leader. Second best is second best. For me Robertson and Shearer do not work well together as both are inexperienced. I could live with Robertson being leader and Cunliffe being deputy.
I do not doubt that Shearer is putting in a lot of effort and in a few years he may excel. It took Clark 18 years to become PM and I always had full confidence in her.
Re Key, I would not shake his hand, Shearer’s hand I would, I would accept it if he did not want to shake my hand. I support the team first and not the captain.
What’s your problem with Moroney?
I think she’s one of the more talented Labour MPs. Straight talking and sharp as a whip.
Agreed.
She should be winning Hamilton West against a fundy homophobe like Macindoe. She is ineffective and will hopefully just go on the list next time around so we can get a strong contender in to win back HW.
Agreed.
Well that sorta depends on who they are eh 😈
Does it? If the alternative is a NACT MP?
Are there any electorates in the country where only 2 candidates run?
Wrong question, CV. What you should be asking is “are there any electorates that National or Labour won’t win?” The answer is ‘not many, if any’. Currently, its only 4 Maori seats and Ohariu. Epsom doesn’t count as independant of National. So, a vote for any party other than Labour in a marginal electorate is an endorsement of your local Nat MP, by default. That’s just how MMP works.
And its worth remembering that having a tory as your electorate MP does make life worse for most people. The electorate MP’s have the ability to take up issues for their constituents, to work with local councils to improve the area, to be a voice for their people. That good stuff doesn’t happen if your MP wears a blue rosette.
“That’s just how MMP works.”
Well not quite…thats how FPP works which is how the electorate MP is elected.
That’s true but there’s only one way to change that 2 party dynamic.
Revolution? Life’s a lot simpler with a one party dynamic!
Ah yes so true! Then we’ll change the country’s name to the Democratic Republic of (something or other).
“there’s only one way to change that 2 party dynamic.”
“Revolution?”
Nope, just vote for someone else.
What if the Labour candidate is Robertson? I get the impression the guy is just playing the game, not rocking the Labour Waka UNTIL he gets the opportunity to break lose and let rip – kinda like waiting for someone else to do the dirty work.
“limping to victory”
Wow. Keep up the astounding optimism.
Some of us backing Shearer badly need that.
I really hate to say this but Key’s response to Shearer’s predicament was exquisitely balanced.
He said:
“People make mistakes. I make mistakes and when I do, I try and tell people I’ve made them. It’s just that you don’t get cut any slack from the Labour Party when you say you’ve made a mistake, but when they make one they don’t want anyone to have a look at it.”
At an emotional level his comment was pitched perfectly. Rather than the rapacious merchant banker we know he is he came across as a decent human being, acknowledging human frailty, showing forgiveness but at the same time undermining Labour’s current approach.
I think Labour has to forget hunting for the personal headshot and instead concentrate on policies and talk about the future.
Just like the Greens.
Instead of playing their beltway games they need to do something different.
Key is frakking good. The man may be an Investment Banking Cylon, but he’s damn good at what he’s been assigned to do. (It seems the team he’s pulled together in his office are pretty sharp as well).
Yeah Slippery the Prime Minister is good alright,a f**king good con artist and someone who gives every appearance of being a compulsive liar,
Continually spreading bovine defecation even when there is no logical reason to lie to the New Zealand public,
‘Open Mike’ this morning is looking like an open advertisement for a National Government after November 2014…
“‘Open Mike’ this morning is looking like an open advertisement for a National Government after November 2014…”
Quoted for truth!
Agreed. It was the first time I’ve seen him anything near statesman-like..
There is no way key could use this as a flogging stick(Shearers admission) as you only need to go back to all his videos online showing him lying and prevaricating time and time again.Remember Tranzrail shares interview.He will keep pretty quiet on this one. As for Moroney I think she is brilliant.Would love to see her go against bouncy bennett.
Except that’s exactly what he’s doing and getting away with it because the MSM aren’t holding him to account and showing all the times that he’s lied.
Key talking about human frailty, forgiveness etc may just mean that he’s trying to set the stage for when more NAct dirty dealings become public. But anyway, the opposition as a whole could learn from the Greens and move around policy rather than personalities. It shouldn’t take Shearer too long to learn what a few of the core opposition policies should be. Cunliffe and Hone already know.
He’s been in the job for better than a year and he still hasn’t figured it out.
I think that was some subtle sarcasm there
as an aside,
the Cypriot parliament votes to reject bank tax bill; if no other plan, “banks face collapse, followed by the country’s economy”.
from The Dark Knight Rises;
Floor Trader: “this is a stock exchange, there is no money you can steal”.
Bane: “really, then when are you people here.”
Reminds me of something else
“you can’t compare the crimes of robbing a bank with owning a bank”
It’s deliberate. The powers that be want the neo-liberal revolution to stay in lace. Solution – hire
someone who won’t upset the apple cart if Key gets booted out.
Isn’t it about time that David Shearer disclosed all his bank and tax statements
And as for Mallard’s pathetic “point of orders” and shouting of “liar,liar” to protect the brand it just came over as an old broken man’s ramblings
Surely even the most loyal Labour people can see it is time for a change or a clean out
Indeed. It was apparent to some of us 6-12 months ago that the Labour Leadership was going to become a big problem. Month by month, those concerns have grown, not decreased.
If Labour is still polling in the low 30’s at Congress in Christchurch this year, it will be a very interesting get together.
Well here’s hoping that the HUTT electorate will have the balls to put up a decent candidate. And tell Mallard to go and get a real job, and stop annoying the voters.
Holly Walker.
Oh, for the good old days of Phil Goff!! But no, Labour had to stuff up even more than before.
So true Dr Terry, it’s obvious that Goff should have remained leader rather than bringing in an incompetent pretender. Just yesterday Goff gave an impassioned speech on youth rates that highlighted (to me at least) just how far backwards we have gone.
Welcome to the DICTATORSHIP of Aotearoa – New Zealand, where the one chamber Parliament allows governments like the present National led one, supported by ACT and the “Dunney” UF get away with pushing through legislation against all serious objections, concerns and opposition.
The Submission Process before Select Committee(s) has proved to be a time-wasting “circus” once again, where the ‘Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill’ was “considered” without seriously listening to, and considering, the vast majority of submissions opposing very major changes to the Social Security Act 1964. They will be the biggest changes for at least a generation, and they will bring in a draconian regime for most beneficiaries, with discriminatory and thus illegal social obligations and a questionable drug testing regime to be introduced.
Sick will be turned into “job seekers” practically with the stroke of the administrative pen, once the Governor General will give his assent to the law changes.
Outsourced services, including ones for assessing “work capability” for sick and disabled will be introduced and implemented, which are UK style, and which will be at the discretion of the Chief Executive and her/his staff, when it comes to frequency and types. We can expect similar disasters like in the UK, where Atos Healthcare is the privately run assessor, getting paid for performance rates, and having driven people into early death, not coping with work expected of them, or by simply opting out of life altogether.
The Minister and her staff where challenged how these assessments would in future look like, but no details have been provided. Yet the law to enable such an outsourced assessment regime will be put into place. The few changes the majority of the committee now agreed to are mostly rather miniscule and “cosmetic”. This means the bill will be pushed through a 2nd Reading and become law in July 2013.
First opposition to the report has been expressed by home schoolers. See the report for yourselves:
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/BA3A8C04-EA05-454D-8875-EA715B021E0B/266329/DBSCH_SCR_5776_SocialSecurityBenefitCategoriesandW.pdf
Feedback and first reports:
http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/parents-unhappy-report-social-security-bill-hef/5/150329
http://hef.org.nz/2013/social-security-benefit-categories-and-work-focus-amendment-bill-select-committee-report/
You can read the minority party reports in this report, and yes, strong opposition from Labour and the Greens, but only moderate criticism from NZ First. Where are the public voices by Labour MPs and by especially Jacinda Ardern, and please, Jan Logie, speak out loud publicly, and the summarised criticism appears rather “soft” to “weak” to me.
There has been NO MEDIA REPORTS of significance at all on the bill and the likely changes, and here we go again, it smells damned much like a DICTATORSHIP of sorts we live in here in NZ.
Once a government has just one vote majority support, they get away with almost anything, even introducing illegal, human rights and dignity breaking new laws. The media, mostly mainstream, is basically “neutered”. Shame, shame and more shame on NZers putting up with all this SHIT!
Hi Xtasy
+1 Thankyou for your insight into the lamentable lack of real democracy here in in NZ. I operate on a much simpler level than yourself: This RWNJ government will copy any BS they see RWNJ U$ or U$K governments getting away with because they’re empty and heartless and are continuing to demolish everything that once made New Zealand a great and socially just place to live with opportunity for all.
Johnm – Its not so much a case of copying, its the centrally distributed hub/spoke style neo-colonial, neo-liberal approach, think central banking system!
Make no mistake, this comes externally, and is rolled out into NZ, not copied!
+1
Mankind is social and thus builds networks thus political parties have networks with other, similar, parties. Within that network will be a hierarchy with one at the top and for the parties of the right that will most likely be the republicans in the US. Which would explain our present government rolling out failed policies from the last conservative US government.
We need to take back our country from the present ruling clique and that means referenda. The majority of people won’t have such narrow international networks.
Spot on B.
Do you think someone could stand in an electorate, and run as an independent who has only a singular initial position.
That being to expose/communicate to the public exactly what does on , and is going on inside parliament, dirty dealings the lot.
Someone who represent the people genuinely, not this artificial theatre we have, filled with puppets.
Thoughts?
IME most people just don’t want to know, muzza. I’ve pretty much given up trying to explain/convince people that the whole system is a sham (amongst other things)
I’m so sick of hearing “i’m sure the Govt. has our best interest at heart”, or worse “if it was really that bad someone would do something” or “ooh a conspiracy theorist, eh?”
Sheeple and ostriches, mate, the world is full of them.
clashman: Sounds a bit like the jews that did not bother leaving Germany and some other countries in Central Europe, after the Nazis took power, and after the first ominous signs showed. Yeah right, she’ll be right somehow, but once the truth comes, nobody wants anything to do with it. It was all meant to be for the right reasons, I can hear such excuses ring into my ears already.
The Labour Party minority view is to be found on pages 13 to 15 (top of page 16 is one last line), and the Green Party minority view on this bill is to be found on pages 16 to 19, and NZ First’s minority view is found on pages 19 to 21. As it appears certain that Labour and the Greens will vote against the bill, I am not clear on how NZ First intends to vote, but at first sight it seems, that they are also not impressed and convinced this bill will improve conditions for beneficiaries and lead to more employment in a depressed job market.
I am dismayed about the lack of resolute opposition, as much criticism from all minorities is rather about the jobs not being there, not focusing staunchly enough on the injustices, illegallity and draconian, inhumane measures also proposed. Only to some degree d I read clear criticism.
The majority in the committee are or were National MPs, so no wonder it has ended up with this report.
Thanks, xtasy – working on a post on it.
Thanks, xtasy for that valuable report. I see the Bill is currently first on the order paper for debate in the House today – any idea what time? The schedule on my TV says Live broadcast starts at 2pm with QT.
It is first up at 2pm
Please ring these MPs: http://hef.org.nz/2013/please-ring-as-many-mps-as-you-can-today-before-2pm/
Please email all the MPs: http://hef.org.nz/2013/please-email-the-mps-today-before-2pm/
Please email and phone before 2pm
Thanks.
Barbara and Karol – As it is Wednesday, usually there is a debate under “Miscelleaneous Business” after Question Time. So I am unsure whether it will already be up at 02 pm. It could instead be after that more general “debate” by members.
On Wednesday you get QT, typically an hour or so, from 2.00pm
Then there is General Business, 12 speechs each max 5 minutes, say 3.00 to 4.00pm.
Then you get the Social Security amendment bill from about 4.00pm.
Question time might run on a bit today as there are likely to be a few POO re comments about Shearer’s F.U.
I’ve just looked at Parliamentary TV and they are still on quesstion time at 3.21pm so they will be running late.
A lot of the problem is points or order raised re- the Speaker’s incompetence. he allowed Joyce to avoid answering questions – ditto Brownlee.
Not only points of order, the question time today was turned into a parody of the absurd by the Speaker allowing question number one to Slippery the Prime Minister to be transferred to State owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall,
The question??? what warnings had Slippery the Prime Minister been given by Bill the Member for Dipton about the sale of Mighty River Power in discussions between the 2 on the sale process,
In allowing Ryall to answer the question the Speaker simply allowed the Prime Minister to make a mockery of the Parliament as Ryall ducked any answer by simply saying He did not know,
We can expect ‘the Speaker’ of the house to show slight bias toward the Party of Government, but we should neither expect nor condone ‘the Speaker’ making a mockery of the whole Parliamentary question time by allowing a Slippery little Shyster like the current New Zealand Prime Minister to ‘game’ the place when it is more than obvious that if the SOE Minister Tony Ryall was not at such a meeting between the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance He could not answer the question diverted to Him by the Prime Minister…
karol: The Speaker is an utter embarrassment for any democratic system, and it does not make NZ’s Parliament look like a sound House, rather one not much in order. The concerns about his appointment have proved to have been justified.
It seems a pity the Governor General doesn’t have a power of veto similar to that enjoyed by President Obama.T he GG can withhold his consent, but by convention always accepts the advice of the prime minister. However, this convention would seem to be based on the assumption that the prime minister’s advice encapsulates the “will of the people”, since the PM and cabinet are selected from amongst MPs elected by the people. It seems to me though that the convention ought to be considered inoperative where the PMs advice is clearly at odds with the wishes of the people, as might be demonstrated in a referendum.
In the case of asset sales, for example, if the forthcoming referendum goes against the government, and flogging off assets in seen not to be in the public interest, the GG it seems to me should prepared to intervene.
RE: Gov-gen veto.
Be careful what you wish for.Imagine if Sir John Kerr had the power of veto back between 72 and 75? (Oz example I know)
Out of interest, does anyone know why we don’t have cheaper dentist care in NZ? I know if you are under a certain age it’s free or discounted.
Most people have such bad teeth, and it’s so expensive to fix.
Really hoping someone like spec savers of the dentist industry come and and nail them. It’s the last untouched profession that seems to rape people. Optometrists got away with it for so long.
The first Labour Govt didn’t have enough political support against the dentistry lobby to take dental care fully public. So dental care remained largely private sector private provider driven from that time on, whereas care from a medical doctor became largely public sector and socially provided, from that time on.
No Government since then has tackled the hard political issue of providing full dental care to adults, mainly because it would cost Treasury an arm and a leg.
Yeah I know it would be expensive. It’s probably one thing I’d support though. Growing up in Taihape, we had to take fluoride tablets. Partner was from down south with the same issue. She has a few teeth problems, and now has to have one pulled.
I had an accident where I lost a tooth, had to have an implant. 3 months and $2k later it was in. Subsidised by ACC ($5k originally).
Shit be expensive….
I blame the student loan scheme for the high cost of dental care. By the time someone has qualified through Dental School, they owe the price of a small house. They understandably want to get this paid off. A government that was serious about providing affordable dental care would only need to subsidise the training, perhaps even with new practitioners bonded to community clinics for a few years after graduation. I’m sure it could be done, and wouldn’t be horrendously expensive.
Dentists over 45 didn’t go through with student loans.
Do they charge less than younger dentists.
Well no, of course they don’t – what with being fair minded types who couldn’t bring themselves to undercut the young ‘uns out of the market. See, they had to charge like wounded bulls, though it hurt them so!
Thailand.
It’s where every one goes, have a holiday and get all your dental work done at a 1/3rd of the price it costs in NZ.
In the reputable clinics, the Thai dentists are US trained with the latest gear, makes our dentist clinics look stone age.
Not a bad idea. But you’d need a lot of work to make it worthwhile.
Here’s some prices
http://www.bangkokdentalcenter.com/thailand_dentist/fees.htm
By the time you pay for plane tickets, the all important travel insurance, etc, you might as well stay home and get the dental work done.
http://www.naturalnews.com/029112_teeth_regeneration.html
http://thesilveredge.com/colloidal-silver-and-healthy-teeth-and-gums.shtml
Do you have a link to the amazing benefits of Oil d’Ophidia too?
I am not a dentist but one reason it is expensive is that the training takes a long time and even then it is a high stress job (the people you deal with seriously don’t want to be there) and because it is a physical job they can’t work on into their dotage like lawyers and doctors
You used to be able to get work done at the Dentist schools for cost and if you wait some at hospitals
Yes Kenepuru Hospital in Porirua does ‘pain relief’ work which in the main is taking out any painfull teeth,(only one at a time tho),
To access this you need at least a Community Service card and 30 dollars for the part charge, also you have to have the Hospitals dental clinic phone number and ring to see if there is a time for the day to fit you in,
They only make appointments for ‘on that day’ and you have to ring right on 8 in the morning otherwise you wont get an appointment,
If they cannot see you that day you have to ring dead on 8 the next morning to try and get an appointment,
their number= 04 978 2871…
Cheers
Yes Raymond that’s the market analysis of why dentists charge a lot.
But I think the real question is why do govts continue to allow the market to dictate the price of such a basic health requirement.
True. The last time I went to the dentist, about a quarter of an hour of sanding down and bogging up cost me about $300. Assuming about half an hour’s time (including preparation) each of the dentist, of the dentist’s hander-over-of-tools, and the dentist’s answerer-of-phones-and-writer-of-bills; depreciation on capital of all the dentist’s medical equipment (that stuff is likely to be as expensive as hell), the rent of the offices, that all adds up, even before paying off the student loans; so that was a reasonably fair price, I thought.
A public dental service would be a good thing, but it would either have to be set up from scratch (at monumental expense) or contracted out to existing dentists who’d have to charge back (and considering how the current incompetent bunch can’t even pay schoolteachers, I wouldn’t blame any dentist for not believing a word from Wellington).
Might be an idea to enable people to use their KiwiSaver accounts to pay for dental care, would be a good start without too much effort, and be an incentive for more people to sign up.
So I dare do ask, where is “the left” in NZ when it comes to showing solidarity with the beneficiaries facing the most mean spirited, draconian, in part illegal law and system changes in at least a generation?
I watched Question Time in Parliament and hear endless questions asked about Novopay, affecting a small number of otherwise comparatively well paid teachers, where questions are raised about car parking and mobile phone use taxes affecting employed, mostly well earning middle-class workers, where questions are asked about charter schools, same sex marriage and a range of other issues, housing affordability for those who can afford to pay a nice deposit, but NONE about the unjust welfare reforms to be introduced this year.
I read and listen to the bulk of the media reporting on same and similar topics and news endlessly, also about crime, traffic accidents and how some celebrities “suffer” and face personal issues, where a rugby player gets caught and arrested with a (rather large) knife in Japan, where another young rugby player gets out of hand at times due to alcoholism and alcohol abuse, where some journalists out themselves by making submissions for the same sex marriage amendment to existing law and endless other stuff, like the drought affecting farmers.
But NADA about welfare issues and reforms, except where the odd beneficiary, or seemingly more often WINZ staff, abuse the system.
There is little if none coming from the so-called “opposition”, there is zilch in the press, there is a lack of interest by the middle class of professionals, wanting support for their causes (teachers, doctors, nurses, childcare providers, professional workers), but offering NO support for the poorest and least powerful in NZ society.
National is still supported by most of them, and there is a UNITE Union, that proclaims to also be there for those without jobs (i.e. beneficiaries), but I hear damned little from Matt McCarten on welfare reform and the likes. So that is the left in NZ, is it? The only consolation I get is some commenting here showing understanding and support, but society has written beneficiaries off as bludgers, dodgers, free-loaders, bene cheats and malingerers bullying doctors to give the medical certs to go on benefits.
NO solidarity from me to all those middle class do well people, coming with their petty stuff, Thanks for nothing!
Xtasy
+1 🙂
It is my ANGRY voice, trying to represent the growing UNDERCLASS and DISENTITLED in NZ! That in includes the working poor, although many of them sadly jump on the envy train, raising anger against beneficiaries (see also Shearer’s sickness bene roofpainter comments, trying to appeal to those).
“…… although many of them sadly jump on the envy train…..”
Indeed they do – right up until the time they’re made redundant and have to suffer WINZ for a wee while. Sometimes they even regret all that ‘nothing to pay for 12 months’ or ‘first 12 months interest free’ shit they signed up for.
Yeah Xtasy you are not alone. UNITE Waitemata Branch has a useful fb page fighting for unemployed and beneficiaries which draws comments and contributions from across the country.
The NACTs policy is to stigmatise beneficiaries as an underclass to shift the blame for their rip, shit, bust policies onto their ‘dependency’ on working class taxpayers, and shame them into workfare.
The solution is to organise unemployed as self-help collectives to take direct action against their victimisation, punishment and deprivation. They must not be forced to compete for the few jobs there are driving down wages for all workers.
Individuals cannot fight alone without exhausting themselves, we need a UNION of unemployed and beneficiaries urgently.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/105132832866402/?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/unite.waitemata?fref=ts
On the main news on TVNZ and TV3 tonight:
The “Hobbit” has led to more US visitors, and Marmite is back on our supermarket shelves.
Yeah, wonderful, NZ is doing well.
Re beneficiaries: NO MENTION, NO WELFARE REFORM COVERAGE, so the message is: “Stop moaning, shut up, get a job and a f***ing life. Otherwise we will dig a big hole, shoot you and dig you under”. Not worth mentioning in the news, that is for sure.
Love Bennett, love Aotearoa NatACT style, yeah right.
red rattler:
You have a valid message, but who hears it, who listens to it, who takes action?
Sad truth is, most unemployed and other beneficiaries do not even know what these new reforms are all about. They have no information, as the media treats these developments as a “non event”, as most NZers battling every day have a totally dim view of beneficiaries. It is a bit like the plague, keep it well away from me, so I and my family or close ones are kept from infection of this negative shit.
Many are also ostriches, digging deep, to bury their heads under the sand. I do not want to hear, know or learn more about what may be in store if I cannot keep up battling to keep the ship afloat, that is the thinking. It is everyone against each other, me first, stuff the rest and do not think of tomorrow, as it may bring bad news.
It is time for a social and economic breakdown, so ALL get a taste of when the shit hits the fan, that is my only conclusion about what is going on. Sorry, I am sick to death of what goes on.
+1 Yeah!
No use looking to Labour. Their welfare policy consists of raising the super age.
John Key enjoying the benefits of sponsorship:
http://t.co/cur6A1DN7x
More like Mad Butcher trying to get some free face time.
John Key’s office tweeted it infused. The funny part is, well, all of it ackshully.
What next? Sponsored speeches in the House?
Yeah, old mad butcher has a lot of friends though.
I hear it about that he’s lost alot of friends, and respect too, in the league world that is.
Since he started his assiduous burrowing up Key’s nether. Having spent years doing the same in relation to HC’s nether.
Still, thanks be for his philanthropy and thanks be to whomsoever gave him his honorific. I guess there’s a sort of ongoing balance to it all.
Seems like Karol’s THE BLUE ROSE cotribution (below) might rhyme with “THE BROWN NOSE”, written, produced and directed by whoever was in flavour at the time, and critiqued positively by Jum Mora and a ‘panel’.
(Oz parliament has become more interesting when it comes to background noise)
Looks photoshopped to me. The ‘John Key’ on the shirt, in particular.
Key a “beneficiary”? Huuuh, aghast, get him a damned job then, a real job, like digging dung on a pig farm then!
I have been watching the TV3 NZ drama The Blue Rose. Last night one of the main villains (Petersen) was shown to be the head of a company doing frakking and paying off, behind closed doors, a worker who got severely injured in the destructive enterprise. The heroine, the show’s “moral compass” was opposed and shown to be a Greenpeace supporter, Jane March (Antoonia Prebble)..
6 Big Takeaways From The RNC’s Incredible 2012 Autopsy
It’s rather interesting but the one that caught my eye was number 4. Epistemic Closure Is Real:
Which explains why the right sound so disconnected from reality – because they are. They seem to, quite literally, live in an echo chamber.
yep!
“They seem to, quite literally, live in an echo chamber.”
Not unlike the National Party and what was once a 4th Estate you mean?
yep.
Jude 10
Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals-these are the very things that destroy them.
Trading without money? Why a new system can address the economic spiral
Our monetary system, which is based upon debt, needs growth so that it can be maintained. Without that growth the whole system collapses. The problem is that we cannot grow infinitely on a finite world. Monetary reform is something that needs to happen if we want a sustainable economy.
Our financial system is, slowly but surely, killing us.
u r a trooper D. (Cyprus et al; not sailing very well)
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1303/S00329/400000-new-zealanders-pre-register-for-mighty-river-power.htm
Not a bad effort, wonder how many it’ll be by Friday…
Not a bad effort??? what a load of s**t, by Friday with luck Slippery’s National Government will be able to gloat that 10% of New Zealander’s (mum and dads snigger), will have preregistered in an effort to steal half of Mighty River Power off of the other 90% of New Zealander’s who haven’t registered an interest in such legislated thievery,
So 10% of the New Zealand public are going to purchase 49% of Mighty River Power are they, hah watch Slippery and Co flog it off to overseas interests and call that a success…
I’ve pre-registered
I wonder how many of them are multiple registrations from Tories who have fradulently signed up everyone they know to the scheme…
My belief is that if you have a KiwiSaver account with a private provider you should read the fine print,
You will find among the blah blah blah that you have signed an agreement which says that from time to time your provider will buy and sell shares in any company on your behalf without specifically notifying you of the actions taken,
i am of the opinion that a large number of KiwiSaver providers have signed up a large number of their customers using such a provision..
Overseas v local ownership is a red herring.
Power company ownership should belong in the public sector. Plenty of other companies in the stock market for investors to put their cash in without eyeing up the public and co-op sector.
Fletcher Building sounds good.
Depends on how many traitors there are
Never a truer word spoken by the finance industry
“The partial-listing of the state owned energy generator and retailer again has made headlines after it was revealed institutional investors had been privy to a number of research reports from brokerages involved in the deal.
Meanwhile retail investors, who stand first in line to buy the shares, are still waiting for the official prospectus and investment statement to be released about the middle of next month.
A source in the investment community, who asked not to be named, said the reports appeared to be based on information that was mostly available in the public arena and were a typical part of pre-IPO marketing activities. The reports put the price range at between $2.36 and $3.06 though this is not indicative of final pricing, such is subject to the Government’s final sign off.
The only non-public information appeared to be MRP’s financial estimates for 2013 and 2014, but these would come out when the investment statement and prospectus were released.
“There’s three months of heavy petting that goes on before anything happens (on these deals) and we are well in the heavy petting phase,” the source said.”
Apart from the sexualisation of the selling of shares which seems bizarre at best, the natural conversational tone shows what they in the industry really think about mum and dad investors and the general public.
Touch em up and then screw them over can be the only conclusion you can draw from such a statement.
You can just see the smarmy bastards laughing.
FFS
“Touch em up and then screw them over can be the only conclusion you can draw from such a statement.”
Your are so right, and since even the huge share crash in 1987, many NZers still have not learned how to invest carefully and smartly.
What may happen is a sudden awareness of home energy savings, alternative, home based energy generation, solar and wind generation on site taking off, and the power companies can say good night, and the investors flush their shares down the toilet, like it happened with certain other “investments” in shares years ago.
just in case we are not disgusted enough…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10872348
“Health Time-Bomb Beneath ChCh Homes”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8446726/Health-timebomb-lurks-under-Chch-homes
ghost Scary stuff in Chch. I wonder what Gerry Brownlee has up his sleeve (apart from his arm) to cope with these sort of problems that could be expected for months after the earthquake but have turned into years and getting worse.
very sad and worrying indeed prism; have a great day yourself though.
Peace Be With You All 🙂
Quoting first link:
And that is pretty much why charity doesn’t actually work. It has to actually pay for the administration that it needs but it’s also open to abuse by that administration.
I referred to rural attitudes of young men to the law and continuing bad behaviour in Amnesty 17/13 at 5:42 pm.
Rural Women are running a study getting opinions on the ground. I think they are wise to take an interest in this. Especially since they are under-policed and vulnerable and unprotected from any criminal element in their area that will utilise violence. It is thought that much crime is not reported.
http://www.ruralwomen.org/_blog/News_and_Inspiration/post/Rural_Crime_and_Safety_Survey/
Now a road worker has been shot. Whatever the reason it adds a dark stain on the mindset of rural people in general, though probably a man (and not necessarily young as I notice a surprising number of 40 and 50 year olds are behaving criminally).
What’s wrong in farming country – why too many parents’ inability to teach their boys self-control, moral values, and respect for others. The Macdonald man didn’t seem to have learned good behaviour while a boy. Are the fathers bad role models, or don’t they have a relationship with their children so they can provide good guidance on handling life’s difficulties without meanness, law breaking and/or violence? An example of mean and aggressive attitudes was a blogger in Amnesty who was banned for his foul language. Their animals behave better.
speaking of Sharia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/islamic-law-comes-to-rebel-held-syria/2013/03/19/b310532e-90af-11e2-bdea-e32ad90da239_story.html
(query answered in Rape Culture thread TRP)
Opinion: Eurozone likely to deteriorate further.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/europes-work-is-far-from-over/2013/03/17/d2e85d8a-8da4-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_story.html
On the facebook there is a growing number of people pre registering for shares with no of attempt to follow through & buy….
I have considered doing the same………
10 examples of why you really don’t need to pay for digital tv below – legal. Why is it that the music industry can’t just follow their example and adapt to the changing environment? Why is their business model OUR responsibility?
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/yes-you-can-watch-tv-online-legally-and-for-free/
You’re really only paying for convenience…
Exactery….. which is why I’ve suggested elsewhere, a regime whereby anything TRANSMITTED as unencrypted, should not be re-broadcast in an ENCRYPTED format.
(Ooops, there goes a shitlaod of SKY’s convenience …. and I’m sure they’ll be moaning like squealing pigs in heat when there’s a gubbamint change.
Actually, were this so, welcome back Freeview, saving the encrypted for ummm ‘diversity’.
Ben.geek explains the Novapay report:
http://www.ben.geek.nz/2013/03/novopay-technical-review-for-dummies/
The worst public service appointment since Christine (Spankin’) Rankin
This one is really going to raise a racket.
More on this tomorrow. (Have to run right now.)
I’m sure y’all know who I’m talking about.
Patrick Gower’s (Freudian) blooper on 3 News tonight. I had set myfreeview onto “pause live TV” then played it, so I could wind back to check what I heard (twice):. On the GCSB issue, Gower definitely said:
“Labour said it’s a stuff up, Key says it’s a cover up”.
But the print version has it the other way around.
i heard that! was brilliant, i hope someone puts it up at youtube.
GOWER is a “cowering” idiot, overpaid and overrated. He would not have such a job outside of “underskilled”, “under alert” NZ (audience).
overheard on the Q.T today;
Joyce : on the Open Bank Resolution; evades amount; however, concedes “exports growth has come off.”
Q.2-just dynamite.
Smith : wants new land development in AK on :” a non-notifiable basis”
Bennett : “get (a graduate) “work ready”
(quotes NZ Herald editorial from last year to justify policy) ??? (great Minister Nat; keep it up)
MOH-” we expect negative impacts on children from financial sanctions” (thanks Jac.)
Speaker is “bringing the house into disorder.”
Key : “GCSB got it wrong.”
Brownlee ” “allegations of fraud and corruption have been forwarded to his office” (for consumption, no doubt) (est. 130-240M-Winston.)
sadly, Maori Party Leadership = farce; ego ego ego (mofo bulls*it as Hone would exclaim).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x19fW4yC324
on the run
Yes, I was pretty disgusted at Bennett, with a straight face, using a Herald editorial to justify her policy while ignoring expert advice.
And on the disorder caused by the Speaker:
More Nat spin – it’s not a different style, it’s incompetence.
ghostrider888:
Yeah, QT reveals some interesting bits, every time! Sadly so few bother watching and dissecting it. It would assist “informed voting” if the wider public would watch it.
Main server is getting a bit of a hammering at present (pretty freakingly high bearing in mind that most of the load gets handled at cloudflare). Looks like a rather large overseas audience.
Probably will be a bit slow for a while particularly posting comments.
Facebook on Helen Kelly’s post. 10 minutes for the last 500 referrals.
She did say she was going to do something special with it…
Looks like Cloudflare is doing its job and has largely loaded its servers whereever it is getting picked up from. Back above 50% idle.
well, our oeuvre is writ here for all to see.
Night Guys and Gals
Hi 1prent.
Don’t know how it happened but I was surfing through today’s comments on Open Mike when I inadvertently found myself reading stuff from a Standard post on the15th July last year (2012). What astonished me were two comments that were supposedly submitted by me that most definitely didn’t come from me. They were totally outside my sphere of thinking yet the gravator was mine. Is that possible? Could someone steal my identity and post in my name? Truly weird.
So weird in fact I’m wondering if I imagined it, but I didn’t.
I have seen it before when the server flat lines. Ummm I may need to get more grunt for the database.
getting warmer
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/03/20/world/asia/ap-as-skorea-computer-crash.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0
and just a little bit of self-promotion
http://books.scoop.co.nz/2012/07/17/poem-learning-revolution-by-john-elijah/
In Parliament’s question time today, Russel Norman, and supported by Peters and that Christchurch member from Labour, asked some tricky questions to the Finance Minister, represented by Steven Joyless of course. It was about open banking policies, and some new agenda for NZ banks, or those operating here.
So Joyce was diverting, dodging questions and did the big bow of answering, and the useless Speaker let him get away with it. Like with other questions before, the Nat benches clearly enjoyed the session, as “their” Speaker was letting their ministers off the hook all the time.
But nevertheless, while there is this discussion about bank depositors in Cyprus facing losing up to 10 per cent of deposits, to “bail out” their banks, indeed Joyce at least indirectly admitted the same could happen here.
Not being able to draw on the full amounts of money deposited is exactly that, but Joyce did not want to give a straight answer, he implied it, yet explained, this would not happen to all those good banks here in NZ. Winston challenged him on another proposal he made 2008, to ensure up to 100 k in NZ owned banks, but Joyce said that other banks would be robbed if that was the plan. So he justified the foreign owned, robbery like banking system that controls the bulk of lending in NZ.
I propose now that NZ Parliament will be renamed the “National Parliament”, to bring it into line with the true spirit of the new Speaker and his regime. He did today, that is Wednesday, just now, let off so many ministers from the government’s benches, with giving crap answers, that in many cases were not real answers at all, but he hit out at any opposition questioner who asked and objected to not being answered. If anybody is bringing NZ Parliament into disrepute, I think that Mr Carter needs to stand in front of a mirror and ask himself some bloody serious questions.
“This is not a good look”, Bill English once admitted, re another matter. But the same comment is justified in this matter, for sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xRJ6jbCv1o
Victor Jara, cantador de la revolution the Chile, viva!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxCjNiaYCnI
VIVA el Che!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31WiHrOmiCU
Cabral – bueno and “interesting”.