Those who complain that Labours industrial relations policy is a throwback to the 1970s forget that living standards and security were way higher then than they are now.
It seems that there is a general consensus that wages and conditions should be held down, and people should be forever in financial misery.
Fuck, I am just so over this country.
Bring on National awards I say. The only people who think they are bad is those who want to pay only $2 an hour.
Because unlike most of the posters on here, I dont have a deluded fantasy that Labour is going to some how rocket back to Clark-era levels of support in the next 6 weeks and Labour will pull off an upset victory.
Labour are going to lose this November, and lose heavily. That is a FACT. Key needs someone who will give him a heck of the hard time from the opposition benches, and Winston is the man to do it. He actually puts some back bone into oppositon (though I wouldnt have him in government. He has a habit of selling out).
I have been accused of being a NACT supporter of actually daring to suggest this on here, so sometime I know where the rednecks and the latte drinkers at Public Address are coming from.
Finally went down to check out a temporary constructed party central and the waka on a windy rainy akl evening…..rugby ball shut, waka closed at 6, dodgy wet walkways on uneven wharf surfaces both in and outside and a very small area all up.
3 years in office and that’s the best muzza and sideshow can do….its no wonder our economy is where it is. At least Americas cup gave akl a viaduct region, this one will just leave a large bill.
Nope more interested in what my ratepayer/taxpayer money leaves for me to get value from once the RWC is over given you’re actualy constructing stuff…..looks like absolutely nothing.
Atmosphere comes with people and I’m not into Rugby, never have been, nothing polutical about that QstF…look beyond your own skewered views.
The bludgers are all at the top of the capitalist pyramid scheme. They’re probably more drug addled to.
There’s very very few people in the world who don’t want to work. The only reason why we have “unemployment” is because of a failure of society mostly because of the bludgers trying to keep as much of societies wealth to themselves rather than allowing it to be used.
If ever there were random drug (inc alcohol) of doctors, lawyers, politicians, bankers, etc. etc., they’d leave bennies for dead in proportion involved, and volume of consumption.
But that’s never going to happen because the whole motivation for calls to drug test benes is about humiliation and bullying those who can’t fight back, not any practical purpose.
KK So your against borrowing mountains of debt[$6billion in interest per year] bailing out private finance companies subsidizing multi billion dollars film firms.Subsidizing alcohol $ $5to$6billion a year it costs our country
But KKK your quite happy to fund foreign lenders that won’t spend any money in this country to the tune of $77 billion and rising interest rates on that $6billion per year plus which we will never see again . At least the bene’s you are bashing will be spending that money in NZ keeping wealthy landlords in tax free money as well as other services and retailers going in this recession . The last country to ditch benefits ended in misery Argentina cut all welfare and unemployment went from 6% to 38% redneck ape do some economics research before you start foaming at the mouth.
There’s actually very little “capitalism” or “free markets” left in the financial system of the world.
It’s now all highly centrally planned and controlled financial markets (where prices are computer manipulated and predetermined), as well as billionaire banksters who benefit risk-free from socialising their deriavatives casino losses on to the rest of society.
It’s not been real capitalism for roughly 30 years.
Today its the final evolutions of crony cartel capitalism, which players like Pete George don’t get in the slightest.
Meh. I think that it’s a reasonable opinion to hold, but unachievable without major technology advances, particularly in energy generation.
It shows that someone is intelligent enough to realise they’re being conned in a complex world, unlike someone who refuses to commit to any particular policy action.
And imagining a society without central government is again a reasonable “outside the box” thought – and shows someone is smart enough to know that a banal weathervane with a nice hairdo being in government is more damaging to society than no government at all.
is “SMASH CAPITALISM” a sign of their intelligence and competence?
Yes. Getting rid of capitalism may let us prevent an anthropogenic ELE. If we don’t then we will be forced to continue to ravage the planet eventually destroying the environment wiping out most life on Earth.
What is doing without any central government a sign of?
Anarchism of course, one of the older political philosophies.
Your blogpost seems to imply you’re startled (though somewhat ingenuinely I imagine) that political opposition to your ideas and methods exists and that since Occupy associate with those who are just like you (as far as supporting a hierarchical/class structure) anything they have to say is void owing to the inherent contradiction of stated ideal of Occupy. You want a ruling class, with you presumably near the top somewhere deciding what is good and bad. The socialists want to do the same, though with different “enemies”. Occupy say they aren’t political, but they have political friends. It’s all divisive politics, man.
“Is it collusion or coincidence that both Green and Mana party activists are fronting Occupy Dunedin?”
coincidence but i would be most happy with collusion because that is the future of the parliment with a strong Mana and Greens presence, working together to create a better nation for everyone – that doesn’t compute for a self serving political aspirant willing to use anything and everything to further their own agenda like pete and that is why, struggling for relevance, his ilk are doomed to oblivion.
The 99.9% of Dunedin people deserve to know who has really taken over their Octagon. The 0.1% who are occupying should be honest amongst themselves what their real aims are, and then be honest with Dunedin.
Replace “Octagon” with “Country” and you’re getting closer to it…
PG -People who think hierarchically and in terms of leaders and followers are having a hard time getting their head around Occupy. My understanding is that they are inclusive political protests but not party political. People can bring along whatever banners/placards they feel expresses their concerns, if the Occupy group has collectively decided that. So of course some will bring along party or union banners. You could even bring your UF placard if you were prepared to join them and justify that. That’s called inclusion.
exactly CV anything and anyone is useful for pete to get his simpleton message out there. Like the rena his heavy oil pollutes leaving toxic material splattered around the varoius threads – all so that pete can further his pathetic personal political ambitions.
Pete if you bothered to bone up on what the movement was before you strode in with puffed chest and feigned interest you might have realised that all your concerns are fully accounted for in the Occupy ideas. The movement is INCLUSIVE. i will gve you a minute to get a dictionary.
got it? good, here are some other words for you to investigate
humanity
humility
hubris
One of them describe who we are working for
one describes what it is all about
one describes the content of your comments
i will check back tonight to see if you managed to figure which was which. I am off to barter a day’s labour for some healthy food before your mates make it illegal to do so.
Pete,
Judging by the comments & articles in the ODT it is fairly relaxed about Occupy. The mayor & council seem prepared to let things play out for a while and not force confrontation with the occupiers at this stage.
The fact that the occupation stayed put during the heavy rain we had this week has shown Dunedin people that those involved are not ‘rent-a-mob’, they are determined motivated people with genuine concerns about the many things that are wrong with the current corporate controlled system.
The occupy movement is about many issues, social justice, inequality, environmental , how could it not be political? The idea is that if you want to be involved you participate, get involved in discussion, spend time there & listen to other people.
“The people of Dunedin have a right to know the motives behind those leading the occupation”
It’s a bit like the Dylan song ” there’s something going on here, but you don’t know what it is…….”
On Monday, representatives from Occupy Dunedin were invited by the Mayor and Chief Executive of the DCC to speak at today’s Public Forum. Representatives took their turn to speak at the meeting – but then they all walked out without giving the Council any opportunity to address their concerns.
The council have been co-operative and accommodating with the occupiers but if they keep getting fobbed off patience will wear even thinner.
The public have mostly remained muted but don’t expect that to last long if they think their city is just being used.
Occupy could do great things in New Zealand, or they could really stuff up their opportunity.
“I think a few people involved in Occupy might be having a hard time getting their heads around the fact that they are being used.”
Everyone is being used. Ever heard of taxes? But what will really piss them off, is some guy coming from a white middle class perspective, treating them like they’re children. Pick your battles, aspiring MP man. You want votes, right?
So basically, you can break the law as much as you like and as long as you can write a big enough cheque the problem will go away.
They should not be settling these cases, no matter how much money the financial institutions offer them to make the case go away. How can they rebuild confidence in the system when they effectively let people get away with this sort of thing? $285 million is nothing to these guys.
It’s no different to a drug dealer paying off the cops to turn a blind eye. It’s corruption, pure and simple.
It is the criminals paying the police to turn a blind eye. Every single person who works there should be under investigation and the organisation itself closed down. You don’t get honest business by letting dishonest businesses continue.
In June the NBR reported: Treasury figures show the government’s borrowing of $380 million a week is about $80 million to $100 million a week more than it has to…
Jackal you figures are out of date the Govt debt is going to peak now at more than $77billion 2013 with no unexpected surprises , Debt is increasing by $1.5 billion a month now
The post states the borrowing figures are quoted from June. The $38 billion is the current net government debt.
Strange that National claim New Zealand will be back in black at about the same time your figures show we’ll be in debt by $77 billion. I wonder how much of the current $375 million per week National doesn’t need to be borrow?
Blinglish has done pretty well at getting the country in hock as an excuse to privatize. He’s still saying that the Christchurch Earthquakes, the Rena disaster and now the Maui gas disaster aren’t going to effect their projections… talk about delusional.
When any NZ business person is interviewed and asked what they would do to get the economy growing inevitably say they would remove “red tape” to make it easier to do business.
And yet, and not for the first time either, NZ has been rated as the 3rd easiest country in the world in which to do business….
New Zealand has ranked first as the world’s easiest place to start a business and third out of 183 countries for ease of doing business in a report from the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank.- Source
So what’s going on?
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows they have no idea what the reality is – they should no longer be interviewed because they don’t have a clue.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows that they have no solutions to NZ’s growth woes.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows they are not engaging in original thought but are captured by the prevailing ideology of their group.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows how easy it is to get them to parrot whatever the speaker at the last business conference said.
It’s time we stopped, as the news announcers often say, “look at the markets [and the exchange rates] to see how well they reacted to the news of…….”
It’s time we stopped asking business people what’s good for NZ – they are just not qualified!
The research is fairly conclusive – NZ managers are the worst in the world and yet the prevailing paradigm insists that we need them to make NZ better.
It seems that migrants have no trouble in coming over and starting a business here – I dont hear them go on about red tape, but I suppose they are glad they dont have to bribe all and sundry to get started (nor do they have to pay protection money to the local crime overlord)
Eleven percent of people who voted for National in the 2008 general election say they will not do so when they head to the polls on November 26, because of the way the Government has handled the Rena disaster.
That’s gotta hurt although this is the interesting line:
The survey also found 46.8 percent of the 1,961 respondents rated Prime Minister John Key’s response to the crisis as ‘poor to very poor’.
The question had 5 options:
V. good
good
neutral
poor
V. poor
They don’t tell us how many were neutral giving the impression that a majority found Key’s response to be “good”. Of course, if they were doing proper reporting they would have given the figures for all 5 possible responses. More underhanded support from the MSM for this government.
From the article:“The RadioLive-HorizonPoll shows 11% of people who voted National in 2008 now won’t do so because of the disaster, which effectively drops National’s current support nationwide by 3%.”
Well, no, actually. The Nats got 44.9% at the 2008 General Election. Which surely means a fall of pretty damn close to 5 percentage points.
That 11% of 2008 National voters won’t vote National this time because of Rena, raises more questions than it answers.
1. How does that ‘integrate’ with people who voted for other parties in 2008 but now will vote National? That is, will such people off-set the ones who, apparently, are prepared to desert National over the Rena?
2. Is that 11% partly made up of people who voted National in 2008 but, actually, have been saying in other Horizon polls that they were going to vote for some other party this time anyway, and now are mentioning the Rena as a reason for their changed vote – or, is it an additional 11% of 2008 National voters (on top of those who had already got to the point of switching) who now have decided, solely on the basis of the Rena, to vote for someone else?
It’s hard to tell from the press releases quite what is meant.
“United Future Wigram candidate Ian Gaskin said he’d been given a clean slate by leader Peter Dunne to speak. He then variously stated that: We could solve our fuel needs by growing seaweed and turning it into oil, that DOC was not needed and should be folded into the Ministry of Agriculture or perhaps Tourism NZ
and that fracking Canterbury’s landscape with pressurised water and chemicals may not extract enough gas or oil so perhaps a nuclear device might assist. I wonder if these are official United Future policies?”
Maybe the headline, “Untied Future threatens to nuke Canterbury”
One thing’s for sure pete won’t be jumping up and down like he did against Hone yesterday.
UF candidates have been told they are free to express their own opinions and talk on local issues as they see fit, however you hope that clean slates don’t come with wet chalk.
No, I’m not a fracking fan, too much doubt at this stage.
UF don’t have a policy on it but my guess would be the party would be concerned about any possibility of water contamination as clean water (and retention of ownership of water) are strong party policy positions.
Too be honest, I cannot see UF getting any more seats than the one held by Mr Dunne. In any case, UF only got those seats in ’02 because thier leader performed so good with ‘the worm’, and got influence because the Greens threw their toys out of the cot over GE, driving Labour into the arms of United Future, and sending this country on a slow rightward drift. Thanks Greenies. Way to go guys.
“Too be honest, I cannot see UF getting any more seats than the one held by Mr Dunne.”
Yep, that would be my pick for an election result.
But I just thought that Pete George needed acknowledging for actually getting involved in the political process – such as it is.
I don’t expect that people’s efforts will (or should) necessarily be rewarded. But Pete has put effort where his ‘mouth’ is (whatever location that happens to be – I honestly can’t work out where that is, but that’s not my point).
I just think that effort should be acknowledged – purely at a human level.
“In any case, UF only got those seats in 02 because their leader performed so good with ‘the worm’.”
I tend to agree with former Alliance deputy leader, Sandra Lee, on this. It wasn’t so much the worm as the post-debate comments by TVNZ’s so-called panel of ‘experts’.
I taped that leaders’ debate and I can tell you that the worm was often as low as it was high while Dunne was speaking.
The ‘experts’ – clearly looking for some sort of interesting angle – decided to place total emphasis on those particular moments when Dunne charmed the worm and to hence declare him ‘the winner’. All very contrived. The print media, the next day, simply took their cue from the ‘experts’.
No, but I’d be happy if Doc found a way to chop their 1080 use.
I was talking to someone from Forest and Bird last week who admitted that 1080 killed a lot of birds (including protected natives) but they claimed the bird numbers recovered faster than predators. Very dubious about that especially with kiwi.
If a private company wanted to use some land and claimed that all the birdlife they killed wouldn’t matter because most species would eventually recover do you think they would get resource consent?
What would you do Peter? Possum trapping, just like in the Barry Crump novels? You just to have to remember that possum trapping, etc is more of a lifestyle than an occupation, so you couldnt hope to make a dent in umemployment with it. And a possum fur industry would never get beyond a niche market.
There’s no way to replace 1080 at the moment without getting an increase in predator numbers. Some methods like trapping and shooting (that’s how I do it) can be increased but nowhere near enough.
1080 is an easy solution for DOC to keep using but it hasn’t solved anything over decades of use.
The main aim apart from trialling existing methods other than 1080 in select areas is to substantially increase research into alternatives.
There are alternatives. The fact of the matter is that 1080 is used because it’s cost effective, but it will not work to achieve eradication of pests or protection of native species. It is simply delaying the inevitable in many cases.
1080 is not the best way to eradicate pests while trying to protect endangered species. The alternatives take lots of man-hours, training and a very large budget. Extensive fencing projects, relocation, trapping and cyanide is the best solution if we want to keep a lot of our endemic endangered species.
I believe there has been some developments to increase hit rates and reduce cyanide shyness from possums that don’t initially receive a fatal dose. The advantage is that cyanide totally breaks down and has a lower secondary poisoning risk if applied correctly.
Unfortunately having a lot of people learning how to hunt and trap animals in the bush doesn’t fit well with the systems ideal of having everybody dependent on the state. That would be one reason why the government is willing to sacrifice many other species, the land and waterways in their failed use of 1080.
Same principle as chemotherapy – poisoning differentially. Works as well as 1080. More people surviving the unsurvivable. More bush and native fauna as well.
One would think that following the Sep 4 earthquake (and suspecting a bigger one was quite possible), you would want to know what was going on under Christchurch.
I don’t know who had the ultimate authority regarding funding (i.e. the commission or cabinet) but it seems to be that someone dropped the ball post-September earthquake.
GNS Science unsuccessfully pushed for more Government funding to investigate faults under Christchurch after the September earthquake last year, a hearing has heard.
GNS Natural Hazards Research manager Dr Kelvin Berryman today told the Canterbury earthquakes royal commission that he asked the now-defunct Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission for money to look at the possibility of a major aftershock near Christchurch.
“One of the proposals was to conduct additional work recognising the area of Christchurch and that some of these aftershocks were relatively close to Christchurch,” he said.
The request was made in December last year but no funds were provided.
Less than three months later, on February 22, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake, centred just 10 kilometres southeast of central Christchurch, struck killing 182 people……..
Elliot’s line of questioning has focused on whether GNS informed the public about the risk of a more devastating quake after September 4.
Under scrutiny yesterday, Berryman admitted GNS Science was aware of the possibility of a more devastating tremor striking near central Christchurch after the magnitude-7.1 shake on September 4, 2010.
However, in the first few weeks after the September quake the possibility of more devastating aftershock was intentionally not discussed. It was considered that it would be unhelpful for a “traumatised” public.
“It’s rather alarmist to say there could have been a bigger event.”
– Source
I don’t know what would have changed if we had known that a bigger quake was likely but it would have been in the interests of the people of Canterbury to be informed so they could make choices.
Like the parents of the toddler who was killed by the falling TV might have secured their furniture if they knew a bigger one was possible.
GNS Science made the decision not to tell the public….but they tell anyone?
Was the commission advised? Did cabinet know?
If then they did then they dropped the ball – I hope the MSM get of their perches and look into who knew what and when.
The commission was made up of:
They are retiring Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry director-general Murray Sherwin, Canterbury regional council commissioner Dame Margaret Bazely, earthquake engineer David Hopkins, social expert Arihia Bennett, Mayor Kelvin Coe, Mayor Bob Parker and [David Ayers] – David Ayer website
Of course we already know who the slack-jawed knuckle draggers that comprise our cabinet are.
What has really irritated me during the last year is the knowledge (yes, knowledge) that our geologists have had their public comments filtered – so as not to cause ‘alarm’.
For goodness’ sake. We are being treated as children by our ‘betters’. We are supposedly susceptible to ‘panic’ and they have decided that it is not in our (read ‘their’) interests for us to ‘panic’ (i.e., decide what we want to do in response to all the available information).
So anti-democratic, yet it comes so naturally to those with ‘positions of responsibility’. People seen as mushrooms.
We had a right to hear it all. Then we could, perhaps, ‘panic’, talk to each other and, who knows, maybe come to some sensible response collectively. That process was never allowed to happen and never trusted.
Why?
Because it would have disrupted ‘business as usual’. And that – more than anything else – is verboten.
I received a very interesting email today. It’s all about the poisonous substance known as Corexit 9500 that’s been used on the Bay of Plenty oil spill by Maritime New Zealand…
Naomi Wolf arrested by NYPD at OWS.
A must read for all those who still think we have the right to protest in a post-9/11, police state, surveillance society.
Apropos of nothing really. I was curious about Key’s middle name so I googled him.
From wiki I found this synopsis interesting
“Before politics
Key’s first job was in 1982, as an auditor at McCulloch Menzies, and he then moved to be a project manager at Christchurch-based clothing manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin for two years.[7] Key began working as a foreign exchange dealer at Elders Finance in Wellington, and rose to the position of head foreign exchange trader two years later, then moved to Auckland-based Bankers Trust in 1988.[3]
In 1995, he joined Merrill Lynch as head of Asian foreign exchange in Singapore. That same year he was promoted to Merrill’s global head of foreign exchange, based in London, where he may have earned around US$2.25 million a year including bonuses, which is about NZ$5 million at 2001 exchange rates.[3][8] Some co-workers called him “the smiling assassin” for maintaining his usual cheerfulness while sacking dozens (some say hundreds) of staff after heavy losses from the 1998 Russian financial crisis.[4][8] He was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the New York Federal Reserve Bank from 1999 to 2001.[9]”
UNDER intense international pressure to lift banking secrecy, the first and biggest of the world’s “tax havens”—places that charge low or no taxes to foreigners—is ceding some ground. In a deal signed on October 6th, Switzerland agreed to tax money held in its banks by British residents (it had already done a similar deal with Germany). These customers face a levy of up to 34% as well as, from 2013, a withholding tax.
One News tonight. 8 minutes in.
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt … our Exchange took a hit – take a look at this …
Last night…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
Earlier this week…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
A couple of weeks ago…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
Oh surprise, surprise. When are they going to give us more than a 30 second soundbite and give us an in-depth report on why? Otherwise only tell us when something new develops.
I can remember a time when the state of exchange rates and shares did not have a special time on television news. Since the Lange government, however, when the novices cashed up their pension funds and dived into stocks and shares, the preoccupation of news and the hooray/gloom moments has become a regular feature in this time-slot.
Easy, lazy journalism, and programming and to make matters worse, the weather has now claimed three slots in this section.
I wonder if, tonight, we will get an item where 2 gunmen held up a corner-shop in some remote African township and 3 guardsmen were seriously wounded in liberating the shop-keeper. (Who validates these reports, or are they fillers created in the back-rooms to make us believe that we have to be ever vigilant in the war on terror(ists)?
Perhaps they will save that story for another night, (when there is one massive high parked over the Tasman and the Pacific and Jimbo has nothing to tell us about the weather except that “It will hot and sunny everywhere (folks!”)).
More on the financial crisis in Greece as an important meeting at the weekend. There was an item on RNZ (think after 7 am) this morning which you probably can download on Greece.
I wonder what the percentage of wealth is which the top 1% earn in Greece?
In USA 1% earn 33% of the wealth.
In NZ 1% earn 16% of the wealth.
This was on TV 6 pm news last weekend, think it was TV 1.
On TV 3 at 6 pm 11 % of National voters said that they would not vote National due to how the Rena spill has been handled. Not sure about number of participants or area in the poll.
Also Banks is second with the polling in Epsom.
Sooner the RWC is over the sooner people can wake up to the shit which is hitting the fan big time concerning NZ politics and how this government ALWAYS talks about a rosy future forgetting about living in the present.
Thanks Treetop.
– may I make one observation regarding your percentages and wealth – for earn change to control. They don’t earn much at all. They accrue most of their wealth on the backs of the earners – usually while they sleep or are swanning off around the world.
Will look up the ReplayRadio item.
Meantime, “What’s a Grecian urn?” “Oh, about 20 drachmas a day.”
Sorry but have been waiting to get that one in …
The basic effect of capitalist free-market is to concentrate wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands. That, quite simply, is what it is designed to do. There’s no way such concentration could come about without the property rules that have grown with capitalism.
You’ll notice that the FTAs that get signed have very little to do with trade but with a hell of a lot to do with free money movement and foreign ownership.
World Debt Guide
Actually, that title that they proudly display is wrong. What it should be is Debt guide to some of the biggest economies.
Anyway, on with the show.
Both Britain and Japan are sitting close to 500% of GDP in debt. The lesson that some people seem to have learned since WWII is that to build an economy requires debt – lots of it. When we consider these debts in line with who probably owns most of them then we should probably be doing a massive investigation into how they came about.
National should, in light of their massive unnecessary borrowing over the last three years, be the first to be investigated.
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Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
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Those who complain that Labours industrial relations policy is a throwback to the 1970s forget that living standards and security were way higher then than they are now.
It seems that there is a general consensus that wages and conditions should be held down, and people should be forever in financial misery.
Fuck, I am just so over this country.
Bring on National awards I say. The only people who think they are bad is those who want to pay only $2 an hour.
So, why are you throwing away your vote on a Party (NZ First) that won’t make it back into Parliament, Millsy ?
Because unlike most of the posters on here, I dont have a deluded fantasy that Labour is going to some how rocket back to Clark-era levels of support in the next 6 weeks and Labour will pull off an upset victory.
Labour are going to lose this November, and lose heavily. That is a FACT. Key needs someone who will give him a heck of the hard time from the opposition benches, and Winston is the man to do it. He actually puts some back bone into oppositon (though I wouldnt have him in government. He has a habit of selling out).
I have been accused of being a NACT supporter of actually daring to suggest this on here, so sometime I know where the rednecks and the latte drinkers at Public Address are coming from.
Finally went down to check out a temporary constructed party central and the waka on a windy rainy akl evening…..rugby ball shut, waka closed at 6, dodgy wet walkways on uneven wharf surfaces both in and outside and a very small area all up.
3 years in office and that’s the best muzza and sideshow can do….its no wonder our economy is where it is. At least Americas cup gave akl a viaduct region, this one will just leave a large bill.
And a tuppa waka!
Should’ve gone down on Saturday or Sunday during the day – was a great day.
Or during a game. Brilliant atmosphere. Everyone I talked to was saying how great it was, as do the media reports
Must be very sad to be so ideological that you can’t even go somewhere like that without letting political views cloud (no pun intended) your vision.
Nope more interested in what my ratepayer/taxpayer money leaves for me to get value from once the RWC is over given you’re actualy constructing stuff…..looks like absolutely nothing.
Atmosphere comes with people and I’m not into Rugby, never have been, nothing polutical about that QstF…look beyond your own skewered views.
The whole RWC is political – WTF am I paying for something I don’t want?
I’m quite happy for my taxes and rates to go to local clubs to support them but I don’t see why I have to pay to subsidise a commercial operation.
And I dont want my taxes going to fund the drug addled lifestyles of dole bludgers.
I’m with you Draco, user pays.
The bludgers are all at the top of the capitalist pyramid scheme. They’re probably more drug addled to.
There’s very very few people in the world who don’t want to work. The only reason why we have “unemployment” is because of a failure of society mostly because of the bludgers trying to keep as much of societies wealth to themselves rather than allowing it to be used.
If ever there were random drug (inc alcohol) of doctors, lawyers, politicians, bankers, etc. etc., they’d leave bennies for dead in proportion involved, and volume of consumption.
But that’s never going to happen because the whole motivation for calls to drug test benes is about humiliation and bullying those who can’t fight back, not any practical purpose.
KK So your against borrowing mountains of debt[$6billion in interest per year] bailing out private finance companies subsidizing multi billion dollars film firms.Subsidizing alcohol $ $5to$6billion a year it costs our country
But KKK your quite happy to fund foreign lenders that won’t spend any money in this country to the tune of $77 billion and rising interest rates on that $6billion per year plus which we will never see again . At least the bene’s you are bashing will be spending that money in NZ keeping wealthy landlords in tax free money as well as other services and retailers going in this recession . The last country to ditch benefits ended in misery Argentina cut all welfare and unemployment went from 6% to 38% redneck ape do some economics research before you start foaming at the mouth.
Occupy Dunedin continues – but what’s really going on?
I’ve visited twice and talked to several protesters – all were happy to chat intelligently about what they were doing and what their ideals were.
But for a supposedly non-political protest there are some very political connections, including union banners.
And more. Who is occupying Dunedin? Mana and Greens?
Hold the front page … the Occupy protest is … gasp … POLITICAL!!!
FFS Pete of course it is political. It is addressing glaring weaknesses in the world’s economy and political system.
THe fact that the group may not have let you spout UF policy is a sign of their intelligence and competence.
MS, is “SMASH CAPITALISM” a sign of their intelligence and competence?
What is doing without any central government a sign of?
MS is “SMASH CAPITALISM” a sign of their intelligence and competence?
It is a point of view and one which some believe strongly.
But Petey do you realise how ridiculous your statement that the occupation is supposedly non-political is?
There’s actually very little “capitalism” or “free markets” left in the financial system of the world.
It’s now all highly centrally planned and controlled financial markets (where prices are computer manipulated and predetermined), as well as billionaire banksters who benefit risk-free from socialising their deriavatives casino losses on to the rest of society.
It’s not been real capitalism for roughly 30 years.
Today its the final evolutions of crony cartel capitalism, which players like Pete George don’t get in the slightest.
You haven’t answerd either question. What do you think?
Meh. I think that it’s a reasonable opinion to hold, but unachievable without major technology advances, particularly in energy generation.
It shows that someone is intelligent enough to realise they’re being conned in a complex world, unlike someone who refuses to commit to any particular policy action.
And imagining a society without central government is again a reasonable “outside the box” thought – and shows someone is smart enough to know that a banal weathervane with a nice hairdo being in government is more damaging to society than no government at all.
Capitalism and Central Government are not the same thing mate. Capitalism is a political philosophy – and you aspire to sit in the Beehive?
Yes. Getting rid of capitalism may let us prevent an anthropogenic ELE. If we don’t then we will be forced to continue to ravage the planet eventually destroying the environment wiping out most life on Earth.
Anarchism of course, one of the older political philosophies.
Your blogpost seems to imply you’re startled (though somewhat ingenuinely I imagine) that political opposition to your ideas and methods exists and that since Occupy associate with those who are just like you (as far as supporting a hierarchical/class structure) anything they have to say is void owing to the inherent contradiction of stated ideal of Occupy. You want a ruling class, with you presumably near the top somewhere deciding what is good and bad. The socialists want to do the same, though with different “enemies”. Occupy say they aren’t political, but they have political friends. It’s all divisive politics, man.
“Is it collusion or coincidence that both Green and Mana party activists are fronting Occupy Dunedin?”
coincidence but i would be most happy with collusion because that is the future of the parliment with a strong Mana and Greens presence, working together to create a better nation for everyone – that doesn’t compute for a self serving political aspirant willing to use anything and everything to further their own agenda like pete and that is why, struggling for relevance, his ilk are doomed to oblivion.
Replace “Octagon” with “Country” and you’re getting closer to it…
PG -People who think hierarchically and in terms of leaders and followers are having a hard time getting their head around Occupy. My understanding is that they are inclusive political protests but not party political. People can bring along whatever banners/placards they feel expresses their concerns, if the Occupy group has collectively decided that. So of course some will bring along party or union banners. You could even bring your UF placard if you were prepared to join them and justify that. That’s called inclusion.
I was told I was welcome to speak for myself but not for a political organisation. A banner is speaking for an organisation.
The people of Dunedin have a right to know the motives behind those leading the occupation.
are having a hard time getting their head around Occupy
I think a few people involved in Occupy might be having a hard time getting their heads around the fact that they are being used.
Yes they are being used: by you. You’re the political user of Occupy Octagon here, you cynical wanna-be politician.
exactly CV anything and anyone is useful for pete to get his simpleton message out there. Like the rena his heavy oil pollutes leaving toxic material splattered around the varoius threads – all so that pete can further his pathetic personal political ambitions.
Pete if you bothered to bone up on what the movement was before you strode in with puffed chest and feigned interest you might have realised that all your concerns are fully accounted for in the Occupy ideas. The movement is INCLUSIVE. i will gve you a minute to get a dictionary.
got it? good, here are some other words for you to investigate
humanity
humility
hubris
One of them describe who we are working for
one describes what it is all about
one describes the content of your comments
i will check back tonight to see if you managed to figure which was which. I am off to barter a day’s labour for some healthy food before your mates make it illegal to do so.
Pete,
Judging by the comments & articles in the ODT it is fairly relaxed about Occupy. The mayor & council seem prepared to let things play out for a while and not force confrontation with the occupiers at this stage.
The fact that the occupation stayed put during the heavy rain we had this week has shown Dunedin people that those involved are not ‘rent-a-mob’, they are determined motivated people with genuine concerns about the many things that are wrong with the current corporate controlled system.
The occupy movement is about many issues, social justice, inequality, environmental , how could it not be political? The idea is that if you want to be involved you participate, get involved in discussion, spend time there & listen to other people.
“The people of Dunedin have a right to know the motives behind those leading the occupation”
It’s a bit like the Dylan song ” there’s something going on here, but you don’t know what it is…….”
Viv, if you say the Channel 9 clip from last night on the DC meeting you would know that there’s growing frustration about what’s going on.
The council have been co-operative and accommodating with the occupiers but if they keep getting fobbed off patience will wear even thinner.
The public have mostly remained muted but don’t expect that to last long if they think their city is just being used.
Occupy could do great things in New Zealand, or they could really stuff up their opportunity.
BY attention seeking follicly challenged airheads like you PG
I passed the local occupy movement tonight and gave them a toot and shouted out that my support.
I would have stopped and talked to them but I couldnt find a parking place.
It would give them a boost, given that most of the time they would have been told to get jobs, haircuts, etc.
“I think a few people involved in Occupy might be having a hard time getting their heads around the fact that they are being used.”
Everyone is being used. Ever heard of taxes? But what will really piss them off, is some guy coming from a white middle class perspective, treating them like they’re children. Pick your battles, aspiring MP man. You want votes, right?
Heres some beats to cheer you fullas up…
http://pollywannacracka.blogspot.com/2011/10/for-my-peeps.html
Thank you just grabbin me a copy now. it’ll fit in nice with some Psytrance and some Shape Shifters at a reasonable volume…
US Cops use strobe lights to blind and confuse press cameras/protestors
http://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday#p/u/1/dVaCGHn8LnY
Listen to the sound…including protestors saying look at the nice stuff JP Morgan’s $4.6M has bought for the NY police!
And apparently some of the protestors also smell lol
In a word, why.
Citigroup to pay $285 million to settle fraud case: http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111019/bs_nm/us_citigroup_sec
So basically, you can break the law as much as you like and as long as you can write a big enough cheque the problem will go away.
They should not be settling these cases, no matter how much money the financial institutions offer them to make the case go away. How can they rebuild confidence in the system when they effectively let people get away with this sort of thing? $285 million is nothing to these guys.
It’s no different to a drug dealer paying off the cops to turn a blind eye. It’s corruption, pure and simple.
It is the criminals paying the police to turn a blind eye. Every single person who works there should be under investigation and the organisation itself closed down. You don’t get honest business by letting dishonest businesses continue.
National’s Election Hoarding’s 7
In June the NBR reported: Treasury figures show the government’s borrowing of $380 million a week is about $80 million to $100 million a week more than it has to…
Jackal you figures are out of date the Govt debt is going to peak now at more than $77billion 2013 with no unexpected surprises , Debt is increasing by $1.5 billion a month now
The post states the borrowing figures are quoted from June. The $38 billion is the current net government debt.
Strange that National claim New Zealand will be back in black at about the same time your figures show we’ll be in debt by $77 billion. I wonder how much of the current $375 million per week National doesn’t need to be borrow?
Blinglish has done pretty well at getting the country in hock as an excuse to privatize. He’s still saying that the Christchurch Earthquakes, the Rena disaster and now the Maui gas disaster aren’t going to effect their projections… talk about delusional.
When any NZ business person is interviewed and asked what they would do to get the economy growing inevitably say they would remove “red tape” to make it easier to do business.
And yet, and not for the first time either, NZ has been rated as the 3rd easiest country in the world in which to do business….
So what’s going on?
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows they have no idea what the reality is – they should no longer be interviewed because they don’t have a clue.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows that they have no solutions to NZ’s growth woes.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows they are not engaging in original thought but are captured by the prevailing ideology of their group.
If they think that that is NZ’s problem then it shows how easy it is to get them to parrot whatever the speaker at the last business conference said.
It’s time we stopped, as the news announcers often say, “look at the markets [and the exchange rates] to see how well they reacted to the news of…….”
It’s time we stopped asking business people what’s good for NZ – they are just not qualified!
+1
The research is fairly conclusive – NZ managers are the worst in the world and yet the prevailing paradigm insists that we need them to make NZ better.
DTB And the failed ones end up as a career choice in the National party where they can get ahead no matter how bad they are!
It seems that migrants have no trouble in coming over and starting a business here – I dont hear them go on about red tape, but I suppose they are glad they dont have to bribe all and sundry to get started (nor do they have to pay protection money to the local crime overlord)
Voters swing from National after Rena disaster
That’s gotta hurt although this is the interesting line:
The question had 5 options:
V. good
good
neutral
poor
V. poor
They don’t tell us how many were neutral giving the impression that a majority found Key’s response to be “good”. Of course, if they were doing proper reporting they would have given the figures for all 5 possible responses. More underhanded support from the MSM for this government.
[lprent: added the http on the link. ]
Good news Draco!
Your link is a bit mangled. The poll is reported at http://www.3news.co.nz/Voters-swing-from-National-after-Rena-disaster/tabid/419/articleID/230207/Default.aspx
The Rena hasn’t played out yet.
This is only the second act out of four.
Aye that steady oozing of raw crude is going to go on for quite a while …
technically its bunker fuel (‘bunker c’) not crude oil 🙂
I remember that one and a whole heap of V Poor’s that I ticked lol
From the article: “The RadioLive-HorizonPoll shows 11% of people who voted National in 2008 now won’t do so because of the disaster, which effectively drops National’s current support nationwide by 3%.”
Well, no, actually. The Nats got 44.9% at the 2008 General Election. Which surely means a fall of pretty damn close to 5 percentage points.
Was wondering about that. The 3% did/does seem a little low but I hadn’t looked at the maths.
I was also wondering about that.
That 11% of 2008 National voters won’t vote National this time because of Rena, raises more questions than it answers.
1. How does that ‘integrate’ with people who voted for other parties in 2008 but now will vote National? That is, will such people off-set the ones who, apparently, are prepared to desert National over the Rena?
2. Is that 11% partly made up of people who voted National in 2008 but, actually, have been saying in other Horizon polls that they were going to vote for some other party this time anyway, and now are mentioning the Rena as a reason for their changed vote – or, is it an additional 11% of 2008 National voters (on top of those who had already got to the point of switching) who now have decided, solely on the basis of the Rena, to vote for someone else?
It’s hard to tell from the press releases quite what is meant.
The Horizon Poll press release on Scoop also gives a little more detail –
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1110/S00338/radiolive-horizon-poll-65-judge-rena-response-as-poor.htm
{Still learning how to do a short link] and oops this should be under the 11 comments. Please have patience with a new blogger!
Ah, that’s a much better write up – probably because it’s Horizons press release.
Sascha Baron Cohens latest character revealed as Lord Monckton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w833cAs9EN0
Comedy magic.
Ta for that
Brendon Burns puts a post up at Red Alert and this caught my eye
http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2011/10/20/the-full-monty/
“United Future Wigram candidate Ian Gaskin said he’d been given a clean slate by leader Peter Dunne to speak. He then variously stated that: We could solve our fuel needs by growing seaweed and turning it into oil, that DOC was not needed and should be folded into the Ministry of Agriculture or perhaps Tourism NZ
and that fracking Canterbury’s landscape with pressurised water and chemicals may not extract enough gas or oil so perhaps a nuclear device might assist. I wonder if these are official United Future policies?”
Maybe the headline, “Untied Future threatens to nuke Canterbury”
One thing’s for sure pete won’t be jumping up and down like he did against Hone yesterday.
Different league to Hone.
UF candidates have been told they are free to express their own opinions and talk on local issues as they see fit, however you hope that clean slates don’t come with wet chalk.
I agree it’s in a different league. Ian is actually being serious.
yes Hone has Mana – black and white really.
are you a fracking fan pete?
Slippery non-answer and diversion 5. 4. 3. 2…
No, I’m not a fracking fan, too much doubt at this stage.
UF don’t have a policy on it but my guess would be the party would be concerned about any possibility of water contamination as clean water (and retention of ownership of water) are strong party policy positions.
Petey
Does UF have a position on the use of nuclear devices under the Canterbury plains to assist with fracking?
“Retain New Zealand’s nuclear-free status” rules that out (phew). I agree with that.
I think I’ll have a drink to that 🙂
Congratulations, Pete, on your list ranking.
In 2002 that would have got you into Parliament (I think?).
All the best for the election. (Not an endorsement, but you know what I mean.)
Too be honest, I cannot see UF getting any more seats than the one held by Mr Dunne. In any case, UF only got those seats in ’02 because thier leader performed so good with ‘the worm’, and got influence because the Greens threw their toys out of the cot over GE, driving Labour into the arms of United Future, and sending this country on a slow rightward drift. Thanks Greenies. Way to go guys.
“Too be honest, I cannot see UF getting any more seats than the one held by Mr Dunne.”
Yep, that would be my pick for an election result.
But I just thought that Pete George needed acknowledging for actually getting involved in the political process – such as it is.
I don’t expect that people’s efforts will (or should) necessarily be rewarded. But Pete has put effort where his ‘mouth’ is (whatever location that happens to be – I honestly can’t work out where that is, but that’s not my point).
I just think that effort should be acknowledged – purely at a human level.
“In any case, UF only got those seats in 02 because their leader performed so good with ‘the worm’.”
I tend to agree with former Alliance deputy leader, Sandra Lee, on this. It wasn’t so much the worm as the post-debate comments by TVNZ’s so-called panel of ‘experts’.
I taped that leaders’ debate and I can tell you that the worm was often as low as it was high while Dunne was speaking.
The ‘experts’ – clearly looking for some sort of interesting angle – decided to place total emphasis on those particular moments when Dunne charmed the worm and to hence declare him ‘the winner’. All very contrived. The print media, the next day, simply took their cue from the ‘experts’.
That’s the nature of our world. Big things can swing on bugger all.
So Pete, do you think that DOC should be chopped as well?
No, but I’d be happy if Doc found a way to chop their 1080 use.
I was talking to someone from Forest and Bird last week who admitted that 1080 killed a lot of birds (including protected natives) but they claimed the bird numbers recovered faster than predators. Very dubious about that especially with kiwi.
If a private company wanted to use some land and claimed that all the birdlife they killed wouldn’t matter because most species would eventually recover do you think they would get resource consent?
What would you do Peter? Possum trapping, just like in the Barry Crump novels? You just to have to remember that possum trapping, etc is more of a lifestyle than an occupation, so you couldnt hope to make a dent in umemployment with it. And a possum fur industry would never get beyond a niche market.
There’s no way to replace 1080 at the moment without getting an increase in predator numbers. Some methods like trapping and shooting (that’s how I do it) can be increased but nowhere near enough.
1080 is an easy solution for DOC to keep using but it hasn’t solved anything over decades of use.
The main aim apart from trialling existing methods other than 1080 in select areas is to substantially increase research into alternatives.
BS, I remember when Rangitoto never used to flower. Does now but that only happened after the 1080 drops.
So why don’t you get yourself educated before you open your mouth you moron.
Yep, and I have never seen a GOOD alternative yet that keeps the trees flowering. Same when we were looking at our bush on the farm.
Quite simply no effective alternative.
Unless of course we want to get the Aussies invading to protect their damn pests.
There are alternatives. The fact of the matter is that 1080 is used because it’s cost effective, but it will not work to achieve eradication of pests or protection of native species. It is simply delaying the inevitable in many cases.
1080 is not the best way to eradicate pests while trying to protect endangered species. The alternatives take lots of man-hours, training and a very large budget. Extensive fencing projects, relocation, trapping and cyanide is the best solution if we want to keep a lot of our endemic endangered species.
I believe there has been some developments to increase hit rates and reduce cyanide shyness from possums that don’t initially receive a fatal dose. The advantage is that cyanide totally breaks down and has a lower secondary poisoning risk if applied correctly.
Unfortunately having a lot of people learning how to hunt and trap animals in the bush doesn’t fit well with the systems ideal of having everybody dependent on the state. That would be one reason why the government is willing to sacrifice many other species, the land and waterways in their failed use of 1080.
Same principle as chemotherapy – poisoning differentially. Works as well as 1080. More people surviving the unsurvivable. More bush and native fauna as well.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10760543
Nice to see you have convicted bank robbers on your list – if you get 5% will he be your law and order spokesperson?
One would think that following the Sep 4 earthquake (and suspecting a bigger one was quite possible), you would want to know what was going on under Christchurch.
I don’t know who had the ultimate authority regarding funding (i.e. the commission or cabinet) but it seems to be that someone dropped the ball post-September earthquake.
I don’t know what would have changed if we had known that a bigger quake was likely but it would have been in the interests of the people of Canterbury to be informed so they could make choices.
Like the parents of the toddler who was killed by the falling TV might have secured their furniture if they knew a bigger one was possible.
GNS Science made the decision not to tell the public….but they tell anyone?
Was the commission advised? Did cabinet know?
If then they did then they dropped the ball – I hope the MSM get of their perches and look into who knew what and when.
The commission was made up of:
Of course we already know who the slack-jawed knuckle draggers that comprise our cabinet are.
A very good comment William Joyce.
What has really irritated me during the last year is the knowledge (yes, knowledge) that our geologists have had their public comments filtered – so as not to cause ‘alarm’.
For goodness’ sake. We are being treated as children by our ‘betters’. We are supposedly susceptible to ‘panic’ and they have decided that it is not in our (read ‘their’) interests for us to ‘panic’ (i.e., decide what we want to do in response to all the available information).
So anti-democratic, yet it comes so naturally to those with ‘positions of responsibility’. People seen as mushrooms.
We had a right to hear it all. Then we could, perhaps, ‘panic’, talk to each other and, who knows, maybe come to some sensible response collectively. That process was never allowed to happen and never trusted.
Why?
Because it would have disrupted ‘business as usual’. And that – more than anything else – is verboten.
QFT
In our present socio-economic paradigm, business is more important than life.
Corexit’s Deadly Legacy
I received a very interesting email today. It’s all about the poisonous substance known as Corexit 9500 that’s been used on the Bay of Plenty oil spill by Maritime New Zealand…
Naomi Wolf arrested by NYPD at OWS.
A must read for all those who still think we have the right to protest in a post-9/11, police state, surveillance society.
One more step towards overt fascism.
Apropos of nothing really. I was curious about Key’s middle name so I googled him.
From wiki I found this synopsis interesting
“Before politics
Key’s first job was in 1982, as an auditor at McCulloch Menzies, and he then moved to be a project manager at Christchurch-based clothing manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin for two years.[7] Key began working as a foreign exchange dealer at Elders Finance in Wellington, and rose to the position of head foreign exchange trader two years later, then moved to Auckland-based Bankers Trust in 1988.[3]
In 1995, he joined Merrill Lynch as head of Asian foreign exchange in Singapore. That same year he was promoted to Merrill’s global head of foreign exchange, based in London, where he may have earned around US$2.25 million a year including bonuses, which is about NZ$5 million at 2001 exchange rates.[3][8] Some co-workers called him “the smiling assassin” for maintaining his usual cheerfulness while sacking dozens (some say hundreds) of staff after heavy losses from the 1998 Russian financial crisis.[4][8] He was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the New York Federal Reserve Bank from 1999 to 2001.[9]”
The Economist: Trouble Island.
UNDER intense international pressure to lift banking secrecy, the first and biggest of the world’s “tax havens”—places that charge low or no taxes to foreigners—is ceding some ground. In a deal signed on October 6th, Switzerland agreed to tax money held in its banks by British residents (it had already done a similar deal with Germany). These customers face a levy of up to 34% as well as, from 2013, a withholding tax.
One News tonight. 8 minutes in.
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt … our Exchange took a hit – take a look at this …
Last night…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
Earlier this week…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
A couple of weeks ago…
Shivers are running through the finance markets tonight. … Greek debt …
Oh surprise, surprise. When are they going to give us more than a 30 second soundbite and give us an in-depth report on why? Otherwise only tell us when something new develops.
I can remember a time when the state of exchange rates and shares did not have a special time on television news. Since the Lange government, however, when the novices cashed up their pension funds and dived into stocks and shares, the preoccupation of news and the hooray/gloom moments has become a regular feature in this time-slot.
Easy, lazy journalism, and programming and to make matters worse, the weather has now claimed three slots in this section.
I wonder if, tonight, we will get an item where 2 gunmen held up a corner-shop in some remote African township and 3 guardsmen were seriously wounded in liberating the shop-keeper. (Who validates these reports, or are they fillers created in the back-rooms to make us believe that we have to be ever vigilant in the war on terror(ists)?
Perhaps they will save that story for another night, (when there is one massive high parked over the Tasman and the Pacific and Jimbo has nothing to tell us about the weather except that “It will hot and sunny everywhere (folks!”)).
More on the financial crisis in Greece as an important meeting at the weekend. There was an item on RNZ (think after 7 am) this morning which you probably can download on Greece.
I wonder what the percentage of wealth is which the top 1% earn in Greece?
In USA 1% earn 33% of the wealth.
In NZ 1% earn 16% of the wealth.
This was on TV 6 pm news last weekend, think it was TV 1.
On TV 3 at 6 pm 11 % of National voters said that they would not vote National due to how the Rena spill has been handled. Not sure about number of participants or area in the poll.
Also Banks is second with the polling in Epsom.
Sooner the RWC is over the sooner people can wake up to the shit which is hitting the fan big time concerning NZ politics and how this government ALWAYS talks about a rosy future forgetting about living in the present.
Thanks Treetop.
– may I make one observation regarding your percentages and wealth – for earn change to control. They don’t earn much at all. They accrue most of their wealth on the backs of the earners – usually while they sleep or are swanning off around the world.
Will look up the ReplayRadio item.
Meantime, “What’s a Grecian urn?” “Oh, about 20 drachmas a day.”
Sorry but have been waiting to get that one in …
dunno if this was posted but…
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed–the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html
…makes for interesting reading
Note : Key’s old firm, Merril Lynch, is in the top 10 of what essentially equates to the ‘New World Order’
The basic effect of capitalist free-market is to concentrate wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands. That, quite simply, is what it is designed to do. There’s no way such concentration could come about without the property rules that have grown with capitalism.
You’ll notice that the FTAs that get signed have very little to do with trade but with a hell of a lot to do with free money movement and foreign ownership.
World Debt Guide
Actually, that title that they proudly display is wrong. What it should be is Debt guide to some of the biggest economies.
Anyway, on with the show.
Both Britain and Japan are sitting close to 500% of GDP in debt. The lesson that some people seem to have learned since WWII is that to build an economy requires debt – lots of it. When we consider these debts in line with who probably owns most of them then we should probably be doing a massive investigation into how they came about.
National should, in light of their massive unnecessary borrowing over the last three years, be the first to be investigated.
Author of “Disaster Capitalism” Naomi Wolf arrested by NYC Police
http://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday#p/u/5/P1mWnbOE8Qo
So much for the land of the free
The US is fucked. Naomi Wolf writes on her experience.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/oct/19/naomi-wolf-arrest-occupy-wall-street?newsfeed=true
That’s absolutely fucked, but you’ve got your Naomis mixed up. It was Ms Klein who wrote Disaster Capitalism, not Ms Wolf.
Yes, Ms Wolf has written feminist stuff, eg The Beauty Myth – associated wih “third wave feminism”
And also written on the process of erosion that transforms a free society into a police state, as in this book: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf/read-the-introduction-to-_b_63779.html
and this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/24/usa.comment
*facepalm*
Thanks guys.
Makes the New York City police even more pathetic.
what a post