Winston’s going strong in a discussion with MPs from various parties on Pacific Viewpoint on Stratos right now. He’s called ational on not keeping their 2008 election promises, GST etc… Key’s Brighter Future is in Aussie. And he’s claimed he’s researched it and the new Conservative Party is really created by National, just like Act has become.
Winston is using gutter politics, because the Conservative Party is trying to take his patch. He’s scared his voters will forget what he’s done for them, when the Conservatives offer the first $25,000 tax free. That would make pensions tax free, something promised, but never delivered, not even by Peters.
This is disgusting, misleading and just plain wrong on so many levels. I think it is more likely to turn people off than turn them on to Labour, so I say “more please”. However, it is still evidence of how far into the sewer some Labour campaigners have got.
Here are some of my thoughts on this pamphlet.
1. The first page appears to make the ludicrous claim that people will die before they see the first year of their child. It is not until they read further into the body of the leaflet that they find its true message. Yet many people just look at the headline and trash the leaflet as junk mail.
2. It uses the National party logo without consent, which I assume breaches some law or another such as copyright infringement, or “passing off”.
3. It actually advertises the National logo to people who have a fleeting view of the leaflet anyway.
4. It is factually wrong. It claims that beneficiaries who become pregnant will have to go to work at one year after the birth of their child, when in fact the law will apply to only a limited class of beneficiaries. The semantics could be argued that it doesn’t specifiy all or some pregnant beneficiaries. But that is a fairly thin argument.
5. And, the requirement is for these people to be “work ready”, so they won’t lose their benefits if they can’t get a job. So the claim that they will be forced to find work is false. If it were true, then it would contradict the arguments Labour has been making that the jobs aren’t there. How can people be forced into jobs that, according to Labour, don’t exist?
So, IMO, a very shabby piece of gutter campaigning more likely to back-fire than fire up the voters.
What sort of comments do you expect? I’ve still got your spit in my face. So Whaleoil is full of wild indignation about someone’s anonymous bit of politicing. Gosh.
Nice try at diversion TVOR. Of course, these problems stem back into Labour’s nine years in office. So why would a vote for Labour change these outcomes?
To the best of my knowledge official autherised leaflets and flyers that are sent by the postal system are sent under a permit system and do not require a stamp.The upsidedown autherisation makes it look cheap and like a failed attempt at cut, copy and paste on a computer,
As usual your selective interpretation is at work,
1. “you won’t be around …” is a statement that the parent will be elsewhere, i.e. not at their child’s birthday,nothing more sinister than that. But you know that already and could not help the juvenile claim of sensationalist bs.
2. They have used the brand image, as is allowed for any representational presentation of an organisation in correspondence.
3. Yawn
4.” But that is a fairly thin argument. ” said it yourself
5. There are no jobs, there will be no jobs. The work referred to is the work for the benefit programmes that National are so keen to bring in. You know, the ones the Rebstock report custom wrote for National earlier this year.
overall a not very warm fuzzy pamphlet but your reaction is about as over the top as we would expect .
Goodness me! “It claims that beneficiaries who become pregnant will have to go to work at one year after the birth of their child, when in fact the law will apply to only a limited class of beneficiaries. “
And here was I thinking that Key/Bennett were making that the major selling point of their policy. You say ts that it is only for a few and then only work ready. Please tell your mates that they must be misleading or even lying to us.
TS, you really are a mean spirited, heartless individual if you think that this flyer is not only offensive but is important enough that you would go to battle over.
This country has so many real world problems that make the lives of its citizens a misery. The health, education, well-being, and future of our children are at stake.
And all you can do is bitch about some perceived offence in this letter.
The only people complaining about it that I can see are pro-National people who just couldn’t wait to ship it off to whaleoil – of all people! – you would think that for the average citizen whaleoil would not be the first person to come to mind when you wanted to complain. They would think of the MSM if they were genuine, unbiased recipients.
Unless of course you’re already a follower of His Magnitude as he leaves a trail across the mudflats of his miserable existence.
This is manufactured outrage – no more, no less.
Insider your leader has promised 170,000 jobs 3years ago
now 60,000 unemployed you must have some
insider information NO jobs now is it at least that’s closer to the truth than your leaders claims
Extrapolating Mankeys job figures 170,000 jobs = 60,000 more unemployed +100,000 to Aus
60,000new job next term of govt must given your leaders claims above = 170,000more unemployed + 300,000 to AUS
Insider trading thanks for insider info!
released 15 November 2011
Produced by Haz Beats
Raps by Tom & Tourettes
Guest vocals by Esther Stephens & Matthew Crawley
Recorded by Jyeah & DJ Substance
Mixed by DJ Substance
Polls show voters want an alternative to National sole rule, and see Labour as lost in bewilderment. Peters has surged on this sentiment but now voters will have a closer look at what that really means.
In difficult times (and if Europe crashes it could get much more difficult) that leaves a stark choice, Winston’s antics versus safe and reliable Peter Dunne and United Future.
Dunne would not know what to do. His answer to deficits is to give middle class tax cuts. He thinks his super policy will make super more affordable even thought it is defined as being cost neutral.
There is a third choice. Don’t waste your vote on United Follicles and vote for a real party of change. Labour or Greens will do nicely.
They get comfortable, get old, get scared, then sell out their kids. Normal Kiwi behaviour. Nothing can explain the sudden purposeful naivety of a politician believing Key will follow up his sweet nothings with commitment. She should ask herself, if Key gets a majority, will he still call her in the morning?
Anyone who’s worked in a corporate knows Key’s behaviour. There are two ways to expose his real intentions: try to get him to commit, set a formal meeting or even just discuss his plans in detail, or literally tell him to F-off. The result will be the same.
Nothing that involves a known sellout who’ll sidle up to whoever promises him power and merrily allies himself with the failed remnants of NZ’s religious right.
What I’d really like to understand – and I realise I harp on about this a fair bit – is how UF can use the tagline of “Fairness & Choice” while blocking any attempt to make changes to our (hideously failed) drug laws.
How is it “Fair” to criminalise people for electing to imbibe one mind altering chemical over another?
How can we have “Choice” when we don’t even have dominion over our own consciousness?
“Fairness and Choice” – as long as you play by our rules, and make your choices from the options we give you.
What a load of bollocks. It is a good tagline – most people support the concepts of fairness and choice – but it’s a complete lie (see also: “Fair and balanced.”).
As a general rule, any political party that reduces it’s policy to a subjective fuzzy slogan means to apply the exact opposite of the positive interpretation of said slogan to all but their target demographic. For example:
A Decent Society
A Brighter Future
It will be a bright, decent, life for those in the top 5%.
There are also deceitful twists: “Balance the books sooner” actually means,
“get rich quick”
and like all those schemes, it’s theft in everything but name.
It is a strange and demoralising language with plenty of grey areas. Own your Future, is a fuzzy slogan too, but it is supported by the absolute of No Asset sales, so the chances of follow through are above 75%.
I’m just interested that I never get a response from Petey Boy on any point I raise regarding UF and Peter Done-His-Dash (hopefully!).
In my experience, failing to address a legitimate point is the behaviour of a coward. Even people who know their views are flawed will answer the question if they have any guts.
Once again Key refuses to front on RNZ this morning to debate Goff.
Listening now to Goff on his own in an extended interview – he is getting very passionate and is doing well
Wondered too but he will need to hammer his Labour/money line and now more urgently have a go at Winston and repeat the line as often as possible. Bet on Hooton doing the same this morning- last chance to manipulate us. Ha.
Ha! Hooton is using the whole time bagging Winston. Wow. They must be really scared of not getting an Election win. The Nat weakness/vulnerability can be grabbed by voting Winston.
A good interview – Goff came across clear and precise and on message. The interview approach was also reasonable for once – not so aggressive, negative as it has been to Goff in recent months.
At the start of the interview, the explanation given for Key not accepting was that he or his advisors said that he has/was participating in four leaders’ debates and that he did not have time to prepare for more than that – or words to that effect. Excuse me, but debating with the leaders of other parties in an election campaign should be his top priority!
Goff should make the point that any CGT is always going to have a ramp up period. If we don’t introduce the CGT and ramp it up now, then when it is eventually introduced it’ll have a ramp up period.
If they keep putting it off for this excuse, then it’ll never be implemented, when it clearly needs to be.
Investment in children is not being given enough of a priority, and that needs to change. Our fully costed plan will make that change happen over six years.
Labour’s policy for children
Draco, why will our children suffering now, have to wait 6 years (obviously) conditional on Labour being in power for two electoral cycles)?
Labour supporters like yourself should be ashamed of this deliberate and opportunist delay when children are suffering now.
Mana’s John Minto has slammed “Labour’s policy for children” as a non-promise.
One concrete measure to address child poverty that is mentioned in the Swedish example is providing free meals in schools.
Inside Child Poverty: A Special Report, set to air this week, Wellington documentary maker Bryan Bruce shows a Swedish doctor footage of sick, scab-ridden schoolchildren suffering from preventable diseases in Porirua and asks if he saw similar situations in his country.
The doctor shakes his head: “In the 70s, maybe.”……..
……..As part of the study, Mr Bruce visited Sweden – a country once considered similar to New Zealand – and found that children there received free healthcare, were provided a free meal a day at school and were free from diseases associated with poverty.
Mana have costed their policy for supplying free breakfasts and lunches for low decile schools.
From MANA Foreign Policy Spokesperson John Minto’s Foreign Policy release – Sunday 20 November
The headline point from the policy
1. Bring the troops back from Afghanistan and use the money to feed kids in decile 1 to 3 schools.
Our troops in Afghanistan are involved in an imperial war on behalf of the US. We are helping prop up an illegitimate government of drug barons and war lords. We are seen quite rightly as foreign invaders and our presence increases the possibility of New Zealand becoming a terrorist target in future.
The $40 million we would save would be used to kick-start our “feed the kids” program which would roll out for all New Zealand children at school to provide healthy breakfasts and lunches. We would start at decile 1 to 3 primary schools at a cost of around $38 million.
I’m not a Labour supporter. I was going to vote Green but I’ve seriously been considering voting Mana as their policies have filled out. They’re still talking about maintaining the capitalist ideology though. Of course, all the political parties are which just proves their complete misunderstanding of economics
To answer your question on Red Alert: Only the Greens have a policy plan to have rental properties rated for energy efficiency (mandatory), which includes insulation. They will extend the current scheme for insulating, but it will not stop slum lords operating. It will however give some people an insight into how it will be to live in a particular home.
They’re still talking about maintaining the capitalist ideology though. Of course, all the political parties are which just proves their complete misunderstanding of economics
I’m not a fan of free market totalitarianism either, but I think pragmatic left policy recognizes that capitalism isn’t so much about economics as it is about psychology and sociology. I’m inclined to Green but resent its bluishness as of now.
Sorry for mistaking you for a Labour Party supporter, Draco. I am kicking myself for being so insensitive. Sorry for the insult.
I thought you were touting Labour’s opportunistically conditional policy for dealing with childhood poverty and hunger in this country of extraordinary wealth.
I do not mean to answer for Draco, but to suggest Labour will do nothing for 6 years is incorrect. Their immediate push to improve the lot of struggling people is the increase in minimum wage and the $5K tax free threshold – which also applies to beneficiaries. Then there is the removal of GST on fruit/veges – small but useful. This is the first steps in lowering the cost of living to people who need a hand the most. It is not a silver bullet, but it is at least a firm commitment. Other measures such as free healthcare to under 6’s will phase in gradually.
This is becoming a real bug-bear for me*. The tax-free threshold is a benefit for all taxpayers, including multimillionaires like Key. The argument that the threshold is for the benefit of the poor simply on the grounds that the poor will appreciate the extra money more, is, to my mind offensive. If Labour had targeted all of the expenditure that this measure will cost to those in need, it would make a big difference.
Same with the GST off fruit and veges. Where does Labour get off saying that because there are people in dire need they will give everyone a small amount extra to address it rather than, you know, actually addressing the need. It would be like providing the equivalent of 5 cents to every human on earth as a response to an emergency affecting a much smaller number of people in Eastern Europe for example.
*Not directed specifically at you uturn, you are just the latest person to say this.
These are valid points and ones Jenny argues in her post above. Why don’t Labour, why don’t The Greens, why doesn’t anyone? Why don’t we all call a meeting of our local community and take back the problem? Why do we rely on the comfortable distance of redistributed income tax instead of getting up close and personal with the people we say we support, or for that matter, hate?
First on the lists of why is that government is a balancing act within a corrupted system. You can’t simply take jillions of dollars from, say, infrastructure projects and build McDonald’s-esque food houses for card carrying poor people to patronise. To attempt such a thing would shake our culture of greed, earning and profit so severly it’s hard to imagine the unintended results/backlash.
Second on the list is that if we allow government to dictate how and when assistance happens, we’ll lose control of our communities every time there is a change of government, effectively undermining our goals.
Third would be that some people will be better suited to assist from a distance and some up close. At least intially. Not everyone is or can be the same, but then not everyone who is poor is the same. People are still people.
I think that in the end, poverty must be challenged face to face, one on one, at whatever the cost. As an intermediary step, people not in poverty need to think about everything they consume, everything they want to buy and streamline the things they have, but don’t use. Give excess away to people at a disadvantage who can use them. Don’t buy stuff no one needs – like the other day I saw a tool for taking chips out of the bag so you don’t get greasy fingers.
When choosing entertainment, try to find it in the company of others first, not on an X-box by default. Make conversation rather than listen to the distraction of TV, pop music and beer. Work on neighbourhood projects together. Share problems. Keep an eye on the fortunes of the people around you. If they’re doing fine, leave them be; if they are falling below the bread line, help them to regain their feet – for free. Learn about other people, learn about yourself – respect both. Listen to what others say, not just the response and ideas in your own head. Take time.
Small changes in atittude and reduction of waste will have a gradual indirect influence on poverty. Understanding why it is right will ease the pain of giving up the “getting ahead” mindset.
A: “Why do we rely on the comfortable distance of redistributed income tax B: instead of getting up close and personal with the people we say we support, or for that matter, hate?”
A: Because poverty is lack of resources just as scurvy is lack of vitamin C. The immediate need in both cases is what is lacking. B: Community korero is great and certainly not mutually exclusive. But it is no substitute for what is lacking. Funnily enough, poor communities have less material resources to share. We have enough resources in NZ, they don’t need to be rationed out of the hands of the poor. As for “up close and personal” speak for yourself.
“You can’t simply take jillions of dollars from, say, infrastructure projects …”
I specifically said that targeting help where it is needed instead of a big, sparse, lolly scramble, would make a huge difference. If the tax-free threshold is such small change that is is only the poor that get any benefit from it, don’t give a bit to everyone. Use the resources where they are needed most. In health we don’t give everyone a small proceedure regularly, regardless of need, and tell those needing heart surgery, for example, that they can have a free mole removal, like everyone else.
“McDonald’s-esque food houses for card carrying poor people to patronise…”
Are you taking the piss here, or is that as far as your imagination can take you?
A: Because poverty is lack of resources just as scurvy is lack of vitamin C.
No it’s not, it’s a misallocation of available resources caused by the capitalist free-market. Although it will turn into a lack of resources over time as all available resources are used up ASAP by the capitalist free-market.
Quick note to the moderator. My email address (and therefore my pictogram) has changed because I’ve changed server. I assume this is the reason my last comment went into moderation.
[sprout: correct, first comments from a new email are auto-moderated]
You can upload a pic and associate it with an email address and change the address when you change ISPs. You can also go get a gmail or similar account and so get a permanent email address.
Ta Draco.
I’ve moved to orcon (miles cheaper) and the email addresses are mine for life.
I think I will organise a gravatar though. Really don’t like my new pictogram.
Thanks to a federal ban on food stamps for people with felony drug convictions, people like McLemore are out of luck when it comes to getting assistance with putting food on their tables. Though states can opt out of the ban, those that don’t (like Mississsippi) deny food stamps even to individuals who have already served their sentences or overcome previous addictions. It’s true that McLemore’s past isn’t perfect — she has four felony drug convictions and one misdemeanor, which place her firmly in the category of people the federal government has declared unfit to receive public benefits. Hence, faced with the prospect of being unable to feed her family, McLemore lied on her application.
Welcome to the war on drugs, where once convicted you’re fucked for life, unless you’re rich that is.
Note also that loan fraudsters get far lower sentences for a crime that impacted negatively far more than one person lying so they and their kids could eat. Justice this is not.
Fucking awesome. although having mucked around with origin of life stuff in uni, sunlight isn’t entirely needed, as warm seeps can kick out a wide range of simple to complex organic molecules*, while black smokers provide various sulphates than can be oxidised to provide an energy source for life. Although what we need to do is send probes into the ice, and even into the black depths of Europa to find signs of “life”, which isn’t as straightforward as you’d think**
________________________
* In biochem land, this means multiple chiral centres.
** aka philosophy of biology fun land, or at it’s simplest “life is a heat engine, exploiting thermodynamic gradients for reproduction, thus creating more entropy”. I’d also argue it’s not time dependent, which causes all sorts of fun-times for the human mind…
[lprent: Sorry – been obsessed with correlations for e-day. I will have another look at this. Found and fixed. Moderators – if you’re going to do blacklist DO NOT tag the persons name. ]
People forget Peter Dunne was Labour MP THEN feel out of bed and ended up looking like Act with a red face
He seems to win the personality stakes for all time in NZ politics without a scratch
He almost fits the proposition that all MPs should be elected as independents to reduce the enormous drain on the voters sanity supporting the BS of party politicing
The shock of having to be standing and winning on their own may cause such a melt down of honesty that the people might even take it very seriously that we are a puppet state of the international corporations and have serious problems that will eventually drive us to join Australia so we can survive
Physically we are one of the most endangered island country’s in the world
The findings were released at a conference in Kampala, Uganda, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a high-profile United Nations body assigned to review and report periodically on developments in climate research. They come at a time of unusual weather disasters around the globe, from catastrophic flooding in Asia and Australia to blizzards, floods, heat waves, droughts, wildfires and windstorms in the United States that have cost billions of dollars.
“A hotter, moister atmosphere is an atmosphere primed to trigger disasters,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton University climate scientist and a principal author of the new report. “As the world gets hotter, the risk gets higher.” …
The new report on extreme weather, one of a string of reports that the panel is issuing on relatively narrow issues, did not break much ground scientifically, essentially refining findings that have been emerging in climate science papers in recent years.
Indeed, the delegates meeting in Kampala adopted scientifically cautious positions in some areas. For instance, some researchers have presented evidence suggesting that hurricanes are growing more intense because of climate change, but the report sided with a group of experts who say that such a claim is premature.
Nonetheless, the report predicted that certain types of weather extremes will grow more numerous and more intense as human-induced global warming worsens in coming decades.
“It is virtually certain that increases in the frequency and magnitude of warm daily temperature extremes and decreases in cold extremes will occur in the 21st century on the global scale,” the report said. “It is likely that the frequency of heavy precipitation or the proportion of total rainfall from heavy falls will increase in the 21st century over many areas of the globe.”
By the end of the century, if greenhouse emissions continue unabated, the type of heat wave that now occurs once every 20 years will be occurring every couple of years across large areas of the planet, the report predicted.
I caught this bit of the interview and I don’t think it’s been fairly represented in that story. The thing with Brash is that he’s not like other politicians – he’s quite politically naive. He’ll say what he thinks and is generally up-front about it. Other politicians (Key is a master at it and Goff does it as well) answer questions couched in ways that the listener thinks they’ve said something but they can later come back and ‘clarify’ or refute. Brash on the other hand just says it with little beating around the bush. Political journalists hear this from Brash and think that there really must be more going on behind his words than he’s letting on (as they would be with any other politician), but really in Brash’s case there isn’t any cloak and dagger skullduggery at all.
Contra argument: The hollow men.
He may not be much good at it, but he is dishonest.
On the other hand, Like Te Mana, representatives of parties that aren’t competing for Mr and Ms Middle seem to be far more able to be frank about what they believe.
Sounds like he’s confirmed some of the rumoured contents of the teapots, reaffirmed his consent to the Act/Nat plan, reaffirmed National are in trouble and signalled he is stepping away from the increasingly stinky dung heap it’s all become. He has inadvertently hung a closed for business sign on ACT too – nothing more than an organisation in name only for the machinations of National.
All the polls I’ve seen show that ~85% of people oppose asset sales, ergo, this must be Jonkey trying to rewrite reality so that it conforms with his ideology.
Just one day, sometime down the track, parents might be required to take a little bit more personal responsibility ensuring that they are sending their children to school, well rested, well fed, suitably attired and in the right frame of mind to learn.
It would appear that at the moment it’s the schools’ responsibility to attend to this and also deliver the curriculum to meet the standards.
As it is unlawful not to be enrolled to vote? What is the penalty and has anyone ever been convicted? Therer was reported 240k not currently enrolled for this election
Well there is one reason why John Key might undertake such an exercise… to ensure that New Zealand has to undertake asset sales to service the huge amounts of debt that National has mismanaged us into…
Ok. That eased the situation considerably… The main server is now handling the load. I have to find some time to get that wee editor working nicely with the cache.
Now it is spiking to very high CPU, not locking on 95+% CPU. Cache makes a lot of difference.
Is it not often noted that different ethic groups have defining body language ?
The striking similarities in our PM’s physical gestures to some of the history footage of the 1930’s&40’s of another politician known for lying and debasing the truth to gain political power .
Just an observation and a guide to the validity of the rhetoric being charged to the taxpayer
Like Ben what I’d really like to understand is how UF can use the tagline of “Family Friendly ”, want to have the Families Commission, try to split tax for the stay at home partner in the middle/ upper income brackets whilst cuddling up to the Nact party that spends it’s time slagging off the parent who takes the huge financial and emotional hit involved in bringing up the kids by themselves.(and this is all too often the parent protecting the kids from family violence.)
Another day, another record day. It hasn’t happened since Thursday last week. According to statcounter.
Top page views in a day
Top unique visits in a day.
Much of it in the hour after the debate when I’m sure we hit our highest page views per hour. Looked like 5000pv in a bit over n hour.
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Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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 Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney shutterstockAhmet Misirligul/Shutterstock You go to the gym, eat healthy and walk as much as possible. You wash your hands and get vaccinated. You control your health. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin University Children and young people may be seeing news headlines about men murdering women or footage of people rallying to call for action. Perhaps they or their friends have even gone to the protests. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Unemployment ...
The campaign will engage the community and encourage submissions on the bill to the New Zealand government by the closing submission deadline of Friday 31st of May 2024 4pm. ...
The paper raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand's political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency plays in that. ...
The Urban Habitat Collective was an attempt to built an innovative new form of apartment building in Wellington. Here’s why it failed, and why the idea could still work, writes co-founder Bronwen Newton. When we started the Urban Habitat Collective in November 2018, we thought we were starting a revolution, ...
Two decades ago this week, a controversial law that attempted to define ownership of the foreshore and seabed prompted a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga as 15,000 marched to parliament. Jamie Tahana looks back.‘Hīkoi, hīkoi,” they chanted by the thousands as the biggest Māori march in a generation ...
A Labour Party Member’s Bill aims to plug a culpability gap between manslaughter and health and safety breaches The post New push for corporate killing laws appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Terence O’Brien had the rare and no doubt undesired distinction of rising to one of the most exalted positions in New Zealand diplomacy, then being unceremoniously recalled to Wellington without explanation just when his career was at its zenith. What is perhaps more surprising is that he appears to have ...
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Winston’s going strong in a discussion with MPs from various parties on Pacific Viewpoint on Stratos right now. He’s called ational on not keeping their 2008 election promises, GST etc… Key’s Brighter Future is in Aussie. And he’s claimed he’s researched it and the new Conservative Party is really created by National, just like Act has become.
Winston is using gutter politics, because the Conservative Party is trying to take his patch. He’s scared his voters will forget what he’s done for them, when the Conservatives offer the first $25,000 tax free. That would make pensions tax free, something promised, but never delivered, not even by Peters.
How many lefties here are proud of this little gem that has come to the attention of whale oil.
This is disgusting, misleading and just plain wrong on so many levels. I think it is more likely to turn people off than turn them on to Labour, so I say “more please”. However, it is still evidence of how far into the sewer some Labour campaigners have got.
Here are some of my thoughts on this pamphlet.
1. The first page appears to make the ludicrous claim that people will die before they see the first year of their child. It is not until they read further into the body of the leaflet that they find its true message. Yet many people just look at the headline and trash the leaflet as junk mail.
2. It uses the National party logo without consent, which I assume breaches some law or another such as copyright infringement, or “passing off”.
3. It actually advertises the National logo to people who have a fleeting view of the leaflet anyway.
4. It is factually wrong. It claims that beneficiaries who become pregnant will have to go to work at one year after the birth of their child, when in fact the law will apply to only a limited class of beneficiaries. The semantics could be argued that it doesn’t specifiy all or some pregnant beneficiaries. But that is a fairly thin argument.
5. And, the requirement is for these people to be “work ready”, so they won’t lose their benefits if they can’t get a job. So the claim that they will be forced to find work is false. If it were true, then it would contradict the arguments Labour has been making that the jobs aren’t there. How can people be forced into jobs that, according to Labour, don’t exist?
So, IMO, a very shabby piece of gutter campaigning more likely to back-fire than fire up the voters.
fuk you talk some crap idiot
get outside and do some exercise
I guess that means you like the leaflet, then. That wouldn’t surprise me.
wouldnt waste my time @ that slime site-i got banned hahahahah wayyyyy bk
why dont you go bk there and live?
free rent and all
Trolling on behalf of the fat man eh, or maybe that’s because its very close to your home……yawn.
Come on TS you can do better than that or has sideshow hit the panic button so all his minions react accordingly.
Your unwillingness to condemn this piece of trash says a lot about you IMO.
What sort of comments do you expect? I’ve still got your spit in my face. So Whaleoil is full of wild indignation about someone’s anonymous bit of politicing. Gosh.
Not anonymous. It is clear it is authorised. Have a close look at the leaflet.
Try a dose of reality, ts. Government policy is killing our kids. Now that’s really shabby.
Nice try at diversion TVOR. Of course, these problems stem back into Labour’s nine years in office. So why would a vote for Labour change these outcomes?
So what do you think of the leafleat?
I back it 100%. What’s the problem?
Because Labour has children at the centre of its policies, whereas National has multimillionaires at the centre of theirs.
To the best of my knowledge official autherised leaflets and flyers that are sent by the postal system are sent under a permit system and do not require a stamp.The upsidedown autherisation makes it look cheap and like a failed attempt at cut, copy and paste on a computer,
Your facts are wrong. There is no free postage.
As usual your selective interpretation is at work,
1. “you won’t be around …” is a statement that the parent will be elsewhere, i.e. not at their child’s birthday,nothing more sinister than that. But you know that already and could not help the juvenile claim of sensationalist bs.
2. They have used the brand image, as is allowed for any representational presentation of an organisation in correspondence.
3. Yawn
4.” But that is a fairly thin argument. ” said it yourself
5. There are no jobs, there will be no jobs. The work referred to is the work for the benefit programmes that National are so keen to bring in. You know, the ones the Rebstock report custom wrote for National earlier this year.
overall a not very warm fuzzy pamphlet but your reaction is about as over the top as we would expect .
Since you are so concerned about people defending the actions of others, care to defend your great leader’s statements about the Police having spare time when crimes go uninvestigated
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6002076/Thief-to-hand-herself-in-after-police-fail-to-act
Goodness me! “It claims that beneficiaries who become pregnant will have to go to work at one year after the birth of their child, when in fact the law will apply to only a limited class of beneficiaries. “
And here was I thinking that Key/Bennett were making that the major selling point of their policy. You say ts that it is only for a few and then only work ready. Please tell your mates that they must be misleading or even lying to us.
National desperate in New Plymouth. Orange add-on to billboard telling the blue-rinsed to be sure to vote on Saturday, ‘it’s “crucial”.
TS, you really are a mean spirited, heartless individual if you think that this flyer is not only offensive but is important enough that you would go to battle over.
This country has so many real world problems that make the lives of its citizens a misery. The health, education, well-being, and future of our children are at stake.
And all you can do is bitch about some perceived offence in this letter.
The only people complaining about it that I can see are pro-National people who just couldn’t wait to ship it off to whaleoil – of all people! – you would think that for the average citizen whaleoil would not be the first person to come to mind when you wanted to complain. They would think of the MSM if they were genuine, unbiased recipients.
Unless of course you’re already a follower of His Magnitude as he leaves a trail across the mudflats of his miserable existence.
This is manufactured outrage – no more, no less.
Insider your leader has promised 170,000 jobs 3years ago
now 60,000 unemployed you must have some
insider information NO jobs now is it at least that’s closer to the truth than your leaders claims
Extrapolating Mankeys job figures 170,000 jobs = 60,000 more unemployed +100,000 to Aus
60,000new job next term of govt must given your leaders claims above = 170,000more unemployed + 300,000 to AUS
Insider trading thanks for insider info!
So Key reckons that Peters will hold the country to ransom.
Oh yeah, and if Key is re elected, he will sell a king’s ransom (and more).
Oh that’s a good line. Winston will hold our country’s ransom. Key will flog it off first chance he gets.
What really worries Key is that he would have to back down from his clever unbending anti-Peters line and negotiate with Winston. Loss of face?
“a politically charged tune that will have left-leaners fist-pumping, and Key supporters frowning.”
from Home Brew, Tourrettes and Matthew Crawley
“5500 listens in 24 hours, we’ve run out of free downloads on Soundcloud… So here it is:
http://homebrew.bandcamp.com/track/listen-to-us-feat-tourettes
released 15 November 2011
Produced by Haz Beats
Raps by Tom & Tourettes
Guest vocals by Esther Stephens & Matthew Crawley
Recorded by Jyeah & DJ Substance
Mixed by DJ Substance
Polls show voters want an alternative to National sole rule, and see Labour as lost in bewilderment. Peters has surged on this sentiment but now voters will have a closer look at what that really means.
In difficult times (and if Europe crashes it could get much more difficult) that leaves a stark choice, Winston’s antics versus safe and reliable Peter Dunne and United Future.
Critical choice – Winsome’s ransom versus United Future. What sort of future do we want?
UF – where you are promised everything except good hair days.
Geez Petey where is your authoriser’s statement.
Dunne would not know what to do. His answer to deficits is to give middle class tax cuts. He thinks his super policy will make super more affordable even thought it is defined as being cost neutral.
There is a third choice. Don’t waste your vote on United Follicles and vote for a real party of change. Labour or Greens will do nicely.
His authoriser statement is down the bottom of the page.
Too many upper middle class Green committee members are ready to sell out to John Key. And it seems he is good with the idea.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/election-2011/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503012&objectid=10767544
They get comfortable, get old, get scared, then sell out their kids. Normal Kiwi behaviour. Nothing can explain the sudden purposeful naivety of a politician believing Key will follow up his sweet nothings with commitment. She should ask herself, if Key gets a majority, will he still call her in the morning?
Anyone who’s worked in a corporate knows Key’s behaviour. There are two ways to expose his real intentions: try to get him to commit, set a formal meeting or even just discuss his plans in detail, or literally tell him to F-off. The result will be the same.
Nothing that involves a known sellout who’ll sidle up to whoever promises him power and merrily allies himself with the failed remnants of NZ’s religious right.
What I’d really like to understand – and I realise I harp on about this a fair bit – is how UF can use the tagline of “Fairness & Choice” while blocking any attempt to make changes to our (hideously failed) drug laws.
How is it “Fair” to criminalise people for electing to imbibe one mind altering chemical over another?
How can we have “Choice” when we don’t even have dominion over our own consciousness?
“Fairness and Choice” – as long as you play by our rules, and make your choices from the options we give you.
What a load of bollocks. It is a good tagline – most people support the concepts of fairness and choice – but it’s a complete lie (see also: “Fair and balanced.”).
As a general rule, any political party that reduces it’s policy to a subjective fuzzy slogan means to apply the exact opposite of the positive interpretation of said slogan to all but their target demographic. For example:
A Decent Society
A Brighter Future
It will be a bright, decent, life for those in the top 5%.
There are also deceitful twists: “Balance the books sooner” actually means,
“get rich quick”
and like all those schemes, it’s theft in everything but name.
It is a strange and demoralising language with plenty of grey areas. Own your Future, is a fuzzy slogan too, but it is supported by the absolute of No Asset sales, so the chances of follow through are above 75%.
True, UTurn. Very true.
I’m just interested that I never get a response from Petey Boy on any point I raise regarding UF and Peter Done-His-Dash (hopefully!).
In my experience, failing to address a legitimate point is the behaviour of a coward. Even people who know their views are flawed will answer the question if they have any guts.
UF was in coalition with peters twice before no doubt will be again follicle!
Once again Key refuses to front on RNZ this morning to debate Goff.
Listening now to Goff on his own in an extended interview – he is getting very passionate and is doing well
Guess John Key’s continual no show is part of National’s SCAMpaign strategy
makes you wonder, will he show up tonight for the debate ?.
Wondered too but he will need to hammer his Labour/money line and now more urgently have a go at Winston and repeat the line as often as possible. Bet on Hooton doing the same this morning- last chance to manipulate us. Ha.
Ha! Hooton is using the whole time bagging Winston. Wow. They must be really scared of not getting an Election win. The Nat weakness/vulnerability can be grabbed by voting Winston.
Almost makes me consider voting NZ1st 😈
agreed.
a few less votes for Labour will not be as bad as NZ First soaking up 4.9% of wasted anti-government vote.
A good interview – Goff came across clear and precise and on message. The interview approach was also reasonable for once – not so aggressive, negative as it has been to Goff in recent months.
At the start of the interview, the explanation given for Key not accepting was that he or his advisors said that he has/was participating in four leaders’ debates and that he did not have time to prepare for more than that – or words to that effect. Excuse me, but debating with the leaders of other parties in an election campaign should be his top priority!
Goff should make the point that any CGT is always going to have a ramp up period. If we don’t introduce the CGT and ramp it up now, then when it is eventually introduced it’ll have a ramp up period.
If they keep putting it off for this excuse, then it’ll never be implemented, when it clearly needs to be.
Welcome to New Zealand, where kids die from poverty and no one cares.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6002311/Shock-look-at-NZs-child-poverty
We’d rather punish their parents than help them, and it’s only going to get worse when National starts ‘reforming’ the welfare system.
What will happen to these kids if their parents fail a drug test and get their benefit cut in half?
Grant Robinson has a post up at Red Alert about what Labour plan to do about this.
Draco, why will our children suffering now, have to wait 6 years (obviously) conditional on Labour being in power for two electoral cycles)?
Labour supporters like yourself should be ashamed of this deliberate and opportunist delay when children are suffering now.
Mana’s John Minto has slammed “Labour’s policy for children” as a non-promise.
One concrete measure to address child poverty that is mentioned in the Swedish example is providing free meals in schools.
Shock look at NZ’s child poverty
Mana have costed their policy for supplying free breakfasts and lunches for low decile schools.
From MANA Foreign Policy Spokesperson John Minto’s Foreign Policy release – Sunday 20 November
The headline point from the policy
1. Bring the troops back from Afghanistan and use the money to feed kids in decile 1 to 3 schools.
Our troops in Afghanistan are involved in an imperial war on behalf of the US. We are helping prop up an illegitimate government of drug barons and war lords. We are seen quite rightly as foreign invaders and our presence increases the possibility of New Zealand becoming a terrorist target in future.
The $40 million we would save would be used to kick-start our “feed the kids” program which would roll out for all New Zealand children at school to provide healthy breakfasts and lunches. We would start at decile 1 to 3 primary schools at a cost of around $38 million.
I’m not a Labour supporter. I was going to vote Green but I’ve seriously been considering voting Mana as their policies have filled out. They’re still talking about maintaining the capitalist ideology though. Of course, all the political parties are which just proves their complete misunderstanding of economics
To answer your question on Red Alert: Only the Greens have a policy plan to have rental properties rated for energy efficiency (mandatory), which includes insulation. They will extend the current scheme for insulating, but it will not stop slum lords operating. It will however give some people an insight into how it will be to live in a particular home.
They’re still talking about maintaining the capitalist ideology though. Of course, all the political parties are which just proves their complete misunderstanding of economics
I’m not a fan of free market totalitarianism either, but I think pragmatic left policy recognizes that capitalism isn’t so much about economics as it is about psychology and sociology. I’m inclined to Green but resent its bluishness as of now.
Sorry for mistaking you for a Labour Party supporter, Draco. I am kicking myself for being so insensitive. Sorry for the insult.
I thought you were touting Labour’s opportunistically conditional policy for dealing with childhood poverty and hunger in this country of extraordinary wealth.
I do not mean to answer for Draco, but to suggest Labour will do nothing for 6 years is incorrect. Their immediate push to improve the lot of struggling people is the increase in minimum wage and the $5K tax free threshold – which also applies to beneficiaries. Then there is the removal of GST on fruit/veges – small but useful. This is the first steps in lowering the cost of living to people who need a hand the most. It is not a silver bullet, but it is at least a firm commitment. Other measures such as free healthcare to under 6’s will phase in gradually.
This is becoming a real bug-bear for me*. The tax-free threshold is a benefit for all taxpayers, including multimillionaires like Key. The argument that the threshold is for the benefit of the poor simply on the grounds that the poor will appreciate the extra money more, is, to my mind offensive. If Labour had targeted all of the expenditure that this measure will cost to those in need, it would make a big difference.
Same with the GST off fruit and veges. Where does Labour get off saying that because there are people in dire need they will give everyone a small amount extra to address it rather than, you know, actually addressing the need. It would be like providing the equivalent of 5 cents to every human on earth as a response to an emergency affecting a much smaller number of people in Eastern Europe for example.
*Not directed specifically at you uturn, you are just the latest person to say this.
These are valid points and ones Jenny argues in her post above. Why don’t Labour, why don’t The Greens, why doesn’t anyone? Why don’t we all call a meeting of our local community and take back the problem? Why do we rely on the comfortable distance of redistributed income tax instead of getting up close and personal with the people we say we support, or for that matter, hate?
First on the lists of why is that government is a balancing act within a corrupted system. You can’t simply take jillions of dollars from, say, infrastructure projects and build McDonald’s-esque food houses for card carrying poor people to patronise. To attempt such a thing would shake our culture of greed, earning and profit so severly it’s hard to imagine the unintended results/backlash.
Second on the list is that if we allow government to dictate how and when assistance happens, we’ll lose control of our communities every time there is a change of government, effectively undermining our goals.
Third would be that some people will be better suited to assist from a distance and some up close. At least intially. Not everyone is or can be the same, but then not everyone who is poor is the same. People are still people.
I think that in the end, poverty must be challenged face to face, one on one, at whatever the cost. As an intermediary step, people not in poverty need to think about everything they consume, everything they want to buy and streamline the things they have, but don’t use. Give excess away to people at a disadvantage who can use them. Don’t buy stuff no one needs – like the other day I saw a tool for taking chips out of the bag so you don’t get greasy fingers.
When choosing entertainment, try to find it in the company of others first, not on an X-box by default. Make conversation rather than listen to the distraction of TV, pop music and beer. Work on neighbourhood projects together. Share problems. Keep an eye on the fortunes of the people around you. If they’re doing fine, leave them be; if they are falling below the bread line, help them to regain their feet – for free. Learn about other people, learn about yourself – respect both. Listen to what others say, not just the response and ideas in your own head. Take time.
Small changes in atittude and reduction of waste will have a gradual indirect influence on poverty. Understanding why it is right will ease the pain of giving up the “getting ahead” mindset.
A: “Why do we rely on the comfortable distance of redistributed income tax B: instead of getting up close and personal with the people we say we support, or for that matter, hate?”
A: Because poverty is lack of resources just as scurvy is lack of vitamin C. The immediate need in both cases is what is lacking. B: Community korero is great and certainly not mutually exclusive. But it is no substitute for what is lacking. Funnily enough, poor communities have less material resources to share. We have enough resources in NZ, they don’t need to be rationed out of the hands of the poor. As for “up close and personal” speak for yourself.
“You can’t simply take jillions of dollars from, say, infrastructure projects …”
I specifically said that targeting help where it is needed instead of a big, sparse, lolly scramble, would make a huge difference. If the tax-free threshold is such small change that is is only the poor that get any benefit from it, don’t give a bit to everyone. Use the resources where they are needed most. In health we don’t give everyone a small proceedure regularly, regardless of need, and tell those needing heart surgery, for example, that they can have a free mole removal, like everyone else.
“McDonald’s-esque food houses for card carrying poor people to patronise…”
Are you taking the piss here, or is that as far as your imagination can take you?
No it’s not, it’s a misallocation of available resources caused by the capitalist free-market. Although it will turn into a lack of resources over time as all available resources are used up ASAP by the capitalist free-market.
Quick note to the moderator. My email address (and therefore my pictogram) has changed because I’ve changed server. I assume this is the reason my last comment went into moderation.
[sprout: correct, first comments from a new email are auto-moderated]
http://en.gravatar.com/
You can upload a pic and associate it with an email address and change the address when you change ISPs. You can also go get a gmail or similar account and so get a permanent email address.
Ta Draco.
I’ve moved to orcon (miles cheaper) and the email addresses are mine for life.
I think I will organise a gravatar though. Really don’t like my new pictogram.
a recurring thought, feel free to share it around,
No-one likes giving their money to a Banker, so why would you give your Vote to one?
Made this my Facebook status.
Me too! 🙂
I would imagine something like this.
Thanks to a federal ban on food stamps for people with felony drug convictions, people like McLemore are out of luck when it comes to getting assistance with putting food on their tables. Though states can opt out of the ban, those that don’t (like Mississsippi) deny food stamps even to individuals who have already served their sentences or overcome previous addictions. It’s true that McLemore’s past isn’t perfect — she has four felony drug convictions and one misdemeanor, which place her firmly in the category of people the federal government has declared unfit to receive public benefits. Hence, faced with the prospect of being unable to feed her family, McLemore lied on her application.
Welcome to the war on drugs, where once convicted you’re fucked for life, unless you’re rich that is.
Note also that loan fraudsters get far lower sentences for a crime that impacted negatively far more than one person lying so they and their kids could eat. Justice this is not.
throw away American citizens. Bet she votes Republican too.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/11/17/huge-lakes-of-water-may-exist-under-europas-ice/
Fucking awesome. although having mucked around with origin of life stuff in uni, sunlight isn’t entirely needed, as warm seeps can kick out a wide range of simple to complex organic molecules*, while black smokers provide various sulphates than can be oxidised to provide an energy source for life. Although what we need to do is send probes into the ice, and even into the black depths of Europa to find signs of “life”, which isn’t as straightforward as you’d think**
________________________
* In biochem land, this means multiple chiral centres.
** aka philosophy of biology fun land, or at it’s simplest “life is a heat engine, exploiting thermodynamic gradients for reproduction, thus creating more entropy”. I’d also argue it’s not time dependent, which causes all sorts of fun-times for the human mind…
Its not time dependent? Or rather can occur on scales so large (or small) that it appears not to be time dependent?
just commenting to see if it comes through.
[lprent: Sorry – been obsessed with correlations for e-day. I will have another look at this. Found and fixed. Moderators – if you’re going to do blacklist DO NOT tag the persons name. ]
People forget Peter Dunne was Labour MP THEN feel out of bed and ended up looking like Act with a red face
He seems to win the personality stakes for all time in NZ politics without a scratch
He almost fits the proposition that all MPs should be elected as independents to reduce the enormous drain on the voters sanity supporting the BS of party politicing
The shock of having to be standing and winning on their own may cause such a melt down of honesty that the people might even take it very seriously that we are a puppet state of the international corporations and have serious problems that will eventually drive us to join Australia so we can survive
Physically we are one of the most endangered island country’s in the world
Get a little unsettled NZ and WAKE UP
Metafilter: Our glorious new public/private partnership military industrial police complex.
joe90 : Any idea if the NZ police are affiliated with PERF?
Oh yeah, a familiar name and a regular mention.
NYT: U.N. Panel Finds Climate Change Behind Some Extreme Weather Events
The findings were released at a conference in Kampala, Uganda, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a high-profile United Nations body assigned to review and report periodically on developments in climate research. They come at a time of unusual weather disasters around the globe, from catastrophic flooding in Asia and Australia to blizzards, floods, heat waves, droughts, wildfires and windstorms in the United States that have cost billions of dollars.
“A hotter, moister atmosphere is an atmosphere primed to trigger disasters,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton University climate scientist and a principal author of the new report. “As the world gets hotter, the risk gets higher.” …
The new report on extreme weather, one of a string of reports that the panel is issuing on relatively narrow issues, did not break much ground scientifically, essentially refining findings that have been emerging in climate science papers in recent years.
Indeed, the delegates meeting in Kampala adopted scientifically cautious positions in some areas. For instance, some researchers have presented evidence suggesting that hurricanes are growing more intense because of climate change, but the report sided with a group of experts who say that such a claim is premature.
Nonetheless, the report predicted that certain types of weather extremes will grow more numerous and more intense as human-induced global warming worsens in coming decades.
“It is virtually certain that increases in the frequency and magnitude of warm daily temperature extremes and decreases in cold extremes will occur in the 21st century on the global scale,” the report said. “It is likely that the frequency of heavy precipitation or the proportion of total rainfall from heavy falls will increase in the 21st century over many areas of the globe.”
By the end of the century, if greenhouse emissions continue unabated, the type of heat wave that now occurs once every 20 years will be occurring every couple of years across large areas of the planet, the report predicted.
Conflicts across the globe that don’t make the headlines: Wars in the World
Also, from Tidy Read: War nesw updates.
Here’s a little video mash up of the Teapot tapes footage: Teapot tape debacle
Poor Brash: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6005840/Brash-leaves-leadership-door-ajar-for-Isaac
I caught this bit of the interview and I don’t think it’s been fairly represented in that story. The thing with Brash is that he’s not like other politicians – he’s quite politically naive. He’ll say what he thinks and is generally up-front about it. Other politicians (Key is a master at it and Goff does it as well) answer questions couched in ways that the listener thinks they’ve said something but they can later come back and ‘clarify’ or refute. Brash on the other hand just says it with little beating around the bush. Political journalists hear this from Brash and think that there really must be more going on behind his words than he’s letting on (as they would be with any other politician), but really in Brash’s case there isn’t any cloak and dagger skullduggery at all.
Contra argument: The hollow men.
He may not be much good at it, but he is dishonest.
On the other hand, Like Te Mana, representatives of parties that aren’t competing for Mr and Ms Middle seem to be far more able to be frank about what they believe.
Sounds like he’s confirmed some of the rumoured contents of the teapots, reaffirmed his consent to the Act/Nat plan, reaffirmed National are in trouble and signalled he is stepping away from the increasingly stinky dung heap it’s all become. He has inadvertently hung a closed for business sign on ACT too – nothing more than an organisation in name only for the machinations of National.
Been away for a week, so this may be a repeat if somebody else has posted it, but this is a great election track from Avondale’s finest! Must listen.
http://soundcloud.com/homebrewcrew/home-brew-listen-to-us-feat
Are you a Kiwi? Am I a Kiwi? Are we Kiwis?
Well, John Key is now presuming to speak on your behalf:
“Key: Kiwis Support Asset Sales”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10767604
Will we be selling our assets?
Will you be voting?
Presumptuous twit. Punish the prick
All the polls I’ve seen show that ~85% of people oppose asset sales, ergo, this must be Jonkey trying to rewrite reality so that it conforms with his ideology.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6005657/Labour-flyer-threatening-mum
Yup, another good idea from the Labour brains trust.
It’s not Labour threatening mum but NAct.
No its labour telling porkies again…
The thuggery continues.
https://www.facebook.com/OccupyTahrirSquare/posts/142223339214886
http://twitpic.com/7h5os4
#OccupyTahrirSquare
#Tahrir
#Beleidy
#Ghonim
#Wa7damasrya
And no prizes for guessing who supplies the thugs with their weaponry.
Another excellent column from Tapu Misa:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10767482
You can see where NACT get their education policy. There is nothing new under the sun.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/nov/20/schools-michael-gove-behaviour-adviser
Just one day, sometime down the track, parents might be required to take a little bit more personal responsibility ensuring that they are sending their children to school, well rested, well fed, suitably attired and in the right frame of mind to learn.
It would appear that at the moment it’s the schools’ responsibility to attend to this and also deliver the curriculum to meet the standards.
As it is unlawful not to be enrolled to vote? What is the penalty and has anyone ever been convicted? Therer was reported 240k not currently enrolled for this election
Personal gain from privatisation?
Well there is one reason why John Key might undertake such an exercise… to ensure that New Zealand has to undertake asset sales to service the huge amounts of debt that National has mismanaged us into…
WTF, is John Key drunk? certainly looks like it
http://www.times-age.co.nz/news/key-drops-in-on-school-unit-and-visits-jnl-mill/982641/
What a fucking hypocrite Key is
This unit set up to catch these kids that fall through the cracks,has a 85 % pass rate is being closed by this government
Shame on you bastards
This has really pissed me off
Key lied to get into power by using this as a example, among many others
Absolutely disgusting
Act has apparently been a Stolid partner
Anonymous steps it up with the first release of their newly acquired database in response to Pepper spray incident..
Sorry to those of you using the WSIWYG editor, I’m going to have to disable it so it doesn’t interfere with the caching system I just turned on.
Bit of a load tonight.
Ok. That eased the situation considerably… The main server is now handling the load. I have to find some time to get that wee editor working nicely with the cache.
Now it is spiking to very high CPU, not locking on 95+% CPU. Cache makes a lot of difference.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/6008050/Workers-in-55-job-roles-getting-paid-less-Survey
sort of dismisses Keys claim about wages going up dont it
Test message
Is it not often noted that different ethic groups have defining body language ?
The striking similarities in our PM’s physical gestures to some of the history footage of the 1930’s&40’s of another politician known for lying and debasing the truth to gain political power .
Just an observation and a guide to the validity of the rhetoric being charged to the taxpayer
Like Ben what I’d really like to understand is how UF can use the tagline of “Family Friendly ”, want to have the Families Commission, try to split tax for the stay at home partner in the middle/ upper income brackets whilst cuddling up to the Nact party that spends it’s time slagging off the parent who takes the huge financial and emotional hit involved in bringing up the kids by themselves.(and this is all too often the parent protecting the kids from family violence.)
Some parents are more equal than others ……
Another day, another record day. It hasn’t happened since Thursday last week. According to statcounter.
Top page views in a day
Top unique visits in a day.
Much of it in the hour after the debate when I’m sure we hit our highest page views per hour. Looked like 5000pv in a bit over n hour.
Comment load looks pretty high as well.