First we learn the reality of American-style feedlots for cattle in New Zealand. Now Rachel Stewart says there is a an even darker side to Kiwi farming.
Just maybe we can get some momentum to end animal cruelty in New Zealand as people realise the repugnant practices that produce animals for consumption by humans.
We need to end factory farming. Clean Green NZ is a cruel joke.
Hard to believe that passes local water quality laws. How do they get the effluent redistributed in spring, evenly across the fields? Must have impressive pond filtration and solid storage to last the winter. Is that on an inland marine clay soil? Not sure how else they would stop leaching. Workers would risk death by drug overdose during stormy weather. But as always, don’t panic, go organic!
The feed lots really disturbed myself and my girls. When we first saw it on the TV, we thought it was a story from overseas. But nope it’s here, and it’s all about making as much $$$$$$$$$ as possible.
I wonder if David Parker and Damo are still ‘flatting’ together in Welly when Parliament sits? If so they have much to discuss and sort out, because feed lots is not the type of NZ we are proud of or want to be a part of.
Yep Damien needs to get his priorities right – he isn’t a farmers advocate he is a bloody minister. Time he started caring about the environment or his legacy will be shit imo.
Trotter loses plot, re-invents ACT: “the zeitgeist – the “spirit of the times”. If ever there was a moment for someone to lift up the banner of freedom – it is now. Combine the defence of free markets with the defence of free speech and Act – proudly rebranded as “The Freedom League” – might once again aspire to Prebble’s electoral success.” http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/
“The Social Contract”, Rousseau, in 1762: “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” So will invoking antique liberationist philosophy currently work politically? In a culture where everyone believes they actually are free spirits?
Trotter may have got more milage from using Orwell as the basis for reminding us of the threat from the left. At least there’s a substantial political tradition there from the most recent century past. He’d get more traction for ACT if he tossed free love into the mix with free speech & free markets, pushing the nostalgia button for many political players still alive. And how about free money as well? That’d rope in lots more!!
“He’d get more traction for ACT if he tossed free love into the mix with free speech & free markets, pushing the nostalgia button for many political players still alive. And how about free money as well? ”
Suggest you reread Trotter’s piece if thats what you took from it
Trotter forgets the time he lead the outcry when Harawira was blocked from speaking at Auckland Law School in may 2011 by a ‘breach of the peace’ from campus Young nats……
The benefits of biodiversity and heritage strains of crops, illustrated yet again for the umpteenth time. A variety of corn in Mexico that has a legume-like ability to fix its own nitrogen. Combine this trait with the benefits of other more commercial strains and there’s a big potential for reduced fertilizer use, with flow-on benefits for better water quality from reduced run-off and reduced GHG emissions.
I find this all arse about face. Heritage breeds generally discarded for the industrial production. Have to pollute to grow. Find heritage breed that reduces pollution – oh let’s genetically modify to get that trait. No thought apart from commercial imo. The thinking that fucked us up will not save us.
Better off doing this type of thing
“Three hundred years ago, when early American colonists took a look at the food gardens in Native American villages, they often saw a unique companion planting plan – sweetcorn, climbing beans and pumpkins or squash being grown together in the same plot.” https://www.growveg.com.au/guides/companion-planting-three-sisters-garden-plans/
I kinda take the view that the entire spectrum of techniques have something to contribute, but there is no one silver bullet magic answer.
I agree that corporate industrial farming has become an out-of-control Frankenstein’s monster. But let’s not lose sight of the way corporate industrial farming is good at maximising output given the various input price signals and constraints. Where we’ve fallen down is failing to impose appropriate price signals and constraints on things like energy use, pollution, animal welfare, border controls etc etc. One of the good and bad results of this state of affairs is that food is now awesomely cheap by historical standards, but it also makes it very hard for those that want to do things in a heritage way to actually make a living at it.
Is it cheap compared to yesteryear? If we grow and eat seasonally, locally and communally then it seems that would be very cost effective. But im in the country not the city so my view may be jaundiced.
A quick search didn’t show up a good illustrative article that’s NZ specific, but I’m pretty sure I have seen stuff indicating NZ trends are similar to the US. The sites I regularly visit also occasionally feature pieces about how meagre the financial returns are from small scale labour intensive farming.
Yeah, there’s significant differences city to country on this. Not least that many country people derive a lot of pleasure from producing food, almost to the extent that income from it is just a bonus. Whereas city folk the pleasure is generally just around eating, with a small part of the population getting something out of feeling virtuous from paying extra for organic and/or ethical.
I worry that with the ongoing worldwide drift from rural to urban and simple population increase pressures it’s going to be ever harder to preserve the few small pockets of heritage we still have. Especially since many of the areas with significant heritage resources overlap a lot with population growth pressure and overlap with where climate change is going to hit hardest.
Yes good points. I know a lot of seed savers and the heritage seeds are treasured. Going to be useful I think. Not sure about keeping them up in that seed vault in Norway though.
Seeds are useful, but the value in the heritage is the whole ecosystem involved which might be lost with a focus on just the seeds. For example, there’s no guarantee just the seeds will carry the symbiotic micro-organisms that do the actual nitrogen fixing.
Robert G
Keep the seeds viable and fresh and you keep coming up with stuff to remind us what we could all be doing if we stopped tapping. Keep coming with info on – The Riverton Chronicle.
Here in Riverton we are operating a heritage vegetable seed saving network that “employs” growers across the region (and beyond) to keep the lines fresh. Our heritage fruit net is even more grounded, preserving the remnant orchards, grafting from them and creating new heritage orchards cared for by the communities from which the scions came, and providing grafted trees to individuals (about 5 000 so far) to plant at home. Keep it fresh and alive and involve people in the process; those things “belong” to all of us and spreading responsibility and stock is the best insurance against loss, Imo.
Likewise ‘economic efficiency’. Of course it’s usually good to do things ‘efficiently’, though often that’s confused with cost savings achieved through cutting pay. Labour-saving technology like information technology has not enabled reductions in working hours, because the greater the competition between organisations, the more likely it is to mean that we just have to do more in the same working day. A microwave oven may save you time at home, allowing you to do other things as you wish, but in a fast-food restaurant it just means each worker has to produce more meals in a given time. We have always to ask: efficient for whom? Does it give us more time, or just speed up the treadmill? And as the case of the disposable plastic spoon reminds us, what is ‘cost-effective’ in money terms can be an absurdly wasteful and polluting use of resources. In the public sector, much cost cutting in the name of ‘efficiency’ merely reduces service quality and distracts services from their core purposes, so that schools teach to the test and hospitals reduce patient care and send patients home too early so as to free up beds. It encourages vacuous nonsense from management about ‘leveraging our skillsets to meet the challenge of competition going forward’, and suchlike, eroding professionals’ commitments to doing what is best for clients, patients and students, and other workers’ desire to do their job well. It can produce stress, disaffection and burn-out in workers – too busy to care for themselves and family or to have time for friends. We have to weigh all these things up in the different spheres of economic life and limit and regulate competition accordingly.
Yet, in addition to that still rather instrumental view of our environment, we should not forget its beauty and richness. Being able to appreciate and enjoy it is an important part of well-being, and we should not apologise for these values simply because they don’t fit with a narrow economic perspective. As Ruskin said, ‘there is no wealth but life’.
Destroying the environment as we have been is going to cost us far more than the apparent savings that industrial farming brought about.
Turnbull is in trouble; he survived a confidence vote yesterday by only 7 votes, but more resignations and defections keep the pressure on. Dutton might force his way in as PM for a short while, but it won’t last.
And of Turnbull resigns Parliament as many have suggested it will likely force an election:
Threatening an early election appears to be the only card Turnbull has left to keep his caucus in line. Good times for Bill Shorten who can confidently tell his caucus to work hard, keep smiling and let the Libs gift them Government.
You got it. But the threat will only have a short life-span, it seems. Dutton established sufficient support to try again soon. It hinges on how many of the seven who are most likely to switch to him see advantage in doing so prior to an election, rather than waiting.
The PM can call an early election to stymie the plot, but would he do so with current polling making him a dead-cert loser?? And likely to get rolled in the aftermath, so a double loser. So as a ploy, not very effective. Which is why Oz political commentators call him dead man walking.
A weak leader, but is Dutton any better? I doubt it. If I were Turnbull, I’d be in liaison with all the likely contenders other than Dutton right now, offering them a deal in which I’d rebuild in collaboration with them and offer resignation in advance while they sort out amongst themselves who ought to fight Dutton to take over.
Under that scenario, Turnbull gets to prove he can be a real centrist leader, go out from a position of strength having developed a credible alternative to Dutton & Shorten – if he gets them back close to parity with Labour in the polls.
What was the margin of Tumbulls victory over Abbott back in 2016 ?
10 votes. His recent margin is 13 votes.
In Aussie politics its all about the numbers , you either have more than your opponent or you dont. End of story.
All this waffle about another challenge …. it could happen but they dont really have time and who would that challenger be, its not going to be Dutton again.
No it wasnt, it was 13 votes.( what you mean was if ‘7 voters change sides’)
However Turnbull only won the vote against Abbott a few years back by 10 votes.
His margin has never been great but its plenty in the scheme of things.
remember in NZ Brash supposedly won the leadership against English by ONE vote.
If old Mal is rolled, he does the honourable thing resigned from the House of Representatives which would he has more morals and ethics than the current lot or the nuclear option, but I somehow don’t think Mal is that type of person.
Shorten is not popular with public either and that’s even at the grassroots level of the Australian Labour Party as well. As he is seen as numbers man that rolled Rudd and later Gillard.
Albo has the popular vote among the grassroots and the greater voting public, but hasn’t got the Party vote and head office support which is a damm shame as Albo is a true battler from the working class.
Mal and Albo come solo parent homes both working class backgrounds, but they both took different paths later in life.
I don’t think Julie wants the job, as for Mal and the Mad Monk they come from to totally different spheres within the Lib’s and that’s the problem.
Mal is a true a Lib probably more Social Liberal who would rather give someone a leg up, open minded forward thinking and science/ technology evidence base than the right wing bible bashed based conservatives like the Mad Monk.
There is a lot of old money in both NSW and Vic compared to the other states and would there some religious stuff as aka the Catholics in Vic and Protestants of NSW etc thrown in just to keep everyone on their toes.
Manafort guilty on 8 counts, mistrial on the remaining 10 counts. So the prosecution can try him again on those 10 counts. Plus Manafort’s got another trial coming up in DC. The guilty finding on those 8 counts with that backdrop has to really up the pressure on him, so we may yet see him flip.
Also in Trump’s bad news week is that Christopher Steele, author of the Trump dossier had a defamation claim against him from three Russian oligarchs thrown out
Yep – this is part of colonisation. The fact that more police are coming on just fills me with foreboding cos we know they racially profile.
The great kauri are dying, the rivers are sick, the land is degraded and abused – these plus the prison pop and all the other negative stats from longevity to employment that affect Māori are SYMPTOMS – of what? The continued colonisation of Māori. The continued othering and disrespect. The continued desecration of mana. Be warned kiwiland.
Thanks marty. When I saw Anzac on the news last night it really struck a chord with me, very powerful what he said. Opened the door to reality for viewers I hope. Speaking as a pakeha I think we have to do what we can to help – and that doesn’t mean telling Māori what to do.
As I think has been talked about on here previously that might involve discussing and changing things based from korero on the marae. Officials going to the marae for help and solutions to fix this, not the other way round.
The great kauri are dying, the rivers are sick, the land is degraded and abused – these plus the prison pop and all the other negative stats from longevity to employment that affect Māori are SYMPTOMS – of what? The continued colonisation of Māori. The continued othering and disrespect. The continued desecration of mana.
It is all the inevitable result of capitalism and the All against All society that it produces.
Colonisation cant be attributed for say so many Maoris in prison. The vast majority are law abiding and I have been told by maori who have one of their whanau in a gang, that they just think they are a fool.
Yes , huge amounts of land were lost from colonization policies, so not so much remains. With Maori and jails its the other way around. Very small proportion are involved in criminal activity.
One of the big issues Mueller’s investigation has lifted the lid on is just how soft the US has become on white-collar crime, helped along by getting distracted to focus on “terrorism”. Routine inability to keep things in perspective, or calculated strategy by white-collar crims, and the pollies and judges they buy?
Really hard to comprehend, this. I often worked with Greg during his first few years in the TVNZ newsroom, found him invariably in good humour & developed an easy rapport with him right from the start. So very sad for his family.
There must be a deep back-story to this – wonder if it will ever come out. He became adept at presenting with both flair & goodwill to the audience. Huge loss for TVNZ.
Yes, Cinny, enough of that myself in the distant past to wonder if he’d been carrying an affliction from childhood. The macho stance was widely used as repression in my generation but Greg being that much younger I can but guess how much it applied to him.
Bobby McFerrin hams up here about problems he has faced I think and tells us how to keep on top. You can be dressed for success, get it and still not feel right. I think Robin Williams is in this vid too. Don’t Worry Be Happy
Yes Cindy, we are very good at hiding it until something or someone tiggers it off again and it’s then a race back down the rabbit hole just little bit further than last time until we turn around and pop back out of the rabbit or we pass the LD.
LD is a Military term for Line of Departure when one is about to commit than attack or counter attack on a enemy position or also known as the point of no return. I only got as far as the FUP (Form Up Point) which is just the before the LD where you do your final checks before you get ready to cross the LD. My FSGT cross his LD and the NT Police nick me before I completed my final checks before I cross the LD.
Sorry for using Military terminology it’s the only way I can describe it to someone and actually I one step further in that I use the Military planning formula called the Military Appreciation Process or MAP which scared my treatment team and when I was down at the clinic last year my partner ( now my wife) mentioned to the staff at meeting which became a light bulb moment for staff at why we are so good at it than civilians.
Indeed @ Cinny and to all the comments below. He was/is a good bugger.
Alison Mau (though she doesn’t claim to be ‘best buddies’ on Stuffed) has summed things up well.
( In my view: Decent, Humble, Intelligent, Social, Spiritual, and not at all Egotistical). Something didn’t feel quite right leaving Te Puke last Saturday
“This, to my mind, is what lies at the heart of Megan V’s original tweet. The assumption that young girls are “in their prime” and therefore free to be pursued and used by adult men who require control in a relationship in order to feel comfortable in it.
Evidence that the trend is substantial lies in the various independent initiatives emerging. Classic niche marketing: when the niche becomes evident, entrepreneurs compete to fill the vacuum. LibDems spot the trend & wonder if they really are dead in the water (or do they flog the dead horse yet again to see if it will leap up & run).
None of which would matter under FPP, if it weren’t for the fact that both major parties are sick nigh unto death themselves!
Fletcher Building in red, posts $190m loss, no dividend for shareholders
(maybe they should also add no company taxes for taxpayers in NZ)
Apparently that is mostly due to their unusually low tender that John Key was involved with to Sky City for the conference centre that has been a balls up for taxpayers from the word go. from wiki
Proposed convention centre[edit]
In May 2013, the Government came to a deal with SkyCity to build a convention centre worth $402 million in exchange for gambling concessions. The concessions would allow SkyCity to install an extra 230 poker machines, 40 gambling tables, as well as a further 12 gaming tables that could be substituted for automated table game player stations (but not poker machines). SkyCity would also receive an extension to their casino licence, from its expiry in 2021 until 2048. In exchange, SkyCity would be required to meet the full costs of the convention centre project.[13]
Describing the benefit for New Zealand, Economic Development Minister, Steven Joyce said the convention centre would add an estimated $90 million a year to the local economy, create 1,000 jobs during construction and 800 jobs once the centre is running.[13]
Cost overruns[edit]
In 2015 it was announced that the anticipated cost of the convention centre had increased by $70 to $130 million, to a total maximum of $530 million. Prime Minister John Key said he was considering making up the shortfall by giving SkyCity public tax money to finish the project – as it would be an “eyesore” if the extra funding was not made available.[14] Two days later on 12 February, following criticism in the media and in Parliament, the Prime Minister described the use of taxpayer funds as the “least preferred option”.[15] Subsequently, on 15 February, it was announced that instead of seeking funding from the government for project over-runs, SkyCity would instead be allowed to build a convention centre which was slightly smaller, so that total costs would remain about $400 million
better than it looks, as revenue is up slightly to $9.5 bill and cash is around $660 mill.
Because of the writeoffs they had to go back to their banks who then screwed them for $150 mill ‘to refinance’ their borrowing.
They still paid $85 mill in tax, according the financial report – as you would expect as they are ‘still rolling in it’ on a cash basis
All good then when the banks get $150 mill for refinancing while the tax payers only get 85 mill (if you are correct) and the shareholders get nothing? sarcasm.
Fletchers has been destroying shareholder wealth since Hugh ran it and it was split up.
So many Sirs have been involved Trotter,Deans,Norris …none of them could run a bath.
Some of their acquisitions beggar belief…lame dupe overpayers.
New board appointments the usual shuffle of the old boy network pack.(includes women)
It was a whole slew of banks , At 30 June 2018 the Group had a $925 million syndicated
revolving credit facility on an unsecured, negative pledge and
borrowing covenant basis, with ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited,
MUFG Bank Limited, Bank of New Zealand, Commonwealth Bank
of Australia, Citibank N.A., The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation Limited, Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited,
China Construction Bank (New Zealand) Limited and Westpac New
Zealand Limited.
Knew ANZ would be in there somehow:) surprise surprise… JK just pops up everywhere when smaller folks and the public and even the corps lose money and banks make a killing.
So does anyone know when did the extra gambling concessions come in for Skycity? Because the deal was agreed in 2013 and my guess is the gambling concessions were near instant, while 5 years later, in 2018 and we still don’t have the convention centre and even when built we don’t get that extra large convention centre that was promised.
Meanwhile sounds like they already have the extra gambling and no doubt the government will bend over backwards to extend it to 2048, even though we are never going to get that extra large convention centre that the whole deal was based on but instead a smaller cheaper one, that is too small for the large conferences. Not that I believe in the conference centre anyway as most of the time they are just corporate welfare jobs.
Sounds like the F-ing bottle water fiasco, the corporate gets free water rights straight away but doesn’t even have to provide the unspecified paltry jobs going to anybody until they get full water capacity…
And it sounds like the deal is now bringing down Fletchers profits too and their shareholders some of whom might be Kiwisaver’s, aka the poorest working class people in NZ and of course Fletchers is one of the biggest snowflakes whining they can’t get any staff cheap enough or why should they bother to train anybody or take a long term view on labour and plan for their contracts.
Im just worried that as part of deal Key and Joyce did, that the ratepayers/taxpayers will have to cover some of the shortfall.
The chips may not be down till the place opens and like a magic act the curtain is pulled back to reveal all.
Then they can queue up and collect their million dollar handouts from WINZ (maybe should be WInzC work, income NZ Corporates) and of course unlike the WINZ loans they don’t have to pay it back when they get on their feet…
Also racist to discriminate so NZ taxpayers via the government should have to give freely to anybody asking for a handout so maybe
WINC (work, income, new Corporates, ) and since they are expecting avalanche of them with our TPPA and our new infrastructure agency, maybe (work, income, new Corporates, welcome in New capitalists)…
One point I’ve come to understand over the years is that it’s impossible to negotiate a ‘market wage’ if you don’t what the market is actually paying and the majority of people actually don’t know, don’t have the connections to find out and don’t know where else to look.
In the seventies everyone discussed each others income freely – or at least they did in my workplaces. Think that changed during the eighties with the onset of neoliberalism & the privacy laws brought in to make it hard for pay info to become public knowledge.
There’s been a corporate strategy of privatisation for much longer, actually. The radical notion that capitalism could flourish by identifying individuals as unique emerged as a re-boot strategy in the aftermath of WWII. It fostered consumerism within the USA in the fifties, then produced individualism as a cultic trend in the sixties, which morphed via hedonism in the seventies into the globalising of neoliberalism in the eighties. All of the above specifically designed to oppose the rampant collectivism of the earlier decades of the 20th century, and the class-consciousness it had produced.
So whereas opposition to privatisation has been primarily based on ideology & economic policy grounds, there’s a deeper cultural trend driving it, of which privacy laws are a symptom – designed to operate like blinkers on a farm-horse, to force everyone into mental silos so common interests can be defeated.
On that point I have to totally agree DtB. It’s become common for employment contracts to actually forbid employees from discussing wages with each other.
For all the Trump fanbois and fangirls that are trying to minimise, deflect and distract by whining about the Dems and Clinton and what else isn’t being covered over in the post specifically about the Cohen and Manafort news, here’s a piece that includes some of the other big news of today in US politics.
The turd tornado’s very first supporter in the House, Duncan Hunter of San Diego, has just been indicted for misappropriating a quarter-mil in campaign funds, thereby putting a completely safe Repug seat in play.
Don of the Deadbrains’ own administration says their new EPA initiative will cause around 1400 premature deaths every year from pollution.
Yet another of the scaly orange swampking’s odious creatures, Larry Kudlow, has been busted for links to white supremacists.
Looking forward to Morrissey’s take on the dreadful Greg Newbold and his grim outbursts on Mora’s Panel.
Even more interesting was Mora’s attempts to stop Joe Bennett ‘s efforts to challenge Newbold’s repulsive views.
I’m on the case, Ed. I heard Newbold—can anyone believe he’s a PROFESSOR?—and was amazed at how incoherent he was. He’s just not up to it.
A transcript will be up tomorrow some time. In the meantime, here’s a snatch of Professor Newbold’s learned conversation….
PROFESSOR GREG NEWBOLD: Bloody rubbish. Absolute rubbish. Absolute bloody rubbish, the bloody lot. If you strengthen whanau ties with Maori all you’re doing is strengthening gang affiliations.
….Awkward pause….
JIM MORA: You could say the same about Pakeha offenders.
PROFESSOR GREG NEWBOLD: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
JIM MORA: Is there research about interventions?
PROFESSOR [believe it or not] GREG NEWBOLD: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s Canadian ones….
REBEKAH WHITE: So we haven’t researched Integrated Centre Management in New Zealand?
Good morning Newshub I keep a sharp eye on all my offspring for signs of depression
Mike I all ways talk to them and support them with love and care.
I bet that’s people are trying to blame Eco Maori for all the emotion’s being release at the Justice reforming summit you should have seen it coming Blame me for a unjust system that you and your tipuna imposed on us for 200 year’s .
What I will say to te emotional tangata whenua is don’t rock the government’s Waka to much because the main cause of the prison population increase was national if you throw to much emotions around national will use it as a weapon to try and sink the Labour Waka so be cool we don’t need a repeat of 2008 and the last 9 year’s of money transference to the wealthy.
Phil Colins Mama is awsome song his music is cool Musician Sports people and all the people who make our films doco ex these people are the people who change the Papatuanuku culture to a less divided world do not accept raciest unhumane people views and back equality.
Ka kite ano Try losing your mother at 9
Good evening Newshub There are a lot of ruff tangaroa in Australia and a storm going down in America this is the problem with the democratic systems both country’s and NZ go so far with policy’s to mitigate climate change they get voted out and the neo liberals capitalist throw those policy’s out there cots and start to burn OUR environment
we will never beat climate change unless all the left voters stand up and keep the neo capitalist out of power.
The air traffic control tower in Wellington will become a land mark for Wellington and Aotearoa Its a awsome building .
The new Britsh weather satellite is a tool that will help forecast the weather more accurately ka pai .
Ka kite ano P.S the sandflys are still swarming I ignore them they are nothing compared to Eco Maori
The Crowd Goes Wild Mulls and Makere thats cool that the Black Ferns will play the opening game for the All Blacks test thats good for wahine mana .
I see te Ngati pakeha maori is out is he interviewing people in his jandles lol
Ka kite ano P.S I’m quite good at applying te rubber —- on some people
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Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
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. ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
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 ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
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Animal cruelty – a storm is coming
First we learn the reality of American-style feedlots for cattle in New Zealand. Now Rachel Stewart says there is a an even darker side to Kiwi farming.
Just maybe we can get some momentum to end animal cruelty in New Zealand as people realise the repugnant practices that produce animals for consumption by humans.
We need to end factory farming. Clean Green NZ is a cruel joke.
Hard to believe that passes local water quality laws. How do they get the effluent redistributed in spring, evenly across the fields? Must have impressive pond filtration and solid storage to last the winter. Is that on an inland marine clay soil? Not sure how else they would stop leaching. Workers would risk death by drug overdose during stormy weather. But as always, don’t panic, go organic!
Thanks grey for sharing this.
I have long been dismayed at the lack of shelter afforded to cattle.
Such a basic requirement and yet it seems cattle with shelter are an anomoly rather than the norm as I remember growing up.
This feedlot method is another black mark on the industry.
The only way it can be justified is through an accounting lens.
The feed lots really disturbed myself and my girls. When we first saw it on the TV, we thought it was a story from overseas. But nope it’s here, and it’s all about making as much $$$$$$$$$ as possible.
I wonder if David Parker and Damo are still ‘flatting’ together in Welly when Parliament sits? If so they have much to discuss and sort out, because feed lots is not the type of NZ we are proud of or want to be a part of.
Yep Damien needs to get his priorities right – he isn’t a farmers advocate he is a bloody minister. Time he started caring about the environment or his legacy will be shit imo.
Deer culled on Molesworth Station with 1080, DOC refused the offer of professional hunters to cull with weapons ?
Really Ngungukai? Where did you hear that please?
It’s not the nation doing this – it’s the capitalists with the government supporting them.
It’s an important distinction because it proves the lack of democracy.
Please to read this:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/364611/julie-anne-genter-gives-birth-to-son
Congrats to the parents.
Wooo hoooooo, well done Mum 🙂
Some very good news to start the day with.
Awesome news – so happy for them – well done to everyone!!!
Great news! Big congratulations!
Another very lucky little baby who will have the best of parents. Congratulations Julie Anne Genter and her partner.
Congratulations.
Trotter loses plot, re-invents ACT: “the zeitgeist – the “spirit of the times”. If ever there was a moment for someone to lift up the banner of freedom – it is now. Combine the defence of free markets with the defence of free speech and Act – proudly rebranded as “The Freedom League” – might once again aspire to Prebble’s electoral success.”
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/
“The Social Contract”, Rousseau, in 1762: “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” So will invoking antique liberationist philosophy currently work politically? In a culture where everyone believes they actually are free spirits?
Trotter may have got more milage from using Orwell as the basis for reminding us of the threat from the left. At least there’s a substantial political tradition there from the most recent century past. He’d get more traction for ACT if he tossed free love into the mix with free speech & free markets, pushing the nostalgia button for many political players still alive. And how about free money as well? That’d rope in lots more!!
I didn’t know people still read Trotter’s words.
Well he used to be a guest speaker at ACTs Wellington salon…
“He’d get more traction for ACT if he tossed free love into the mix with free speech & free markets, pushing the nostalgia button for many political players still alive. And how about free money as well? ”
Suggest you reread Trotter’s piece if thats what you took from it
Trotter forgets the time he lead the outcry when Harawira was blocked from speaking at Auckland Law School in may 2011 by a ‘breach of the peace’ from campus Young nats……
what do you mean he didnt say a word at all.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2011/
How bizarre!
Act’s Populist Soufflé Unlikely To Rise Twice.
Big shoutout to Julie Ann Genter and her new baby.
Congratulations!
And welcome to New Zealand little one.
12yr/old Kiwi is fighting for the trademark “Slime Princess”. GiveALittle link in article.
Nickelodeon objects.
I remember many Slime episodes of What Now?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12110802
The benefits of biodiversity and heritage strains of crops, illustrated yet again for the umpteenth time. A variety of corn in Mexico that has a legume-like ability to fix its own nitrogen. Combine this trait with the benefits of other more commercial strains and there’s a big potential for reduced fertilizer use, with flow-on benefits for better water quality from reduced run-off and reduced GHG emissions.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/corn-future-hundreds-years-old-and-makes-its-own-mucus-180969972/
Why not keep breeding the heritage breeds?
I find this all arse about face. Heritage breeds generally discarded for the industrial production. Have to pollute to grow. Find heritage breed that reduces pollution – oh let’s genetically modify to get that trait. No thought apart from commercial imo. The thinking that fucked us up will not save us.
Better off doing this type of thing
“Three hundred years ago, when early American colonists took a look at the food gardens in Native American villages, they often saw a unique companion planting plan – sweetcorn, climbing beans and pumpkins or squash being grown together in the same plot.”
https://www.growveg.com.au/guides/companion-planting-three-sisters-garden-plans/
I kinda take the view that the entire spectrum of techniques have something to contribute, but there is no one silver bullet magic answer.
I agree that corporate industrial farming has become an out-of-control Frankenstein’s monster. But let’s not lose sight of the way corporate industrial farming is good at maximising output given the various input price signals and constraints. Where we’ve fallen down is failing to impose appropriate price signals and constraints on things like energy use, pollution, animal welfare, border controls etc etc. One of the good and bad results of this state of affairs is that food is now awesomely cheap by historical standards, but it also makes it very hard for those that want to do things in a heritage way to actually make a living at it.
Is it cheap compared to yesteryear? If we grow and eat seasonally, locally and communally then it seems that would be very cost effective. But im in the country not the city so my view may be jaundiced.
A quick google turned up this:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/02/389578089/your-grandparents-spent-more-of-their-money-on-food-than-you-do
A quick search didn’t show up a good illustrative article that’s NZ specific, but I’m pretty sure I have seen stuff indicating NZ trends are similar to the US. The sites I regularly visit also occasionally feature pieces about how meagre the financial returns are from small scale labour intensive farming.
Yeah, there’s significant differences city to country on this. Not least that many country people derive a lot of pleasure from producing food, almost to the extent that income from it is just a bonus. Whereas city folk the pleasure is generally just around eating, with a small part of the population getting something out of feeling virtuous from paying extra for organic and/or ethical.
I worry that with the ongoing worldwide drift from rural to urban and simple population increase pressures it’s going to be ever harder to preserve the few small pockets of heritage we still have. Especially since many of the areas with significant heritage resources overlap a lot with population growth pressure and overlap with where climate change is going to hit hardest.
Yes good points. I know a lot of seed savers and the heritage seeds are treasured. Going to be useful I think. Not sure about keeping them up in that seed vault in Norway though.
http://time.com/5177165/climate-change-threatens-norway-seed-vault/
Seeds are useful, but the value in the heritage is the whole ecosystem involved which might be lost with a focus on just the seeds. For example, there’s no guarantee just the seeds will carry the symbiotic micro-organisms that do the actual nitrogen fixing.
Yes lots to sort if we are going to get through the fast approaching/upon us now bottleneck
Robert G
Keep the seeds viable and fresh and you keep coming up with stuff to remind us what we could all be doing if we stopped tapping. Keep coming with info on – The Riverton Chronicle.
Here in Riverton we are operating a heritage vegetable seed saving network that “employs” growers across the region (and beyond) to keep the lines fresh. Our heritage fruit net is even more grounded, preserving the remnant orchards, grafting from them and creating new heritage orchards cared for by the communities from which the scions came, and providing grafted trees to individuals (about 5 000 so far) to plant at home. Keep it fresh and alive and involve people in the process; those things “belong” to all of us and spreading responsibility and stock is the best insurance against loss, Imo.
Broom and gorse, wild lupins too and naturalised clovers and vetches should solve that issue, Andre.
Quoting Why we can’t afford the rich:
Destroying the environment as we have been is going to cost us far more than the apparent savings that industrial farming brought about.
Turnbull is in trouble; he survived a confidence vote yesterday by only 7 votes, but more resignations and defections keep the pressure on. Dutton might force his way in as PM for a short while, but it won’t last.
And of Turnbull resigns Parliament as many have suggested it will likely force an election:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-22/malcolm-turnbull-leadership-crisis-deepens/10149440
Threatening an early election appears to be the only card Turnbull has left to keep his caucus in line. Good times for Bill Shorten who can confidently tell his caucus to work hard, keep smiling and let the Libs gift them Government.
You got it. But the threat will only have a short life-span, it seems. Dutton established sufficient support to try again soon. It hinges on how many of the seven who are most likely to switch to him see advantage in doing so prior to an election, rather than waiting.
The PM can call an early election to stymie the plot, but would he do so with current polling making him a dead-cert loser?? And likely to get rolled in the aftermath, so a double loser. So as a ploy, not very effective. Which is why Oz political commentators call him dead man walking.
A weak leader, but is Dutton any better? I doubt it. If I were Turnbull, I’d be in liaison with all the likely contenders other than Dutton right now, offering them a deal in which I’d rebuild in collaboration with them and offer resignation in advance while they sort out amongst themselves who ought to fight Dutton to take over.
Under that scenario, Turnbull gets to prove he can be a real centrist leader, go out from a position of strength having developed a credible alternative to Dutton & Shorten – if he gets them back close to parity with Labour in the polls.
What was the margin of Tumbulls victory over Abbott back in 2016 ?
10 votes. His recent margin is 13 votes.
In Aussie politics its all about the numbers , you either have more than your opponent or you dont. End of story.
All this waffle about another challenge …. it could happen but they dont really have time and who would that challenger be, its not going to be Dutton again.
I read recently that if an election were held now that Dutton would likely lose his seat (Fingers crossed for Turnbull going for the nuclear option)
Red what are Labor’s key policies?
‘confidence vote yesterday by only 7 votes”
No it wasnt, it was 13 votes.( what you mean was if ‘7 voters change sides’)
However Turnbull only won the vote against Abbott a few years back by 10 votes.
His margin has never been great but its plenty in the scheme of things.
remember in NZ Brash supposedly won the leadership against English by ONE vote.
And that was after Blinglish took National to their worst defeat ever.
If old Mal is rolled, he does the honourable thing resigned from the House of Representatives which would he has more morals and ethics than the current lot or the nuclear option, but I somehow don’t think Mal is that type of person.
Shorten is not popular with public either and that’s even at the grassroots level of the Australian Labour Party as well. As he is seen as numbers man that rolled Rudd and later Gillard.
Albo has the popular vote among the grassroots and the greater voting public, but hasn’t got the Party vote and head office support which is a damm shame as Albo is a true battler from the working class.
Mal and Albo come solo parent homes both working class backgrounds, but they both took different paths later in life.
Its mostly a NSW vs Victoria thing.
Constantly happens, if one state has the leader the other state wants it. or more correctly the the big donors based in those states.
Hawke ( Vic) v Keating (NSW)
Howard -NSW v Costello -Vic ( he quite in the end rather than challenge)
Rudd -Qld v Gillard -Vic That was an usual one which lead to yo yo
Turnbull NSW v Abbott NSW that too is unusual and is reason why unresolved.
Dutton is QLD so never had a chance – he was only interested in saving his seat at election time.
This is why Bishop isnt putting hand up , shes from WA
I don’t think Julie wants the job, as for Mal and the Mad Monk they come from to totally different spheres within the Lib’s and that’s the problem.
Mal is a true a Lib probably more Social Liberal who would rather give someone a leg up, open minded forward thinking and science/ technology evidence base than the right wing bible bashed based conservatives like the Mad Monk.
There is a lot of old money in both NSW and Vic compared to the other states and would there some religious stuff as aka the Catholics in Vic and Protestants of NSW etc thrown in just to keep everyone on their toes.
This covers it off with verve :
https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/the-latest-leadership-spill-proves-one-thing-democracy-is-dead-in-australia/news-story/2626e417ac7df0fdde4778959e818353
It sure does RedLogix, just watching Mal on the telly atm and I’m starting to think that Mal might go the nuclear option?
Mudoch media vehicle says…”democracy is dead”…
As if it’s not a primary component of the ‘death squad’…
With the jury due on Manafort, flipping Cohen and getting him to court in the same week is orchestrated media mastery from Mullers team.
Well played, Sir.
Manafort is convicted.
Hmm, it seems Cohen’s plea deal might not include cooperation.
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/21/politics/michael-cohen-plea-deal-talks/index.html
Manafort guilty on 8 counts, mistrial on the remaining 10 counts. So the prosecution can try him again on those 10 counts. Plus Manafort’s got another trial coming up in DC. The guilty finding on those 8 counts with that backdrop has to really up the pressure on him, so we may yet see him flip.
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/21/politics/paul-manafort-trial-jury/index.html
Also in Trump’s bad news week is that Christopher Steele, author of the Trump dossier had a defamation claim against him from three Russian oligarchs thrown out
“If that is the case, let Māori speak for us,” he told the summit. “Our people need help right now.”
Anzac Wallace at the criminal justice summit. Enough said.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/08/government-wants-to-lower-m-ori-prison-stats-but-hasn-t-set-specific-target.html
Yep – this is part of colonisation. The fact that more police are coming on just fills me with foreboding cos we know they racially profile.
The great kauri are dying, the rivers are sick, the land is degraded and abused – these plus the prison pop and all the other negative stats from longevity to employment that affect Māori are SYMPTOMS – of what? The continued colonisation of Māori. The continued othering and disrespect. The continued desecration of mana. Be warned kiwiland.
Thanks marty. When I saw Anzac on the news last night it really struck a chord with me, very powerful what he said. Opened the door to reality for viewers I hope. Speaking as a pakeha I think we have to do what we can to help – and that doesn’t mean telling Māori what to do.
As I think has been talked about on here previously that might involve discussing and changing things based from korero on the marae. Officials going to the marae for help and solutions to fix this, not the other way round.
Yes i agree with you and thanks for putting the comment up. I missed it last night (working).
The solutions are there – not sure if they will be palatable for our society.
It is all the inevitable result of capitalism and the All against All society that it produces.
Colonisation cant be attributed for say so many Maoris in prison. The vast majority are law abiding and I have been told by maori who have one of their whanau in a gang, that they just think they are a fool.
Yes , huge amounts of land were lost from colonization policies, so not so much remains. With Maori and jails its the other way around. Very small proportion are involved in criminal activity.
Wot you think they’re just bad do you?
The comparison is % of population compared to % of prison population btw.
One of the big issues Mueller’s investigation has lifted the lid on is just how soft the US has become on white-collar crime, helped along by getting distracted to focus on “terrorism”. Routine inability to keep things in perspective, or calculated strategy by white-collar crims, and the pollies and judges they buy?
https://www.vox.com/2018/8/21/17757636/cohen-manafort-white-collar-crime
Sad news …… TVNZ news presenter and journalist Greg Boyed has died in Europe.
Much love to all of his family and friends.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12111311
That is really sad.On the outside he looked like he had everything.
Life is full of emptiness at times.
He was one of the best journos and current affairs hosts in NZ – strictly fair and balanced. It’s deeply sad.
Fuck that is so sad. Suicide is shit. Sending love to all involved.
Really hard to comprehend, this. I often worked with Greg during his first few years in the TVNZ newsroom, found him invariably in good humour & developed an easy rapport with him right from the start. So very sad for his family.
There must be a deep back-story to this – wonder if it will ever come out. He became adept at presenting with both flair & goodwill to the audience. Huge loss for TVNZ.
Dennis, often those struggling with depression hide it so very well as they don’t want to be a bother, or feel like they’ve let anyone down.
He was fantastic at his job and well respected.
Yes, Cinny, enough of that myself in the distant past to wonder if he’d been carrying an affliction from childhood. The macho stance was widely used as repression in my generation but Greg being that much younger I can but guess how much it applied to him.
Bobby McFerrin hams up here about problems he has faced I think and tells us how to keep on top. You can be dressed for success, get it and still not feel right. I think Robin Williams is in this vid too. Don’t Worry Be Happy
He is (Robin). That’s … stunning.
Yes Cindy, we are very good at hiding it until something or someone tiggers it off again and it’s then a race back down the rabbit hole just little bit further than last time until we turn around and pop back out of the rabbit or we pass the LD.
LD is a Military term for Line of Departure when one is about to commit than attack or counter attack on a enemy position or also known as the point of no return. I only got as far as the FUP (Form Up Point) which is just the before the LD where you do your final checks before you get ready to cross the LD. My FSGT cross his LD and the NT Police nick me before I completed my final checks before I cross the LD.
Sorry for using Military terminology it’s the only way I can describe it to someone and actually I one step further in that I use the Military planning formula called the Military Appreciation Process or MAP which scared my treatment team and when I was down at the clinic last year my partner ( now my wife) mentioned to the staff at meeting which became a light bulb moment for staff at why we are so good at it than civilians.
You explained that really well Exkiwiforces.
That is so sad. One of life’s good folk.
Indeed @ Cinny and to all the comments below. He was/is a good bugger.
Alison Mau (though she doesn’t claim to be ‘best buddies’ on Stuffed) has summed things up well.
( In my view: Decent, Humble, Intelligent, Social, Spiritual, and not at all Egotistical). Something didn’t feel quite right leaving Te Puke last Saturday
Great article – thanks Clementine
“This, to my mind, is what lies at the heart of Megan V’s original tweet. The assumption that young girls are “in their prime” and therefore free to be pursued and used by adult men who require control in a relationship in order to feel comfortable in it.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/love-sex/106462832/psa-to-girls-under-18
We are not unique,… Canadians even have Pukeko’s…
Moorhen team building a nest in Canada Water – YouTube
Video for canadian moorhen you tube▶ 1:20
They are both a member of the Rallidae family.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorhen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasian_swamphen
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/pukeko
Brainstorming a new centrist party is the latest fashion trend in UK politics: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/20/prospect-new-uk-party-grows-westminster-political-cracks-brexit
Evidence that the trend is substantial lies in the various independent initiatives emerging. Classic niche marketing: when the niche becomes evident, entrepreneurs compete to fill the vacuum. LibDems spot the trend & wonder if they really are dead in the water (or do they flog the dead horse yet again to see if it will leap up & run).
None of which would matter under FPP, if it weren’t for the fact that both major parties are sick nigh unto death themselves!
Fletcher Building in red, posts $190m loss, no dividend for shareholders
(maybe they should also add no company taxes for taxpayers in NZ)
Apparently that is mostly due to their unusually low tender that John Key was involved with to Sky City for the conference centre that has been a balls up for taxpayers from the word go. from wiki
Proposed convention centre[edit]
In May 2013, the Government came to a deal with SkyCity to build a convention centre worth $402 million in exchange for gambling concessions. The concessions would allow SkyCity to install an extra 230 poker machines, 40 gambling tables, as well as a further 12 gaming tables that could be substituted for automated table game player stations (but not poker machines). SkyCity would also receive an extension to their casino licence, from its expiry in 2021 until 2048. In exchange, SkyCity would be required to meet the full costs of the convention centre project.[13]
Describing the benefit for New Zealand, Economic Development Minister, Steven Joyce said the convention centre would add an estimated $90 million a year to the local economy, create 1,000 jobs during construction and 800 jobs once the centre is running.[13]
Cost overruns[edit]
In 2015 it was announced that the anticipated cost of the convention centre had increased by $70 to $130 million, to a total maximum of $530 million. Prime Minister John Key said he was considering making up the shortfall by giving SkyCity public tax money to finish the project – as it would be an “eyesore” if the extra funding was not made available.[14] Two days later on 12 February, following criticism in the media and in Parliament, the Prime Minister described the use of taxpayer funds as the “least preferred option”.[15] Subsequently, on 15 February, it was announced that instead of seeking funding from the government for project over-runs, SkyCity would instead be allowed to build a convention centre which was slightly smaller, so that total costs would remain about $400 million
better than it looks, as revenue is up slightly to $9.5 bill and cash is around $660 mill.
Because of the writeoffs they had to go back to their banks who then screwed them for $150 mill ‘to refinance’ their borrowing.
They still paid $85 mill in tax, according the financial report – as you would expect as they are ‘still rolling in it’ on a cash basis
All good then when the banks get $150 mill for refinancing while the tax payers only get 85 mill (if you are correct) and the shareholders get nothing? sarcasm.
Wonder if Fltecher’s refinanced through ANZ…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/97996782/john-key-to-chair-anz-board
(if so, maybe they learn first hand about the moniker “smiling assassin”).
Fletchers has been destroying shareholder wealth since Hugh ran it and it was split up.
So many Sirs have been involved Trotter,Deans,Norris …none of them could run a bath.
Some of their acquisitions beggar belief…lame dupe overpayers.
New board appointments the usual shuffle of the old boy network pack.(includes women)
Fletchers have been subsidised by the NZ Taxpayer ever since Adam was a cowboy ?
It was a whole slew of banks ,
At 30 June 2018 the Group had a $925 million syndicated
revolving credit facility on an unsecured, negative pledge and
borrowing covenant basis, with ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited,
MUFG Bank Limited, Bank of New Zealand, Commonwealth Bank
of Australia, Citibank N.A., The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation Limited, Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited,
China Construction Bank (New Zealand) Limited and Westpac New
Zealand Limited.
MUFG is Japans largest Bank
Knew ANZ would be in there somehow:) surprise surprise… JK just pops up everywhere when smaller folks and the public and even the corps lose money and banks make a killing.
Back to the gambling concessions.
So does anyone know when did the extra gambling concessions come in for Skycity? Because the deal was agreed in 2013 and my guess is the gambling concessions were near instant, while 5 years later, in 2018 and we still don’t have the convention centre and even when built we don’t get that extra large convention centre that was promised.
Meanwhile sounds like they already have the extra gambling and no doubt the government will bend over backwards to extend it to 2048, even though we are never going to get that extra large convention centre that the whole deal was based on but instead a smaller cheaper one, that is too small for the large conferences. Not that I believe in the conference centre anyway as most of the time they are just corporate welfare jobs.
Sounds like the F-ing bottle water fiasco, the corporate gets free water rights straight away but doesn’t even have to provide the unspecified paltry jobs going to anybody until they get full water capacity…
And it sounds like the deal is now bringing down Fletchers profits too and their shareholders some of whom might be Kiwisaver’s, aka the poorest working class people in NZ and of course Fletchers is one of the biggest snowflakes whining they can’t get any staff cheap enough or why should they bother to train anybody or take a long term view on labour and plan for their contracts.
Part of John Key’s questionable legacy?
If we had the proper laws regarding corruption in place I think Key’s ‘legacy’ would have been significantly different.
Some piles of broken rock in a prison yard.
…and his so called “Rockstar Ecoomy” ?
Im just worried that as part of deal Key and Joyce did, that the ratepayers/taxpayers will have to cover some of the shortfall.
The chips may not be down till the place opens and like a magic act the curtain is pulled back to reveal all.
Can we send the corporate snowflakes asking for handouts to the budgeting advice…aka Fletchers and Sky City who can’t seem to budget very well.
http://mangerebudgeting.org.nz
https://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/centres/nz/auckland/auckland/
Then they can queue up and collect their million dollar handouts from WINZ (maybe should be WInzC work, income NZ Corporates) and of course unlike the WINZ loans they don’t have to pay it back when they get on their feet…
Also racist to discriminate so NZ taxpayers via the government should have to give freely to anybody asking for a handout so maybe
WINC (work, income, new Corporates, ) and since they are expecting avalanche of them with our TPPA and our new infrastructure agency, maybe (work, income, new Corporates, welcome in New capitalists)…
WINC WINC
😆
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/106472878/equal-pay-starts-with-equal-transparency
Actually not that bad of an idea
One point I’ve come to understand over the years is that it’s impossible to negotiate a ‘market wage’ if you don’t what the market is actually paying and the majority of people actually don’t know, don’t have the connections to find out and don’t know where else to look.
In the seventies everyone discussed each others income freely – or at least they did in my workplaces. Think that changed during the eighties with the onset of neoliberalism & the privacy laws brought in to make it hard for pay info to become public knowledge.
There’s been a corporate strategy of privatisation for much longer, actually. The radical notion that capitalism could flourish by identifying individuals as unique emerged as a re-boot strategy in the aftermath of WWII. It fostered consumerism within the USA in the fifties, then produced individualism as a cultic trend in the sixties, which morphed via hedonism in the seventies into the globalising of neoliberalism in the eighties. All of the above specifically designed to oppose the rampant collectivism of the earlier decades of the 20th century, and the class-consciousness it had produced.
So whereas opposition to privatisation has been primarily based on ideology & economic policy grounds, there’s a deeper cultural trend driving it, of which privacy laws are a symptom – designed to operate like blinkers on a farm-horse, to force everyone into mental silos so common interests can be defeated.
Theres always things people can all agree on
Yeah, like `grass is green’, `the sun rises in the east’. Perhaps a few others… 🙄
…almost feeling sorry for Michael Cheika on Saturday evening….
Philosophy 101 taught me that one can not be certain that grass is green…
…. and bananas change from green to yellow when they ripen.
Ah, but would you be willing to have award rates so that people can go into the negotiations with a good idea as to what the market rate is?
On that point I have to totally agree DtB. It’s become common for employment contracts to actually forbid employees from discussing wages with each other.
For all the Trump fanbois and fangirls that are trying to minimise, deflect and distract by whining about the Dems and Clinton and what else isn’t being covered over in the post specifically about the Cohen and Manafort news, here’s a piece that includes some of the other big news of today in US politics.
https://www.vox.com/2018/8/21/17766146/michael-cohen-guilty-plea-paul-manafort-day-explained
tl;dr
The turd tornado’s very first supporter in the House, Duncan Hunter of San Diego, has just been indicted for misappropriating a quarter-mil in campaign funds, thereby putting a completely safe Repug seat in play.
Don of the Deadbrains’ own administration says their new EPA initiative will cause around 1400 premature deaths every year from pollution.
Yet another of the scaly orange swampking’s odious creatures, Larry Kudlow, has been busted for links to white supremacists.
Must admit when I first saw you use ‘Don of the deadbrains’ the other day, I thought you meant Brash.
I might have. It works just as well. Maybe even better.
R.I.P met him a couple times was a nice enough guy http://mobile.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.php?c_id=1&objectid=12111311
Looking forward to Morrissey’s take on the dreadful Greg Newbold and his grim outbursts on Mora’s Panel.
Even more interesting was Mora’s attempts to stop Joe Bennett ‘s efforts to challenge Newbold’s repulsive views.
I’m on the case, Ed. I heard Newbold—can anyone believe he’s a PROFESSOR?—and was amazed at how incoherent he was. He’s just not up to it.
A transcript will be up tomorrow some time. In the meantime, here’s a snatch of Professor Newbold’s learned conversation….
PROFESSOR GREG NEWBOLD: Bloody rubbish. Absolute rubbish. Absolute bloody rubbish, the bloody lot. If you strengthen whanau ties with Maori all you’re doing is strengthening gang affiliations.
….Awkward pause….
JIM MORA: You could say the same about Pakeha offenders.
PROFESSOR GREG NEWBOLD: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
JIM MORA: Is there research about interventions?
PROFESSOR [believe it or not] GREG NEWBOLD: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s Canadian ones….
REBEKAH WHITE: So we haven’t researched Integrated Centre Management in New Zealand?
“PROFESSOR” [allegedly] GREG NEWBOLD: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…..
MORA: [delicately] It is interesting hearing a contrarian voice from outside the Summit, Greg….
I’m not a fan of Newbold, but having never been in jail, much less in maximum security, I have to defer somewhat to his superior knowledge.
When he said ‘build more prisons’ I took that to mean build better prisons….ones less inclined to be the testosterone soak pits described by Bennett.
I’m not a fan of Newbold, but having never been in jail, much less in maximum security, I have to defer somewhat to his superior knowledge.
Did he sound knowledgeable or well read today? Here’s a sample of his “superior knowledge” on display on national radio:
When he said ‘build more prisons’ I took that to mean build better prisons
No, he meant what he said: “Build more prisons.” He supported National’s cruel and insane idea to build that mega-prison in Te Awamutu.
Life in the moral quagmire: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/cartoons/2018/08/13/gary_varvel_gary_varvel_for_aug_13_2018.html
Good morning Newshub I keep a sharp eye on all my offspring for signs of depression
Mike I all ways talk to them and support them with love and care.
I bet that’s people are trying to blame Eco Maori for all the emotion’s being release at the Justice reforming summit you should have seen it coming Blame me for a unjust system that you and your tipuna imposed on us for 200 year’s .
What I will say to te emotional tangata whenua is don’t rock the government’s Waka to much because the main cause of the prison population increase was national if you throw to much emotions around national will use it as a weapon to try and sink the Labour Waka so be cool we don’t need a repeat of 2008 and the last 9 year’s of money transference to the wealthy.
Phil Colins Mama is awsome song his music is cool Musician Sports people and all the people who make our films doco ex these people are the people who change the Papatuanuku culture to a less divided world do not accept raciest unhumane people views and back equality.
Ka kite ano Try losing your mother at 9
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/combat-sports/106507115/joseph-parkers-fight-against-anthony-joshua-reportedly-sold-1475m-ppvs-in-uk
Good evening Newshub There are a lot of ruff tangaroa in Australia and a storm going down in America this is the problem with the democratic systems both country’s and NZ go so far with policy’s to mitigate climate change they get voted out and the neo liberals capitalist throw those policy’s out there cots and start to burn OUR environment
we will never beat climate change unless all the left voters stand up and keep the neo capitalist out of power.
The air traffic control tower in Wellington will become a land mark for Wellington and Aotearoa Its a awsome building .
The new Britsh weather satellite is a tool that will help forecast the weather more accurately ka pai .
Ka kite ano P.S the sandflys are still swarming I ignore them they are nothing compared to Eco Maori
The Crowd Goes Wild Mulls and Makere thats cool that the Black Ferns will play the opening game for the All Blacks test thats good for wahine mana .
I see te Ngati pakeha maori is out is he interviewing people in his jandles lol
Ka kite ano P.S I’m quite good at applying te rubber —- on some people