The Maritime Union appreciates the community support so far. While we continue to push for a settlement of the dispute via collective bargaining we are seeing no movement from the Port Company except to progress the contracting out process. As a result we have no choice but to fight for maintaining some security of employment and against the contracting out of our jobs. This week therefore sees the start from Friday of a two week strike at the Port.
Your support is going to be increasingly important to us as we fight over issues that are significant for us all.
We will have a 24/7 picket at Teal Park – outside the Fergusson Wharf gate (in front of the Westpac Rescue Centre) corner Tamaki Drive and Solent Street from 10 am Friday 24 February . If you are Auckland based or visiting town we would appreciate you joining us at the picket where you can learn about the dispute, directly from the workers concerned and show your solidarity. Where ever you live you can encourage people you know to come and join us. We are particularly inviting the community to visit on 25-26 February and 3-4 March 11am-3pm when there will food, children’s’ activities and entertainment for all. Parking is on Tamaki Drive and surrounding streets. Contributions of food are appreciated and can be left at the picket.
Please join us.
Financial Support
We have set up 2 ways for individuals to provide financial support for our members.
By calling our information line 0900ourport / 09006877678 to make a $5 automatic contribution.
or by depositing money into our bank account:
Account name: MUNZ National Fighting Fund
Account number: 02-0560-0450165-004
Branch: BNZ Manners Street, Wellington
Deliveries
We are organising groups to deliver postcards in your local area. If you haven’t already indicated you are willing to deliver a one hour bag of delivery and are able to, let us know.
Website and Facebook
Visit http://www.saveourport.com or http://www.facebook.com/saveourport to keep up to date with the dispute. Please encourage others to visit the site and sign our online petition. Attached to this email is a copy of the petition which you can take to your workplace, community organisation and events to encourage people to sign.
Prime Minister John Key has refused a request by the Public Service Association for an urgent meeting to discuss his plans for the state sector.
Earlier this month Mr Key signalled more mergers and job losses as the Government continues its goal of slashing $1billion from the public service.
The Government is looking at how technology such as smart phones can be used to replace over-the-counter contact and how savings can be made through further sharing of back-office functions such as human resources.
Mr Key plans to outline the Government’s proposals in a speech next month and has warned he will “make no apology” for trying to make the state sector more efficient.
Too busy for this, yet he never seems too busy to take holidays in Hawaii, or to spend an hour chatting about cats and other trivial stuff on the radio, to meet with Warners’ execs who are looking for some extra NZ taxpayer money and law changes…..etc, etc….?
We want to achieve a lasting and sustainable solution to the current labour productivity issues and disruptive action in Auckland as quickly as possible through two separate and parallel processes: firstly through negotiations on a Collective Agreement which will deliver improved flexibility, and a long term solution to the current productivity issues which have diminished our customer focus and impaired the Port’s performance for decades; and secondly, through consultation on a proposal to contract out labour at the Port.
Tony Gibson, Customer Advisory, 22 February 2012
Getting rid of the union by outsourcing, and seeking a collective with the union are both mutually exclusive of each other.
The inescapable conclusion is, the Ports of Auckland are only going through the motions of negotiating with the union, to meet their minimal legal requirements to do so.
The Ports of Auckland ltd. are on track with their premeditated plan to lock out the union members.
Contracting Out Proposal:
POA issued an RFP to prospective contractors on 10 January, and we are now in advanced discussions with contractors on the proposal. We’ve had three meetings with the union, but consultation has been relatively one-sided. We will be asking MUNZ to give us a formal response to the proposal by early next week. Meanwhile, the Port has been gathering views from prospective contractors and other staff through the consultation process. We’ll be reviewing this feedback over the next two weeks with a view to deciding whether we take this approach further. Our consultation process on a contract-out model is not just with union members, or stevedores, but involves a complete organisational review.
These are possibly the 5 best sentences you’ll ever read:
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealthy
out of prosperity.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work
for without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody, anything that the government does
not first take from somebody else.
4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!
5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work
because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other
half gets the idea that it does no good to work, because somebody else is
going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any
nation.
1. It is regrettable that some wealthy insist on accumulating so much when if it was shared around many would benefit.
2. What a chief executive receives without deserving many struggling workers must work without receiving properly.
3. The government can and does create wealth. Anyone who denies this is a fool.
4. New Zealand does not have a wealth problem, it has a sharing problem.
5. When 1% of the people get the idea that they are entitled to exorbitant wealth because the remaining 99% is going to take care of them, and when the other 99% understands this is wrong, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealthy
out of prosperity. Correct. You simply legislate against the wealthy ticket clipping the poor.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work
for without receiving. But this will be the end of capitalism – an entire ownership class who gets massive economic benefits while others do the work for them on the minimum wage or close to it
3. The government cannot give to anybody, anything that the government does
not first take from somebody else. Correct. Tax the wealthiest who can afford it, the most. Don’t worry they’ll still have plenty for another investment house, overseas holiday and a couple of new cars afterwards.
4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!Correct. This is why the wealthy insist on taking wealth from the many and giving it to themselves, the few. That way they can MULTIPLY the wealth of the country…for just themselves.
5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work
because the other half is going to take care of them, Actually this happens when work means having a minimum wage JOB (just above broke), and we have an economy which doesn’t need or want NZ workers.
Oh, that old chestnut that the highest-paid amongst us work the hardest, and therefore deserve the most, while the people who do the hardest, dirtiest, most dangerous jobs in our society deserve the least.
Millions of dollars a year for a CEO, minimum wage for a caregiver looking after the elderly.
All is right in James111’s world.
But I would agree that number 5 is a problem. When half the people got the idea that property speculation would mean they didn’t have to work and could live off their tenants, and the other half decided to leave because there was nothing here for them but tenant-slavery, the country did indeed go to hell in a handbasket.
Oh, that old chestnut that the highest-paid amongst us work the hardest, and therefore deserve the most, while the people who do the hardest, dirtiest, most dangerous jobs in our society deserve the least.
Millions of dollars a year for a CEO, minimum wage for a caregiver looking after the elderly.
Seconded! My daughter in law works at Selwyn Village, and pours her heart into caring for her “ladies” – for peanuts!
It bothered me last year when I worked at the language school, getting $35.00 an hour, leaving at 6.00 pm and seeing the cleaners come in then, knowing they were just starting, cleaning up our mess for half the money…(That being said, despite that my job was far more temporary than they ever let on 🙁 , I preferred it to cleaning!)
At least schools are not all that filthy…
No, they’re all BS. There’s only poverty because of the rich. Get rid of the rich and there won’t be any poverty. The actual truth is that you cannot get wealthy without stealing from the rest of the community.
A couple of days ago the Standard started a thread with the fact that the National lead government had broken the $ 50 billion debt ceiling. One of my comments there was that they were doing Greece on us triggering an avelange of Gosman misinfo crap.
Here are some time lines and articles with regards to the Greece/Goldman history you might find interesting:
No misinformation travellerev. I just pointed out the many flaws in your Goldman Sachs causing the Sovereign Debt crisis conspiracy theory.
What you fail to understand is that it was the Greeks inability to cut Government spending , (or at least to fund it domestically), which is at the heart of their problem not Goldman Sachs setting up deals for them. You might like to treat a modern sovereign nation like some sort of drug addled crack whore incapable of making rational decisions. I prefer to place the blame squarely on the people who spent the cash, not on the ones who enabled them to borrow it.
At least you should now know the EU is not the same as the Eurozone. So you have learnt something.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be. They are both fools. And each cares not a jot for the other. This has always been the way.
But given that the entire monetary system is a privately owned ponzi scheme it is clear that the solution is an erasion and replacement of the scheme. No ponzi schemes last.
But this ponzi scheme called the fractional reserve banking system just gets completely ignored in your shallow one-dimensional assessments.
Not just mine vto. I have yet to see one mainstream NZ politician rally against fractional reserve banking. You may very well be right, however your views have yet to persuade anyone, even on the left of the political spectrum, that is likely to be in a position of power in future.
Clearly ideas for change to systems which are not sustainable take time to gain traction in the mainstream and then for politicians to be brave enough to pick them up. This has been the case with such things as limited voting, slavery, apartheid, foreign ownership of land in NZ, the list goes on and back into time. But you will surely realise this. The fact that the fractional reserve system is not being picked up by politicians yet is immaterial to the issue.
The fractional reserve banking system is a ponzi scheme. You are aware of this and it should figure in your in-depth analysis of everything monetray, no? In particular the global debt problem, no? I mean, should the monetary system be included as part of an analysis of this problem gosman?
It’s not just not being picked up by politicians. It isn’t even being picked up by any mainstream political party at a discussion level as far as I can see.
There is also no influential grass roots movement or pressure group bringing this to the public attention. All there seems to be is some fringe far left people throwing this idea around amongst themselves.
You might like to compare this to the process to change limited voting, slavery, apartheid, etc (laughable in my mind) but those things took decades to change and this was despite strong support for them. You have nothing at this stage.
Wow…you can’t see the mainstream power structures acting to undermine the banking system which shares with them some of its power? I wonder why that is.
It’s not just me who can’t see this C.V. It is pretty much all mainstream political parties in the Western world (including the left leaning ones). Now I’m sure you believe your ideas make sense yet it isn’t an old idea. As you pointed out variations on a non-Fractional Reserve Banking system have been practiced in the past. However the ideas you expouse are failing to gain traction for some reason. It must be very frustrating for you C.V.
The ideas etc are not “failing to gain traction”. In case you hadn’t noticed across the entire western world especially, since the gfc, these thoughts and ideas are in fact gaining traction. In evidence see the Occupy movement, among others.
Unless you have any evidence that there is less discussion around the monetary system today than before the gfc, then you are simply wrong.
The Occupy movement? Oh yes now I remember, that little leftist get together at the end of last year. How’s that all going now? Must have achieved something surely.
Excellent, thanks gosman, an acknowledgement that the issues around the monetary system and its unsustainable nature are gaining traction and being openly discussed (your opinion on the Occupy people is immaterial to the relevance of its existence, which is what your point concerned), contrary to your point above.
In fact I don’t think the Occupy Movement managed to convey any such message that they were against the Fractional Reserve Bank System. Sure they were angry at bankers but so what. I’m angry at bankers a lot as well and I work for a bank. Doesn’t mean I want to change the syatem.
I didn’t state that. I did state that the specific idea that the problem is with Fractional Reserve Banking isn’t gaining traction. You haven’t really provided any evidence that it is.
I just dealt with all of those points above. And you don’t answer my question.
As always.
Why do you not take the fractional reserve banking system, and its ponzi unsustainable nature, into account when discussing the global debt situation and in particular Greece?
Because I reject your proposition. As does most of the Governments and opposition parties in the Western world. It must eat you up inside at times to be so sure your views are correct yet noone in a position of influence can see what to you is obvious.
Oh, so you don’t consider the very nature of the fractional reserve money system in discussing the global debt problem and in particular the Greek debt situation because of me.
No, on another thread I discussed why I reject the proposition from an economic stand point.
Now I have a couple of questions for you.
Have you ever discussed the issues you have with the fractional reserve banking system with any politician of a left leaning party (Labour, Greens, Mana, heck even NZ First)?
If you did, did they slowly back away from you while making excuses why they had to go?
Well gosman, that is not what you said above. If you have outlined reasons for viewing the fractional reserve banking system as inert in the global debt situation elsewhere then, without you outlining them again now, the discussion will have to stop. Useless.
As to your two questions, no. I don’t have anything to do with political parties, either from the right where I have placed most of my votes or from the left where I, and most the world imo, have dabbled and are now heading back to.
Conclusion as to the value of this mini-thread with you – witheringly useless.
So you haven’t presented your entirely presuassive and rock solid argument that the current financial system we live under in the Western world is a Ponzi scheme and needs to chang to anyone who might have an ability to actually change the system.
Instead you come on to a Blog site and express these views in the comments section among people that essentially agree with you but are on the whole largely powerless to do anything about them at this stage.
Wow! I admire your persistence. Much like I admire the Wile E Coyote’s persistence chasing the Road Runner. What’s the definition of insanity again? Something about doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different outcome.
Don’t presume so much gosman, you just look a fool. I attend to things such as this in my own particular way, which has its effects, trust me.
As for comments on a blog site – the reasons I bung around on here are my own personal ones (and not very good one really). And anyway as I understand, this site is watched and commented on at times by, by way of example sample, politicians as senior as Mallard and journalists as senior as Hooten and Garner. So your claim that it is ineffectual is in fact completely wrong. Blog sites are referenced by all manner of commentary in the modern world – maybe you have missed that change.
.
What amazes me Gosman, is that you refuse to take the nature, structure and ownership of the world’s debt system into account when discussing the world’s debt.
Gosman, can you explain how on the one hand you are opposed to Government debt, but on the other defend the system that creates out of thin air and runs on such vast quantities of it?
I just dealt with all of those points above. And you don’t answer my question.
As always.
Why do you not take the fractional reserve banking system, and its ponzi unsustainable nature, into account when discussing the global debt situation and in particular Greece?
Gosman says no mainstream politician is up to the task of calling the reserve bank to task but in London mayoral candidate Livingstone is calling for the hanging of a banker a day until they get it as his slogan to get elected. That’s progress I reckon.
Wasn’t Ken Livingston the Mayor of London previously? You know in the early 2000’s when the Bankers were running riot. Also how is ‘hanging bankers until they improve’ the same as deciding to change the banking system to be non-fractional resevere banking?
There is a fair amount of fairly respectable (right wing) economic opinion which is opposed to fractional reserve banking. i.e. Milton Friedman, Hayek, von Mises etc.
If I understand your analogy correctly, the deficit spending is the crack, which would make GS the dealer.
I’m no great fan of the war on drugs, but if we believe crack use to be a problem in society, I’m not convinced that a good respnse would be to have the state enforce the payment of users tic bills. YMMV of course.
Who was using the analogy again vto? Oh that’s right it was me. Therefore I think I would know if PB was understanding the purpose of it wouldn’t you agree?
And a multitude of unelected politicians and bureaucrats are the inside agents for the banksters, while organisations like the IMF are lobby groups and executive arms for them.
given that you are a complete tool who has been repeatedly caught lying, fails to read his own sources, and frequently has no idea what he’s talking about, it’s not really a good idea for you to simply assume that your “points” go over other people’s heads.
’tis better to remain quiet and be thought a stupid lying incompetent selfish tool, than to start typing and remove all doubt…
it was the Greeks inability to cut Government spending , (or at least to fund it domestically), which is at the heart of their problem gets analogised, somehow, to crack addiction.
Looks to me like he was saying the Greeks were ‘addicted’ to not funding their govt spending domestically, forcing them to borrow money from offshore.
But you can’t really be addicted to ‘not doing’ something, ergo, it’s the borrowed money that they were addicted to.
Ummmmm….. I think you will find that I basically stated it would be simplistic nonsense to believe such an analogy. But it is always good to see it confirmed that leftists believe in simplistic nonsense. Thanks for the laugh at your expense.
No you didn’t. But to save people from scrolling up:
What you fail to understand is that it was the Greeks inability to cut Government spending , (or at least to fund it domestically), which is at the heart of their problem not Goldman Sachs setting up deals for them. You might like to treat a modern sovereign nation like some sort of drug addled crack whore incapable of making rational decisions. I prefer to place the blame squarely on the people who spent the cash, not on the ones who enabled them to borrow it.
the bold bit is where you use the simplistic analogy you introduced to explain your position. #hack #stupidtroll
Ummmm…. I think you missed discussing the bit where I stated the actual analogy
“You might like to treat a modern sovereign nation like some sort of drug addled crack whore incapable of making rational decisions.”
Notice I am attributing this view to someone else (in this case the champion of wacky conspiracy theories travellerev). It is clear in this context it is not a view I share.
I also make the distinction between a modern sovereign nations and the drug addled crack whore. This is because I am highlighting that it would be simplistic nonsense to do so. Modern Sovereign nations are nothing like some sort of drug addled crack whore. They are far more complex and sophisicated.
But hey, if you want to run with such a simplistic view of the world go ahead and be my guest. It just makes you look like a plonker that’s all.
Then you probably shouldn’t have talked about a ‘greek inability’ rather than a ‘greek choice’. That set up the confusion. In any case, I tend to the view that bankers who loan money* to people with no ability to repay it, ar at least**, as culpable for the resulting shitstorm.
“…Over the last week, an important approach to economics that has spent years on the sidelines went mainstream: Modern Monetary Theory.
This is good news for anyone who wants to see the neoliberal paradigm challenged- and a positive sign to heterodox economists who have difficulty getting a hearing in a field still gripped by outmoded models.
The theory, which provides unusual perspectives on issues including currency, debt, and government spending, kicked off in the mid-90s – and has since grown into a movement.
Its roster of proponents includes James K. Galbraith; Australian economist Bill Mitchel; Randall Wray and Stephanie Kelton of the University of Missouri-Kansas City; Rob Parenteau; Scott Fullwilier; Warren Mosler; and blogger Marshall Auerback. ‘
Their insights have been particularly valuable in countering the deficit hysteria which reached a fever pitch in the U.S. during the summer of 2011 –
Bank of America is about to get hammered.
US$100 billion in litigation from investors claiming fraud in the mortgage backed securities and now it seems the Attorney-General of NY is going after it for all the taxes that weren’t paid on those security deals. – Kaiser Report interview with Chris Whalen of Tangent Capital.
I wonder if our dear leader still has his money in B of A. Knowing that his biography [Not the one written by Crosby Textor] has numerous incidences where he skips town before he has to face the consequences [“It wasn’t me gov. That was after I left town”], I guess he has dumped and run.
Does any one know his B of A exposure or am I dealing in old news?
On the government website regarding the financial interests of our politicians the only portion of his wealth outside of his trust funds is shares in BofA.
This could mean several things. He wants total control and no trust fund managers to know how much he owns in shares.
The amount in shares is probably considerable making his position as our prime minister a giant conflict of interest.
They were his long term Merrill Lynch investment shares turned into BofA shares when they were forced to buy Merrill Lynch.
Some more related facts are that Goldman Sachs is one of the biggest share holders in BofA which does not bode well for NZ.
Robert Rubin who spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs eventually serving as a member of the Board, and Co-Chairman from 1990-1992 served on the foreign Exchange committee from 1996-1998 after which he went on to preside over the repeal of the Glass Steagall act in the same year.
What is interesting is that he shared the upon invitation only job with none other than John Key’s direct boss Stephen Belotti and John Key received his invitation to “serve” on that committee which is used as a sounding board for the Federal Reserve of New York and a grooming hotspot for future revolving door politicians/bankers.
Here is a post I wrote about the 6 degrees of separation and how close John Key is to the key players in the global bankster takeover.
And no, this is not old news but very opportune because the only way John Key can hang on to his paper wealth is by keeping the system going and that can only be done by indebting the globe further and further into debt so the derivatives bubble ( $ 32 trillion worth) with which he made his money does not collapse.
Thanks ev.
Very informative as usual. Do we have any idea about the level of exposure? The share prices have taken a hit over the last year and there is a prospect of chapter 11 or at least a heavy restructuring, either of which would affect the share price.
I see from your 6 degrees article he is so well connected that he will not be in the dole cue any time soon, but do we know how much a dive in BofA could hurt his interests?
Thank you for taking the time to check out the links I gave you.
As I said before the fact that the shares are not in a trust fund therefore not even allowing the trustees of his funds to know the extend of the share portfolio is probably an indication that it is considerable but I think nobody knows the true size of his paper wealth.
But here is food for thought:
Would it matter if it was $1 million or $25 million in size or would John Key with his future and his shares in mind play along to get along so he can get a cushy job when he leaves (what he considers to be) this dump?
Would he violate his own interests in order to break us free from the Reserve bank system which made him a “made man” still beholden to his international finance masters to help liberate his country men from the collapsing system?
The thing is that unless Greece defaults and goes back to the Drachma and as a result the rest of the financial system goes in meltdown exposing the reserve system for the Ponzi scheme that it is we’re stuffed and under no circumstance will John Key do what is in the best interest of the NZ population. Namely to break away from the reserve system and start issuing interest free government social credit to rebuild the production capability of this country thereby decentralising the power now held by the 1%.
The excuses for war have focused mainly on a threat of terrorism from Iran and nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands. The propaganda for war is as usual, highly flawed. It is based on a falsehood that the United States and Israel are somehow operating their nuclear weapons industries properly, and can therefore judge a hypothetical threat from Iran.
Great to see The Standard (comments at least) turning into a playground for wacky conspiracy theorists. I find the best way to scare people off the left is to direct them here to see all the crazy talk of ‘Banksters’ and ‘Shadowy forces’ and ‘Plots to undermine democracy’. You guy’s provide me with hours of amusement.
You should delve back into the archives a bit more. You’ll find massive and extensive archives on building collapses, signatures on paintings, electoral law, labour law on fishing, taxation systems, science of climate change, implication of falling discoveries of hydrocarbons, and just about everything else you want to name.
It literally comes from across the spectrum and has varying levels of knowledge from your pious knowledge that is usually limited to criticism (and yes there is a place for critics), to people who suggest ideas that are frequently wacky, to those who merely sprout slogans (and risk my boredom).
The point is that airing and discussing ideas is useful. Coming up with ideas for others to cut holes into is useful. Being a dickhead critic isn’t. Being a good critic is. Pick your place….
Don’t get me wrong. Some of the articles and associated comments are generally quite good. However when anything involves economics or general discussion you get the usual suspects turn up with wacky ideas that are generally unsupported even by the wider left movement. It is the comments I generally direct people to so as to turn them off the left not usually the articles (although a couple have proved useful in that regard).
I would suggest that Gosman read up on Copernicus, who resisted openly publishing his views, not wishing – as he confessed – to risk the scorn “to which he would expose himself on account of the novelty and incomprehensibility of his theses.”
When ever I read the rubbish that Gosman generally spouts, I take a quick look at a comment Felix made a while ago that reads:
It seems to me that many who self-identify as “conservative” – especially at an early age, the sort of panty-sniffers and thumb-suckers you find in the young nats for example – seem to have never examined exactly what it is they’re identifying as. It’s more like a club they join that offers the security of never having to examine themselves (or anything else) too closely for comfort.
And understandable if so. Imagine the cognitive dissonance that would arise from actually admitting to yourself that you think things are as good as they’ll ever be and we’d best just stop now, um actually let’s go back a bit just to be sure.
In fact it’s to their advantage to be a bit thick if they want to hold fast to their thick beliefs, because a smarter person simply couldn’t do it. The best a smart conservative can hope for is a double life where inwardly s/he understands the absurdity of it all but publicly puts on a thick face to avoid confrontation, both internal and within the peer group.
Awful really. Some of your Nat friends really are this twisted, grinning smugly to the world while cowering behind the eyes.
You’ll find extreme messages on any forum that isn’t subject moderated. Hell, I find them on comment threads that are exclusively on c++. Did you realize that there are conspiracy theories about the c++ 2011 standard?
We moderate almost entirely on commenting behaviour rather than subjects. There are a few exceptions for the racist, sexist, pointless abuse comments, and generally anti-social commentators. Some people seem to think that raising these in every context are valid subjects. The moderators don’t. But mostly it is behaviours of diversion commenting, fire and forget comments, things that bore the moderators to even read, attacking authors or the site, and all of the paraphernalia of the modern major disruptor.
Gosman seems to be one of those people who think that conspiratorial behaviour is simply absent from the human condition.
That is doesn’t exist in business (lol), doesn’t exists in relationships (lol), doesn’t exist in the workplace (lol), doesn’t exist in politics (LOL)….
Gosman is the type of person who comes here, refuses to accept any evidence, spouts generalisations and expects everyone to side with him; pretty pathetic really.
The Standard documents current affairs. If you have a specific argument against it or those that post here, please define it? Don’t just try to plonk what is obviously troll dung on everything.
I was wondering why there were so many comments on this thread so early in the day. I was expecting this little green goblin and it turns out I was right.
Four Injured After Troops Break into Palestinian Home in Jerusalem http://www.imemc.org/article/62987
Monday February 13, 2012 00:00 by Saed Bannoura – IMEMC & Agencies
Palestinian medical sources in Jerusalem reported that four residents were wounded on Sunday evening, when Israeli troops and policemen broke into a Palestinian home of a former political prisoner, in al-Isawiyya town, in East Jerusalem.
Eyewitnesses said that the army broke into the home of former political prisoner, Samer al-Eesawy, by smashing the main door, and attacked his relative, lawyer Shereen al-Eesawy, her mother Laila, and her brother Shadi.
The lawyer suffered fractures in her arm and leg, and was taken prisoner by the police. Her mother was moved to the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem suffering bruises in the neck, and a fracture in her arm, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
Also, resident Rami Ismat was shot by a rubber-coated metal bullet fired by the army while invading the town. He was also moved to Hadassah Hospital.
It is worth mentioning that in October of last year, Samer al-Eesawy was released under the prisoner-swap deal that secured the release of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, in exchange for the release of over a thousand Palestinian prisoners.
The first phase of the deal was implemented on October 18, 2011, when Israel released 450 detainees, and Shalit was handed by the Hamas movement to Egypt, and on December 18, 2011, Israel released 550 Palestinian detainees in the second phase of swap-deal.
Your ignorance is astounding. Why don’t you find out about what Israel does in the Occupied Territories before you make such a grossly stupid statement?
Perhaps we should send Jim Jim and Gossie out into international waters with a copies of Atlas Shrugged and Javanese For Idiots and see how that get on? I’m prepared to chip in a few bucks for the fares, if only for the peace and quiet round these parts while they’re away.
I’m in two minds – if he crashes there, then he’s back on our telly.
But if he were successful over there, I think the waves of smug infantilism would still radiate powerfully across the Tasman – and more local folk might try to copy him.
Paul Henry has kept true to his controversial reputation in his debut on Australian breakfast television this morning.
After being wound-up by his co-hosts for being a technophobe, Henry hassled Deputy Opposition leader Julie Bishop for not choosing who she would vote for between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
In a segment called Henry Hotline, where viewers call to ask Henry a question, one caller said the show had to be “kidding” with the choice of hosts.
“Never have I seen two out of three more unprofessional newscasters ever in my life,” the caller said.
“Who’s that bloke with the glasses on? I don’t know him, I don’t want him,” said another caller.
Henry also commented that one caller sounded like she had been drinking.
The first airing of Channel Ten’s Breakfast show was brought forward by four days following Labor MP Kevin Rudd’s resignation as Foreign Minister in Washington late last night.
Rehearsals for Henry and his three co hosts, Andrew Rochford, Kathryn Robinson and Magdalena Rose, were cut short in a bid to capitalise on the ratings from the political fall out between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Rudd.
Executive producer Majella Wiemers has said in recent interviews that her job “is to make a show that’s different and unpredictable”.
An official statement said: “We said be prepared for a show that’s cheeky and unpredictable, and (yesterday’s) surprise resignation by Kevin Rudd means it’s time for Breakfast to launch.”
Channel Ten, which puts on the Breakfast show, tweeted late last night: “Get and early night, guys! @TenBreakfast will be making a surprise launch tomorrow at 6am!”
Henry resigned from TVNZ’s Breakfast show after a public uproar over comments about New Zealand’s former Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand and an international outcry over him laughing at Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s name.
Where the hell is David Shearer?
If disappearing is his idea of doing things differently then I’m not impressed.
I want him to be different but I want to know he’s there and can and will and is taking it to Wankey!
Now, yesterday on the radio the defense lawyers had cross-examined the two young witnesses, yet todays ‘updated’ Herald story fails to mention this, instead painting a very different scenario to the one described on Radio NZ yesterday.
The Government is challenging opponents of state-owned asset sales to explain why it would be better to borrow billions of dollars from overseas lenders.
He either really doesn’t get that selling assets is worse than borrowing or it’s another misdirection. I’m betting on the latter – this government really, really wants to sell our assets to their rich mates and make us serfs.
Alternately, English could explain the pros and cons of selling state owned enterprises, in public, in detail, covering all the points the opposition have already made and placing them into context and also examine alternative choices to reducing debt that run contrary to his party’s philosophy.
After all, it’s his job to persuade the public, not the Opposition’s to support his illusions.
He seems to be saying, that since every person in NZ who opposes Asset sales cannot prove beyond any doubt that he is not witholding or concealing agendas or details, he is therefore telling the truth.
English is a snakeoil salesman and the MSM are traitors because they know it and won’t call it.
“Referring to social welfare reform which will apply tougher work tests on sole parents and address youth employment, Mr English said the Government would move quickly to get reforms underway.
He said it was staggering that around one in eight New Zealanders aged 18 to 64 was on a benefit and about half of them had spent at five of the past 10 years on a benefit.
“That’s not only bad for the beneficiaries and their children, it’s a waste for society and taxpayers.”
And what jobs might they all be going to then Balanced Bill?
The class war is going to ramp up hard by the looks of it!
Japan had 54 nuclear reactors. Ten were ‘knocked out’ by the earthquake/tsunami last March. A further six that sat on active fault lines were shut down. The remainder, bar three that will shut down in April, were also shut down.
And yet, in December there was a 6% surplus in electricity generating capacity in Japan.
So the question is; If Japan, that was supposedly highly reliant on nuclear generation can lose it’s entire nuclear generating capacity and have a surplus of power available, then what’s the basis of arguments that would have us believe that we (globally) need nuclear power generation?
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 18
Why not start a Gosman thread tomorrow? He can there talk about anything that takes his fancy. And anyone who wants to interact with him can do so there. And there alone.
Why not start a Gosman thread tomorrow? He can there talk about anything that takes his fancy. And anyone who wants to interact with him can do so there. And there alone.
I’d like to know how gossies plan to put poor children into concentration camps so they die quicker is going. I’m sure his cowboyhat is too tight – he should take note of the great Dan’s hat – now that is class
Apologies if this has already been posted, but MUNZ have a really nice web button that would look real sweet on Teh Standard. Actually, on any worker friendly blog or website. Find it here.
Great to see the profit result for Ports of Tauranga today over 33 million for six months up 22% year on year,and higher than any analysts predicted.Really puts a spotlight on how badly POA is performing
Just goes to show what a well run port with competitive Labor rates ( contractors can achieve). Cant wait to see the mess sorted out at POA.
Get the port running the way it should be with the Labor costs much more competitive with their rival. Then all the rates payers of Auckland might get a decent return above 2.2% which is pathetic.
There is a mantra with the neo Liberals that goes something like “private good, public bad”.
So the cuts in the jobs of the “anonymous” are okay.
However, the newly redundant public servants are human beings with lives, mortgages and usually loyal to the core for their country (as opposed to a lot of the Right’s supporters who salt their profits overseas).
When is there going to be a voice in support of these people and their jobs? A great many will have dedicated a “lifetime” to their jobs – ACC/IRD/WINZ/HOUSING/CYPFS/RMA, (taken burdens from a day’s events home, and often shielded their ministers from embarrassment). They will have often implemented unpopular policy driven by their ministers and had to cop the flack from the public.
Along comes a government of zealots and removes swathes of jobs without any regard for these individuals.
And before the ministers claim that the jobs are a drain and unproductive, they might ask just what contribution they themselves make to the GDP.
@logie97
The NACTs aren’t just zealots, they are manipulators, liars and destroyers of the country and the services enjoyed by all NZ people.
I have family that support NACT and they have achieved much and have a good income and nice life and and make a point that they are paying tax ans think anyone getting welfare is wasting their tax payments. There is no attempt to understand the conditions of the general lower income group, just hostility and disdain. But when one of their family falls into the lower income bracket. that person, being a favourite, receives kindness and thoughtfulness which is not shown to other ‘losers’.
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
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 ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
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The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
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By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
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The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
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Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
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MUNZ seek support
So JonKey is too busy to mee the PSA over public sector cuts even though this is a policy Key has fronted on?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6464535/PSA-disappointed-Key-won-t-discuss-cuts
Too busy for this, yet he never seems too busy to take holidays in Hawaii, or to spend an hour chatting about cats and other trivial stuff on the radio, to meet with Warners’ execs who are looking for some extra NZ taxpayer money and law changes…..etc, etc….?
The PSA need to link up with the Maritime workers.
MUNZ need the numbers and the PSA need a way of making the Government sit up and listen.
‘
A lock out by any other name would smell as sweet?
Customer Advisory
An update from Tony Gibson
Getting rid of the union by outsourcing, and seeking a collective with the union are both mutually exclusive of each other.
The inescapable conclusion is, the Ports of Auckland are only going through the motions of negotiating with the union, to meet their minimal legal requirements to do so.
The Ports of Auckland ltd. are on track with their premeditated plan to lock out the union members.
These are possibly the 5 best sentences you’ll ever read:
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealthy
out of prosperity.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work
for without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody, anything that the government does
not first take from somebody else.
4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!
5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work
because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other
half gets the idea that it does no good to work, because somebody else is
going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any
nation.
emphasis on the possibly
5 sentences that will earn you a failing grade in economics
ahhh, James, read number four again and then explain your oft spoken love of a system that’s very foundation is built upon fractional reserve banking?
How about these?
1. It is regrettable that some wealthy insist on accumulating so much when if it was shared around many would benefit.
2. What a chief executive receives without deserving many struggling workers must work without receiving properly.
3. The government can and does create wealth. Anyone who denies this is a fool.
4. New Zealand does not have a wealth problem, it has a sharing problem.
5. When 1% of the people get the idea that they are entitled to exorbitant wealth because the remaining 99% is going to take care of them, and when the other 99% understands this is wrong, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.
Micky
What wealth did the last Labour government create in nine years? Answer none they just taxed people to death
James 111 arguing with you is like arguing with a rock.
A rock gives off the impression of potential wisdom whereas james opens his mouth and removes all doubt there’s ony RWNJ dribble
And rocks also give the hope of finding they contain small nuggets of precious minerals.
James is more like a coprolite.
yes i remember the times well.
piles of bodies in the streets
hazmat teams burning the dead
tax relief soup kitchens were everywhere
im just grateful we didnt live in any of those countries which paid even more tax than we do.
“im just grateful we didnt live in any of those countries which paid even more tax than we do.”
Like you mean almost all of the rest of the OECD?
yeah – thems the ones
FIFY Jimmy
Oh, that old chestnut that the highest-paid amongst us work the hardest, and therefore deserve the most, while the people who do the hardest, dirtiest, most dangerous jobs in our society deserve the least.
Millions of dollars a year for a CEO, minimum wage for a caregiver looking after the elderly.
All is right in James111’s world.
But I would agree that number 5 is a problem. When half the people got the idea that property speculation would mean they didn’t have to work and could live off their tenants, and the other half decided to leave because there was nothing here for them but tenant-slavery, the country did indeed go to hell in a handbasket.
Seconded! My daughter in law works at Selwyn Village, and pours her heart into caring for her “ladies” – for peanuts!
It bothered me last year when I worked at the language school, getting $35.00 an hour, leaving at 6.00 pm and seeing the cleaners come in then, knowing they were just starting, cleaning up our mess for half the money…(That being said, despite that my job was far more temporary than they ever let on 🙁 , I preferred it to cleaning!)
At least schools are not all that filthy…
No, they’re all BS. There’s only poverty because of the rich. Get rid of the rich and there won’t be any poverty. The actual truth is that you cannot get wealthy without stealing from the rest of the community.
A couple of days ago the Standard started a thread with the fact that the National lead government had broken the $ 50 billion debt ceiling. One of my comments there was that they were doing Greece on us triggering an avelange of Gosman misinfo crap.
Here are some time lines and articles with regards to the Greece/Goldman history you might find interesting:
http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-washington-dc/read-it-and-weep-a-timeline-of-goldman-sachs-corruption
http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/02/inside-the-mind-of-an-investment-banker-greece-goldman-and-derivatives.html
http://antioligarch.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/what-chase-goldman-sachs-did-to-greece/
The Matt Taibbi article with regards to Goldman Sachs actively betting that Greece would fall is particularly poignant.
And Gosman? Go fuck yourself with your pathetic misinfo tripe
No misinformation travellerev. I just pointed out the many flaws in your Goldman Sachs causing the Sovereign Debt crisis conspiracy theory.
What you fail to understand is that it was the Greeks inability to cut Government spending , (or at least to fund it domestically), which is at the heart of their problem not Goldman Sachs setting up deals for them. You might like to treat a modern sovereign nation like some sort of drug addled crack whore incapable of making rational decisions. I prefer to place the blame squarely on the people who spent the cash, not on the ones who enabled them to borrow it.
At least you should now know the EU is not the same as the Eurozone. So you have learnt something.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be. They are both fools. And each cares not a jot for the other. This has always been the way.
But given that the entire monetary system is a privately owned ponzi scheme it is clear that the solution is an erasion and replacement of the scheme. No ponzi schemes last.
But this ponzi scheme called the fractional reserve banking system just gets completely ignored in your shallow one-dimensional assessments.
Not just mine vto. I have yet to see one mainstream NZ politician rally against fractional reserve banking. You may very well be right, however your views have yet to persuade anyone, even on the left of the political spectrum, that is likely to be in a position of power in future.
Again so shallow gosman.
Clearly ideas for change to systems which are not sustainable take time to gain traction in the mainstream and then for politicians to be brave enough to pick them up. This has been the case with such things as limited voting, slavery, apartheid, foreign ownership of land in NZ, the list goes on and back into time. But you will surely realise this. The fact that the fractional reserve system is not being picked up by politicians yet is immaterial to the issue.
The fractional reserve banking system is a ponzi scheme. You are aware of this and it should figure in your in-depth analysis of everything monetray, no? In particular the global debt problem, no? I mean, should the monetary system be included as part of an analysis of this problem gosman?
It’s not just not being picked up by politicians. It isn’t even being picked up by any mainstream political party at a discussion level as far as I can see.
There is also no influential grass roots movement or pressure group bringing this to the public attention. All there seems to be is some fringe far left people throwing this idea around amongst themselves.
You might like to compare this to the process to change limited voting, slavery, apartheid, etc (laughable in my mind) but those things took decades to change and this was despite strong support for them. You have nothing at this stage.
Wow…you can’t see the mainstream power structures acting to undermine the banking system which shares with them some of its power? I wonder why that is.
As usual the Keiser Report reveals much.
It’s not just me who can’t see this C.V. It is pretty much all mainstream political parties in the Western world (including the left leaning ones). Now I’m sure you believe your ideas make sense yet it isn’t an old idea. As you pointed out variations on a non-Fractional Reserve Banking system have been practiced in the past. However the ideas you expouse are failing to gain traction for some reason. It must be very frustrating for you C.V.
The ideas etc are not “failing to gain traction”. In case you hadn’t noticed across the entire western world especially, since the gfc, these thoughts and ideas are in fact gaining traction. In evidence see the Occupy movement, among others.
Unless you have any evidence that there is less discussion around the monetary system today than before the gfc, then you are simply wrong.
The Occupy movement? Oh yes now I remember, that little leftist get together at the end of last year. How’s that all going now? Must have achieved something surely.
Excellent, thanks gosman, an acknowledgement that the issues around the monetary system and its unsustainable nature are gaining traction and being openly discussed (your opinion on the Occupy people is immaterial to the relevance of its existence, which is what your point concerned), contrary to your point above.
No acknowledgment at all.
In fact I don’t think the Occupy Movement managed to convey any such message that they were against the Fractional Reserve Bank System. Sure they were angry at bankers but so what. I’m angry at bankers a lot as well and I work for a bank. Doesn’t mean I want to change the syatem.
If even a leftist like Naomi Wolf isn’t picking up that one of the main issues of the Occupy movement is with Fractional Reserve Banking (see http://econintersect.com/b2evolution/blog1.php/2011/11/27/naomi-wolf-occupy-has-objectives) what hope do you have of getting this message wider coverage VTO. You certainly ain’t goin get it posting here.
Ok gosman, you are right … there is less discussion around the world’s money system today than there was a few years ago.
bonkers
I didn’t state that. I did state that the specific idea that the problem is with Fractional Reserve Banking isn’t gaining traction. You haven’t really provided any evidence that it is.
No Gosman. I did provide evidence by way of the Occupy example. You have provided no evidence for your assertion.
Gosman you’re a gift…
“In fact I don’t think the Occupy Movement managed to convey any such message that they were against the Fractional Reserve Bank System”
“The Disastrous Success of Fractional Reserve Banking”
http://theoccupiedtimes.co.uk/?p=1026
http://occupychi.org/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=684
http://occupywallst.org/forum/end-the-federal-reserve-and-the-fractional-reserve/
http://plancast.com/p/853c/occupy-federal-reserve-end-fractional-reserve-banking
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimkiernan/6532691879/
Washington Post mainstream enough for you Gossy?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/modern-monetary-theory-is-an-unconventional-take-on-economic-strategy/2012/02/15/gIQAR8uPMR_print.html
I just dealt with all of those points above. And you don’t answer my question.
As always.
Why do you not take the fractional reserve banking system, and its ponzi unsustainable nature, into account when discussing the global debt situation and in particular Greece?
Because I reject your proposition. As does most of the Governments and opposition parties in the Western world. It must eat you up inside at times to be so sure your views are correct yet noone in a position of influence can see what to you is obvious.
Oh, so you don’t consider the very nature of the fractional reserve money system in discussing the global debt problem and in particular the Greek debt situation because of me.
well done.
pathetic attempt at diversion and avoidance.
I’ve already discussed previously why I reject the issues with fractional reserve banking.
“I’ve already discussed previously why I reject the issues with fractional reserve banking.”
What you have said is that you reject the issues with fractional reserve banking because few politicians take them up.
That’s fine. At least it adds to an understanding of your understanding of the world, namely;
1. shallow.
2. the fractional reserve monetary system is immaterial to the current global debt problem.
No, on another thread I discussed why I reject the proposition from an economic stand point.
Now I have a couple of questions for you.
Have you ever discussed the issues you have with the fractional reserve banking system with any politician of a left leaning party (Labour, Greens, Mana, heck even NZ First)?
If you did, did they slowly back away from you while making excuses why they had to go?
Well gosman, that is not what you said above. If you have outlined reasons for viewing the fractional reserve banking system as inert in the global debt situation elsewhere then, without you outlining them again now, the discussion will have to stop. Useless.
As to your two questions, no. I don’t have anything to do with political parties, either from the right where I have placed most of my votes or from the left where I, and most the world imo, have dabbled and are now heading back to.
Conclusion as to the value of this mini-thread with you – witheringly useless.
So let me get this straight then.
So you haven’t presented your entirely presuassive and rock solid argument that the current financial system we live under in the Western world is a Ponzi scheme and needs to chang to anyone who might have an ability to actually change the system.
Instead you come on to a Blog site and express these views in the comments section among people that essentially agree with you but are on the whole largely powerless to do anything about them at this stage.
Wow! I admire your persistence. Much like I admire the Wile E Coyote’s persistence chasing the Road Runner. What’s the definition of insanity again? Something about doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different outcome.
Don’t presume so much gosman, you just look a fool. I attend to things such as this in my own particular way, which has its effects, trust me.
As for comments on a blog site – the reasons I bung around on here are my own personal ones (and not very good one really). And anyway as I understand, this site is watched and commented on at times by, by way of example sample, politicians as senior as Mallard and journalists as senior as Hooten and Garner. So your claim that it is ineffectual is in fact completely wrong. Blog sites are referenced by all manner of commentary in the modern world – maybe you have missed that change.
.
What amazes me Gosman, is that you refuse to take the nature, structure and ownership of the world’s debt system into account when discussing the world’s debt.
Mainstream economics and politics being such a measure of success at this juncture too eh Gosman. At least you don’t have unattainable expectations..
Gosman, can you explain how on the one hand you are opposed to Government debt, but on the other defend the system that creates out of thin air and runs on such vast quantities of it?
“There is also no influential grass roots movement or pressure group bringing this to the public attention.”
I’d watch out for Occupy on May1st before proclaiming that Gos..
I just dealt with all of those points above. And you don’t answer my question.
As always.
Why do you not take the fractional reserve banking system, and its ponzi unsustainable nature, into account when discussing the global debt situation and in particular Greece?
VTO,
Gosman says no mainstream politician is up to the task of calling the reserve bank to task but in London mayoral candidate Livingstone is calling for the hanging of a banker a day until they get it as his slogan to get elected. That’s progress I reckon.
Wasn’t Ken Livingston the Mayor of London previously? You know in the early 2000’s when the Bankers were running riot. Also how is ‘hanging bankers until they improve’ the same as deciding to change the banking system to be non-fractional resevere banking?
Haven’t had a chance to read this yet, but an MMT’r on fiat..
http://coppolacomment.blogspot.co.nz/2011/11/merits-of-debt-money-system.html
I hope your masters pay you well shilly G, I really do, because you’re going to need every cent when it goes to pot globally.
And for those of you still believing John Key is here for your interest here is another shill doing his masters dirty work
There is a fair amount of fairly respectable (right wing) economic opinion which is opposed to fractional reserve banking. i.e. Milton Friedman, Hayek, von Mises etc.
If I understand your analogy correctly, the deficit spending is the crack, which would make GS the dealer.
I’m no great fan of the war on drugs, but if we believe crack use to be a problem in society, I’m not convinced that a good respnse would be to have the state enforce the payment of users tic bills. YMMV of course.
Nope, you don’t understand the analogy at all.
Nope, P’s b absolutely understood the analogy.
Who was using the analogy again vto? Oh that’s right it was me. Therefore I think I would know if PB was understanding the purpose of it wouldn’t you agree?
GS is the dealer and the credit ratings agencies are the thugs and the muscle.
Whoosh!
Did you see that C.V?
That was the point going over your head.
And a multitude of unelected politicians and bureaucrats are the inside agents for the banksters, while organisations like the IMF are lobby groups and executive arms for them.
Gosman,
given that you are a complete tool who has been repeatedly caught lying, fails to read his own sources, and frequently has no idea what he’s talking about, it’s not really a good idea for you to simply assume that your “points” go over other people’s heads.
’tis better to remain quiet and be thought a stupid lying incompetent selfish tool, than to start typing and remove all doubt…
Not at all. If you intended some other understanding then you should be more accurate with your analogies.
It’s like Humpty Dumpty saying to Alice: “When I use an analogy… it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less”.
It should be fairly easy to clear this up.
it was the Greeks inability to cut Government spending , (or at least to fund it domestically), which is at the heart of their problem gets analogised, somehow, to crack addiction.
Looks to me like he was saying the Greeks were ‘addicted’ to not funding their govt spending domestically, forcing them to borrow money from offshore.
But you can’t really be addicted to ‘not doing’ something, ergo, it’s the borrowed money that they were addicted to.
Ummmmm….. I think you will find that I basically stated it would be simplistic nonsense to believe such an analogy. But it is always good to see it confirmed that leftists believe in simplistic nonsense. Thanks for the laugh at your expense.
No you didn’t. But to save people from scrolling up:
What you fail to understand is that it was the Greeks inability to cut Government spending , (or at least to fund it domestically), which is at the heart of their problem not Goldman Sachs setting up deals for them. You might like to treat a modern sovereign nation like some sort of drug addled crack whore incapable of making rational decisions. I prefer to place the blame squarely on the people who spent the cash, not on the ones who enabled them to borrow it.
the bold bit is where you use the simplistic analogy you introduced to explain your position. #hack #stupidtroll
Ummmm…. I think you missed discussing the bit where I stated the actual analogy
“You might like to treat a modern sovereign nation like some sort of drug addled crack whore incapable of making rational decisions.”
Notice I am attributing this view to someone else (in this case the champion of wacky conspiracy theories travellerev). It is clear in this context it is not a view I share.
I also make the distinction between a modern sovereign nations and the drug addled crack whore. This is because I am highlighting that it would be simplistic nonsense to do so. Modern Sovereign nations are nothing like some sort of drug addled crack whore. They are far more complex and sophisicated.
But hey, if you want to run with such a simplistic view of the world go ahead and be my guest. It just makes you look like a plonker that’s all.
Then you probably shouldn’t have talked about a ‘greek inability’ rather than a ‘greek choice’. That set up the confusion. In any case, I tend to the view that bankers who loan money* to people with no ability to repay it, ar at least**, as culpable for the resulting shitstorm.
**or other peoples money
* and probably more.
A graph to show you the effects of Austerity on Greece’s GDP slide post 2008, think they will ever pay it back while being strangled Gosman/
The dealer doesn’t get paid when the junkie dies!
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/austerity-europe/?smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto
And a clip, from the mouths of those who dealt with Goldman to help them get into the EU
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17108367
yeah I know Gosman… lalalala, can’t hear you, fingers in your ears and all that..
my banker buddies told me it was all those lazy Greeks
http://whoar.co.nz/2012/the-challenge-to-status-quo-economics-everybody-is-talking-about/
“…Over the last week, an important approach to economics that has spent years on the sidelines went mainstream: Modern Monetary Theory.
This is good news for anyone who wants to see the neoliberal paradigm challenged- and a positive sign to heterodox economists who have difficulty getting a hearing in a field still gripped by outmoded models.
The theory, which provides unusual perspectives on issues including currency, debt, and government spending, kicked off in the mid-90s – and has since grown into a movement.
Its roster of proponents includes James K. Galbraith; Australian economist Bill Mitchel; Randall Wray and Stephanie Kelton of the University of Missouri-Kansas City; Rob Parenteau; Scott Fullwilier; Warren Mosler; and blogger Marshall Auerback. ‘
Their insights have been particularly valuable in countering the deficit hysteria which reached a fever pitch in the U.S. during the summer of 2011 –
– and still darkens policy debates worldwide…”
(cont..)
phil-at-whoar.
Bank of America is about to get hammered.
US$100 billion in litigation from investors claiming fraud in the mortgage backed securities and now it seems the Attorney-General of NY is going after it for all the taxes that weren’t paid on those security deals. – Kaiser Report interview with Chris Whalen of Tangent Capital.
I wonder if our dear leader still has his money in B of A. Knowing that his biography [Not the one written by Crosby Textor] has numerous incidences where he skips town before he has to face the consequences [“It wasn’t me gov. That was after I left town”], I guess he has dumped and run.
Does any one know his B of A exposure or am I dealing in old news?
Hi .William,
On the government website regarding the financial interests of our politicians the only portion of his wealth outside of his trust funds is shares in BofA.
This could mean several things. He wants total control and no trust fund managers to know how much he owns in shares.
The amount in shares is probably considerable making his position as our prime minister a giant conflict of interest.
They were his long term Merrill Lynch investment shares turned into BofA shares when they were forced to buy Merrill Lynch.
Some more related facts are that Goldman Sachs is one of the biggest share holders in BofA which does not bode well for NZ.
Robert Rubin who spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs eventually serving as a member of the Board, and Co-Chairman from 1990-1992 served on the foreign Exchange committee from 1996-1998 after which he went on to preside over the repeal of the Glass Steagall act in the same year.
What is interesting is that he shared the upon invitation only job with none other than John Key’s direct boss Stephen Belotti and John Key received his invitation to “serve” on that committee which is used as a sounding board for the Federal Reserve of New York and a grooming hotspot for future revolving door politicians/bankers.
Here is a post I wrote about the 6 degrees of separation and how close John Key is to the key players in the global bankster takeover.
And no, this is not old news but very opportune because the only way John Key can hang on to his paper wealth is by keeping the system going and that can only be done by indebting the globe further and further into debt so the derivatives bubble ( $ 32 trillion worth) with which he made his money does not collapse.
Here is John Key confessing on breakfast TV to the fact that every bankster knew that the derivatives trade was a short term Ponzi scheme.
I hope this helps!
Thanks ev.
Very informative as usual. Do we have any idea about the level of exposure? The share prices have taken a hit over the last year and there is a prospect of chapter 11 or at least a heavy restructuring, either of which would affect the share price.
I see from your 6 degrees article he is so well connected that he will not be in the dole cue any time soon, but do we know how much a dive in BofA could hurt his interests?
W,
Thank you for taking the time to check out the links I gave you.
As I said before the fact that the shares are not in a trust fund therefore not even allowing the trustees of his funds to know the extend of the share portfolio is probably an indication that it is considerable but I think nobody knows the true size of his paper wealth.
But here is food for thought:
Would it matter if it was $1 million or $25 million in size or would John Key with his future and his shares in mind play along to get along so he can get a cushy job when he leaves (what he considers to be) this dump?
Would he violate his own interests in order to break us free from the Reserve bank system which made him a “made man” still beholden to his international finance masters to help liberate his country men from the collapsing system?
The thing is that unless Greece defaults and goes back to the Drachma and as a result the rest of the financial system goes in meltdown exposing the reserve system for the Ponzi scheme that it is we’re stuffed and under no circumstance will John Key do what is in the best interest of the NZ population. Namely to break away from the reserve system and start issuing interest free government social credit to rebuild the production capability of this country thereby decentralising the power now held by the 1%.
Here is an interesting analysis by Dan Denning from Ozzie blog the Daily Reckoning: What the Greek debt crisis is all about.
Dismantling the reason for war
The excuses for war have focused mainly on a threat of terrorism from Iran and nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands. The propaganda for war is as usual, highly flawed. It is based on a falsehood that the United States and Israel are somehow operating their nuclear weapons industries properly, and can therefore judge a hypothetical threat from Iran.
Great to see The Standard (comments at least) turning into a playground for wacky conspiracy theorists. I find the best way to scare people off the left is to direct them here to see all the crazy talk of ‘Banksters’ and ‘Shadowy forces’ and ‘Plots to undermine democracy’. You guy’s provide me with hours of amusement.
You should delve back into the archives a bit more. You’ll find massive and extensive archives on building collapses, signatures on paintings, electoral law, labour law on fishing, taxation systems, science of climate change, implication of falling discoveries of hydrocarbons, and just about everything else you want to name.
It literally comes from across the spectrum and has varying levels of knowledge from your pious knowledge that is usually limited to criticism (and yes there is a place for critics), to people who suggest ideas that are frequently wacky, to those who merely sprout slogans (and risk my boredom).
The point is that airing and discussing ideas is useful. Coming up with ideas for others to cut holes into is useful. Being a dickhead critic isn’t. Being a good critic is. Pick your place….
Don’t get me wrong. Some of the articles and associated comments are generally quite good. However when anything involves economics or general discussion you get the usual suspects turn up with wacky ideas that are generally unsupported even by the wider left movement. It is the comments I generally direct people to so as to turn them off the left not usually the articles (although a couple have proved useful in that regard).
“…wacky ideas that are generally unsupported even by the wider left movement”
Could you explain what you mean please? At the moment it looks like you are out of your depth.
I would suggest that Gosman read up on Copernicus, who resisted openly publishing his views, not wishing – as he confessed – to risk the scorn “to which he would expose himself on account of the novelty and incomprehensibility of his theses.”
When ever I read the rubbish that Gosman generally spouts, I take a quick look at a comment Felix made a while ago that reads:
It seems to me that many who self-identify as “conservative” – especially at an early age, the sort of panty-sniffers and thumb-suckers you find in the young nats for example – seem to have never examined exactly what it is they’re identifying as. It’s more like a club they join that offers the security of never having to examine themselves (or anything else) too closely for comfort.
And understandable if so. Imagine the cognitive dissonance that would arise from actually admitting to yourself that you think things are as good as they’ll ever be and we’d best just stop now, um actually let’s go back a bit just to be sure.
In fact it’s to their advantage to be a bit thick if they want to hold fast to their thick beliefs, because a smarter person simply couldn’t do it. The best a smart conservative can hope for is a double life where inwardly s/he understands the absurdity of it all but publicly puts on a thick face to avoid confrontation, both internal and within the peer group.
Awful really. Some of your Nat friends really are this twisted, grinning smugly to the world while cowering behind the eyes.
And some of them are just thick.”
And I too, just laugh
You’ll find extreme messages on any forum that isn’t subject moderated. Hell, I find them on comment threads that are exclusively on c++. Did you realize that there are conspiracy theories about the c++ 2011 standard?
We moderate almost entirely on commenting behaviour rather than subjects. There are a few exceptions for the racist, sexist, pointless abuse comments, and generally anti-social commentators. Some people seem to think that raising these in every context are valid subjects. The moderators don’t. But mostly it is behaviours of diversion commenting, fire and forget comments, things that bore the moderators to even read, attacking authors or the site, and all of the paraphernalia of the modern major disruptor.
Gosman seems to be one of those people who think that conspiratorial behaviour is simply absent from the human condition.
That is doesn’t exist in business (lol), doesn’t exists in relationships (lol), doesn’t exist in the workplace (lol), doesn’t exist in politics (LOL)….
Weird, ain’t it?
Gos should tell the police they can stop investigating anyone suspected of conspiring, cos it just doesn’t happen.
Save them a fair bit of time I reckon.
Gosman is the type of person who comes here, refuses to accept any evidence, spouts generalisations and expects everyone to side with him; pretty pathetic really.
The Standard documents current affairs. If you have a specific argument against it or those that post here, please define it? Don’t just try to plonk what is obviously troll dung on everything.
I was wondering why there were so many comments on this thread so early in the day. I was expecting this little green goblin and it turns out I was right.
Yep. It’s getting to the point where I’m reading the posts and skipping most of the comments.
Open mike is pretty much fucked now too by the looks.
Little green boring goblin is not worth reading it’s just gosman dribbling drivel.
Four Injured After Troops Break into Palestinian Home in Jerusalem
http://www.imemc.org/article/62987
Monday February 13, 2012 00:00 by Saed Bannoura – IMEMC & Agencies
Palestinian medical sources in Jerusalem reported that four residents were wounded on Sunday evening, when Israeli troops and policemen broke into a Palestinian home of a former political prisoner, in al-Isawiyya town, in East Jerusalem.
Eyewitnesses said that the army broke into the home of former political prisoner, Samer al-Eesawy, by smashing the main door, and attacked his relative, lawyer Shereen al-Eesawy, her mother Laila, and her brother Shadi.
The lawyer suffered fractures in her arm and leg, and was taken prisoner by the police. Her mother was moved to the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem suffering bruises in the neck, and a fracture in her arm, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
Also, resident Rami Ismat was shot by a rubber-coated metal bullet fired by the army while invading the town. He was also moved to Hadassah Hospital.
It is worth mentioning that in October of last year, Samer al-Eesawy was released under the prisoner-swap deal that secured the release of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, in exchange for the release of over a thousand Palestinian prisoners.
The first phase of the deal was implemented on October 18, 2011, when Israel released 450 detainees, and Shalit was handed by the Hamas movement to Egypt, and on December 18, 2011, Israel released 550 Palestinian detainees in the second phase of swap-deal.
Been a fair bit happenning in Syria recently………….
Israelis seems a lot more considerate than Assad.
Just saying…………………………
Your ignorance is astounding. Why don’t you find out about what Israel does in the Occupied Territories before you make such a grossly stupid statement?
Not as “outstanding” as your hypocracy.
Could you elucidate? Right now, you’re floundering, and I don’t think you are in any way capable of explaining how I am guilty of “hypocracy”.
As we all know, there is no such thing as wage slavery, so I don’t why these guys are bleating so much.
They’re not slaves and slaveowners, they’re rational economic actors maximising their utility.
Perhaps we should send Jim Jim and Gossie out into international waters with a copies of Atlas Shrugged and Javanese For Idiots and see how that get on? I’m prepared to chip in a few bucks for the fares, if only for the peace and quiet round these parts while they’re away.
A disgusting blot on our international reputation. One wonders how the owners of these fishing corporations can sleep at night………..
Paul Henry get’s hammered by the Aussies: “I don’t know him, I don’t want him” Classic!
Bugger! I was kinda hoping they’d love him over there so there would be no chance he’d come back here.
I’m in two minds – if he crashes there, then he’s back on our telly.
But if he were successful over there, I think the waves of smug infantilism would still radiate powerfully across the Tasman – and more local folk might try to copy him.
I think this one is more objective and McFlock gets his wish…………
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/game-on-as-breakfast-crashes-the-morning-tv-party-20120223-1toz8.html
Upping the IQ in both Australia and NZ…
Paul Henry comes under fire on Aussie debut
http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/paul-henry-s-early-aussie-debut-4738470?ref=rss
Paul Henry has kept true to his controversial reputation in his debut on Australian breakfast television this morning.
After being wound-up by his co-hosts for being a technophobe, Henry hassled Deputy Opposition leader Julie Bishop for not choosing who she would vote for between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
In a segment called Henry Hotline, where viewers call to ask Henry a question, one caller said the show had to be “kidding” with the choice of hosts.
“Never have I seen two out of three more unprofessional newscasters ever in my life,” the caller said.
“Who’s that bloke with the glasses on? I don’t know him, I don’t want him,” said another caller.
Henry also commented that one caller sounded like she had been drinking.
The first airing of Channel Ten’s Breakfast show was brought forward by four days following Labor MP Kevin Rudd’s resignation as Foreign Minister in Washington late last night.
Rehearsals for Henry and his three co hosts, Andrew Rochford, Kathryn Robinson and Magdalena Rose, were cut short in a bid to capitalise on the ratings from the political fall out between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Rudd.
Executive producer Majella Wiemers has said in recent interviews that her job “is to make a show that’s different and unpredictable”.
An official statement said: “We said be prepared for a show that’s cheeky and unpredictable, and (yesterday’s) surprise resignation by Kevin Rudd means it’s time for Breakfast to launch.”
Channel Ten, which puts on the Breakfast show, tweeted late last night: “Get and early night, guys! @TenBreakfast will be making a surprise launch tomorrow at 6am!”
Henry resigned from TVNZ’s Breakfast show after a public uproar over comments about New Zealand’s former Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand and an international outcry over him laughing at Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s name.
Where the hell is David Shearer?
If disappearing is his idea of doing things differently then I’m not impressed.
I want him to be different but I want to know he’s there and can and will and is taking it to Wankey!
.
From today’s Herald coverage http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10787478
Now, yesterday on the radio the defense lawyers had cross-examined the two young witnesses, yet todays ‘updated’ Herald story fails to mention this, instead painting a very different scenario to the one described on Radio NZ yesterday.
More unbalanced reporting?
English issues asset sales challenge
He either really doesn’t get that selling assets is worse than borrowing or it’s another misdirection. I’m betting on the latter – this government really, really wants to sell our assets to their rich mates and make us serfs.
Can English explain why it would be good for NZ to have our State Assets sold by NAct? NO he can’t!
Can bungling Bill even tie his own shoe laces? The bloke is a lemon
Alternately, English could explain the pros and cons of selling state owned enterprises, in public, in detail, covering all the points the opposition have already made and placing them into context and also examine alternative choices to reducing debt that run contrary to his party’s philosophy.
After all, it’s his job to persuade the public, not the Opposition’s to support his illusions.
He seems to be saying, that since every person in NZ who opposes Asset sales cannot prove beyond any doubt that he is not witholding or concealing agendas or details, he is therefore telling the truth.
English is a snakeoil salesman and the MSM are traitors because they know it and won’t call it.
“Referring to social welfare reform which will apply tougher work tests on sole parents and address youth employment, Mr English said the Government would move quickly to get reforms underway.
He said it was staggering that around one in eight New Zealanders aged 18 to 64 was on a benefit and about half of them had spent at five of the past 10 years on a benefit.
“That’s not only bad for the beneficiaries and their children, it’s a waste for society and taxpayers.”
And what jobs might they all be going to then Balanced Bill?
The class war is going to ramp up hard by the looks of it!
” around one in eight New Zealanders aged 18 to 64 was on a benefit”
how does that even work when our unemployment rate is round 6-7%?
what am i missing here?
is it actually heaps worse than that – or more un-verified repeating by the media?
Open question.
Japan had 54 nuclear reactors. Ten were ‘knocked out’ by the earthquake/tsunami last March. A further six that sat on active fault lines were shut down. The remainder, bar three that will shut down in April, were also shut down.
And yet, in December there was a 6% surplus in electricity generating capacity in Japan.
So the question is; If Japan, that was supposedly highly reliant on nuclear generation can lose it’s entire nuclear generating capacity and have a surplus of power available, then what’s the basis of arguments that would have us believe that we (globally) need nuclear power generation?
Why not start a Gosman thread tomorrow? He can there talk about anything that takes his fancy. And anyone who wants to interact with him can do so there. And there alone.
Excellent idea. He’s such a bore!
Dunno, might prove popular.
The Daily Gos?
daily floss maybe
I’d like to know how gossies plan to put poor children into concentration camps so they die quicker is going. I’m sure his cowboyhat is too tight – he should take note of the great Dan’s hat – now that is class
http://ponderosascenery.homestead.com/files/castbios/hoss.html
Apologies if this has already been posted, but MUNZ have a really nice web button that would look real sweet on Teh Standard. Actually, on any worker friendly blog or website. Find it here.
Great to see the profit result for Ports of Tauranga today over 33 million for six months up 22% year on year,and higher than any analysts predicted.Really puts a spotlight on how badly POA is performing
Just goes to show what a well run port with competitive Labor rates ( contractors can achieve). Cant wait to see the mess sorted out at POA.
Get the port running the way it should be with the Labor costs much more competitive with their rival. Then all the rates payers of Auckland might get a decent return above 2.2% which is pathetic.
Can’t wait to see you run crying to mummy when your paper-round pay gets slashed in half little jim.
There is a mantra with the neo Liberals that goes something like “private good, public bad”.
So the cuts in the jobs of the “anonymous” are okay.
However, the newly redundant public servants are human beings with lives, mortgages and usually loyal to the core for their country (as opposed to a lot of the Right’s supporters who salt their profits overseas).
When is there going to be a voice in support of these people and their jobs? A great many will have dedicated a “lifetime” to their jobs – ACC/IRD/WINZ/HOUSING/CYPFS/RMA, (taken burdens from a day’s events home, and often shielded their ministers from embarrassment). They will have often implemented unpopular policy driven by their ministers and had to cop the flack from the public.
Along comes a government of zealots and removes swathes of jobs without any regard for these individuals.
And before the ministers claim that the jobs are a drain and unproductive, they might ask just what contribution they themselves make to the GDP.
@logie97
The NACTs aren’t just zealots, they are manipulators, liars and destroyers of the country and the services enjoyed by all NZ people.
I have family that support NACT and they have achieved much and have a good income and nice life and and make a point that they are paying tax ans think anyone getting welfare is wasting their tax payments. There is no attempt to understand the conditions of the general lower income group, just hostility and disdain. But when one of their family falls into the lower income bracket. that person, being a favourite, receives kindness and thoughtfulness which is not shown to other ‘losers’.