Kerre Woodham: It’s silly to ingore dodgy tax dealings of the well off.
(Well perhaps not…the well off have better lawyers and therefore are more costly to get money back from, not to mention much harder to intimidate into submission).
Here’s why the announcement by Associate Minister of Social Development and ex-policeman Chester Borrows – beneficiary fraudsters partners to be targeted – is an absolute crock of shit and nothing more than flagrantly manipulative, dishonest, bennie-bashing:
Section 66 of the Crimes Act 1961:
“66 Parties to offences
(1) Every one is a party to and guilty of an offence who –
(a) actually commits the offence; or
(b) does or omits an act for the purpose of aiding any person to commit the offence; or
(c) abets any person in the commission of the offence; or
(d) incites, counsels, or procures any person to commit the offence.”
Further……subsection (2) of Section 66:
“(2) Where 2 or more persons form a common intention to prosecute any unlawful purpose, and
to assist each other therein, each of them is a party to every offence committed by any one
of them in the prosecution of the common purpose if the commission of that offence was
known to be a probable consequence of the prosecution of the common purpose.”
I have no argument with fact of the parties provision in the Crimes Act but there is ALREADY law on the books to combat the “dodgy bennies’ dodgy partners” spectre raised by Borrows. Why do we need “new” law ? Maybe Borrows plans to impose strict liability on the partners, in which case the evidential aspects of Section 66 would not need to be proved at all. Simply being in a relationship in the nature of marriage with the offender would impose criminal liability, no questions asked.
In which case the over-coiffed “Ladies Lunchalot” who cruise up and down Parnell at 11.45 am daily looking for somewhere to park the convertible European motor had better watch out when their partners get done for corporate fraud in the hundreds of millions. Auckland Women’s Prison ain’t a pretty place darlings…….especially being in South Auckland and all that.
Is there no upper limit to the moral bankruptcy of John Key and his Cabinet with their incessant urging to sections of New Zealand society that we scapegoat and turn on another section of New Zealand society ?
Goebbels stuff all the more offensive when it’s done with such righteousness and pomposity !
t liabilty for those who live in a relatinship in the nature of marriage
“Maybe Borrows plans to impose strict liability on the partners, in which case the evidential aspects of Section 66 would not need to be proved at all.”
That’s precisely what Borrows is doing. Notice his rhetoric includes “ought to have known”, which is pretty much a strict liability test, so you’re right to say that “simply being in a relationship in the nature of marriage with the offender would impose criminal liability, no questions asked.” Borrows claims to be a lawyer. He should understand the repulsiveness of such a law.
What’s worse, though, is that there are many many instances where people are wrongly convicted because work and Income fail to understand the correct legal test for what constitutes a relationship in the nature of marriage.
Work and Income tell people the wrong test (often based on the old “if he stays more than three nights week you’re married”) and say “just plead guilty and you won’t go to jail”. Of course, many people, mostly women, are still jailed.
This is an extremely serious issue that’s been going on form years and years without anything being done about it. It’s also an issue that nobody seems to want to do anything about because it’s not popular these days to speak out on behalf of the rights of people on benefits. It’s one law for beneficiaries and another for everybody else.
A doctor merely provides a medical opinion. They don’t have anything to do with making decisions about benefit entitlement. Work and Income then make a decision about benefit eligibility based on the medical evidence. Doctors could only be liable if they supplied medical information they knew was incorrect.
If a beneficiary advocate was aware of information that meant the beneficiary wasn’t entitled to the benefit being applied for then they should stop representing the beneficiary. If the advocate didn’t withdraw and continued ignoring the information they were aware of then yes, currently they’d be committing a crime. The new Bill introduced this week, however, relates only to partners of people regarded as having committed an offence, but extends culpability to partners regarded as having ought to have known of their partner’s offending. It’s this lowering of the standard to strict liability within the realm of dishonesty offences that’s so abhorrent. This all on top of how so many women who’re convicted of relationship fraud are not in fact and never were in a relationship in the nature of marriage. Work and Income simply do not understand the correct legal test and continue apply it wrongly. This results in huge numbers of innocent women convicted, jailed and wrongly repaying huge overpayments. Now so-called partners of this group will be criminalised for something they had no idea bout because “they ought to have known”.
Instead of ensuring intention is retained as the crucial touchstone in such cases, and that it applies across the board to for example tax fraud, this government’s broken with longstanding criminal law principles, and targeted just one group: beneficiaries, the poorest of our poor. Charming.
“Work and Income simply do not understand the correct legal test and continue apply it wrongly.”
You may be right on this in the case of some ordinary case managers not understanding the legal test, but in all honesty: Senior Work and Income staff will know the correct legal test.
Truth is: They (WINZ) often, if not always try to push boundaries, by trying to take advantage of the client’s ignorance and thus get away with demanding things that they should not demand in the particular manner and form it often is demanded in.
Look at designated doctor referrals (sending clients for medical exams – for second opinions or assessments). Clients often get “told” whom to see, rather than being allowed any input that the law does give them, to at first at least try to “agree” on a medical practitioner or psychologist.
If a client is “lucky”, they get presented a brief short-list to pick from, but even that is not in the true meaning of the law. The process, even if improper, becomes routine, and it is done so again and again. There are heaps of other cases, where the law is not followed strictly. And because nobody challenges them, they do it all the time.
If senior Work and Income staff do know the correct legal test, they certainly like hide that fact. A quick read of Appeal Authority decisions regarding living together cases pretty quickly shows that even they more often than not get it wrong. Accordingly, someone in Work and Income, somewhere, must surely be responsible for those cases getting that far. As I say, if senior Work and Income staff do know the correct legal then they’re not letting on that they do.
Very true Mary and it’s up to people who know the stuff first to enliven the victims with a sense of “Oh, I’m not such a bludging thieving arsehole then…….”. Awhi. Second, to encourage the standing up and saying – “I’m not a piece of rubbish…….fuck off with your attitude !” Hard I know for wannabee, usually racist wee punks who buy into the John Key cargo cult and who fancy themselves, but to hell with them frankly.
I’ve spent the last eight years as a legal aid lawyer in Kaikohe, where the average income rounds up to about 17 grand, doing criminal work only. I came from nearly 30 years of practise in Auckland as a conveyancing and commercial lawyer. So I’ll gladly debate with the know-alls and wahanui who know how it is, all according to them pig-ignorant selves of course. (Embarrassing!)
It’s so important that people who know the shit militate when they hear the utter lies of politicians whose sole kaupapa is to keep their fat and ugly arses on green leather parliamentary seats. And guzzling hard out at the trough. Like they actually believe that luminaries (???) like them are “entitled” for Christ’s Sake. Pleeeze ! Almost invariably they have feet of clay. They must be challenged !
Section 71 seems to exclude spouses from being considered an “accessory to the fact” under criminal law. Whether that now directly also applies to section 66, I can only presume as being so, but I would be happy if someone else can shine a bit more light on this.
In any case, the true motivator behind that proposed law change is, to have legal provisions to facilitate the pressing of money for “damages” from any “partner” to a DPB recipient, who may have known of alleged welfare “abuse”. They are after getting more money out of people.
If that law change gets passed (despite of discriminating against beneficiaries and their alleged partner), it will be very hard to prove things. So expect more surveillance and dobbing in strategies to be applied.
xtasy, isn’t there also something in the Social Security Act that allows third parties to be prosecuted for assisting or being a party or in some other way allowing a fraud to continue?
Benefits are though considered “inalienable”, and thus only intended for the recipient for specified purposes, so if DPB would be granted, it would be for the sole parent and her/his child(ren). That is what section 84 clearly states. So nobody can claim money from a beneficiary for purposes not intended, nor as a person instead of the beneficiary entitled to it.
I would think though that this may only be applied where a third party has been in charge of looking after affairs of the beneficiary, is employer of a former beneficiary, or is one paying any income, interest or else to a former beneficiary. It would probably stretch too far, to authorise claiming any money owed (due to overpayment, unauthorised payment or similar) from a “partner” living with the beneficiary. But maybe it does?
The proposed law change will be so difficult to apply, I cannot get it, why Chester Borrows actually is so keen on getting it introduced. They will have to engage private investigators, their own fraud investigators, possibly police and independent witnesses, which will create a high level of expenses.
They should sort out applying the test in Ruka properly before they start convicting so-called partners of those who’ve been wrongly convicted in the first place. It’ll be creating one injustice on top of another.
For anyone who didn’t follow Mary’s comment, the Ruka case involved a woman in an on again/off again relationship that involved domestic violence. The ministry declined a DPB and the case progressed through the appeals system and finally into court.
Ruka won, the precedent being that the ministry had to take into account domestic violence when granting a benefit (or words to that effect).
So, how does this tie in with the proposed new law? Could be that those “men” from the self proclaimed ministry of men’s affairs do have something to bitch about after all – one day a domestic abuser, the next they are liable for half their partners allegedly fraudulent benefit claim. Oh, no!! My heart bleeds for them. First they don’t get their own ministry, and now other men are promoting a law that will penalise them for something their partner didn’t do.
Borrows might be a lawyer but he hasn’t got a clue what the implications of what he’s proposing are. We could talk about them now, but do we want to alert government so they it cover them off with SOPs?
The defence to being held an accessory after the fact under s 71 (2) of the Crimes Act avails ONLY a spouse in legal marriage or a civil union partner.
It does not avail a common law partner. Furthermore, the use in subsections (1) and (2) of these word – “…….knowing any person to have been a party to the offence, receives, comforts, or assists that person………to AVOID ARREST or conviction” – takes matters dangerously close to the element of “knowing” being satisfied by deemed constructive knowledge. The defence is so strictly circumscribed as to render it non-existent in practical effect.
Let’s suppose however that it is a practically meaningful and broad defence, for legally married people or those in a civil union. If Borrows’ does intend strict liability, or even an express constructive knowledge test, then any defence available under s 71 (2) would be swept away.
I don’t believe even this bunch of backwoodsmen and Tea Partiers would attempt that although nothing would surprise me. Like for example the attempt by some nobody National Party backbencher to misrepresent these measures as protecting beaten women. What ???
On the contrary they would remove any defence the common law already provides for beaten women, rather than protecting them.
No, this is more in the vein of “Hey, all you good folk out there……..look at those thieving bastards of beneficiaries………let’s bash them up they’re just scum stealing from you and me !”
Truly, an amoral bunch of liars and bullies they are.
In the RNZ interview on (Wednesday?? possibly Thursday) the ministry spokesman said that they expect more partners now made liable by the law to report their beneficiary partners to Work and Income before someone else does. Yeah. Right. Somehow I don’t see this as very likely, in fact I think it is more likely that they won’t move in together in the first place.
I heard a few RNZ interviews, on question was with white collar crime and the liability of partners in those cases. Borrows said that, because the offending happen away from the home that partners would not be liable. Which overlooks the home office that may of the white collar criminals have (and claim on there taxes).
The whole “ought to have known” fails if the person receiving tells there partner that they have contacted Winz and that it’s all been taken care of. What should they do, get an accountant in to see where there partners money is and to contact winz to see if the money is more than what it should be.
It’s a shocking law and a classic distracting boot at the beneficiaries.
Laws like that should cover everyone in the community and not just a select few.
At the end of the say it’s peanuts and the money would be better spent on collecting the $1 – $6 billion for the people who have stolen money from the IRD.
If winz was interested in saving money, then it could save a few million a year just by syncing up there needs for doctors visits to fill in medical certificates and the yearly reviews. It would make no difference to system but would save 61,000 doctor visits at $40 a visit that would be $2,440,000 saved. Not counting the costs of the community service card.
Syncing Doctors visits would be awesome. Combine this with
– avoiding having clients go into branch wherever possible (saves office space, security guard time, stress on clients, travel costs which are in some instances considerable)
– sorting out their system admin!!! How many millions is THAT each year in wasted printing and posting of letters that don’t apply? Did anyone else read FranklySpeaking, the post that showed the 70 pages of crap when applying for an unemployment benefit?!
Karol: Hone Key is deeply in “denial”, I am afraid!
That is the worst and strongest symptom of any form of addiction, certainly also that gambling addicts suffer. So the denial keeps him “hooked”, and like an addicted partner dragging the whole family down with him/her, Key is (with his unchanged, sick habits) dragging NZ into the bottomless gutter!
Reading the article on TV3’s site about the Govt giving up any hope of controlling Kauri Dieback Disease I couldn’t, for the life of me, recall who the Minister for the Environment was. Says it all.
On CERA spinning the Christchurch well-being survey – misrepresenting the results to manipulate the increasingly angry populace:
…This reveals many things but one thing it does not reveal is a ‘positive outlook’. What were Gerry Brownlee and CERA thinking when they framed that media release so positively two days before the second anniversary of the 22 February, 2011 earthquake?
Is it now politically incorrect to face facts? Is it seen as some sort of public duty to jolly the populace along? Does CERA now see itself as a branch office of Saatchi and Saatchi, the advertising agency that told us all during the 1990s to ‘accentuate the positive’ and ‘eliminate the negative’?
Why didn’t you link to it in the first place? Just linking to the top of the blog as you did won’t point people to the post you think is worth reading and, as blogs happen to be active, the post will get harder and harder to find.
That’s because the post is presently at the top of the blog but it won’t be there always and you could have been talking about one three or four posts down.
Sir Tony Brenton, a British diplomat for 30 years in the Middle East, Russia and the United States, said the threat of social unrest in the big oil-producing Gulf states and the other oil giant, Russia, had put a floor under prices with US$80 ($94.78) a barrel being the new low.
Leaving aside the poor use of the term *social unrest*, as cover for the creation of *social unrest* by the zionists, its interesting that Sir Tony, refers to geo-engineering, , the article does not elaborate further…
An open admission – That’s for you Weka!
Edit – Weka, FYI, I appreciate you have not denied geo-engineering, could be going on.
Penny must be hoping: Act leader accused of finance law breach.
A judge is considering whether Act Party leader John Banks should face charges this month for allegedly misleading investors.
Unemployed workers are being transported into the Palmerston North electorate from surrounding electorates for work. Palmerston North people should have first go at low skilled jobs in there area and not have to compete with people from outside there area. The people being shipped in are also getting extra funding from MSD.
So it make the Labour held seat of PN look like it as a worse job problem and the surrounding National electorates have more people in work.
It’s unfair to the unemployed in Palmerston North and creates a distorted pattern of employment statistics. Plus is was waste of tax payers money transporting people to these jobs when there are locals who could bet taking advantage of that work.
U$K loses its AAA rating. The Public sector continues to be looted for privatised gain. Like our Public assets are being looted re. Power Companies. The key government is a total corporatised sell out too. 🙁 Key and Campbell are chums remember. “The artistic taxi driver” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oQDG0Ctjlk&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=1
Official UK public debt is 230% that of annual UK tax revenues. To source sufficient money to keep running, more money is being borrowed from the private sector all the time.
The UK has not deserved it’s AAA rating for quite some time.
This is the National led goverment’s new plan for mental health and addiction service delivery – presented in the form of the Ministry of Health’s 5-year plan called:
‘Rising to the Challenge: The Mental Health and Addiction Service Development Plan 2012 – 2017’.
It was introduced and presented by Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne just before Christmas 2012, which ensured that it got very little, if any media and public scrutiny, and it has indeed gone very much under the radar, as no media and no other forums are discussing the contents of this very worrying “plan”.
At first sight some may find it “reasonable” what is proposed, but looking at the plan in detail, it is NOT encouraging, yes indeed extremely frightening, what is planned. It contains proposals and plans, on which professional organisations like the Royal College of NZ General Practitioners (RNZCGP), NZMA, NZNO and others have already presented interesting, highly critical and damning submissions. Some were not even properly consulted.
The core message is in short: The Ministry of Health will expect mental health and addiction sufferers to more or less “help themselves” (see chapter 6 on page 6, and under “Self management education”; and also at the bottom of page 27 of the ‘Rising to the Challenge’ plan). Funding is not available, apart from funds to be taken out of other health services, and then to be re-allocated (see details on page 8 under headline ‘Implementing the Plan’, and Part 1 starting at page 10).
There is much talk about smart-sounding, catchy policy slogans, ambiguous phrases – about better use of resources, integrating infrastructure and services, “cementing” and building on gains, increased access, better performance and measuring output, effectiveness, efficiencies, ring-fencing of spending, KPIs (key performance indicators), supporting and strengthening the workforce, BUT nothing much of substance or detail. Measures are listed according to “rationale”, “measuring progress” and “priority actions”.
The plan also clearly states, that it takes a different approach to the health care than the so-called “Blueprint II” documents or plan do. This ‘Rising to the Challenge’ plan rather presents much talk and focus on “prioritised actions”. It appears to provide aligned steps to “motivate” or perhaps rather “force” mentally ill and addicted into some forms of work, as chapter 2 on page 28 of the plan ‘Rising to the Challenge’ reveals under heading “Employment specialists”, who appear to be planned to be employed by DHBs.
Now this must surely also be seen in view of the presently considered major welfare reforms in the form of the ‘Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Act’, as alongside the legal changes that are proposed, there is much talk about offering “more assistance” to help sick and disabled (naturally including the 32 to 40 per cent of sickness of invalid’s beneficiaries with mental health conditions) to get treatment, so they can be prepared to take up some form of work.
It also looks as if most treatment will rather be the cheap and easy mass medication of patients by common GPs, who are deemed by mental health experts to often be insufficiently trained and qualified in this area. They tend to rather prescribe endless dosages of neuro-pharmaceuticals (see ‘Rising to the Challenge’, page 25, under heading “Reinforce evidence-enforced prescribing”). No extra resourses appear to be set aside for improving proper health care!
Submissions on the proposed plan by M.o.H. are highly critical and sceptical, especially in regards to lack of funding, detailed commitment and how all this is supposed to be implemented and delivered by the needed professional experts:
So this is supposed to be the “extra support” the government is talking about “offering” sick and disabled on benefits, is it??? It rather seems like more LIES and smokescreens by a government out of touch and caring nothing much for the mentally ill in NZ.
+1 Thankyou for your detailed consideration xtasy. I’m more simplistic: our right wing governments copy and receive their nerve from the draconion measures done in the U$K especially. The process of “shooting the wounded” the artist taxi driver talks of has already begun here. For instance just fail one work test, such as being late to a work seminar, and your benefit can be cut, just like that, to get back on you’ll have to go through a tedious review procedure and you may miss out on a couple of weeks income before you’re reinstated by showing you are work ready, your back money is then paid. The message: conform to the letter or we’ll sanction you.
“Atos Profits Grow by 36% As Disabled People Get Denied Benefits….”
“Atos it seems is becoming more profitable the more it denies people’s disabilities and sickness. Atos have published a 36% increase in its profits, an increase which was produced through it’s “Disability Denial Factories”, places where you enter as a severely disabled or sick individual only to leave being cured of all disabilities and incumbrances, a place supposedly with the same curing abilities as “Lourdes” but non of the compassion.”
“More and more people are being victimized, abused, tortured by the government and Atos, I use those terms because that’s the truth, when someone is continually forced to endure humiliating and uneccessary procedures to prove their disability then to me that’s torture and abuse, it cannot be deemed anything else, the problem is that the vast majority of politicians have turned their backs on the problem, no one wants to say “Enough is Enough”?”
“It seems the more deaths and abuse we hear about the more the Profits of Atos increase, killing disabled people for profit is obviously the coalitions attempts at growing our economy?…”
“The message: conform to the letter or we’ll sanction you.”
Yes, that is the ultimate message and applied strategy on most welfare policies, in the UK and already also so in NZ.
If more beneficiaries would actually know what goes on, and if more would know and understand their rights, MSD and WINZ would be hit by a “tsunami” of legal challenges. Also this government would be exposed, so that the manipulating, indifferent, non researching mainstream media would not get away with ignoring what goes on.
The Work and Income review process for a person on sickness or invalid benefit is so stacked up against a person. A review board of three doctors has the last say.
I’ve won one at the medical appeals board before and I suspect success again later this year. It isn’t impossible, but you do need to know your rights and have good supporting information particularly when you go for arrears.
Towards the end of last year someone I know phoned me relieved his doctor had signed him on the IB again (mental condition which can make him seem ok…until he clearly isn’t. Exacerbated by stress, such as being constantly harassed to get a job, get a job GET A JOB! We know FFS). I warned him that the RDA/RHA would not necessarily support continuing on the IB.
Sure enough, W&I inform him that they believe he should go on a sickness benefit. I bribe him to go and see the benefit rights service and offer to meet him there (he gets confused, stressed etc). He makes it but there is a wait time to see someone, during which he manages to convince himself there is nothing he can do about the situation. I try my best to get him to see someone but have to make another appointment elsewhere. No idea if he followed through but I doubt he did.
>> And that in a nutshell is why the ministry is winning. No review of decision application, no follow through, and the false acceptance that the ministry will win in the end.
I wonder who they are and how the medical appeal board doctors are selected?
They would have to cover a lot of medical conditions and those on invalid benefit can have multiple conditions.
Work and Income desk staff are not alllowed to comment on medical conditions, it is not their place to. This is where Work and Income need to be sorted straight away. I recall seeing something about the client’s permission is required for Work and Income to access their medical records as there is a person who can checks up on the GP. I think somewhere in Hamiliton (advocacy) said not to give consent.
“I wonder who they are and how the medical appeal board doctors are selected? They would have to cover a lot of medical conditions and those on invalid benefit can have multiple conditions.”
In total there are about 290 “designated doctors” that MSD and WINZ have on their books, and well over 90 per cent are common GPs, only some of them with post grad “specialisations”. Yet GPs like to see themselves as “specialist generalists” (a bit of vanity, I suppose). There are indeed very, very few psychiatrists, psychologists, orthopaedic or surgeons of specialisation.
Since 2008 MSD have “trained” their doctors in special training sessions all over NZ, to make the decisions that MSD “expect”.
These are the ones that do “examinations” and assessments, and many of them also sit on MABs (but not the same who assessed particular clients before the appeal). Usually they have 2 GPs and one rehab or other “health professional”.
Some of their doctors and health professionals do a lot of work for MSD, others less so. I know one in Auckland, who made much of his livelihood out of WINZ examinations.
So since they are expected to look at particular informations, and have to meet WINZ expectations and meet their criteria (“to look at what a client can do, rather than what a client cannot”), the chances are usually stacked against an appealing client, but still a fair few manage to convince an MAB. That has been in past years, it seems to get more difficult.
Rogue Trooper: Yes, sometimes I choose that option, not voluntarily, but it is the result of what one has to face. They drive us to madness! It certainly does not offer help and treatment, which is never covered by any disability allowance and the poor health care system in this country. You are left in a catch 22, to opt between medical numbing, suicide or them stuffing you into any other “treatment” that usually never works.
VERY disturbing stuff there. Perhaps worse than the lack of consultation is how National consistently ram through legislation regardless of logical objections – I expect this will be no different unless we can get it read widely.
Thanks for taking the time to sort through and put it out here for us to check out.
Hah – it may not be enough yet to fill a regular column, thanks for the thought!
Maybe it only appears to “much” coming from me, because hardly anybody else is doing much in this regard. Ardern comes to mind, ahem, sorry Jacinda (sometimes it’s good to hear from you, a bit more would be even better).
Following my one month ban, extended by fiat to two months in reaction to the intervention by one of my followers, my time in exile shall finish at the end of this month, and I shall return on March 1st.
ENDS
[lprent: Bad idea (like this comment (which i will leave up for the existing comments in reply 🙂 )), it’d be a bad idea to come back so far from the Ides. My notes say that the ban extends until the 6th. You shouldn’t need so much time to organize the backstabs of this dictator. ]
This sort of information is best distributed via a dedicated press release service, perhaps http://scoop.co.nz
However given that a large number of readers will have no doubt given up using the internet entirely in protest of your ban, I also recommend going directly to traditional broadcast and print media.
A targeted radio campaign can be less expensive than you might think, and a nationwide flyer drop the day before your much anticipated return should be quite effective.
However I’d probably wait and see if that deliberate breach of your ban earns you another before spending the big bucks on tv advertising.
Very gently and respectfully I want to ask what’s all this (what appears to my simple mind) virulent anti-Morrissey stuff ?
And as to a breach of the ban I would have thought that his actually getting through was an implied, if only a one off, suspension of the ban by the moderator.
Morrissey was initially banned for deciding it’d be really, really funny to use a post of mine to call me a whore. Because, you know, it was totally relevant to him.
His ban was extended when a “friend” of his decided to subvert the ban by posting a sadly deleted statement on Morrissey’s behalf, and also personally attack me again. Morrissey apparently wasting lprent’s time in email probably didn’t help either.
You may note an interesting pattern of behaviour, per my comment below. You may not, of course, it’s a free world.
And as to a breach of the ban I would have thought that his actually getting through was an implied, if only a one off, suspension of the ban by the moderator.
Not usually. There are a lot of moderatorsand it is a fast process. It isn’t abnormal for comments to get through. And the idea is for people who are banned to refrain from commenting rather than us to have to deal with their stupidity.
If they do get through late in the ban, then my usual approach is to double the ban or to permanently ban them. This discourages people from knowingly writing comments while banned and helps moderators be aware of who is banned. A slow winnowing of people who are dumb enough to waste moderator time also makes our lives easier.
An alternate approach is to assist in their understanding Of why they were banned in the first place. This usually happens when commentators get in their digs before the offending comment makes it to spam. I read Felix, PB, and decided that the process was underway.
Afterall what we are mostly interested in is that people do not waste our time. The most effective way to do that is to ensure that they understand what kinds of things make that happen. Personally attacking authors instead of the content of their post and wasting moderator time are very high on the list.
Incidentally, I was fixing the theme to support threading at Brian Edwards site a while ago. I happened to observe that after being banned here, he was one of the very few people banned over there. I wonder how many other sites this carried on for….
I wouldn’t lose any sleep over those bogans, I’m sure Helen won’t either.
The list of questions being proposed includes many thoughtful ones, and the handful from the trogs (YOU DUDNT NEVER PAINT THAT PIKCHUR YOU LIAR) stick out like stupid thumbs.
Cameron and his friend will sign in early with their multiple accounts and auto-voting scripts and spam the hell out of the board with dumbass questions about her teeth, and Helen will treat them with all the attention they deserve.
A 3-wave “tsunami” of comments for a start, not bad!
Yes, one should never give in, and also inform yourselves well, gather all documentary and other evidence AND take along a SUPPORT PERSON (as witness, to take notes and listen) !!!
That is highly important, as on your own, it is in many cases like going to the slaughter.
It is much worse now, with this “looking at what you can, rather than what you can not”. They try to get answers about home activities, hobbies, this and that, which gives them something that can just vaguely imply that there is some “job” a client can do hypothetically.
The onus now clearly lies on the beneficiary client, and many struggle dealing with that. It is like an accused before court having to prove her/his innocence, without any help (except perhaps some third party documents).
My reaction exactly. We’re missing something. I consider myself a smart guy. I’ve got a string of letters after my name. I just can’t fathom how the Nats keep on doing it. Except, at present there’s no viable alternative government and Shearer has all the charisma of a fart in a phone box. But even then, there should be a lot of undecideds rather than full on support for the government.
So the National voters say “National”. The anti-National voters say “Aaaaarghhh!”
The polls can’t – or won’t – show people saying “Key pisses me off more each day but what choice do we have?”.
Labour’s “strategy” (a generous description) is that these people will tick Labour on election day. I reckon they’ll stay home, or vote Winston or Hone or McGillyguddy Serious or even Colin Craig. Or Australia.
The alternative strategy – to, like, stand for something, and be able to communicate it – is there for the taking. But what do we know? Maestros Trev and Grant are in charge, and they delivered the triumph of 2011. Expect more of the same.
Why aren’t Labour and the Greens screaming about this. It amounts to misinformation or worse… an attempt to gerrymander the voters’ perception of the result. Why? Because the majority of people assume it is a poll covering 100% of those who have agreed to take part.
This is a relatively new tactic. For 40 or more years the undecideds were reported because they actually mean something. If nearly 20% are undecided – and it has happened in the past – then you know the electorate is very volatile and anything could happen at election time if the number of ‘undecideds’ don’t change much. That can have an influence on the way people vote. On the other hand, if the polling companies favour the incumbents – and at the moment I suspect they do – then you are not going to want people to know just how many are undecided. It stinks to me.
Why doesn’t someone ask the companies why they no longer include the undecideds? The answers could be quite interesting.
Why aren’t Labour and the Greens screaming about this. It amounts to misinformation or worse… an attempt to gerrymander the voters’ perception of the result. Why? Because the majority of people assume it is a poll covering 100% of those who have agreed to take part.
This is a relatively new tactic. For 40 or more years the undecideds were reported because they actually mean something. If nearly 20% are undecided – and it has happened in the past – then you know the electorate is very volatile and anything could happen at election time if the number of ‘undecideds’ don’t change much. That can have an influence on the way people vote. On the other hand, if the polling companies/media outlets favour the incumbents – and at the moment I’m sure they do – then you are not going to want people to know just how many are undecided. It stinks to me.
Why doesn’t someone ask the companies why they no longer include the undecideds? The answers could be quite interesting.
It’s simple, Labour could be an alternative Government. A labour Green alliance would be toxic, we need to suck it up, accept another few years on the opposition benches, get our act ready for Government.If we cuddle up to the greens National will be in for a decade.
“Labour could be an alternative Government.”
Not this side of reality.
“A labour Green alliance would be toxic”
Clearly the reason Labour are shit is because of a toxic alliance with the Greens.
“we need to suck it up, accept another few years on the opposition benches”
Do we, really? There’s no other way, at all?
“get our act ready for Government.”
Because 2008 -2013 has just been a practice.
“If we cuddle up to the greens National will be in for a decade.”
No-one cuddles Labour. They can’t see the caucus knife coming straight between the shoulder blades.
I suspect the failure of Labour to present themselves as an alternative government is because they are not one. Not even close. No amount of polishing shines up a turd.
Lolz an unbiased TV3 political poll featuring Patrick Gower, the first an oxymoron the latter just a simple moron full stop,
TV3=MediaWorks=$43 million dollar loan gaurantee=Steven Joyce still a shareholder via His ‘blind trust’= everything political said or done by TV3 or it’s head clown Gower can only be laughed at as more bulls**t….
Oz Labor Party “conceded the philosophical debate, then lost the political fight”
Oz Labor Party struggling and struggling. Gillard loses preferred PM spot to Abbott in latest poll, and the Labor Party is sitting on dismal polling numbers vs the Coalition. A 6% swing against the Labor Govt is predicted.
One writer thinks its a case of the Labor Party no longer having its historical purpose or narrative:
In short, Labor had bought wholly into the Coalition’s narrative for no discernible reason. It conceded the philosophical debate, then lost the political fight. So now, when it has finally found a Labor story to tell, it sounds convenient and insincere…
…Once Labor embraced a deregulated, liberal economy, the political landscape was forever changed, leaving a diabolical question for subsequent Labor leaders: what exactly is the point of Labor politics?…
Labor has been chasing its base ever since. Often it watched helplessly as workers became small business owners and turned into Howard’s socially conservative battlers. Labor cannot offer them industrial protection, and desperately doesn’t want to offend their cultural sensibilities, which is why it says things like ”tough but humane”.
…Hence the flight to the Greens, the party Gillard so venomously dismissed this week as a ”party of protest”. To which the most devastating reply is surely: ”Fine. But what are you?”
The ALP have been right wing for some time. Probably more historically right wing than our Labour Party, from where I am sitting anyway.
Some weeks ago, I was reading a transcript of an interview with Bill Hayden, a minister in the Whitlam and Hawke governments (and the leader who lost the 1980 election), and found him to articulate some very right wing viewpoints.
Other interesting points:
A Labour government (even the one that will be elected in 2014), would never dream of moving DPB recipients onto the the dole (like the Gillard government did last year), and intervening on the side of the employer in a labour dispute to a degree where even a right wing think tank signalled its unease (like Hawke did in the 1989 pilot’s strike).
millsy: They (Labour NZ) do not seem to raise much of their voices here, about the National ACT gang (with that Dunny “Done” guy from Ohariu) moving sick and disabled onto the jobseeker allowance category as a consequence of reforms before select committee now.
I’ll say it – don’t ask me for links or some “statistical” proof – this 51.4% claimed for Notional, conducted by whomsoever, is utter bullshit ! Be happy you neo-liberal, right-wing, people-hating arseholes. You’ve got, for now, some figures which buzz you. But even you don’t believe them.
They are a jack-up knowingly skewed by advisedly limited enquiry. We’re dealing with another wing of the MSM after all. We all know how wannabee, self -interested, and corrupt they are.
When the tide turns watch those arseholes go for the jugular. Frankly, I’ve got less respect for them than I have for Liar Key. That really is saying something !
North – wow you seem all twisted and out of shape.
yeah – every poll for god knows how long has had the Nats by a large margin. I guess you can keep saying its a rough poll or there is only one poll that matters (election night).
Truth is – and Im sure in your heart of hearts you know it also – if there was an election today Key would be back in and Labour would get a huge hiding.
See – the thing is – a lot (hell it would seem most) people either like Key – or think he is better than the alternative.
Labour can form the government on 31%-32% but NZF would probably have to play ball. A lot of Cabinet positions would have to go to the Greens and to NZ First.
National know this of course and have already started courting Winston.
They don’t release enough information to determine that. Personally, I think political polling should conform to an NZS type standard and provide that information.
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
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While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
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Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
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On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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Kerre Woodham: It’s silly to ingore dodgy tax dealings of the well off.
(Well perhaps not…the well off have better lawyers and therefore are more costly to get money back from, not to mention much harder to intimidate into submission).
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10867271
Here’s why the announcement by Associate Minister of Social Development and ex-policeman Chester Borrows – beneficiary fraudsters partners to be targeted – is an absolute crock of shit and nothing more than flagrantly manipulative, dishonest, bennie-bashing:
Section 66 of the Crimes Act 1961:
“66 Parties to offences
(1) Every one is a party to and guilty of an offence who –
(a) actually commits the offence; or
(b) does or omits an act for the purpose of aiding any person to commit the offence; or
(c) abets any person in the commission of the offence; or
(d) incites, counsels, or procures any person to commit the offence.”
Further……subsection (2) of Section 66:
“(2) Where 2 or more persons form a common intention to prosecute any unlawful purpose, and
to assist each other therein, each of them is a party to every offence committed by any one
of them in the prosecution of the common purpose if the commission of that offence was
known to be a probable consequence of the prosecution of the common purpose.”
I have no argument with fact of the parties provision in the Crimes Act but there is ALREADY law on the books to combat the “dodgy bennies’ dodgy partners” spectre raised by Borrows. Why do we need “new” law ? Maybe Borrows plans to impose strict liability on the partners, in which case the evidential aspects of Section 66 would not need to be proved at all. Simply being in a relationship in the nature of marriage with the offender would impose criminal liability, no questions asked.
In which case the over-coiffed “Ladies Lunchalot” who cruise up and down Parnell at 11.45 am daily looking for somewhere to park the convertible European motor had better watch out when their partners get done for corporate fraud in the hundreds of millions. Auckland Women’s Prison ain’t a pretty place darlings…….especially being in South Auckland and all that.
Is there no upper limit to the moral bankruptcy of John Key and his Cabinet with their incessant urging to sections of New Zealand society that we scapegoat and turn on another section of New Zealand society ?
Goebbels stuff all the more offensive when it’s done with such righteousness and pomposity !
t liabilty for those who live in a relatinship in the nature of marriage
“Maybe Borrows plans to impose strict liability on the partners, in which case the evidential aspects of Section 66 would not need to be proved at all.”
That’s precisely what Borrows is doing. Notice his rhetoric includes “ought to have known”, which is pretty much a strict liability test, so you’re right to say that “simply being in a relationship in the nature of marriage with the offender would impose criminal liability, no questions asked.” Borrows claims to be a lawyer. He should understand the repulsiveness of such a law.
What’s worse, though, is that there are many many instances where people are wrongly convicted because work and Income fail to understand the correct legal test for what constitutes a relationship in the nature of marriage.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0510/S00182.htm
Work and Income tell people the wrong test (often based on the old “if he stays more than three nights week you’re married”) and say “just plead guilty and you won’t go to jail”. Of course, many people, mostly women, are still jailed.
This is an extremely serious issue that’s been going on form years and years without anything being done about it. It’s also an issue that nobody seems to want to do anything about because it’s not popular these days to speak out on behalf of the rights of people on benefits. It’s one law for beneficiaries and another for everybody else.
If say a Doctor did not ask hard questions of their gang member patient, would they be liable?
Would the benefit advocate be liable if they were assisting the beneficiary at the time the beneficiary was applying???
A doctor merely provides a medical opinion. They don’t have anything to do with making decisions about benefit entitlement. Work and Income then make a decision about benefit eligibility based on the medical evidence. Doctors could only be liable if they supplied medical information they knew was incorrect.
If a beneficiary advocate was aware of information that meant the beneficiary wasn’t entitled to the benefit being applied for then they should stop representing the beneficiary. If the advocate didn’t withdraw and continued ignoring the information they were aware of then yes, currently they’d be committing a crime. The new Bill introduced this week, however, relates only to partners of people regarded as having committed an offence, but extends culpability to partners regarded as having ought to have known of their partner’s offending. It’s this lowering of the standard to strict liability within the realm of dishonesty offences that’s so abhorrent. This all on top of how so many women who’re convicted of relationship fraud are not in fact and never were in a relationship in the nature of marriage. Work and Income simply do not understand the correct legal test and continue apply it wrongly. This results in huge numbers of innocent women convicted, jailed and wrongly repaying huge overpayments. Now so-called partners of this group will be criminalised for something they had no idea bout because “they ought to have known”.
Instead of ensuring intention is retained as the crucial touchstone in such cases, and that it applies across the board to for example tax fraud, this government’s broken with longstanding criminal law principles, and targeted just one group: beneficiaries, the poorest of our poor. Charming.
Mary:
“Work and Income simply do not understand the correct legal test and continue apply it wrongly.”
You may be right on this in the case of some ordinary case managers not understanding the legal test, but in all honesty: Senior Work and Income staff will know the correct legal test.
Truth is: They (WINZ) often, if not always try to push boundaries, by trying to take advantage of the client’s ignorance and thus get away with demanding things that they should not demand in the particular manner and form it often is demanded in.
Look at designated doctor referrals (sending clients for medical exams – for second opinions or assessments). Clients often get “told” whom to see, rather than being allowed any input that the law does give them, to at first at least try to “agree” on a medical practitioner or psychologist.
If a client is “lucky”, they get presented a brief short-list to pick from, but even that is not in the true meaning of the law. The process, even if improper, becomes routine, and it is done so again and again. There are heaps of other cases, where the law is not followed strictly. And because nobody challenges them, they do it all the time.
If senior Work and Income staff do know the correct legal test, they certainly like hide that fact. A quick read of Appeal Authority decisions regarding living together cases pretty quickly shows that even they more often than not get it wrong. Accordingly, someone in Work and Income, somewhere, must surely be responsible for those cases getting that far. As I say, if senior Work and Income staff do know the correct legal then they’re not letting on that they do.
Very true Mary and it’s up to people who know the stuff first to enliven the victims with a sense of “Oh, I’m not such a bludging thieving arsehole then…….”. Awhi. Second, to encourage the standing up and saying – “I’m not a piece of rubbish…….fuck off with your attitude !” Hard I know for wannabee, usually racist wee punks who buy into the John Key cargo cult and who fancy themselves, but to hell with them frankly.
I’ve spent the last eight years as a legal aid lawyer in Kaikohe, where the average income rounds up to about 17 grand, doing criminal work only. I came from nearly 30 years of practise in Auckland as a conveyancing and commercial lawyer. So I’ll gladly debate with the know-alls and wahanui who know how it is, all according to them pig-ignorant selves of course. (Embarrassing!)
It’s so important that people who know the shit militate when they hear the utter lies of politicians whose sole kaupapa is to keep their fat and ugly arses on green leather parliamentary seats. And guzzling hard out at the trough. Like they actually believe that luminaries (???) like them are “entitled” for Christ’s Sake. Pleeeze ! Almost invariably they have feet of clay. They must be challenged !
You are right, North, and I made mention of this in another earlier post.
But there is another interesting section, which may qualify this a bit:
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1961/0043/latest/DLM328515.html
Section 71 seems to exclude spouses from being considered an “accessory to the fact” under criminal law. Whether that now directly also applies to section 66, I can only presume as being so, but I would be happy if someone else can shine a bit more light on this.
In any case, the true motivator behind that proposed law change is, to have legal provisions to facilitate the pressing of money for “damages” from any “partner” to a DPB recipient, who may have known of alleged welfare “abuse”. They are after getting more money out of people.
If that law change gets passed (despite of discriminating against beneficiaries and their alleged partner), it will be very hard to prove things. So expect more surveillance and dobbing in strategies to be applied.
xtasy, isn’t there also something in the Social Security Act that allows third parties to be prosecuted for assisting or being a party or in some other way allowing a fraud to continue?
Mary – not to my knowledge.
Benefits are though considered “inalienable”, and thus only intended for the recipient for specified purposes, so if DPB would be granted, it would be for the sole parent and her/his child(ren). That is what section 84 clearly states. So nobody can claim money from a beneficiary for purposes not intended, nor as a person instead of the beneficiary entitled to it.
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1964/0136/latest/DLM364489.html
Section 86 A says this:
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1964/0136/latest/DLM364857.htm
I would think though that this may only be applied where a third party has been in charge of looking after affairs of the beneficiary, is employer of a former beneficiary, or is one paying any income, interest or else to a former beneficiary. It would probably stretch too far, to authorise claiming any money owed (due to overpayment, unauthorised payment or similar) from a “partner” living with the beneficiary. But maybe it does?
The proposed law change will be so difficult to apply, I cannot get it, why Chester Borrows actually is so keen on getting it introduced. They will have to engage private investigators, their own fraud investigators, possibly police and independent witnesses, which will create a high level of expenses.
They should sort out applying the test in Ruka properly before they start convicting so-called partners of those who’ve been wrongly convicted in the first place. It’ll be creating one injustice on top of another.
For anyone who didn’t follow Mary’s comment, the Ruka case involved a woman in an on again/off again relationship that involved domestic violence. The ministry declined a DPB and the case progressed through the appeals system and finally into court.
Ruka won, the precedent being that the ministry had to take into account domestic violence when granting a benefit (or words to that effect).
So, how does this tie in with the proposed new law? Could be that those “men” from the self proclaimed ministry of men’s affairs do have something to bitch about after all – one day a domestic abuser, the next they are liable for half their partners allegedly fraudulent benefit claim. Oh, no!! My heart bleeds for them. First they don’t get their own ministry, and now other men are promoting a law that will penalise them for something their partner didn’t do.
Borrows might be a lawyer but he hasn’t got a clue what the implications of what he’s proposing are. We could talk about them now, but do we want to alert government so they it cover them off with SOPs?
The defence to being held an accessory after the fact under s 71 (2) of the Crimes Act avails ONLY a spouse in legal marriage or a civil union partner.
It does not avail a common law partner. Furthermore, the use in subsections (1) and (2) of these word – “…….knowing any person to have been a party to the offence, receives, comforts, or assists that person………to AVOID ARREST or conviction” – takes matters dangerously close to the element of “knowing” being satisfied by deemed constructive knowledge. The defence is so strictly circumscribed as to render it non-existent in practical effect.
Let’s suppose however that it is a practically meaningful and broad defence, for legally married people or those in a civil union. If Borrows’ does intend strict liability, or even an express constructive knowledge test, then any defence available under s 71 (2) would be swept away.
I don’t believe even this bunch of backwoodsmen and Tea Partiers would attempt that although nothing would surprise me. Like for example the attempt by some nobody National Party backbencher to misrepresent these measures as protecting beaten women. What ???
On the contrary they would remove any defence the common law already provides for beaten women, rather than protecting them.
No, this is more in the vein of “Hey, all you good folk out there……..look at those thieving bastards of beneficiaries………let’s bash them up they’re just scum stealing from you and me !”
Truly, an amoral bunch of liars and bullies they are.
In the RNZ interview on (Wednesday?? possibly Thursday) the ministry spokesman said that they expect more partners now made liable by the law to report their beneficiary partners to Work and Income before someone else does. Yeah. Right. Somehow I don’t see this as very likely, in fact I think it is more likely that they won’t move in together in the first place.
I heard a few RNZ interviews, on question was with white collar crime and the liability of partners in those cases. Borrows said that, because the offending happen away from the home that partners would not be liable. Which overlooks the home office that may of the white collar criminals have (and claim on there taxes).
The whole “ought to have known” fails if the person receiving tells there partner that they have contacted Winz and that it’s all been taken care of. What should they do, get an accountant in to see where there partners money is and to contact winz to see if the money is more than what it should be.
It’s a shocking law and a classic distracting boot at the beneficiaries.
Laws like that should cover everyone in the community and not just a select few.
At the end of the say it’s peanuts and the money would be better spent on collecting the $1 – $6 billion for the people who have stolen money from the IRD.
If winz was interested in saving money, then it could save a few million a year just by syncing up there needs for doctors visits to fill in medical certificates and the yearly reviews. It would make no difference to system but would save 61,000 doctor visits at $40 a visit that would be $2,440,000 saved. Not counting the costs of the community service card.
Syncing Doctors visits would be awesome. Combine this with
– avoiding having clients go into branch wherever possible (saves office space, security guard time, stress on clients, travel costs which are in some instances considerable)
– sorting out their system admin!!! How many millions is THAT each year in wasted printing and posting of letters that don’t apply? Did anyone else read FranklySpeaking, the post that showed the 70 pages of crap when applying for an unemployment benefit?!
The PM needs help.
Karol: Hone Key is deeply in “denial”, I am afraid!
That is the worst and strongest symptom of any form of addiction, certainly also that gambling addicts suffer. So the denial keeps him “hooked”, and like an addicted partner dragging the whole family down with him/her, Key is (with his unchanged, sick habits) dragging NZ into the bottomless gutter!
Key is a master when it comes to hood-winking.
Reading the article on TV3’s site about the Govt giving up any hope of controlling Kauri Dieback Disease I couldn’t, for the life of me, recall who the Minister for the Environment was. Says it all.
More insightful analysis from Puddleglum:
http://www.thepoliticalscientist.org/
On CERA spinning the Christchurch well-being survey – misrepresenting the results to manipulate the increasingly angry populace:
Which post are you talking about? A quick search couldn’t find the quoted text.
Under the fold DtB.
http://www.thepoliticalscientist.org/?p=1206
Why didn’t you link to it in the first place? Just linking to the top of the blog as you did won’t point people to the post you think is worth reading and, as blogs happen to be active, the post will get harder and harder to find.
DtB, when I click on the link in my post it takes me straight to the blog post I was talking about.
Do other people have problems following my links?
That’s because the post is presently at the top of the blog but it won’t be there always and you could have been talking about one three or four posts down.
Case in point is that I just moved the solid energy post off the top of this site after a few days at the top. Put r0b’s hilarious post about Act up.
After I get back home and do some editing Helen Kelly’s next post will be there.
Brenton said there were some hopeful technological solutions using experimental geo-engineering to counter carbon emissions.
Leaving aside the poor use of the term *social unrest*, as cover for the creation of *social unrest* by the zionists, its interesting that Sir Tony, refers to geo-engineering, , the article does not elaborate further…
An open admission – That’s for you Weka!
Edit – Weka, FYI, I appreciate you have not denied geo-engineering, could be going on.
Penny must be hoping:
Act leader accused of finance law breach.
A judge is considering whether Act Party leader John Banks should face charges this month for allegedly misleading investors.
The threat hung over Banks’ head as he took the podium at yesterday’s annual party conference.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10867333
It doesn’t seem right that unemployed are being shipped from a National held electorate into a Labour held electorate to take there jobs.
Care to elaborate? You haven’t even named the electorate in question.
Unemployed workers are being transported into the Palmerston North electorate from surrounding electorates for work. Palmerston North people should have first go at low skilled jobs in there area and not have to compete with people from outside there area. The people being shipped in are also getting extra funding from MSD.
So it make the Labour held seat of PN look like it as a worse job problem and the surrounding National electorates have more people in work.
It’s unfair to the unemployed in Palmerston North and creates a distorted pattern of employment statistics. Plus is was waste of tax payers money transporting people to these jobs when there are locals who could bet taking advantage of that work.
U$K loses its AAA rating. The Public sector continues to be looted for privatised gain. Like our Public assets are being looted re. Power Companies. The key government is a total corporatised sell out too. 🙁 Key and Campbell are chums remember. “The artistic taxi driver” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oQDG0Ctjlk&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=1
Official UK public debt is 230% that of annual UK tax revenues. To source sufficient money to keep running, more money is being borrowed from the private sector all the time.
The UK has not deserved it’s AAA rating for quite some time.
This is the National led goverment’s new plan for mental health and addiction service delivery – presented in the form of the Ministry of Health’s 5-year plan called:
‘Rising to the Challenge: The Mental Health and Addiction Service Development Plan 2012 – 2017’.
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/rising-challenge-mental-health-and-addiction-service-development-plan-2012-2017 (dowloadable as PDF)
It was introduced and presented by Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne just before Christmas 2012, which ensured that it got very little, if any media and public scrutiny, and it has indeed gone very much under the radar, as no media and no other forums are discussing the contents of this very worrying “plan”.
At first sight some may find it “reasonable” what is proposed, but looking at the plan in detail, it is NOT encouraging, yes indeed extremely frightening, what is planned. It contains proposals and plans, on which professional organisations like the Royal College of NZ General Practitioners (RNZCGP), NZMA, NZNO and others have already presented interesting, highly critical and damning submissions. Some were not even properly consulted.
The core message is in short: The Ministry of Health will expect mental health and addiction sufferers to more or less “help themselves” (see chapter 6 on page 6, and under “Self management education”; and also at the bottom of page 27 of the ‘Rising to the Challenge’ plan). Funding is not available, apart from funds to be taken out of other health services, and then to be re-allocated (see details on page 8 under headline ‘Implementing the Plan’, and Part 1 starting at page 10).
There is much talk about smart-sounding, catchy policy slogans, ambiguous phrases – about better use of resources, integrating infrastructure and services, “cementing” and building on gains, increased access, better performance and measuring output, effectiveness, efficiencies, ring-fencing of spending, KPIs (key performance indicators), supporting and strengthening the workforce, BUT nothing much of substance or detail. Measures are listed according to “rationale”, “measuring progress” and “priority actions”.
The plan also clearly states, that it takes a different approach to the health care than the so-called “Blueprint II” documents or plan do. This ‘Rising to the Challenge’ plan rather presents much talk and focus on “prioritised actions”. It appears to provide aligned steps to “motivate” or perhaps rather “force” mentally ill and addicted into some forms of work, as chapter 2 on page 28 of the plan ‘Rising to the Challenge’ reveals under heading “Employment specialists”, who appear to be planned to be employed by DHBs.
Now this must surely also be seen in view of the presently considered major welfare reforms in the form of the ‘Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Act’, as alongside the legal changes that are proposed, there is much talk about offering “more assistance” to help sick and disabled (naturally including the 32 to 40 per cent of sickness of invalid’s beneficiaries with mental health conditions) to get treatment, so they can be prepared to take up some form of work.
It also looks as if most treatment will rather be the cheap and easy mass medication of patients by common GPs, who are deemed by mental health experts to often be insufficiently trained and qualified in this area. They tend to rather prescribe endless dosages of neuro-pharmaceuticals (see ‘Rising to the Challenge’, page 25, under heading “Reinforce evidence-enforced prescribing”). No extra resourses appear to be set aside for improving proper health care!
Submissions on the proposed plan by M.o.H. are highly critical and sceptical, especially in regards to lack of funding, detailed commitment and how all this is supposed to be implemented and delivered by the needed professional experts:
http://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/assets/documents/Standards–Policy/Submissions/2012.11.02-MoH-Rising-to-the-Challenge.pdf
http://www.nzma.org.nz/sites/all/files/NZMA%20Submission%20on%20the%20Mental%20Health%20%26%20Addiction%20Service%20Development%20Plan%202012-2017.pdf
http://www.nzno.org.nz/Portals/0/Files/Documents/Activities/Submissions/2012-11%20Mental%20health%20and%20Addiction%20Service%20Development%20Plan,%20%20NZNO%20FINAL.pdf
http://www.psychology.org.nz/cms_show_download.php?id=1753
http://www.nzcmhn.org.nz/files/file/338/Rising%20to%20the%20Challenge%20Feedback%20form%204102012.pdf
http://www.nzma.org.nz/policies/advocacy/consultation-documents
An earlier submission on Blueprint II by the Aoteaoroa NZ Association of Social Workers:
http://anzasw.org.nz/documents/0000/0000/0031/Submission_of_Blueprint__MHASP_Final.pdf
So this is supposed to be the “extra support” the government is talking about “offering” sick and disabled on benefits, is it??? It rather seems like more LIES and smokescreens by a government out of touch and caring nothing much for the mentally ill in NZ.
+1 Thankyou for your detailed consideration xtasy. I’m more simplistic: our right wing governments copy and receive their nerve from the draconion measures done in the U$K especially. The process of “shooting the wounded” the artist taxi driver talks of has already begun here. For instance just fail one work test, such as being late to a work seminar, and your benefit can be cut, just like that, to get back on you’ll have to go through a tedious review procedure and you may miss out on a couple of weeks income before you’re reinstated by showing you are work ready, your back money is then paid. The message: conform to the letter or we’ll sanction you.
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Unemployed-man-dumps-20lbs-dog-mess-Hanley-job/story-18078256-detail/story.html#axzz2LlIqULq0
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.400610-Man-dumped-20lbs-of-dog-dirt-in-a-job-centre
http://atosvictimsgroup.co.uk/
“Atos Profits Grow by 36% As Disabled People Get Denied Benefits….”
“Atos it seems is becoming more profitable the more it denies people’s disabilities and sickness. Atos have published a 36% increase in its profits, an increase which was produced through it’s “Disability Denial Factories”, places where you enter as a severely disabled or sick individual only to leave being cured of all disabilities and incumbrances, a place supposedly with the same curing abilities as “Lourdes” but non of the compassion.”
“More and more people are being victimized, abused, tortured by the government and Atos, I use those terms because that’s the truth, when someone is continually forced to endure humiliating and uneccessary procedures to prove their disability then to me that’s torture and abuse, it cannot be deemed anything else, the problem is that the vast majority of politicians have turned their backs on the problem, no one wants to say “Enough is Enough”?”
“It seems the more deaths and abuse we hear about the more the Profits of Atos increase, killing disabled people for profit is obviously the coalitions attempts at growing our economy?…”
http://atosvictimsgroup.co.uk/2013/02/22/atos-profits-grow-by-36-as-disabled-people-get-denied-benefits/
Message? Profits before people, the inevitable NeoLiberal obscenity. 🙁 🙁 🙁
http://atosvictimsgroup.co.uk/2013/02/23/commute-three-hours-a-day-or-lose-benefits-jobseekers-are-told-in-tough-new-plan/
Just reading that brief story gave me the shivers.
So if such rules may also come in force here, people in Hamilton will be expected to look for jobs to commute to in Auckland, I suppose.
johnm:
“The message: conform to the letter or we’ll sanction you.”
Yes, that is the ultimate message and applied strategy on most welfare policies, in the UK and already also so in NZ.
If more beneficiaries would actually know what goes on, and if more would know and understand their rights, MSD and WINZ would be hit by a “tsunami” of legal challenges. Also this government would be exposed, so that the manipulating, indifferent, non researching mainstream media would not get away with ignoring what goes on.
Sadly this is not the case though.
Much more work needs to be done, bit by bit.
The Work and Income review process for a person on sickness or invalid benefit is so stacked up against a person. A review board of three doctors has the last say.
I’ve won one at the medical appeals board before and I suspect success again later this year. It isn’t impossible, but you do need to know your rights and have good supporting information particularly when you go for arrears.
Towards the end of last year someone I know phoned me relieved his doctor had signed him on the IB again (mental condition which can make him seem ok…until he clearly isn’t. Exacerbated by stress, such as being constantly harassed to get a job, get a job GET A JOB! We know FFS). I warned him that the RDA/RHA would not necessarily support continuing on the IB.
Sure enough, W&I inform him that they believe he should go on a sickness benefit. I bribe him to go and see the benefit rights service and offer to meet him there (he gets confused, stressed etc). He makes it but there is a wait time to see someone, during which he manages to convince himself there is nothing he can do about the situation. I try my best to get him to see someone but have to make another appointment elsewhere. No idea if he followed through but I doubt he did.
>> And that in a nutshell is why the ministry is winning. No review of decision application, no follow through, and the false acceptance that the ministry will win in the end.
Bring on the tsunami.
Good on you.
I wonder who they are and how the medical appeal board doctors are selected?
They would have to cover a lot of medical conditions and those on invalid benefit can have multiple conditions.
Work and Income desk staff are not alllowed to comment on medical conditions, it is not their place to. This is where Work and Income need to be sorted straight away. I recall seeing something about the client’s permission is required for Work and Income to access their medical records as there is a person who can checks up on the GP. I think somewhere in Hamiliton (advocacy) said not to give consent.
Treetop:
“I wonder who they are and how the medical appeal board doctors are selected? They would have to cover a lot of medical conditions and those on invalid benefit can have multiple conditions.”
In total there are about 290 “designated doctors” that MSD and WINZ have on their books, and well over 90 per cent are common GPs, only some of them with post grad “specialisations”. Yet GPs like to see themselves as “specialist generalists” (a bit of vanity, I suppose). There are indeed very, very few psychiatrists, psychologists, orthopaedic or surgeons of specialisation.
Since 2008 MSD have “trained” their doctors in special training sessions all over NZ, to make the decisions that MSD “expect”.
These are the ones that do “examinations” and assessments, and many of them also sit on MABs (but not the same who assessed particular clients before the appeal). Usually they have 2 GPs and one rehab or other “health professional”.
Some of their doctors and health professionals do a lot of work for MSD, others less so. I know one in Auckland, who made much of his livelihood out of WINZ examinations.
So since they are expected to look at particular informations, and have to meet WINZ expectations and meet their criteria (“to look at what a client can do, rather than what a client cannot”), the chances are usually stacked against an appealing client, but still a fair few manage to convince an MAB. That has been in past years, it seems to get more difficult.
For a “designated doctor list” check ACC Forum in comment 5 under this thread:
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/13301-what-to-do-if-you-are-required-to-see-a-winz-designated-doctor/page__p__138090__hl__%2Bdesignated+%2Bdoctor__fromsearch__1#entry138090
(You unfortunately need to log in and join though)
helps to be mad 😉
Rogue Trooper: Yes, sometimes I choose that option, not voluntarily, but it is the result of what one has to face. They drive us to madness! It certainly does not offer help and treatment, which is never covered by any disability allowance and the poor health care system in this country. You are left in a catch 22, to opt between medical numbing, suicide or them stuffing you into any other “treatment” that usually never works.
Sick really!
Great to have you back X!
VERY disturbing stuff there. Perhaps worse than the lack of consultation is how National consistently ram through legislation regardless of logical objections – I expect this will be no different unless we can get it read widely.
Thanks for taking the time to sort through and put it out here for us to check out.
When does X get his own welfare column?
AsleepWhileWalking:
Hah – it may not be enough yet to fill a regular column, thanks for the thought!
Maybe it only appears to “much” coming from me, because hardly anybody else is doing much in this regard. Ardern comes to mind, ahem, sorry Jacinda (sometimes it’s good to hear from you, a bit more would be even better).
PUBLIC NOTICE
FOUR MORE DAYS
Following my one month ban, extended by fiat to two months in reaction to the intervention by one of my followers, my time in exile shall finish at the end of this month, and I shall return on March 1st.
ENDS
[lprent: Bad idea (like this comment (which i will leave up for the existing comments in reply 🙂 )), it’d be a bad idea to come back so far from the Ides. My notes say that the ban extends until the 6th. You shouldn’t need so much time to organize the backstabs of this dictator. ]
What are you jesus now?
To be honest, when I am banned I dont even go to this site. I just serve out my ban and then come back.
This sort of information is best distributed via a dedicated press release service, perhaps http://scoop.co.nz
However given that a large number of readers will have no doubt given up using the internet entirely in protest of your ban, I also recommend going directly to traditional broadcast and print media.
A targeted radio campaign can be less expensive than you might think, and a nationwide flyer drop the day before your much anticipated return should be quite effective.
However I’d probably wait and see if that deliberate breach of your ban earns you another before spending the big bucks on tv advertising.
And don’t forget the invaluable rumour-mongering services available at yournz courtesy of PG 🙂
Very gently and respectfully I want to ask what’s all this (what appears to my simple mind) virulent anti-Morrissey stuff ?
And as to a breach of the ban I would have thought that his actually getting through was an implied, if only a one off, suspension of the ban by the moderator.
Must say I love Morrissey on Palestine.
Morrissey was initially banned for deciding it’d be really, really funny to use a post of mine to call me a whore. Because, you know, it was totally relevant to him.
His ban was extended when a “friend” of his decided to subvert the ban by posting a sadly deleted statement on Morrissey’s behalf, and also personally attack me again. Morrissey apparently wasting lprent’s time in email probably didn’t help either.
You may note an interesting pattern of behaviour, per my comment below. You may not, of course, it’s a free world.
“what’s all this (what appears to my simple mind) virulent anti-Morrissey stuff ?”
Only speaking for myself, mine was just “anti-absurd-and-delusional-comment” stuff.
Not usually. There are a lot of moderatorsand it is a fast process. It isn’t abnormal for comments to get through. And the idea is for people who are banned to refrain from commenting rather than us to have to deal with their stupidity.
If they do get through late in the ban, then my usual approach is to double the ban or to permanently ban them. This discourages people from knowingly writing comments while banned and helps moderators be aware of who is banned. A slow winnowing of people who are dumb enough to waste moderator time also makes our lives easier.
An alternate approach is to assist in their understanding Of why they were banned in the first place. This usually happens when commentators get in their digs before the offending comment makes it to spam. I read Felix, PB, and decided that the process was underway.
Afterall what we are mostly interested in is that people do not waste our time. The most effective way to do that is to ensure that they understand what kinds of things make that happen. Personally attacking authors instead of the content of their post and wasting moderator time are very high on the list.
Incidentally, I was fixing the theme to support threading at Brian Edwards site a while ago. I happened to observe that after being banned here, he was one of the very few people banned over there. I wonder how many other sites this carried on for….
1. Feels the need to ignore a ban in order to explain when he’ll be back
2. Refers to people (who were *totally* not sockpuppets) as “followers”.
… yeah, draw your own conclusions on that one, people.
Blubber Boys seems to be all cock-a-hoop about disrupting Helen Clark’s appearance on Reddit. Should I, we?, care enough to turn up and rescue her from those troglodytes? http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2013/02/helen-clark-to-do-a-reddit-ama-early-tuesday/
I wouldn’t lose any sleep over those bogans, I’m sure Helen won’t either.
The list of questions being proposed includes many thoughtful ones, and the handful from the trogs (YOU DUDNT NEVER PAINT THAT PIKCHUR YOU LIAR) stick out like stupid thumbs.
Cameron and his friend will sign in early with their multiple accounts and auto-voting scripts and spam the hell out of the board with dumbass questions about her teeth, and Helen will treat them with all the attention they deserve.
A 3-wave “tsunami” of comments for a start, not bad!
Yes, one should never give in, and also inform yourselves well, gather all documentary and other evidence AND take along a SUPPORT PERSON (as witness, to take notes and listen) !!!
That is highly important, as on your own, it is in many cases like going to the slaughter.
It is much worse now, with this “looking at what you can, rather than what you can not”. They try to get answers about home activities, hobbies, this and that, which gives them something that can just vaguely imply that there is some “job” a client can do hypothetically.
The onus now clearly lies on the beneficiary client, and many struggle dealing with that. It is like an accused before court having to prove her/his innocence, without any help (except perhaps some third party documents).
WTF National up 4.4 in TV3 poll? What’s going on?
Another month, another ‘rogue’ poll, another bout of left eyed myopia coming up.
My reaction exactly. We’re missing something. I consider myself a smart guy. I’ve got a string of letters after my name. I just can’t fathom how the Nats keep on doing it. Except, at present there’s no viable alternative government and Shearer has all the charisma of a fart in a phone box. But even then, there should be a lot of undecideds rather than full on support for the government.
They might cut all undecideds out of the polling data, or they might force all respondents to select a party choice.
No political poll seems to publish undecideds data.
The undecideds are deleted.
So the National voters say “National”. The anti-National voters say “Aaaaarghhh!”
The polls can’t – or won’t – show people saying “Key pisses me off more each day but what choice do we have?”.
Labour’s “strategy” (a generous description) is that these people will tick Labour on election day. I reckon they’ll stay home, or vote Winston or Hone or McGillyguddy Serious or even Colin Craig. Or Australia.
The alternative strategy – to, like, stand for something, and be able to communicate it – is there for the taking. But what do we know? Maestros Trev and Grant are in charge, and they delivered the triumph of 2011. Expect more of the same.
The undecideds are deleted.
Why aren’t Labour and the Greens screaming about this. It amounts to misinformation or worse… an attempt to gerrymander the voters’ perception of the result. Why? Because the majority of people assume it is a poll covering 100% of those who have agreed to take part.
This is a relatively new tactic. For 40 or more years the undecideds were reported because they actually mean something. If nearly 20% are undecided – and it has happened in the past – then you know the electorate is very volatile and anything could happen at election time if the number of ‘undecideds’ don’t change much. That can have an influence on the way people vote. On the other hand, if the polling companies favour the incumbents – and at the moment I suspect they do – then you are not going to want people to know just how many are undecided. It stinks to me.
Why doesn’t someone ask the companies why they no longer include the undecideds? The answers could be quite interesting.
The undecideds are deleted.
Why aren’t Labour and the Greens screaming about this. It amounts to misinformation or worse… an attempt to gerrymander the voters’ perception of the result. Why? Because the majority of people assume it is a poll covering 100% of those who have agreed to take part.
This is a relatively new tactic. For 40 or more years the undecideds were reported because they actually mean something. If nearly 20% are undecided – and it has happened in the past – then you know the electorate is very volatile and anything could happen at election time if the number of ‘undecideds’ don’t change much. That can have an influence on the way people vote. On the other hand, if the polling companies/media outlets favour the incumbents – and at the moment I’m sure they do – then you are not going to want people to know just how many are undecided. It stinks to me.
Why doesn’t someone ask the companies why they no longer include the undecideds? The answers could be quite interesting.
Oops: the edited version appeared a second time.
It’s simple, Labour could be an alternative Government. A labour Green alliance would be toxic, we need to suck it up, accept another few years on the opposition benches, get our act ready for Government.If we cuddle up to the greens National will be in for a decade.
“Labour could be an alternative Government.”
Not this side of reality.
“A labour Green alliance would be toxic”
Clearly the reason Labour are shit is because of a toxic alliance with the Greens.
“we need to suck it up, accept another few years on the opposition benches”
Do we, really? There’s no other way, at all?
“get our act ready for Government.”
Because 2008 -2013 has just been a practice.
“If we cuddle up to the greens National will be in for a decade.”
No-one cuddles Labour. They can’t see the caucus knife coming straight between the shoulder blades.
I suspect the failure of Labour to present themselves as an alternative government is because they are not one. Not even close. No amount of polishing shines up a turd.
Whats the air like inside your bubble…
Clear and breathable, with a hint of cinnamon and cabbage.
Lolz an unbiased TV3 political poll featuring Patrick Gower, the first an oxymoron the latter just a simple moron full stop,
TV3=MediaWorks=$43 million dollar loan gaurantee=Steven Joyce still a shareholder via His ‘blind trust’= everything political said or done by TV3 or it’s head clown Gower can only be laughed at as more bulls**t….
Oz Labor Party “conceded the philosophical debate, then lost the political fight”
Oz Labor Party struggling and struggling. Gillard loses preferred PM spot to Abbott in latest poll, and the Labor Party is sitting on dismal polling numbers vs the Coalition. A 6% swing against the Labor Govt is predicted.
One writer thinks its a case of the Labor Party no longer having its historical purpose or narrative:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/labor-has-lost-the-plot-and-the-narrative-20130221-2eua9.html
The ALP have been right wing for some time. Probably more historically right wing than our Labour Party, from where I am sitting anyway.
Some weeks ago, I was reading a transcript of an interview with Bill Hayden, a minister in the Whitlam and Hawke governments (and the leader who lost the 1980 election), and found him to articulate some very right wing viewpoints.
Other interesting points:
A Labour government (even the one that will be elected in 2014), would never dream of moving DPB recipients onto the the dole (like the Gillard government did last year), and intervening on the side of the employer in a labour dispute to a degree where even a right wing think tank signalled its unease (like Hawke did in the 1989 pilot’s strike).
millsy: They (Labour NZ) do not seem to raise much of their voices here, about the National ACT gang (with that Dunny “Done” guy from Ohariu) moving sick and disabled onto the jobseeker allowance category as a consequence of reforms before select committee now.
Dont think NZLP would do it themselves though. The ALP would do it, but not our one.
I’ll say it – don’t ask me for links or some “statistical” proof – this 51.4% claimed for Notional, conducted by whomsoever, is utter bullshit ! Be happy you neo-liberal, right-wing, people-hating arseholes. You’ve got, for now, some figures which buzz you. But even you don’t believe them.
They are a jack-up knowingly skewed by advisedly limited enquiry. We’re dealing with another wing of the MSM after all. We all know how wannabee, self -interested, and corrupt they are.
When the tide turns watch those arseholes go for the jugular. Frankly, I’ve got less respect for them than I have for Liar Key. That really is saying something !
North – wow you seem all twisted and out of shape.
yeah – every poll for god knows how long has had the Nats by a large margin. I guess you can keep saying its a rough poll or there is only one poll that matters (election night).
Truth is – and Im sure in your heart of hearts you know it also – if there was an election today Key would be back in and Labour would get a huge hiding.
See – the thing is – a lot (hell it would seem most) people either like Key – or think he is better than the alternative.
Labour can form the government on 31%-32% but NZF would probably have to play ball. A lot of Cabinet positions would have to go to the Greens and to NZ First.
National know this of course and have already started courting Winston.
It’ll all end in tears I reckon.
If the undecided are dropped and the ones that tell them to fuck off are ignored how much does that leave 51.4% of?
They don’t release enough information to determine that. Personally, I think political polling should conform to an NZS type standard and provide that information.
For decades they did CV. See my13.2.2.1.1