I don't know what Chris Finlayson's been up to since he left Parliament but it hasn't killed his smarminess or his view that people other than he and his mates are stupid.
It was said on RNZ this morning that he was going back to contribute to getting the rules around the use of video from Parliament changed .
According to him the world has moved on and the rules need to be updated for the social media of today. We all know times move quickly and things move quickly.
We also know that the world didn't move that quickly in less than two years from when certain restrictions were included in the rules, to where they are no longer necessary.
Finlayson and his worthy leader no doubt had a part in formulating those rules. He is saying this brief time later that after the intellectual rigour they applied to constructing them the essence of part of them no longer applies?
What changed, what moved quickly is that they were no longer in power. What would have been argued on grounds of principle from high and mighty positions of power suddenly are being argued in a diametrically opposite way, ostensibly on grounds of principle.
The high and mighty are well suited to the worm holes. Finlayson should crawl back there.
Prior to becoming a politician Finlayson had a law practice which, as far as I know, continues to exist. I recall him saying on leaving politics that he was planning to resume his legal career.
That being the case then it is likely National hired him to represent them at the select committee hearing. That being the case then he would be representing his client (the Nats) and not himself.
As someone who seems to have specialised in copyright, contractural interpretation and other similar legal matters prior to entering parliament, then it seems probable Finlayson was hired in his capacity as a high flying barrister to represent them.
After all, they have lots of Chinese money at their disposal. You know… this "quid pro quo" thing which appears fashionable among some of the world's political elite these days.
I studied Latin for some years and while I came across many fine phrases (and use them occasionally,) sometimes English is great for being succinct and accurate.
Nice enough guy overtly @Anne…….shame about the sense of Tory entitlement and bitchiness he's adopted. Kind of a 'Dontcha know who I am?" – in an "I've paid my dues", sophisticated sort of way .
Better to just give him a knighthood and wish him a happy life in retirement. Maybe even a brass plaque on a front row seat in some remote venue where the NZSO plays.
Give him a bloody subscription for life even, or the keys to Miramar Penninsula, or even a guest column on Granny Herald
An interesting question for our times: why are so few Repugs willing to lift even their smallest finger to try to tame the turd tornado spattering up the walls of the Oval Office? After all, Pence would sign off on any judges the Heritage Foundation puts in front of him, and any tax cuts or other reactionary legislation, so it's not as if they would lose any ability to actually do anything.
I do hope that people in the USA are reading your comments Andre and that of other wise heads here. One can only hope that all the close attention we give to the USA here actually penetrates the outer stratosphere of the USA consciousness.
As for Brexit, it is also very interesting in all its manifestations as Halloween draws close.
One columnist spreads her interest wide to take in the Remainers.
Clever incompetents in Parliament have catastrophically overplayed their hand
The trouble with the Remainers is not their arrogant inability to grasp when they have lost, but their blindness to when they have won. So when Boris Johnson triumphantly returned from Brussels clutching the best bad deal possible, the eyes of MPs gunged up so quickly with spiteful, green anger that they failed to spot their finest chance to wreck Brexit.
Fatuous Remainer MPs have just become the useful idiots of the Leave cause – Sherelle Jacobs Daily Telegraph Columnist
Her image shows a 20-30 year old looking pleased with herself for getting a piece into the paper which comes from a different viewpoint – though a doubtfully valid one.
What a blast hearing Dogal Stevenson talking to John Campbell at this morning on TVNZ one ‘Breakfast’ show at 7.40am today when John asked Dogal; “what would you advise todays newreaders to do”?
Dogal said very carefully after deep reflection “well I would say to him; (from memory- my words)
“just loosen up, – you don’t want to be a slave to a BBC as an adjunct; – talk to your listeners audience as they are your own people, and you will receive far more empathy and respect for speaking the truth.”
Then from memory I recall Dogal said, he still searches for the truth as a newsreader, and mostly listens to RNZ as our public broadcaster, in the hope that that he is hearing the truth, and others are to biased today.
Yes we need to get that free to air public TV channel we were promised by Labour started soon as the election process is now in full swing putting out so much fake media hype now that is is often difficult to know what is the truth any more.
Yes public TV on a reasonable budget and no highly priced front people. Let's get able people who earn a reasonable screw and go for ugly ones – it's time we had our day in the sun.
"Yes we need to get that free to air public TV channel we were promised by Labour started soon as the election process is now in full swing "
As I replied to you @ Cleangreen once before (not sure if it was here or on TDB.)
Please don't hold your breath. You are probably already down as some disgruntled old coot whose vote won't make a difference in your twilight years anyway
Ideologically, the foxes are in charge of the chicken coup and the chickens are busy convincing their partners how dainty the taste of a Chardonnay is. So its better to just smile and watch them all jump off a cliff, and watch the onlookers clutch their pearls afterwards
chanting “Oooh! I say!”
Yes we are petty much stuffed now, like the movies always portray the masses as idiots when a huge disaster comes our way such as in the movie "The day after tomorrow
The hearing was mostly cordial, barring a stern rebuke from Mr Mallard to Massey University Professor Claire Robinson after her criticism of Labour's position.
The review was initiated after Labour complained that the Opposition had used official footage of Labour backbencher Deborah Russell without her permission in breach of one of Parliament's rarely enforced rules.
"But to be a vote for change Labour would have had to get more votes than National. In fact National got 20,574 more votes in 2017 than it did in 2014."
hello MMP is calling Claire…the left has multiple choice of parties.
And she lies by omission as National got less votes as a % of the total vote a whopping -2.59%. Saying they 'won' by getting more votes by number and by party was the National partys constant claim.
I keep getting good, hopeful feelings that problems are being dealt with in a timely, not time-wasting fashion, now that the Labour Coalition is in. Please God let this political do-wonders group stay in and we can have hope for the future. It can't please us all, all the time, but it is trying for most of the time. The others are gungy ghastly greedy and bottom-feeders.
They're trying @grey. But there's a lot of shit to push uphill and they've been slow to start, and slow to even recognise where many of the roadblocks are/have been.
Their worst enema comes from quite a few in the senior ranks of the public service. Now that I've come of age, I'm privy to the conversations and opinions of a bunch of retired senior public servants. I hadn't quite realised how much they're in agreement with what I've noticed quite independently of what they'd seen and experieinced. Kind of like a blatent display of a Master of the Universe culture, previously limited to the private sector.
Whereas once it was all a matter of self preservation through obfuscation, spin et al (as in "Yes Minister" fashion), NOW those same traits come with outright political partisanship in so many cases.
Not sure if it was in here or TDB that I was reminded of the word 'spiv' which reminded me of grifters, but its become a bit sad that many of the coalition MPs have taken this long (2 years in) to appreciate the level of 'pushback' that's occurred, and many still don't appear to have noticed how many of their 'officials' have the skills of the best used car salesman.
Some Ministers and MPs in the coalition are/have been simply too 'nice', and the used car salesmen are, and have taken advantage of it.
Pushing back, to the extent they're trying to show just who is boss; 'working to rule' on policies they dislike or don't agree with, slowing it all down; and crying victim if and when anyone even attempts to call them to account.
I'm glad you have confidence because what worries me most is that this government COULD be teetering on a loss come 2020, given a senior public service that's by and large its enemy and almost completely unaccountable for its many failures (a matter of record that could rival a bLip list, an almost non-existent 4th Estate, and an electorate that's becoming increasingly disinterested and feeling alienated.
If you’ve got one or two crystals I could clutch, I could return the favour, maybe as a tour guide to the new home of the Dalai Lama
The government is under fire for not going far enough with its Emissions Trading Scheme. Farmers won't have to start paying for their emissions until 2025, as long as they make progress in finding ways to measure and price emissions at the farm level. Greenpeace says the government's Emissions Trading Scheme shows pleas from tens-of-thousands of students for climate action have fallen on deaf ears. Corin speaks to the Climate Change Minister James Shaw in our Wellington studio.
and – Good work that engineer
8:15 am today
Engineer reveals dozens of building mistakes
From Morning Report, 8:15 am today 3.24m A structural engineer who helped trigger investigations into seismically-flawed building designs has revealed dozens of common but serious mistakes he is finding during reviews. The consequences of design faults include a 60-metre high transmission tower that snapped in half. Phil Pennington reports.
The way that builders go broke and don't pay their subbies is a shock to me, filled with the belief of building being one of our strong industries that was flourishing, blah blah. My relations just had a very nice house built and watched over it all the time, I think similar to a civil engineer as he is a retired builder. The supposed builder confessed that it was beyond him before the job was done, he was running a ponzi, paying off past debts from the current job, and it caught up with him. And he and his family were known to my relation, not fly-by-nights. In the end he was paid for the job, but didn't pay all his subbies, and my relation had to bargain with them to get them to sign off their work so the Council would issue a 'pass-notice' or whatever it's called. He had to pay some in full, so double for that part. Shocking! The house is pretty good but he had to finish off some parts himself. His knees are a bit shot, but he managed.
It should be a steady job and with good tradesmen getting good pay. But SNAFU is our codesign in NZ since neoliberalbloodyeconomics and the bloody Labourtroika/Treasury takeover. Can we pull ourselves out of the smelly bog – I hope.
Well I have heard queries about whether they are reliable but don't know. Why is the Master Builder crowd not being used more – don't know. My builder relation would have thought that knowing the person and his family, he would be okay.
People can look into the eyes of an assured bloke and form an opinion that their job knowledge and outcome will be okay. Silly but in law when you hold yourself out to be something then you should stand behind it and I guess that prompts people to accept others who seem to know what they are doing.
And on my 'namesake' day we received the word that an Iwi is challenging OMV CEO in an international court .
A good move there, – we all need to support them not leave them in solitude;.
We we wrote this in support today too.
CEAC support Iwi Leaders Group lawsuit against OMV CEO
25th October 2019.
Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre.
CEAC support Climate change Iwi Leaders Group lawsuit against OMV CEO
On this ‘St Crispin’s day 25th October’, (a day that the English celebrate annually their victory against the French during the Agincourt 100yr war.)
We fully support the Iwi legal challenge against another polluter and ‘climate spoiler’ such as OMV is.
QUOTE;
“ An iwi leader has announced the initiation of a lawsuit to be filed at the International Criminal Court against Rainer Seele, the CEO of Austrian oil giant OMV”.
This was another very good Iwi policy that has considered the health ,safety and wellbeing of all citizens, and we commend the Iwi for making a bold stand against those corporate interests who wish harm upon our NZ citizens and we stand together with them in support and solitude.
No Right Turn nails it – shaw knows this stuff better than most and this is what he managed to sort – pathetic and disgraceful – if this is the big moment it fizzed worse than Dot-idiot and the big nothing.
Against this background, saying that agriculture, our biggest polluter, doesn't have to do anything until 2025 is committing to failure. And if we are to meet the emissions reduction targets necessary for human survival, it forces us towards policy paths that are extreme, like an actual cow-cull, rather than being able to reduce cow numbers by efficiency gains through the business cycle. We could afford to piss around like that in 2000, and maybe in 2008 (if we'd actually followed-through, rather than giving them a free ride). But now, we are out of time. You cannot compromise with physics, and anyone who thinks you can is trying to kill us. http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2019/10/climate-change-you-cannot-compromise.html
Well, I think take a tender for the jobs of running the country – and have each person with watchers who answer to the people for the performance of their lad or lass. . All coming from the citizens and having first done a public, civic management diploma and social anthropology one also, and also a farming and horticulture course – those being our main positive products. (Less emphasis on rockets and space, and more on food and maintaining the planet in a livable condition.)
They will be responsible for ensuring that the administration does what has been agreed upon in an appropriately professional way, getting the best out of staff while treating them with respect. We will save on paying wannabe celebrities with good hair and good teeth, who put in an appearance and say the things that suit their Party, performing when the key at their back is turned – for older; or the touch button is pressed – that's the younger ones.
I agree – imo disrespecting all of the climate action marchers, the school strikers, the people that WANT real change, disrespecting Greta and our children will only lead to misery for everyone
Picture this. Jacinda Ardern standing in the middle of Queen St on the bonnet of a tractor with her middle finger raised as ten of thousands of climate strikers stream by.
The Waitangi Tribunal has decided to hold an urgent inquiry into Oranga Tamariki's practices in taking Māori children from their mothers.
Chief Judge Wilson Isaac rejected Crown arguments that the issues should be examined in the current internal Oranga Tamariki inquiry or two others by the Children's Commissioner and Chief Ombudsman.
He said: "I conclude there are sufficient grounds for an urgent inquiry into a specific contemporary issue concerning a risk of significant and irreversible prejudice to Māori arising from current Oranga Tamariki policy and practice."
…Judge Isaac said the Tribunal would focus on two things:
"Having regard to the rising and disproportionately high number of tamariki Māori taken into state care under the auspices of Oranga Tamariki, is Crown legislation, policy and practice inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty and the Crown's Treaty duties to Māori? "
And:
"If so, what changes to Crown legislation, policy and practice are required to ensure Treaty compliance."
Revealed: how the FBI targeted environmental activists in domestic terror investigations
This article is more than 1 month old
Protesters were characterized as a threat to national security in what one calls an attempt to criminalize their actions.
Helen Yost, a 62-year-old environmental educator, has been a committed activist for nearly a decade. She says she spends 60 to 80 hours a week as a community organizer for Wild Idaho Rising Tide. She’s been arrested twice for engaging in non-violent civil disobedience.
Yost may not fit the profile of a domestic terrorist, but in 2014 the FBI classified her as a potential threat to national security. According to hundreds of pages of FBI files obtained by the Guardian through a Freedom of Information Act (Foia) lawsuit, and interviews with activists, Yost and more than a dozen other people campaigning against fossil fuel extraction in North America have been identified indomestic terrorism-related investigations.
The investigations, which targeted individual activists and some environmental organizations, were opened in 2013-2014, at the height of opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline and the expansion of fossil fuel production in North America.
The new Foia documents reveal the bureau’s motivation for investigating a broad cross-section of the environmental movement and its characterization of non-violent protesters as a potential threat to national security.
The new Foia documents reveal the bureau’s motivation for investigating a broad cross-section of the environmental movement and its characterization of non-violent protesters as a potential threat to national security.
However, in the file closing the case, it appears that Yost has been watchlisted, which is standard for named subjects of FBI domestic terrorism investigations, according to Mike German, a former FBI agent who is now a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice. Being watchlisted can lead to heightened scrutiny from law enforcement and delays or additional screenings when traveling. Yost said she had not traveled overseas since the FBI investigation.
Yost, who was contacted by an FBI agent when the case was still active, said she was not surprised by the agency’s actions. Surveillance was a form of suppression, she said, and this was another attempt to criminalize the actions of “normal people” working to protect natural resources. But she remains undeterred.
The Wealthier countries need to step up and donate putea to help the poor country's of Te Papatuanuku. They have the lowest carbon footprint and will be suffering the most from Global warming that's a fact.
Almost $US10 billion pledged to help tackle climate change
Wealthier countries on Friday have promised nearly $US9.8 billion over the next four years to an international fund to help poorer nations develop cleanly and adapt to climate stresses.
Most of the donors making fresh contributions came from Europe, though New Zealand, South Korea, Japan and Canada also committed funds, with New Zealand and South Korea pledging to double previous donations.
However, the United States will not contribute, because president Donald Trump decided to stop paying into the fund.
The funding is still a drop in the ocean compared with the estimated $3 trillion to $7 trillion a year needed to shift the world's economy onto a more sustainable and climate-friendly path, Mr Glemarec said
The fund so far has allocated about $5.2 billion to 111 projects in 99 countries.
They range from green, low-cost housing in Mongolia's polluted capital and a methane-fuelled rapid-transit bus system in Karachi to restoring climate-threatened ecosystems in Namibia
Time are changing fast our realities opinions can change just as fast now is the time to make sure that the information we are receiving is not being distorted by Wealthier people $$$$$$$$$$. In reality the best phenomenon for all is the best for Te Papatuanuku= equality for all equal income distribution and being caretaker of Papatuanuku and her creations for the next generations our mokopuna. Our society needs to learn respect our Tipuna and our mokopuna future respect for the past and future over our greed.
Why can’t we agree on what’s true any more?
It’s not about foreign trolls, filter bubbles or fake news. Technology encourages us to believe we can all have first-hand access to the ‘real’ facts – and now we can’t stop fighting about it.
We live in a time of political fury and hardening cultural divides. But if there is one thing on which virtually everyone is agreed, it is that the news and information we receive is biased. Every second of every day, someone is complaining about bias, in everything from the latest movie reviews to sports commentary to the BBC’s coverage of Brexit. These complaints and controversies take up a growing share of public discussion.
Much of the outrage that floods social media, occasionally leaking into opinion columns and broadcast interviews, is not simply a reaction to events themselves, but to the way in which they are reported and framed. The “mainstream media” is the principal focal point for this anger. Journalists and broadcasters who purport to be neutral are a constant object of scrutiny and derision, whenever they appear to let their personal views slip. The work of journalists involves an increasing amount of unscripted, real-time discussion, which provides an occasionally troubling window into their.
.
Why can’t we agree on what’s true any more? – podcast
This mentality now spans the entire political spectrum and pervades societies around the world. A recent survey found that the majority of people globally believe their society is broken and their economy is rigged. Both the left and the right feel misrepresented and misunderstood by political institutions and the media, but the anger is shared by many in the liberal centre, who believe that populists have gamed the system to harvest more attention than they deserve. Outrage with “mainstream” institutions has become a mass.
Public life has become like a play whose audience is unwilling to suspend disbelief. Any utterance by a public figure can be unpicked in search of its ulterior motive. As cynicism grows, even judges, the supposedly neutral upholders of the law, are publicly accused of personal bias. Once doubt descends on public life, people become increasingly dependent on their own experiences and their own beliefs about how the world really works. One effect of this is that facts no longer seem to matter (the phenomenon misleadingly dubbed “post-truth”). But the crisis of democracy and of truth are one and the same: individuals are increasingly suspicious of the “official” stories they are being told, and expect to witness things for themselves.
Reasons we cannot agree on what’s true |
On one level, heightened scepticism towards the establishment is a welcome development. A more media-literate and critical citizenry ought to be less easy for the
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
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Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
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The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
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TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
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Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
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Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
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The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
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Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
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Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
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 I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Even if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...
The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...
For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...
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Sneeky
I don't know what Chris Finlayson's been up to since he left Parliament but it hasn't killed his smarminess or his view that people other than he and his mates are stupid.
It was said on RNZ this morning that he was going back to contribute to getting the rules around the use of video from Parliament changed .
According to him the world has moved on and the rules need to be updated for the social media of today. We all know times move quickly and things move quickly.
We also know that the world didn't move that quickly in less than two years from when certain restrictions were included in the rules, to where they are no longer necessary.
Finlayson and his worthy leader no doubt had a part in formulating those rules. He is saying this brief time later that after the intellectual rigour they applied to constructing them the essence of part of them no longer applies?
What changed, what moved quickly is that they were no longer in power. What would have been argued on grounds of principle from high and mighty positions of power suddenly are being argued in a diametrically opposite way, ostensibly on grounds of principle.
The high and mighty are well suited to the worm holes. Finlayson should crawl back there.
Prior to becoming a politician Finlayson had a law practice which, as far as I know, continues to exist. I recall him saying on leaving politics that he was planning to resume his legal career.
That being the case then it is likely National hired him to represent them at the select committee hearing. That being the case then he would be representing his client (the Nats) and not himself.
No . he hasnt 'resumed his' previous legal practice. He has moved to Auckland ( where the money is) to work as an high end arbitrator and barrister
https://www.bankside.co.nz/barrister/hon-christopher-finlayson-qc/
That's interesting. Thanks Dukeofurl.
As someone who seems to have specialised in copyright, contractural interpretation and other similar legal matters prior to entering parliament, then it seems probable Finlayson was hired in his capacity as a high flying barrister to represent them.
After all, they have lots of Chinese money at their disposal. You know… this "quid pro quo" thing which appears fashionable among some of the world's political elite these days.
The legal fraternity love their Latin phrases so here’s one that’s quite fitting IMO: cui bono?
I studied Latin for some years and while I came across many fine phrases (and use them occasionally,) sometimes English is great for being succinct and accurate.
Like "the man is an arsehole."
Nice enough guy overtly @Anne…….shame about the sense of Tory entitlement and bitchiness he's adopted. Kind of a 'Dontcha know who I am?" – in an "I've paid my dues", sophisticated sort of way .
Better to just give him a knighthood and wish him a happy life in retirement. Maybe even a brass plaque on a front row seat in some remote venue where the NZSO plays.
Give him a bloody subscription for life even, or the keys to Miramar Penninsula, or even a guest column on Granny Herald
ouch!!!!!
Well said peter.; – "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"
but we must not allow our own photo images to be used for political gain without our consent.
An interesting question for our times: why are so few Repugs willing to lift even their smallest finger to try to tame the turd tornado spattering up the walls of the Oval Office? After all, Pence would sign off on any judges the Heritage Foundation puts in front of him, and any tax cuts or other reactionary legislation, so it's not as if they would lose any ability to actually do anything.
Is it simple partisan loyalty?
https://fortune.com/2019/10/21/republican-senators-impeachment/
Are modern day Repugs entirely driven by 'triggering the libs' and Pence just won't do that as effectively as the flambee'd freakshow?
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/8/20903433/pence-trump-impeachment-conservatives
Personally, I'm still going with they're too busy quivering in fear that Darth Hater would open a can of Whoopass on their spineless husks.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/10/24/the-fantasy-of-republicans-ditching-trump-229879
I do hope that people in the USA are reading your comments Andre and that of other wise heads here. One can only hope that all the close attention we give to the USA here actually penetrates the outer stratosphere of the USA consciousness.
As for Brexit, it is also very interesting in all its manifestations as Halloween draws close.
One columnist spreads her interest wide to take in the Remainers.
The trouble with the Remainers is not their arrogant inability to grasp when they have lost, but their blindness to when they have won. So when Boris Johnson triumphantly returned from Brussels clutching the best bad deal possible, the eyes of MPs gunged up so quickly with spiteful, green anger that they failed to spot their finest chance to wreck Brexit.
Fatuous Remainer MPs have just become the useful idiots of the Leave cause – Sherelle Jacobs Daily Telegraph Columnist
Her image shows a 20-30 year old looking pleased with herself for getting a piece into the paper which comes from a different viewpoint – though a doubtfully valid one.
" One can only hope that all the close attention we give to the USA here actually penetrates.."
Do really believe that ? the Guardian especially has far better writers and columnists, a world wide syndication and yet no one takes any notice
Did anyone watch the interview between John Campbell with Dogal Stevenson (the famous 1960’s news reporter)on TVNZ one Breakfast show today?
What a gem, here's my memory of it.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/10/25/special-report-to-save-democracy-we-must-make-the-media-our-own/#comment-479698
Todays blog.
What a blast hearing Dogal Stevenson talking to John Campbell at this morning on TVNZ one ‘Breakfast’ show at 7.40am today when John asked Dogal; “what would you advise todays newreaders to do”?
Dogal said very carefully after deep reflection “well I would say to him; (from memory- my words)
“just loosen up, – you don’t want to be a slave to a BBC as an adjunct; – talk to your listeners audience as they are your own people, and you will receive far more empathy and respect for speaking the truth.”
Then from memory I recall Dogal said, he still searches for the truth as a newsreader, and mostly listens to RNZ as our public broadcaster, in the hope that that he is hearing the truth, and others are to biased today.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96745495/labour-promises-freetoair-rnz-tv-channel
Yes we need to get that free to air public TV channel we were promised by Labour started soon as the election process is now in full swing putting out so much fake media hype now that is is often difficult to know what is the truth any more.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96745495/labour-promises-freetoair-rnz-tv-channel?rm=a
.
Yes public TV on a reasonable budget and no highly priced front people. Let's get able people who earn a reasonable screw and go for ugly ones – it's time we had our day in the sun.
"Yes we need to get that free to air public TV channel we were promised by Labour started soon as the election process is now in full swing "
As I replied to you @ Cleangreen once before (not sure if it was here or on TDB.)
Please don't hold your breath. You are probably already down as some disgruntled old coot whose vote won't make a difference in your twilight years anyway
Ideologically, the foxes are in charge of the chicken coup and the chickens are busy convincing their partners how dainty the taste of a Chardonnay is. So its better to just smile and watch them all jump off a cliff, and watch the onlookers clutch their pearls afterwards
chanting “Oooh! I say!”
OncewasTim.
Yes we are petty much stuffed now, like the movies always portray the masses as idiots when a huge disaster comes our way such as in the movie "The day after tomorrow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnvqsWVluCE
It correctly makes us all look quite stupid like chickens for sure. .
Can I sing 'Rule Britannia" one last time ?
Bond, James Bond .. no relation to Boris.
I wondered about this. What is the reasonable position on it?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/401733/parliament-tv-attack-ads-speaker-reprimands-academic-over-comments
The hearing was mostly cordial, barring a stern rebuke from Mr Mallard to Massey University Professor Claire Robinson after her criticism of Labour's position.
The review was initiated after Labour complained that the Opposition had used official footage of Labour backbencher Deborah Russell without her permission in breach of one of Parliament's rarely enforced rules.
This is the only audio I can find. https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018719271
Claire Robinson…. always finds way to twist the narrative to favour national
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/08-10-2017/election-2017-a-vote-for-the-status-quo/
"But to be a vote for change Labour would have had to get more votes than National. In fact National got 20,574 more votes in 2017 than it did in 2014."
hello MMP is calling Claire…the left has multiple choice of parties.
And she lies by omission as National got less votes as a % of the total vote a whopping -2.59%. Saying they 'won' by getting more votes by number and by party was the National partys constant claim.
Good one Dukeofurl. National use the system; "the more we repeat the lie the closer to the truth it becomes."
I keep getting good, hopeful feelings that problems are being dealt with in a timely, not time-wasting fashion, now that the Labour Coalition is in. Please God let this political do-wonders group stay in and we can have hope for the future. It can't please us all, all the time, but it is trying for most of the time. The others are gungy ghastly greedy and bottom-feeders.
They're trying @grey. But there's a lot of shit to push uphill and they've been slow to start, and slow to even recognise where many of the roadblocks are/have been.
Their worst enema comes from quite a few in the senior ranks of the public service. Now that I've come of age, I'm privy to the conversations and opinions of a bunch of retired senior public servants. I hadn't quite realised how much they're in agreement with what I've noticed quite independently of what they'd seen and experieinced. Kind of like a blatent display of a Master of the Universe culture, previously limited to the private sector.
Whereas once it was all a matter of self preservation through obfuscation, spin et al (as in "Yes Minister" fashion), NOW those same traits come with outright political partisanship in so many cases.
Not sure if it was in here or TDB that I was reminded of the word 'spiv' which reminded me of grifters, but its become a bit sad that many of the coalition MPs have taken this long (2 years in) to appreciate the level of 'pushback' that's occurred, and many still don't appear to have noticed how many of their 'officials' have the skills of the best used car salesman.
Some Ministers and MPs in the coalition are/have been simply too 'nice', and the used car salesmen are, and have taken advantage of it.
Pushing back, to the extent they're trying to show just who is boss; 'working to rule' on policies they dislike or don't agree with, slowing it all down; and crying victim if and when anyone even attempts to call them to account.
I'm glad you have confidence because what worries me most is that this government COULD be teetering on a loss come 2020, given a senior public service that's by and large its enemy and almost completely unaccountable for its many failures (a matter of record that could rival a bLip list, an almost non-existent 4th Estate, and an electorate that's becoming increasingly disinterested and feeling alienated.
If you’ve got one or two crystals I could clutch, I could return the favour, maybe as a tour guide to the new home of the Dalai Lama
Edit
James Shaw gave an excellent interview.
environment Emissions trading scheme under fire
From Morning Report, 8:24 am today Listen duration 5′ :50″
The government is under fire for not going far enough with its Emissions Trading Scheme. Farmers won't have to start paying for their emissions until 2025, as long as they make progress in finding ways to measure and price emissions at the farm level. Greenpeace says the government's Emissions Trading Scheme shows pleas from tens-of-thousands of students for climate action have fallen on deaf ears. Corin speaks to the Climate Change Minister James Shaw in our Wellington studio.
and – Good work that engineer
8:15 am today
Engineer reveals dozens of building mistakes
From Morning Report, 8:15 am today 3.24m
A structural engineer who helped trigger investigations into seismically-flawed building designs has revealed dozens of common but serious mistakes he is finding during reviews. The consequences of design faults include a 60-metre high transmission tower that snapped in half. Phil Pennington reports.
I have relatives in the building industry. 'Cowboys' would be a polite description.
The way that builders go broke and don't pay their subbies is a shock to me, filled with the belief of building being one of our strong industries that was flourishing, blah blah. My relations just had a very nice house built and watched over it all the time, I think similar to a civil engineer as he is a retired builder. The supposed builder confessed that it was beyond him before the job was done, he was running a ponzi, paying off past debts from the current job, and it caught up with him. And he and his family were known to my relation, not fly-by-nights. In the end he was paid for the job, but didn't pay all his subbies, and my relation had to bargain with them to get them to sign off their work so the Council would issue a 'pass-notice' or whatever it's called. He had to pay some in full, so double for that part. Shocking! The house is pretty good but he had to finish off some parts himself. His knees are a bit shot, but he managed.
It should be a steady job and with good tradesmen getting good pay. But SNAFU is our codesign in NZ since neoliberalbloodyeconomics and the bloody Labourtroika/Treasury takeover. Can we pull ourselves out of the smelly bog – I hope.
The Master Builders still exist and they guarantee their work, do they not?
https://www.masterbuilder.org.nz/RMBA/Master_Build_Guarantee/RMBA/MB_Guarantee/GuaranteeHome.aspx
Well I have heard queries about whether they are reliable but don't know. Why is the Master Builder crowd not being used more – don't know. My builder relation would have thought that knowing the person and his family, he would be okay.
People can look into the eyes of an assured bloke and form an opinion that their job knowledge and outcome will be okay. Silly but in law when you hold yourself out to be something then you should stand behind it and I guess that prompts people to accept others who seem to know what they are doing.
One of the characteristics of the criminally inclined is that they can appear honest.
Another human chararacteristic is that family members will kill other family members on contract, as we learn today from a trial in Nelson.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/116818971/pair-sentenced-for-murder-of-nelson-woman
Spammers, ponzi schemes, crooked employers, employees, companies evading reponsibilities, cowboys, fly by nighters, human traffickers, exploiters everywhere.
And that's on a good day……………….
@ mac1. Why not find out yourself then tell us all if you are right.
yes greywarshark;
And on my 'namesake' day we received the word that an Iwi is challenging OMV CEO in an international court .
A good move there, – we all need to support them not leave them in solitude;.
We we wrote this in support today too.
CEAC support Iwi Leaders Group lawsuit against OMV CEO
25th October 2019.
Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre.
CEAC support Climate change Iwi Leaders Group lawsuit against OMV CEO
On this ‘St Crispin’s day 25th October’, (a day that the English celebrate annually their victory against the French during the Agincourt 100yr war.)
• It was fitting that we were sent this important press release on this day.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1910/S00504/iwi-leader-launches-criminal-lawsuit-against-omv-ceo.htm
We fully support the Iwi legal challenge against another polluter and ‘climate spoiler’ such as OMV is.
QUOTE;
“ An iwi leader has announced the initiation of a lawsuit to be filed at the International Criminal Court against Rainer Seele, the CEO of Austrian oil giant OMV”.
This was another very good Iwi policy that has considered the health ,safety and wellbeing of all citizens, and we commend the Iwi for making a bold stand against those corporate interests who wish harm upon our NZ citizens and we stand together with them in support and solitude.
END
No Right Turn nails it – shaw knows this stuff better than most and this is what he managed to sort – pathetic and disgraceful – if this is the big moment it fizzed worse than Dot-idiot and the big nothing.
Would it be possible to replace Westminster with with an algorithm run by .. oh, Zuckerberg ?
Think of the cost savings, efficiencies, and 'improvements' in democratic process.
Well, I think take a tender for the jobs of running the country – and have each person with watchers who answer to the people for the performance of their lad or lass. . All coming from the citizens and having first done a public, civic management diploma and social anthropology one also, and also a farming and horticulture course – those being our main positive products. (Less emphasis on rockets and space, and more on food and maintaining the planet in a livable condition.)
They will be responsible for ensuring that the administration does what has been agreed upon in an appropriately professional way, getting the best out of staff while treating them with respect. We will save on paying wannabe celebrities with good hair and good teeth, who put in an appearance and say the things that suit their Party, performing when the key at their back is turned – for older; or the touch button is pressed – that's the younger ones.
I agree – imo disrespecting all of the climate action marchers, the school strikers, the people that WANT real change, disrespecting Greta and our children will only lead to misery for everyone
Ethnic cleansing seems to be all good with the No 2 Repug in the Senate:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-cornyn-defends-trump-kurds_n_5db1a0f3e4b0131fa99a9fba
well as the orange hostage taker once said
"He (they) knew what he (they) signed up for.
and besides He – the orange hostage taker – is also known for stiffing his contractors. so really they knew what they signed up for, right?
https://www.snopes.com/ap/2017/10/18/trump-says-fallen-soldier-knew-signed/
Here is the UK House of Commons with Q&A. How do we compare – I know I should listen and watch our Parliament but I am remiss about this.
Our QA starts with a Question. Theirs starts with background then the question.
And the initial question is a single question then next one on a different topic.
I can't keep track of UK Q&A!
This is brave, comedian Kelly Bachman telling Harvey Weinstein 'Fuck you' when he's in the audience at an event for young actors,
(cheers from the women, boos from the men).
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3-0I45JgSw/
Good job, those women!
Good on her.
and fuck him for having the gall to attend.
Good this is happening.
Revealed: how the FBI targeted environmental activists in domestic terror investigations
This article is more than 1 month old
Protesters were characterized as a threat to national security in what one calls an attempt to criminalize their actions.
Helen Yost, a 62-year-old environmental educator, has been a committed activist for nearly a decade. She says she spends 60 to 80 hours a week as a community organizer for Wild Idaho Rising Tide. She’s been arrested twice for engaging in non-violent civil disobedience.
Yost may not fit the profile of a domestic terrorist, but in 2014 the FBI classified her as a potential threat to national security. According to hundreds of pages of FBI files obtained by the Guardian through a Freedom of Information Act (Foia) lawsuit, and interviews with activists, Yost and more than a dozen other people campaigning against fossil fuel extraction in North America have been identified in domestic terrorism-related investigations.
The investigations, which targeted individual activists and some environmental organizations, were opened in 2013-2014, at the height of opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline and the expansion of fossil fuel production in North America.
The new Foia documents reveal the bureau’s motivation for investigating a broad cross-section of the environmental movement and its characterization of non-violent protesters as a potential threat to national security.
The new Foia documents reveal the bureau’s motivation for investigating a broad cross-section of the environmental movement and its characterization of non-violent protesters as a potential threat to national security.
However, in the file closing the case, it appears that Yost has been watchlisted, which is standard for named subjects of FBI domestic terrorism investigations, according to Mike German, a former FBI agent who is now a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice. Being watchlisted can lead to heightened scrutiny from law enforcement and delays or additional screenings when traveling. Yost said she had not traveled overseas since the FBI investigation.
Yost, who was contacted by an FBI agent when the case was still active, said she was not surprised by the agency’s actions. Surveillance was a form of suppression, she said, and this was another attempt to criminalize the actions of “normal people” working to protect natural resources. But she remains undeterred.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/23/revealed-how-the-fbi-targeted-environmental-activists-in-domestic-terror-investigations
Kia Ora 1 News.
That's is cool the school still having a calf day.
Te Uluru is a Tangata Whenua of Australia taonga all Australians need to learn some of the Tangata whenua great culture.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Yes I will be a great game of Rugby tonight.
Ma Te Wa for the League.
Armogedon will be great this year. The is heaps of potential for our Rangatahi to make plenty of putea from playing and developing video games.
Ka kite Ano
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
The Wealthier countries need to step up and donate putea to help the poor country's of Te Papatuanuku. They have the lowest carbon footprint and will be suffering the most from Global warming that's a fact.
Almost $US10 billion pledged to help tackle climate change
Wealthier countries on Friday have promised nearly $US9.8 billion over the next four years to an international fund to help poorer nations develop cleanly and adapt to climate stresses.
Most of the donors making fresh contributions came from Europe, though New Zealand, South Korea, Japan and Canada also committed funds, with New Zealand and South Korea pledging to double previous donations.
However, the United States will not contribute, because president Donald Trump decided to stop paying into the fund.
The funding is still a drop in the ocean compared with the estimated $3 trillion to $7 trillion a year needed to shift the world's economy onto a more sustainable and climate-friendly path, Mr Glemarec said
The fund so far has allocated about $5.2 billion to 111 projects in 99 countries.
They range from green, low-cost housing in Mongolia's polluted capital and a methane-fuelled rapid-transit bus system in Karachi to restoring climate-threatened ecosystems in Namibia
Ka kite Ano link below.
Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.
https://youtu.be/u9Dg-g7t2l4
Time are changing fast our realities opinions can change just as fast now is the time to make sure that the information we are receiving is not being distorted by Wealthier people $$$$$$$$$$. In reality the best phenomenon for all is the best for Te Papatuanuku= equality for all equal income distribution and being caretaker of Papatuanuku and her creations for the next generations our mokopuna. Our society needs to learn respect our Tipuna and our mokopuna future respect for the past and future over our greed.
Why can’t we agree on what’s true any more?
It’s not about foreign trolls, filter bubbles or fake news. Technology encourages us to believe we can all have first-hand access to the ‘real’ facts – and now we can’t stop fighting about it.
We live in a time of political fury and hardening cultural divides. But if there is one thing on which virtually everyone is agreed, it is that the news and information we receive is biased. Every second of every day, someone is complaining about bias, in everything from the latest movie reviews to sports commentary to the BBC’s coverage of Brexit. These complaints and controversies take up a growing share of public discussion.
Much of the outrage that floods social media, occasionally leaking into opinion columns and broadcast interviews, is not simply a reaction to events themselves, but to the way in which they are reported and framed. The “mainstream media” is the principal focal point for this anger. Journalists and broadcasters who purport to be neutral are a constant object of scrutiny and derision, whenever they appear to let their personal views slip. The work of journalists involves an increasing amount of unscripted, real-time discussion, which provides an occasionally troubling window into their.
.
Why can’t we agree on what’s true any more? – podcast
This mentality now spans the entire political spectrum and pervades societies around the world. A recent survey found that the majority of people globally believe their society is broken and their economy is rigged. Both the left and the right feel misrepresented and misunderstood by political institutions and the media, but the anger is shared by many in the liberal centre, who believe that populists have gamed the system to harvest more attention than they deserve. Outrage with “mainstream” institutions has become a mass.
Public life has become like a play whose audience is unwilling to suspend disbelief. Any utterance by a public figure can be unpicked in search of its ulterior motive. As cynicism grows, even judges, the supposedly neutral upholders of the law, are publicly accused of personal bias. Once doubt descends on public life, people become increasingly dependent on their own experiences and their own beliefs about how the world really works. One effect of this is that facts no longer seem to matter (the phenomenon misleadingly dubbed “post-truth”). But the crisis of democracy and of truth are one and the same: individuals are increasingly suspicious of the “official” stories they are being told, and expect to witness things for themselves.
Reasons we cannot agree on what’s true |
On one level, heightened scepticism towards the establishment is a welcome development. A more media-literate and critical citizenry ought to be less easy for the
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/sep/19/why-cant-we-agree-on-whats-true-anymore
Kia Ora 1 News.
The Korowai Trust is doing a good job housing the homeless.
I'm trying to get A lawyer to.
That's awesome a commeration of the New Zealand land wars.
I agree we should not let go of the pass.
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Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
That's a good Haka and waiata at Waitara Marae for the commeration of the New Zealand Wars.
It was good luck that Hine won the draw.
Its awesome to see tangata whenua getting council seats.
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