Are you looking forward to David Shearer’s speech on Sunday from Wainouimata? It will be a full media event, I think the first since the Conference in November at Elllerslie.
What would I like to hear?
Firstly that he is retiring those right-wingers, King, Mallard, Robertson, Goff and more. They have fought against the democratising of the party and in-favour of neo-liberal policies.
I want him to acknowledge the Confidence Vote in Caucus to be a secret ballot. Huge damage was done to his leadership by his insisting that MPs declare their loyalty to him in advance. That was stupid bullying bollox, unbecoming of a leader and contrary to the rules the Conference had just voted.
I then want him to put his leadership up to ratification by the membership and affiliates. Only then can the promise of membership power become real. It will be a turning point for the party and a rallying cry that would lead us to victory in 2014.
I think you’re correct Ad – in that Robertson isn’t a “right winger”. He is however created in an ‘era’ of a right-swinging political pendulum and influenced by ‘figures’ (icons – errrrk! pardon the expression) he admires. When you live in times when there is an inability to EXPERIENCE certain alternatives, your view of the world is based on just that experience.
My OPINION of Robertson is that he’s not such a bad sort of bloke. Obviously ambitious. Obviously with a “mushin” and “peshnun” abeart certain things
Perhaps one of my definitions of integrity would be to do with how much one’s life experiencess and ambition goes towards sacrificing held beliefs and principles.
It’s a bit of a bugger really – there’s been a cabal of poltishuns that (until now) haven’t really held Labour’s founding principles in such high regard as was due. (Hence btw @ Karol – my disdain for certain lack-lustre spin issued from time to time by – well by some posters).
BTW Ad ….. are you by any chance an IT type person that may have once worked in DBK environs – as in an A vd T?
Anyway, Robertson (good bloke that he may be) is never going to get my vote ever again (despite a lifetime commitment to Labour) until Neo-liberal/Corporatist/3rd-Way/4th Reich politics are clearly discarded – and as things stand – NO matter the wishy washy recent spin, that’s not happening. It’s also the reason as an aside – that Labour struggles
Had to laugh at Claire Trevett’s (NZ Herald 23/1/13) sneerings at Hone Harawira. I’d link if I knew how to.
What the Maori Party needs is stability she says, so stay clear of Harawira.
What the Maori Party needs is a party. Membership of 24,000 at its peak down to 600 proves there is no party.
That’s not down to Harawira. It’s the fault of Key-clone Sharples and Toryana Torya with their taste for a cutesy relationship with Dunnokeyo and the baubles of office.
Good job they’re in the crap and less and less and less respected.
Beyond the requirement to have 500 members made to the Electoral Commission by way of statutory declaration, there’s no requirement to publish those numbers.
I leave it to you to figure out why a party might not want to announce its membership levels.
Does anyone know how the Constitution or the supporting LP electoral rules respond to a scenario where Mallard/King decide to install Robertson as the new Leader with only 6 months to the 2014 election? Note we might not have an election date available at the time.
Presumably this nightmare scenario is entirely possible as there would be time for the vote to be put to the members and affiliates?
For this reason alone, I still want the wider vote in February. If Robertson has any ambitions this term then let’s hear from him, see him campaign. I’m reliably informed that a group of MPs associated with Robertson spoke to Shearer twice in the last six months of 2012, suggesting he might need to step down as he wasn’t cutting it as Leader.
Let’s face it, Shearer’s deficiencies with the media and difficulties answering questions on the spot is unlikely to improve much more. But if we have the wider vote in Feb and he wins, then everyone is bound in to help surmount those issues. It also means it won’t be such an easy option for Mallard/King to force their cabal to pull the trigger on Shearer closer to the election. Let’s have a full and open process now and not let this fester.
i assume, and this is a guess, that the Labour Caucus will have the opportunity if it so chooses to ‘pull the trigger’ on a Party wide vote for the leadership next February,
On the grounds of ‘ability’ to convey a lucid message in the confines of a 30 second media soundbite i would actually prefer Grant Robertson as the leader of the Labour Parliament Caucus,
At times,(admittedly not seen often) Robertson conveys a certain gravitas and an aura of power, having only met Him once i know He has a good sense of humor(so He isn’t some aloof stuck up prick),
Other than screaming at the top of our lungs, ”for f**ks sake roll that also ran” from the roof-tops of Wellington’s tower blocks the Labour Caucus seem content to take only it’s own counsel on the question of leadership so that Caucus must also take responsibility for the end result…
Does anyone know how the Constitution or the supporting LP electoral rules respond to a scenario where Mallard/King decide to install Robertson as the new Leader with only 6 months to the 2014 election?
For starters, it can’t quite happen in the way that you suggest.
Caucus has now got just two main constitutionally enshrined powers in selecting a new leader.
1) It can pull the trigger initiating a leadership contest/vote throughout the wider party. This Feb, and 3 months after every General Election, the trigger threshold is 40%+1. At all other times, the trigger threshold is 50%+1.
2) Caucus gets 40% of the vote in the 40/40/20 electoral college voting system.
Lost among the applause for Metiria Turei’s announcement of Green Party housing policy was the muted whine of Slippery the Prime Minister in a ‘me too’ announcement that National were wroking on policy to free up more land for building houses,
Earth to planet Slippery, Earth calling, when your own Minister of Finance says that it takes 8 years for ‘the market’ to provide a home for each individual involved in population growth,(you do know population growth where in a short period of time a population goes from 3.3 million to 4.4 million), then that is an indication of MARKET FAILURE,
Such a MARKET FAILURE cannot be simply fixed by the provision of more of the same, IE providing MORE land for developers to build upon only leads to MORE of the same, developers building as large a house on the available piece of land so as to accrue to themselves the largest possible profit, that is how the MARKET works,
As a Government, to address such a MARKET FAILURE there are two glaringly apparent options available as tools, the first being as that Government to actually build the required number of houses of a size that makes them affordable, the second is to legislate as a Government that developers build such houses to address that MARKET FAILURE…
bad12, that is a classic example of a bullshit artist in residence. Key and English tell so many porkies and make so much stuff up as they go along that they really do not make any sense.
National say councils should do more. The accountancy equation says you can
lower prices (put more land on the market), raise wages, or reduce the perceived
value of housing (capital gains on non-home properties). Since National hate
raising wages, or lowering taxes on the lower and middle income citizens (GST
went up), they have only one option increase land availability, and land is controlled by
councils and so National can do nothing making it a council only problem.
MSM generally dare not have people worrying about those who are worse off than you… just think what heads of media organizations, as well as management earn… think many want less tax cuts etc?
Wikip says class is part of identity politics. They define it as a self-interested, self-awareness of their shared experience. I’m not keen on it’s disparaging description and explanation, which leaves out a crucial focus on oppression, inequalities and the need for social and economic justice.
But I’m also not keen on the term “identity politics”, and think “politics of difference”, may be a step in a better direction: ie to campaign against the way people perceived as “different” from dominant group/s in society are marginalised, excluded, discriminated against and treated unfairly.
I know what you mean Karol, but I would take it a step further and say that all politics are identity politics, only some people aren’t very honest about their own identity (those favoured by the dominant culture). If we had true democracy, there would be no such term as ‘identity politics’.
some people arenât very honest about their own identity (those favoured by the dominant culture).
Except some among those with privileged/dominant identities, quickly claim their identifications when they see the disadvantaged and marginalised starting to move to a more equal status. Some of the dominant ones start to complain they are being ignored, left out… etc.
Can I ask where you picked up the notion that gender and race (fuck, I hate that term, but anyway) issues are any more or less ‘identity politics’ than class issues? As I see it they are fairly densely inter-related spheres that can’t be approached in any meaningful way if they’re seperated out from one another. But hey, maybe that’s just me.
it appears from Slippery the Prime Ministers ‘state of the nation speech’ today that Nationals affordable housing plan in Auckland relies upon the Auckland City Council speeding up permission for Slippery’s Government to bowl over 100s more of the HousingNZ portfolio in Auckland,
If you see inherent in that an oxymoron in terms, your right but don’t blame me it appears the Prime Minister invited Moron, His cousin, to the speech-making,
In His best simpering display of childish speech His claim is that they only want to bowl over a ‘few’ houses to free up land for development, code that if recent history is anything to judge by means that 100s of State Houses will be bowled and most of the land sold to Slippery’s developer buddies who will then proceed to build even more large mansions as icons to our propensity to waste the scarce resources in both man-power and materials we have available only replacing a third of the previous tranche of HousingNZ properties,
Now openly threatening the Auckland City Council to speed up the process of providing even more land to the speculators and developers to build the icons to over-consumption upon Slippery again shows the lack of intellectual rigor that has been the hallmark of His time as Prime Minister He refuses to address the main point of the current affordability issue which is on the supply side of the availability and willingness of the developers to build smaller properties that newer entrants in the housing market can afford to buy,
It’s a pity we as a country are stuck with this empty suitcase of intellectual rigor until 2014 when we can elect a Labour/Green Government to repair the stupid mess made to affordable housing by far too many years of Neo-Liberal market driven idiocy…
I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
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 ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive Itâs been a momentous few days for Childrenâs Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes –Â According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
David Farrar writes – Kata MacNamara reports:  Details of Tony Blakelyâs involvement in the New Zealand Governmentâs response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
RNZ reports –Â It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
To be precise, the term âanti- Zionismâ refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term âanti-Semitismâ means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
Buzz from the Beehive Tolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 âcrucialâ projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
David Farrar writes –Â Radio NZÂ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and âtaking away the right of thousands of people to voteâ was not the answer. âThousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
Don Brash writes –Â There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read âOne in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for lossâ. The first line of text noted that âNew data shows one in ...
Mike Grimshaw writes –Â At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange â or even fool-hardy â to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes –Â A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 19 include:PM Christopher Luxon is expected to hold his weekly post-cabinet news conference at 4:00pm on Monday.Parliament is not sitting this week. It resumes next week for a two-week sitting session up to and ...
Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 5, 2024 thru Sat, May 11, 2024. (Unfortunate) Story of the week "Grief that stops at despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably ...
Last night the largest solar storm in decades resulted in Aurorae being seen across Aotearoa, causing many to ask why?Why was the sky pink? What was all this stuff about the power grid? Have we, as so many have wondered since the election, reached the end of days?I had a ...
We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
Michael Bassett writes – Iâm not sure that itâs much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
Oliver Hartwich writes –Â Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
âIt has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.â GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes –Â I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labourâs and Nationalâs failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos  Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction?  Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacsâ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, Iâve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon governmentâs efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, Iâve been asked these questions many times and always answered âyesâ, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 â the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes –Â Â âFollow the moneyâ is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes –Â After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labourâs spokesperson for education 2011 â 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
âFollow the moneyâ is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left  Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes –Â I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes –Â Parliamentâs speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes â The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline âSenior Kingâs Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.:Â âMany of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] eachâ, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands arenât ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
Todayâs justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Governmentâs misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
âWith Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,â Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said.  ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te PÄti MÄori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Memberâs Bill that will protect womenâs spaces. The âFair Access to Bathrooms Billâ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Wattsâ continuation of Hon. James Shawâs cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
This morningâs pre-Budget speech from the Minister of Finance offered no âmeaningfulâ news on the Governmentâs trickle-down economics based plans. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Councilâs District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion âThis House Believes British Museums are not Very Britishâ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP HĆ«hana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of MÄori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of MÄori land. ...
A senior, highly respected Kingâs Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga MÄori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealandâs 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 doesnât know or care about the frontline cuts sheâs 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. Â ...
Todayâs 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 itâs 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. âThis 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. âThe government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicineâ, said Ayesha Verrall âThis is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoonâs interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour childrenâs spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te PÄti MÄori 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 ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Callâs work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.  This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leadersâ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People â Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Todayâs announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Governmentâs pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. âThe National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Koreaâs aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. âNew Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,â Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Billâs introduction reaffirms the Coalition Governmentâs commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. âWhile section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. âI am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
âThe results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,â Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. âWe heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tÄna koutou, apinun tru  Itâs a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. Â âPapua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,â Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. âThe Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealandâs ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office.  âWe are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his governmentâs first ten days in office,â Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestineâs participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  âThe resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. Itâs a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. âOur servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealandâs ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Governmentâs focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. âAn enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. âA key part of the coalition Governmentâs plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. âDespite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Governmentâs approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me.  Iâd like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Â Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Â Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Â Ladies and gentlemen -Â Â In diplomacy, we often speak of âcloseâ and âlong-standingâ relations. Â ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. âThe medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. âWellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. âWith 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. âWe are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayersâ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in TairÄwhiti and Hawkeâs Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealandâs engagement with the region.  The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu.  âNew Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealandersâ security and wellbeing. âCongratulations to this yearâs recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealandâs defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealandâs digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. Â âThe immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Governmentâs school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealandâs next Ambassador to the United States of America.  âOur relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,â Mr Peters says.  âNew Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. âNew Zealand was built on gold, itâs in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is âan Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhereâ 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. âThis is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASAâs 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. âOur Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECDâs 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 membersâ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli.  ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer The government has handed down its budget for 2024â25. Itâs delivered a $9.3 billion surplus for the financial year just about to finish but is forecasting a $28.3 billion deficit for next year. Hereâs the key points: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jim Chalmers has produced a benign third budget aimed at soothing hard-pressed voters agitated about their high cost of living and punishing interest rates. At the same time he has walked a tightrope, trying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND A $300 energy rebate for all households from July 1 and a 10% increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance are key measures in a budget targeting cost-of-living relief that put ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an âinflation-fighting and future-making budgetâ and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an âinflation-fighting and future-making budgetâ and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been bitten by the giveaway bug. This budget contains not only the well-foreshadowed tax cuts for all taxpayers, but a range of new spending measures in health, education, infrastructure, aged ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie University Governments and their agencies wield awesome power. At times, it is quite literally the power over life and death. That is why in any functioning democracy, we have robust checks and balances designed ...
As the world commemorates the 71st Everest Day, it's not just a celebration of human achievement but also a reflection of the enduring bond between New Zealand and Nepal. This day marks the historic feat of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa ...
Individuals in Wellington, led by City Councillor NÄ«kau Wi Neera, are working to use the âhecklers vetoâ to shut down Inflection Point , a gender-critical event to be held at a Te Papa venue this weekend featuring speakers such as Bob McCoskrie ...
The transgender community, whÄnau & allies will rally outside TÄkina/Wellington Convention Centre against anti-trans confederation âInflection Point NZ,â who are hosting a conference to encourage parliamentarians to restrict trans peopleâs ...
A strategic asset for Auckland that has been fought over for years as either sacrosanct or a sacred cow looks certain to be sold and the proceeds of around $1.3 billion put in a new investment fund. A year after bitter political struggle ended in a compromise in which Auckland ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – the Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The number of voices raising concerns about the Governmentâs Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliamentâs select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Chalmers, Senior Lecturer in Human Movement, University of South Australia The tragic death of Manly rugby league player Keith Titmuss in 2020 due to exertional heat stroke is a reminder of the life-threatening nature of the condition. Titmuss died after ...
Internet Governance Project founder Milton Mueller asked âis the Christchurch Call accomplishing anything?â Increasingly it seems the only thing it hopes to achieve is killing off free expression. ...
Audition by Pip Adam and Lioness by Emily Perkins are both shortlisted for the fiction award at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Here the authors discuss awards, writing, Selling Sunset, review culture, Zoolander and more.Pip Adam: Whenever I think about writers and our ambitions, I canât help ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women’s History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University Andrea Mantegna, Minerva (Athena) expelling Vices from the Garden of Virtue, from the Studiolo of Isabella d’Este, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (c. 1499â1502).Louvre Museum/Wikimedia Commons Wartime has often presented opportunities ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images The stories Aotearoa New Zealand tells itself about the history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi have evolved considerably over time. For many decades, starting with the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Carter, Associate Professor, RMIT University Aurora visible from Cope Cope, Victoria on May 11 2024.cafuego/Flickr, CC BY-SA On Saturday evening before Motherâs Day, Australians witnessed a rare celestial spectacle: a breathtaking display of aurora australis, also known as the southern ...
Tara Ward watches as TVNZâs long-running current affairs show bows out with humility and grace.We have just 12 days left to view the final episode of Sunday on TVNZ+. In just over a week, there will be no more evidence of the award-winning current affairs show on the digital ...
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, Sophie Ricketts wears a different band T-shirt every day. Here she picks her top 20. I love music. I love listening to it, I love seeing it live, and I love buying a T-shirt from the band or artist Iâve enjoyed. Every year, during ...
Research from AA Insurance reveals more and more people are taking pride in their garage. Meet three New Zealanders using their space in creative ways.If you think of a garage, you might picture a dark room with a parked car. There might be some tools on the wall, or ...
Government spending cuts have forced Scion, the dedicated Crown research institute charged with growing forestry exports, to propose shedding a significant number of scientists. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yasir Arafat, Senior Research Associate, Edith Cowan University asharkyu, Shutterstock As electric vehicle (EV) demand accelerates, so does the need for lithium batteries. But these batteries contain valuable critical minerals, as well as toxic materials, so they should not be treated ...
NZDF personnel will support the New Zealand National Commemorative Service at the Cassino War Cemetery and a New Zealand Service of Remembrance at the Cassino Railway Station, next week. ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a masseuse tells us how much she earns and where she spends it. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 33 Ethnicity: NZ EuropeanRole: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Byrne, Honorary Fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne For many reasons, the 2024 US presidential election will be like no other. Republican nominee Donald Trumpâs campaign is unprecedented. Never before has a former president who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meru Sheel, Associate Professor and Epidemiologist, Infectious Diseases, Immunisation and Emergencies Group, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney We know vaccines have been a miracle for public health. Now, new research led by the World Health Organization has found vaccines ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chrissy Severinsen, Associate Professor in Public Health, Massey University Getty Images Becoming a mother is a significant identity shift, and many new mums struggle. Up to 18% of New Zealand mothers experience depression and anxiety after giving birth. The first ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron Teo, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of Southern Queensland ABC Much has been written and produced about white menâs fetishisation of Asian women (crudely nicknamed âyellow feverâ). The ABCâs comedy series White Fever breaks new ground by exploring an ...
The childrenâs minister could have been legally brought before the tribunal after all, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The end of ...
Seen comments on social media about eating bugs? Byron Clark explains the short history of our latest conspiracy. âNo, Bill Gates nor Klaus Schwab has not funded the research done here,â reads an August 2023 Facebook post from Otago Locusts, the first farm in Aotearoa rearing insects for human consumption. ...
Rural post is essential but expensive, and residents are worried about its future. Itâs 9.30am on a Monday morning in rural ManawatĆ«, and farmer Mairi Whittle is on an all-terrain vehicle with her two young sons. After moving sheep from one slope to another, she swings by the letterbox. Opening ...
New Zealand authors hate houseplants. They are frightened of them, have nightmares about them, regard them as bad omens; they are afraid, too, of the responsibility of caring for them, and think of them as an alien species that will take over the selfish planet of their interior lives. There ...
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More than 160 languages are spoken in New Zealand. Week-long events celebrate the unique languages heard across the country, and this week the focus is on the Rotuman language. According to Unesco, the Rotuman language is listed as endangered along with four other Pacific languages â Tokelauan, Niuean, Cook Islands ...
Chinaâs massive military buildup and aggressive actions in the South China Sea are creating âvolatilityâ that the controversial Aukus pact can help counter, the UKâs top diplomat in New Zealand says. British High Commissioner Iona Thomas will deliver a speech to the NZ Institute of International Affairs on Tuesday evening, ...
Remediating Mt Ruapehu if things go pear-shaped could cost more than $80m â and the new operators aren’t on the hook for any of it The post DoC responsible for $87.5m Ruapehu remediation appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Unfortunately, the term âwokeâ is back in the news and for the most stupid of reasons: Act leader David Seymour is now designating certain types of food as âwokeâ or not. As the Government makes cuts to school lunches, let us consider what âwokeâ might mean here. ...
Analysis: The Government’s decision to return to a mega-style prison seems to be missing a clear business case The post Mega-prisonâs missing business case appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The third Chalmersâ budget will deliver a surplus of $9.3 billion for this financial year â the second successive surplus of the Albanese government. This will be the first time there have been back-to-back ...
RNZ News A New Zealand pro-Palestinian protester who climbed onto the roof of the Christchurch City Council building has been handcuffed and taken away in a police car. About 20 protesters gathered near the Christchurch Art Gallery today. Officers were called to the scene near Worcester Boulevard about 11.20am, and ...
The Council for International Development (CID) presented a compelling case to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committees this week at Parliament, urging the New Zealand Government to significantly boost its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Greenhow, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Bond University In recent years, a growing number of professional athletes are medically retiring from sport, particularly in some of Australiaâs most popular football codes. In April, Collingwood player Nathan Murphy, 24, medically retired ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Scott, Professor of Health Economics, Monash University David Fuentes Prieto/Shutterstock Deciding whether to wait and see if your health condition improves or go to a GP can be a difficult task. You might be unsure about where to go, whom ...
Are you looking forward to David Shearer’s speech on Sunday from Wainouimata? It will be a full media event, I think the first since the Conference in November at Elllerslie.
What would I like to hear?
Firstly that he is retiring those right-wingers, King, Mallard, Robertson, Goff and more. They have fought against the democratising of the party and in-favour of neo-liberal policies.
I want him to acknowledge the Confidence Vote in Caucus to be a secret ballot. Huge damage was done to his leadership by his insisting that MPs declare their loyalty to him in advance. That was stupid bullying bollox, unbecoming of a leader and contrary to the rules the Conference had just voted.
I then want him to put his leadership up to ratification by the membership and affiliates. Only then can the promise of membership power become real. It will be a turning point for the party and a rallying cry that would lead us to victory in 2014.
Pretty tough gig in one speech, kv.
Key has set the year and will cement it today by deregating planning more. That’s the head to head. Aucklands north shore club versus the summer camp!
I think your wrong that Robertson is a right-winger. And goff got mfat to leak which is no small thing.
But truly time for mallard and king.
I just want my personal assent for my leadership of my party. My vote. Otherwise i can presume they don’t need my help or donation next election.
I think you’re correct Ad – in that Robertson isn’t a “right winger”. He is however created in an ‘era’ of a right-swinging political pendulum and influenced by ‘figures’ (icons – errrrk! pardon the expression) he admires. When you live in times when there is an inability to EXPERIENCE certain alternatives, your view of the world is based on just that experience.
My OPINION of Robertson is that he’s not such a bad sort of bloke. Obviously ambitious. Obviously with a “mushin” and “peshnun” abeart certain things
Perhaps one of my definitions of integrity would be to do with how much one’s life experiencess and ambition goes towards sacrificing held beliefs and principles.
It’s a bit of a bugger really – there’s been a cabal of poltishuns that (until now) haven’t really held Labour’s founding principles in such high regard as was due. (Hence btw @ Karol – my disdain for certain lack-lustre spin issued from time to time by – well by some posters).
BTW Ad ….. are you by any chance an IT type person that may have once worked in DBK environs – as in an A vd T?
Anyway, Robertson (good bloke that he may be) is never going to get my vote ever again (despite a lifetime commitment to Labour) until Neo-liberal/Corporatist/3rd-Way/4th Reich politics are clearly discarded – and as things stand – NO matter the wishy washy recent spin, that’s not happening. It’s also the reason as an aside – that Labour struggles
Had to laugh at Claire Trevett’s (NZ Herald 23/1/13) sneerings at Hone Harawira. I’d link if I knew how to.
What the Maori Party needs is stability she says, so stay clear of Harawira.
What the Maori Party needs is a party. Membership of 24,000 at its peak down to 600 proves there is no party.
That’s not down to Harawira. It’s the fault of Key-clone Sharples and Toryana Torya with their taste for a cutesy relationship with Dunnokeyo and the baubles of office.
Good job they’re in the crap and less and less and less respected.
Go Hone Harawira !
And the comments section closed off with only about 25 published. Makes you wonder how many called her a silly &&^^&*&).
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10861000
edit for link
I have tries to find out the numbers of registered members for different parties, but nothing showed up.
Where are the numbers published?
Beyond the requirement to have 500 members made to the Electoral Commission by way of statutory declaration, there’s no requirement to publish those numbers.
I leave it to you to figure out why a party might not want to announce its membership levels.
Does anyone know how the Constitution or the supporting LP electoral rules respond to a scenario where Mallard/King decide to install Robertson as the new Leader with only 6 months to the 2014 election? Note we might not have an election date available at the time.
Presumably this nightmare scenario is entirely possible as there would be time for the vote to be put to the members and affiliates?
For this reason alone, I still want the wider vote in February. If Robertson has any ambitions this term then let’s hear from him, see him campaign. I’m reliably informed that a group of MPs associated with Robertson spoke to Shearer twice in the last six months of 2012, suggesting he might need to step down as he wasn’t cutting it as Leader.
Let’s face it, Shearer’s deficiencies with the media and difficulties answering questions on the spot is unlikely to improve much more. But if we have the wider vote in Feb and he wins, then everyone is bound in to help surmount those issues. It also means it won’t be such an easy option for Mallard/King to force their cabal to pull the trigger on Shearer closer to the election. Let’s have a full and open process now and not let this fester.
i assume, and this is a guess, that the Labour Caucus will have the opportunity if it so chooses to ‘pull the trigger’ on a Party wide vote for the leadership next February,
On the grounds of ‘ability’ to convey a lucid message in the confines of a 30 second media soundbite i would actually prefer Grant Robertson as the leader of the Labour Parliament Caucus,
At times,(admittedly not seen often) Robertson conveys a certain gravitas and an aura of power, having only met Him once i know He has a good sense of humor(so He isn’t some aloof stuck up prick),
Other than screaming at the top of our lungs, ”for f**ks sake roll that also ran” from the roof-tops of Wellington’s tower blocks the Labour Caucus seem content to take only it’s own counsel on the question of leadership so that Caucus must also take responsibility for the end result…
For starters, it can’t quite happen in the way that you suggest.
Caucus has now got just two main constitutionally enshrined powers in selecting a new leader.
1) It can pull the trigger initiating a leadership contest/vote throughout the wider party. This Feb, and 3 months after every General Election, the trigger threshold is 40%+1. At all other times, the trigger threshold is 50%+1.
2) Caucus gets 40% of the vote in the 40/40/20 electoral college voting system.
Another good sign from Labour, excellent vibe from Shearer, now more of the same with Winnie and the Greens please.
Jimmy and Hels making up gave us three terms. Wee Johnny No-mates and the Elites know it, and no amount of one-handed spinning can save them.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10861289
I did think Shearer performed quite well on Morning Report today. Let’s hope he continues to improve.
Do you believe the elites don’t have a sphere of influence/control spanning wider than NACT?
Use of the word, us, is cause for concern.
Please think a little deeper than that!
Lost among the applause for Metiria Turei’s announcement of Green Party housing policy was the muted whine of Slippery the Prime Minister in a ‘me too’ announcement that National were wroking on policy to free up more land for building houses,
Earth to planet Slippery, Earth calling, when your own Minister of Finance says that it takes 8 years for ‘the market’ to provide a home for each individual involved in population growth,(you do know population growth where in a short period of time a population goes from 3.3 million to 4.4 million), then that is an indication of MARKET FAILURE,
Such a MARKET FAILURE cannot be simply fixed by the provision of more of the same, IE providing MORE land for developers to build upon only leads to MORE of the same, developers building as large a house on the available piece of land so as to accrue to themselves the largest possible profit, that is how the MARKET works,
As a Government, to address such a MARKET FAILURE there are two glaringly apparent options available as tools, the first being as that Government to actually build the required number of houses of a size that makes them affordable, the second is to legislate as a Government that developers build such houses to address that MARKET FAILURE…
“National were wroking ”
Probably a typo, but somehow gets the mix between “working” and “wrecking”. Kiwiana’s single vowel sound comes in useful sometimes đ
bad12, that is a classic example of a bullshit artist in residence. Key and English tell so many porkies and make so much stuff up as they go along that they really do not make any sense.
They make absolutely no sense.
National say councils should do more. The accountancy equation says you can
lower prices (put more land on the market), raise wages, or reduce the perceived
value of housing (capital gains on non-home properties). Since National hate
raising wages, or lowering taxes on the lower and middle income citizens (GST
went up), they have only one option increase land availability, and land is controlled by
councils and so National can do nothing making it a council only problem.
Can someone please explain why women’s issues, or Maori issues are identity politics but class isn’t?
MSM generally dare not have people worrying about those who are worse off than you… just think what heads of media organizations, as well as management earn… think many want less tax cuts etc?
Wikip says class is part of identity politics. They define it as a self-interested, self-awareness of their shared experience. I’m not keen on it’s disparaging description and explanation, which leaves out a crucial focus on oppression, inequalities and the need for social and economic justice.
But I’m also not keen on the term “identity politics”, and think “politics of difference”, may be a step in a better direction: ie to campaign against the way people perceived as “different” from dominant group/s in society are marginalised, excluded, discriminated against and treated unfairly.
I know what you mean Karol, but I would take it a step further and say that all politics are identity politics, only some people aren’t very honest about their own identity (those favoured by the dominant culture). If we had true democracy, there would be no such term as ‘identity politics’.
Good point, weka:
some people arenât very honest about their own identity (those favoured by the dominant culture).
Except some among those with privileged/dominant identities, quickly claim their identifications when they see the disadvantaged and marginalised starting to move to a more equal status. Some of the dominant ones start to complain they are being ignored, left out… etc.
Which is when we bring out the violins đ
Can I ask where you picked up the notion that gender and race (fuck, I hate that term, but anyway) issues are any more or less ‘identity politics’ than class issues? As I see it they are fairly densely inter-related spheres that can’t be approached in any meaningful way if they’re seperated out from one another. But hey, maybe that’s just me.
Completely agree Bill. It’s just something I’ve seen from time to time, when the term ‘identity politics’ is being used disparagingly.
Likewise. And likewise it makes no sense to me.
http://www.galatoslive.co.nz/portfolio/the-great-auckland-pride-debate-2/?doing_wp_cron=1359073709.9405069351196289062500
Politics and comedy combined – Team Nikki v Team Jacinda!
Amazing!
The campaign for a low carbon economy grows stronger after a successful festival while the Government continues to blindly support extracting fossil fuel.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2013/01/shaping-southlands-future-without.html
Good write up Dave, thanks. Great to see such activism taking place down south.
And the GP! I wonder if Jenny will notice.
Jenny notices everything
it appears from Slippery the Prime Ministers ‘state of the nation speech’ today that Nationals affordable housing plan in Auckland relies upon the Auckland City Council speeding up permission for Slippery’s Government to bowl over 100s more of the HousingNZ portfolio in Auckland,
If you see inherent in that an oxymoron in terms, your right but don’t blame me it appears the Prime Minister invited Moron, His cousin, to the speech-making,
In His best simpering display of childish speech His claim is that they only want to bowl over a ‘few’ houses to free up land for development, code that if recent history is anything to judge by means that 100s of State Houses will be bowled and most of the land sold to Slippery’s developer buddies who will then proceed to build even more large mansions as icons to our propensity to waste the scarce resources in both man-power and materials we have available only replacing a third of the previous tranche of HousingNZ properties,
Now openly threatening the Auckland City Council to speed up the process of providing even more land to the speculators and developers to build the icons to over-consumption upon Slippery again shows the lack of intellectual rigor that has been the hallmark of His time as Prime Minister He refuses to address the main point of the current affordability issue which is on the supply side of the availability and willingness of the developers to build smaller properties that newer entrants in the housing market can afford to buy,
It’s a pity we as a country are stuck with this empty suitcase of intellectual rigor until 2014 when we can elect a Labour/Green Government to repair the stupid mess made to affordable housing by far too many years of Neo-Liberal market driven idiocy…