The Government took a gamble doing a deal with Sky over the convention centre.
Who would want to finance a business who cocked up their costings so much? Either cocked up or cooked up a massive con.
Auckland ratepayers and New Zealand taxpayers should hand out nothing to Sky.
If Brown gets sucked in to the con it would decimate his re-election chances.
If Key’s/Joyce’s government ignores the deal they made and gambles on a handout it will likely be a significant factor in the demise of the Key tenure in government.
It would be a stupid business gamble and a very stupid political gamble.
With what Sky are now trying on it may have been a stupid idea in the first place.
Certainly it started well before yesterday, but it will continue – we can now await comment from National as to the exact nature of the contract, and whether it really does allow the government to walk away – the NBR article appears to at least raise a question or two to be answered. Has Key lied again?
Hey Pete. Remember when you were on one of your mini-crusades saying Little and Mallard should be driven from politics for saying Collins was in cahoots with Whaleoil and Ede?
Your words, I think you’re overstating . Little learned from that by the look of things. Look what that has done for him.
And even Mallard might have mellowed enough, or be determined enough to become speaker, to desist from the dirty style of politics he was well known for.
What, like when Mallard said Collins was in Cahoots with WO and Slater, and you were saying that was outrageous dirty politics of the type we shouldn’t tolerate?
he made the comments on Radio NZ Pete. And parliamentary privilege is there specifically to allow MPs to raise things. Would you do away with that?
But anyway, in the RNZ i/v Mallard said he had a source who had been reliable in the past. this source had told him that Collins wa in cahoots with WO and Ede and up to dirty tricks. Turns out his source was right eh Pete? And you went on and on and on and on about all sorts of shit, saying Mallard and Little were undermining democracy and stuff.
Turns out you were, probably unwittingly, running interference for WO and Ede’s dirty politics.
Had a look on your blog, can’t find the post where you acknowledge how wrong you were.
“the leak of the email Ms Boag sent to the minister and forwarded on her instructions as the responsible minister to the chairman and chief executive of ACC raised an issue of serious public concern, and that Messrs Mallard and Little were entitled to question who was responsible for that leak”.
“The parties continue to differ over whether the comments made by Messrs Mallard and Little respectively on Radio NZ implied the minister falsely assured the House that neither she nor her office was responsible for the leak.
“Messrs Mallard and Little have confirmed to Ms Collins that was not their intention and wish to make that clear publicly that in the event such meaning was taken they regret it.”
How did WO find out about deatils of the ACC breach before it became public Pete?
He told people that Collins told him, and that the recipient was Pullar and that she was going to get “ratfucked”.
But hey, yo can pretend Collins is squeaky clean all you like, and that Hager didn’t write a book, and even if he did the pages were all blank, if you want to.
Or you could just say that yeah, Mallard and Little were on to something, and the fact Collins pulled out of the defamation case, in hindsight, probably had a bit to do with the activities described in that book Hager wrote.
I’ll give credence to credible claims from anyone including WO. And I suspect I’ve directly confronted crap from WO directly a bit more than you (when I could) when I saw fit.
– How you cried bloody murder when Mallard and Little were saying Collins was in cahoots with whaleoil and it turned out their source was onto it. You were calling those claims baseless scurrilous attacks aimed purely at destroying a government. And that this amounted to undermining democracy.
-And how you choose to give credence and repeat the claims made about ‘eddie’ and others. Your choices, obviously. But it’s you the rides a high horse Pete.
-And yet, from on that high horse you have apparently not bothered to take anything back or admit that maybe Mallard and Little were in fact ‘holding the govt to account’.
Any thoughts on why Little seemed to stop “holding the government to account” while Mallard continued to harass trying to, as he has claimed, force a mistake in dealing with it?
“Any thoughts on why Little seemed to stop “holding the government to account” while Mallard continued to harass trying to, as he has claimed, force a mistake in dealing with it?”
I don’t think Little backed away at all, as can be seen from the fact that he stayed party to the defamation case that Collins backed away from.
And what ‘harrassing’? You mean repeating his claims in spite of being threatened with a defamation suit which was eventually abandoned?
Now how about you discuss whether or not you were wrong about what was going on?
Making allegations which turn out to be completely accurate when protected by parliamentary privilege which was created to allow politicians to challenge the powerful without fear of recrimination is inconvenient for defenders of the powerful and lovers of the status quo like Pete George.
Parliamentary privilege is designed to allow the uncovery of malfeasance and corruption. I would argue that Blubber Boy’s contacts with Ede and Collins fitted the definitions. There was nothing dirty about bringing it up at all.
Key and Jocye need to fess up they have been out gambled by SkyCity who don’t need the convention centre with business booming from the oversea’s tourist market. They got a great prize in the Television NZ property adjacent to their casino. Which correct me if I’m wrong, was originally proposed as part of the convention centre. Now (as Sky likely intended all along) they are constructing a major hotel which will house their punters, and soak up new casino/restaurant traffic by default of the proximity of a hotel opposite their gambling house.
How do you spell “corrupt as fuck”? Never mind, I think I got it right. This is the sort of stuff that the American Viceroy in Iraq got away with when he signed stuff over to Halliburton. We didn’t even need to be invaded first 🙁
@Pete George:
Hi Pete, yesterday you said, “I hope I can prefer a Labour led government again but they have got to sort a lot of stuff out before I think they will be up to it”
And I replied:
What do you mean by ‘they have to sort a lot of stuff?’ What stuff? Explain
You did not respond. So, in case, you did not see that, I am asking that question here again.
The obvious thing they have to sort out is their polling, by 10-15%.
Andrew Little has to build on a promising start and prove he’s up to the task without making too many mistakes. And then keep building his credibility and policy knowledge.
Grant Robertson has to prove he’s up to the finance portfolio.
The Labour caucus have to prove they they can work together and not tear each other apart.
The Labour Party has to work out what key policies will win them more support than it loses.
And part supporters would help by showing they are prepared to reach out to a wider constituency and not just diss off anyone they deem to be an enemy.
Once they sort that out they may start to look like they are up to leading the next government.
The strange thing is that Key, despite himself often behaving in an unbecoming manner in his stupid statements, in the dodgy company he keeps with questionable low characters, and in his destructive policies AND protecting his disgraceful ministers like Judith Collins, Nick Smith, Bill English, Gerry Brownlee and Maurice Williamson in spite of their utterly shocking shameful behaviour, still gets poll support from the general public!
You’re either overstating the negatives against Key or Labour are doing worse, unless you can think of some other reason why they are polling 26% to National’s 52 (last Roy Morgan poll)
Are you blind to the dirty politics, spin, bullshit, lies, razzmatazz and propaganda indulged in by Key, the National party, Cosby Textor, the corporates, the RW blogs and MSM outfits that have manage to constantly publicise a false dishonest ‘positive’ narrative of the government, drowning or ignoring the negatives and fooling the perception of a vast number of the general public who do not pay particular in depth attention to politics?
In comparison to Nartional, Labour and the left are forthright, have enlightened values, modern, principled, honest and caring for the social and economic well being of all the people and the country for both the short term and the long term.
If you are a person of integrity and honesty, you will realise the truth of what I have just said.
I do intend to get out to the Hutt to see it, although am in two minds about being reminded of that era, being a child of the 70’s.
As a 7 year old, I did have flares, brown corduroy ones, teamed with a home made poncho of grey homespun wool. It smelt of sheep. You would not like it. It was not my proudest fashion moment, stepping out in that.
Better was the fluro crimson skinny rib short sleeve acrylic turtle neck, made on a domestic knitting machine, paired with a lime green apple motif maxi skirt. Fine threads, fine threads.
On the Friday after work me and a mate headed off to the concert but only made it to Hamilton where his car gave up so we hitched to Ngāruawāhia and spent the night in the Toi tois. We hitched to Auckland on the Saturday walking from the Symonds street off ramp to the zoo side of the Springs and climbed the fence to spend another night in the bushes.
I had a ticket so I went through the gate at about midday on the Sunday but my mate did his navy seal thing swimming across the lake dodging security but he did make into the venue.
Forty years later large parts of concert have faded but Gimme Shelter, Satisfaction, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, the crowd, the buddha haze and the fun remain as vivid as ever, although the after concert goings on have always been a blur.
On the Monday I was able to ring my old man, the good old days when collect calls made from a phone box were a big fucking deal, about our predicament so he drove up from Tauranga to rescue us and we styled it all the way back to work at Whakamaru.
Despite turning up ready to work on Tuesday being a day late were were both on the mat before the station superintendent, sent home and had two days pay docked for taking unauthorised leave,
Last time flares came back into fashion was about early 2000’s, a mate and myself got around in some very cool locally designed ones, made us feel like fashion guru’s. Black with a red fade thru them, very comfy with no restriction from the knee down. The chic’s loved them, and the strange thing was we would get our bums pinched out on the town. Must have been the tight cut around the arse, and the long legs, or the mocking disco moves on the dance floor. Anyway it was weird and made me blush a couple of times.
Hey Skinny, comrade, we have views in common but ya know, the way you talk about women kinda makes me feel uncomfortable. It’s been there in your craic for a while.
First off, quite some time back you had a go at Helen Kelly, being quite dismissive of her achievements and suggesting we needed a strong man in charge. Can’t remember if I replied to that.
I replied to your comment over xmas about your reference to your gf being a “bit of an airhead” and how your last gf had brains but wasn’t pretty so you had this trade off thing going on. Didn’t hear back from you.
There was a reference to Sally Ridge being “the town bike” a few weeks ago.
And now we’re chic’s…………
These statements read as put downs specifically aimed at women.
Please just be aware that women read TS as well. Speaking for myself I don’t really want to feel like I’ve just walked into some dodgy blokey chat around the BBQ, the kind where you back off and head the other way, after you’ve received that creepy collective “once over” glance.
People should language in a respectful way. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to deal with your own feelings and experiences just as they have to deal with their own.
Really? Is that because you aren’t aware of the existence of those things? Or because you partake in them? Rosie’s post didn’t make me uncomfortable at all. She has seen something she doesn’t like, and is pointing it out in a fairly gentle way.
Your taking things far too serious sister flares, groovy, the fuzz, hip, and chic’s all part of the 70’s when they were all the fashion. You need to peace out about the women put down thing.
It wouldn’t matter if Kelly was a male, in my view she is a tad too fickle/weak. In saying that looking around the ranks of union leaders (GS) there isn’t a lot I’d rate ‘male or female’ actually. McCarten or Treen would be the best about. Unite would have some real talented females on the rise hopefully. I’m a bit of a hard-liner and a bit over the PC approach of the CTU, probably as a result of an overkill of teachers & PSA.
In regards to the other comments about looks, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but I get your point, yeah the town bike call was not a good one, should have known better- apologies ladies 🙂
I don’t think I’m taking “things far too serious” Skinny. I’ve turned a blind eye to your sexist comments far too many times. Nor am I going to “peace out” about the “women put down thing”.
It sounds like, for you, equality is a topic you can move on from when you get sick of it, being a “bit over the PC approach” an’ all. It’s not an optional nicety for women, we’re still living in an unequal world. Put downs are all part of that big wide world of inequality for us, it’s not something we can walk away from when it all gets a bit too boring – we have to live with it.
Stop and ask yourself, before you write, “Is this a respectful thing to say about women?” That’s all.
Fair enough I will think about my language since its an issue to you and others. Btw I sit in seperate chairperson & vice chairperson positions, the later I deliberately didn’t contest the chair role in recognition of the gender inequality. Unfortunately she is not much chop and as I understand will be moving on. However there is a well qualified female replacement, if the other females don’t conspire against her? It’s not the boys that she needs to worry about, which has a name but best not to say 🙂
What’s wrong with chics Rosie. It tends to have an affectionate tone about it. Similar in use as guys and gals. It is possible to be pedantic over PC talk control.
Don’t really see women as small fluffy flightless birds, vulnerable to attack Warbs. It refers to a woman as something she is not. It may be an affectionate term, I’ve just never heard it spoken of in that way – only in a derogatory sense.
As for chicks/chics, that comment was just one of many. I probably wouldn’t have bothered responding if it had been a one off, but it wasn’t. I don’t know if Skinny knows how he comes across to women, so I raised it. The term chics is a side story to the compound effect of casual sexist language, that I hear Skinny use.
Shame, as on the whole I like where he is coming from.
Sometimes you simply have to accept people for who they are and how they look at the world. You’re not going to change for them why would you expect them to change for you.
I didn’t see any expectation. Rosie saw something she didn’t like, and raised the issue. Whether anyone changes or not is up to them. Unless we are gently challenged at times, none of us will ever change. After all, don’t we want quite a few people to change the way they vote? Does your logic apply to that as well, CR?
Ask people to mind language that you do not approve of, by all means. Yes you may feel that it is a tiring exercise in tolerance but no one is trying to burden or impinge upon you.
That’s pretty funny CV. The amount of times over the years I’ve never stepped in upon conversations because I felt folks were feeling an outrage or offence that I could clearly empathise with, but were wasting their time with, when I felt we had far bigger problems to deal with, is ….a lot.
The amount of times for instance when folks complain about RWNJ’s incessantly, I get that, I was raised amongst them lol, I know how they think and behave but can’t really be arsed criticising them because I know they can only learn through life experience and facing their own true humility, or unless they go to special classes in learning empathy. (Such classes do exist)
I’ve tolerated biggots, misogynists and the general fuckwit population of NZ all my life so the one time I do say something fairly small in comparison to a life time’s worth of crap, I don’t believe that effort deserves a finger wagging session in “just put up with it woman”.
There’s many fine men contributing to TS, but despite their sincerity towards and solidarity with women, I get the feeling women will always be outnumbered, and if we can’t be supported when we raise an issue about sexism on the site, then why would we feel encouraged to continue to talk?
You’ve had to tolerate and put up with a lot. Sometimes I forget how wearying biting ones tongue can be in regards to being around legions of arseholes, fuckwits and bigots.
Even while based in Australia, I was a regular listener to Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint – now it seems that it’s been quietly dropped from the new Sunday morning schedule, as some had predicted.
Brittenden’s unflinching challenge to the uncritical default view churned out by nearly all other journalists must have always been on borrowed time. It’s a tragedy and an indictment that, given the amount of fluff churned out by 24/7 broadcasting, there’s no place for his few weekly minutes of erudite takes on national and , crucially, international issues. He could , of course, just be on leave.
Scoop NZ has started a “discussion” about the state of corporate media, whether blogs are a rational alternative, and so on. Aare there any other alternatives?
Do folks tune into their local independent radio stations? The scoop report on Radio Active on Thursday mornings, with Alistair Thompson is always worth a listen. It’s available on line for people outside of Wellington.
A small and unpolished contribution to coverage of local and international political events but worth it none the less. You get content that you won’t get in the MSM.
It helps that they DJ’s are coming from a left wing perspective, even if they do get drowned out by the right wing braying from APN, Mediaworks and Fearfacts. It’s important to have a counter to all that noise, even if it’s a small voice in our media scene.
This is a worthwhile read, Stever. Thanks. It reminds me of the time I was on the DPB with two young children, and although it was hard going I always knew I had the skills to get off it once I’d got my head, health and emotions around the fact of being a solo parent. I always had that “hope”. But I always wonder if I hadn’t had good work skills, and a reasonable education, would I have managed it ?
That’s very good. And applicable to other things too as well as domestic violence and poverty. Imagination and empathy. What’s so hard about that, and what stops people from doing it?
Sometimes I think there has been some sort of “de-sensitivation” along the line when people are growing up, Weka – and it mutes imagination and empathy. I don’t know how it happens but we do live in a violent society IMO – both verbal and physical – and maybe that helps people switch off from their inner feelings and stops them being empathetic to others in worse situations than them.
I support Rachel Stewart 100% for this opinion piece.. More courageous journo’s such as Rachel need to challenge the status quo…she is 100% on the mark.
For this piece she has received some nasty mail, also apparently some senior federated farmers have been “favouring” nasty tweets.
Kia Kaha Rachel Stewart….from a dairy cocky that supports you 100%
The Insight program on Radionz this morning was very informative, and troubling about the Muslim situation with the ISIS state. Apparently when the USA invaded Iraq in 2003 that action was seen as completing a prophecy and so unleashed a strongly religious response which has been far more powerful than simply a political one. And not likely to go away by simply using force against it. As the ISIS training emphasises, God with Noah wa prepared to wipe out all the population except the righteous and chosen, and they are following God’s will and his lead.
The program is called Butchery and Bureaucracy and talks about how the ISIS fight is funded, how their governing system works, their welfare for the families of dead fighters, and their acceptance of the rightness of using harsh methods such as lashing, beheading. This does not just happen to westerners. And the Sunnis are prepared to act strongly against other sects.
The audio may be made available for a while. We may have to go to the BBC to hear it again. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gd2wj
This is the summary of it. 8:12 Insight Islamic State – Bureaucracy and Brutality
Former jihadist Aimen Dean gives a unique understanding of the workings of Islamic State in this week’s Insight documentary. With the rise of al-Qaeda, he became disillusioned with his comrades’ drift towards terrorism. He joined the group – but worked undercover for the British government. Peter Marshall of the BBC’s World Service has spoken to Aimen Dean about Islamic State’s ideology and the organisational networks behind it.
Throw in a monarch rumoured to be suffering from dementia and what could possibly go wrong.
Salman is widely believed to be unwell, with speculation he is suffering from dementia or Parkinson’s disease, though Saudis deny that. He is 79, so there is bound to be uncertainty about his rule
Well, in other news, Cameron Slater will be boxing Jesse Ryder at the fight for life. I’m not a huge fan of boxing, but I may even pay the fee to watch it live!
Slater might be at a disadvantage – having to fight clean.
And if the fight goes well, Slater has a list of opponents he would like to meet next – headed by Dirty Politics author Nicky Hager, television host John Campbell and New Zealand Herald journalists David Fisher and Matt Nippert.
“I would even lose 40kg to get into the ring with Nicky Hager,” said Slater, who plans to drop a more modest 11kg down to 100kg to meet Ryder. “Any of those four, I will lose weight and match their weight to get into the ring with them, but I suspect they lack the stones to do it.
His blogging has become largely impotent but this is a pathetic bit of attention seeking.
slaters definition of courage is caveman like. Hager has been displaying other forms of courage for decades. slater speaks like a bully. interesting examples he sets for his children.
They could have found better opposition among all the people he’s slagged off. How about a wharfie, a Maori activist, a coaster, a unionist, a lefty, or even a feminist? Maybe a Muslim? How about Antony Mundine or SBW? If I’d recovered from surgery, I’d love to get in the ring with him. Maybe in a year or two. I’d love him to be pummelled by an ageing Marxist, but then I can be a bit neanderthal in my thinking too 🙂
I despise the entire concept of the “Fight for Life” (originally conceived as a bloody anti-suicide charity event, because what the depressed and disenfranchised youth of NZ needs is more thuggish masculinity rammed down their throats).
The only positive in Cameron Slater taking part is that more people might see what a circus it is.
The very fact he was invited to take part is an indicator “Fight for Life” is morally bankrupt and lacking in principled standards. Out of curiosity, has anyone even remotely associated with the left side of politics ever been invited to take part? I’ve long had the impression its just a Tory bun-fight designed to make them look good in the eyes of a gullible public.
Thanks for that h123. It makes more sense now. Didn’t think Blubber Boy was into compassion for anyone other than himself. Never been sure about F for L incorporated.
He’s a bankrupt by the looks of it so he needs the money I guess. Why doesn’t he get a job like the rest of us have to do?
hello all,
due to a change of circumstances i have re-entered the work force and have come to the end of the first three months and am about to negotiate my wages.
i wish to get advice and considerations from y’all.
the situation: chef in a busy rural cafe. very young staff and i am very experienced. (former restaurant owner, 25 years on and off in the industry). the business owner is the young daughter of a very good friend.
i am currently just below a living wage.
If I were you I’d be asking myself firstly, how strong is my negotiating position, and already it sounds like your considerable experience is a strong bargaining chip. If the cafe is busy I’m guessing they are doing ok, keeping up with overheads, turning a modest to reasonable profit, that’s good for you, a busy business is in your favour too.
What are other chefs with your experience on? Is that something you can negotiate around, ie: moving upwards with your hourly rate?
Hi gsays
There is the approach you could use of ‘what I can do for you’ to think about. Starting on a good wage that the business can afford at present, and getting a share of the net rise from future turnover would be a practical way of ensuring that you receive reward for your work as it shows up in successful customer growth which brings in more profit.
Of course more customer throughput must be managed wisely to be profitable, and if that is done you would benefit through the automatic share you received from linked salary increases. What percentage of the net profit increase, I don’t know but it should be substantial. That’s one way of presenting it to ensure you are rewarded for hard work and success.
You are a serious professional who is an asset to the business yet a team player who appreciates the opportunity you have in front of you.
Demonstrate how much money you have saved the business in terms of waste reduction and what the potential is for doing more on that front. Get her buy in on an exciting idea like evolving the menu in ways to bring in more business. In particular discuss how you want to help the business owner realise her vision for the business and really make things happen the way she wants to see them. (Use languaging suitable to her outlook, but that’s the idea).
Understand what bugs her about the business and offer to play a role in sorting that.
Note that less experienced business owners can significantly underestimate all the background work and value add that a capable expert brings into a business operation. You have to help her appreciate that in subtle ways while making it clear that you are there to make her business successful – and less stressful for her.
Are there any additional responsibilities that she would like you to take on that would make her job easier?
Ask for a solid pay increase say around $2/hr which is over 10%. Say you are thinking longer term and if all these initiatives go well you will go back to her in 12 months and ask for another similar increase.
do you spend time outside paid work preparing ideas for new menus? are you supervising other staff. are you de facto training the younger ones cos they ask you questions etc. all of these things increase your value. do you work quickly and efficiently cos of your experience. ie you are the equivalent of 1.5 younger inexperienced staff.
my understanding is chefs are badly paid everywhere. make your case with ideas above and start at 25 bucks an hour… looking to 20 bucks bottom line.
or if she is able to tell/show you books seek a share of cost savings on a quarterly basis.
All the best g. Agree that aiming for a win/win outcome is the best, benefiting all and including all. Doesn’t leave room for opportunities for any party to feel agrieved
cheers heaps rosie.
i have been a fairly long time recipiant of share internationals’ newsletter.
this amongst other things leads me to know that sharing and win win is the only forward.
Slater has posted about the imprisonment of Barrett Brown being a warning to Hager. Really?.
But the case of the Dallas native and former face of the global “hacktivist” group Anonymous first garnered international attention when he was initially accused with identity theft and trafficking in stolen data for republishing a hyperlink leading to a trove of internal emails and customer information taken in the Stratfor hacking
[…]
He never broke into computer servers himself. Rather, he copied a publicly available link from a chat channel used by Anonymous and pasted it into a chatroom for his own “distributed think tank,” Project PM, a network of activists, bloggers and other volunteers he recruited to investigate the private intelligence sector.
Brown and his organization had intended to sift through the data as they looked into the relationships between the government and private security contractors, but the stolen records also contained more than 5,000 credit card numbers of Stratfor clients, leading to the heavy claims against Brown.
Stratfor is a very nasty outfit which provides military industrial complex links and intelligence to the general corporate community.
Funny they couldn’t even secure their own client’s credit card details.
Barrett is another example about how the US Govt wants to know everything about what you are doing, but they want you to know absolutely nothing about what they are doing.
This is not democracy, it is the slide into totalitarianism.
Slater would fit right in as an authoritarian follower/bully boy.
The two main differences between Brown and Hager are that Brown is a security services hacker and lives in a country that is making a point of coming down hard on such in the most extreme ways legally, and Hager is a journalist, not a hacker and not a security services hacker, who lives in a country that doesn’t have the same need to punish to the same degree.
Hang on, did Slater just compare the Whale Oil to the US govt? 🙄
Both Brown and Hager are threats to the authoritarian state, but other than that, it’s apples and oranges.
Brown was imprisoned for doing something Slater himself admits to doing – accessing and copying information containing credit card details through a publicly available link.
metabunk? really McFlock? they make Sorcha Faal look legit 🙂
The wide angle lens theory is fun but meaningless as the image is from a video, and there is no reason to record such a confined presentation in wide angle. As for being a composite image shot at different times, well that is the point people are making – the image is not legit.-
The image is singularly reported as being taken from a video, so not photo-shopped as much as green-screened (+yes, defence-orientated location editing is a known tactic but only reinforces the final point)
Since ISIS/ISIL first began releasing these hostage videos, the message has been to defend the authenticity of the images. IF the hostage takers were the ones faking the video, why has not the US Government , [or any apostle of the ‘War on Terror’ ] raised that issue with the news services their spokespersons have been repeatedly appearing on?
Yeah, was a quick google search. The content of that post seems reasonable, though, replicating the rsults in-camera rather than jumping to gs.
The wide angle lens theory is fun but meaningless as the image is from a video, and there is no reason to record such a confined presentation in wide angle.
That assumes the director is Spielberg, not “dude with camera in war zone”.
IF the hostage takers were the ones faking the video, why has not the US Government , [or any apostle of the ‘War on Terror’ ] raised that issue with the news services their spokespersons have been repeatedly appearing on?
Because:
a) it might not be “faked”; and
b) it doesn’t suggest that ISIL do not have these dudes in their
custody even if it is faked;
Still not quite understanding. So an obviously photo-shopped photo was badly photo-shopped and circulated by the hostage takers. I mean, I’m guessing it’s more or less standard to crop images from any background that could betray identifying features related to location these days…cut and paste onto generic desert background.
edit – okay…comment to be ignored, passed over or subjected to whatever other ‘whoosh!’ techniques one prefers.
On the email this morning. And so it begins……. sanctions + low crude prices = this:
RED ALERT: Rocket Fire Could Signal New Offensive on Mariupol
Stratfor has declared a Red Alert over Ukraine as we watch for signs of a new offensive. We do not yet know Russia’s strategic intentions. Reports of rocket fire and potential moves on the city of Mariupol could simply be an attempt to signal the danger Russia could pose to their negotiating partners in the West. It could be an attempt to extend the pocket separatists supported by Russia currently hold in eastern Ukraine. It could, finally, be the opening of an offensive toward Crimea.
Reports of heavy rocket artillery firing on the eastern parts of the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, as well as a statement made by a separatist leader, indicate the potential preparation of an offensive on the city. While this would be a significant escalation and an indicator of Russian intent to push further into Ukraine, potentially forming a much-rumored land connection to the northern border of Crimea, there are also several indicators required for such an offensive that are currently still missing.
Every man and his dog has got WWII era Grad rocket launchers. (Although the separatist forces insist they are still over 40km away and that it must be Ukranian Kiev forces.)
If Stratfor is discussing this you can bet they are reinforcing the Washington DC narrative.
That’s not what I said. Even though you can be sure that NATO military officers are helping Kiev plan strategy and tactics as we speak.
But what is clear is that the shelling of civilians in Mariupol does nothing militarily for the separatists while harming their political agenda. At the same time it reinforces Kiev’s narrative that the separatists are nothing more than violent Russian backed terrorists.
I vote for both descriptions, but mostly the second. Lets not forget that Russia is entirely controlling the actions of the “separatists” for reasons that suit Russia.
I would agree that Russia is providing arms and logistics to the separatists/rebels as well as allowing its own regular troops to go on indefinite leave to fight in Eastern Ukraine.
But beyond the general idea of keeping Ukranian forces at bay and giving Kiev heartburn, I think Moscow has limited interest or ability in “controlling the actions” of rag tag irregular militia groupings.
Frankly, the Russians have bigger worries addressing NATO.
Oh CB !
“I Would agree that Russia is providing arms and logistics to the separatists/rebels” – (DPR)
Lavrov has been pleading for evidence of this in multitude of forUNs.
Why do you assert such ?
Pretty sure it is the case. Of course I don’t have “evidence” on me. But the area of DPR and LPR are blockaded on the western side by Kiev forces, which means that the separatists can only get resupply from the eastern side.
Well, Ukraine has mistreated the civilian areas of the Donbass very badly – but they are under IMF orders to take that area back under control or they will not be getting further IMF money.
It’s not just banking: the big four own 53% of life insurance premiums, and account for 57.3% of retail investment funds through bank-owned platforms. It begs the question: if they own so much of Australia’s economy, who owns the big four?
Is there really competition in the ‘free-market’ or is it a scam to hide the oligarchy?
not really one of ours – an Australian company IAG. I don’t know why NZI has not been ridiculed when running their stupid kiwiana ads. A bit over the top for a company 100% owned by an Australian parent.
Great article!
Reminiscent of Bruce Jesson’s wiring diagrams about the NZ economy back in the day.
Nice smug feeling now I’m in Kiwiaver with everything offset, but hell that diagram makes me want to get rid of that mortgage as fast as I possibly can.
Just chilling in terms of our real estate market’s exposure to international correction.
Too bad it will never happen. The British love the royal family, unfortunately.
From what I understand, I think the only royal property that is actually owned by the royal family, is Balmoral Castle, as well as Sandringham House. Buckingham Palace, as well as Windsor Council, is owned by the UK government, through Crown Estate.
Also, Buckingham Palace has only been used by the monarch since the 1830’s. It was previously the site of a private residence for, funnily enough, the duke of Buckingham,
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited last year, urging the Government to review the Mental Health Act and dubbing seclusion a form of torture that violates human rights law, particularly when mental illness or intellectual disability is concerned.
I noted on TV1 last night Heather du-Plessis-Allan gave a disingenuous report of the event and was openly sarcastic and snide about Andrew Little in particular. She described him as “unhappy” about having to walk on to the Ratana grounds with political opponents and then evidenced it with a clip which was a clear misrepresentation of what he said when being interviewed. I don’t resile from my language when I call her:
A nasty, vindictive Nat bitch!
At least TV3’s Tova O’Brien was non partisan in her criticisms of the pollies at Ratana.
Senior Labor figure leaves Australia to fight against Islamic State
The head of the Northern Territory branch of the Labor party has reportedly flown overseas to fight in Syria against terror group Islamic State.
Matthew Gardiner, who also served as a secretary in the United Voice union and a treasurer in peak body Unions NT, left the country several weeks ago to fight with Kurdish militants, the ABC reports.
It’s believed Mr Gardiner, 43, who served with the Australian Army in Somalia in the 1990s, was able to leave Australia because he was not on any watch list.
It is illegal to fight in Syria on any side of the conflict against Islamic State.
It’s believed 90 Australians are fighting in the conflict.
A spokesperson for Attorney-General George Brandis told the ABC foreign fighters face severe penalties regardless of which side they are fighting with.
“If you fight illegally in overseas conflicts, you face up to life in prison upon your return to Australia,” the spokesperson said.
“We know there are some Australians who think they’ve made the right choice in becoming involved in overseas conflicts, but that choice only adds to the suffering in Syria and Iraq and it’s putting those Australians and others in mortal danger.”
It appears Mr Gardiner made recent connections on social media with people sympathetic to Kurdish militias, who are fighting Islamic State.
Although Mr Gardiner resigned from his position at United Voice, he remains the NT branch president of the Labor Party. He has not been seen for weeks and his mobile phone is switched off.
Ad Feedback
The matter is being investigated by The Australian Federal Police.
He needs to learn. If he wants to kill people, he should have stayed in the Strayan army. The Kurdish Workers’ Party, PKK, is defined by our regime as a terrorist organisation. I think this is mainly on the grounds that they resist Turkish attacks.
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 ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
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 Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
But wait there’s more http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/01/new-zealands-cathy-odgers-bungles-resignation-pacific-fiduciaries.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29
Len Brown has ruled out cash for Sky’s convention centre – Ratepayer cash won’t go into convention centre, mayor promises.
The Government took a gamble doing a deal with Sky over the convention centre.
Who would want to finance a business who cocked up their costings so much? Either cocked up or cooked up a massive con.
Auckland ratepayers and New Zealand taxpayers should hand out nothing to Sky.
If Brown gets sucked in to the con it would decimate his re-election chances.
If Key’s/Joyce’s government ignores the deal they made and gambles on a handout it will likely be a significant factor in the demise of the Key tenure in government.
It would be a stupid business gamble and a very stupid political gamble.
With what Sky are now trying on it may have been a stupid idea in the first place.
Responses to this comment will be republished at Yawns. That’s what it’s here for.
it’s also (literally) yesterdays’ news..
Certainly it started well before yesterday, but it will continue – we can now await comment from National as to the exact nature of the contract, and whether it really does allow the government to walk away – the NBR article appears to at least raise a question or two to be answered. Has Key lied again?
i meant that particular report/story – not the issue..
..and of course yr question is rhetorical..
The OAB MO:
When all else fails making things up gets kinda lame.
we know.
please stop.
Hey Pete. Remember when you were on one of your mini-crusades saying Little and Mallard should be driven from politics for saying Collins was in cahoots with Whaleoil and Ede?
Good times eh.
Your words, I think you’re overstating . Little learned from that by the look of things. Look what that has done for him.
And even Mallard might have mellowed enough, or be determined enough to become speaker, to desist from the dirty style of politics he was well known for.
What, like when Mallard said Collins was in Cahoots with WO and Slater, and you were saying that was outrageous dirty politics of the type we shouldn’t tolerate?
Turns out he was right though, eh?
Making allegations, especially protected by parliamentary privilege without providing evidence is a dirty politics method.
This man would win any dancing competition, dancing on the head of a pin here. Still the same old excuse of ‘labour does it too.’
he made the comments on Radio NZ Pete. And parliamentary privilege is there specifically to allow MPs to raise things. Would you do away with that?
But anyway, in the RNZ i/v Mallard said he had a source who had been reliable in the past. this source had told him that Collins wa in cahoots with WO and Ede and up to dirty tricks. Turns out his source was right eh Pete? And you went on and on and on and on about all sorts of shit, saying Mallard and Little were undermining democracy and stuff.
Turns out you were, probably unwittingly, running interference for WO and Ede’s dirty politics.
Had a look on your blog, can’t find the post where you acknowledge how wrong you were.
This was the result of the defamation action.
Nothing in that about WO and Ede.
Collins wa in cahoots with WO and Ede and up to dirty tricks
We know Ede and Slater liased. We already knew Collins was friends with and communicated with Slater.
Do you have proof Collins “was in cahoots with WO and Ede and up to dirty tricks”?
If so any dirtier than tricks Mallard is well known for?
🙄
I feel sorry for the state of Judith Collins’ mind too.
How did WO find out about deatils of the ACC breach before it became public Pete?
He told people that Collins told him, and that the recipient was Pullar and that she was going to get “ratfucked”.
But hey, yo can pretend Collins is squeaky clean all you like, and that Hager didn’t write a book, and even if he did the pages were all blank, if you want to.
Or you could just say that yeah, Mallard and Little were on to something, and the fact Collins pulled out of the defamation case, in hindsight, probably had a bit to do with the activities described in that book Hager wrote.
“Nothing in that about WO and Ede.”
really? Refer to “the comments made” idiot.
Calm down, getting tetchy doesn’t help.
Claimed or proven? It has been proven that Slater’s word isn’t reliable, especially his bragging.
I don’t believe I’ve ever claimed Collins is ‘squeaky clean’. Is any politician?
Do you think Mallard was squeaky clean?
Shall we search your site for “eddie” and see whether or not you give credence to WOs claims then?
But if WO was lying about Collins telling him, then how did he know about the ACC breach? Do you have an alternative hypothesis Pete?
The fact he knew, and the fact we know Collins fed him other info gives the claim he made credibility.
Do what you like.
I’ll give credence to credible claims from anyone including WO. And I suspect I’ve directly confronted crap from WO directly a bit more than you (when I could) when I saw fit.
You didn’t answer two questions.
Funny though eh Pete?
– How you cried bloody murder when Mallard and Little were saying Collins was in cahoots with whaleoil and it turned out their source was onto it. You were calling those claims baseless scurrilous attacks aimed purely at destroying a government. And that this amounted to undermining democracy.
-And how you choose to give credence and repeat the claims made about ‘eddie’ and others. Your choices, obviously. But it’s you the rides a high horse Pete.
-And yet, from on that high horse you have apparently not bothered to take anything back or admit that maybe Mallard and Little were in fact ‘holding the govt to account’.
Which all goes to show he merits everything I’ve ever said about him. Every last word.
Bland, unoriginal, dishonest, hypocrisy. Yawns.
You didn’t answer two questions. Again.
Any thoughts on why Little seemed to stop “holding the government to account” while Mallard continued to harass trying to, as he has claimed, force a mistake in dealing with it?
…seemed… to whom? Are you citing yourself again, Wormtongue?
“Any thoughts on why Little seemed to stop “holding the government to account” while Mallard continued to harass trying to, as he has claimed, force a mistake in dealing with it?”
I don’t think Little backed away at all, as can be seen from the fact that he stayed party to the defamation case that Collins backed away from.
And what ‘harrassing’? You mean repeating his claims in spite of being threatened with a defamation suit which was eventually abandoned?
Now how about you discuss whether or not you were wrong about what was going on?
No no no Pascal’s Bookie, I won’t stand for that: he was parroting someone else’s words, and they are wrong.
Making allegations which turn out to be completely accurate when protected by parliamentary privilege which was created to allow politicians to challenge the powerful without fear of recrimination is inconvenient for defenders of the powerful and lovers of the status quo like Pete George.
Fixed it for you.
Parliamentary privilege is designed to allow the uncovery of malfeasance and corruption. I would argue that Blubber Boy’s contacts with Ede and Collins fitted the definitions. There was nothing dirty about bringing it up at all.
Yawn. Yawnz. Very appropriate.
Key and Jocye need to fess up they have been out gambled by SkyCity who don’t need the convention centre with business booming from the oversea’s tourist market. They got a great prize in the Television NZ property adjacent to their casino. Which correct me if I’m wrong, was originally proposed as part of the convention centre. Now (as Sky likely intended all along) they are constructing a major hotel which will house their punters, and soak up new casino/restaurant traffic by default of the proximity of a hotel opposite their gambling house.
How do you spell “corrupt as fuck”? Never mind, I think I got it right. This is the sort of stuff that the American Viceroy in Iraq got away with when he signed stuff over to Halliburton. We didn’t even need to be invaded first 🙁
‘How do you spell “corrupt as fuck”? ‘
National?
@Pete George:
Hi Pete, yesterday you said, “I hope I can prefer a Labour led government again but they have got to sort a lot of stuff out before I think they will be up to it”
And I replied:
What do you mean by ‘they have to sort a lot of stuff?’ What stuff? Explain
You did not respond. So, in case, you did not see that, I am asking that question here again.
Sorry, I missed that.
The obvious thing they have to sort out is their polling, by 10-15%.
Andrew Little has to build on a promising start and prove he’s up to the task without making too many mistakes. And then keep building his credibility and policy knowledge.
Grant Robertson has to prove he’s up to the finance portfolio.
The Labour caucus have to prove they they can work together and not tear each other apart.
The Labour Party has to work out what key policies will win them more support than it loses.
And part supporters would help by showing they are prepared to reach out to a wider constituency and not just diss off anyone they deem to be an enemy.
Once they sort that out they may start to look like they are up to leading the next government.
Which Labour Party supporters have been rude to you, Wormtongue?
heh..!
Ok, good points.
The strange thing is that Key, despite himself often behaving in an unbecoming manner in his stupid statements, in the dodgy company he keeps with questionable low characters, and in his destructive policies AND protecting his disgraceful ministers like Judith Collins, Nick Smith, Bill English, Gerry Brownlee and Maurice Williamson in spite of their utterly shocking shameful behaviour, still gets poll support from the general public!
You’re either overstating the negatives against Key or Labour are doing worse, unless you can think of some other reason why they are polling 26% to National’s 52 (last Roy Morgan poll)
Are you blind to the dirty politics, spin, bullshit, lies, razzmatazz and propaganda indulged in by Key, the National party, Cosby Textor, the corporates, the RW blogs and MSM outfits that have manage to constantly publicise a false dishonest ‘positive’ narrative of the government, drowning or ignoring the negatives and fooling the perception of a vast number of the general public who do not pay particular in depth attention to politics?
In comparison to Nartional, Labour and the left are forthright, have enlightened values, modern, principled, honest and caring for the social and economic well being of all the people and the country for both the short term and the long term.
If you are a person of integrity and honesty, you will realise the truth of what I have just said.
So, quite literally, the first thing which Labour needs to do to win your vote is be more popular.
A truly principled stance.
i feel i must pass on a warning..
..steel yrslves..!
..the fashion-mavens have dictated that soon we will all be wearing flares..
..for some of us..again..
..i wd like to register here as a refusnik on the flare-thing..
..(‘you’ll put flares on my dead/cold legs!’ etc..)
..this takes you to a photo-gallery of flare-fashion-sins past..
..(and my coverage to date – i’ll keep an eye on it..)
..you have been warned..!
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=flares
You may appreciate this exhibition if you’re travelling down this way phillip:
http://dowse.org.nz/exhibitions/detail/age-of-aquarius-a-70s-revolution
looks good..have u been 2 it..?
..a funny meme cd be people posting pics of themselves in fashion-disasters..
..from any era..
..i of course am a history in spectacles-fashion..
..and to some of them..
..all i can say is..
..whoar..!..what was i thinking..?
..and pondering the wisdom of taking bad advice..
I do intend to get out to the Hutt to see it, although am in two minds about being reminded of that era, being a child of the 70’s.
As a 7 year old, I did have flares, brown corduroy ones, teamed with a home made poncho of grey homespun wool. It smelt of sheep. You would not like it. It was not my proudest fashion moment, stepping out in that.
Better was the fluro crimson skinny rib short sleeve acrylic turtle neck, made on a domestic knitting machine, paired with a lime green apple motif maxi skirt. Fine threads, fine threads.
the only shards of fashion-self-respect i can claw back..
..is that i resisted all urgings to don a headband..
..and spent the time pretty much poncho/bead-free..
On the Friday after work me and a mate headed off to the concert but only made it to Hamilton where his car gave up so we hitched to Ngāruawāhia and spent the night in the Toi tois. We hitched to Auckland on the Saturday walking from the Symonds street off ramp to the zoo side of the Springs and climbed the fence to spend another night in the bushes.
I had a ticket so I went through the gate at about midday on the Sunday but my mate did his navy seal thing swimming across the lake dodging security but he did make into the venue.
Forty years later large parts of concert have faded but Gimme Shelter, Satisfaction, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, the crowd, the buddha haze and the fun remain as vivid as ever, although the after concert goings on have always been a blur.
On the Monday I was able to ring my old man, the good old days when collect calls made from a phone box were a big fucking deal, about our predicament so he drove up from Tauranga to rescue us and we styled it all the way back to work at Whakamaru.
Despite turning up ready to work on Tuesday being a day late were were both on the mat before the station superintendent, sent home and had two days pay docked for taking unauthorised leave,
Cool story joe. Like it 😀 Worth it for losing two days pay.
Last time flares came back into fashion was about early 2000’s, a mate and myself got around in some very cool locally designed ones, made us feel like fashion guru’s. Black with a red fade thru them, very comfy with no restriction from the knee down. The chic’s loved them, and the strange thing was we would get our bums pinched out on the town. Must have been the tight cut around the arse, and the long legs, or the mocking disco moves on the dance floor. Anyway it was weird and made me blush a couple of times.
far too much information..
..and disturbing images to boot..
Hey Skinny, comrade, we have views in common but ya know, the way you talk about women kinda makes me feel uncomfortable. It’s been there in your craic for a while.
First off, quite some time back you had a go at Helen Kelly, being quite dismissive of her achievements and suggesting we needed a strong man in charge. Can’t remember if I replied to that.
I replied to your comment over xmas about your reference to your gf being a “bit of an airhead” and how your last gf had brains but wasn’t pretty so you had this trade off thing going on. Didn’t hear back from you.
There was a reference to Sally Ridge being “the town bike” a few weeks ago.
And now we’re chic’s…………
These statements read as put downs specifically aimed at women.
Please just be aware that women read TS as well. Speaking for myself I don’t really want to feel like I’ve just walked into some dodgy blokey chat around the BBQ, the kind where you back off and head the other way, after you’ve received that creepy collective “once over” glance.
+ 100% plus, Rosie.
Rosie, the way you talk about men makes me kinda feel uncomfortable.
dodgy blokey.
creepy collective.
Otherwise, fair enough.
You’d get it If you’d ever been on the receiving end of predatory male behaviour Ross.
People should language in a respectful way. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to deal with your own feelings and experiences just as they have to deal with their own.
Really? Is that because you aren’t aware of the existence of those things? Or because you partake in them? Rosie’s post didn’t make me uncomfortable at all. She has seen something she doesn’t like, and is pointing it out in a fairly gentle way.
Your taking things far too serious sister flares, groovy, the fuzz, hip, and chic’s all part of the 70’s when they were all the fashion. You need to peace out about the women put down thing.
It wouldn’t matter if Kelly was a male, in my view she is a tad too fickle/weak. In saying that looking around the ranks of union leaders (GS) there isn’t a lot I’d rate ‘male or female’ actually. McCarten or Treen would be the best about. Unite would have some real talented females on the rise hopefully. I’m a bit of a hard-liner and a bit over the PC approach of the CTU, probably as a result of an overkill of teachers & PSA.
In regards to the other comments about looks, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but I get your point, yeah the town bike call was not a good one, should have known better- apologies ladies 🙂
I don’t think I’m taking “things far too serious” Skinny. I’ve turned a blind eye to your sexist comments far too many times. Nor am I going to “peace out” about the “women put down thing”.
It sounds like, for you, equality is a topic you can move on from when you get sick of it, being a “bit over the PC approach” an’ all. It’s not an optional nicety for women, we’re still living in an unequal world. Put downs are all part of that big wide world of inequality for us, it’s not something we can walk away from when it all gets a bit too boring – we have to live with it.
Stop and ask yourself, before you write, “Is this a respectful thing to say about women?” That’s all.
Fair enough I will think about my language since its an issue to you and others. Btw I sit in seperate chairperson & vice chairperson positions, the later I deliberately didn’t contest the chair role in recognition of the gender inequality. Unfortunately she is not much chop and as I understand will be moving on. However there is a well qualified female replacement, if the other females don’t conspire against her? It’s not the boys that she needs to worry about, which has a name but best not to say 🙂
Good on you for taking those thoughts on board Skinny.
In the mean time, keep up the good work. We WILL win 🙂
What’s wrong with chics Rosie. It tends to have an affectionate tone about it. Similar in use as guys and gals. It is possible to be pedantic over PC talk control.
Don’t really see women as small fluffy flightless birds, vulnerable to attack Warbs. It refers to a woman as something she is not. It may be an affectionate term, I’ve just never heard it spoken of in that way – only in a derogatory sense.
As for chicks/chics, that comment was just one of many. I probably wouldn’t have bothered responding if it had been a one off, but it wasn’t. I don’t know if Skinny knows how he comes across to women, so I raised it. The term chics is a side story to the compound effect of casual sexist language, that I hear Skinny use.
Shame, as on the whole I like where he is coming from.
Sometimes you simply have to accept people for who they are and how they look at the world. You’re not going to change for them why would you expect them to change for you.
I didn’t see any expectation. Rosie saw something she didn’t like, and raised the issue. Whether anyone changes or not is up to them. Unless we are gently challenged at times, none of us will ever change. After all, don’t we want quite a few people to change the way they vote? Does your logic apply to that as well, CR?
Thanks Murray, for both points.
As long as you feel people are entitled to both vote and speak as they wish, I have no issue with your points.
Ok CV, so I’ll just continue tolerating casually sexist language then, why not? I have been up until now.
I’m not asking anyone to change, just consider their language.
“I’m not asking anyone to change, just consider their language.”
That is very fair imo – thanks for putting it so well Rosie.
Ask people to mind language that you do not approve of, by all means. Yes you may feel that it is a tiring exercise in tolerance but no one is trying to burden or impinge upon you.
That’s pretty funny CV. The amount of times over the years I’ve never stepped in upon conversations because I felt folks were feeling an outrage or offence that I could clearly empathise with, but were wasting their time with, when I felt we had far bigger problems to deal with, is ….a lot.
The amount of times for instance when folks complain about RWNJ’s incessantly, I get that, I was raised amongst them lol, I know how they think and behave but can’t really be arsed criticising them because I know they can only learn through life experience and facing their own true humility, or unless they go to special classes in learning empathy. (Such classes do exist)
I’ve tolerated biggots, misogynists and the general fuckwit population of NZ all my life so the one time I do say something fairly small in comparison to a life time’s worth of crap, I don’t believe that effort deserves a finger wagging session in “just put up with it woman”.
There’s many fine men contributing to TS, but despite their sincerity towards and solidarity with women, I get the feeling women will always be outnumbered, and if we can’t be supported when we raise an issue about sexism on the site, then why would we feel encouraged to continue to talk?
You’ve had to tolerate and put up with a lot. Sometimes I forget how wearying biting ones tongue can be in regards to being around legions of arseholes, fuckwits and bigots.
meanwhile..in europe..revolution is brewing..
http://whoar.co.nz/2015/commentwhoar-so-what-is-going-on-in-europe-and-a-heads-up-for-the-new-zealand-labour-party-the-times-they-seem-to-be-a-changing-and-labour-need-to-change-too/
(excerpt:..)
..so..all over europe..a revolution thru the ballot-box is taking place..
..old pairings of tweedle-dee/tweedle-dum parties..(like labour/national in nz..)..
..to whom power and the sharing/swapping of that power between the two..
..has over-ridden any interests/wishes of the voters..
..are being thrown into the rubbish-bin..the people have had enough..
..so labour here had better get their shit together..eh..?
(cont..)
Even while based in Australia, I was a regular listener to Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint – now it seems that it’s been quietly dropped from the new Sunday morning schedule, as some had predicted.
Brittenden’s unflinching challenge to the uncritical default view churned out by nearly all other journalists must have always been on borrowed time. It’s a tragedy and an indictment that, given the amount of fluff churned out by 24/7 broadcasting, there’s no place for his few weekly minutes of erudite takes on national and , crucially, international issues. He could , of course, just be on leave.
RNZ archive well worth a listen.
Scoop NZ has started a “discussion” about the state of corporate media, whether blogs are a rational alternative, and so on. Aare there any other alternatives?
For anyone who missed it a few weeks ago this is a really interesting read:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1501/S00058/reinventing-news-as-a-public-right-a-public-conversation.htm
“are there any other alternatives?”
Do folks tune into their local independent radio stations? The scoop report on Radio Active on Thursday mornings, with Alistair Thompson is always worth a listen. It’s available on line for people outside of Wellington.
A small and unpolished contribution to coverage of local and international political events but worth it none the less. You get content that you won’t get in the MSM.
It helps that they DJ’s are coming from a left wing perspective, even if they do get drowned out by the right wing braying from APN, Mediaworks and Fearfacts. It’s important to have a counter to all that noise, even if it’s a small voice in our media scene.
Imagine if all of your life was like one of your bad days…
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/24/if-you-dont-understand-poverty-youre-a-sociopath
This is a worthwhile read, Stever. Thanks. It reminds me of the time I was on the DPB with two young children, and although it was hard going I always knew I had the skills to get off it once I’d got my head, health and emotions around the fact of being a solo parent. I always had that “hope”. But I always wonder if I hadn’t had good work skills, and a reasonable education, would I have managed it ?
That’s very good. And applicable to other things too as well as domestic violence and poverty. Imagination and empathy. What’s so hard about that, and what stops people from doing it?
Sometimes I think there has been some sort of “de-sensitivation” along the line when people are growing up, Weka – and it mutes imagination and empathy. I don’t know how it happens but we do live in a violent society IMO – both verbal and physical – and maybe that helps people switch off from their inner feelings and stops them being empathetic to others in worse situations than them.
two things contributing, amongst others
1. americanisation of out tv programmes focused on self, image, beauty and money
2. tv advertising encouraging a see want have now mindset
neither are conducive to empathy and selflessness.
thanks for the link stever.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/opinion/65176962/farmers-not-exempt-from-countrys-laws
I support Rachel Stewart 100% for this opinion piece.. More courageous journo’s such as Rachel need to challenge the status quo…she is 100% on the mark.
For this piece she has received some nasty mail, also apparently some senior federated farmers have been “favouring” nasty tweets.
Kia Kaha Rachel Stewart….from a dairy cocky that supports you 100%
The Insight program on Radionz this morning was very informative, and troubling about the Muslim situation with the ISIS state. Apparently when the USA invaded Iraq in 2003 that action was seen as completing a prophecy and so unleashed a strongly religious response which has been far more powerful than simply a political one. And not likely to go away by simply using force against it. As the ISIS training emphasises, God with Noah wa prepared to wipe out all the population except the righteous and chosen, and they are following God’s will and his lead.
The program is called Butchery and Bureaucracy and talks about how the ISIS fight is funded, how their governing system works, their welfare for the families of dead fighters, and their acceptance of the rightness of using harsh methods such as lashing, beheading. This does not just happen to westerners. And the Sunnis are prepared to act strongly against other sects.
The audio may be made available for a while. We may have to go to the BBC to hear it again. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gd2wj
This is the summary of it.
8:12 Insight Islamic State – Bureaucracy and Brutality
Former jihadist Aimen Dean gives a unique understanding of the workings of Islamic State in this week’s Insight documentary. With the rise of al-Qaeda, he became disillusioned with his comrades’ drift towards terrorism. He joined the group – but worked undercover for the British government. Peter Marshall of the BBC’s World Service has spoken to Aimen Dean about Islamic State’s ideology and the organisational networks behind it.
Worth reflecting how the Saudis have helped create and fund ISIS – and how identical they are when it comes to enforcing “justice.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-23/spot-difference-isis-or-saudi-arabia
Throw in a monarch rumoured to be suffering from dementia and what could possibly go wrong.
Salman is widely believed to be unwell, with speculation he is suffering from dementia or Parkinson’s disease, though Saudis deny that. He is 79, so there is bound to be uncertainty about his rule
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/22/saudi-arabia-king-abdullah-dies
Well, in other news, Cameron Slater will be boxing Jesse Ryder at the fight for life. I’m not a huge fan of boxing, but I may even pay the fee to watch it live!
Yes, and what a a disturbing start to a beautiful Sunday morning:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/65394114/celebrity-boxing-pits-cameron-whaleoil-slater-against-jesse-ryder
So now Slater is a celebrity??? I thought he was just was one very sick puppy.
This is a media culture which celebrates sick puppies – at least the ones which are on the ‘right side’
Slater might be at a disadvantage – having to fight clean.
His blogging has become largely impotent but this is a pathetic bit of attention seeking.
Presumably all proceeds go to charity.
The ultimate slapdown:
slaters definition of courage is caveman like. Hager has been displaying other forms of courage for decades. slater speaks like a bully. interesting examples he sets for his children.
He is such a fake tough guy. Just a weak, entitled, pampered softie, I think Jesse Ryder will get better competition from a box of kleenex.
my understanding is all money does not go to charity. a million dollars goes towards “organising the event”.
i wont pay a penny. so much goes into appearance fees and management fees rather than charity.
the foul king of self promotion is getting desperate trying to drag everyone down to his level.
Good; they can serve Slater with that Bankruptcy Notice. The question is whether to serve him before or after the match when he’s not wearing gloves.
They could have found better opposition among all the people he’s slagged off. How about a wharfie, a Maori activist, a coaster, a unionist, a lefty, or even a feminist? Maybe a Muslim? How about Antony Mundine or SBW? If I’d recovered from surgery, I’d love to get in the ring with him. Maybe in a year or two. I’d love him to be pummelled by an ageing Marxist, but then I can be a bit neanderthal in my thinking too 🙂
If only it were MMA.
Mixed Marxist Arts? I have a mate in his 60s who still does MMA and could toy with Slater. He’s not really a lefty though 🙁
Use the ice-pick young Trotsky.
The ice pick is the enemy’s weapon.
No one’s going to pay to see Cam Slater lie on the ground cuddling his opponent for three rounds.
It would take about twelve seconds.
I despise the entire concept of the “Fight for Life” (originally conceived as a bloody anti-suicide charity event, because what the depressed and disenfranchised youth of NZ needs is more thuggish masculinity rammed down their throats).
The only positive in Cameron Slater taking part is that more people might see what a circus it is.
The very fact he was invited to take part is an indicator “Fight for Life” is morally bankrupt and lacking in principled standards. Out of curiosity, has anyone even remotely associated with the left side of politics ever been invited to take part? I’ve long had the impression its just a Tory bun-fight designed to make them look good in the eyes of a gullible public.
Ken Mair fought Michael Laws.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/michael-laws-takes-fight-over-h-in-wanganui-boxing-ring-4283732
He’s not fighting in the fight for life its the Sky Arena’s Super 8
People should start asking the question.
How much appearence fee will he be getting? ……….
it’s all about the money , he’s getting PAID
Thanks for that h123. It makes more sense now. Didn’t think Blubber Boy was into compassion for anyone other than himself. Never been sure about F for L incorporated.
He’s a bankrupt by the looks of it so he needs the money I guess. Why doesn’t he get a job like the rest of us have to do?
“He’s a bankrupt by the looks of it so he needs the money I guess. Why doesn’t he get a job like the rest of us have to do?”
Or he can beg for some money from Key, Collins, Ede, Israel and his crooked corporate mates !
Why would he beg? The arrangement relies on mutual benefit.
The super rich right wing sweet talking benefactors like their shitty sycophants to be shameless beggars. That is their method 101!
+1
‘
Auckland Anniversary Monday protest 3pm against reopening of coal mine at Mangatawhiri
http://aucklandcoalaction.org/
hello all,
due to a change of circumstances i have re-entered the work force and have come to the end of the first three months and am about to negotiate my wages.
i wish to get advice and considerations from y’all.
the situation: chef in a busy rural cafe. very young staff and i am very experienced. (former restaurant owner, 25 years on and off in the industry). the business owner is the young daughter of a very good friend.
i am currently just below a living wage.
what say ye?
thanx.
Hi g. Well done!
If I were you I’d be asking myself firstly, how strong is my negotiating position, and already it sounds like your considerable experience is a strong bargaining chip. If the cafe is busy I’m guessing they are doing ok, keeping up with overheads, turning a modest to reasonable profit, that’s good for you, a busy business is in your favour too.
What are other chefs with your experience on? Is that something you can negotiate around, ie: moving upwards with your hourly rate?
Be confident of your worth 🙂
Hi gsays
There is the approach you could use of ‘what I can do for you’ to think about. Starting on a good wage that the business can afford at present, and getting a share of the net rise from future turnover would be a practical way of ensuring that you receive reward for your work as it shows up in successful customer growth which brings in more profit.
Of course more customer throughput must be managed wisely to be profitable, and if that is done you would benefit through the automatic share you received from linked salary increases. What percentage of the net profit increase, I don’t know but it should be substantial. That’s one way of presenting it to ensure you are rewarded for hard work and success.
You are a serious professional who is an asset to the business yet a team player who appreciates the opportunity you have in front of you.
Demonstrate how much money you have saved the business in terms of waste reduction and what the potential is for doing more on that front. Get her buy in on an exciting idea like evolving the menu in ways to bring in more business. In particular discuss how you want to help the business owner realise her vision for the business and really make things happen the way she wants to see them. (Use languaging suitable to her outlook, but that’s the idea).
Understand what bugs her about the business and offer to play a role in sorting that.
Note that less experienced business owners can significantly underestimate all the background work and value add that a capable expert brings into a business operation. You have to help her appreciate that in subtle ways while making it clear that you are there to make her business successful – and less stressful for her.
Are there any additional responsibilities that she would like you to take on that would make her job easier?
Ask for a solid pay increase say around $2/hr which is over 10%. Say you are thinking longer term and if all these initiatives go well you will go back to her in 12 months and ask for another similar increase.
Just some ideas, craft to suit.
Good luck.
do you spend time outside paid work preparing ideas for new menus? are you supervising other staff. are you de facto training the younger ones cos they ask you questions etc. all of these things increase your value. do you work quickly and efficiently cos of your experience. ie you are the equivalent of 1.5 younger inexperienced staff.
my understanding is chefs are badly paid everywhere. make your case with ideas above and start at 25 bucks an hour… looking to 20 bucks bottom line.
or if she is able to tell/show you books seek a share of cost savings on a quarterly basis.
hi there ,rosie, greyrawshark, colonial rawshark and tracey,
thanx heaps for your input. it is very much appreciated.
i understand the comment rosie made about not undervaluing my worth. i see others doing it a lot and yet it can be hard to stake your own claim.
what ever the outcome it must be win/win.
thanx once again.
All the best g. Agree that aiming for a win/win outcome is the best, benefiting all and including all. Doesn’t leave room for opportunities for any party to feel agrieved
cheers heaps rosie.
i have been a fairly long time recipiant of share internationals’ newsletter.
this amongst other things leads me to know that sharing and win win is the only forward.
Half a century since the passing of Winston Churchill… Tempus really does fugit.
Slater has posted about the imprisonment of Barrett Brown being a warning to Hager. Really?.
But the case of the Dallas native and former face of the global “hacktivist” group Anonymous first garnered international attention when he was initially accused with identity theft and trafficking in stolen data for republishing a hyperlink leading to a trove of internal emails and customer information taken in the Stratfor hacking
[…]
He never broke into computer servers himself. Rather, he copied a publicly available link from a chat channel used by Anonymous and pasted it into a chatroom for his own “distributed think tank,” Project PM, a network of activists, bloggers and other volunteers he recruited to investigate the private intelligence sector.
http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/author-barrett-brown-gets-five-years-prison-in-str/njtQz/
Brown and his organization had intended to sift through the data as they looked into the relationships between the government and private security contractors, but the stolen records also contained more than 5,000 credit card numbers of Stratfor clients, leading to the heavy claims against Brown.
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/crime-law/author-barrett-brown-to-take-plea-in-hacking-of-au/nfkDj/#d1b82153.3708363.735620
Stratfor is a very nasty outfit which provides military industrial complex links and intelligence to the general corporate community.
Funny they couldn’t even secure their own client’s credit card details.
Barrett is another example about how the US Govt wants to know everything about what you are doing, but they want you to know absolutely nothing about what they are doing.
This is not democracy, it is the slide into totalitarianism.
Slater would fit right in as an authoritarian follower/bully boy.
+1
The two main differences between Brown and Hager are that Brown is a security services hacker and lives in a country that is making a point of coming down hard on such in the most extreme ways legally, and Hager is a journalist, not a hacker and not a security services hacker, who lives in a country that doesn’t have the same need to punish to the same degree.
Hang on, did Slater just compare the Whale Oil to the US govt? 🙄
Both Brown and Hager are threats to the authoritarian state, but other than that, it’s apples and oranges.
Brown was imprisoned for doing something Slater himself admits to doing – accessing and copying information containing credit card details through a publicly available link.
I noticed that irony 😀
You know that image of the two Japanese hostages in the desert?
This might explain what has been bugging you about it
http://i.imgur.com/ovrgPNf.png
What does this show, sorry I missed the context…
angles of sunlight
holy crap///
or not
metabunk? really McFlock? they make Sorcha Faal look legit 🙂
The wide angle lens theory is fun but meaningless as the image is from a video, and there is no reason to record such a confined presentation in wide angle. As for being a composite image shot at different times, well that is the point people are making – the image is not legit.-
The image is singularly reported as being taken from a video, so not photo-shopped as much as green-screened (+yes, defence-orientated location editing is a known tactic but only reinforces the final point)
Since ISIS/ISIL first began releasing these hostage videos, the message has been to defend the authenticity of the images. IF the hostage takers were the ones faking the video, why has not the US Government , [or any apostle of the ‘War on Terror’ ] raised that issue with the news services their spokespersons have been repeatedly appearing on?
Yeah, was a quick google search. The content of that post seems reasonable, though, replicating the rsults in-camera rather than jumping to gs.
That assumes the director is Spielberg, not “dude with camera in war zone”.
IF the hostage takers were the ones faking the video, why has not the US Government , [or any apostle of the ‘War on Terror’ ] raised that issue with the news services their spokespersons have been repeatedly appearing on?
Because:
a) it might not be “faked”; and
b) it doesn’t suggest that ISIL do not have these dudes in their
custody even if it is faked;
a) it might not be “faked”;
Hey, you’re trampling all over his givens…
So given this:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11391674
What is the theory?
Are the PowersThatBE or whatever tryin to blackmail the Japanese govt into giving $200M to ISIS?
Why would they do that?
What’s the point of this theory?
It did take a long time for artists to discover perspective. I can understand the confusion.
Still not quite understanding. So an obviously photo-shopped photo was badly photo-shopped and circulated by the hostage takers. I mean, I’m guessing it’s more or less standard to crop images from any background that could betray identifying features related to location these days…cut and paste onto generic desert background.
edit – okay…comment to be ignored, passed over or subjected to whatever other ‘whoosh!’ techniques one prefers.
On the email this morning. And so it begins……. sanctions + low crude prices = this:
RED ALERT: Rocket Fire Could Signal New Offensive on Mariupol
Stratfor has declared a Red Alert over Ukraine as we watch for signs of a new offensive. We do not yet know Russia’s strategic intentions. Reports of rocket fire and potential moves on the city of Mariupol could simply be an attempt to signal the danger Russia could pose to their negotiating partners in the West. It could be an attempt to extend the pocket separatists supported by Russia currently hold in eastern Ukraine. It could, finally, be the opening of an offensive toward Crimea.
Reports of heavy rocket artillery firing on the eastern parts of the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, as well as a statement made by a separatist leader, indicate the potential preparation of an offensive on the city. While this would be a significant escalation and an indicator of Russian intent to push further into Ukraine, potentially forming a much-rumored land connection to the northern border of Crimea, there are also several indicators required for such an offensive that are currently still missing.
Read more »
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/red-alert-rocket-fire-could-signal-new-offensive-mariupol#axzz3PlHNaknW
Rumours?
Every man and his dog has got WWII era Grad rocket launchers. (Although the separatist forces insist they are still over 40km away and that it must be Ukranian Kiev forces.)
If Stratfor is discussing this you can bet they are reinforcing the Washington DC narrative.
oh right. a false flag op by the Americans. Clever.
http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/136061
That’s not what I said. Even though you can be sure that NATO military officers are helping Kiev plan strategy and tactics as we speak.
But what is clear is that the shelling of civilians in Mariupol does nothing militarily for the separatists while harming their political agenda. At the same time it reinforces Kiev’s narrative that the separatists are nothing more than violent Russian backed terrorists.
I vote for both descriptions, but mostly the second. Lets not forget that Russia is entirely controlling the actions of the “separatists” for reasons that suit Russia.
[citation needed]
Read these two books and you’ll get a pretty clear picture of how and why russia works:
“Putins Kleprocracy” Karen Dawisha
“Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia” Peter Pomerantsev
All the citations I need.
I would agree that Russia is providing arms and logistics to the separatists/rebels as well as allowing its own regular troops to go on indefinite leave to fight in Eastern Ukraine.
But beyond the general idea of keeping Ukranian forces at bay and giving Kiev heartburn, I think Moscow has limited interest or ability in “controlling the actions” of rag tag irregular militia groupings.
Frankly, the Russians have bigger worries addressing NATO.
Oh CB !
“I Would agree that Russia is providing arms and logistics to the separatists/rebels” – (DPR)
Lavrov has been pleading for evidence of this in multitude of forUNs.
Why do you assert such ?
Pretty sure it is the case. Of course I don’t have “evidence” on me. But the area of DPR and LPR are blockaded on the western side by Kiev forces, which means that the separatists can only get resupply from the eastern side.
What did Serbia do to Kosovas that Ukraine hasn’t done to DPR – or that Georgia hasn’t done to Абхазия ??
Well, Ukraine has mistreated the civilian areas of the Donbass very badly – but they are under IMF orders to take that area back under control or they will not be getting further IMF money.
Who Really Owns the Four Big [Australian] Banks
Is there really competition in the ‘free-market’ or is it a scam to hide the oligarchy?
Banking is one of the least competitive sectors we have here. Although we have so many to choose from.
I havent checked the numbers, but my guesstimate would be that banks control about 90% of kiwisaver and 75 % of other retail savings.
and one of our insurers is about 75% of our market.
not really one of ours – an Australian company IAG. I don’t know why NZI has not been ridiculed when running their stupid kiwiana ads. A bit over the top for a company 100% owned by an Australian parent.
Great article!
Reminiscent of Bruce Jesson’s wiring diagrams about the NZ economy back in the day.
Nice smug feeling now I’m in Kiwiaver with everything offset, but hell that diagram makes me want to get rid of that mortgage as fast as I possibly can.
Just chilling in terms of our real estate market’s exposure to international correction.
These links also provide you with comprehensive breakdowns of shareholdings in our banks, in terms of who actually owns and controls them:
http://www.wakeupkiwi.com/downloadpapers/wakeupkiwi_newzealandandworldbankingpaper.pdf
http://www.gwb.com.au/gwb/news/banking/wpac97.html
(a heads-up for the greens..)
“..’We would evict Queen from Buckingham Palace and allocate her council house’- say Greens..
..The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would also be subject to eviction..”
(cont..)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/we-would-evict-queen-from-buckingham-palace-and-allocate-her-council-house-say-greens-10000370.html
(now there’s green party with some large testicles/ovaries..!..eh..?
..they are clearly going to become englands’ radical-left party..
..will our green party seize the moment and be that here..?
..or will they continue to be an incrementalist party..?
..and if they don’t do it..?..and if labour don’t do it..?
..who will..?
..will a new party have to arise.?
..one free of that historical-accomodation/incrementalist-history of our greens..?
..’cos there will be a vacuum..
..and politics hates a vacuum..
..and currently we have labour/national squabbling over their place on the neo-lib spectrum..
..with the greens (with their reassuring hushes to the current paradigm)..saying to the left:..’we aren’t quite as bad as them’..
..and in the long term..that won’t do/isn’t enough..
Too bad it will never happen. The British love the royal family, unfortunately.
From what I understand, I think the only royal property that is actually owned by the royal family, is Balmoral Castle, as well as Sandringham House. Buckingham Palace, as well as Windsor Council, is owned by the UK government, through Crown Estate.
Also, Buckingham Palace has only been used by the monarch since the 1830’s. It was previously the site of a private residence for, funnily enough, the duke of Buckingham,
i see that pillar/enabler of the vivisectors/vivisection-industry..bob kerridge..
..has taken his racism out for a walk..
..blaming ‘ethnics’ for dog-attacks..
..whereas a fact-check from the head of animal-services in ak..
(..those who actually attend those dog-attacks..)
..say that this is not the case..
..there is no ethnic-predominance in the ownership of those dogs involved in dog-attacks in ak..
..just racism from kerridge….pure and simple…
Oh dear lord, I got the replies tab bug with Pete Beigeing George. Very cruel Lynn, very cruel.
It did resolve itself on a refresh. If only the rest of the site were that easy.
You have my sympathies
Torture in modern day New Zealand.
A lovely photo of Andrew Little and Annette King and thier retinue of MPs at Ratana yesterday
I noted on TV1 last night Heather du-Plessis-Allan gave a disingenuous report of the event and was openly sarcastic and snide about Andrew Little in particular. She described him as “unhappy” about having to walk on to the Ratana grounds with political opponents and then evidenced it with a clip which was a clear misrepresentation of what he said when being interviewed. I don’t resile from my language when I call her:
A nasty, vindictive Nat bitch!
At least TV3’s Tova O’Brien was non partisan in her criticisms of the pollies at Ratana.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/gareth-morgan-john-key-under-fire-ratana-video-6223118
Live blogging the Greek election.
https://storify.com/votesyriza2015/votesyriza2015-greek-election-liveblog
Lots of optimism too.
https://greekleftreview.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/jerome-roos-what-happens-in-greece-can-transform-europe/
http://www.versobooks.com/blogs/1825-a-brief-note-from-afar-on-the-greek-election-campaign-from-stathis-kouvelakis-toward-and-for-a-syriza-landslide
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/23/greece-solidarity-movement-cooperatives-syriza
Two nominations for labour President both male. Now the fun starts.
Is Mr George trying to become a Labour Party supporter? I am very curious.
Senior Labor figure leaves Australia to fight against Islamic State
The head of the Northern Territory branch of the Labor party has reportedly flown overseas to fight in Syria against terror group Islamic State.
Matthew Gardiner, who also served as a secretary in the United Voice union and a treasurer in peak body Unions NT, left the country several weeks ago to fight with Kurdish militants, the ABC reports.
It’s believed Mr Gardiner, 43, who served with the Australian Army in Somalia in the 1990s, was able to leave Australia because he was not on any watch list.
It is illegal to fight in Syria on any side of the conflict against Islamic State.
It’s believed 90 Australians are fighting in the conflict.
A spokesperson for Attorney-General George Brandis told the ABC foreign fighters face severe penalties regardless of which side they are fighting with.
“If you fight illegally in overseas conflicts, you face up to life in prison upon your return to Australia,” the spokesperson said.
“We know there are some Australians who think they’ve made the right choice in becoming involved in overseas conflicts, but that choice only adds to the suffering in Syria and Iraq and it’s putting those Australians and others in mortal danger.”
It appears Mr Gardiner made recent connections on social media with people sympathetic to Kurdish militias, who are fighting Islamic State.
Although Mr Gardiner resigned from his position at United Voice, he remains the NT branch president of the Labor Party. He has not been seen for weeks and his mobile phone is switched off.
Ad Feedback
The matter is being investigated by The Australian Federal Police.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/65404993/senior-labor-figure-leaves-australia-to-fight-against-islamic-state-report
Hey Mark Mitchell – IS your mobile phone switched off ?
He needs to learn. If he wants to kill people, he should have stayed in the Strayan army. The Kurdish Workers’ Party, PKK, is defined by our regime as a terrorist organisation. I think this is mainly on the grounds that they resist Turkish attacks.