From a purely personal pov of course he should take it if offered, if nothing else if he does a good job then it strengthens his case if he takes another run for the presidency and if he doesn’t he can probably blame Trump for it and half the people would probably believe him
But both those points are just about Romney advancing his future. Neither addresses his likely need to maintain his self-respect while he tries to do the job.
Neo-liberalism creates a precarious society.
If anything goes wrong , the safety net does not exist.
Closed businesses and evacuated buildings have left possibly thousands of workers in the lurch, following the Kaikoura earthquakes.
Part-time workers, casuals and temps in Wellington have been left unable to get to their jobs, and without a safety net.
Unite Union National Secretary Gerard Hehir estimated there would be tens of thousands of casual workers in Wellington alone who are now out of work.
“Look it’s huge. A huge number of people just don’t have any job security from one week to another.
“And when something like this happens, an earthquake or a major event, that doubly affects them because often their hours go to zero. They’re left with no income at all.”
Hehir said the issue would affect workers in hotels, hospitality, and even retail stores.
“In the central city particularly, there’s a lot of people working in hospitality.
Wellington Citizens Advice Bureau manager Mary O’Regan said the centre was already dealing with many people from fast food, cafes, and even Government departments.
“Most Government departments have quite a few people who are employed by temp agencies. And some of them are employed for quite a long time in their roles, and probably should be permanent employees.”
She said there’s little that can be done for those people on flexible work contracts.
“Our advice to them is to document the impact on them. It’s really up to them to negotiate with either the agency or the place where they’re employed. But there’s no guarantee that’s going to work.
“Given the situation in Wellington, in future make sure you have a contract that covers these events. But that’s for the future.”
A cadre of traitors who sold this country to corporate interests ( mainly foreign) in the neo-liberal coup d’etat from 1984 to 1993.
David Lange, Roger Douglas, Mike Moore, Geoffrey Palmer, Richard Prebble, David Caygill, Ruth Richardson, Bill Birch, Jenny Shipley and the rest of the quislings turned New Zealand from a country with governments which cared for its people to one that is reflected
The 4th Labour government’s acts of treason
Floating the New Zealand dollar.
Removing farming subsidies.
Introducing GST (Goods and Services Tax).
New banks were allowed.
Reducing income and company tax.
Removing controls on foreign exchange.
Abolishing or reducing import tariffs.
Corporatising many State owned enterprises such as the Post Office, Telecom and Air New Zealand to be more like private businesses. Some of these were later privatised.
Enabling the Reserve Bank to autonomously pursue an inflation target.
The 4th National government’s acts of treason
The corporatisation of the health system and hospital closures
Sale of state-owned enterprises
The Employment Contracts Act
They were elected officials who let in the neoliberal Trojan Horse. They were elected officials who fucked over the very constituents who voted them in. They were elected officials who hollowed out the Labour Party into a rigid brittle shell of its old self.
Yep, and certainly the voters of 1984 (voters of all stripes) weren’t expecting the extreme Neo-Liberal revolution that ensued.
The most relevant poll of voters carried out in 84 found that, on the question of attitudes to the Muldoon Government’s Economic Interventionism, “responses were notable in that despite the unpopularity of the Muldoon style of intervention (except among 1984 National voters), the principle of intervention was generally endorsed and the size of the “misdirected” category – particularly with respect to Labour and Social Credit voters – was unexpectedly high.”
The Question was: “In your opinion, has government intervention in the New Zealand economy under National in the 1980s been ‘about right’, ‘excessive’, ‘misdirected’ or ‘too little’ ?”:
1984………..All Voters……Lab Voters
Excessive………….33……………39
About Right………31……………4
Too Little……………1…………….1
Misdirected……….35…………..57
Hence, only a third of all voters in 1984 and less than 40% of Labour voters thought Muldoon’s interventionist policies ‘excessive’. Significant interventionism of one sort or another was endorsed by two-thirds of all voters and more than 60% of Labour voters at the time of the 1984 Election.
Plenty of Labour establishment types still secretly wonder where their hundreds of thousands of dedicated party members and union affiliate members have gone.
But of course it can’t have anything to do with the 1980s.
Ill make a deal with you – if you can give any reasonable reason that the above should cause National or labour members to be charged and found guilty of treason – Ill answer your question.
How else do you define an act of war against your own nation and people?
Whereby the people who elected you to defend the nation, are then betrayed and lose their jobs, their democracy, their rights, their public assets, their natural resources, and their territorial sovereignty?
We are now a colony in thrall to the whims of transnational corporations.
A cadre of traitors who sold this country to corporate interests ( mainly foreign) in the neo-liberal coup d’etat from 1984 to 1993and ongoing.
FTFY
Floating the New Zealand dollar.
Actually, that’s a brilliant move. They just did it the wrong way by having ‘The Market’ set the value of the dollar rather than setting it via the actual terms of trade. If we import more than we export from a country then our currency should go down against that currency.
‘The Market’ just sets it via interest rates which means that as our trade imbalance increases more money comes into the country for the higher returns increasing the imbalance. And it’s a cumulative imbalance.
As of now, our currency should be far below that of China meaning that we wouldn’t be importing from China at all now as nobody could afford to.
I disagree and don’t see why we can’t have a referendum on it. At the end of the day people both rich and poor now have a precariat life (apparently 3/4 of American’s have less than $1000 in the bank and I’m sure Kiwis are worse) so losing a job, having an earthquake or climate related effect, being on contract or zero hours are all reason why many Kiwis would want a safety net.
NZ is not Switzerland – much worse run as a country, less savings and so forth. With only 25% voting Trump being able to secure his victory, now is the time for the opposition to put forward something new that would get people out voting rather than same old 20th century ideas.
This is a beneficial and uncomplicated payment not a punishment tax like the usual efforts that don’t work for the left.
Yes, but there needs to be a discussion about it first and the public needs to be informed properly and not via slogans and propaganda. Does anyone else think this will not happen?
The beauty of the UBI is that it is a simple idea – it can be a slogan and also discussed in depth. It could be a way for Labour to lead a discussion not framed for once by National.
Hi save, I’m in for a ubi.
$300 a week each funded by a ftt.
Bring in all those (currently) untaxed $.
Mostly from those foreign banks and rich pricks, what’s not to vote for?
If there are concerns that it the ubi isn’t enough for some, then raise the ftt to .1%.
I also like the idea of national not controlling the narrative.
If Labour, Greens, opportunity party, Mana are all discussing a UBI funded by a robin hood tax, the Natz start to look like they are on the outer and the scrooge party just wanting more perks for the banks and multinationals…
Could Donald Trump shit or get off the pot already?
He clearly had and has zero transition plan in place, and obviously no idea who wants to help out, so he’s got nothing coherent in his 100 day plan other than ban TPP that was dead anyway, and is running around the lowest political has-beens trying to get anyone on his team.
He is reeking of having no political plan.That stuff that comes with experience.
Mr President-elect needs to figure this out fast or he will figure out what a backlash looks like.
He is reeking of having no political plan.That stuff that comes with experience.
No, you got that wrong I’m afraid.
With experience you can make it look like you have a plan, that you know what you’re doing, while in fact you still don’t and never will.
With experience you can appear to manage an economy towards a brighter future for all while in fact you’re watching things crumbling to pieces and dust.
With experience you can pretend to be doing and saying (!) the right things and actively pursuing the opposite behind the scenes, willingly and knowingly.
With experience you can fool almost all the people almost all the time – experience has shown us.
He clearly had and has zero transition plan in place, and obviously no idea who wants to help out
Trump’s transition is currently weeks ahead of Barack Obama’s. After a gruelling campaign and election, I think he’s taking his first full day off transition activities today.
The Obama transition didn’t even start naming Cabinet picks until days before Christmas day.
It looks rather rushed and the anointed cabinet lack both cohesiveness as a cabinet and appear to be short of experience in the cabinet roles to my eye. To be precise, the ones who have some experience look like they lack the experience of running large government departments. In particular, someone like Flynn looks like complete dickhead with a proven track record of being sloppy at managing staff.
I think that Trump and his advisers have been picking them for the reporters and an eye on the headlines rather than the actual work.
Obama was putting in place people with investigated backgrounds capable of standing up the close scrutiny and many of the appointments were known before the election to the public. It doesn’t appear that Trump and his team have done the same diligence, so what we are seeing is a hopeless mishmash of the barely competent.
Far be it from me to critique the HuffPost Bubble (and I do personally inhale there), but they need to get the point:
His job is to deliver the policies that people voted for.
To do that he needs the team that will do that.
He’s doing his shoulder taps ‘live before a studio audience’, which makes for great story and crap momentum.
He needs to show he can do the deals, quick.
He’s beginning to less like ‘draining the swamp’ and a whole lot more like just another alligator among a great pack of them.
“His job is to deliver the policies that people voted for.”
But what are those policies? It was hard enough to figure out what they might be even before we started getting told to “take him seriously, but not literally”.
I dunno, he’s been pretty good at conning people so far. Maybe he’ll be able to con people into thinking whatever steaming pile he produces is what they really did vote for.
Trump’s campaign team somehow even managed to con the superior intellects and highly educated group of Clinton Preferrers that Hillary would win.
Basically, if you don’t know what policies Trump campaigned on, you haven’t been paying attention.
Making NATO pay its way, dumping bad trade deals like the TPP, building the wall, ending regime change foreign interventions, massive infrastructure spending, law and order, deporting criminal illegals, charter schools, huge military spending, improving the economic and educational situation in inner cities, anti jihadist co-operation with Russia, a protectionist approach to trade, containing Iran, protecting social security and medicare, putting conservative constitutionalist judges on the Supreme Court, etc.
Also Trump copy pasted wholesale a whole lot of policy material from the Heritage Foundation. A fav establishment of all lefties.
The fact that The Donald is softening his policy stances, backtracking on shit and heading to the middle ground should make you Clinton Preferrers happy.
But apparently it doesn’t.
TL/DR he’s going to be a serious politician. Clinton Preferrers should have taken him as such.
When the systems broken then putting in place people who will maintain the system isn’t what you want to do.
Of course, Trump isn’t there to change the system to make it better for anybody but himself and that probably applies to those he’s appointing which means that the system he puts in place will be even more broken than the one already there.
Why did you mention Jews? Not once during the campaign did Jews come up, I could be wrong, am happy to be corrected. It’s my recollection that Mexicans and Muslims featured heavily in trumps rhetoric.
Besides that I take anything the Jewish lobby says with huge amounts of salt. Mainly because the Jewish state kill woman and children.
Greed, was around during the American Revolution, greed was around during WW2, greed was around in 2008, and greed is a feature in Trumps career. Denying greed exists is like denying gravity exists. All you are really saying is, it’s kinda like blaming air crashes on gravity.
Bannon and Breitbart are notoriously antisemitic – Breitbart is the public mouthpiece of the ‘alt right’ and is a channel for explicit NeoNazism in America and your claim to ignorance of its prominence in the campaign is difficult to credit.
Trump spent plenty of time dog-whistling, especially in his later adds, using common NeoNazi code language. Eric Trump was much more explicit in appealing to the ‘alt right’.
Besides that I take anything the Jewish lobby says with huge amounts of salt. Mainly because the Jewish state kill woman and children.
No thanks for lumping in the policies of Israel as representative of Jews, sorry, the “Jewish lobby” overall. Jews are not the Borg or a vast unified collective. Most in America would call themselves liberal and are appalled by Netanyahu’s barbarity. You demonstrate your prejudice.
Your last paragraph is nonsensical. I wasn’t denying greed exists, I was pointing out that you’re shilling for an antisemite misogynist racist who has been responsible for ‘normalising’ extreme NeoNazi rhetoric.
I’ll assume that you’re ignorant – that would be generous.
Also, I have no desire to use private messaging with someone who shills for fascism. You should have the courage to follow up your public statements in public.
Look at the links to the material on Spencer, whom Shannon so deeply admires and promotes. Pay attention to the “Heil Victory, Heil Trump” and the salutes. If you want to tell me what you think of them, you can tell everyone.
Americans themselves have bigger issues at play. The figurative Eliot ness is coming for them, millions of Americans are with out proper legal representation or financial means. Have you considered that or are you waiting for the right set of comments.
Nah, just more anti-Trump noise from the shell shocked liberal media.
Instead, why don’t you listen to the Israeli ambassador to the USA:
The Israeli ambassador to the United States on Thursday praised President-elect Donald Trump as a “true friend of Israel” and said that Israel looks forward to working with the administration — extending a specific mention to incoming top White House adviser Steve Bannon.
People tired of the neo-McCarthy smear by association tactics that the Clinton camp has been running in the media for months, and is still running, rhinocrates.
“many of the appointments were known before the election to the public”
You may be correct with this statement but I cannot think of any of the Cabinet Secretaries in Obama’s first cabinet whose proposed nomination was announced prior to the 2008 election.
Can you provide a link to back-up this claim? I can’t find anything using Google.
Last month Little wound that back, saying Leggett would be “welcome back in the Labour fold “He is a talented guy and he has got a big future ahead of him. But he has got to work with people who can organise for his success.”
On Tuesday Leggett said “I want to live in a country that’s open, its borders are open, it’s open to migrants, it’s open to trade. Unfortunately Labour seems to be going in the opposite direction to that, and I think it’s very sad.”
Today Newshub repoirts “Rumours are circulating that former Porirua mayor and ex-Labour stalwart Nick Leggett could be standing in the Mana electorate at next year’s election for the National Party.”
Not at all. Labour have changed. National have changed. Allegiances change. Political support need not be a lifelong commitment.
Voting pattern changes show that many people who have previously supported Labour switched to supporting National.
I’ve seen a lot of people commenting here saying that they used to support Labour but don’t now, and won’t until they change again. And abuse directed at ex-Labour voters is not going to help switch them back.
he does have a good point though – seat warmers always moan when they have to leave their comfort.
Labour is what labour is and it is made up of members and supporters – about time some of them took responsibility instead of always blaming the parliamentary team. For Labour members and supporters the question isn’t, “What did Labour do?” it is, “What did I do?” but those who have become bitter can never see that distinction – too much responsibility needed, imo they prefer to ride the coat-tails of those who actually do it and take responsibility for it – but some aren’t mature enough to even see that.
For a personal example, as a Mana Movement member and supporter I don’t berate Mana for what happened at the last election, I say,”what did I do or not do to contribute to that situation and what can I improve to make it more in alignment with my ethos and values.
Well, at least you accept that National is home to many centrists, and not just the usual fascists, extreme right wingers, sociopaths, RWNJ etc, that seem to be the usual characterisation of National supporters and activists by many on this site.
Though a moments reflection should indicate that a party that was made up of such people would not get enough votes to form a govt. Unless of course you think a large number of voters also fall into this category or are simply dupes.
Wendy’s is the worst offender — their squished assemblages of bread and meat with a few lost pieces of soggy lettuce or tomato bear little resemblance to the ideal.
I’m pretty sure that many in National are centrists. Same as I’m pretty sure that most of them aren’t psychopaths.
That makes no difference to the fact that National is actually a hard right-wing, psychopathic party due to it’s leadership and the fact that all those centrists are authoritarian followers that simply do as they’re told rather than holding their leadership to any sort of ethical standards.
Regardless – the man on the street is just going to see Ex Labour person moving to National saying the reasons are that Labours bad because they are anti immigration, anti migrants and anti free trade.
So – its not going to look good for Labour in the news.
I doubt many call be calling him a traitor to the cause or a neo-lib – because 99% of people dont care about that.
As for him never being a “labour man” – well labour obviously thought so. Its just that labour is getting less and less popular with people – citation- election results.
Yep, absolutely a Blairite. Along with his good chum, Phil Quin, Leggett’s a core member of the extra-Parliamentary wing of the old ABC brigade, very close to Shearer, Goff and Shane Jones, has written for the on-line presence of the lavishly-funded Blairite ginger group, Progress, and so on. Utterly opposed to anything resembling true Social Democracy.
Your bile is showing, regurgitated unoriginal spin-boy.
(For Bill’s benefit) – the right wing line that anyone who leaves the Labour Party to join National must be right and it’s all Labour’s fault for not listening to them, wasn’t dreamt up by this loser from Dunedin, he’s just astroturfing again. Do you need me to spell it out more clearly?
I hacked your emails, but fell asleep every time I tried to read them, so I’m marketing them on Ebay as a cure for insomnia. Sales are good, mostly from satisfied customer referrals.
I’m not sure where you get your precise knowledge of party-swapping statistics. Did you pull it out of your nose or your armpit?
Weka has already comprehensively rebutted your unoriginal regurgitation of right wing attack lines about DP. So I don’t have to.
There is a global war war taking place in the world economic system …….. Its driven by greed and corruption ……… and built by deeply dishonest, criminally inclined and the very worst among people involved as Politicians, Bankers, Lawyers and Accountants.
Corporate media is involved and profits from this ‘legalised looting’ …….mainstream reporting has been muted, poorly informed and often non-existent ……. our so called NZ news media are solely to blame for citizens being confused as to why John Key received special mention from the panama money laundering and tax haven whistleblower.
Keys and nationals grubby fingerprints in turning us into a tax haven/secrecy jurisdiction were all over Hansard, “Stuff interviews”, Nicky Hagers reporting on nationals long tax haven connections , wine box etc etc etc…..
This stealing by the most powerful and richest amongst us involves more than just Billionaires and corporations being greedy …………….. It is behind nearly every ill inflicting modern humanity and the earth …..Its driving climate change, It creates mass poverty and kills children , it spreads and grows pollution, war, corruption and every other sickness or abuse that the sociopaths and criminalized financial professions who build and run the off-shore wealth extraction networks have poisoned societies with.
John Key has a long career and made a lot of money helping American corporations and companies scam their way out of paying tax when Ireland set up as a tax haven centre back in the 1980’s when white collar criminality was rampantly growing ….. the virus of corruption spread through there corporate world and the bent bankers, accountants and Lawyers set the new scam standards.
Recently with Cameron PM in Britain , Harper in Canada Turnball in aussie and our own bent key we have had a quadrant of arrogant yet sneaky evil…. they have been building. Expanding and aiding the “offshore/ secrecy jurisdiction /tax haven networks ……….. on the quiet.
In the U.s.a Obama talked a good game against the wholesale fraud ….because politically the richest stealing from everyone is indefensible but he did nothing …. and he played golf with our bailout boy PM …..
As our ‘normal’ media does not educate us about this vicious wealth extraction and criminal enabling network through which half the worlds money flows …..I’ll be posting up information and links on its relevance to certain subjects ………. and probably john key 😉
If you want to join a political party, you have to have some sort of commitment to it principles, and Leggett didn’t.
Actually, you don’t. No political party tests a members principles against its own and then says yay or nay. A party may remove you later if they find out that you blatantly don’t support their stated principles.
More stale second-hand astroturf. (For Bill’s benefit) This particular bit of fake grass is the long-running drivel that says Labour has to become the National Party, a perennial theme that right wing trolls love to return to from time to time.
It’s a pity this boring derivative crap is welcome here.
Leggett has for ages been clearly and obviously a right wing politician working for property developers. His logical party is National, and the sooner he buggers off to them the better.
I look forward to him losing Mana horribly.
If there were any sense of decency and morality in the political system, this guy would be U.S. President in 2020.
As the United States observes its great national holiday, let’s give thanks that there are Americans like Edward Snowden….
“Segregation, slavery, genocides, these have all been perpetuated under frameworks that said they were lawful, as long as you abided by the regulations that were sort of managing those activities.
“A lawful abuse of surveillance could also be more difficult to spot, not something that is as obvious. Or how about a restriction on who and how you can love someone, that’s enforced by violence. Or something as simple as an intentional tax loophole. Or discrimination. Lawful abuse.”
Thanks very much, Viper. I was banned for a week for posting something which was more of a boast about my own prescience than it was to do with the U.S. election.
I guess it’s safe to repost it now, so here goes….
Three years ago this writer, i.e., moi, predicted
Donald Trump would become U.S. president.
In late December 2013, after witnessing the appalling spectacle of Barack Obama’s antics at Nelson Mandela’s funeral, I was moved to speculate on who would speak at Hopey-Changey’s own funeral in the year 2050….
So, the question has to be asked: is there anyone in the entire world who would be shameless enough to deliver a mealy-mouthed, utterly insincere eulogy for the late President Obama, just as President Obama delivered a mealy-mouthed, utterly insincere eulogy for the late Nelson Mandela.
Well, it so happens that there is someone who is just perfect for the job of leading the show of mourning for Barack Obama in the tradition, laid down by Obama himself, of eulogizing a person one would have persecuted and imprisoned if one had had the power to do so.
He is getting long in the tooth: in 2050 he will be 104 years old. But, thanks to the miracle of daily monkey gland injections, the drinking of gallons of Amrit Ras and the yearly blood sacrifice of a mewling sycophant on the world’s longest-running TV series The Apprentice, this world leader, and former president (2020-4), is still going strong.
Yes, step forward LORD DONALD TRUMP (May God Bless His Holy Name)…..
Ex-President Lord Trump’s Eulogy for Barack Obama
December 11, 2050
To Michelle and the Obama family; to President Bieber and members of the government; to heads of state and government, past and present; distinguished guests – it is a singular honor to be with you today, to celebrate a life unlike any other. To the people of Kenya – people of every race and walk of life – the world thanks you for sharing Barack Obama with us….
Key was also a disgrace and disrespectful to Nelson Mandela s memory and ideals…… specifically with the national party apartheid supporters he cynically picked and took to the south Africa stadium memorial farce …..
although I did hear a rumor that Key could understand what the sign language presenter was saying ….. ” the man was a fake; he was making up his own signs; he was flapping his hands around, but there was no meaning in it.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/16/fake-mandela-memorial-interpreter-schizophrenia-signing …..” All the crocodile tears of the dignitaries were a self-congratulatory exercise, and Jangtjie translated them into what they effectively were: nonsense. ”
People forget that New Zealand,… or more specifically our Rugby union with the AllBlacks, together with their National party sponsors ruined the Montreal Olympics by touring South Africa ( after hundreds of blacks had been killed by the south African racist regime in the Soweto uprisings ), causing a boycott and walk out of over 30 countries in protest at us…… little ol NZ http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/82567562/New-Zealand-at-centre-of-Olympics-boycott
National were dirty then ….. and they seem to have gotten worse.
If key had any decency he should have taken people who made a stand FOR Mandela…..
I would have sent these three ….for doing it when it counted ……… and with some degree of personal cost.
And Hone Harawira of course …. For being right then…. just as feeding hungry kids is the right thing to do now.
Key claims not to remember his views on nationals support of the racist tour, which I find highly unlikely ……. however the troll srylands posted Key was working in some horse stables at the time …… I note the similarity between Pony tails and horses tails ….. so perhaps he was in some kind of delirium.
+1 Morrissey, Snowdon’s smart, white, male, knows where Aleppo is, able to collaborate with other world leaders, computer savvy, been persecuted, is a world wide name and is a former defence forces contractor – they should be cuing up for Snowdon as President!
His references are a bit vague but from what I can make out he’s using the income data from 100% of households to calculate the (real) housing inflation of only 31% of households. When calculating the rental index I’d think it obvious one should only use the incomes of renters as a reference or at least make note of the caveat.
He’s also missed the point that households can have multiple tenants while a household can have only one owner-occupier. The ratio of renters must obviously be far higher than the 31% he’s quoting.
Another point is that rising rents lead to crowded housing and crowded houses will increase the average household income which would in turn create misleading statistics on relative housing costs.
IMO a graphic reminder of the old saying about lies, damned lies, etc…
“Many stand to inherit, and need to show a little patience – just give us over-entitled baby-boomers a few more dignified years to shuffle off this mortal coil.”…that particular argument gets my goat.
Baby boomers are expected to (generally) live longer and healthier lives than their parents. What good is it, as a Gen Xer to inherit money for your first house when you’re only 10 years off retirement yourself?? I know of many BB’s who were helped into their first home by their folks, but will not pass on the favour as they expect to enjoy active and secure life styles and endless kitchen renovations.
But far more importantly “…so long as families are able to live in warm, dry, sanitary accommodation, with just about enough space, what does it matter who is paying the mortgage?”..the man clearly has no idea about the realities -financial, emotional, physical- of renting your whole life.
Intellectuals Really Are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite .
“Intellectuals Really Are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite .’
IIRC Hazeldine used to be quite the socialist, was one of the few academics who stood up for the poor with any kind of sincerity. Leopard seems to have changed its spots there though.
Those damnable things you call ‘intellectuals’ are the remaining people in society who read. I’m sure you can find a little space in your bookshop-loving heart for them.
How many true intellectuals are around these days? Educated people who are willing to stick it to the establishment whenever the establishment deserves it? (Which is every day).
As opposed to the Intellectual Yet Idiot class who owe their comfortable middle classness on justifying, perpetuating and protecting the establishment.
Hedges describes this very well in his book Death of the Liberal Class.
5 October 2009: Crafar Farms placed into receivership, owing $216 million to creditors.
2 December 2009: KIWI DAIRY CORPORATION LIMITED registered. (Then changes to ORAVIE LIMITED, 20 December 2010. Then changes to ORAVIDA LTD, 20 January 2011. Then changes to ORAVIDA NZ LIMITED, 13 May 2011. ) Shareholders: Jing Huang, Julia Jiyan Xu, and Deyi Shi. (Source)
11 June 2010: National Party receives $50,000.00 donation from Susan Chou. (Source)
30 July 2010: National Party receives $150,000 donation from Susan Chou. (Source)
18 November 2010: MILK NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION LIMITED* registered. Directors: Terry Lee and Jiang Zhaobai. (Source)
22 December 2010: Government blocks bid by Natural Dairy to buy the 16 Crafar farms on ‘good character’ grounds.
27 January 2011: KordaMentha accepts offer from Shanghai Pengxin International Group Ltd to buy Crafar Farms.
31 May 2011: National Party receives $100,000 donation from Susan Chou. (Source)
22 July 2011: ORAVIDA LTD registered. Shareholders: Jing Huang, Julia Jiyan Xu, and Deyi Shi. (Source)
27 July 2011: ORAVIDA PROPERTY LTD changes name to KIWI DAIRY INDUSTRY LTD. Shareholder: Deyi Shi (Source)
13 April 2011: Shanghai Pengxin lodges application with the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) to buy the Crafar farms.
26 September 2011: Crafar farms receiver KordaMentha rejects a conditional NZ$171.5 million offer for 16 central North Island dairy farms from a group led by controversial former merchant banker Michael Fay.
22 November 2011: National Party receives $50,0000 donation from Citi Financial Group. Shareholders: Yan Yang and Qiang Wei. (Source) (Source)
22 November 2011: National Party receives $1,600 from Oravida NZ. (Source) (Source)
26 November 2011: NZ General Election
30 November 2011: National Party receives further $55,000 donation from Oravida NZ. (Source) (Source)
27 January 2012: Government ministers approve Shanghai Pengxin’s application to purchase 16 Crafar farms.
15 February 2012: High Court delays sale of Crafar farms to Shanghai Pengxin.
20 April 2012: Government ministers , Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson and Associate Finance Minister Jonathan Coleman approve the Overseas’ Investment Office’s (OIO) new recommendation to allow the sale of the 16 Crafar farms to Shanghai Pengxin.
* “Milk New Zealand Holding Limited” is the official applicant and purchaser of the 16 Crafar farms. It is supposedly a subsidiary of Shanghai Pengxin
@ James – Hone’s tie up with Dotcom made him a household name outside being a Maori MP. Losing his seat after the dirty politics gave Hone a lot of sympathy with the public. And I think if Hone runs again he will regain his seat – the public is turning more towards those who are not mainstream.
I don’t think your right James. The worst thing Hone could do is to go with the Maori party, have people abuse him for selling out and then push the dying Maori party through next election and the Maori party knife him in the back and suck up to whoever in power gives them the most bribes aka the Natz.
“President Donald Trump is set to give America’s richest 1% an average annual tax cut of $214,000 when he takes office, while more than eight million families with children are expected to suffer financially under his proposed tax plan.
On the eve of the election, Trump promised to “massively cut taxes for the middle class, the forgotten people, the forgotten men and women of this country, who built our country”. But independent expert analyses of Trump’s tax plan show that America’s millionaire and billionaire class will win big at the expense of struggling low- and middle-income people, who turned out in large numbers to help the real estate billionaire win the election.
Experts warn that Trump’s tax plan will exacerbate America’s already chronic income inequality and herald in a “new era of dynastic wealth”.”
Many of the policies on his current website are straight out of the Heritage Foundation portfolio. There will be plenty of changes to them over the next year.
How long did that take them (both parties) to build bridges where they could meet and indulge in mutual back slapping? A few days? A week?
This piece on their recent ‘on the record’ meeting kind of lays out some disturbing stuff quite nicely. Trump’s now ‘open minded’ duntya know? And the NYT? Well, back on board just as every other ‘news’ outlet is or will be.
You can trust him to do his best on bringing jobs back, securing the southern border, trashing the TPP, building up the US military machine, making massive infrastructure investments and bringing major change to run down inner city neighbourhoods.
You can also trust him not to hold grudges if he sees an advantage in not doing so.
Which seems to always surprise the hell out of Clinton Preferrers who insist on continuing to paint him as a vindictive villain and thus not understanding him at all.
My point with the article and comment was about what trump said and how he blatently changed his view. This shows a lot about the guy, none of it good imo. It wasn’t really about the merits of the nyts.
But independent expert analyses of Trump’s tax plan show that America’s millionaire and billionaire class will win big at the expense of struggling low- and middle-income people, who turned out in large numbers to help the real estate billionaire win the election.
As the saying goes… you get the government you deserve. No sympathy from me.
To Rosemary McDonald after mentioning the effort National is going to, to avoid payments to Carers of the Disabled , Andrew Geddis has a column pointing to: “The Nation this weekend is telling the story of family carers of disabled adult relatives and the pretty shabby way they’ve been treated over the years.” http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/a-little-something-for-the-weekend
TV3 at 9:30am this Saturday, repeat at 10:00am on Sunday.
Hah! This is a genuine expression of delight…any hint of my usual sarcasm is sincerely unintended.
ianmac…that answers the question my ‘networks’ were asking yesterday…’why now?’ Andrew has been a staunch supporter on this issue. Also, from the Pundit team, is Brian Easton who did a cost analysis for paying family carers back when the case went to the Human Rights Review Tribunal in 2008. Even though he was starved for data (by the Mystery of Health) his costing was a million times closer to accuracy than the Miserly of Health’s $17-590 million. Better data is available now…although I will never trust Misery of Health sources…and the ridiculously low uptake of the shitty Funded Family Care scheme supports the point of view that there were NEVER tens of thousands of disabled people with high and very high care needs who were being totally supported 24/7 by unpaid family carers.
And to try and present this issue in the narrative of this site….
NZ cut its neoliberalism teeth on disability support services. (Labour did it too!) When the Miserly of Health was given the cripples to look after, on the back of the Public Health and Disability Act back in 2000 (Annette King?), they almost immediately contracted the whole shit and shebang out to various non profits and profit making organisations.
These businesses have done VERY well out of these contracts and are almost NEVER held to account when disabled people are neglected, even to the point of death.
Many of these Contracted Providers where paying resident family members as carers. Even against the Misery’s policy. I was offered such payment from a Contracted Provider back in 2002…I was offered $17 per hour to care for my partner…way above the minimum wage at the time, but still allowing the CP to make a profit from the funding from the Mystery of Health.
I have a suspicion that many of these CP would not have done so well had they not have been paying family carers through these backdoor payments.
NO…I did not take up the offer…dodgy deals not our style…but when we spoke of this to Ruth Dyson back in early 2013…she asked why we didn’t take up one of these backdoor deals. “It was only a policy, not the law.” she said. (She looked at us if we were fuckwits for not doing this dodgy deal.) She had no answer when we asked why on earth Labour did not sort this shit out before it went to the HRRT in 2008. No answer.
Thanks ianmac for putting this up.
AND…I’m told that Sunday on TV1 is also going to feature this issue.
Looks like I’m going to have to commandeer a telly…
When we are not traveling, we are ‘home’, out in the country west of Hamilton.
Because we are more than 5 kms from the nearest exchange (or whatever its called) our broadband can be slow and unstable. We get a lot of buffering (if that’s the correct terminology) when trying to view program live. We’ve tried to watch a couple of livestreamed events…very frustrating.
Great news. But the transfer of disability support from Social Welfare to Health happened as part of Ruthless Richardson’s economic reign of terror in the early 90s.
“But the transfer of disability support from Social Welfare to Health happened as part of Ruthless Richardson’s economic reign of terror in the early 90s.”
Didn’t the PHDAct formalise that? During Ruth’s rule, we have the CHEs and HFAs and other alphabeticised devolutions….muddied the waters a little bit.
The Hill case in 2000 was against IHC and the RHA. Same issue after PHDAct was against MOH.
As an aside Sacha, I’ve been trying to find the founding document/s for the NASCs. Any idea where I might source these? The recent Service Specs for all the Providers (including the NASCs) are up on the Mystery’s website…but these are fairly recent (post 2000).
For my own interest, I’m trying to find the point at which the rot set in, and I suspect this was in the early 90s.
Can’t recall which law/s governed the changeover but yes it was to the old RHAs which by design were not able to directly provide services, only to fund them via contracted providers.
When Labour changed the structure to DHBs and MoH, those local rationing/funding functions got transferred to NASCs. The underlying libertarianism won out despite the change of govt.
And “Erica Stanford will be contesting the safe National seat being vacated by replace Murray McCully in East Coast Bays in the 2017 general election.”
A safe seat so Erica will be tossing her hair at Mr Key next year.
Note that McCully will resign from Parliament when his stint as Foreign Minister ends- soon? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11754852
According to who – the Maori king? He who has the National Party aligned Maori Party president’s hand shoved up his arse to do his talking for him.
It would be interesting to know what monies flow from the coffers of the National Party to the Maori elite of the Maori Party and then on to Mr Tuheitia himself…
I think Hone can win the seat back on his own. Who can rely on the Maori party?? Nobody especially the .1% elite Maori who profit from the relationship.
Also, Kelvin Davis has done an immense amount of work for New Zealand inmates both here and overseas. The Australian government is under immense pressure to change its detention policy and close centres such as Christmas Island in no small part because of the work done by Kelvin Davis.
Kelvin Davis got Sam Lotu Iiga fired from his portfolio, and is no doubt going to do the same with Judith Collins.
And you want him to have stepped aside and let Hone win? You would prefer that Davis was emasculated by Labour, with no mandate to force such change?
I ask you, what would Hone Harawira have achieved at the same point?
He’s involved with a union therefore has no credibility according to a right winger.
As I said on this thread, Davis’ work has directly contributed to the increased focus on the Australian government policy on detention of NZ citizens and indirectly on the increased pressure on the Australian government to close offshore detention centres.
His work is directly responsible for the holding to account of Serco’s mismanagement of MECF and has brought to bear increased scrutiny of Wiri. The current government would have done neither of these things if they were allowed to get away with it. Davis forced the sacking of one of John Key’s pet, token, brown projects in Sam Lotu Iiga. He forced Key to reinstate the corrupt trout, Judith Collins.
These are major achievements in just two years, but then you say he has no credibility?
They weren’t good enough. How do you think they’d perform in front of the media and in parliament if they’d been gifted the seat?
Kelvin Davis has proven to be a tenacious and committed fighter for the vulnerable and one of Labours best performers. As I said, he wouldn’t have the mandate to do what he’s done if he’d rolled over for Hone Harawira.
Can’t see how it suited them. I’m sure Labour would have welcomed Hone and Laila as voices representing Maori, the left, the disenfranchised, and those who want change.
Labour also would have wanted them to have got there on their own steam rather than weakening Labour by giving them a leg up as you and The Chairman wanted.
Nicola Willis has launched a challenge against incumbent candidate and list MP Paul Foster-Bell (National’s Wellington Central candidate) for the party’s nomination, which opens in January.
Oh jeez. Looks like education in the US is about to try a whole bunch more craptacularly bad ideas that no doubt our local clowns will be falling over themselves to copy.
This is nothing more than a mean-spirited attack on Andrew Little’s appearance and way of speaking. This is by no means the first time Trotter has had a go at Little like this.
Ironically, just to the left of that hatchet job, Trotter has listed the “Bowalley Road Rules”….
The blogosphere tends to be a very noisy, and all-too-often a very abusive, place. I intend Bowalley Road to be a much quieter, and certainly a more respectful, place. ….
Courtesy and Respect.
Comments which are defamatory, vituperative, snide or hurtful will be removed, and the commentators responsible permanently banned.
You conveniently ignored the substance of Trotter’s criticism which has zero to do with the way Little looks or sounds:
Labour’s policy proposition in 2017 isn’t 50 – but 64 – shades of grey.
The worst thing is, Little and his advisors flatly refuse to see this as a problem. They have only the coldest disdain for the sort of wild-eyed populism which has swept across the United Kingdom and the United States in 2016, and which, in 2017, threatens to wreak equal havoc among the political classes of Italy and France. It’s simply not the way the shell-shocked party pulled together by Helen Clark, Michael Cullen and Steve Maharey cares to do business. When asked whether he would have voted for Jeremy Corbyn, the present, British-born, President of the NZ Labour Party responded curtly: “No.”
In morbid conformity with the limp “Third-Way-ism” which still engrosses them, Little and his people – like Hillary and hers – have placed all their eggs in one technological basket. The mysterious algorithms of their data-manipulating, voter-identifying wonks will do what thousands of committed followers – apparently – cannot. They will locate all the shy, centrist voters Labour needs to win. That these same mysterious algorithms singularly failed to deliver the White House to Hillary has not shaken their confidence in electoral mechanisation.
Fair comment, Viper. I actually agree with most of his criticisms of Little, but the fact remains that it begins as a personal attack on his looks and his lack of “charisma.” I find that offensive, and—when you consider his pious little admonition against “snide or hurtful” comments—hypocritical in the extreme. I was also unimpressed by Trotter’s vacuous enthusiasm for Justin Trudeau’s “wit and movie-star good-looks”.
I think it’s important to look at the Trotter piece in totality, and to me the implicit message is clear: if he is somewhat short of charming good looks and lens fixating charisma, Little better have a whole lot of political courage and policy chutzpah going for him in his favour.
Just to remind people, and Colonial Viper, Chris Trotter is not a friend of Labour – he has some sort of snitch scratching at him with Labour which goes back years.
Freiend or friend not the article rings true. you could argue been left and not a labour cheer leader his view has more weight Where I disagree if he thinks labour going Corbyn left is the answer, “tell em he’s joking”
Gary McCormick announces: “I would rather trust the experts.”
But have a look at how he treated an expert five years ago. The Panel, RNZ National, Wednesday 23 November 2016
Wallace Chapman, Alan Blackman, Gary McCormick, Megan Whelan
humbugn., a willfully false, deceptive, or insincere person
For a change there was, briefly, something resembling an earnest discussion on Wednesday’s edition of Jim Mora’s pisspoor chat show. This one was about whether or not it was safe to go back into Wellington buildings closed down after the earthquake. The most earnest of all the Panelists was regular guest Gary McCormick, who told how the people of Christchurch had gone through all of this before, and after an earthquake was no time to take chances. “I would rather trust the experts,” he intoned.
No doubt more than a few long-time listeners to this show would have snorted to hear McCormick talk like that. Back in March 2011, Gary McCormick embarked on a demeaning, philistine attack on Professor Nick Wilson, a world-renowned expert on tobacco epidemiology. Also ganging up on the Professor were Jim Mora and Raybon Kan…..
GARY McCORMICK: Yeah I know Nick, we get this a lot from health professionals! Do we have any EVIDENCE that second-hand smoke HARMS PEOPLE?
PROFESSOR WILSON: The World Health Organization has presented reams of evidence that even a low level of second-hand smo—-
JIM MORA: Look, Nick, uhhh, you’re the medical professional and, uhhhh, I don’t want to argue the science with you but, uhhhhh, I’ve seen those Scottish statistics and they were heavily disputed and refuted!
McCORMICK: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re right, Nick, but we ordinary citizens keep hearing this scientific research which isn’t that sound. So Nick, tell us: is it that important?
PROFESSOR WILSON: Four hundred deaths is not trivial.
JIM MORA: But that’s an extrapolation as well, isn’t it!
RAYBON KAN: Nick, you seem quite hung up on this science thing. Ummmm, how does smoke compare with the threat of sunlight?
McCORMICK: A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Good one, Raybon!
PROFESSOR WILSON: It’s not really the same thing.
McCORMICK: Yes it is, actually! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
JIM MORA: Doesn’t this come back to John Stuart Mill, that unless we can PROVE harm, then we have no right to ban something. It’s all about rights, surely?
PROFESSOR WILSON: Non-smokers have the right to breathe clean air.
McCORMICK: Yeah Nick, I’m concerned about the rights of people to experience direct sunlight. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
RAYBON KAN: He he he he he he he! Nice one, Gary!
JIM MORA: Doctor Nick Wilson, from the Otago University School of Medicine and Health Science. Nick, THANKS for being with us! It’s time for the News.
Following the news break of five minutes, the panelists are still flushed with the triumph of their mauling of Professor Wilson…
McCORMICK: That was lovely, Raybon, what you said about the sun. We really need to go after people like that. We often get put in a situation where we BELIEVE the experts. It’s good to challenge them!
RAYBON KAN: What ISN’T a carcinogen? Sun is a carcinogen. Sugar is a carcinogen. LIFE is a carcinogen! Being BORN is a carcinogen! This science is vaguely interesting, like vegemite, so move on!
McCORMICK: Ha ha ha ha ha haha! Well put, Raybon!
JIM MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha haha! Well said, Raybon. You’re very clever! Okay, onto our next topic: Sara Palin.
McCORMICK: Sara Palin? She’s too STUPID to be true!
What do we read into Telegraph science article re Antartica sea ice is no different than 100 years ago I ask in serioness not as a wind up, No one denies climate is changing but if true this must raise some question of models and forecasts ?
With out you linking it’s hard to tell, i do believe though that it has something to do with the polar winds swirling the antarctic keeping the warm air at bay,
It is exactly the antarctic vortex, combined with such a massive area of ice can shed an awful lot of mass while not really being super noticeable. Shrinking ice area in Greenland is much more obvious.
@ Red
What the article is reporting is that the effect of Global Warming on the Antarctic ice shelf is not as great as first feared. That is not to say there is no effect, just that it is not occurring at the same rate as the Arctic Circle. Not surprising because the Northern Hemisphere is far more densely populated so one would expect more rapid man-made atmospheric warming causing the temperature of the northern seas to also rapidly rise.
Thank you. One news ran with story tonight without much explanation of why or what is potential ramifications of these findings to climate change models. You think they could have gone ask some experts for an opinion at least. You do wonder if we over play what we understand in science I was reading an article the other day from NASA re the impossible engine, a NASA developed engine that defys classical laws of physics in thatt every action has an opposite reaction, In essence Nasa has developed and engine that propels and object without a propellant. Most scientist rubbished the idea but it does seem to work and while most still hold newtons third law they believe something is going on that we dont understand. My long winded point is you sort of wonder that understanding and predicting climate change is similar, not prejudging if human driven climate change is under or overstated either way, we just don’t no re the accuracy and predictability of our models. In this regard a safe bet probably makes acting in caution a sensible option, even though it may be pointless
You also have to take into account the media tendency to over-hype for the purpose of creating click baits etc. Where Climate Change is concerned, only the most ignorant and uneducated still deny it’s existence [eg. Donald Trump]. Yet the media continued to give the deniers equal space long after their ‘scientific rebuttals’ had been debunked. All in the name of a good story… and the planet be dammed.
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Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
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What do you do if you have a few actual principles and a bit of moral integrity, and Trump asks you to serve in his administration?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mitt-romneys-dilemma_us_5836376be4b050dfe61879e7?section=us_politics
You could almost feel sorry for the guy. Almost.
From a purely personal pov of course he should take it if offered, if nothing else if he does a good job then it strengthens his case if he takes another run for the presidency and if he doesn’t he can probably blame Trump for it and half the people would probably believe him
But both those points are just about Romney advancing his future. Neither addresses his likely need to maintain his self-respect while he tries to do the job.
Trump has been strongly advised not to trust Romney ( over on zerohedge).
And very interestingly, and very disturbingly, Kellyanne Conway has been implying over Twitter that Romney would not be a good pick.
Tensions in the Trump transition team over this seem to be running high.
Neo-liberalism creates a precarious society.
If anything goes wrong , the safety net does not exist.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11754532
And what created this neo-liberal nightmare?
A cadre of traitors who sold this country to corporate interests ( mainly foreign) in the neo-liberal coup d’etat from 1984 to 1993.
David Lange, Roger Douglas, Mike Moore, Geoffrey Palmer, Richard Prebble, David Caygill, Ruth Richardson, Bill Birch, Jenny Shipley and the rest of the quislings turned New Zealand from a country with governments which cared for its people to one that is reflected
The 4th Labour government’s acts of treason
Floating the New Zealand dollar.
Removing farming subsidies.
Introducing GST (Goods and Services Tax).
New banks were allowed.
Reducing income and company tax.
Removing controls on foreign exchange.
Abolishing or reducing import tariffs.
Corporatising many State owned enterprises such as the Post Office, Telecom and Air New Zealand to be more like private businesses. Some of these were later privatised.
Enabling the Reserve Bank to autonomously pursue an inflation target.
The 4th National government’s acts of treason
The corporatisation of the health system and hospital closures
Sale of state-owned enterprises
The Employment Contracts Act
Acts of treason ?
Yeah – Nah.
Just because you don’t agree with something it didn’t make it treason you know.
They were our elected officials doing their jobs.
They were elected officials who let in the neoliberal Trojan Horse. They were elected officials who fucked over the very constituents who voted them in. They were elected officials who hollowed out the Labour Party into a rigid brittle shell of its old self.
Yep, and certainly the voters of 1984 (voters of all stripes) weren’t expecting the extreme Neo-Liberal revolution that ensued.
The most relevant poll of voters carried out in 84 found that, on the question of attitudes to the Muldoon Government’s Economic Interventionism, “responses were notable in that despite the unpopularity of the Muldoon style of intervention (except among 1984 National voters), the principle of intervention was generally endorsed and the size of the “misdirected” category – particularly with respect to Labour and Social Credit voters – was unexpectedly high.”
The Question was: “In your opinion, has government intervention in the New Zealand economy under National in the 1980s been ‘about right’, ‘excessive’, ‘misdirected’ or ‘too little’ ?”:
1984………..All Voters……Lab Voters
Excessive………….33……………39
About Right………31……………4
Too Little……………1…………….1
Misdirected……….35…………..57
Hence, only a third of all voters in 1984 and less than 40% of Labour voters thought Muldoon’s interventionist policies ‘excessive’. Significant interventionism of one sort or another was endorsed by two-thirds of all voters and more than 60% of Labour voters at the time of the 1984 Election.
Plenty of Labour establishment types still secretly wonder where their hundreds of thousands of dedicated party members and union affiliate members have gone.
But of course it can’t have anything to do with the 1980s.
James. What’s your position on the death penalty for government officials who share state secretes with transnational corporations ?
Ill make a deal with you – if you can give any reasonable reason that the above should cause National or labour members to be charged and found guilty of treason – Ill answer your question.
This: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_casualties_in_Afghanistan
10 dead
Wow. Well done.
How else do you define an act of war against your own nation and people?
Whereby the people who elected you to defend the nation, are then betrayed and lose their jobs, their democracy, their rights, their public assets, their natural resources, and their territorial sovereignty?
We are now a colony in thrall to the whims of transnational corporations.
Measured and rational as always Paul.
Paul … who will do what to change this so called neo-liberal nightmare? And what do you feel we should do to change/fix things?
Vote Democrats.
http://www.democrats.org.nz/
FTFY
Actually, that’s a brilliant move. They just did it the wrong way by having ‘The Market’ set the value of the dollar rather than setting it via the actual terms of trade. If we import more than we export from a country then our currency should go down against that currency.
‘The Market’ just sets it via interest rates which means that as our trade imbalance increases more money comes into the country for the higher returns increasing the imbalance. And it’s a cumulative imbalance.
As of now, our currency should be far below that of China meaning that we wouldn’t be importing from China at all now as nobody could afford to.
@Paul – UBI – UBI – UBI
Does anyone else think that we should have a referendum on UBI in NZ?
Yeah, but would it have any chance of a yes? I don’t think so.
I disagree and don’t see why we can’t have a referendum on it. At the end of the day people both rich and poor now have a precariat life (apparently 3/4 of American’s have less than $1000 in the bank and I’m sure Kiwis are worse) so losing a job, having an earthquake or climate related effect, being on contract or zero hours are all reason why many Kiwis would want a safety net.
NZ is not Switzerland – much worse run as a country, less savings and so forth. With only 25% voting Trump being able to secure his victory, now is the time for the opposition to put forward something new that would get people out voting rather than same old 20th century ideas.
This is a beneficial and uncomplicated payment not a punishment tax like the usual efforts that don’t work for the left.
Who the hell doesn’t want the idea of free money?
It could be the left ‘tax cuts’.
Yes, but there needs to be a discussion about it first and the public needs to be informed properly and not via slogans and propaganda. Does anyone else think this will not happen?
The beauty of the UBI is that it is a simple idea – it can be a slogan and also discussed in depth. It could be a way for Labour to lead a discussion not framed for once by National.
Hi save, I’m in for a ubi.
$300 a week each funded by a ftt.
Bring in all those (currently) untaxed $.
Mostly from those foreign banks and rich pricks, what’s not to vote for?
If there are concerns that it the ubi isn’t enough for some, then raise the ftt to .1%.
I also like the idea of national not controlling the narrative.
If Labour, Greens, opportunity party, Mana are all discussing a UBI funded by a robin hood tax, the Natz start to look like they are on the outer and the scrooge party just wanting more perks for the banks and multinationals…
Could Donald Trump shit or get off the pot already?
He clearly had and has zero transition plan in place, and obviously no idea who wants to help out, so he’s got nothing coherent in his 100 day plan other than ban TPP that was dead anyway, and is running around the lowest political has-beens trying to get anyone on his team.
He is reeking of having no political plan.That stuff that comes with experience.
Mr President-elect needs to figure this out fast or he will figure out what a backlash looks like.
Aw c’mon it’s all gd. Here, Seth Meyers explains it for ya.
Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary – Wilbur L. Ross, Jr, a billionaire scavenger shark who grew rich while miners died.
http://fortune.com/2016/11/24/donald-trump-wilbur-ross-commerce-secretary/
http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/15561/
No, you got that wrong I’m afraid.
With experience you can make it look like you have a plan, that you know what you’re doing, while in fact you still don’t and never will.
With experience you can appear to manage an economy towards a brighter future for all while in fact you’re watching things crumbling to pieces and dust.
With experience you can pretend to be doing and saying (!) the right things and actively pursuing the opposite behind the scenes, willingly and knowingly.
With experience you can fool almost all the people almost all the time – experience has shown us.
An experienced politician is a menace to mankind.
You’d be great in job interviews.
Have you read Bryce Edwards’ 10-point manifesto for change in New Zealand?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11749955
Trump’s transition is currently weeks ahead of Barack Obama’s. After a gruelling campaign and election, I think he’s taking his first full day off transition activities today.
The Obama transition didn’t even start naming Cabinet picks until days before Christmas day.
It looks rather rushed and the anointed cabinet lack both cohesiveness as a cabinet and appear to be short of experience in the cabinet roles to my eye. To be precise, the ones who have some experience look like they lack the experience of running large government departments. In particular, someone like Flynn looks like complete dickhead with a proven track record of being sloppy at managing staff.
I think that Trump and his advisers have been picking them for the reporters and an eye on the headlines rather than the actual work.
Obama was putting in place people with investigated backgrounds capable of standing up the close scrutiny and many of the appointments were known before the election to the public. It doesn’t appear that Trump and his team have done the same diligence, so what we are seeing is a hopeless mishmash of the barely competent.
Have you been sucking on the RT again?
A bit more discussion around those points.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trumps-cabinet-is-on-track-to-be-the-least-experienced-in-modern-history_us_5836f133e4b000af95edf18c
Far be it from me to critique the HuffPost Bubble (and I do personally inhale there), but they need to get the point:
His job is to deliver the policies that people voted for.
To do that he needs the team that will do that.
He’s doing his shoulder taps ‘live before a studio audience’, which makes for great story and crap momentum.
He needs to show he can do the deals, quick.
He’s beginning to less like ‘draining the swamp’ and a whole lot more like just another alligator among a great pack of them.
“His job is to deliver the policies that people voted for.”
But what are those policies? It was hard enough to figure out what they might be even before we started getting told to “take him seriously, but not literally”.
I dunno, he’s been pretty good at conning people so far. Maybe he’ll be able to con people into thinking whatever steaming pile he produces is what they really did vote for.
Trump’s campaign team somehow even managed to con the superior intellects and highly educated group of Clinton Preferrers that Hillary would win.
Basically, if you don’t know what policies Trump campaigned on, you haven’t been paying attention.
Making NATO pay its way, dumping bad trade deals like the TPP, building the wall, ending regime change foreign interventions, massive infrastructure spending, law and order, deporting criminal illegals, charter schools, huge military spending, improving the economic and educational situation in inner cities, anti jihadist co-operation with Russia, a protectionist approach to trade, containing Iran, protecting social security and medicare, putting conservative constitutionalist judges on the Supreme Court, etc.
Also Trump copy pasted wholesale a whole lot of policy material from the Heritage Foundation. A fav establishment of all lefties.
He campaigned on policy and is now backtracking on many of them and he ain’t even in yet. A great com.
The fact that The Donald is softening his policy stances, backtracking on shit and heading to the middle ground should make you Clinton Preferrers happy.
But apparently it doesn’t.
TL/DR he’s going to be a serious politician. Clinton Preferrers should have taken him as such.
When the systems broken then putting in place people who will maintain the system isn’t what you want to do.
Of course, Trump isn’t there to change the system to make it better for anybody but himself and that probably applies to those he’s appointing which means that the system he puts in place will be even more broken than the one already there.
Dont listen to IPrents BS. Steve Bannon has huge intellect, understands Americas problems & is motivated for change: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LNwf1B0qNMs
If you define America’s problems as “too many Jews” (or women, of POC…), yes. Otherwise…
http://www.jta.org/2016/11/14/news-opinion/politics/trumps-chief-strategist-5-things-jews-need-to-know-about-stephen-bannon
Why did you mention Jews? Not once during the campaign did Jews come up, I could be wrong, am happy to be corrected. It’s my recollection that Mexicans and Muslims featured heavily in trumps rhetoric.
Besides that I take anything the Jewish lobby says with huge amounts of salt. Mainly because the Jewish state kill woman and children.
Greed, was around during the American Revolution, greed was around during WW2, greed was around in 2008, and greed is a feature in Trumps career. Denying greed exists is like denying gravity exists. All you are really saying is, it’s kinda like blaming air crashes on gravity.
Bannon and Breitbart are notoriously antisemitic – Breitbart is the public mouthpiece of the ‘alt right’ and is a channel for explicit NeoNazism in America and your claim to ignorance of its prominence in the campaign is difficult to credit.
Trump spent plenty of time dog-whistling, especially in his later adds, using common NeoNazi code language. Eric Trump was much more explicit in appealing to the ‘alt right’.
Besides that I take anything the Jewish lobby says with huge amounts of salt. Mainly because the Jewish state kill woman and children.
No thanks for lumping in the policies of Israel as representative of Jews, sorry, the “Jewish lobby” overall. Jews are not the Borg or a vast unified collective. Most in America would call themselves liberal and are appalled by Netanyahu’s barbarity. You demonstrate your prejudice.
Your last paragraph is nonsensical. I wasn’t denying greed exists, I was pointing out that you’re shilling for an antisemite misogynist racist who has been responsible for ‘normalising’ extreme NeoNazi rhetoric.
I’ll assume that you’re ignorant – that would be generous.
You’re crazy
Care to elaborate?
No. I can’t take you seriously. If you want to continue your ramblings. Throw me a private message. And I’ll get back to you right away
If you want to comin Ture your ramblings.
Please use English.
Also, I have no desire to use private messaging with someone who shills for fascism. You should have the courage to follow up your public statements in public.
Look at the links to the material on Spencer, whom Shannon so deeply admires and promotes. Pay attention to the “Heil Victory, Heil Trump” and the salutes. If you want to tell me what you think of them, you can tell everyone.
Americans themselves have bigger issues at play. The figurative Eliot ness is coming for them, millions of Americans are with out proper legal representation or financial means. Have you considered that or are you waiting for the right set of comments.
Nah, just more anti-Trump noise from the shell shocked liberal media.
Instead, why don’t you listen to the Israeli ambassador to the USA:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/11/ron-dermer-israeli-ambassador-praises-trump-bannon-231578
You might want to look at this footage of Bannon’s playmate, Richard Spencer.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/richard-spencer-speech-npi/508379/
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/11/21/meet_the_neo_nazi_steve_bannon_s_site_described_as_a_leading_intellectual.html
People tired of the neo-McCarthy smear by association tactics that the Clinton camp has been running in the media for months, and is still running, rhinocrates.
That’s one big reason why she lost.
“many of the appointments were known before the election to the public”
You may be correct with this statement but I cannot think of any of the Cabinet Secretaries in Obama’s first cabinet whose proposed nomination was announced prior to the 2008 election.
Can you provide a link to back-up this claim? I can’t find anything using Google.
Remind me after I get out of the pub and sober up a bit.
24 hours later.
That must have been quite a celebration.
In August Andrew Little dissed Nick Leggett off as a right winger.
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/labour-mps-forbidden-from-associating-with-right-ring-wellington-mayoral-candidate/
Last month Little wound that back, saying Leggett would be “welcome back in the Labour fold “He is a talented guy and he has got a big future ahead of him. But he has got to work with people who can organise for his success.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11725623
On Tuesday Leggett said “I want to live in a country that’s open, its borders are open, it’s open to migrants, it’s open to trade. Unfortunately Labour seems to be going in the opposite direction to that, and I think it’s very sad.”
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/nick-leggett-labour-has-changed-and-im-not-going-back/
Today Newshub repoirts “Rumours are circulating that former Porirua mayor and ex-Labour stalwart Nick Leggett could be standing in the Mana electorate at next year’s election for the National Party.”
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/from-labour-to-national-is-nick-leggett-jumping-ship-2016112423
Labour needs to be rebuilding, but dissing people off is going to make that difficult.
Excellent – I’m sure national will be happy to have him.
Looks like he found people who can organise for his success.
If Leggett jumps ship to National doesn’t it highlight he was never really a Labour man?
Thus, no loss.
Not at all. Labour have changed. National have changed. Allegiances change. Political support need not be a lifelong commitment.
Voting pattern changes show that many people who have previously supported Labour switched to supporting National.
I’ve seen a lot of people commenting here saying that they used to support Labour but don’t now, and won’t until they change again. And abuse directed at ex-Labour voters is not going to help switch them back.
I don’t believe Leggett has changed. He has always been a bit of a centrist.
The suggestion he may jump ship to National merely reaffirms my belief.
Labour require people who are committed to the cause. Clearly, Leggett isn’t.
Thus, no loss.
Uh, what “cause” might that be, exactly? Have you seen much evidence of this so-called “cause” in action over the last few years/decades?
You’re a Labour Party member aren’t you.
Yet another cheap personal attack OAB? Figures.
I can’t help it if your personal circumstances undermine your rhetoric.
Distracting from the failure of NZ Labour to have a “cause”.
he does have a good point though – seat warmers always moan when they have to leave their comfort.
Labour is what labour is and it is made up of members and supporters – about time some of them took responsibility instead of always blaming the parliamentary team. For Labour members and supporters the question isn’t, “What did Labour do?” it is, “What did I do?” but those who have become bitter can never see that distinction – too much responsibility needed, imo they prefer to ride the coat-tails of those who actually do it and take responsibility for it – but some aren’t mature enough to even see that.
For a personal example, as a Mana Movement member and supporter I don’t berate Mana for what happened at the last election, I say,”what did I do or not do to contribute to that situation and what can I improve to make it more in alignment with my ethos and values.
The people I know who attended your last conference came back quite energised about the cause. I suppose you had to be there.
It’s my impression that so far as you’re concerned, what Labour “lacks” is a list place for you.
What a joyous work life that would be, having to hang out with backstabbing low energy free market faithful careerist Labour MPs for 60 hours a week.
Especially considering that you’re a better fit for the National
PartyFront.The party’s core principles.
But yes, I agree, Labour seldom lives up to them. Hence, their ailing support.
Leggett is far from the only one in Labour that needs to go.
Leggett a centrist, or rightwing ? I’d say rightwing, The Chairman – so the National Party is really his home ground.
He has taken positions both ways (left & right) over the years.
Well, at least you accept that National is home to many centrists, and not just the usual fascists, extreme right wingers, sociopaths, RWNJ etc, that seem to be the usual characterisation of National supporters and activists by many on this site.
Though a moments reflection should indicate that a party that was made up of such people would not get enough votes to form a govt. Unless of course you think a large number of voters also fall into this category or are simply dupes.
Neuroscience has the answer. There may be a spectrum of false beliefs between Judith Collins and Bill English, and so what?
National is good at putting on a soft public front.
aww jees wayne – youve never looked at a maccas burger and compared it to the pics on the menu?
Burger King or KFC would have been a far better example, absolutely disgraceful the quality of the food from those establishments.
Maccas burgers do actually resemble the advertising unlike the other two.
Actually some maccas burgers look pretty close to the photos (the Angus range and the Kiwiburger when on offer).
When the Kiwiburger is unavailable I turn the Angus Burger into the Kiwi Burger by adding an egg.
That’s one tasty burger.
Really.
Now I’m getting hungry…
Wendy’s is the worst offender — their squished assemblages of bread and meat with a few lost pieces of soggy lettuce or tomato bear little resemblance to the ideal.
I used to like Wendy’s ten years ago but they seem to have gone steeply down hill.
Sounds like my preference for a certain political party
😛
I’m pretty sure that many in National are centrists. Same as I’m pretty sure that most of them aren’t psychopaths.
That makes no difference to the fact that National is actually a hard right-wing, psychopathic party due to it’s leadership and the fact that all those centrists are authoritarian followers that simply do as they’re told rather than holding their leadership to any sort of ethical standards.
Regardless – the man on the street is just going to see Ex Labour person moving to National saying the reasons are that Labours bad because they are anti immigration, anti migrants and anti free trade.
So – its not going to look good for Labour in the news.
I doubt many call be calling him a traitor to the cause or a neo-lib – because 99% of people dont care about that.
As for him never being a “labour man” – well labour obviously thought so. Its just that labour is getting less and less popular with people – citation- election results.
The man on the street is more likely to be against more immigration and trade deals like the TPP.
Therefore, Leggett will merely paint Labour in a good light.
Yeah – you keep telling yourself that.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/poll-kiwis-want-to-cut-immigration-2016080915
http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/kiwis-still-to-be-convinced-on-tpp-2015112017
Leggett sounds like JAFB – Just Another Fucking Blairite. Thus, no loss.
Yep, absolutely a Blairite. Along with his good chum, Phil Quin, Leggett’s a core member of the extra-Parliamentary wing of the old ABC brigade, very close to Shearer, Goff and Shane Jones, has written for the on-line presence of the lavishly-funded Blairite ginger group, Progress, and so on. Utterly opposed to anything resembling true Social Democracy.
The Tories will love him.
There’s no mention of England.
Just as well Labour can afford to give ex members and voters a kick up the bum as they slam the door on them.
Your bile is showing, regurgitated unoriginal spin-boy.
(For Bill’s benefit) – the right wing line that anyone who leaves the Labour Party to join National must be right and it’s all Labour’s fault for not listening to them, wasn’t dreamt up by this loser from Dunedin, he’s just astroturfing again. Do you need me to spell it out more clearly?
Not many of those deserting Labour going to the Greens. Probably not helped by so much repeat Green supporter dirty politics.
I hacked your emails, but fell asleep every time I tried to read them, so I’m marketing them on Ebay as a cure for insomnia. Sales are good, mostly from satisfied customer referrals.
I’m not sure where you get your precise knowledge of party-swapping statistics. Did you pull it out of your nose or your armpit?
Weka has already comprehensively rebutted your unoriginal regurgitation of right wing attack lines about DP. So I don’t have to.
I only have to look at the gravatar for 10 secs and I’m gone….
Huh? What green dirty politics. I kept track on the fuckwits in nz. I haven’t heard if any. Perhaps you are imagining it?
If you want to join a political party, you have to have some sort of commitment to it principles, and Leggett didn’t.
Also, I want to live in a country that where the government puts it’s own people first. Not those from overseas.
What if its principles change – do you follow it blindly?
There is a global war war taking place in the world economic system …….. Its driven by greed and corruption ……… and built by deeply dishonest, criminally inclined and the very worst among people involved as Politicians, Bankers, Lawyers and Accountants.
Corporate media is involved and profits from this ‘legalised looting’ …….mainstream reporting has been muted, poorly informed and often non-existent ……. our so called NZ news media are solely to blame for citizens being confused as to why John Key received special mention from the panama money laundering and tax haven whistleblower.
Keys and nationals grubby fingerprints in turning us into a tax haven/secrecy jurisdiction were all over Hansard, “Stuff interviews”, Nicky Hagers reporting on nationals long tax haven connections , wine box etc etc etc…..
This stealing by the most powerful and richest amongst us involves more than just Billionaires and corporations being greedy …………….. It is behind nearly every ill inflicting modern humanity and the earth …..Its driving climate change, It creates mass poverty and kills children , it spreads and grows pollution, war, corruption and every other sickness or abuse that the sociopaths and criminalized financial professions who build and run the off-shore wealth extraction networks have poisoned societies with.
John Key has a long career and made a lot of money helping American corporations and companies scam their way out of paying tax when Ireland set up as a tax haven centre back in the 1980’s when white collar criminality was rampantly growing ….. the virus of corruption spread through there corporate world and the bent bankers, accountants and Lawyers set the new scam standards.
Recently with Cameron PM in Britain , Harper in Canada Turnball in aussie and our own bent key we have had a quadrant of arrogant yet sneaky evil…. they have been building. Expanding and aiding the “offshore/ secrecy jurisdiction /tax haven networks ……….. on the quiet.
In the U.s.a Obama talked a good game against the wholesale fraud ….because politically the richest stealing from everyone is indefensible but he did nothing …. and he played golf with our bailout boy PM …..
As our ‘normal’ media does not educate us about this vicious wealth extraction and criminal enabling network through which half the worlds money flows …..I’ll be posting up information and links on its relevance to certain subjects ………. and probably john key 😉
http://ctj.org/pdf/offshoreshell2015.pdf
http://ctj.org/ctjreports/2015/10/offshore_shell_games_2015.php#.WDd9hMno1_k
Actually, you don’t. No political party tests a members principles against its own and then says yay or nay. A party may remove you later if they find out that you blatantly don’t support their stated principles.
More stale second-hand astroturf. (For Bill’s benefit) This particular bit of fake grass is the long-running drivel that says Labour has to become the National Party, a perennial theme that right wing trolls love to return to from time to time.
It’s a pity this boring derivative crap is welcome here.
Rumours… rumours via newshub.. mhmm.. raises an eyebrow. Entertainment attempting to be disguised as news?
Leggett didn’t leave Labour, Labour left Leggett 🙂
I’ve heard this song before…
I’ve always voted Labour,
My father voted Labour,
My father’s father voted Labour,
I grew up in a Labour household,
But, Cunliffe.
I was picking that he would do a deal with Peter dunne and take over Ohariu with a nod and a wink from national
“Leggett said “I want to live in a country that’s open, its borders are open, it’s open to migrants, it’s open to trade”
Politics attracts the narrowest of ‘thinkers’
The above statement barely qualifies as thinking…in fact given it was an interview that makes it prepared sloganerring…
Given as notes to repeat in the interview….so no thinking at all
Where do they manufacture these ‘people’
Leggett has for ages been clearly and obviously a right wing politician working for property developers. His logical party is National, and the sooner he buggers off to them the better.
I look forward to him losing Mana horribly.
If there were any sense of decency and morality in the political system, this guy would be U.S. President in 2020.
As the United States observes its great national holiday, let’s give thanks that there are Americans like Edward Snowden….
And here’s the transcript of the talk….
http://www.actvism.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/160724_Edward_Snowden_Transcript.pdf
Welcome back Morrissey
Thanks very much, Viper. I was banned for a week for posting something which was more of a boast about my own prescience than it was to do with the U.S. election.
I guess it’s safe to repost it now, so here goes….
Three years ago this writer, i.e., moi, predicted
Donald Trump would become U.S. president.
In late December 2013, after witnessing the appalling spectacle of Barack Obama’s antics at Nelson Mandela’s funeral, I was moved to speculate on who would speak at Hopey-Changey’s own funeral in the year 2050….
Read more….
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31122013/#comment-751510
😀
😀
😀
Nicely done
Top notch posts Morrissey ….
Key was also a disgrace and disrespectful to Nelson Mandela s memory and ideals…… specifically with the national party apartheid supporters he cynically picked and took to the south Africa stadium memorial farce …..
although I did hear a rumor that Key could understand what the sign language presenter was saying ….. ” the man was a fake; he was making up his own signs; he was flapping his hands around, but there was no meaning in it.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/16/fake-mandela-memorial-interpreter-schizophrenia-signing …..” All the crocodile tears of the dignitaries were a self-congratulatory exercise, and Jangtjie translated them into what they effectively were: nonsense. ”
People forget that New Zealand,… or more specifically our Rugby union with the AllBlacks, together with their National party sponsors ruined the Montreal Olympics by touring South Africa ( after hundreds of blacks had been killed by the south African racist regime in the Soweto uprisings ), causing a boycott and walk out of over 30 countries in protest at us…… little ol NZ http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/82567562/New-Zealand-at-centre-of-Olympics-boycott
National were dirty then ….. and they seem to have gotten worse.
If key had any decency he should have taken people who made a stand FOR Mandela…..
I would have sent these three ….for doing it when it counted ……… and with some degree of personal cost.
Graham Mourie http://pukeariki.com/Learning-Research/Taranaki-Research-Centre/Taranaki-Stories/Taranaki-Story/id/629/title/springbok-tour-forces-brave-decision ….. A real All Black captain and champion. http://pukeariki.com/Learning-Research/Taranaki-Research-Centre/Taranaki-Stories/Taranaki-Story/id/626/title/graham-mourie-a-man-of-conscience
John Minto …. “On his chin there’s another tour scar – this left by a ‘Blue Squad’ police baton” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10737275
And Hone Harawira of course …. For being right then…. just as feeding hungry kids is the right thing to do now.
Key claims not to remember his views on nationals support of the racist tour, which I find highly unlikely ……. however the troll srylands posted Key was working in some horse stables at the time …… I note the similarity between Pony tails and horses tails ….. so perhaps he was in some kind of delirium.
You do know that Snowden is a affiliated to the Libertarian Party and gave money to Ron Paul’s presidential campaign in 2008 don’t you?
Although rather a lot has happened between now and then.
the US libertarians want to close military bases and stop bombing everyone.
they also have this weird concept called “human rights”
how awful of them
+1 Morrissey, Snowdon’s smart, white, male, knows where Aleppo is, able to collaborate with other world leaders, computer savvy, been persecuted, is a world wide name and is a former defence forces contractor – they should be cuing up for Snowdon as President!
Oh, he’s got too much integrity…
It’s disappointing to see Tim Hazeldine sidling across to the dark side….
“Tim Hazledine: Panicky housing policies may be missing target”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11754601
His references are a bit vague but from what I can make out he’s using the income data from 100% of households to calculate the (real) housing inflation of only 31% of households. When calculating the rental index I’d think it obvious one should only use the incomes of renters as a reference or at least make note of the caveat.
He’s also missed the point that households can have multiple tenants while a household can have only one owner-occupier. The ratio of renters must obviously be far higher than the 31% he’s quoting.
Another point is that rising rents lead to crowded housing and crowded houses will increase the average household income which would in turn create misleading statistics on relative housing costs.
IMO a graphic reminder of the old saying about lies, damned lies, etc…
“Many stand to inherit, and need to show a little patience – just give us over-entitled baby-boomers a few more dignified years to shuffle off this mortal coil.”…that particular argument gets my goat.
Baby boomers are expected to (generally) live longer and healthier lives than their parents. What good is it, as a Gen Xer to inherit money for your first house when you’re only 10 years off retirement yourself?? I know of many BB’s who were helped into their first home by their folks, but will not pass on the favour as they expect to enjoy active and secure life styles and endless kitchen renovations.
But far more importantly “…so long as families are able to live in warm, dry, sanitary accommodation, with just about enough space, what does it matter who is paying the mortgage?”..the man clearly has no idea about the realities -financial, emotional, physical- of renting your whole life.
Intellectuals Really Are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite .
“Intellectuals Really Are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite .’
IIRC Hazeldine used to be quite the socialist, was one of the few academics who stood up for the poor with any kind of sincerity. Leopard seems to have changed its spots there though.
Those damnable things you call ‘intellectuals’ are the remaining people in society who read. I’m sure you can find a little space in your bookshop-loving heart for them.
How many true intellectuals are around these days? Educated people who are willing to stick it to the establishment whenever the establishment deserves it? (Which is every day).
As opposed to the Intellectual Yet Idiot class who owe their comfortable middle classness on justifying, perpetuating and protecting the establishment.
Hedges describes this very well in his book Death of the Liberal Class.
Are the negotiations between the Māori Party and Mana a consequence of Labour’s treatment of the two?
And will this result in biting Labour in the ass?
That would be hilarious !!!
Hone trusting a maori party that’s being run by tuku morgan would be dumber than him teaming up with dot com
I have to disagree with that – Kim Dotcom was the worst mistake anyone could make.
But national are dirty politics sweetness… https://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/doing-the-business-with-john-key-heres-how-part-rua/
5 October 2009: Crafar Farms placed into receivership, owing $216 million to creditors.
2 December 2009: KIWI DAIRY CORPORATION LIMITED registered. (Then changes to ORAVIE LIMITED, 20 December 2010. Then changes to ORAVIDA LTD, 20 January 2011. Then changes to ORAVIDA NZ LIMITED, 13 May 2011. ) Shareholders: Jing Huang, Julia Jiyan Xu, and Deyi Shi. (Source)
11 June 2010: National Party receives $50,000.00 donation from Susan Chou. (Source)
30 July 2010: National Party receives $150,000 donation from Susan Chou. (Source)
18 November 2010: MILK NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION LIMITED* registered. Directors: Terry Lee and Jiang Zhaobai. (Source)
22 December 2010: Government blocks bid by Natural Dairy to buy the 16 Crafar farms on ‘good character’ grounds.
27 January 2011: KordaMentha accepts offer from Shanghai Pengxin International Group Ltd to buy Crafar Farms.
31 May 2011: National Party receives $100,000 donation from Susan Chou. (Source)
22 July 2011: ORAVIDA LTD registered. Shareholders: Jing Huang, Julia Jiyan Xu, and Deyi Shi. (Source)
27 July 2011: ORAVIDA PROPERTY LTD changes name to KIWI DAIRY INDUSTRY LTD. Shareholder: Deyi Shi (Source)
13 April 2011: Shanghai Pengxin lodges application with the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) to buy the Crafar farms.
26 September 2011: Crafar farms receiver KordaMentha rejects a conditional NZ$171.5 million offer for 16 central North Island dairy farms from a group led by controversial former merchant banker Michael Fay.
22 November 2011: National Party receives $50,0000 donation from Citi Financial Group. Shareholders: Yan Yang and Qiang Wei. (Source) (Source)
22 November 2011: National Party receives $1,600 from Oravida NZ. (Source) (Source)
26 November 2011: NZ General Election
30 November 2011: National Party receives further $55,000 donation from Oravida NZ. (Source) (Source)
27 January 2012: Government ministers approve Shanghai Pengxin’s application to purchase 16 Crafar farms.
15 February 2012: High Court delays sale of Crafar farms to Shanghai Pengxin.
20 April 2012: Government ministers , Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson and Associate Finance Minister Jonathan Coleman approve the Overseas’ Investment Office’s (OIO) new recommendation to allow the sale of the 16 Crafar farms to Shanghai Pengxin.
* “Milk New Zealand Holding Limited” is the official applicant and purchaser of the 16 Crafar farms. It is supposedly a subsidiary of Shanghai Pengxin
@ James – Hone’s tie up with Dotcom made him a household name outside being a Maori MP. Losing his seat after the dirty politics gave Hone a lot of sympathy with the public. And I think if Hone runs again he will regain his seat – the public is turning more towards those who are not mainstream.
Yeah – but not to people like Hone.
edit – and being a household name can be a good and a bad thing.
ie – Fred and Rosemary West are household names – dosnt mean that people like them.
Hones popularity is a very small number of people and hardly likely to ever increase outside of this.
I don’t think your right James. The worst thing Hone could do is to go with the Maori party, have people abuse him for selling out and then push the dying Maori party through next election and the Maori party knife him in the back and suck up to whoever in power gives them the most bribes aka the Natz.
We will just have to agree to disagree – but thanks for doing so politely.
But yep – I see him ending up on the Nats side of the fence as well – which is good for him and National.
+1 b waghorn
An interesting suggestion for how Obama could fill some of the free time he’s got coming up.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/11/23/barack_obama_could_run_for_congress_become_speaker_of_the_house.html
Big data.
This is the road farmer, failure, and corrupt politician Bill English wants to take us down…
http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/weapons-of-math-destruction-the-problem-with-algorithms
A technological way to enforce long held prejudices.
Interesting analysis
“President Donald Trump is set to give America’s richest 1% an average annual tax cut of $214,000 when he takes office, while more than eight million families with children are expected to suffer financially under his proposed tax plan.
On the eve of the election, Trump promised to “massively cut taxes for the middle class, the forgotten people, the forgotten men and women of this country, who built our country”. But independent expert analyses of Trump’s tax plan show that America’s millionaire and billionaire class will win big at the expense of struggling low- and middle-income people, who turned out in large numbers to help the real estate billionaire win the election.
Experts warn that Trump’s tax plan will exacerbate America’s already chronic income inequality and herald in a “new era of dynastic wealth”.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/23/trump-tax-plan-cuts-wealthy-low-income-inequality?CMP=share_btn_fb
I always thought his plan was a folly designed to help him and his mates and I so wished I was wrong, but alas…
Many of the policies on his current website are straight out of the Heritage Foundation portfolio. There will be plenty of changes to them over the next year.
back downs and turn arounds you mean – yeah I am not surprised.
And there are going to be far more to come. He’s going for the centre ground and he’s taking the knees out of the Democratic Party in the process.
It seems like Trump is going to be far more middle of the road, than the New Hitler liberal lefties have been crying about.
he is making all his supporters look like chumps
“The newspaper was one of Trump’s prime targets for ridicule and attack during his campaign rallies.
Trump then: “No media is more corrupt than the failing New York Times.”
Trump now: “I will say, The Times is, it’s a great, great American jewel. A world jewel.””
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/23/politics/donald-trump-changes-since-election/index.html
Can. Not. Be. Trusted.
where is vto haven’t seen a comment from him for a while
Pretty obvious that Trump Can. Not. Be. Trusted.
And the NYT also Can. Not. Be. Trusted.
How long did that take them (both parties) to build bridges where they could meet and indulge in mutual back slapping? A few days? A week?
This piece on their recent ‘on the record’ meeting kind of lays out some disturbing stuff quite nicely. Trump’s now ‘open minded’ duntya know? And the NYT? Well, back on board just as every other ‘news’ outlet is or will be.
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-fools-the-new-york-times-on-climate-change-180323fa5980#.kxew80qlh
You can trust him to do his best on bringing jobs back, securing the southern border, trashing the TPP, building up the US military machine, making massive infrastructure investments and bringing major change to run down inner city neighbourhoods.
You can also trust him not to hold grudges if he sees an advantage in not doing so.
Which seems to always surprise the hell out of Clinton Preferrers who insist on continuing to paint him as a vindictive villain and thus not understanding him at all.
My point with the article and comment was about what trump said and how he blatently changed his view. This shows a lot about the guy, none of it good imo. It wasn’t really about the merits of the nyts.
As the saying goes… you get the government you deserve. No sympathy from me.
Ooops… that was meant to be “they” not “you”. Not getting at you mm.
I have a recollection vto copped a few weeks ban for something and hasn’t returned. Could be wrong.
All good Anne I agree with you in many ways.
To Rosemary McDonald after mentioning the effort National is going to, to avoid payments to Carers of the Disabled , Andrew Geddis has a column pointing to: “The Nation this weekend is telling the story of family carers of disabled adult relatives and the pretty shabby way they’ve been treated over the years.”
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/a-little-something-for-the-weekend
TV3 at 9:30am this Saturday, repeat at 10:00am on Sunday.
Hah! This is a genuine expression of delight…any hint of my usual sarcasm is sincerely unintended.
ianmac…that answers the question my ‘networks’ were asking yesterday…’why now?’ Andrew has been a staunch supporter on this issue. Also, from the Pundit team, is Brian Easton who did a cost analysis for paying family carers back when the case went to the Human Rights Review Tribunal in 2008. Even though he was starved for data (by the Mystery of Health) his costing was a million times closer to accuracy than the Miserly of Health’s $17-590 million. Better data is available now…although I will never trust Misery of Health sources…and the ridiculously low uptake of the shitty Funded Family Care scheme supports the point of view that there were NEVER tens of thousands of disabled people with high and very high care needs who were being totally supported 24/7 by unpaid family carers.
And to try and present this issue in the narrative of this site….
NZ cut its neoliberalism teeth on disability support services. (Labour did it too!) When the Miserly of Health was given the cripples to look after, on the back of the Public Health and Disability Act back in 2000 (Annette King?), they almost immediately contracted the whole shit and shebang out to various non profits and profit making organisations.
These businesses have done VERY well out of these contracts and are almost NEVER held to account when disabled people are neglected, even to the point of death.
Many of these Contracted Providers where paying resident family members as carers. Even against the Misery’s policy. I was offered such payment from a Contracted Provider back in 2002…I was offered $17 per hour to care for my partner…way above the minimum wage at the time, but still allowing the CP to make a profit from the funding from the Mystery of Health.
I have a suspicion that many of these CP would not have done so well had they not have been paying family carers through these backdoor payments.
NO…I did not take up the offer…dodgy deals not our style…but when we spoke of this to Ruth Dyson back in early 2013…she asked why we didn’t take up one of these backdoor deals. “It was only a policy, not the law.” she said. (She looked at us if we were fuckwits for not doing this dodgy deal.) She had no answer when we asked why on earth Labour did not sort this shit out before it went to the HRRT in 2008. No answer.
Thanks ianmac for putting this up.
AND…I’m told that Sunday on TV1 is also going to feature this issue.
Looks like I’m going to have to commandeer a telly…
You can watch on line Rosemary when it streams 9.30am saturday if you prefer. Here’s the link.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/Video/NewshubLiveStream
Will def be watching too, a friend works in that sector, I’m so hearing what you are saying. Thanks IanMac for the info
When we are not traveling, we are ‘home’, out in the country west of Hamilton.
Because we are more than 5 kms from the nearest exchange (or whatever its called) our broadband can be slow and unstable. We get a lot of buffering (if that’s the correct terminology) when trying to view program live. We’ve tried to watch a couple of livestreamed events…very frustrating.
Great news. But the transfer of disability support from Social Welfare to Health happened as part of Ruthless Richardson’s economic reign of terror in the early 90s.
“But the transfer of disability support from Social Welfare to Health happened as part of Ruthless Richardson’s economic reign of terror in the early 90s.”
Didn’t the PHDAct formalise that? During Ruth’s rule, we have the CHEs and HFAs and other alphabeticised devolutions….muddied the waters a little bit.
The Hill case in 2000 was against IHC and the RHA. Same issue after PHDAct was against MOH.
As an aside Sacha, I’ve been trying to find the founding document/s for the NASCs. Any idea where I might source these? The recent Service Specs for all the Providers (including the NASCs) are up on the Mystery’s website…but these are fairly recent (post 2000).
For my own interest, I’m trying to find the point at which the rot set in, and I suspect this was in the early 90s.
Can’t recall which law/s governed the changeover but yes it was to the old RHAs which by design were not able to directly provide services, only to fund them via contracted providers.
When Labour changed the structure to DHBs and MoH, those local rationing/funding functions got transferred to NASCs. The underlying libertarianism won out despite the change of govt.
For those who need sound and vision to capture your interest…
https://www.facebook.com/TheNationTV3/videos/10154720163218535/
Reporter to Sam Lotu Iiga….”how long does it take you to go to the toilet?”
Sir Elton did say ask Ted fucking Nugent……..
https://youtu.be/IJwOlRhGbeU?t=1m12s
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/no-one-seems-to-want-to-play-donald-trumps-inauguration-a7436531.html
I wonder if he’d sing Heads will Roll, or would that be considered too pro Isis?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XOU1h-kONjo
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11754816
Interesting ramifications for the next election
And “Erica Stanford will be contesting the safe National seat being vacated by replace Murray McCully in East Coast Bays in the 2017 general election.”
A safe seat so Erica will be tossing her hair at Mr Key next year.
Note that McCully will resign from Parliament when his stint as Foreign Minister ends- soon?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11754852
Yep! After the last sheepgate debacle it’s clear that he has been informed that his presence is no longer required.
Hone working in a John Key government?
Yeah, right.
Well, it seems Labour don’t want to work with him.
According to who – the Maori king? He who has the National Party aligned Maori Party president’s hand shoved up his arse to do his talking for him.
It would be interesting to know what monies flow from the coffers of the National Party to the Maori elite of the Maori Party and then on to Mr Tuheitia himself…
According to the way Labour has treated him (Hone).
And Little was clear, Labour don’t see the Māori Party as a party willing to change the Government, hence ruled them out at this stage.
You’d prefer Labour told Kelvin Davis to stand down in TTT and gift Hone the seat in 2014?
Labour aren’t in the business of doing that.
I think Hone can win the seat back on his own. Who can rely on the Maori party?? Nobody especially the .1% elite Maori who profit from the relationship.
Willow Jean ring any bells.
Labour were more willing to accommodate Peters than they were Hone.
Kelvin Davis could have been placed high on the list.
Eh? Willow Jean Prime didn’t stand down in the Northland by-election.
I didn’t say she stood-down.
But Labour made accommodations, signaling to her supporters to back Peters.
They could have done the same for Hone was the point I was making.
Totally agree Chairman! And lets hope they learn from their mistakes this election!!!
Also, Kelvin Davis has done an immense amount of work for New Zealand inmates both here and overseas. The Australian government is under immense pressure to change its detention policy and close centres such as Christmas Island in no small part because of the work done by Kelvin Davis.
Kelvin Davis got Sam Lotu Iiga fired from his portfolio, and is no doubt going to do the same with Judith Collins.
And you want him to have stepped aside and let Hone win? You would prefer that Davis was emasculated by Labour, with no mandate to force such change?
I ask you, what would Hone Harawira have achieved at the same point?
Kelvin Davis works for canz, he has no credibility.
Christian Accomodation NZ?
Composers Association of New Zealand?
Celebrants Association of New Zealand?
Aha! Corrections Association of New Zealand.
He’s involved with a union therefore has no credibility according to a right winger.
As I said on this thread, Davis’ work has directly contributed to the increased focus on the Australian government policy on detention of NZ citizens and indirectly on the increased pressure on the Australian government to close offshore detention centres.
His work is directly responsible for the holding to account of Serco’s mismanagement of MECF and has brought to bear increased scrutiny of Wiri. The current government would have done neither of these things if they were allowed to get away with it. Davis forced the sacking of one of John Key’s pet, token, brown projects in Sam Lotu Iiga. He forced Key to reinstate the corrupt trout, Judith Collins.
These are major achievements in just two years, but then you say he has no credibility?
Hone would have brought Laila in. And she is left wing gold.
Ask yourself what have the left missed out on by keeping them out?
As for Davis, he could have achieved those same goals if he was placed high on the party list.
They weren’t good enough. How do you think they’d perform in front of the media and in parliament if they’d been gifted the seat?
Kelvin Davis has proven to be a tenacious and committed fighter for the vulnerable and one of Labours best performers. As I said, he wouldn’t have the mandate to do what he’s done if he’d rolled over for Hone Harawira.
Totally agree Chairman!
Supported not gifted. Showing the left can also utilize MMP.
They would have got on with the job, adding to the good work Davis has done. Tripling the bang for the left’s buck.
The work Davis has done didn’t require a voter mandate.
Indeed. It suited Labour perfectly to keep Hone and Laila out of Parliament.
Both would have been true left wing voices in Parliament.
Can’t see how it suited them. I’m sure Labour would have welcomed Hone and Laila as voices representing Maori, the left, the disenfranchised, and those who want change.
Labour also would have wanted them to have got there on their own steam rather than weakening Labour by giving them a leg up as you and The Chairman wanted.
They couldn’t.
Doesn’t matter to me; just means that Labour has one less MMP ally next year to try and form a coalition with.
Also, try this perspective.
Hone clearly got more votes in 2014 than he did in 2011.
But he lost by around 700 votes because National, Labour and NZ First each instructed their voters to choose Kelvin Davis.
I remember why I don’t converse with you.
You are all strategy, and no conscience. That’s what happens to the politically tragic.
Nicola Willis has launched a challenge against incumbent candidate and list MP Paul Foster-Bell (National’s Wellington Central candidate) for the party’s nomination, which opens in January.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/prime-minister-recruits-corporate-high-flyer-for-2017-2016112415
Oh jeez. Looks like education in the US is about to try a whole bunch more craptacularly bad ideas that no doubt our local clowns will be falling over themselves to copy.
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2016/11/how_trump_and_education_secretary_betsy_devos_could_gut_public_education.html
A group funded by Betsy DeVos called for the restoration of child labour.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/betsy-devos-child-labor-acton_us_5836eb7fe4b000af95edf12e
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/devos-family-foundations-heritage-americans-prosperity-blackwater
Ominous Joe. Where USA goes, so goes Key. Perhaps Key will fund a private ultra conservative school. Where does the DeVos family get their money?
Open for business?
It seems nobody is ensuring surrounding buildings don’t pose a risk when buildings have been cleared to open.
Has commonsense and public safety gone out the window in the rush to get back to business?
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2016/11/sixty-four-shades-of-grey.html
Wow…just wow
This is nothing more than a mean-spirited attack on Andrew Little’s appearance and way of speaking. This is by no means the first time Trotter has had a go at Little like this.
Ironically, just to the left of that hatchet job, Trotter has listed the “Bowalley Road Rules”….
You conveniently ignored the substance of Trotter’s criticism which has zero to do with the way Little looks or sounds:
Fair comment, Viper. I actually agree with most of his criticisms of Little, but the fact remains that it begins as a personal attack on his looks and his lack of “charisma.” I find that offensive, and—when you consider his pious little admonition against “snide or hurtful” comments—hypocritical in the extreme. I was also unimpressed by Trotter’s vacuous enthusiasm for Justin Trudeau’s “wit and movie-star good-looks”.
I think it’s important to look at the Trotter piece in totality, and to me the implicit message is clear: if he is somewhat short of charming good looks and lens fixating charisma, Little better have a whole lot of political courage and policy chutzpah going for him in his favour.
But he doesn’t.
Just to remind people, and Colonial Viper, Chris Trotter is not a friend of Labour – he has some sort of snitch scratching at him with Labour which goes back years.
And I’m not sure where he found the comment re If Andrew Little would have voted for Jeremy Corbyn – because AL’s response to Corbyn winning the UK Labour leadership was positive.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/andrew-little-corbyn-brings-refreshing-style-2015091320
Although it’s sort of politic to say nice things about a fellow Labour Leader once they have become the Leader.
My question would be what positive remarks did Little make about Corbyn in the months before that.
Freiend or friend not the article rings true. you could argue been left and not a labour cheer leader his view has more weight Where I disagree if he thinks labour going Corbyn left is the answer, “tell em he’s joking”
Gary McCormick announces: “I would rather trust the experts.”
But have a look at how he treated an expert five years ago.
The Panel, RNZ National, Wednesday 23 November 2016
Wallace Chapman, Alan Blackman, Gary McCormick, Megan Whelan
humbug n., a willfully false, deceptive, or insincere person
For a change there was, briefly, something resembling an earnest discussion on Wednesday’s edition of Jim Mora’s pisspoor chat show. This one was about whether or not it was safe to go back into Wellington buildings closed down after the earthquake. The most earnest of all the Panelists was regular guest Gary McCormick, who told how the people of Christchurch had gone through all of this before, and after an earthquake was no time to take chances. “I would rather trust the experts,” he intoned.
No doubt more than a few long-time listeners to this show would have snorted to hear McCormick talk like that. Back in March 2011, Gary McCormick embarked on a demeaning, philistine attack on Professor Nick Wilson, a world-renowned expert on tobacco epidemiology. Also ganging up on the Professor were Jim Mora and Raybon Kan…..
More of McCormick’s unfunny display of contempt for an expert…
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11032011/#comment-306974
The dirty liar…….
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/nov/25/margaret-thatcher-pushed-for-breakup-of-welfare-state-despite-nhs-pledge?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=201354&subid=15166303&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2
What do we read into Telegraph science article re Antartica sea ice is no different than 100 years ago I ask in serioness not as a wind up, No one denies climate is changing but if true this must raise some question of models and forecasts ?
With out you linking it’s hard to tell, i do believe though that it has something to do with the polar winds swirling the antarctic keeping the warm air at bay,
I believe it’s something to do with the hypotheticals.
It is exactly the antarctic vortex, combined with such a massive area of ice can shed an awful lot of mass while not really being super noticeable. Shrinking ice area in Greenland is much more obvious.
@ Red
What the article is reporting is that the effect of Global Warming on the Antarctic ice shelf is not as great as first feared. That is not to say there is no effect, just that it is not occurring at the same rate as the Arctic Circle. Not surprising because the Northern Hemisphere is far more densely populated so one would expect more rapid man-made atmospheric warming causing the temperature of the northern seas to also rapidly rise.
Thank you. One news ran with story tonight without much explanation of why or what is potential ramifications of these findings to climate change models. You think they could have gone ask some experts for an opinion at least. You do wonder if we over play what we understand in science I was reading an article the other day from NASA re the impossible engine, a NASA developed engine that defys classical laws of physics in thatt every action has an opposite reaction, In essence Nasa has developed and engine that propels and object without a propellant. Most scientist rubbished the idea but it does seem to work and while most still hold newtons third law they believe something is going on that we dont understand. My long winded point is you sort of wonder that understanding and predicting climate change is similar, not prejudging if human driven climate change is under or overstated either way, we just don’t no re the accuracy and predictability of our models. In this regard a safe bet probably makes acting in caution a sensible option, even though it may be pointless
that engine thing is exciting ,everything is lining up for space travel shame we may have cooked ourselves before we get there.
You also have to take into account the media tendency to over-hype for the purpose of creating click baits etc. Where Climate Change is concerned, only the most ignorant and uneducated still deny it’s existence [eg. Donald Trump]. Yet the media continued to give the deniers equal space long after their ‘scientific rebuttals’ had been debunked. All in the name of a good story… and the planet be dammed.