And being a Cooperative is the best way to legally avoid tax. The 'shareholders' really receive their income via supplier payments which is a tax free distribution and as the Fonterra Limited side of things is exporter receives huge tax refunds for the GST payments
Essentially its $20 bill per year revenue stream that magically pays no tax- you couldnt do better if you ran all the money through trusts in Caribbean
The strategy is: shrink rapidly, cut debt, focus on core ingredients.
Coincidentlly, the New Zealand government launched its economic strategy this week and failed to mention our largest business and largest exporter, with the largest social and environmental footprint of any other entity.
New Zealand government is for the first time in 2 decades actively reviewing the legislation that brought Fonterra into being, with timid proposals.
Pretty clear after two years that this government is prepared to regulate resources such as water, very happy to throw $3b of tax into the regional small companies through the PGF, but simply unable to join economic strategy, resource regulation, and Fonterra into something useful.
This government needs to lead the economy with really smart interventions, and they aren't apparent yet.
Government needs to inspire the economy, and it isn't.
SOUL are taking their action to the council at the Auckland Town Hall today.
… leader Pania Newton says central and local government are passing the blame.
"They keep hitting the balls in each other's courts, and so at the moment I think the council has been very quiet because a lot of the focus has been on the Government." Newton hopes Auckland Council will consider dipping into funding to buy the sacred land.
"Perhaps they could offer us a land swap? Or they could reach into their heritage fund, or fund for recreation and parks, to help with the purchase of Ihumātao? … They are the ones who made the mistake in the first place."
Auckland Council designated part of the land a special housing area in 2014, and its sale to construction firm Fletcher in 2016 sparked the long-running protest.
Awesome – I have been so impressed by these land defenders – they have pulled support from everywhere and made their opponents look like – well to be honest who are their opponents really? nobodies with nothing to say it seems to me and certainly imo not taken seriously at all lol. And they have done that with dignity. True leaders we are seeing if we look. Here there and everywhere.
Their stamina is amazing and does indeed light the way forward – they have followed the past and that past is informing the future – like many things the past is where the answers are for the future imo
Fletchers owned the land when the SHA was designated on their application.
Before the SHA it was privately owned. Not sure how they think the Council can unwind the process.
The Manukau Council did buy for public open space the Mountain stonefields and coastal frontage. I would think they would say that the historical area is preserved.
Buying off Fletchers is probably the most straight forward option.
"The Manukau Council did buy for public open space the Mountain stonefields and coastal frontage. I would think they would say that the historical area is preserved."
US troops in Saudi Arabia defend hegemony, not security, although this doesn't seem to bother Pelosi or the establishment Dems all too much, no surprises there though.
00:01
Ukrainian officials understood that Trump's aid was conditional on Biden probe
ABC reports that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administration “came to recognize a precondition to any executive correspondence” between Ukraine and the US:
“It was clear that [President Donald] Trump will only have communications if they will discuss the Biden case,” said Serhiy Leshchenko, an anti-corruption advocate and former member of Ukraine’s Parliament, who now acts as an adviser to Zelenskiy. “This issue was raised many times. I know that Ukrainian officials understood.”
The Trump administration’s alleged insistence that the two leaders discuss a prospective investigation into Biden, one of the president’s political opponents, casts his July 25 conversation with Zelenskiy in a new light.
During the call, a rough summary of which was released by the White House Wednesday, Trump repeatedly encouraged Zelenskiy to work with Attorney General William Barr and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to probe Biden’s role in the dismissal of the country’s prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, in 2016.
During the call, a rough summary of which was released by the White House Wednesday…
lol – they are flailing – this to me says they are very scared – I expect the trumpnuts and antiHRC crew to come riding in spamming away – and I notice it started last night.
The GOP Congress minority leader McCarthy has been caught manipulating the talking points
Firstly what has been 'read'
"“No one has read this transcript,” he surprised some of his own colleagues who knew he had been at the WH earlier this morning — for the explicit purpose of reading the transcript in advance of its public release."
and secondly in twisting who raised what first in the conversations
Local body election papers arrived today. As usual the task is to avoid inadvertently voting for undeclared Tories. Perversely, the one bit of information that would tell us most about a candidate's personal values and likely actions – their Party affiliation – is not there. Instead we get cliche-stuffed 'bios' that would be embarrassing even on a contemptible piece of junk like LinkedIn. It's initially an interesting exercise in 'close reading' – looking for tiny clues hidden in the blandness and unconsciously left there by the writer. To get all 'lit crit' about it, you are looking for self-problematising acts within the text. God it gets tedious though!
I guess this is part of why so many people don't bother voting.
I'm finding Stuff and Spinoff's climate survey's helpful. Not infallible (some candidates aren't included and we don't know why), but helps with the scrutinising.
" As usual the task is to avoid inadvertently voting for undeclared Tories. " Yeah the lines are getting pretty blurred a lot of the time now, seems to be quite a bit of cross over between 'pragmatic' liberal lefties and many of the 'right'.
Every time I am approached by a local body candidate, the first question I always as is about which party at governmental level they support. Tends to catch them unawares but it means I don't waste their time or mine.
I also take note of the colours of their billboards.
Bios don't tell you much – probably talk about business friendly or rates linked to inflation.
Nothing about education, community involvement, fostering small business, enabling ratepayers to pay off debts, cutting penalty of 10% rate (not per annum interest) and going to credit card interest rates. Bland, organised to obfuscate. No reference to voting propensities for sitting candidates. Nothing about beliefs and how they are going to serve community usually.
I recall last year there was a website that helped identify the anti-fluoride, etc nutters, but I haven't seen the equivalent this time.
No Right Turn provides a good summary for Palmerston North; regarding Council he says "don't vote for real estate agents or property developers; don't vote for anyone who promises to "keep rates low" or who talks publicly about their imaginary friends; don't vote for climate change deniers or foot-draggers." – possibly good advice for anywhere. In Wellington for example it suggests not voting for the nice lady Nicola Young that is an "independent," but some of the others are less clear. In Australia the used to have "How to Vote" cards issued by the main parties, but that doesn;t happen here – are they not allowed?
The other query is whether it is better to leave out those you dislike for whatever reason, or put them at the bottom of the list? I would have thought it is better to leave them out, but those more expert may have a different take.
In Oz the How to Vote cards were a party ploy from each, to arrange the votes with the presenting party at the top and the order of the others which would be to that party's best advantage.
It was to try and assort the votes that didn't go directly for them, to advantage them when all totalled. The people who knew what they wanted mightn't use them, but the party would prefer they followed the advice of the party apparatchiks, and the uncertains if following would get channelled their way.
So, Fonterra as of this morning has a new strategy.
Basically, its' strategy is sell off all international ambition to lower debt and shrink back to Australia and New Zealand.
This is New Zealand's largest private business by a long way, largest exporter, and entity with the largest footprint on our society and landscape full stop.
So far the New Zealand government has generated a timid response to the DIRA legislation.
So far they haven't even tried to map Fonterra onto the economic strategy that they launched 48 hours ago.
Fonterra was formed by government legislation. Not many businesses have such close ties to government, or owe them so much.
How hard is it for this government to actually do business leadership? (Not resource regulation; business leadership.)
Fonterra was FORMED from a merger of two dairy companies.
What the government did was give that merger a pass regarding laws around market dominance. In return Fonterra HAS to take all milk offered by its suppliers and HAS to provide competitors with bulk milk supply
Not sure you will get Ministerial directions ( which you call government leadership) for Fonterra, its hard enough for Ministers to move the levers and gears for Government departments let alone a privately owned group.
If government had not passed the legislation, Fonterra would not have been formed.
You're "not sure" about how government may engage with Fonterra because your two remaining imaginative neurons are but deep space circulating binary black holes.
Whatever other criticisms of Jacinda Ardern I have, she is really good at this stuff. Six minutes of international promo of NZ (vid from last year, she appears again tonight).
Police questioning attendees of a Dunedin school climate strike banner-painting session about future protest plans left some feeling ''scared'', an environmental activist says.
About 20 people, from teenagers to people in their 60s, gathered at Knox Church hall on Tuesday to create banners for the School Strike 4 Climate tomorrow.
Two uniformed officers came to the banner-painting and began asking people about their protest plans regarding a petroleum conference in Queenstown next week.
…A police spokesman said the officers were trying to ''establish a line of communication with the group'' and discuss ways to keep them and others safe during the conference.
''The group refused to engage with police, which is disappointing.
''Police acknowledge the importance of freedom of speech and the right to protest, and would always prefer to communicate with those planning public events in advance to help ensure safe protest activity.''
Boris Johnson has been branded a disgrace for dismissing pleas from Labour MPs to stop using inflammatory language in light of the murder of Jo Cox, telling one that it was “humbug” and another that the best way to honour her was to “get Brexit done”.
Johnson caused uproar in the House of Commons after he responded dismissively to Labour MP Paula Sherriff, who made a heartfelt speech calling on him to stop using language such as “surrender”, “traitor” and “betrayal” in relation to Brexit.
Before her death, Cox had campaigned to remain in the EU. Her widower, Brendan Cox, swiftly condemned the prime minister’s remarks, saying it had left him feeling sick.
Doesnt NZ Law mean that the obligation then falls on the lower ranked directors who were also defendants?
"Joint and Several Liability" I think is the legal term
Thats what happened in the leaky homes cases , Councils were only one of a group of defendants, the others folded their companies and left the Council as last man standing who faces all the cost
Will Jenny Shipley be moving to China also ?
The biggest airport in the world, Daxing, opened today near Beijing. Auckland take note of the following
The section between the airport to Beijing will operate at speeds of 250 km/h (160 mph) and the section between the airport to Xiong'an will operate at speeds of 350 km/h (220 mph).The airport to Beijing section is expected to open in September 26, 2019, while the airport to Xiong'an section in late 2020. It will take 28 minutes from Beijing West railway station to the new airport.
Sydney Airport has two stations one each under both its terminals leading directly to City station, most passengers are just moving between terminals however.
Enjoining someone from doing something "without the perdition of the MP it features" seems a little redundant. I mean really, aren't they all already there?
Chris Trotter in his latest post says that if there was an election in uk the conservatives would be returned in a landslide. Is that so? How come – is it the business of being able to win the electorates as in our FPP?
My guess is that he hasn’t looked at the vote splitting effect of the Brexit party in a FPP election. They did well in the EU elections and have remained high in the polls.
What analysis there is, appears to show that the Brexit party cutting more into the conservative party votes at the electorates than they are cutting into Labour. In effect they split the Brexit vote.
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 19, 2024 thru Sat, May 25, 2024. Story of the week This week's typiclal compendium of stories we'd rather were plot devices in science ficition novels but instead ...
This National government has been aggressively anti-environment, and is currently ramming through its corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" legislation to give three ministers dictatorial powers over what gets built and where. But that's not the only thing they're doing. On Thursday they introduced a Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, ...
Whenever politicians dole out taxpayer funding to groups or individuals, they must do so in a wholly transparent way with due process to ensure conflicts of interest don’t occur and that the country receives value for money. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that this has occurred in the announcement this week ...
Last night began earlier than usual. In bed by 6:30pm, asleep an hour later. Sometimes I do sleep odd hours, writing late and/or getting up very early - complemented with the occasional siesta, but I’m usually up a bit later than that on a Saturday night. Last night I was ...
Early in the COVID-19 days, the Boris Johnson government pressed a Big Red Button marked: act immediately, never mind about the paperwork.Their problem was: not having enough PPE gear for all the hospital and emergency staff. Their solution was to expedite things and get them the gear ASAP.This, along with ...
Up until 1989, you could attend a New Zealand University, and never need to pay a cent for your education. That then changed, of course. The sadists of the Fourth Labour Government introduced substantial fees for study, never having had to pay a cent for their own education. The even ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Minister for Children Karen Chhour is putting children first: Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I move, That the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the bill.It’s a privilege ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Applause and cheers erupted in the House on Wednesday afternoon as Children’s Minister Karen Chhour condemned Te Pāti Māori’s insults about her upbringing. Chhour, who grew up in state care, is repealing section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act – sparking uproar from ...
I could corrupt youIt would be uglyThey could sedate youBut what good would drugs be?Good Morning all,Today there’s a guest newsletter from Gerard Otto (G). By which I mean I read his post this morning and he has kindly allowed me to share it with you.If you don’t already I ...
Is the solution to any of the serious, long term issues we all have to face as a nation, because many governments of all stripes we can probably all admit if we’re deeply truthful with ourselves haven’t done near enough work at the very times they should have, to basically ...
The 2018 Social Security Act suggests that Labour may have retreated to the minimalist (neo-liberal) welfare state which has developed out of the Richardson-Shipley ‘redesign’. One wonders what Michael Joseph Savage, Peter Fraser and Walter Nash would have thought of the Social Security Act passed by the Ardern Labour Government ...
MPs are supposed to serve the public interest, not their own self-interest. And according to the New Zealand Parliament’s website, democracy and integrity are tarnished whenever politicians seek to enrich themselves or the people they are connected with. For this reason, the Parliament has a “Register of Pecuniary Interests” in ...
By now, most of you will have heard about the FLICC taxonomy of science denial techniques and how you can train your skills in detecting them with the Cranky Uncle game. If you like to quickly check how good you are at this already, answer the 12 quiz questions in the ...
Buzz from the Beehive The hacks of the Parliamentary Press Gallery have been able to chip into a rich vein of material on the government’s official website over the past 24 hours. Among the nuggets is the speech by Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and a press statement to announce ...
When Labour was in power, they wasted time, political capital, and scarce policy resources on trying to extend the parliamentary term to four years, in an effort to make themselves less accountable to us. It was unlikely to fly, the idea having previously lost tworeferendums by huge margins - ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: When Whanau Ora chief executive John Tamihere was asked what his expectations for the Budget next Thursday were, he said: “All hope is lost.” Last year Whānau Ora was allocated $163.1 million in the Budget to last for the next four years ...
Nick Hanne writes – There’s a common malady suffered by bureaucracies the world over. They wish to save us from ourselves. Sadly, NZ officials are no less prone to exhibiting symptoms of this occupational condition.Observe, for instance, the reaction from certain public figures to the news ...
Peter Dunne writes – As the city of Tauranga prepares to elect a new Mayor and Council after three and a half years being run by government-appointed Commissioners, the case for replacing the Wellington City Council with Commissioners strengthens. The Wellington City Council has been dysfunctional for years, ...
This will be s short post. It stems from observations I made elsewhere about what might be characterised as some macro and micro aspects of contemporary collective violence events. Here goes. The conflicts between Israel and Palestine and France and … Continue reading → ...
It may be a relic of a previous era of egalitarianism, but many of us like to think that, in general, most New Zealanders are as honest as the day is long. We’re good like that, and smart as. If we’re not punching above our weight on the world stage, ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Why aren’t politicians taking more action on the housing affordability crisis? The answer might lie in the latest “Register of Pecuniary Interests.” This register contains details of the various financial interests of parliamentarians. It shows that politicians own real estate in significant numbers. The ...
I built a time machine to see you againTo hear your phone callYour voice down the hallThe way we were back thenWe were dancing in the rainOur feet on the pavementYou said I was your second headI knew exactly what you meantIn the country of the blind, or so they ...
Why aren’t politicians taking more action on the housing affordability crisis? The answer might lie in the latest “Register of Pecuniary Interests.” This register contains details of the various financial interests of parliamentarians. It shows that politicians own real estate in significant numbers. The register published on Tuesday contains a ...
Microsoft’s transparency about its failure to meet its own net-zero goals is creditable, but the response to that failure is worrying. It is offering up a set of false solutions, heavily buttressed by baseless optimism. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in ...
Another Friday, another Rāmere Roundup! Here are a few things that caught our eye this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday, our new writer Connor Sharp roared into print with a future-focused take on the proposed Auckland Future Fund, and what it could invest in. On ...
Still Waiting: Māori land remains in the hands of Non-Māori. The broken promises of the Treaty remain broken. The mana of the tangata whenua languishes under racist neglect. The right to wear the huia feather remains as elusive as ever. Perhaps these three transformations are beyond the power of a ...
Posters opposing the proposed Fast-Track Approvals legislation were pasted around Wellington last week. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: One of the architects of the RMA and a former National Cabinet Minister, Simon Upton, has criticised the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals bill as potentially disastrous for the environment, arguing just 1% ...
There was less sharing of the joy this week than at the Chinese New Year celebrations in February. China’s ambassador to NZ (2nd from right above) has toldLuxon that relations between China and New Zealand are now at a ‘critical juncture’ Photo: Getty / Xinhua News AgencyTL;DR: The podcast ...
The importance of New Zealand’s relationship with China was surely demonstrated yesterday with the surprise arrival in the capital of top Chinese foreign policy official Liu Jianchao. The trip was apparently organized a week ago but kept secret. Liu is the Minister of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) International Liaison ...
With a crushing 20-plus point lead in the opinion polls, all the signs are that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the PM after the general election on 4 July, called by Conservative incumbent Rishi Sunak yesterday. The stars are aligned for Starmer. Rival progressives are in abeyance: the Liberal-Democrat ...
We returned last week from England to London. Two different worlds. A quarter of an hour before dropping off our car, we came to a complete stop on the M25. Just moments before, there had been six lanes of hurtling cars and lorries. Now, everything was at a standstill as ...
Buzz from the Beehive A triumvirate of ministers – holding the Agriculture, Environment and RMA Reform portfolios – has announced the introduction of legislation “to slash the tangle of red and green tape throttling development in key sectors”, such as farming, mining and other primary industries. The exact name of ...
The Social Services and Community Committee has called for submissions on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. Submissions are due by Wednesday, 3 July 2024, and can be made at the link above. And if you're wondering what to say: section 7AA was enacted because Oranga Tamariki ...
Michael Reddell writes – The Reserve Bank doesn’t do independent fiscal forecasts so there is no news in the fiscal numbers in today’s Monetary Policy Statement themselves. The last official Treasury forecasts don’t take account of whatever the government is planning in next week’s Budget, and as the Bank notes ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – We know the old saying, “Never trust a politician”, and the Charter School debate is a good example of it. Charter Schools receive public funding, yet “are exempt from most statutory requirements of traditional public schools, including mandates around .. human capital management .. curriculum ...
How Do We Silence Them? The ruling obsession of the contemporary Left is that political action undertaken by individuals or groups further to the right than the liberal wings of mainstream conservative parties should not only be condemned, but suppressed.WEB OF CHAOS, a “deep dive into the world of disinformation”, ...
Muriel Newman writes – As the new Government puts the finishing touches to this month’s Budget, they will undoubtedly have had their hands full dealing with the economic mess that Labour created. Not only was Labour a grossly incompetent manager of the economy, but they also set out ...
Today the British PM, Rishi Sunak, called a general election for the 4th of July. He spoke of the challenging times and of strong leadership and achievements. It was as if he was talking about someone else, a real leader, rather than he himself or the woeful list of Tory ...
This post marks the return of an old format: Photo of the Day. Recently I was in an apartment in one of those new buildings on Great North Road Grey Lynn at rush hour, perfect day, the view was stunning, so naturally I whipped out my phone: GNR 5pm Turns ...
The Government may struggle with the political optics of scrapping assistance for first home buyers while also cutting the tax burden on landlords, increasing concerns over the growing generational divide. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government confirmed it will dump first home buyer grants in the Budget next ...
Yesterday, the Reserve Bank confirmed there will be no free card for the economy to get out of jail during the current term of the Government. Regardless of what the Budget next week says, we are in for three years of austerity. Over those three years, we will have to ...
It doesn’t inspire confidence when politicians change their minds. But you must give credit when a bad idea is dropped. Last year, we reported on the determination of British PM Rishi Sunak to lead the world in regulating the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. Perhaps he changed his mind after meeting ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Is carbon dioxide removal - aka "negative emissions" - going to save us from climate change? Or is it just a ...
Headed for the legislative wastepaper basket… Buzz from the Beehive It looks like this government is just as ready as its predecessor to dip into the public funds it is managing to dispense millions of dollars to finance – and favour – the parties it fancies. Or ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – National and Labour and ACT have at various times waxed on about their “vision” of NZ as a high value-added world tech centerWhat subject is tech based upon? Mathematics. A Chicago mathematician just told me that whereas last decade ...
Eric Crampton writes – Danyl McLauchlan over at The Listener on the recent shift toward more contestability in public policy advice in education: Education Minister Erica Stanford, one of National’s highest-ranked MPs, is trying to circumvent the establishment, taking advice from a smaller pool of experts – ...
Ele Ludemann writes – That Kāinga Ora is a mess is no surprise, but the size of the mess is. There have been many reports of unruly tenants given licence to terrorise neighbours, properties bought and left vacant, and the state agency paying above market rates in competition ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s being explained as an “inadvertent error”. However, National MP David MacLeod’s excuse for failing to disclose $178,000 in donations for his election campaign last year is not necessarily enough to prevent some serious consequences. A Police investigation is now likely, and the result ...
The scathing “independent” review of Kāinga Ora barely hit the table before the coalition government had acted on it. The entire Kāinga Ora board will be replaced, and a new chair (Simon Moutter) has been announced. Hmm. No aspersions on Bill English, but the public would have had more confidence ...
I'll light the fireYou place the flowers in the vaseThat you bought todayA warm dry home, you’d think that would be bread and butter to politicians. Home ownership and making sure people aren’t left living on the street, that’s as Kiwi as Feijoa and Apple Crumble. Isn’t it?The coalition are ...
Politics is about compromise, right? And framing it so the voters see your compromise as the better one. John Key was a skilful exponent of this approach (as was Keith Holyoake in an earlier age), and Chris Luxon isn’t too bad either. But in politics, the process whereby an old ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
It’s being explained as an “inadvertent error”. However, National MP David MacLeod’s excuse for failing to disclose $178,000 in donations for his election campaign last year is not necessarily enough to prevent some serious consequences. A Police investigation is now likely, and the result of his non-disclosure could even see ...
The relentless drone coming out of the Prime Minister and his deputy for a million days now has been that the last government was just hosing money all over the show and now at last the grownups are in charge and shutting that drunken sailor stuff down. There is a word ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to riot-torn New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. Today’s flight will carry around 50 passengers with the most ...
Precious declaration saysYours is yours and mine you leave alone nowPrecious declaration saysI believe all hope is dead no longerTick tick tick Boom!Unexploded ordnance. A veritable minefield. A National caucus with a large number of unknowns, candidates who perhaps received little in the way of vetting as the party jumped ...
Rex Ahdar writes – The Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, likes to trace his political lineage back to the pioneers of parliamentary Maoridom. I will refer to these as the ‘big four’ or better still, the Four Knights. Just as ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Willie Jackson will participate in the prestigious Oxford Union debate on Thursday, following in David Lange’s footsteps. Coincidentally, Jackson has also followed Lange’s footsteps by living in his old home in South Auckland. And like Lange, Jackson might be the sort of loud-mouth scrapper ...
That is the only way to describe an MP "forgetting" to declare $178,000 in donations. The amount of money involved - more than five times the candidate spending cap, and two and a half times the median income - is boggling. How do you just "forget" that amount of money? ...
In this week’s “A View from Afar” podcast Selwyn Manning and spoke about the upcoming US elections and what the possibility of another Trump presidency means for the US role in world affairs. We also spoke about the problems Joe … Continue reading → ...
Hi,Two years ago I briefly featured in Justin Pemberton’s Web of Chaos documentary, which touched on things like QAnon during the pandemic.I mostly prattled on about how intertwined conspiracy narratives are with Evangelical Christian thinking, something Webworm’s explored in the past.(The doc is available on TVNZ+, if you’re not in ...
The Government is leaving the entire construction sector and the community housing sector in limbo. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government released the long-awaited Bill English-led review of Kāinga Ora yesterday, but delayed key decisions on its build plan and how to help community housing providers (CHPs) build ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Farmers who can’t sleep, worrying they’ll lose everything amid increasing drought. Youth struggling with depression over a future that feels hopeless. Indigenous people grief-stricken over devastated ecosystems. For all these people and more, climate change is taking a clear toll ...
New Zealand’s relationship with China is becoming harder to define, and with that comes a worry that a deteriorating political relationship could spill over into the economic relationship. It is about more than whether New Zealand will join Pillar Two of Aukus, though the Chinese Ambassador, more or less, suggested ...
Been hoping we would see something like this from Sir Geoffrey Palmer. This is excellent.The present Bill goes further than the National Development Act 1979 in stripping away procedures designed to ensure that environmental issues are properly considered. The 1979 approach was not acceptable then and this present approach is ...
He’s Got The Moxie: Only Willie Jackson possesses the credentials to meld together a new Labour message that is, at one and the same moment, staunchly working-class, union-friendly, and which speaks to the hundreds-of-thousands of urban Māori untethered to the neo-tribal capitalist elites of the Iwi Leaders Forum.IT’S ONE OF THE ...
Tree-huggers may well accuse the Government of giving them the fingers, after Energy Minister Simeon Brown announced new measures to protect powerlines from trees, rather than measures to protect trees from powerlines. It can be no coincidence, surely, that this has been announced at the same as Fisheries Minister Shane Jones ...
Willie Jackson will participate in the prestigious Oxford Union debate on Thursday, following in David Lange’s footsteps. Coincidentally, Jackson has also followed Lange’s footsteps by living in his old home in South Auckland. And like Lange, Jackson might be the sort of loud-mouth scrapper who could take over the Labour ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect New Zealanders' right of free speech. The “Protection of Freedom of Expression Bill” will ensure that no organisation or individual, when acting within the law, is unreasonably denied use of a public venue for an organised event or ...
The Green Party unequivocally condemns the governing parties’ attempts to limit the public’s say on the controversial Māori wards legislation, after the select committee considering the legislation set a deadline for submissions of just five days. ...
Disabled children and families nationwide have recently found out they’re no longer able to use disability support funding for programmes during school hours in another quiet update from the Government. ...
Following a horrific case of stalking that ended in tragedy, Labour’s police spokesperson Ginny Andersen has drafted a bill that would add stalking to the Crimes Act. ...
The Rt Hon Winston Peters, joined by Mike King, has announced $24 million over four years for the ‘I Am Hope Foundation’, and will provide young people aged between 5 to 25 years with free mental health counselling services. This funding will help I Am Hope’s ‘Gumboot Friday’ initiative give ...
Te Pāti Māori have launched a petition to stop the repeal of Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act. This announcement comes prior to the first reading of the Section 7AA repeal bill in Parliament today. “Section 7AA forces the Government to adhere to Te Tiriti o Waitangi with respect ...
The Government has yet again failed to do the one thing that needs to happen to ensure houses can be built – commit to ongoing funding, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Treasury officials have outlined many ways in which the Fast Track Approvals Bill is deeply flawed, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking says. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick used this year's State of the Planet to call on the Government to prioritise people and planet as the delivery of the Budget approaches. A full transcript of their speeches can be found below. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have used their State of the Planet speeches to challenge the Government to prioritise people and planet over profit as the delivery of the Budget approaches. ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Over the next four years, Budget 24 will support the training and recruitment of 1,500 teachers into the workforce, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced today. “To raise achievement and develop a world leading education system we’re investing nearly $53 million over four years to attract, train and retain our valued ...
1. New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Rt Hon Winston Peters; Minister of Health and Minister for Pacific Peoples Hon Dr Shane Reti; and Minister for Climate Change Hon Simon Watts hosted Cook Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Hon Tingika Elikana and Minister of Health Hon Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown on 24 May ...
The Government has approved two-year extensions for four New Zealand Defence Force deployments to the Middle East and Africa, Defence Minister Judith Collins and Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today. “These deployments are long-standing New Zealand commitments, which reflect our ongoing interest in promoting peace and stability, and making active ...
The Climate Change Commission Chair, Dr Rod Carr, has confirmed his plans to retire at the end of his term later this year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Prior to the election, Dr Carr advised me he would be retiring when his term concluded. Dr Rod Carr has led ...
Nine highly respected experts have been appointed to the inaugural board of the new Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission is a new independent Crown entity which was established under the Integrity Sport and Recreation Act last year, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed today that Vote Foreign Affairs in Budget 2024 will balance two crucial priorities of the Coalition Government. While Budget 2024 reflects the constrained fiscal environment, the Government also recognises the critical role MFAT plays in keeping New Zealanders safe and prosperous. “Consistent with ...
New social housing funding in Budget 2024 will ensure the Government can continue supporting more families into warm, dry homes from July 2025, Housing Ministers Chris Bishop and Tama Potaka say. “Earlier this week I was proud to announce that Budget 2024 allocates $140 million to fund 1,500 new social ...
Introduction Today, we are sharing a red-letter occasion. A Blackball event on hallowed ground. Today we underscore the importance of our mineral estate. A reminder that our natural resource sector has much to offer. Such a contribution will not come to pass without investment. However, more than money is needed. ...
Increasing national and regional prosperity, providing the minerals needed for new technology and the clean energy transition, and doubling the value of minerals exports are the bold aims of the Government’s vision for the minerals sector. Resources Minister Shane Jones today launched a draft strategy for the minerals sector in ...
The coalition Government’s legislation to restore the rights of communities to determine whether to introduce Māori wards has passed its first reading in Parliament, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says. “Divisive changes introduced by the previous government denied local communities the ability to determine whether to establish Māori wards.” The ...
The coalition Government has today introduced legislation to slash the tangle of red and green tape throttling some of New Zealand’s key sectors, including farming, mining and other primary industries. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says the Government is committed to unlocking development and investment while ensuring the environment is ...
The decision by Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to approve the continued use of hydrogen cyanamide, known as Hi-Cane, has been welcomed by Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay. “The EPA decision introduces appropriate environmental safeguards which will allow kiwifruit and other growers to use Hi-Cane responsibly,” Ms ...
Kia ora, Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou kātoa Tāmaki Herenga Waka, Tāmaki Herenga tangata Ngā mihi ki ngā mana whenua o tēnei rohe Ngāti Whātua ō Ōrākei me nga iwi kātoa kua tae mai. Mauriora. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the EMA for hosting this event. Let me acknowledge ...
The coalition Government is investing in social housing for New Zealanders who are most in need of a warm dry home, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. Budget 2024 will allocate $140 million in new funding for 1,500 new social housing places to be provided by Community Housing Providers (CHPs), not ...
Thousands more young New Zealanders will have better access to mental health services as the Government delivers on its commitment to fund the Gumboot Friday initiative, says Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey. “Budget 2024 will provide $24 million over four years to contract the ...
The Coalition Government’s Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, which will improve tenancy laws and help increase the supply of rental properties, has passed its first reading in Parliament says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The Bill proposes much-needed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 that will remove barriers to increasing private ...
Standing here in Cassino War Cemetery, among the graves looking up at the beautiful Abbey of Montecassino, it is hard to imagine the utter devastation left behind by the battles which ended here in May 1944. Hundreds of thousands of shells and bombs of every description left nothing but piled ...
I present a legislative statement on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill Mr. Speaker, I move that the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the Bill. Thank you, Mr. ...
The Bill to repeal Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has had its first reading in Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the care and safety of children in care, says Minister for Children Karen Chhour. “When I became the Minister for Children, I made ...
Kia ora koutou, good morning, and zao shang hao. Thank you Fran for the opportunity to speak at the 2024 China Business Summit – it’s great to be here today. I’d also like to acknowledge: Simon Bridges - CEO of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. His Excellency Ambassador - Wang ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. “New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days - and bringing them ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. “New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days - and bringing ...
The Coalition Government will introduce legislation this year that will enable roadside drug testing as part of our commitment to improve road safety and restore law and order, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Alcohol and drugs are the number one contributing factor in fatal road crashes in New Zealand. In ...
The Government has announced a series of immediate actions in response to the independent review of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “Kāinga Ora is a large and important Crown entity, with assets of $45 billion and over $2.5 billion of expenditure each year. It ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour is pleased that Pseudoephedrine can now be purchased by the general public to protect them from winter illness, after the coalition government worked swiftly to change the law and oversaw a fast approval process by Medsafe. “Pharmacies are now putting the medicines back on their ...
Tēnā koutou katoa. Da jia hao. Good morning everyone. Prime Minister Luxon, your excellency, a great friend of New Zealand and my friend Ambassador Wang, Mayor of what he tells me is the best city in New Zealand, Wayne Brown, the highly respected Fran O’Sullivan, Champion of the Auckland business ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events. “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...
"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...
New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
Asia Pacific Report Pro-Palestinian protesters today condemned Google for sacking protesting staff and demanded that the New Zealand government immediately “cut ties with Israeli genocide”. Wearing Google logo masks and holding placards saying “Google complicit in genocide” and “Google drop Project Nimbus”, the protesters were targeting the global tech company ...
Fresh off the back of episode one of Married at First Sight NZ’s new season, Alex Casey and Tara Ward fire up the chat to dissect what the hell we all just watched. Alex Casey: Tara, are you still screaming? I’m screaming. Tara Ward: I started screaming the moment I ...
Fresh off the back of episode one of Married at First Sight NZ’s new season, Alex Casey and Tara Ward fire up the chat to dissect what the hell we all just watched. Alex Casey: Tara, are you still screaming? I’m screaming. Tara Ward: I started screaming the moment I ...
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan independence group has condemned French “modern-day colonialism in action” in Kanaky New Caledonia and urged indigenous leaders to “fight on”. In a statement to the Kanak pro-independence leadership, exiled United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) president Benny Wenda said the proposed electoral changes ...
“The situation in Gaza is desperate,” Will Alexander said. “It’s obvious to everyone that if Christopher Luxon truly cared, our government could do a lot more.” ...
ANALYSIS:By Nicole George, The University of Queensland New Caledonia’s capital city, Nouméa, has endured widespread violent rioting over the past three days. This crisis intensified rapidly, taking local authorities by surprise. Peaceful protests had been occurring across the country in the preceding weeks as the French National Assembly in ...
EDITORIAL:By Fred Wesley, editor-in-chief of The Fiji Times So 40 Fiji members of Parliament voted in favour of the Special Committee on Emoluments Report on the review of MPs’ salaries, allowances and benefits in Parliament on Friday. Now that’s not going down well with the masses, with many venting ...
First Hovel Grant Bishop Chris ventured out of the High Keep For his annual tour of the slums of the Holey Land. His litter bearers held his palanquin high Above the muck strewn and dilapidated alleys Of the Capital. The menials and peons swarmed around And pleaded for Alms from ...
Opinion: Following France’s President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to New Caledonia on Thursday, attention has turned to the country’s political future beyond the ongoing crisis. The uprising, which began on May 14, has demonstrated the capacity and determination of those involved to shut down the country and to inflict extensive economic ...
Asia Pacific ReportBy a Kanak from Aotearoa New Zealand in Kanaky I’ve been trying to feel cool and nice on this beautiful sunny day in Kanaky. But it has already been spoiled by President Emmanuel Macron’s flashy day-long visit on Thursday. Currently special French military forces are trying to ...
RNZ Pacific The survivors of a massive landslide in a remote village in Papua New Guinea’s highlands are still waiting for official help, more than 24 hours after the disaster. Hundreds are feared dead in Yambali village in Enga province after the landslide bulldozed homes and buried families alive early ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby The United States has said it is “ready to lend a helping hand” to the people of Mulitaka, Enga province, after a devasting landslide swallowed an entire village in Papua New Guinea’s highlands yesterday. US President Joe Biden and his wife said in a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Housing remains one of Australia’s most pressing issues in both state and federal politics. The RBA keeping rates up and high mortgage repayments have left many Australians struggling. For those Australians who don’t own a ...
This plan lacks any thought on how to drive New Zealand forward. Giving away rare minerals owned by every New Zealander for a measly return of 2.1% to the crown last year is simply ludicrous. ...
A West Coast conservation leader is lodging a complaint with Police after an officer barred her from a public meeting in Blackball, called by Resources Minister Shane Jones. The NZ First politician was in the historic coal-mining town on Thursday to launch the Government’s new draft minerals strategy, promising to ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman meets an old rival and wonders what could’ve been. Mōrena and welcome to The Weekend, where dreams and regrets have time and space to flower. What’s the thing in your life that you wish you had given more energy to? It could be a relationship, an exam, ...
This year, Tori Peeters will compete at the Paris Olympics in the javelin. Ten years ago, Madeleine Chapman thought she might be in the same position. She talks to Peeters about what it takes to go all the way and mulls her own life decisions in the process.No New ...
The star of High Country talks Tinkerbell, her love for Hawkeye Pierce and why a 98-year-old environmentalist is the most stylish man on television. Sara Wiseman has been a fixture on New Zealand television screens for nearly three decades. First appearing in Hercules and Xena Warrior Princess during the mid ...
Alex Casey takes a trip to Lincoln to visit the only couple from the first season of Married at First Sight NZ that’s still together. To cross the threshold into Brett and Angel’s marital abode is to be greeted with a welcome that sums up the MAFSNZ season one golden ...
In a new weekly interview series, we ask a different local artist to curate their dream weekend soundtrack. First up: Troy Kingi. Troy Kingi is a man on a well-documented mission to make 10 albums, in 10 genres, over 10 years. But finding himself creatively blocked while making his eighth ...
Reflections on a childhood split across Hong Kong and Auckland. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I arrive in Hong Kong with my mother in the middle of summer. t’s not a good time to travel here, she tells me. It’s June. We’re ...
Pacific Media Watch Pro-Palestinian protesters dressed in blue “press” vests tonight staged a vigil calling on New Zealand journalists to show solidarity with the media of Gaza who have suffered the highest death toll in any war. They staged the vigil at the Viaduct venue of NZ’s annual Voyager Media ...
Opinion: Outside my house, the autumn breeze blows crisp leaves off trees and leaks through the gap in my ranchslider while I slump on my couch listening to our CEO announcing our restructure. With many ums and ahs, he reads his script, talking of “prioritisation,” “working differently,” and “reconceiving the ...
Just days after Taiwan’s new president called on China to stop making threats, Beijing has launched “punishment” military drills around the island. Everyone was watching to see what China’s reaction to the swearing in of President William Lai Ching-te would be. On Thursday night we found out. China had already ...
For the past six weeks Annie has been sleeping with a teacher named Patrick Drury. Twice he has tried to call it an affair. Twice she has considered correcting him. But she likes how he looks when he says it. She likes that he’s older than her. That he’s recently ...
MONDAY Fast-Track Jones stood in the shade beneath an awning of a train station and waited for the 3:10 to Blackball. He narrowed his eyes and studied the view. A water tower. A windmill. A cattle fence. All else was empty land. Locomotive smoke rose over the horizon. The 3:10 ...
A groundbreaking investigative podcast into the death of Gore three-year-old Lachie Jones has won Melanie Reid and Bonnie Sumner two notable awards at the Voyager Media Awards. Their in-depth reporting and nine-part first season of The Boy in the Water, which led to the case being reopened twice and preceded ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist Scores of people have died in a huge landslide which has struck a remote village in the Papua New Guinean highlands. The landslide reportedly hit Yambali village in Enga Province, about 600 km north-west of Port Moresby. The landslip has buried homes and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lara Herrero, Research Leader in Virology and Infectious Disease, Griffith University Red-Diamond/Shutterstock We’ve now been living with COVID for well over four years. Although there’s still much to learn about SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) at least one thing seems ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clive Schofield, Professor, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea has found countries are obliged to protect the oceans from climate change impacts under the law of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca McGirr, Postdoctoral research fellow, Australian National University Bernhard Staehli/Shutterstock Imagine you’re standing near the edge of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, gazing out over the ocean, when the ice near you starts to melt very rapidly. A surge of meltwater flows ...
The Finance Minister prepares to present one of the most difficult budgets, National MP David MacLeod gets himself into trouble and the First Home Buyers Grant is scrapped. ...
The Iranian Solidarity Group NZ met with Minister For Foreign Affairs Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, urging the NZ government to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (the IRGC) as a terrorist organisation. The group continues to advocate for justice ...
On 24th May, 6pm, Palestinian journalists covering Gaza will be honoured in a silent and visually impactful vigil outside Shed 10, 89 Quay Street, Auckland, where the Voyager Media Awards are being held. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney This should be a golden age for Australian soccer. After all, the big picture is good: the Matildas are waltzing, the Socceroos are well supported and Australia was just awarded hosting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Wellings, Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations, Monash University Assuming a Labour win in the UK general election – always a risky assumption given Labour’s proclivity for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory – the “Global Britain” bombast emanating ...
The community group People Against Prisons Aotearoa is holding a protest against mass incarceration tomorrow against the Government’s proposed expansion of Waikeria prison. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Shutterstock OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, and News Corp, the international media conglomerate, have signed a deal that will let OpenAI use and learn from News Corp’s content. In ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jaimon Kelly, Senior Research Fellow in Telehealth delivered health services, The University of Queensland Shutterstock/Nils Versemann For many Australians the emergency department (ED) is the physical and emblematic front door to accessing urgent health-care services. But health-care services are evolving rapidly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Trelease, Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Following the hugely successful recent season of Married At First Sight (MAFS) Australia, fans of the format – and the reality romance genre in general – will be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic Redfern, Associate Professor, School of Art, RMIT University We Are All Unique by Universal Everything commissioned by Hyundai Motorstudio Senayan Park in Beings at ACMI.Image by Michelle Tran At this week’s launch of Beings by Universal Everything, ACMI board member ...
As Married at First Sight New Zealand returns to our screens this Sunday, Tara Ward speaks to the show’s new relationship experts about what lies ahead. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. John Aiken is teasing Jo Robertson about her cup of ...
A new poem by Wellington writer Erin Donohue. The body’s score Here is what happens if you starve yourself for years. Your body will forget herself. She will have to learn new how a heart beats and she will not get it right. She will need MRIs and a quiet ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Picador, $25)A charming, smash-hit book about ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle “Only the struggle counts . . . death is nothing.” Éloi Machoro — “the Che Guevara of the Pacific” — said this shortly before he was gunned down by a French sniper on 12 January 1985. Machoro, one of the leaders of the newly-formed FLNKS (Kanak ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Wake, Associate Professor, Journalism, RMIT University Photo by Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels The news media play a vital role in shaping the public conversation and covering complex issues such as war, the economy, climate change and technology. Yet our new research ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aviroop Gupta, PhD Candidate, Curtin University Narendra Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has resorted to religious polarisation as it tries to rally its Hindu nationalist base in India’s ongoing general election, which ends on June 1. Just days after voting started ...
Lana Walters’ new show is playing in Auckland for the NZ International Comedy Festival. Madeleine Holden (a parent) and Liv Sisson (not) went along to review. I hadn’t heard of comedian Lana Walters until a colleague posted the following message in one of The Spinoff’s Slack channels: “Has anyone been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paola A. Magni, Associate Professor of Forensic Science, Murdoch University Microgen / Shutterstock When you think of a criminal investigation, you might picture detectives meticulously collecting and analysing evidence found at the scene: weapons, biological fluids, footprints and fingerprints. However, this ...
Recent price falls in the New Zealand market for carbon credits leaves the Government facing the prospect of a significant loss of revenue from carbon auctions this year. The March financial statements from Treasury highlight lower-than-expected revenue ...
ANALYSIS:By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk French President Emmanuel Macron has ended a meeting-packed whirlwind day in New Caledonia with back-to-back sessions including opposing leaders in the French Pacific territory. Macron left New Caledonia this morning, leaving some members of his entourage to deal with details ...
"The government's 'Draft Mineral Strategy' released this week by Minister for Resources Shane Jones is a disaster in the making for the environment, the climate and people as more and more rural communities will have to battle these companies ...
Behind the pretty flower beds at Auckland Botanic Gardens, conservation mahi is under way for the region’s 357 threatened plants. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. At Auckland Botanic Gardens, conservation specialist Ella Rawcliffe has been trying to plant a seed that’s smaller ...
One financial hopeful looks to MPs for inspiration on how to be savvy with money.As a person whose search history includes “easy ways to make money” and “what should I do with $1,000 savings”, my interest was piqued when parliament released the pecuniary interests register this week. Since 2005, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Barbara Mintzes, Professor, School of Pharmacy and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney Monster Ztudio/Shutterstock Drug companies are paying Australian doctors millions of dollars a year to fly to overseas conferences and meetings, give talks to other doctors, and to serve ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trivess Moore, Associate Professor, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University The Victorian government is planning Australia’s largest urban renewal project. The plan is to knock down and rebuild 44 large public housing towers in Melbourne. The government says these ...
The 'going rate for talent' has a lot to answer for!
Just like FBU-couldn't run a bath.
Tanking s/p reflects the woeful international operations.Meanwhile in NZ all is well=500gm butter=$6.
Sell off the good bits and restructure.Very concerning to admit the company doesn't really know its objectives.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/115924959/fonterra-slumps-to-605-million-loss
It's not a company, it's a co-op and as such the collective takes responsibility.
Weldon's NZX went around hoovering up rural publication entities critical of the structure/direction/management a decade or so back.
He was keen to have them listed so he could probably clip the ticket further.
Having a focus on the commodity that is milk powder rather than value add products goes back to Norgate (RIP) and all the other old boys.
The loss is actually just book keeping adjustments….no real cash loss at all.
Total payouts to farmers as a co-op is in the billions. Thats the numbers that matter
Just for you-'Fonterra is a co-operative company and its Farmer Shareholders are the suppliers of milk to Fonterra in New Zealand.'
The listed entity is actually a unit trust if you want to nitpick.
And being a Cooperative is the best way to legally avoid tax. The 'shareholders' really receive their income via supplier payments which is a tax free distribution and as the Fonterra Limited side of things is exporter receives huge tax refunds for the GST payments
Essentially its $20 bill per year revenue stream that magically pays no tax- you couldnt do better if you ran all the money through trusts in Caribbean
Fonterra's new strategy is also out today.
The strategy is: shrink rapidly, cut debt, focus on core ingredients.
Coincidentlly, the New Zealand government launched its economic strategy this week and failed to mention our largest business and largest exporter, with the largest social and environmental footprint of any other entity.
New Zealand government is for the first time in 2 decades actively reviewing the legislation that brought Fonterra into being, with timid proposals.
Pretty clear after two years that this government is prepared to regulate resources such as water, very happy to throw $3b of tax into the regional small companies through the PGF, but simply unable to join economic strategy, resource regulation, and Fonterra into something useful.
This government needs to lead the economy with really smart interventions, and they aren't apparent yet.
Government needs to inspire the economy, and it isn't.
What NZ needs is another Grant from Labour government!
Xena is sick of cowshit too.
https://twitter.com/RealLucyLawless/status/1176969880706277376?s=20
SOUL are taking their action to the council at the Auckland Town Hall today.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/09/ihum-tao-occupiers-take-protest-to-auckland-town-hall.html
https://www.instagram.com/p/B20-XetpYHK/
Awesome – I have been so impressed by these land defenders – they have pulled support from everywhere and made their opponents look like – well to be honest who are their opponents really? nobodies with nothing to say it seems to me and certainly imo not taken seriously at all lol. And they have done that with dignity. True leaders we are seeing if we look. Here there and everywhere.
True leaders and teaching a whole new generation how to do it 😀
I'm also impressed by their stamina and the length of the action. Lots of good stuff for others to learn here.
Their stamina is amazing and does indeed light the way forward – they have followed the past and that past is informing the future – like many things the past is where the answers are for the future imo
Fletchers owned the land when the SHA was designated on their application.
Before the SHA it was privately owned. Not sure how they think the Council can unwind the process.
The Manukau Council did buy for public open space the Mountain stonefields and coastal frontage. I would think they would say that the historical area is preserved.
Buying off Fletchers is probably the most straight forward option.
"The Manukau Council did buy for public open space the Mountain stonefields and coastal frontage. I would think they would say that the historical area is preserved."
Of course. But Māori see it differently.
They seem to want to unwind the Full and Final Treaty settlement for past injustices signed by this iwi as well.
There was an interesting situation for nearby iwi ,Te Ākitai Waiohua and Manukau Council which Im saving for another time
How was Manukau Council involved in the Treaty settlements?
Te Ākitai Waiohua dont have a treaty settlement
US troops in Saudi Arabia defend hegemony, not security, although this doesn't seem to bother Pelosi or the establishment Dems all too much, no surprises there though.
He's flailing.
https://twitter.com/HeidiNBC/status/1176631973361704960
During the call, a rough summary of which was released by the White House Wednesday…
I bet it was a rough summary.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/sep/25/trump-ukraine-news-today-live-impeachment-democrats-pelosi-latest
Headline : “Ukraine officials understood Trump’s aid was conditonal on Biden probe”.
Under pressure.
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1176697111695507457
lol – they are flailing – this to me says they are very scared – I expect the trumpnuts and antiHRC crew to come riding in spamming away – and I notice it started last night.
They are rather distracted.
https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1176896651727908866
https://twitter.com/jbendery/status/1176892635526651905
The GOP Congress minority leader McCarthy has been caught manipulating the talking points
Firstly what has been 'read'
"“No one has read this transcript,” he surprised some of his own colleagues who knew he had been at the WH earlier this morning — for the explicit purpose of reading the transcript in advance of its public release."
and secondly in twisting who raised what first in the conversations
Ghouliani is such a nong. America's mayor he isn't anymore.
Local body election papers arrived today. As usual the task is to avoid inadvertently voting for undeclared Tories. Perversely, the one bit of information that would tell us most about a candidate's personal values and likely actions – their Party affiliation – is not there. Instead we get cliche-stuffed 'bios' that would be embarrassing even on a contemptible piece of junk like LinkedIn. It's initially an interesting exercise in 'close reading' – looking for tiny clues hidden in the blandness and unconsciously left there by the writer. To get all 'lit crit' about it, you are looking for self-problematising acts within the text. God it gets tedious though!
I guess this is part of why so many people don't bother voting.
I'm finding Stuff and Spinoff's climate survey's helpful. Not infallible (some candidates aren't included and we don't know why), but helps with the scrutinising.
" As usual the task is to avoid inadvertently voting for undeclared Tories. " Yeah the lines are getting pretty blurred a lot of the time now, seems to be quite a bit of cross over between 'pragmatic' liberal lefties and many of the 'right'.
Every time I am approached by a local body candidate, the first question I always as is about which party at governmental level they support. Tends to catch them unawares but it means I don't waste their time or mine.
I also take note of the colours of their billboards.
Bios don't tell you much – probably talk about business friendly or rates linked to inflation.
Nothing about education, community involvement, fostering small business, enabling ratepayers to pay off debts, cutting penalty of 10% rate (not per annum interest) and going to credit card interest rates. Bland, organised to obfuscate. No reference to voting propensities for sitting candidates. Nothing about beliefs and how they are going to serve community usually.
I recall last year there was a website that helped identify the anti-fluoride, etc nutters, but I haven't seen the equivalent this time.
No Right Turn provides a good summary for Palmerston North; regarding Council he says "don't vote for real estate agents or property developers; don't vote for anyone who promises to "keep rates low" or who talks publicly about their imaginary friends; don't vote for climate change deniers or foot-draggers." – possibly good advice for anywhere. In Wellington for example it suggests not voting for the nice lady Nicola Young that is an "independent," but some of the others are less clear. In Australia the used to have "How to Vote" cards issued by the main parties, but that doesn;t happen here – are they not allowed?
The other query is whether it is better to leave out those you dislike for whatever reason, or put them at the bottom of the list? I would have thought it is better to leave them out, but those more expert may have a different take.
In Oz the How to Vote cards were a party ploy from each, to arrange the votes with the presenting party at the top and the order of the others which would be to that party's best advantage.
It was to try and assort the votes that didn't go directly for them, to advantage them when all totalled. The people who knew what they wanted mightn't use them, but the party would prefer they followed the advice of the party apparatchiks, and the uncertains if following would get channelled their way.
Same where I am as well. That is why I cannot be bothered taking an interest in this election. Same old candidates, same old waffle.
Anyway, we might grumble at paying rates, but we would be paying way more if we had to buy these services from the private sector.
Rate increases around the country are pretty low, in comparsion to 30-40 years ago, when 20-25% was the norm.
So, Fonterra as of this morning has a new strategy.
Basically, its' strategy is sell off all international ambition to lower debt and shrink back to Australia and New Zealand.
This is New Zealand's largest private business by a long way, largest exporter, and entity with the largest footprint on our society and landscape full stop.
So far the New Zealand government has generated a timid response to the DIRA legislation.
So far they haven't even tried to map Fonterra onto the economic strategy that they launched 48 hours ago.
Fonterra was formed by government legislation. Not many businesses have such close ties to government, or owe them so much.
How hard is it for this government to actually do business leadership? (Not resource regulation; business leadership.)
In particular with Fonterra?
Maybe when Fonterra decide to be industry leaders on climate action?
They are already one of the most progressive industry leaders on climate action.
Especially in New Zealand.
We're in a very sad state if that's true.
Fonterra was FORMED from a merger of two dairy companies.
What the government did was give that merger a pass regarding laws around market dominance. In return Fonterra HAS to take all milk offered by its suppliers and HAS to provide competitors with bulk milk supply
Not sure you will get Ministerial directions ( which you call government leadership) for Fonterra, its hard enough for Ministers to move the levers and gears for Government departments let alone a privately owned group.
If government had not passed the legislation, Fonterra would not have been formed.
You're "not sure" about how government may engage with Fonterra because your two remaining imaginative neurons are but deep space circulating binary black holes.
Exactly which Gov regulations (or lack of) do you wish to point to as a cause of a series of poor board investment decisions?
Fonterra's problems wont be solved by blaming the wrong entities
You clearly have no idea how government currently engages with Fonterra, nor how it should.
Fonterra's problems are so deep and so important to New Zealand that they won't be solved without the government.
You clearly are unable to point to any regulation that has caused Fonterra's problems
Whatever other criticisms of Jacinda Ardern I have, she is really good at this stuff. Six minutes of international promo of NZ (vid from last year, she appears again tonight).
Intimation tactics 101 – dirty
yeah nah – keep people safe bullshit – public security for polluters and climate destroyers more likely imo
wow what a dirty creep this prick is
China gives middle finger to NZ law
https://twitter.com/FranOSullivan/status/1176954743102435328?s=20
FIFY
Surprised he's not a National party candidate already
Doesnt NZ Law mean that the obligation then falls on the lower ranked directors who were also defendants?
"Joint and Several Liability" I think is the legal term
Thats what happened in the leaky homes cases , Councils were only one of a group of defendants, the others folded their companies and left the Council as last man standing who faces all the cost
Will Jenny Shipley be moving to China also ?
Yes, and the other directors all had their arses covered by insurance. Not immune to criminal charges though!
So there is no housing crisis. 11% vacancy rate. It's a crisis caused by malinvestment / hoarding / aka: predatory capitalism, and lack of regulation
https://twitter.com/Pahtrisha/status/1176861080926031880?s=20
Very surprised more of them don't burn down.
Why? Are empty houses prone to self combustion?
They might be, if there's a decent insurance payout, and low risk of getting caught
Venezuelan delegate throws shade while Trump blusters at UN summit
https://twitter.com/danialerodrimar/status/1176520886712713223?s=20
The biggest airport in the world, Daxing, opened today near Beijing. Auckland take note of the following
The section between the airport to Beijing will operate at speeds of 250 km/h (160 mph) and the section between the airport to Xiong'an will operate at speeds of 350 km/h (220 mph).The airport to Beijing section is expected to open in September 26, 2019, while the airport to Xiong'an section in late 2020. It will take 28 minutes from Beijing West railway station to the new airport.
Take note of what ?
Sydney Airport has two stations one each under both its terminals leading directly to City station, most passengers are just moving between terminals however.
The National Party will have to stop using edited Parliamentary footage in attack ads.
Boohoo, how sad.
"Mallard asked Bridges and his office to refrain from editing official video footage of MPs and posting it"
"If an MP uses footage from the house in ads without the perdition of the MP it features, they will face contempt – a serious offence in Parliament"
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12271288
Enjoining someone from doing something "without the perdition of the MP it features" seems a little redundant. I mean really, aren't they all already there?
On cue …Bridges wants to say its the End of democracy
Gerry spat his dummy and had a little tanty in the house.
Chris Trotter in his latest post says that if there was an election in uk the conservatives would be returned in a landslide. Is that so? How come – is it the business of being able to win the electorates as in our FPP?
My guess is that he hasn’t looked at the vote splitting effect of the Brexit party in a FPP election. They did well in the EU elections and have remained high in the polls.
What analysis there is, appears to show that the Brexit party cutting more into the conservative party votes at the electorates than they are cutting into Labour. In effect they split the Brexit vote.
Yes, they would need to arrange electorate accommodations like our own rotten righties. Epsom salts all round!