How does it go.. nothing to hide, nothing to fear.
The crafty Defence Force has waited five days to respond and then turn around and say it was the wrong village. How’s their fact checking, seeing they lost the ‘report’?
Did they wait five days because Parliament was sitting last week and not sitting this week?
This story is not going away. If it is not dealt with in the form of a fully independent inquiry, it will leave a stain on the reputation of our military and NZ as a whole.
Right now the NZDF and Government are trying to back pedal to a point where they can save some face. To me it is too late for that. They had 7 years to front foot it properly.
I liked Marianne Elliott on Q+A in the weekend in answer to the accusation that Hit and Run was politically motivated… that what we are dealing with here is a political cover up.
I’m still furious about Key’s final speech. What a lot of ghost-written bollocks ! There are many current horror stories out there of working conditions and parents sacrificing themselves for their kids including tangata whenua, polynesian, hindu, chinese, philipino, tamil among others, reflecting increasing complexity in Aotearoa. Parliament needs to reflect *them*, not just the chattering classes.
He means the fact that there weren’t any insurgents in the village they attacked. Quite a failure of ‘fact checking’ that one.
Srylands is just reflexively supporting established power again. That’s what the authoritarian right does
“The Māori Party has spearheaded a new bill proposing major changes to the governance and administration of the 27,000 titles of Māori land in New Zealand, which equate to 6 percent of the country’s total land mass.
But its new ally, Mana Party leader Hone Harawira has called the Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill “a poisonous and destructive cancer”.”
I guess wisdom comes with age. I experienced [suffered] both sensible and stupid corporal punishment in my youth and it is obvious to me it is a serious lack in the dragging up of children today as evidenced by the events which caused Winston to speak out for the return of discipline.
But sadly the biggest problem is the pre-dominence of female teachers who are incapable and prefer to deprive children of education rather than a little bit of discipline to show the children what is right and what is wrong in a way to be remembered.
jcuknz….. pleeeze female teachers are to blame…. maybe the sensible and stupid corporal punishment in your youth did some serious damage to your future intellectual state….
And she’s right. There is no way to be (so-called) fiscally responsible and also be socially responsible. The thing that really gets me about so-called fiscal responsibility is that it’s highly irresponsible – people suffer and people die when ledgers are held up as more important than people.
I actually think that the ‘business plan’ Gareth Morgan has tabled through TOPs has more to offer struggling people and does more to address imbalances of wealth than anything this straight jacket Labour and the Greens want the country to don can ever achieve.
Anyway. It’s looking like mana for me. And if that turns out to be a wasted vote, then hey. (I simply won’t vote in favour of getting a kicking)
Where have Labour or the Greens said that the ledger is more important than people? Shaw was pretty clear that it was the other way round.
“There is no way to be (so-called) fiscally responsible and also be socially responsible.”
So people said the other day and when I asked for an explanation of that what I got was lines of ideology. The framing of one vs the other and never the twain shall meet looks like a political stance rather than an absolute truth.
There was an entire post done just the other day that laid out their ‘fiscally responsible’ position. Y’know? All that b/s around debt being held to 20% of GDP etc?
I’m at a loss to understand what it is you’re not grasping. There are only two ways governments raise monies to spend on social programmes.
One way is through taxation. The other is through borrowing.
Obviously, if debt is being paid down then there’s no borrowing or only very limited borrowing. Meanwhile, revenue from taxation that’s paying down debt isn’t going to social spending.
In a situation where an economy has slowed, that diversion of a lower tax take to pay down debt is disastrous – it’s a liberal economic prescription that both Labour and the Greens have pledged to adhere to and it’s otherwise known as austerity.
The non-liberal prescription (the responsible avenue) is to borrow and supplement any tax take and then allocate the monies for various social expenditures. And only pay down debt when the debt to GDP ratio has naturally fallen as the consequence of increased GDP.
In other words, what Labour and the Greens should be saying is that their government will invest in schools and health and whatever infrastructure and services are required for the general welfare of NZ, and that debt will be only be paid down if and when favourable economic conditions prevail.
Well thanks for finally putting out an alternative positioning. Doesn’t high debt place us at increasing risk internationally?
What you appear to be saying is that if we have unfavourable conditions that on the basis of this policy the Greens would throw social services under a bus. I just don’t see the evidence for that (and I’m pretty sure Matthew addressed this issue in the last round).
The Greens are in favour of increasing govt income via taxation btw.
On the second point, if monies are being used to pay down debt, then that can only come at the expense of social spending. Yes, given less money, health could be prioritised over roads. But regardless of what you may think of roads, the fact remains that less money is being spent into society in favour of giving that money over to debt repayment.
Increasing taxation when debt servicing is taking priority doesn’t really do much. If an economy is shrinking then the debt/GDP ration tends to climb no matter how much money is being raised to be thrown at the debt.
Just listened and what I heard Bradford saying is that the Greens have sold out… because. She doesn’t actually explain other than to say that business support the policy and that the policy will explicitly mean no social spending, but she doesn’t say how or why. She also says that they (both parties I guess) haven’t made any policy announcements regarding social spending, which I find quite extraordinary given that for the last couple of years the Greens have spoken and acted on this repeatedly.
At the end she gets a bit better where she makes a comparison with Labour in the 2000s and how they tinkered around the edges with social policy. And I agree there is a danger here for that to happen again, which is why we need the ratio of L to G MPs to be as even as possible so that the Greens have the power to push the govt left. It would be way better if we looked at what Clark’s govt did and compare it to what L/G now are intending and see what is similar and what is different. At the moment I’m just seeing a lot of reaction with little analysis.
I understand where Bradford is coming from. She didn’t get the opportunity to elaborate. But she is saying the economic agreement signals no change from how the Labour Party operated in 2000-2007: ie tinkering around the edges, and delivering a situation where the Nats, once in power again, can shift things even further rightwards.
Bradford particularly pointed out the way the latest Labour-Green agreement aims to get business onside as a priority, rather than address the pressing issues for the struggling Kiwis they should be supporting as a priority.
If we prompt New Zealand voters to think about money first, they aren’t going to think about common good, about ensuring their neighbours have a good life too. They’re going to think “actually, getting another block of cheese each week does sound good” and the right’s fourth term is secured. They don’t even have to work for it, because when we explicitly buy into their values, it weakens our own.
It cuts out the heart of our politics.
I think Bradford’s RNZ interview opens the way for the logic of a new left wing party. That may be where her thinking is headed. She tried Mana, so what else is there?
I agree with both Sue and Stephanie’s analysis but the answer is not another left-wing party – the answer is to try and influence the leftish parties we have. You don’t have to join them to do that – you can lobby relentlessly with well researched material directed at any of the MPs who may be sympathetic.
It takes too long to get a party to the stage where it can have a significant political role – Mana tried but IMO made a fatal error getting involved with Kim Dotcom and lost the momentum it had. A huge amount of energy went into Mana and it is hard to keep up the support from volunteers without any sign that they are getting anywhere.
Agree, Karen. But I think that’s maybe where Bradford’s thinking is going. Although, she also does a very good job of holding Labour & the Greens to account.
which is why we need the ratio of L to G MPs to be as even as possible so that the Greens have the power to push the govt left
But the Greens have just signed up to this notion of having debt sit at no more than 20% of GDP. You can’t really get any more non- left than that. (I mean, sure, yo could go for 10% or 5% – but the whole point is that the focus they’re applying to debt is absolutely a right wing focus – liberal)
Even if that were true (and that’s not quite how it was framed in the document), they’re still to the left of every other party in parliament. And that one aspect of what the Greens are doing doesn’t shift their whole kaupapa and policy platform to the right of centre. So having maximum MPs in parliament will give them more chance of moving Labour in the direction of Green Party policy (by all means try and make the argument that GP policy is largely right wing).
I’m not sure what you expect given that Labour are going to run a neoliberal govt albeit a centre left one. Seriously, since the announcement was made I’ve yet to see a credible alternative presented (haven’t read the CTU one yet). Stephanie had a go by saying that they should have focussed on people not finances, but it still doesn’t address the issue of needing the business community on board to govern, and needing to present as credible to get that chunk of the electorate who vote on credibility over the cluster fuck that has been Labour for the past decade.
On climate change alone that’s critical, because the only other option is a 4th term NACT govt. Bradford obviously thinks that being liked by the business community is the end of the world. I think it’s just a natural consequence of lefties not voting Green while they were still radical and the Greens now positioning themselves where they can do the most good within the limitations they’re presented with. Personally I think it’s a piece of leftie bullshit to condemn them on this, because they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
The Greens don’t sit neatly into the left/right box you want to frame them in. They’ll use the tools available to them, but I’m guessing you are looking at the policy within a conventional political framework as well as not looking at it within the broader actions of the Greens.
It’s been stated, alluded to and presented over and over again. Focus on necessary social investment. Borrow to fund that if necessary.
Debt levels do not matter. They really don’t. All this nonsense about a need to pay it down is absolute ideological tosh that, if followed through on, inflicts huge amounts of damage on society and people.
Recent and less recent history is awash with ugly real world examples of what happens when debt repayment takes precedence over social investment.
Even if that were true (and that’s not quite how it was framed in the document), they’re still to the left of every other party in parliament.
No they are not.
And that one aspect of what the Greens are doing doesn’t shift their whole kaupapa and policy platform to the right of centre.
Yes it does.
So having maximum MPs in parliament will give them more chance of moving Labour in the direction of Green Party policy (by all means try and make the argument that GP policy is largely right wing).
All their policies are beholden to or limited by their economic positioning. And that’s unabashedly liberal – something they just ‘officially’ signed up to and crowed about the other day.
I’m not sure what you expect given that Labour are going to run a neoliberal govt albeit a centre left one. Seriously, since the announcement was made I’ve yet to see a credible alternative presented (haven’t read the CTU one yet).
See the other reply I made.
Stephanie had a go by saying that they should have focussed on people not finances, but it still doesn’t address the issue of needing the business community on board to govern, and needing to present as credible to get that chunk of the electorate who vote on credibility over the cluster fuck that has been Labour for the past decade.
If the belief is that business being on board is more important than people being on board, then they’re lost (and will hopefully sink without a trace soon)
On climate change alone that’s critical, because the only other option is a 4th term NACT govt. Bradford obviously thinks that being liked by the business community is the end of the world. I think it’s just a natural consequence of lefties not voting Green while they were still radical and the Greens now positioning themselves where they can do the most good within the limitations they’re presented with. Personally I think it’s a piece of leftie bullshit to condemn them on this, because they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
Some might view your loyalty to ‘the party’ as noble. But blaming voters for a political party’s shortcomings isn’t flash. Neither is any attempt to play some minor fear card (Nat term no. 4) , because that’s usually a precursor to some ultimatum on the need to ‘vote for the lesser evil’ or you’re a part of the problem nonsense.
The Greens don’t sit neatly into the left/right box you want to frame them in. They’ll use the tools available to them, but I’m guessing you are looking at the policy within a conventional political framework as well as not looking at it within the broader actions of the Greens.
Left and right are economic concepts. The Greens have announced they will adhere to right wing (liberal) economic demands.
I agree with Sue Bradford with the anti smacking laws, but not on her opinions on the Greens MoU with Labour. The greens should push Labour centre left which is where Labour need to be (but in the right areas).
I’d also like to see Mana get through. That’s MMP, just as we have the far right ideology from National and ACT we need to have some balance from the far left. What is missing in NZ debate is fresh ideas and how to deal with 21st century issues especially globalism.
A Chinese bidder for the rail link is proposing to possibly house 1000’s of workers in a cruise ship. Previously, infrastructure projects paid for by NZ tax payers would be good, creating local jobs and opportunities, nowadays, infrastructure projects seem to do the opposite with cheaper workers from overseas being bought in to ‘work’, quality questionable (trains full of asbestos), housing and rents escalating with the amount of ‘new’ workers flooding in, more transport issues from the ‘new’ workers and their families seem to be coming too, and their health, education needs being met by local taxpayers and often bankrupting local businesses with the noise and disruption caused by the 6 years of construction around them.
At the end of the day most of the profits from the infrastructure project go off shore to the parent company. NZ gets little from it and most local people are worse off. Then they ask the local people still employed to stump up more taxes to pay for it all these important infrastructure projects.
My concerns about Labour and Greens is that are still in denial about the actual real effects on local people under globalism and they still think about it in terms of 20th century globalism. Going rah rah to globalism in the 21st century seems akin to forcing inequality on the local community.
Personally I think the Chinese would be amenable for these concerns because they look to the long term relationship, not the short term like the Natz.
Another term of the Natz will be the death for anybody renting, Maori, the environment and hollowing out the middle class further and escalating housing, transport, immigration scams and pollution crisis.
Politicians need to look around them at the US, UK and what normal people are telling them – the messages that are resonating – because people want free borders and selected immigration, but not some free for all that turns their day to day life into a noise, pollution filled, insecure work, struggle. Politicians need to rethink globalism and do proper accounting both financially and socially – before it leads to more climate change and societal disruption.
Their obligation should be to their own citizens not global opportunities for the .1% and an ideology that works like a Ponzi scheme.
They also need to factor in, those local people become more desperate, or who have never had a proper job and now can’t even access welfare. The government war on P for example is a joke!
We wouldn’t need to be building more prisons and having more police, if society starts to give young people a decent upbringing (not a massive percentage living below the poverty line) and a real job to go to at the end of it!
And I’m not talking about a minimum waged job on zero hour contracts.
And angry violent parents who are regularly using ‘reasonable force’ to beat their kids is not going to turn these kids around, quite the opposite.
Many people were detained today. This is understandable – thieves are so protective of themselves. But all those who can not be detained against corruption. We are millions.
Много людей задержали сегодня. Это понятно – воры так защищают себя. Но всех, кто против коррупции задержать нельзя. Нас миллионы.— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) March 26, 2017
On March 26, an anti-corruption action took place across Russia, the reason for which was the investigation of the Anti-Corruption Foundation about Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. On the streets were thousands of people (and in Moscow, apparently, more than ten thousand); Hundreds of them were detained by the police (the majority – again, in Moscow). One of the main features of today’s rallies is how massively they turned out in the regions. “Medusa” shows how anti-corruption actions looked in Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Kirov, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk – and in many other cities.
Yep still an underbelly of violence in our society. Weak selfish people who are still scared to deal with their own stuff so instead they take it out on children – yuck.
I dont quite understand the point of that marty.
Are you perhaps suggesting that those who think the anti smacking legislation was bad lawmaking that has not reduced violence against kids, are somhow engaging in or promoting violence against kids?
Certainly that was a strong campaign theme at the time that was harmful and improper then as it would be now.
If someone is a pro smacker and wants the law reversed then imo that is evidence that there is stuff that need to work on in a personal way and they should be given the resources and education to work through that stuff rather than smacking.
what about someone who is “anti smacker” and wants the law changed?
I think you are trying to deny the existence of these people!
my point is that Winston believes they exist and some of them will vote NZF for no other reason then to say “we exist”
There was and is no ‘anti-smacking’ legislation. There was legislation that removed the defence that was used by some charged with physical assaults on children.
this is what we are discussing
New section 59 substituted
Section 59 is repealed and the following section substituted:
“59 Parental control
“(1) Every parent of a child and every person in the place of a parent of the child is justified in using force if the force used is reasonable in the circumstances and is for the purpose of—
“(a) preventing or minimising harm to the child or another person; or
“(b) preventing the child from engaging or continuing to engage in conduct that amounts to a criminal offence; or
“(c) preventing the child from engaging or continuing to engage in offensive or disruptive behaviour; or
“(d) performing the normal daily tasks that are incidental to good care and parenting.
“(2) Nothing in subsection (1) or in any rule of common law justifies the use of force for the purpose of correction.
“(3) Subsection (2) prevails over subsection (1).
“(4) To avoid doubt, it is affirmed that the Police have the discretion not to prosecute complaints against a parent of a child or person in the place of a parent of a child in relation to an offence involving the use of force against a child, where the offence is considered to be so inconsequential that there is no public interest in proceeding with a prosecution.”
looking at this my opinion is
1 the whole thing has been horribly misrepresented (by parties for and against!) and winston is poised to take advantage of that
2 section 4 is just wrong!
(1) Every parent of a child and, subject to subsection (3), every person in the place of the parent of a child is justified in using force by way of correction towards the child, if the force used is reasonable in the circumstances.
Repealing the act that repealed the above legalises smacking.
That is why I say people who even use the term anti-smacking just like violence against children. The promote it by the use of the term, and want to perpetuate it by deliberate misleading the public, and debasing the debate.
It is a argument by some people who have no power, and get their jollies by beating up little children. I really do wish we lived in a society that was beyond that sort of thing.
But it would appear, that the child beaters want another round of us reminding them that they are, the scum of the earth.
“There was legislation that removed the defence that was used by some charged with physical assaults on children.”
that is also my recall that this was prompted by a series of cases where sec 59 was sucessfully used as a defense where children surffered injury.
1 I have a very dim view of lawmakers and laws that are a response to specific cases
2 at the time it was also suggested that sec 59 could have been altered somehow thus
“nothing in sec 1 shall be a defense where physical or mental harm is caused to a child.” Not proposing that as “the solution” just suggesting that that was maby not sufficiently explored.
But to get back to my first post, It looks like Winston is positioning NZF to collect on the flustercluck that was the passing of this amendment and perhaps continuing to deligitimise , misrepresent , and demonise those who hold a different view on it might not serve “the left” here.
Oh and just to be completely clear I am personally opposed to any form of violence as a “correction” , which includes much of what happens in our “corrections” services!
How long can our high waged Auckland economy continue to be able to pay these prices for 366m2 sections ?? Yes $815k starting from !!! Or a 425m2 for $869k http://www.realestate.co.nz/3039262 http://www.realestate.co.nz/3039270 http://www.realestate.co.nz/3028664
And No I am not a realestate agent using this has a means of target marketing my properties to all you wealthy land owners at The Std.
Hate to be The Govt if cards should tumble, and there are signs of tremors being felt in Jafaland.
I was buying my own kit back in 90’s, hell we had to buy cam nets for our V8 Landrovers and even had to make our gun mounts for the GPMG’s / LSW C9’s so its not new.
If we want spare parts for the V8 Landrovers we went to the wreckers yard on Blenheim Rd in CHCH as it was quicker than ordering thru the system.
Were you reimbursed at all? Because if my employer expected me to fork out for the equipment I use for my job, I’d be presenting him with a bundle of receipts.
Nope, we were joking about it at reunion last Apr in Dunedin when some wag produced a couple of receipts (Doyles Ex Army Supplies in Manchester St I think) and I think we would’ve been wasting our time anyway. Things got real bad when OP Raidan kick off, but’s another story.
In Oz I can claim any kit that I buy back on tax, but I must admit my Macpac Bivi bag I brought back mids 90’s CHCH is still going strong after all years before Macpac move manufacturing overseas in the late 90s. Can’t knock NZ made goods when you can get it.
Agree. If we are going to order soldiers into harms way, then they should have the best gear possible.
However I do not think we should be ordering them to protect US corporate profits.
“If we are going to order soldiers into harms way, then they should have the best gear possible.”
We are always lending/ loaning the NZDF some of our kit for deployments or even for a bog standard exercise here in Oz either because NZDF has short fall in their SOE, don’t have the equipment full stop or they had to leave it behind as the Aircraft maxed out due to weight issues and hope catches up with on the next flight whenever that might be. Mind you when we come to NZ they loan us their cold weather gear as we don’t get that white stuff called snow in 95% of our training areas here in Oz.
Why does Winston want a referendum? We had one with an overwhelming result.
More money wasted on ‘consultation’ when the ‘people’ have spoken against the stupid law.
The Greens want a capital gains tax, generally but also specifically to address that aspect of the Ak housing crisis. They also want to reduce income tax by using a carbon tax to pay for government spending (can’t remember how that exactly works, you can look it up).
A capital gains tax is not the answer often their are so many ways for rich people to avoid it. If they really want to tax property they need something that is unrelated to a person’s income tax – more like a stamp duty which is pretty difficult to avoid not matter how rich you are.
A person that invests millions in property in NZ, does not live here and just never sells would not pay any tax under the capital gains model and that is increasingly what NZ is going to look like with offshore corporates taking over the rental supply. Let alone pretending to live there to avoid it etc etc.
UK has capital gains taxes, stamp duty, 17.5 VAT and still a massive housing shortage.
In fact the UK have every tax under the sun apart from a financial transaction tax.
They subscribe to the foreign investment model of anybody in the world being able to purchase a property in the UK.
Capital gains is 20th century thinking. They need to switch it up to what is really going on under globalism and why inequality is increasing.
Maybe a shift from taxing income from labour to taxing income from capital? Purely taxing wealth you need to be careful about people who are income poor but have wealth due to stupidly inflated asset values such as housing.
In any case I despair at the way TOP have stupidly discredited the whole idea by wanting to tax people on the value of their own family home, not just their ‘investment’ properties. Only an ex-neoliberal purist like Morgan could do something so unappealing to the public. (It makes me think he may not be so ‘ex’ after all)
The tax on the home (that he sees as an investment) would be a given percentage of something like 5% of its value with an initial value exempt from the tax altogether. And (the claim is) that cost would be more than off-set for the vast majority by a concomitant cut in income tax…and phased in over time so people can adjust their circumstances accordingly.
Now, I don’t think it’s perfect and I agree it might result in a few unfair cases coming to light (big house and no income). But then, what we have now is diabolically unfair to swathes of people who have no room for maneuver.
The family home cannot be excluded.
That just makes for a loophole that wealthy people can drive a bus through.
Ordinary home owners will be better off with TOP’s policy as the housing taxes will be offset by income tax/GST decreases.
To Bearded Git: In your comments when using the term investor, you are including/excluding which groups? eg. people on a visa permit, overseas students, etc
The statistics are clear: fewer Kiwis are living in their own home – more Kiwis are renting. The home ownership rate has been falling since a peak in the early 1990s and is now at the lowest level since 1946 (using my estimates to update 2013 Census data). There has been no improvement in making houses more affordable. There has been no tangible improvement in renting. In places like Auckland, the average rent is over a quarter of gross income of an average family.
If it goes ahead, it will be the second time the minister has faced Salisbury-related legal action. Parata first attempted to close the school in 2012 but lost in the High Court.”
Rock on Salisbury School 😀 Proud of you all.
Salisbury would like parents and educationalists from across New Zealand to come forward with any stories of trying but failing to get a student into the IWS.
The baby boomer mafia and winston peters have really sunk to a new low.
Apparently because I was never given the bash by my parents i should be out robbing dairys because anyone who doesnt get hidings is a sociopath.
Mental!
Just like how banning begging gets rid of poverty and kicking people off of benifits doesn’t increase homeless.
The cradle to the grave generation who pulled the ladder up on every forth coming generation so we couldn’t receive the help they did. … this generation. …
They say we need to raise the pension age but not till they are all dead….
Ya own all the homes, never had to havea student loan and now you want us to work an extra two years but not you….
Oooh wouldn’t they be in for a shock once us millennials realized what a con they’ve played on us.
We have some of the lowest elderly poverty in the oecd world and highest childhood poverty. Mental.
Hard to find any common ground witj a generation that thinks greed is good and that everyone needs to harden up and wants to bash the kids.
Paul has a guest post on the Daily Blog today. He is introduced as the bloke who was banned from the Standard for three years for suggesting that left, liberals and progressives should work together to change the government. This is not how I recall it at all. I thought it was more to do with misrepresenting an author. Probably won’t bother going there for a while.
I have a friend who spent some time talking about how happy they were after their breakup, not bovvered at all, yet somehow what the ex was doing always managed to sneak back into the discussion. That somehow seems relevant 🙂
*they’re better now, I’m pleased to report. It’s a process.
It will be odd for those who get serious about fully insulating their homes in order to conserve energy, and install solar water heating. Their drop in electricity use will be penalised by having to pay much more for electricity. So the best action for Electricity Suppliers is for us to use heaps of power, leave the windows open, tear out insulation, have long showers and pay huge power bills.
Of course the more people who use solar energy the longer the power delivery system would have before paying for upgrades. Surely?
But this is the free market mate, its more efficient this way /sarc
I think that its the owners (overseas fund managers) of our transmission network protecting their (not ours) investment. but hey we need investment. dont we?
antoine go to their website and look at the bio,s of these people. They got us into this mess in the first place. We have a revolvind door industry executivepolicy advisors situation here. what they are doing is immoral and anti democratic. Their “reports” are not intended to inform at all but to influence policy for their personal and sector profit.
> So the best action for Electricity Suppliers is for us to use heaps of power
That’s right, you can’t expect an old style electricity supplier to encourage you to use less power (Although some of them actally do)
> Of course the more people who use solar energy the longer the power delivery system would have before paying for upgrades. Surely?
No, solar on its own won’t delay upgrades to the power network, because the sun doesnt shine at the times when we need power most. Solar + battery is another matter.
I love how they’ve mastered the art of feigning concern for the poor. “This new electricity technology will harm poor people… the very same people we don’t give a toss about for 364 days of the year, but today, and because we’re being paid a lot of money, please join us in doing a terrible job of pretending to feel sympathy for the less fortunate. Thank you.”
I had a look at it. No, it’s not a hit on renewable energy. It’s pointing out some problems with the way electricity is priced. For instance, if someone had an electric car, there’s not enough incentive for them to charge it overnight (as opposed to evening when the demand for power is highest).
in my new home, we had a holiday home rented by out of townees for a week.
the first night they were at said property they started a fire, at 4.30 am the alarm goes of, and Mr. Voluntary Firefighter drives of screeching tires into the night.
Several hours later he comes back with the news that hey could not save the house, but managed to save the property next door, that there is a report of two people missing and they were hoping that ones it was save to go into the wreck they would not find these two guys and their dogs. – they did not in the end to the relieve of everyone.
Figures the fire was lit deliberately, the guys were cooking meth, somehow a fire started and they could not stop it (fire extinguisher near by the initial burn site), so they started a fire in each room and ran away.
Two days later a big headline in the local rural paper….Coppers found a dozen of marijuana plants and took them off the market ohmygosh the war on certain drugs is working. !!!!!!!!!!
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Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
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. ...
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). ...
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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, ...
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Some people compare our SAS heroes to
the US Navy SEAL teams. They could be right….
https://theintercept.com/2017/01/10/the-crimes-of-seal-team-6/
In reference to our SAS, and the ‘botched’ raid, why not have an enquiry?
Where is the political downside?
How does it go.. nothing to hide, nothing to fear.
The crafty Defence Force has waited five days to respond and then turn around and say it was the wrong village. How’s their fact checking, seeing they lost the ‘report’?
Did they wait five days because Parliament was sitting last week and not sitting this week?
Their fact checking is flawless. This story will be dead in a week.
Yeah so flawless they lost the report, some said this story would be dead by the end of last week, and yet it is still going.
An independent investigation would clear up the matter, but the outgoing PM is against that… ask yourself why?
This story is not going away. If it is not dealt with in the form of a fully independent inquiry, it will leave a stain on the reputation of our military and NZ as a whole.
Right now the NZDF and Government are trying to back pedal to a point where they can save some face. To me it is too late for that. They had 7 years to front foot it properly.
I liked Marianne Elliott on Q+A in the weekend in answer to the accusation that Hit and Run was politically motivated… that what we are dealing with here is a political cover up.
I’m still furious about Key’s final speech. What a lot of ghost-written bollocks ! There are many current horror stories out there of working conditions and parents sacrificing themselves for their kids including tangata whenua, polynesian, hindu, chinese, philipino, tamil among others, reflecting increasing complexity in Aotearoa. Parliament needs to reflect *them*, not just the chattering classes.
“Their fact checking is flawless.”
Seems it was their “fact checking” that was the problem.
Citation required.
The fact that their story keeps changing, for one thing.
Read the book!
He means the fact that there weren’t any insurgents in the village they attacked. Quite a failure of ‘fact checking’ that one.
Srylands is just reflexively supporting established power again. That’s what the authoritarian right does
War crimes trial required.
The sea is bumpy
“The Māori Party has spearheaded a new bill proposing major changes to the governance and administration of the 27,000 titles of Māori land in New Zealand, which equate to 6 percent of the country’s total land mass.
But its new ally, Mana Party leader Hone Harawira has called the Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill “a poisonous and destructive cancer”.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/327525/mana-attacks-maori-party-over-'poisonous'-land-bill
Disapointing comments by Winston. We have one of the highest child abuse and the highest domestic violence abuse… so lets not go backwards…
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/03/winston-peters-a-dangerous-old-man-sue-bradford.html
I guess wisdom comes with age. I experienced [suffered] both sensible and stupid corporal punishment in my youth and it is obvious to me it is a serious lack in the dragging up of children today as evidenced by the events which caused Winston to speak out for the return of discipline.
But sadly the biggest problem is the pre-dominence of female teachers who are incapable and prefer to deprive children of education rather than a little bit of discipline to show the children what is right and what is wrong in a way to be remembered.
jcuknz….. pleeeze female teachers are to blame…. maybe the sensible and stupid corporal punishment in your youth did some serious damage to your future intellectual state….
I suggest you retire to the study, Giles. Your dear wife will be along shortly with your pipe and slippers.
Sue Bradford calling out the Greens and by extension Labour for being neo liberal sacks of shit, and having the type of back bone sacks like that need…
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201838072/what-price-power-former-green-mp-sue-bradford-slams-greens'-deal-with-labour
Not holding back, was she?
And she’s right. There is no way to be (so-called) fiscally responsible and also be socially responsible. The thing that really gets me about so-called fiscal responsibility is that it’s highly irresponsible – people suffer and people die when ledgers are held up as more important than people.
I actually think that the ‘business plan’ Gareth Morgan has tabled through TOPs has more to offer struggling people and does more to address imbalances of wealth than anything this straight jacket Labour and the Greens want the country to don can ever achieve.
Anyway. It’s looking like mana for me. And if that turns out to be a wasted vote, then hey. (I simply won’t vote in favour of getting a kicking)
Where have Labour or the Greens said that the ledger is more important than people? Shaw was pretty clear that it was the other way round.
“There is no way to be (so-called) fiscally responsible and also be socially responsible.”
So people said the other day and when I asked for an explanation of that what I got was lines of ideology. The framing of one vs the other and never the twain shall meet looks like a political stance rather than an absolute truth.
There was an entire post done just the other day that laid out their ‘fiscally responsible’ position. Y’know? All that b/s around debt being held to 20% of GDP etc?
I’m at a loss to understand what it is you’re not grasping. There are only two ways governments raise monies to spend on social programmes.
One way is through taxation. The other is through borrowing.
Obviously, if debt is being paid down then there’s no borrowing or only very limited borrowing. Meanwhile, revenue from taxation that’s paying down debt isn’t going to social spending.
In a situation where an economy has slowed, that diversion of a lower tax take to pay down debt is disastrous – it’s a liberal economic prescription that both Labour and the Greens have pledged to adhere to and it’s otherwise known as austerity.
The non-liberal prescription (the responsible avenue) is to borrow and supplement any tax take and then allocate the monies for various social expenditures. And only pay down debt when the debt to GDP ratio has naturally fallen as the consequence of increased GDP.
In other words, what Labour and the Greens should be saying is that their government will invest in schools and health and whatever infrastructure and services are required for the general welfare of NZ, and that debt will be only be paid down if and when favourable economic conditions prevail.
Well thanks for finally putting out an alternative positioning. Doesn’t high debt place us at increasing risk internationally?
What you appear to be saying is that if we have unfavourable conditions that on the basis of this policy the Greens would throw social services under a bus. I just don’t see the evidence for that (and I’m pretty sure Matthew addressed this issue in the last round).
The Greens are in favour of increasing govt income via taxation btw.
In answer to your first question, no.
On the second point, if monies are being used to pay down debt, then that can only come at the expense of social spending. Yes, given less money, health could be prioritised over roads. But regardless of what you may think of roads, the fact remains that less money is being spent into society in favour of giving that money over to debt repayment.
Increasing taxation when debt servicing is taking priority doesn’t really do much. If an economy is shrinking then the debt/GDP ration tends to climb no matter how much money is being raised to be thrown at the debt.
Just listened and what I heard Bradford saying is that the Greens have sold out… because. She doesn’t actually explain other than to say that business support the policy and that the policy will explicitly mean no social spending, but she doesn’t say how or why. She also says that they (both parties I guess) haven’t made any policy announcements regarding social spending, which I find quite extraordinary given that for the last couple of years the Greens have spoken and acted on this repeatedly.
At the end she gets a bit better where she makes a comparison with Labour in the 2000s and how they tinkered around the edges with social policy. And I agree there is a danger here for that to happen again, which is why we need the ratio of L to G MPs to be as even as possible so that the Greens have the power to push the govt left. It would be way better if we looked at what Clark’s govt did and compare it to what L/G now are intending and see what is similar and what is different. At the moment I’m just seeing a lot of reaction with little analysis.
I understand where Bradford is coming from. She didn’t get the opportunity to elaborate. But she is saying the economic agreement signals no change from how the Labour Party operated in 2000-2007: ie tinkering around the edges, and delivering a situation where the Nats, once in power again, can shift things even further rightwards.
Bradford particularly pointed out the way the latest Labour-Green agreement aims to get business onside as a priority, rather than address the pressing issues for the struggling Kiwis they should be supporting as a priority.
Also see Stephanie Rodgers on the agreement:
I think Bradford’s RNZ interview opens the way for the logic of a new left wing party. That may be where her thinking is headed. She tried Mana, so what else is there?
I agree with both Sue and Stephanie’s analysis but the answer is not another left-wing party – the answer is to try and influence the leftish parties we have. You don’t have to join them to do that – you can lobby relentlessly with well researched material directed at any of the MPs who may be sympathetic.
It takes too long to get a party to the stage where it can have a significant political role – Mana tried but IMO made a fatal error getting involved with Kim Dotcom and lost the momentum it had. A huge amount of energy went into Mana and it is hard to keep up the support from volunteers without any sign that they are getting anywhere.
Agree, Karen. But I think that’s maybe where Bradford’s thinking is going. Although, she also does a very good job of holding Labour & the Greens to account.
which is why we need the ratio of L to G MPs to be as even as possible so that the Greens have the power to push the govt left
But the Greens have just signed up to this notion of having debt sit at no more than 20% of GDP. You can’t really get any more non- left than that. (I mean, sure, yo could go for 10% or 5% – but the whole point is that the focus they’re applying to debt is absolutely a right wing focus – liberal)
Even if that were true (and that’s not quite how it was framed in the document), they’re still to the left of every other party in parliament. And that one aspect of what the Greens are doing doesn’t shift their whole kaupapa and policy platform to the right of centre. So having maximum MPs in parliament will give them more chance of moving Labour in the direction of Green Party policy (by all means try and make the argument that GP policy is largely right wing).
I’m not sure what you expect given that Labour are going to run a neoliberal govt albeit a centre left one. Seriously, since the announcement was made I’ve yet to see a credible alternative presented (haven’t read the CTU one yet). Stephanie had a go by saying that they should have focussed on people not finances, but it still doesn’t address the issue of needing the business community on board to govern, and needing to present as credible to get that chunk of the electorate who vote on credibility over the cluster fuck that has been Labour for the past decade.
On climate change alone that’s critical, because the only other option is a 4th term NACT govt. Bradford obviously thinks that being liked by the business community is the end of the world. I think it’s just a natural consequence of lefties not voting Green while they were still radical and the Greens now positioning themselves where they can do the most good within the limitations they’re presented with. Personally I think it’s a piece of leftie bullshit to condemn them on this, because they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
The Greens don’t sit neatly into the left/right box you want to frame them in. They’ll use the tools available to them, but I’m guessing you are looking at the policy within a conventional political framework as well as not looking at it within the broader actions of the Greens.
I’ve yet to see a credible alternative presented
It’s been stated, alluded to and presented over and over again. Focus on necessary social investment. Borrow to fund that if necessary.
Debt levels do not matter. They really don’t. All this nonsense about a need to pay it down is absolute ideological tosh that, if followed through on, inflicts huge amounts of damage on society and people.
Recent and less recent history is awash with ugly real world examples of what happens when debt repayment takes precedence over social investment.
Even if that were true (and that’s not quite how it was framed in the document), they’re still to the left of every other party in parliament.
No they are not.
And that one aspect of what the Greens are doing doesn’t shift their whole kaupapa and policy platform to the right of centre.
Yes it does.
So having maximum MPs in parliament will give them more chance of moving Labour in the direction of Green Party policy (by all means try and make the argument that GP policy is largely right wing).
All their policies are beholden to or limited by their economic positioning. And that’s unabashedly liberal – something they just ‘officially’ signed up to and crowed about the other day.
I’m not sure what you expect given that Labour are going to run a neoliberal govt albeit a centre left one. Seriously, since the announcement was made I’ve yet to see a credible alternative presented (haven’t read the CTU one yet).
See the other reply I made.
Stephanie had a go by saying that they should have focussed on people not finances, but it still doesn’t address the issue of needing the business community on board to govern, and needing to present as credible to get that chunk of the electorate who vote on credibility over the cluster fuck that has been Labour for the past decade.
If the belief is that business being on board is more important than people being on board, then they’re lost (and will hopefully sink without a trace soon)
On climate change alone that’s critical, because the only other option is a 4th term NACT govt. Bradford obviously thinks that being liked by the business community is the end of the world. I think it’s just a natural consequence of lefties not voting Green while they were still radical and the Greens now positioning themselves where they can do the most good within the limitations they’re presented with. Personally I think it’s a piece of leftie bullshit to condemn them on this, because they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
Some might view your loyalty to ‘the party’ as noble. But blaming voters for a political party’s shortcomings isn’t flash. Neither is any attempt to play some minor fear card (Nat term no. 4) , because that’s usually a precursor to some ultimatum on the need to ‘vote for the lesser evil’ or you’re a part of the problem nonsense.
The Greens don’t sit neatly into the left/right box you want to frame them in. They’ll use the tools available to them, but I’m guessing you are looking at the policy within a conventional political framework as well as not looking at it within the broader actions of the Greens.
Left and right are economic concepts. The Greens have announced they will adhere to right wing (liberal) economic demands.
Strong sue indeed. I, like her, feel like I am lost on who to vote for this year.
She needs to come back to parliament. Can she and the Greens make up for the greater good of our country?
I agree with Sue Bradford with the anti smacking laws, but not on her opinions on the Greens MoU with Labour. The greens should push Labour centre left which is where Labour need to be (but in the right areas).
I’d also like to see Mana get through. That’s MMP, just as we have the far right ideology from National and ACT we need to have some balance from the far left. What is missing in NZ debate is fresh ideas and how to deal with 21st century issues especially globalism.
A case in point in the article below. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/327526/firms-look-at-cruise-ship-option-for-akl-rail-link-workers
A Chinese bidder for the rail link is proposing to possibly house 1000’s of workers in a cruise ship. Previously, infrastructure projects paid for by NZ tax payers would be good, creating local jobs and opportunities, nowadays, infrastructure projects seem to do the opposite with cheaper workers from overseas being bought in to ‘work’, quality questionable (trains full of asbestos), housing and rents escalating with the amount of ‘new’ workers flooding in, more transport issues from the ‘new’ workers and their families seem to be coming too, and their health, education needs being met by local taxpayers and often bankrupting local businesses with the noise and disruption caused by the 6 years of construction around them.
At the end of the day most of the profits from the infrastructure project go off shore to the parent company. NZ gets little from it and most local people are worse off. Then they ask the local people still employed to stump up more taxes to pay for it all these important infrastructure projects.
My concerns about Labour and Greens is that are still in denial about the actual real effects on local people under globalism and they still think about it in terms of 20th century globalism. Going rah rah to globalism in the 21st century seems akin to forcing inequality on the local community.
Personally I think the Chinese would be amenable for these concerns because they look to the long term relationship, not the short term like the Natz.
Another term of the Natz will be the death for anybody renting, Maori, the environment and hollowing out the middle class further and escalating housing, transport, immigration scams and pollution crisis.
Politicians need to look around them at the US, UK and what normal people are telling them – the messages that are resonating – because people want free borders and selected immigration, but not some free for all that turns their day to day life into a noise, pollution filled, insecure work, struggle. Politicians need to rethink globalism and do proper accounting both financially and socially – before it leads to more climate change and societal disruption.
Their obligation should be to their own citizens not global opportunities for the .1% and an ideology that works like a Ponzi scheme.
They also need to factor in, those local people become more desperate, or who have never had a proper job and now can’t even access welfare. The government war on P for example is a joke!
We wouldn’t need to be building more prisons and having more police, if society starts to give young people a decent upbringing (not a massive percentage living below the poverty line) and a real job to go to at the end of it!
And I’m not talking about a minimum waged job on zero hour contracts.
And angry violent parents who are regularly using ‘reasonable force’ to beat their kids is not going to turn these kids around, quite the opposite.
Lowering the NZ qualification standards – now some of the graduates don’t even know what subjects were in course they were on after “graduating”..
Soon the ‘NZ’ brand will be worthless under the Natz… worthless for educational quality, worthless for clean/green worthless for safety
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/327479/indian-graduates-had-'poor-knowledge'-of-courses
The sign on the kid’s bike – sell your villas, build roads
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C73UcvBW4AEzJPi.jpg
Many people were detained today. This is understandable – thieves are so protective of themselves. But all those who can not be detained against corruption. We are millions.
Alexey Navalny
https://twitter.com/navalny/status/846018889905524738
Images.
On March 26, an anti-corruption action took place across Russia, the reason for which was the investigation of the Anti-Corruption Foundation about Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. On the streets were thousands of people (and in Moscow, apparently, more than ten thousand); Hundreds of them were detained by the police (the majority – again, in Moscow). One of the main features of today’s rallies is how massively they turned out in the regions. “Medusa” shows how anti-corruption actions looked in Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Kirov, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk – and in many other cities.
google translate
https://meduza.io/feature/2017/03/27/ot-peterburga-do-vladivostoka-vserossiyskaya-aktsiya-protesta-v-fotografiyah
well this should be interesting , quite a few votes in this for NZF
http://community.scoop.co.nz/2017/03/nz-first-repeal-of-anti-smacking-law-welcomed/
Yep still an underbelly of violence in our society. Weak selfish people who are still scared to deal with their own stuff so instead they take it out on children – yuck.
I dont quite understand the point of that marty.
Are you perhaps suggesting that those who think the anti smacking legislation was bad lawmaking that has not reduced violence against kids, are somhow engaging in or promoting violence against kids?
Certainly that was a strong campaign theme at the time that was harmful and improper then as it would be now.
If someone is a pro smacker and wants the law reversed then imo that is evidence that there is stuff that need to work on in a personal way and they should be given the resources and education to work through that stuff rather than smacking.
what about someone who is “anti smacker” and wants the law changed?
I think you are trying to deny the existence of these people!
my point is that Winston believes they exist and some of them will vote NZF for no other reason then to say “we exist”
Wants the law changed to… what?
very good question !
i guess to something that
1 reduces violence against kids
2 does not make policepersons judges
No, I’m literally trying to think of a permutation where someone can be “anti smacking” while supporting a repeal of the anti-smacking law.
Seeking to amend it, maybe by adjusting the police discretion, yeah, sure. But repealing it? How is that consistent with being “anti smacking”?
Ok I mispoke….i meant to say
people who are anti smacking and did not want the law passed and would like to see it repealed.
we exist !
because its a badly formed law passed by coercive process (coercion is violence too)
So you’re against smacking, you just want it to be legal?
An anti smacker wants the law changed? Tighter do you mean, less loopholes for the loopholes?
I’d need to see some strong independent evidence if someone was going to suggest the legislation caused MORE violence against children.
There was and is no ‘anti-smacking’ legislation. There was legislation that removed the defence that was used by some charged with physical assaults on children.
absolutely correct Bill
this is what we are discussing
New section 59 substituted
Section 59 is repealed and the following section substituted:
“59 Parental control
“(1) Every parent of a child and every person in the place of a parent of the child is justified in using force if the force used is reasonable in the circumstances and is for the purpose of—
“(a) preventing or minimising harm to the child or another person; or
“(b) preventing the child from engaging or continuing to engage in conduct that amounts to a criminal offence; or
“(c) preventing the child from engaging or continuing to engage in offensive or disruptive behaviour; or
“(d) performing the normal daily tasks that are incidental to good care and parenting.
“(2) Nothing in subsection (1) or in any rule of common law justifies the use of force for the purpose of correction.
“(3) Subsection (2) prevails over subsection (1).
“(4) To avoid doubt, it is affirmed that the Police have the discretion not to prosecute complaints against a parent of a child or person in the place of a parent of a child in relation to an offence involving the use of force against a child, where the offence is considered to be so inconsequential that there is no public interest in proceeding with a prosecution.”
looking at this my opinion is
1 the whole thing has been horribly misrepresented (by parties for and against!) and winston is poised to take advantage of that
2 section 4 is just wrong!
Here’s the main bit of the previous version:
Repealing the act that repealed the above legalises smacking.
“There was and is no ‘anti-smacking’ legislation”
That is why I say people who even use the term anti-smacking just like violence against children. The promote it by the use of the term, and want to perpetuate it by deliberate misleading the public, and debasing the debate.
It is a argument by some people who have no power, and get their jollies by beating up little children. I really do wish we lived in a society that was beyond that sort of thing.
But it would appear, that the child beaters want another round of us reminding them that they are, the scum of the earth.
“There was legislation that removed the defence that was used by some charged with physical assaults on children.”
that is also my recall that this was prompted by a series of cases where sec 59 was sucessfully used as a defense where children surffered injury.
1 I have a very dim view of lawmakers and laws that are a response to specific cases
2 at the time it was also suggested that sec 59 could have been altered somehow thus
“nothing in sec 1 shall be a defense where physical or mental harm is caused to a child.” Not proposing that as “the solution” just suggesting that that was maby not sufficiently explored.
But to get back to my first post, It looks like Winston is positioning NZF to collect on the flustercluck that was the passing of this amendment and perhaps continuing to deligitimise , misrepresent , and demonise those who hold a different view on it might not serve “the left” here.
Oh and just to be completely clear I am personally opposed to any form of violence as a “correction” , which includes much of what happens in our “corrections” services!
The legislation works – winnie is an idiot.
You just made winnie very happy there marty
How long can our high waged Auckland economy continue to be able to pay these prices for 366m2 sections ?? Yes $815k starting from !!! Or a 425m2 for $869k
http://www.realestate.co.nz/3039262
http://www.realestate.co.nz/3039270
http://www.realestate.co.nz/3028664
And No I am not a realestate agent using this has a means of target marketing my properties to all you wealthy land owners at The Std.
Hate to be The Govt if cards should tumble, and there are signs of tremors being felt in Jafaland.
Send troops in to shoot people. People, including civilians, will be shot.
That is what they do!
The term “collateral damage” was not invented for fun.
Oh are you suggesting this as a solution to the question Herodotus askes above?
Note the comment number. Reply to the OP.
If you send troops in to have a war, or aircraft to bomb a country, innocent people will get shot. I include most soldiers in this also.
Most are not volunteers!
The solution is to stop bombing countries just because you cannot drill their oil for free!
In other words, if you don’t like refugees, stop voting for Governments, including ours, that want to shoot and bomb the crap out of, their countries.
User pays, spreads to the military as they buy their own boots
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11825410
I was buying my own kit back in 90’s, hell we had to buy cam nets for our V8 Landrovers and even had to make our gun mounts for the GPMG’s / LSW C9’s so its not new.
If we want spare parts for the V8 Landrovers we went to the wreckers yard on Blenheim Rd in CHCH as it was quicker than ordering thru the system.
Ah, the joys of living in the 90’s not.
Were you reimbursed at all? Because if my employer expected me to fork out for the equipment I use for my job, I’d be presenting him with a bundle of receipts.
Nope, we were joking about it at reunion last Apr in Dunedin when some wag produced a couple of receipts (Doyles Ex Army Supplies in Manchester St I think) and I think we would’ve been wasting our time anyway. Things got real bad when OP Raidan kick off, but’s another story.
In Oz I can claim any kit that I buy back on tax, but I must admit my Macpac Bivi bag I brought back mids 90’s CHCH is still going strong after all years before Macpac move manufacturing overseas in the late 90s. Can’t knock NZ made goods when you can get it.
Agree. If we are going to order soldiers into harms way, then they should have the best gear possible.
However I do not think we should be ordering them to protect US corporate profits.
“If we are going to order soldiers into harms way, then they should have the best gear possible.”
We are always lending/ loaning the NZDF some of our kit for deployments or even for a bog standard exercise here in Oz either because NZDF has short fall in their SOE, don’t have the equipment full stop or they had to leave it behind as the Aircraft maxed out due to weight issues and hope catches up with on the next flight whenever that might be. Mind you when we come to NZ they loan us their cold weather gear as we don’t get that white stuff called snow in 95% of our training areas here in Oz.
Why does Winston want a referendum? We had one with an overwhelming result.
More money wasted on ‘consultation’ when the ‘people’ have spoken against the stupid law.
What referendum against what law has the people spoken?
Radio NZ just reported that 44% of properties in Auckland were bought by investors in February.
So with that in mind. Apart from TOPs, is anyone else even thinking about shifting tax away from income and on to wealth?
The Greens want a capital gains tax, generally but also specifically to address that aspect of the Ak housing crisis. They also want to reduce income tax by using a carbon tax to pay for government spending (can’t remember how that exactly works, you can look it up).
A capital gains tax is not the answer often their are so many ways for rich people to avoid it. If they really want to tax property they need something that is unrelated to a person’s income tax – more like a stamp duty which is pretty difficult to avoid not matter how rich you are.
A person that invests millions in property in NZ, does not live here and just never sells would not pay any tax under the capital gains model and that is increasingly what NZ is going to look like with offshore corporates taking over the rental supply. Let alone pretending to live there to avoid it etc etc.
UK has capital gains taxes, stamp duty, 17.5 VAT and still a massive housing shortage.
In fact the UK have every tax under the sun apart from a financial transaction tax.
They subscribe to the foreign investment model of anybody in the world being able to purchase a property in the UK.
Capital gains is 20th century thinking. They need to switch it up to what is really going on under globalism and why inequality is increasing.
Maybe a shift from taxing income from labour to taxing income from capital? Purely taxing wealth you need to be careful about people who are income poor but have wealth due to stupidly inflated asset values such as housing.
In any case I despair at the way TOP have stupidly discredited the whole idea by wanting to tax people on the value of their own family home, not just their ‘investment’ properties. Only an ex-neoliberal purist like Morgan could do something so unappealing to the public. (It makes me think he may not be so ‘ex’ after all)
The tax on the home (that he sees as an investment) would be a given percentage of something like 5% of its value with an initial value exempt from the tax altogether. And (the claim is) that cost would be more than off-set for the vast majority by a concomitant cut in income tax…and phased in over time so people can adjust their circumstances accordingly.
Now, I don’t think it’s perfect and I agree it might result in a few unfair cases coming to light (big house and no income). But then, what we have now is diabolically unfair to swathes of people who have no room for maneuver.
The family home cannot be excluded.
That just makes for a loophole that wealthy people can drive a bus through.
Ordinary home owners will be better off with TOP’s policy as the housing taxes will be offset by income tax/GST decreases.
To Bearded Git: In your comments when using the term investor, you are including/excluding which groups? eg. people on a visa permit, overseas students, etc
Heres the reference for you Johan
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/90861306/house-investors-hit-record-in-auckland-first-home-buyers-fall-corelogic
class war encouraged by 30 years of rogernomics and tax breaks for the rich.
landlords (not all but many) have been shitting on the poor for ever
Shamubeel Eaqub: Has anything changed for Generation Rent?
A doctor writes about how our shitty houses are killing us
and more
http://thespinoff.co.nz/media/26-03-2017/the-very-best-of-rent-week-on-the-spinoff/
Key’s last speech was a pathetic sob story, which could have been bettered by any number of recent migrant groups.
Huh? Haven’t caught up with the fact Micheal Wood is the MP for Mt. Roskill.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11826058
Toys for thugs.
soylent green anyone 🙂
Closer than you imagine.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/rob-rhinehart-no-longer-requires-food
https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/life-after-food-soylent-motherboard/55cb6ae51ce00c683baee7a9
Terrorism – Not if your white.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/3/24/1646760/-If-the-terrorist-is-white-then-it-s-alright-Trump-tweets-about-London-victim-not-black-New-Yorker
“Salisbury School, near Nelson, intends to return to court if Education Minister Hekia Parata tries again to close its doors.
If it goes ahead, it will be the second time the minister has faced Salisbury-related legal action. Parata first attempted to close the school in 2012 but lost in the High Court.”
Rock on Salisbury School 😀 Proud of you all.
Salisbury would like parents and educationalists from across New Zealand to come forward with any stories of trying but failing to get a student into the IWS.
People are asked to email principal@salisbury.school.nz with their situation and contact details.
The baby boomer mafia and winston peters have really sunk to a new low.
Apparently because I was never given the bash by my parents i should be out robbing dairys because anyone who doesnt get hidings is a sociopath.
Mental!
Just like how banning begging gets rid of poverty and kicking people off of benifits doesn’t increase homeless.
The cradle to the grave generation who pulled the ladder up on every forth coming generation so we couldn’t receive the help they did. … this generation. …
They say we need to raise the pension age but not till they are all dead….
Ya own all the homes, never had to havea student loan and now you want us to work an extra two years but not you….
Oooh wouldn’t they be in for a shock once us millennials realized what a con they’ve played on us.
We have some of the lowest elderly poverty in the oecd world and highest childhood poverty. Mental.
Hard to find any common ground witj a generation that thinks greed is good and that everyone needs to harden up and wants to bash the kids.
Paul has a guest post on the Daily Blog today. He is introduced as the bloke who was banned from the Standard for three years for suggesting that left, liberals and progressives should work together to change the government. This is not how I recall it at all. I thought it was more to do with misrepresenting an author. Probably won’t bother going there for a while.
lol
I have a friend who spent some time talking about how happy they were after their breakup, not bovvered at all, yet somehow what the ex was doing always managed to sneak back into the discussion. That somehow seems relevant 🙂
*they’re better now, I’m pleased to report. It’s a process.
a very good post it was too, reccomended reading.
Pity him or Bradbury had to lie about ts then, although the irony of the lie is pretty funny.
Just got an email from the greens relating to donating.
The scary stuff was that just renting a prime bill board now costs $1,200, per month!
First Key didn’t want us to be tenants in our own country.
Now many can’t afford to be tenants in our own country.
Now it seems like people can’t even afford to rent a billboard in our own country!
Meanwhile Bill English is fine with some people stealing water from our own country.
WTF????
Who are Concept Consultants?
I am seriously annoyed with them, they are the enemy of New Zealanders,
this is their third hit on renewable energy , They are dishonest spindoctor scum
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201838077/report-electricity-technology-will-harm-the-poor
It will be odd for those who get serious about fully insulating their homes in order to conserve energy, and install solar water heating. Their drop in electricity use will be penalised by having to pay much more for electricity. So the best action for Electricity Suppliers is for us to use heaps of power, leave the windows open, tear out insulation, have long showers and pay huge power bills.
Of course the more people who use solar energy the longer the power delivery system would have before paying for upgrades. Surely?
But this is the free market mate, its more efficient this way /sarc
I think that its the owners (overseas fund managers) of our transmission network protecting their (not ours) investment. but hey we need investment. dont we?
> I think that its the owners (overseas fund managers) of our transmission network protecting their (not ours) investment
Nope
antoine go to their website and look at the bio,s of these people. They got us into this mess in the first place. We have a revolvind door industry executivepolicy advisors situation here. what they are doing is immoral and anti democratic. Their “reports” are not intended to inform at all but to influence policy for their personal and sector profit.
Hmm
I went to the website and had a look at them
Which one do you think is the most dodgy?
> So the best action for Electricity Suppliers is for us to use heaps of power
That’s right, you can’t expect an old style electricity supplier to encourage you to use less power (Although some of them actally do)
> Of course the more people who use solar energy the longer the power delivery system would have before paying for upgrades. Surely?
No, solar on its own won’t delay upgrades to the power network, because the sun doesnt shine at the times when we need power most. Solar + battery is another matter.
A.
I love how they’ve mastered the art of feigning concern for the poor. “This new electricity technology will harm poor people… the very same people we don’t give a toss about for 364 days of the year, but today, and because we’re being paid a lot of money, please join us in doing a terrible job of pretending to feel sympathy for the less fortunate. Thank you.”
Yep the poor people that are being gauged with line costs in rural areas.
Oh yeah, the poor people that run on glow bug.
oh yeah, the poor people that simply gave up on electricity and cook on a barbie and have candles.
They are these guys, http://www.concept.co.nz/.
I had a look at it. No, it’s not a hit on renewable energy. It’s pointing out some problems with the way electricity is priced. For instance, if someone had an electric car, there’s not enough incentive for them to charge it overnight (as opposed to evening when the demand for power is highest).
A.
Canada to legalise cannabis.
Aside from a couple of times in uni I’ve never touched the stuff but this is eminently sensible. I really do think NZ should follow suit.
in my new home, we had a holiday home rented by out of townees for a week.
the first night they were at said property they started a fire, at 4.30 am the alarm goes of, and Mr. Voluntary Firefighter drives of screeching tires into the night.
Several hours later he comes back with the news that hey could not save the house, but managed to save the property next door, that there is a report of two people missing and they were hoping that ones it was save to go into the wreck they would not find these two guys and their dogs. – they did not in the end to the relieve of everyone.
Figures the fire was lit deliberately, the guys were cooking meth, somehow a fire started and they could not stop it (fire extinguisher near by the initial burn site), so they started a fire in each room and ran away.
Two days later a big headline in the local rural paper….Coppers found a dozen of marijuana plants and took them off the market ohmygosh the war on certain drugs is working. !!!!!!!!!!
Priorities. We surely have them.