My observation about the dire condition of our mainstream media in New Zealand looks not at how it uses distraction to dumb down citizens and turn them into ‘consumers’ ; rather it looks at its bias to the corporate industrial complex and its lackeys and puppets in New Zealand, the National Party.
Last year the Herald got involved in Dirty Politcs by smearing and undermining David Cunliffe’s leadership close enough to the election to assist another victory for the National Party.
The sponsors of the Herald, the real estate, insurance and finance industries clearly want more blood from its puppet paper. There has now been a sustained attack on Little by the Herald as it seeks to promote Jacinda Ardern. With a media like this, we only have a shadow of democracy In this country.
For me the herald is a tool, and stuff too – they put out their lines/articles and they are designed to elicit a response from readers – I want to know what they are trying to get me to think/do/believe – so that I can use a discriminating eye and mind and interpret their agenda. And then do what I want based on my beliefs and values.
the msm is persuasive and pervading and they do support the agendas – as organs of culture they show how delusional we are, how idiotic we are, how unprepared and head in the sand we are. The deeper those delusions go, the more along the road we are towards the inevitable conclusion. I don’t want or believe the msm will change – we need canaries, we need strident protectors of the ‘progress’ religion and fervent advocates of whichever ‘middle’ party is in power, we need them so we have something to contrast to, so we can do the opposite, believe the opposite and act opposite. So fuck the herald – I use them.
I want to know what they are trying to get me to think/do/believe – so that I can use a discriminating eye and mind and interpret their agenda. And then do what I want based on my beliefs and values.
Or make the job easier and faster by doing whatever you want and not read/watch it at all. From here, the World as portrayed by even a 30 second news headlines ad on TV, or the front page at a supermarket entrance, it’s like, “Where the fuck are these people coming from?”. Wherever it is, it can’t be good for their health – mental or otherwise.
I recommend a site like metapicture, which has all the slightly muted values and prejudices of the perspective that everyone loves to repeat in the news, but interspersed by about 50% vaguely amusing rubbish – or try the weather forecast. As Simon and Garfunkel once said, “I get all the news I need on the weather report…”
So, just to recap, you’re not happy with paul just pointing out that NZ media are blatantly biased in favour of tories. You want paul to design an entire media system from the mechanisms of providing support to grassroots media all the way up to writing the details of content regulations. And you call those demands a “discussion”.
Agree with you 100%, Paul. And I, too, have been wondering re the promotion of Jacinda Ardern – a very sneaky move to use her to undermine Andrew Little.
Our right wing friend “Ad” has, unwittingly, managed to say something that has some truth to it….
Politics, otherwise, is “Entertainment With Ugly People”.
That rather dull quip was made by someone in Hollywood in the early 1990s, and has been repeated ad nauseam by people like “Ad” ever since. Of course, as we see with the lionization of loud-mouthed vacuums like Donald Trump, the media are more than happy to concentrate on nonsense instead of anything substantial, which is not entertaining.
So, yes, politics is indeed entertainment with ugly people—-morally ugly.
There’s a flipside of course: so much of Hollywood seems to be politics for stupid people, as anyone will testify who has witnessed the embarrassing and unedifying spectacle of numbskulls like Neil Patrick Harris, Jared Leto, Kevin Costner, Kevin Spacey, Michael Douglas, John Malkovich and (most pathetic of all) Clint Eastwood trying to comment about things they know nothing about.
have you quickly discraded your logic?…’The point of the Opposition is to show the public that their answers are better than the alternative, more credible, and more effective.’
‘But he is on course to win the Republican nomination.
Precisely because he is quotable, and entertaining.’…………………….so which is more important…..policy or charisma….you seem very inconsistent or confused or both!
except in that post you propose policy as an asnwer, which contradicts many other things wyou say (in your comments at other times) about people like Adern and the need to fight fire with fire, popularity with popularity, do what it takes to win, which often precludes policy? That is certainly how 2007/2008 went, attack Clark, attack Labour, smile, says stuff which doesn’t mean much, and very little (or no policy).
All the things that people like BM say don’t work. And therein lies a message but I don’t know what the answer/counter is. Wish i did.
Oh, I can see he’s entertaining. But it’s like professional wrestling—there’s not a lot of substance there, and anyone with a brain soon gets bored and loses interest. It’s obvious to everyone that Trump is a souffle, a flake, a giant inflated bag of foul wind. Yes, he got 24 million people to tune in to watch him insult Mexicans and women, in between speeches by a dozen of America’s dullest men. And yes, he gets more people to his highly publicized appearances than Jeb Bush or Mario Rubio.
But far, far more people are turning out to watch the most popular politician in the United States—Bernie Sanders.
He will win the Republican nomination for Presidency.
Now I’m going to be charitable here and assume that you are not actually one of the small group of imbeciles that actually adore the most well funded joke candidate in history.
Donald Trump is not a new phenomenon. Joke candidates have a long history. New Zealand had a “Mickey Mouse” candidate in 1972, and there was a full ticket of McGillicuddy Serious Party candidates twenty years on from that. All of these people were more coherent and entertaining than Trump.
Britain had Screaming Lord Sutch and his Official Monster Raving Loony Party, of course. Screaming Lord Sutch was a far brighter and more compelling candidate than any of these Republican candidates, leave alone the joke candidate who continues to distract everyone.
So, as I say, we’re assuming that you are one of the many people that are smart enough to realise Trump has nothing and offers nothing, but are determined to believe that millions of people are stupid enough to vote for him.
Well, okay, a lot of people voted for that sinister robot Mitt Romney last time—-but compared to Donald Trump, Romney is the most brilliant orator on the planet and a philosopher of the highest order.
But then, compared to Donald Trump, so is anybody.
Trump wont win the Republican nomination, and Sanders won’t win the Democrat nomination – hes currently polling 20pts behind Clinton, before the gloves come off and the money needs raising. No matter how popular they are, they won’t be allowed to win by party interests, because in a presidential election, both of them are un-electable. The republicans have always had the problem that the sort of candidate who can win the primary could never win the wider election. Sanders is the democrat version of that problem.
And in recent campaigns I can’t remember the last front runner at this point who ended up winning their party’s nomination.
Trump is a joke – un-electable because he will piss off way to many demographics. Sanders is not a joke, but in the US environment the only major state he might carry is California. Forget all the other key battlegrounds in the electoral college – Florida, Michigan, NY, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia. As soon as the Republicans start attacking him with ads, he is gone. Secretly the Dems are hoping Trump does win the nomination, as the Republicans are hoping Sanders wins for the democrats. The US presidential election clearly works against polarising candidates as most states are winner takes all, i.e., a 1 vote majority within California delivers the candidate 10% of the electoral college.
The republicans were hoping to appeal to the “minorites”, through Jeb Bush, but Trump is pissing many off in that regard. BUT FOX News is not (from what I can see) a Trump fan and that will hurt him in the long run
I’m pleased to see that you acknowledge Sanders is NOT a joke candidate.
However, that acknowledgement comes after you have erroneously compared him to Trump.
Let’s get this straight: Sanders is serious, whereas Trump and the whole sorry Republican Party is nothing more than a crazy insurgency movement, dedicated to ruining America’s democracy.
I find it remarkable that you insist Sanders is “un-electable”. He’s surely no more unelectable than Barack Obama was, running as a black candidate in a profoundly racist country.
Who actually answered that ” jacinda preferred as Pm” Poll?
I have not seen the poll, but would like to know who was polled? Regular Voters? Age Group of Voters? Gender of Voters, and Party Preferrence of Voters.
i actually think nothing of Jacinda as I have no idea who she is, what she likes, etc etc etc.
And for what its worth, i have never voted for a pretty face, male or female. I want my PM’s to be sound of mind and heart, I have no interest in their pretty faces and good bodies…these things fade with time.
used to watch Jacinda face of against the ghastly Bridges on morning t.v. was frustrating to see her counter his idiocy and bluster with calm and reasoned debate, often being talked over by bridges, imitating his idol Key, and the “interviewr” despite having all the facts and sound reasoning, how demorilising to be against pitted against the gnat-like ignorance of bridges and in the eyes of msm to be comparable to him.
The Nats were terrified of David Cunliffe – he was a real threat to them – Michelle Boag likes Andrew Little – obviously she thinks he’s no threat – the ABC crowd should have worked out that if the Nats were so keen to get rid of Cunliffe, that it was because he was a big threat to them, but the selfishness of the ABC crowd is breathtaking – they are all about securing their positions for the future and the public of NZ don’t seem to even rate a thought! The ABC don’t seem to care if they are in opposition, they still are on big money, still get their overseas trips each year etc – their petty jealousy of David Cunliffe robbed NZ of a government who cared about the average Joe and Joe-ess! Bryan Gould is right on the money in his latest Herald article – Jeremy Corbyn said in a recent interview that the Blairite approach in the Labour Party in the UK meant that there was no real difference between them and the Tories – no stark choice for voters – same here I think.
Note to Gosman; Seymour got everything he wanted from the changes to the opening hours for the world cup, so definitely a win for him and those who supported the move. You picked him as the winner when this first broke. And here he is. The BIG winner though, is Bruce Robertson on behalf of his members. he provided a masterclass in effective lobbying and use of a MP or Junior Minister.
Interesting that national went from only wanting AB games and playoffs to agreeing to everything.
“Key has earlier said the government could take up the bill on its own if it failed.
On Wednesday morning he went further, telling TV3’s Paul Henry show he had spoken with Justice Minister Amy Adams about putting it on the order paper, which would mean only majority rather than unanimous support would be needed.
It was not a simple fix as different bars have different opening hours.
“In principle one option would be to say … for every All Blacks game for the quarters, semis, the finals, maybe the playoffs for third and fourth – all of those we have blanket coverage.”
However, the case was not as strong for covering games not involving the All Blacks, Mr Key said.
He believed where there was strong support for other teams, such as a number of South Africans living on the North Shore, bars would have already applied for a special licence to open outside normal hours.” 12 August 2015 NZ Herald
Interesting to see if the legislation about bar opening hours for RWC also changed the opening hours specified in many of the bars’ Resource Consents. If it just did Licensing hours, there may be trouble ahead. Some Plans allow for restricted numbers of exemptions, but those are limited.
I read this article by Steve Keen, which I found very interesting. The excerpt I found fascinating was this.
‘This is the mechanism behind the empirical datum that the ex-banker and philanthropist Richard Vague identified in his book The Next Economic Disaster: Why It’s Coming and How to Avoid It. Richard looked at all economic crises across the globe over the last one and a half centuries, and found that every one of them occurred when the private debt to GDP ratio exceeded 1.5 times GDP, and when the ratio had risen by 17% or more over a 5 year period.
China fits that profile in spades, as I pointed out in the last two columns. It’s surely under-reported private debt to GDP ratio rose from about 100% of GDP in 2008 to over 180% by the start of 2015, which is a rise of 80% over 8 years.’
New Zealand’s ratio of private debt to GDP is 147%
Engineers should find this argument easy to understand and informative, but tedious to read because the logic is so obvious. Economists are probably going to find it almost impossible to comprehend, clearly wrong, and they will probably be enraged by it.
I read this article by Steve Keen, which I found very interesting. The excerpt I found fascinating was this.
‘This is the mechanism behind the empirical datum that the ex-banker and philanthropist Richard Vague identified in his book The Next Economic Disaster: Why It’s Coming and How to Avoid It. Richard looked at all economic crises across the globe over the last one and a half centuries, and found that every one of them occurred when the private debt to GDP ratio exceeded 1.5 times GDP, and when the ratio had risen by 17% or more over a 5 year period.
China fits that profile in spades, as I pointed out in the last two columns. It’s surely under-reported private debt to GDP ratio rose from about 100% of GDP in 2008 to over 180% by the start of 2015, which is a rise of 80% over 8 years.’
New Zealand’s ratio of private debt to GDP is 147%
@paul
You state NZ ratio of private debt to GDP is 147%. But isn’t this private debt ratio to household disposable income not GDP? Or are they the same thing exactly?
Treasury states: In the 20 years to 2011, total housing and consumer loan debt increased around six-fold in dollar terms. As a ratio of household disposable income, the percentage at June 2011 of 147% is about two and a half times that of 58% at March 1991.
This looks bad for us – going from 58% indebtedness level to household disposable income in 1991 to 147% in 2011. That means debt beyond the total plus half again of all disposable income. Unsustainable spending using debt, and a rising trend on the graph.
This is from google heading on GDP and household or private debt:: [New] Zealand – the increase in household debt ratios continued … increasing from 130 to 180 percent of GDP between 2000 …
The PDF it comes from is a 13 page Reserve Bank bulletin which seems informative and understandable but I haven’t time to read it myself having more mundane personal management issues. I put the link for those interested and hopefully I’ll catch up later. http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research_and_publications/reserve_bank_bulletin/2014/2014oct77_4.pdf
(We need to understand this so we know what Blinglish is blurting about or not as the case may be. And yek probably hasn’t read it, as it is not his job. Prancing ponies just have to look good, go through their paces and pull the tails of the pony in front as a crowd-amuser!)
Useful mages on Google – go to: nz private debt to GDP ratio
This is a good read: A very good extensive article written June 2015 by Brian Gaynor Investment Columnist for the NZ Herald traverses NZ debt overseas and comparative with other countries, including comment on domestic household etc etc. well. Very cogently written and even I can understand it if I concentrate. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11468289
He writes: Debt is a complex issue and it is difficult to say with certainty whether a country or its Government has too much or too little debt. However, there are two important points that should be taken into account when considering this issue:
• All sources of debt, including government and household, should be considered. For example Japan has a very high level of government debt and a low level of household borrowings whereas New Zealand is the other way around.
• The ability to fund debt onshore is important. The Japanese Government is able to raise a high proportion of its borrowings from domestic investors whereas the New Zealand Government sources the majority of its debt from overseas investors.
New Zealand’s net external debt position has improved in recent years because a number of investment funds, particularly the NZ Super Fund, have boosted the country’s gross external lending figures.
The ability to fund debt onshore is important. The Japanese Government is able to raise a high proportion of its borrowings from domestic investors whereas the New Zealand Government sources the majority of its debt from overseas investors.
In which Gaynor gets it wrong. A government doesn’t, and shouldn’t, borrow at all as it can always fund its spending by creating money.
suggestions for question time…
The right hon Andrew Little to the P.M….’can the P.M tell parliament when ,after 7 years in govt ,will his administration stop the puerile response of blaming Labour for all its own deficiencies and failures’?
My thought on that is labour should mock key mercilessly about living in the past every time he does it, and tell him a good government is looking to the future.
Ad – everytime Labour comes up with visionary ideas and voices them out loud National just steal their ideas off them so Labour are vulnerable to them. National are parasites who suck off other people and are deficient in creating visionary ideas – they just sell everything including the kitchen sink.
hence National demanding policy details around election time, so they can offer a diluted (by taking from tax payer somewhere else) version at the 11th hour to fill the vacuum that is there governance
@bwaghorn
I agree. Let National be challenged, and have more coming. Labour would be doing their job as Opposition and keeping the government somewhere close to the line and getting some action for the citizens if National choose to do something.
Labour can then say good on them for trying, but we will watch them because they are dodgy.
But stand up and have positive ideas, and say something positive about NZs. Say we, Labour, know that there is enterprise simmering away and not being encouraged. Say that National have not allowed ordinary NZs to shine, they are too busy making us a low wage, no wage economy.
More apprenticeships, training wages still low but with a job promised immediately for a year on finishing so as to get into the work force. Have good employers taking on new entrants into working, for a set time. Monitor how things pan out for all. That would be a start, positives as well as valid criticisms of National. Perhaps a bit more contemptuous and humorous like Winnie.
actually I think Labour are doing pretty well already.
It hasn’t quite translated to the polls yet, but they really seem to be working together – it seems that the worst apples have either left or been brought into line.
It’s been a solid year for them so far. Something to build on.
Smith trying suggest Green Party are just boring for questioning the bill turning the World Cup into one big Piss up??
I wonder what Liver function Tests on National Party would say about that? They certainly act/appear as though they regularly enjoy more than a tipple.
Nothing wrong with communal areas being made available to watch the games in the morning, BUT FFS WHY NOT SERVE COFFEE (and breakfast)???????
seymour talking about freedoms taken from people without justification. However extended licences exist for this. since may 2013 when the rugby schedule was announced any pub could apply. but they waited til the last minute to get it for free. now the police… ambulance services and healthcare will need to deal with any fallout. councils wont have the fees to offset increased costs… and street cleaning. If seymour cared about freedom for rugby people he would have added free to air for AB Matches.
the Greens or Labour should try an urgent debate on that freedom…. shine a light on this being less about freedom than money.
Tracey, this is not about it being Populist, this is about making money.
Pubs selling piss is making money, showing games for free……fuck, thats heresy.
People drinking on the streets, not in bars.
Massive fines, if drunk people found on premises, if you’re even the remotest bit rowdy, the bouncer is chucking you out the door.
Real zero tolerance to intoxicated people in licensed premises.
Now here’s what really happens in pubs outside of planet key: Pub fills punters with as much piss as possible.
Kicks punter out when liquor starts to kick in: not the pub’s problem.
Drunk person found on premises: victim of pre-loading before coming into bar. Very sorry we’ll try harder/security has been upgraded/staff member no longer works here.
Yes, every so often a pub goes way overboard, consistently, so that the cops get annoyed and go out of their way to send half a dozen through the worst offending bar with the local inspector and log each infraction found. But that is not routine, that’s somebody deciding to teach someone a lesson.
exactly, so why spend time and +++media coverage ad nauseum shouting from the roof tops that people can now chose to get pissed all day and night….if they wish to, so what? is it really worth all the attention in parliament/media?? and anyone calling me a party pooper needs to get a real life instead of being a National fart catcher
Should have put a line in the bill making the government dry – why are the taxpayers buying their booze for them? And that would have been an interesting debate.
Are countries legally required to protect their citizens from climate change?
A Dutch court recently ruled that greenhouse gas reduction is a state obligation.
The government, the court said, must ensure that Dutch emissions in 2020 will be at least 25 percent lower than those in 1990 — the amount the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report says is needed from industrialized countries if the world is to not exceed 2 °C (3.6 °F) warming and avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Dutch political leaders had been planning to cut emissions by up to 17 percent within the next five years.
Stupid law. Why not do it properly and make the Dutch reponsible too for all the CO2 wafting in from Eastern Europe? Actually, they could take responsibility for some of our cows too.
“Keyless Ignition Used in Millions of Cars a Deadly Safety Defect: Lawsuit
Ten of the world’s biggest automakers were sued on Wednesday by U.S. consumers who claim the manufacturers concealed the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning in more than 5 million vehicles equipped with keyless ignitions, leading to 13 deaths.
According to the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, carbon monoxide is emitted when drivers leave their vehicles running after taking their electronic key fobs with them, under the mistaken belief that the engines will shut off.”
….
The defendants are BMW, including Mini; Daimler’s Mercedes Benz; Fiat Chrysler; Ford; General Motors; and Honda, including Acura; Hyundai, including Kia; Nissan, including Infiniti; Toyota, including Lexus; and Volkswagen, including Bentley.
Found out something rather fascinating at the Wellington Court of Appeal hearing yesterday – where the long-suffering, decent New Zealanders who are members of the Mangawhai Residents and Ratepayers Association have been trying to get the (former) Kaipara District Council held accountable to the ‘rule of law’.
The Government-appointed Commissioners, who now are responsible for the ‘governing’ of the Kaipara District Council, have proceedings filed in the Wellington High Court, against an ‘officer of Parliament’ – the Auditor-General.
These proceedings are CIV – 2014 – 485 – 11542
Kaipara District Council v Controller and Auditor-General.
That is the only information, to date, that I have been able obtain about these proceedings.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper, and arguably more effective, for the Kaipara Commissioners to petition Parliament for an inquiry into the role of the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) regarding their role in this debacle?
Or – if the Kaipara Commissioners want to get some form of financial compensation / damages out of the OAG – is the Court the only, or best place to go?
Perhaps one of the positive outcomes from this appallingly sorry saga would be the establishment of a genuinely Independent Commission Against Corruption?
Interesting that it was the same MP responsible for presenting the democratically disgraceful Kaipara District Council Rates Validation Act, who was the Chair of the Law and Order Select Committee, which knocked back the petition of Grace Haden, calling for an Independent Commission Against Corruption?
Who was that MP?
The former National MP for Northland – Mike Sabine.
and just to remind the readers not that they probably give a damn all the major parties voted for that validation bill including labour and the greens with the sole exceptions of nzfirst and i think the maori party which is a substantial part of the reason large numbers of mangawhai people supported winston in the recent northland by election
“Please note that the ‘Modern Hundertwasser’ design has been removed from the long list following a copyright claim by the Hundertwasser Non-Profit Foundation.”
Oh dear. The process crumbles further .
I don’t recall seeing this news anywhere, apologies if I’m late to the party.
it is also included on the govt website as one of the thousands that weren’t chosen.
The Modern Hundertwasser that has been removed didn’t have the black vertical stripe at the left, the centre of the koru was more bold (it didn’t have so many turns) and the transition of the green from the bottom edge was more gradual.
“I’m saddened at one level that there seems to be quite a bit of reluctance to engage in the conversation.”—HANA O’REGAN, Flag Con Committee
“The hope is to encourage public involvement in the process ahead of the vote, but hardly anyone turned up.”—JULIET SPEEDY, TV3 News
E ngā suckers.
Kia ora for the 10,292 designs you’ve suggested—even if half of them were from the same sad, obsessed, talent-free individual. Each of these (some quirkier than others!) was viewed by every Panel member—which gives the lie to the nasty allegations swirling around that this Panel is nothing but a sinecure for a bunch of nobodies who lacked the integrity to say no to putting their undistinguished names to a farcical vanity project for a frivolous and contemptible Prime Minister. We were, moreover, not impressed with the large number of “satirical” designs, such as the now infamous “laser Kiwi”, which were obviously intended to belittle this very serious process and to waste the Panel’s valuable time.
In reviewing flag designs, first and foremost, we were guided by what an average attendance of four Kiwis at each meeting, some of them unfortunately “homeless” people who had turned up for the complementary tea and biscuits, told us when they shared what is special to them about New Zealand. A special thank you must be paid here to the tireless, albeit reluctant, local National Party branches throughout the country!
The message was clear: you don’t really care. Many people wrote in saying: “Keep the Flag, change the Prime Minister”, but the Panel did not find that helpful. Others claimed that this panel was a collection of hand-picked dullards with the aesthetic sense of a kick in the head, the cultural knowledge of a concrete post and the historic appreciation of a goldfish. Again, we did not appreciate this kind of feedback or find it helpful.
In finalising the long list we invited a number of cultural (including tikanga), vexillology (the study of flags), art and design experts to talk to us. These experts really impressed the Flag Consideration Panel, as can be seen by their comments: “That was really interesting” (Sir Brian Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE); “Wow, just wow” (Beatrice Faumuina, ONZM); “That was so cool” (Julie Christie, ONZM), “Really interesting” (Stephen Jones) and “Piss off! How DARE you impugn my integrity? I —WE, goddammit, WE have all worked HARD! Just FUCK off!” (Kate De Goldi, Deputy Chair)
We encourage you to make sure you are enrolled to vote so that you can take part in this nationally significant process. We certainly hope you show more enthusiasm than you did when you failed to come to our heavily advertised consultation meetings.
Ngā mihi nui kia suckers.
Regards,
Flag Consideration Panel:
Prof John Burrows (Chair), ONZM, QC
Nicky Bell
Peter Chin, CNZM
Julie Christie, ONZM
Rod Drury
Kate De Goldi (Deputy Chair)
Beatrice Faumuina, ONZM
Lt Gen (Rtd) Rhys Jones, CNZM
Stephen Jones
Sir Brian Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE
Malcolm Mulholland
Hana O’Regan.
I have been wondering lately about a way to sabotage the first referendum . It would take a huge social media campaign for all people loyal to the New Zealand flag to vote for a rank outsider in the first referendum but nothing is impossible.
James, it’s perfectly reasonable and legitimate to vote strategically in such cases. The current government has taught us that repeatedly when directing Epsom voters to vote for the ACT candidate of the day.
I’m sure you’ll agree that the fairer way to run this popularity contest would have been to have the one referendum with the New Zealand flag included.
This process has been engineered to provide maximum exposure and momentum to a marketing logo and it’s time for those loyal to the flag of New Zealand to fight at the earliest opportunity.
What do you expect those loyal to New Zealand to do? Not vote in the first referendum? Much better for us to vote for a logo design which will have the least chance of success against the New Zealand flag.
That is a sensible voting strategy, plain and simple.
People who are disloyal to the flag have the opportunity to vote too, nobody is stopping them.
Your comments never fail to amaze me. You don’t seem to quite get the point of anything that anyone posts here. Why don’t you give Leighton Smith a ring? He’s more your level.
Interestingly the Nats won’t support Sue Moroney’s earlier BIll on parental leave, which Seymour supports, but will draft their own bill giving the same thing. It’s almost like it’s a game they play to make sure they get credit for someone else’s ideas and work. Is that what you mean by sabotage?
1. referendum, those who want to vote should vote for the design they prefer
those that want to keep the Flag, should abstain, and not vote.
2. referendum, those who want to change the flag should vote Yes
those who don’t want to change the Flag should vote No.
Or as P.Winston, (the NZfirstler that everyone is so afraid of) says, put a big fat KOF on it Keep Our Flag, but that would most likely invalidate the vote, and I would venture such a vote will not be counted.
AS there will be no option in the First Referedum such as :Keep current design!! I personally will abstain for the first vote and only Vote in the second referendum.
Simple as that.
No sabotage, but a fair and democratic process……Most likely we will end up with a Trademarketet Design, that will costs million of dollars to change on every uniform, piece of stationary, and other assorted gimmicks, but hey, the PM and his sidekick the most Honorable and Honest Bill English, aka Mr. 19% have all the money they need to pay for that stuff, and most likely they will make a buck or two for themselves after all thats what they do. The only ones paying for these shenanigans is us……but hey….Dear Leader wants a new Flag, and his groupies, enablers and voters will happily see their tax dollars spend on a Kitchen Towel.
Not throwing in any towels, but it is clear that this will come to vote, no matter what.
And I can only imagine the ‘outrage’ if no one actually participates in the first referendum.
Really, think of it. The first referendum is to get people involved, here choose your design, …..now defend it in the next referendum.
If people are actually not participating (lets say only 10 – 15 % would actually vote) How much of a ManDate would our dear Leader have to continue?
Also, what is it with National Government that they want to change the Flag, last time it was under Jenny Shipley….really what is it?
I believe we haven’t seen the true size of the marketing campaign Key will throw at this once the first referendum is over and his cheap, poorly designed logo has been chosen to go up against the New Zealand flag.
They will throw everything at this because there’s much more at stake now than the flag. A loss for Key here would damage him personally. Having consulted Crosby-Textor, they will begin to attack the very heart of demographic of those loyal to the New Zealand flag.
The disloyal changers will not care one bit if the turnout is 10-15% at the first referendum. The fewer the better for them I imagine, to ensure that an ill-informed choice is made.
” and his cheap, poorly designed logo has been chosen to go up against the New Zealand flag”
No-one ever asks the PM why his preferred design is an existing commercial product with legal copyright. The media, and the flag-change supporters, never mention how the Kyle Lockwood designs are an existing commercial product currently under copyright. A copyright that is co-incidentally scheduled to expire in [late?] 2015 .
A question for the legal minds out there:
As the Lockwood designs are under a legal copyright should they not have the copyright logo visible beside them when images of them are published,? When in included in the long list for example?
I have highlighted the relevant information that suggests the copyright expires this year and also the information that shows how the stated copyright requirements are not being met with the publicity and promotion of the relevant designs.
If I am incorrect in my understanding of the information as it is presented then I am, as always, happy to be corrected.
Yeah, I knew what you were talking about. That’s a shorthand way to say the stuff on the site is copyrighted and that you need to get permission to copy it. It has nothing to do with when the copyright expires.
It is precisely because of the normal copyright protocol that I wonder why the obvious questions surrounding copyrighted images being included in the flag referendum process have not been addressed.
If , as Draco suggests, the copyright is not expiring in 2015 then we are left to wonder what the plan is if any of the Lockwood designs are selected as the new flag.
His designs are an existing commercial product that has been on the market for a decade.
If a copyrighted design of his is chosen:
Is he just going to sign over any rights to lost future earnings ?
Is he going to get offered compensation for the lost earnings?
Is a single journalist ever going to raise the issue with the PM? or anyone for that matter?
MESSAGE: MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS YOU FUCKING OIK. WHAT DOES IT MATTER HOW MUCH I GET? YOU THINK YOU COULD DO AS GOOD A JOB DO YOU? YOU FUCKING OIK.
The target was to eat all the taxpayer-funded food on offer.
$640 a day, plus unlimited free tea and all the biscuits you can eat, since hardly anybody turned up to consume them. I understand that Beatrice Faumuina, ONZM, Lt Gen (Rtd) Rhys Jones, CNZM and Malcolm Mulholland really tucked in to the goodies on offer.
Just thinking about a politician visiting a hospital and being penetrating.
Brings to mind a Filipino phantom surgeon who cuts into the patient’s body with his hand and pulls out all the useless entrails. That idea might have come from the children’s board game where they play at being a doctor!
Idea! The Filipino practice would solve our unmet health needs problem. So National – seeming like smart action, while really being a hoax and a farce.
CYF report commented on by Children’s Commissioner who is doing a sterling job. How long will he last? The Children’s Commissioner’s first annual report has strongly criticised Child, Youth and Family for what it calls a dump and run culture of neglect
Good RadioNZ report. Must make sure that ditto question doesn’t apply to them, or him for that matter. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/282515/kids-probably-no-better-off-in-state-care
And Anne Tolley Social Development Minister, who seems to be agreeing with the criticism. Along the lines that government is no good at this. Ditto with housing?
Slide out and leave it to the no- tenderer mercies of private profit makers or fundamentalist capitalist charities? Next step I’ll bet. http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201768178
I think we can expect a lot more of the narrative that government is not very good at delivering social services and there will be better outcomes from the private sector delivering services.
This government has a lot further that they will want to go down this path and the end game will be terrible outcomes for the most vulnerable in our society.
Ministers’ love this as they have less accountability and they can achieve their aims at arms length.
Crikey, read this latest column from Dita de Boni in the herald:
I’m a bit lost for words on the brazen attack, it’s about bloody time and surprising. I can’t help but wonder what was edited out?
It’s her last. I always liked her, did not always agree with her, but always liked her.
It is a worrying trend for the herald. There was a time when the business section of the paper did not lie, or spin. It was one of the few sections in the paper that knew it’s place, and had to talk directly to it’s target market honestly and forthrightly.
In the last few years that part of the herald has died, forget right wing bias, forget the cost of print, etc. This is what has killed the herald. Not sure who made this editorial change, but it has been fun to watch, spin and lies being added to the business pages, to bring it in line with the rest of the newspaper.
No wonder sales had fallen away. Even it’s support base, can not trust it.
It’s her valediction. It was announced a few weeks ago that she was being made redundant. I guess you no longer have to hold your tongue when you’ve got nothing to lose.
That said, I’m somewhat optimistic for the Herald. Their new editor, Murray Kirkness, was a good editor of the Otago Daily Times and led the campaign to keep neurological surgery services at Dunedin Hospital. The editorial line at the ODT has been reasonably critical of the government in recent years.
“People have asked me over the years why my columns have become more strident in tone; more “biased against” the Government. The answer’s that the examples of contempt for the public, hypocrisy, and flat-out bulls***tery have become too overwhelming to ignore.”
The brits and UK are getting a lot of information compared to us. For some reason that Mapp and Groser can’t or won’t explain, secrecy of negotiating positions doesn’t matter over there…
[lprent: Hi, I see that you (or your clone) have stopped sending me those incoherent bigoted rants as junk emails. I’d strongly suggest that if you want to raise your paranoid fantasies on this site that you do so in Open Mike (like all of the other nuts do) where they don’t divert from posts on other topics. And you’d better reread the policy again.
Otherwise I lock you off the site again, except harder and more nastily. Learn to live within this sites rules or live without writing here. This is your warning.
I have no idea what you are on about. I have never sent you anything and do not even know who you are. I have never been locked out. Why the hypersensitivity and hysteria ?
I must say I am surprised at your reaction. Clearly you don’t like the loyalties of John Key being questioned, or is it that you side with the rich, bankers etc ? Hard to fathom, have I missed something ?
Or MAYBE you don’t like me mentioning he is a Jew ?. Perhaps you should send your angry rant to the Times of Israel. Hint: Don’t for get to use trigger words like “anti-semite” and Holocaust™. The Times of Israel love being called names, being a conservative Hebrew news service and all.
Good luck with your endeavors to fight free speech. Should come in handy next time the chosen ones drop a shell on a school.
You can make no demands of me.
If you genuinely do not know why your comments are rightfully offensive, I doubt I am skilled enough as a teacher to explain it to you.
Again you make accusations with zero evidence and with no supporting argument. You can not even say why?
I voted for Key. I won’t again, but I did. The Jew is not a race, it is a religious cult.
People like you have blood on your hands. You refuse to speak out about any wrong done by Jews. Syria, Libya, Iraq are all human rights disasters because of the zionists lobby and Jews using America to destroy Muslim countries. And don’t even mention Palestine. You are a vile bigot and nothing more. They are not gods chosen and they are owed no special consideration.
John Key has the – right of return – [sic] to Israel. He is a Jew. It is quite proper to question the mans loyalties given his back ground and associations.
KrissCross
You seem to like stirring. You’ll do that and then say oh I am such an innocent free-speecher, if anyone takes offence that’s their choice. You seem to be sensitive enough about yourself.
It’s too easy to start a fight about contentious issues. We generally try to think how such issues can be made less so. It’s a good place to learn what others think, to discuss that, and do some thinking around your favourite subjects, if you are up to that.
Jewish bankers do indeed have much to answer for. We should not be shy about addressing the issues. Your own intense burning hatred of free speech and honesty aside.
Just the mere mentions of the chosen master race and the place goes nuts. Even the moderator waded in and told a pack of lies in some sort of attempt to discredit me. Saying all sorts of things happened in the past that never did, accusing me of sending him messages and so on ! Hilarious.
possibly, although BH is more into boasting about their intellect (against all available evidence).
This one just seems to enjoy being a bigot and then pleading ignorance to an absurd degree.
Meh. At least the sewer won’t be able to argue that this fucker turned up and their statements were accepted, but yeah – kris klan just likes the funny looks he gets for being racist. Done.
he also comes from a state house in Christchurch provided for him and his family by the generosity of New Zealand taxpayers and the New Zealand social welfare system
….as Andrew Little so eloquently reminded parliament and all New Zealanders yesterday
I have no idea what you are on about. I have never sent you anything and do not even know who you are.
I must say I am surprised at your reaction. Clearly you don’t like the loyalties of John Key being questioned, or is it that you side with the rich, bankers etc ? Hard to fathom, have I missed something ?
Or MAYBE you don’t like me mentioning he is a Jew ?. Perhaps you should send your angry rant to the Times of Israel. Hint: Don’t for get to use trigger words like “anti-semite” and Holocaust™
Good luck with your endeavors to fight free speech. Should come in handy next time the chosen ones drop a shell on a school.
You don’t understand – the problem with Hitler and Stalin and Mao and Pol Pot is not who they were but what they did. They did bad things.
The problem with John Key is that he is a liar, a thief and an abuser of the limited authority he temporarily bears.
His religion is not at issue, though his race, as a subnormal hyper-intelligent shapeshifting reptilian alien only one step ahead of the tacky luggage industry is certainly vexed. We need not resolve this however – he does bad things. This is ample reason to be done with him.
Do yourself a favour and do a dna test on your self – you may just be surprised by the results. Kriss X.
That said, anyone who brings up Jewish conspiracy is off the reservation. Because the reality is most conspiracy’s are exposed within in a few years, none longer than 30. So to think there is some grand conspiracy spanning over a century, shows you don’t know anything about the nature of conspiracy’s. People naturally gossip, brag or feel cheated – then talk. That is ultimately why conspiracy’s fail and/or are exposed.
Just found out about this – spreading the word …..
Tomorrow – Friday 28 August 2015 – is your last opportunity to:
“Give feedback on the Open Government Partnership
…..
New Zealand is part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a group of countries working to make government more open, accountable and responsive to citizens.
The NZ government has created a 2 year Action Plan showing how it’s going to promote open and transparent government in New Zealand.
They’re asking for feedback on the Action Plan, to find out if New Zealanders think that the government’s meeting the OGP goals.
The consultation closes on 28 August 2015.
Between now and the end of August 2015, anyone in New Zealand can provide feedback on New Zealand’s Action Plan. You can provide feedback on any, or all, of the Action Plan commitments, or provide more general feedback on the OGP.
Give general feedback on the OGP and New Zealand’s Action Plan
Provide feedback on:
the Government’s Better Public Services (BPS) Results programme
BPS Result 10
the Government ICT Strategy and Action Plan to 2017
ICT Strategy Action Area 4
the 2013 TINZ National Integrity System Assessment Report
the Kia Tūtahi Relationship Accord
The government will use your feedback to create a self-assessment report for the OGP.
OGP member countries must report on their progress regularly. New Zealand’s self-assessment report will be published after 30 September 2015, with another report due in June 2016.
The report will show:
what the government has done to meet the grand challenges and principles of OGP,
progress so far,
feedback from New Zealanders on the initiatives, and
what the next steps are.
If you’d like more information about the Open Government Partnership or the Action Plan, contact NZOGP_ActionPlan@ssc.govt.nz.
———————————————————————-
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
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Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
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AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
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In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
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Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
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The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
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Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
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Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
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The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
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The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
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My observation about the dire condition of our mainstream media in New Zealand looks not at how it uses distraction to dumb down citizens and turn them into ‘consumers’ ; rather it looks at its bias to the corporate industrial complex and its lackeys and puppets in New Zealand, the National Party.
Last year the Herald got involved in Dirty Politcs by smearing and undermining David Cunliffe’s leadership close enough to the election to assist another victory for the National Party.
The sponsors of the Herald, the real estate, insurance and finance industries clearly want more blood from its puppet paper. There has now been a sustained attack on Little by the Herald as it seeks to promote Jacinda Ardern. With a media like this, we only have a shadow of democracy In this country.
For me the herald is a tool, and stuff too – they put out their lines/articles and they are designed to elicit a response from readers – I want to know what they are trying to get me to think/do/believe – so that I can use a discriminating eye and mind and interpret their agenda. And then do what I want based on my beliefs and values.
the msm is persuasive and pervading and they do support the agendas – as organs of culture they show how delusional we are, how idiotic we are, how unprepared and head in the sand we are. The deeper those delusions go, the more along the road we are towards the inevitable conclusion. I don’t want or believe the msm will change – we need canaries, we need strident protectors of the ‘progress’ religion and fervent advocates of whichever ‘middle’ party is in power, we need them so we have something to contrast to, so we can do the opposite, believe the opposite and act opposite. So fuck the herald – I use them.
Or make the job easier and faster by doing whatever you want and not read/watch it at all. From here, the World as portrayed by even a 30 second news headlines ad on TV, or the front page at a supermarket entrance, it’s like, “Where the fuck are these people coming from?”. Wherever it is, it can’t be good for their health – mental or otherwise.
I recommend a site like metapicture, which has all the slightly muted values and prejudices of the perspective that everyone loves to repeat in the news, but interspersed by about 50% vaguely amusing rubbish – or try the weather forecast. As Simon and Garfunkel once said, “I get all the news I need on the weather report…”
thanks charles – I quite like my way, honed from years of experience to a keen edge capable of slicing and dicing quite delicately and mindfully.
With a media like this, we only have a shadow of democracy In this country.
As you are back yet again on this topic Paul, perhaps you’d like to continue the discussion yesterday on how you would fix it?
To remind you where we were at, here’s where we paused…
“The setting up of a genuine national TV broadcaster with several channels.”
How would you control the content of such channels?
Support for local grassroots media.
Any grassroots media, or grassroots media that had to meet some form of Govt. approval?
Regulations with teeth about impartiality
‘Regulations’ is a big word. What would be the central details of such regulation?
We are the alternative.
As is Whaleoil, Kiwiblog, and Scoop.
Stand up. We’re taking over the world, one click at a time.
So, just to recap, you’re not happy with paul just pointing out that NZ media are blatantly biased in favour of tories. You want paul to design an entire media system from the mechanisms of providing support to grassroots media all the way up to writing the details of content regulations. And you call those demands a “discussion”.
yeah, fuck off.
Agree with you 100%, Paul. And I, too, have been wondering re the promotion of Jacinda Ardern – a very sneaky move to use her to undermine Andrew Little.
Jacinda actively courts light media.
And it’s what Labour desperately needs.
Politics, otherwise, is “Entertainment With Ugly People”. Both visually and spiritually.
National understands and accepts the power of televisual presence, and gain huge advantage in the MSM because of it. They remain better at it.
We may like to think we are pure and only deal in policy thoughts like monks of old.
Best of luck with that.
Meantime, Labour sure as hell needs Jacinta.
Our right wing friend “Ad” has, unwittingly, managed to say something that has some truth to it….
Politics, otherwise, is “Entertainment With Ugly People”.
That rather dull quip was made by someone in Hollywood in the early 1990s, and has been repeated ad nauseam by people like “Ad” ever since. Of course, as we see with the lionization of loud-mouthed vacuums like Donald Trump, the media are more than happy to concentrate on nonsense instead of anything substantial, which is not entertaining.
So, yes, politics is indeed entertainment with ugly people—-morally ugly.
There’s a flipside of course: so much of Hollywood seems to be politics for stupid people, as anyone will testify who has witnessed the embarrassing and unedifying spectacle of numbskulls like Neil Patrick Harris, Jared Leto, Kevin Costner, Kevin Spacey, Michael Douglas, John Malkovich and (most pathetic of all) Clint Eastwood trying to comment about things they know nothing about.
Trump may not be entertaining to you.
But he is on course to win the Republican nomination.
Precisely because he is quotable, and entertaining.
They even flock to his moral ugliness.
Read those US polls and weep all you like.
Trump has all the momentum, all the media oxygen, and he has huge popular support.
He will win the Republican nomination for Presidency.
have you quickly discraded your logic?…’The point of the Opposition is to show the public that their answers are better than the alternative, more credible, and more effective.’
‘But he is on course to win the Republican nomination.
Precisely because he is quotable, and entertaining.’…………………….so which is more important…..policy or charisma….you seem very inconsistent or confused or both!
Policy is what you do when you don’t have charisma.
Thanks for playing.
so policy is of no consequence…Nat strategy…’team Key’…are you with me!
So, I take it you’ll be voting for National because you’re too shallow to actually think about policy.
I’ve written a post on this today.
except in that post you propose policy as an asnwer, which contradicts many other things wyou say (in your comments at other times) about people like Adern and the need to fight fire with fire, popularity with popularity, do what it takes to win, which often precludes policy? That is certainly how 2007/2008 went, attack Clark, attack Labour, smile, says stuff which doesn’t mean much, and very little (or no policy).
All the things that people like BM say don’t work. And therein lies a message but I don’t know what the answer/counter is. Wish i did.
Trump may not be entertaining to you.
Oh, I can see he’s entertaining. But it’s like professional wrestling—there’s not a lot of substance there, and anyone with a brain soon gets bored and loses interest. It’s obvious to everyone that Trump is a souffle, a flake, a giant inflated bag of foul wind. Yes, he got 24 million people to tune in to watch him insult Mexicans and women, in between speeches by a dozen of America’s dullest men. And yes, he gets more people to his highly publicized appearances than Jeb Bush or Mario Rubio.
But far, far more people are turning out to watch the most popular politician in the United States—Bernie Sanders.
He will win the Republican nomination for Presidency.
That’s what we’re all counting on.
So far it’s obvious to just a few in the media, and a few on the left.
The people adore him.
The people adore him.
Now I’m going to be charitable here and assume that you are not actually one of the small group of imbeciles that actually adore the most well funded joke candidate in history.
Donald Trump is not a new phenomenon. Joke candidates have a long history. New Zealand had a “Mickey Mouse” candidate in 1972, and there was a full ticket of McGillicuddy Serious Party candidates twenty years on from that. All of these people were more coherent and entertaining than Trump.
Britain had Screaming Lord Sutch and his Official Monster Raving Loony Party, of course. Screaming Lord Sutch was a far brighter and more compelling candidate than any of these Republican candidates, leave alone the joke candidate who continues to distract everyone.
So, as I say, we’re assuming that you are one of the many people that are smart enough to realise Trump has nothing and offers nothing, but are determined to believe that millions of people are stupid enough to vote for him.
Well, okay, a lot of people voted for that sinister robot Mitt Romney last time—-but compared to Donald Trump, Romney is the most brilliant orator on the planet and a philosopher of the highest order.
But then, compared to Donald Trump, so is anybody.
Trump wont win the Republican nomination, and Sanders won’t win the Democrat nomination – hes currently polling 20pts behind Clinton, before the gloves come off and the money needs raising. No matter how popular they are, they won’t be allowed to win by party interests, because in a presidential election, both of them are un-electable. The republicans have always had the problem that the sort of candidate who can win the primary could never win the wider election. Sanders is the democrat version of that problem.
And in recent campaigns I can’t remember the last front runner at this point who ended up winning their party’s nomination.
Trump is a joke – un-electable because he will piss off way to many demographics. Sanders is not a joke, but in the US environment the only major state he might carry is California. Forget all the other key battlegrounds in the electoral college – Florida, Michigan, NY, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia. As soon as the Republicans start attacking him with ads, he is gone. Secretly the Dems are hoping Trump does win the nomination, as the Republicans are hoping Sanders wins for the democrats. The US presidential election clearly works against polarising candidates as most states are winner takes all, i.e., a 1 vote majority within California delivers the candidate 10% of the electoral college.
The republicans were hoping to appeal to the “minorites”, through Jeb Bush, but Trump is pissing many off in that regard. BUT FOX News is not (from what I can see) a Trump fan and that will hurt him in the long run
I’m pleased to see that you acknowledge Sanders is NOT a joke candidate.
However, that acknowledgement comes after you have erroneously compared him to Trump.
Let’s get this straight: Sanders is serious, whereas Trump and the whole sorry Republican Party is nothing more than a crazy insurgency movement, dedicated to ruining America’s democracy.
I find it remarkable that you insist Sanders is “un-electable”. He’s surely no more unelectable than Barack Obama was, running as a black candidate in a profoundly racist country.
my prediction is that trump will win the presidency – society throws up these types in its last days/years – and they’ll build that stupid wall too…
@ Ad – Your reference to Trump.”He will win the Republican nomination for Presidency.”
That should make it easy for a Democrat win then.
Be pretty dark for the world if they lose.
So, policy is secondary if you want to win the Treasury seats, right?
The Jacinda thing I believe was more that there was a change in her as preferred PM (as per the caption on the graphic, and the subtitle).
Its hard to make a headline about National being so far ahead of Labour, as that seems to be the ‘same old, same old’.
If Labour had of jumped in the polls – then that would have been the push.
Anything else is tinfoil hat material.
Who actually answered that ” jacinda preferred as Pm” Poll?
I have not seen the poll, but would like to know who was polled? Regular Voters? Age Group of Voters? Gender of Voters, and Party Preferrence of Voters.
i actually think nothing of Jacinda as I have no idea who she is, what she likes, etc etc etc.
And for what its worth, i have never voted for a pretty face, male or female. I want my PM’s to be sound of mind and heart, I have no interest in their pretty faces and good bodies…these things fade with time.
used to watch Jacinda face of against the ghastly Bridges on morning t.v. was frustrating to see her counter his idiocy and bluster with calm and reasoned debate, often being talked over by bridges, imitating his idol Key, and the “interviewr” despite having all the facts and sound reasoning, how demorilising to be against pitted against the gnat-like ignorance of bridges and in the eyes of msm to be comparable to him.
The Nats were terrified of David Cunliffe – he was a real threat to them – Michelle Boag likes Andrew Little – obviously she thinks he’s no threat – the ABC crowd should have worked out that if the Nats were so keen to get rid of Cunliffe, that it was because he was a big threat to them, but the selfishness of the ABC crowd is breathtaking – they are all about securing their positions for the future and the public of NZ don’t seem to even rate a thought! The ABC don’t seem to care if they are in opposition, they still are on big money, still get their overseas trips each year etc – their petty jealousy of David Cunliffe robbed NZ of a government who cared about the average Joe and Joe-ess! Bryan Gould is right on the money in his latest Herald article – Jeremy Corbyn said in a recent interview that the Blairite approach in the Labour Party in the UK meant that there was no real difference between them and the Tories – no stark choice for voters – same here I think.
Yes, maybe it is time to Bring Back Cunliffe? The “BBC faction” has a nice ring to it too.
Note to Gosman; Seymour got everything he wanted from the changes to the opening hours for the world cup, so definitely a win for him and those who supported the move. You picked him as the winner when this first broke. And here he is. The BIG winner though, is Bruce Robertson on behalf of his members. he provided a masterclass in effective lobbying and use of a MP or Junior Minister.
Interesting that national went from only wanting AB games and playoffs to agreeing to everything.
“Key has earlier said the government could take up the bill on its own if it failed.
On Wednesday morning he went further, telling TV3’s Paul Henry show he had spoken with Justice Minister Amy Adams about putting it on the order paper, which would mean only majority rather than unanimous support would be needed.
It was not a simple fix as different bars have different opening hours.
“In principle one option would be to say … for every All Blacks game for the quarters, semis, the finals, maybe the playoffs for third and fourth – all of those we have blanket coverage.”
However, the case was not as strong for covering games not involving the All Blacks, Mr Key said.
He believed where there was strong support for other teams, such as a number of South Africans living on the North Shore, bars would have already applied for a special licence to open outside normal hours.” 12 August 2015 NZ Herald
Interesting to see if the legislation about bar opening hours for RWC also changed the opening hours specified in many of the bars’ Resource Consents. If it just did Licensing hours, there may be trouble ahead. Some Plans allow for restricted numbers of exemptions, but those are limited.
I read this article by Steve Keen, which I found very interesting. The excerpt I found fascinating was this.
‘This is the mechanism behind the empirical datum that the ex-banker and philanthropist Richard Vague identified in his book The Next Economic Disaster: Why It’s Coming and How to Avoid It. Richard looked at all economic crises across the globe over the last one and a half centuries, and found that every one of them occurred when the private debt to GDP ratio exceeded 1.5 times GDP, and when the ratio had risen by 17% or more over a 5 year period.
China fits that profile in spades, as I pointed out in the last two columns. It’s surely under-reported private debt to GDP ratio rose from about 100% of GDP in 2008 to over 180% by the start of 2015, which is a rise of 80% over 8 years.’
New Zealand’s ratio of private debt to GDP is 147%
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevekeen/2015/08/26/why-china-had-to-crash-part-1/
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/key_graphs/household_debt/
Interesting article.
Would be great to see Mr Keen run his graphs on New Zealand.
LOL 😈
I read this article by Steve Keen, which I found very interesting. The excerpt I found fascinating was this.
‘This is the mechanism behind the empirical datum that the ex-banker and philanthropist Richard Vague identified in his book The Next Economic Disaster: Why It’s Coming and How to Avoid It. Richard looked at all economic crises across the globe over the last one and a half centuries, and found that every one of them occurred when the private debt to GDP ratio exceeded 1.5 times GDP, and when the ratio had risen by 17% or more over a 5 year period.
China fits that profile in spades, as I pointed out in the last two columns. It’s surely under-reported private debt to GDP ratio rose from about 100% of GDP in 2008 to over 180% by the start of 2015, which is a rise of 80% over 8 years.’
New Zealand’s ratio of private debt to GDP is 147%
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevekeen/2015/08/26/why-china-had-to-crash-part-1/
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/key_graphs/household_debt/
@paul
You state NZ ratio of private debt to GDP is 147%. But isn’t this private debt ratio to household disposable income not GDP? Or are they the same thing exactly?
Treasury states: In the 20 years to 2011, total housing and consumer loan debt increased around six-fold in dollar terms. As a ratio of household disposable income, the percentage at June 2011 of 147% is about two and a half times that of 58% at March 1991.
This looks bad for us – going from 58% indebtedness level to household disposable income in 1991 to 147% in 2011. That means debt beyond the total plus half again of all disposable income. Unsustainable spending using debt, and a rising trend on the graph.
This is from google heading on GDP and household or private debt:: [New] Zealand – the increase in household debt ratios continued … increasing from 130 to 180 percent of GDP between 2000 …
The PDF it comes from is a 13 page Reserve Bank bulletin which seems informative and understandable but I haven’t time to read it myself having more mundane personal management issues. I put the link for those interested and hopefully I’ll catch up later.
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research_and_publications/reserve_bank_bulletin/2014/2014oct77_4.pdf
(We need to understand this so we know what Blinglish is blurting about or not as the case may be. And yek probably hasn’t read it, as it is not his job. Prancing ponies just have to look good, go through their paces and pull the tails of the pony in front as a crowd-amuser!)
Useful mages on Google – go to: nz private debt to GDP ratio
This is a good read: A very good extensive article written June 2015 by Brian Gaynor Investment Columnist for the NZ Herald traverses NZ debt overseas and comparative with other countries, including comment on domestic household etc etc. well. Very cogently written and even I can understand it if I concentrate.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11468289
He writes:
Debt is a complex issue and it is difficult to say with certainty whether a country or its Government has too much or too little debt. However, there are two important points that should be taken into account when considering this issue:
• All sources of debt, including government and household, should be considered. For example Japan has a very high level of government debt and a low level of household borrowings whereas New Zealand is the other way around.
• The ability to fund debt onshore is important. The Japanese Government is able to raise a high proportion of its borrowings from domestic investors whereas the New Zealand Government sources the majority of its debt from overseas investors.
New Zealand’s net external debt position has improved in recent years because a number of investment funds, particularly the NZ Super Fund, have boosted the country’s gross external lending figures.
In which Gaynor gets it wrong. A government doesn’t, and shouldn’t, borrow at all as it can always fund its spending by creating money.
suggestions for question time…
The right hon Andrew Little to the P.M….’can the P.M tell parliament when ,after 7 years in govt ,will his administration stop the puerile response of blaming Labour for all its own deficiencies and failures’?
My thought on that is labour should mock key mercilessly about living in the past every time he does it, and tell him a good government is looking to the future.
If I were Key I would respond:
“When we’ve finished cleaning up their mess.”
A pretty easy serve.
Labour will defend harder from those charges when it starts looking to the future of their alternative government.
Alter the discourse to the future.
How would you respond to Key?
By forming a plan that is better and more convincing than theirs, winning the public, and winning the election. Not by wasting my breath in the House.
I’ve written a post about what it could look like.
By that you mean having prettier people.
Try my more successful, substantive and demanding route on the separate post.
Ad – everytime Labour comes up with visionary ideas and voices them out loud National just steal their ideas off them so Labour are vulnerable to them. National are parasites who suck off other people and are deficient in creating visionary ideas – they just sell everything including the kitchen sink.
hence National demanding policy details around election time, so they can offer a diluted (by taking from tax payer somewhere else) version at the 11th hour to fill the vacuum that is there governance
Labour playing the centre gives National far more scope to adopt policy, Barbara.
Labour need to stop being scared of what the nats might do. They need a couple of sound bites a month to keep chipping away at key.
@bwaghorn
I agree. Let National be challenged, and have more coming. Labour would be doing their job as Opposition and keeping the government somewhere close to the line and getting some action for the citizens if National choose to do something.
Labour can then say good on them for trying, but we will watch them because they are dodgy.
But stand up and have positive ideas, and say something positive about NZs. Say we, Labour, know that there is enterprise simmering away and not being encouraged. Say that National have not allowed ordinary NZs to shine, they are too busy making us a low wage, no wage economy.
More apprenticeships, training wages still low but with a job promised immediately for a year on finishing so as to get into the work force. Have good employers taking on new entrants into working, for a set time. Monitor how things pan out for all. That would be a start, positives as well as valid criticisms of National. Perhaps a bit more contemptuous and humorous like Winnie.
actually I think Labour are doing pretty well already.
It hasn’t quite translated to the polls yet, but they really seem to be working together – it seems that the worst apples have either left or been brought into line.
It’s been a solid year for them so far. Something to build on.
I tend to agree with that – solid so far with a few wobbles and some definite hits.
Smith trying suggest Green Party are just boring for questioning the bill turning the World Cup into one big Piss up??
I wonder what Liver function Tests on National Party would say about that? They certainly act/appear as though they regularly enjoy more than a tipple.
Nothing wrong with communal areas being made available to watch the games in the morning, BUT FFS WHY NOT SERVE COFFEE (and breakfast)???????
seymour talking about freedoms taken from people without justification. However extended licences exist for this. since may 2013 when the rugby schedule was announced any pub could apply. but they waited til the last minute to get it for free. now the police… ambulance services and healthcare will need to deal with any fallout. councils wont have the fees to offset increased costs… and street cleaning. If seymour cared about freedom for rugby people he would have added free to air for AB Matches.
the Greens or Labour should try an urgent debate on that freedom…. shine a light on this being less about freedom than money.
Move on. They won. There’s no upside to continuing.
You don’t support free to Air for games of national significance Ad, yet is it SO populist?
Tracey, this is not about it being Populist, this is about making money.
Pubs selling piss is making money, showing games for free……fuck, thats heresy.
I anoint you Patron Saint of Lost Causes.
And a lot of bars will be serving coffee and breakfast.
I know its a shock – but most people prefer not to go to work drunk.
I will prob watch some games with mates in the bar (more fun than just being at home), but the thought of a beer first thing in the morning – ugh.
I’d say most of the whiny wowsers haven’t been into a bar since the 1980’s.
People don’t go to a bar and get shit-faced any more and they haven’t done that for a long time.
So, never spoken to an emergency nurse, doctor or paramedic then?
People drinking on the streets, not in bars.
Massive fines, if drunk people found on premises, if you’re even the remotest bit rowdy, the bouncer is chucking you out the door.
Real zero tolerance to intoxicated people in licensed premises.
booze doesn’t vomit, people do. Right BM?
You argument does not preclude that the person did not get drunk in said bar.
You understand how alcohol works on the physiological level right?
People don’t tend to get drunk in bars anymore.
For a start drinks are so expensive and the bouncers watch every one like hawks.
Most preload before they go out or they drink on the street or they get pissed at parties.
The booze barns of yesteryear no longer exist.
they do in Dunedin.
That doesn’t surprise me.
Dunedin is like stepping back in time 30 years.
Courtney place wasn’t too flash when I was up there earlier this year, either.
What. A. Load. Of. Shit.
Now here’s what really happens in pubs outside of planet key: Pub fills punters with as much piss as possible.
Kicks punter out when liquor starts to kick in: not the pub’s problem.
Drunk person found on premises: victim of pre-loading before coming into bar. Very sorry we’ll try harder/security has been upgraded/staff member no longer works here.
Yes, every so often a pub goes way overboard, consistently, so that the cops get annoyed and go out of their way to send half a dozen through the worst offending bar with the local inspector and log each infraction found. But that is not routine, that’s somebody deciding to teach someone a lesson.
exactly, so why spend time and +++media coverage ad nauseum shouting from the roof tops that people can now chose to get pissed all day and night….if they wish to, so what? is it really worth all the attention in parliament/media?? and anyone calling me a party pooper needs to get a real life instead of being a National fart catcher
Should have put a line in the bill making the government dry – why are the taxpayers buying their booze for them? And that would have been an interesting debate.
Are countries legally required to protect their citizens from climate change?
A Dutch court recently ruled that greenhouse gas reduction is a state obligation.
The government, the court said, must ensure that Dutch emissions in 2020 will be at least 25 percent lower than those in 1990 — the amount the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report says is needed from industrialized countries if the world is to not exceed 2 °C (3.6 °F) warming and avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Dutch political leaders had been planning to cut emissions by up to 17 percent within the next five years.
http://ensia.com/features/are-countries-legally-required-to-protect-their-citizens-from-climate-change/
Stupid law. Why not do it properly and make the Dutch reponsible too for all the CO2 wafting in from Eastern Europe? Actually, they could take responsibility for some of our cows too.
“Keyless Ignition Used in Millions of Cars a Deadly Safety Defect: Lawsuit
Ten of the world’s biggest automakers were sued on Wednesday by U.S. consumers who claim the manufacturers concealed the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning in more than 5 million vehicles equipped with keyless ignitions, leading to 13 deaths.
According to the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, carbon monoxide is emitted when drivers leave their vehicles running after taking their electronic key fobs with them, under the mistaken belief that the engines will shut off.”
….
The defendants are BMW, including Mini; Daimler’s Mercedes Benz; Fiat Chrysler; Ford; General Motors; and Honda, including Acura; Hyundai, including Kia; Nissan, including Infiniti; Toyota, including Lexus; and Volkswagen, including Bentley.
“It claimed that the 10 automakers have long known about the risks of keyless ignitions, which have been available in the United States since at least 2003, yet deceived drivers by marketing their vehicles as safe.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/keyless-ignition-used-millions-cars-deadly-safety-defect-lawsuit-n416511
Am currently in the wilds of Wellington.
Found out something rather fascinating at the Wellington Court of Appeal hearing yesterday – where the long-suffering, decent New Zealanders who are members of the Mangawhai Residents and Ratepayers Association have been trying to get the (former) Kaipara District Council held accountable to the ‘rule of law’.
The Government-appointed Commissioners, who now are responsible for the ‘governing’ of the Kaipara District Council, have proceedings filed in the Wellington High Court, against an ‘officer of Parliament’ – the Auditor-General.
These proceedings are CIV – 2014 – 485 – 11542
Kaipara District Council v Controller and Auditor-General.
That is the only information, to date, that I have been able obtain about these proceedings.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper, and arguably more effective, for the Kaipara Commissioners to petition Parliament for an inquiry into the role of the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) regarding their role in this debacle?
Or – if the Kaipara Commissioners want to get some form of financial compensation / damages out of the OAG – is the Court the only, or best place to go?
Perhaps one of the positive outcomes from this appallingly sorry saga would be the establishment of a genuinely Independent Commission Against Corruption?
Interesting that it was the same MP responsible for presenting the democratically disgraceful Kaipara District Council Rates Validation Act, who was the Chair of the Law and Order Select Committee, which knocked back the petition of Grace Haden, calling for an Independent Commission Against Corruption?
Who was that MP?
The former National MP for Northland – Mike Sabine.
Penny Bright
and just to remind the readers not that they probably give a damn all the major parties voted for that validation bill including labour and the greens with the sole exceptions of nzfirst and i think the maori party which is a substantial part of the reason large numbers of mangawhai people supported winston in the recent northland by election
The short list of flag designs has been reduced to 39.
From https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/gallery/
“Please note that the ‘Modern Hundertwasser’ design has been removed from the long list following a copyright claim by the Hundertwasser Non-Profit Foundation.”
Oh dear. The process crumbles further .
I don’t recall seeing this news anywhere, apologies if I’m late to the party.
sinecure n. cushy number, gravy train, soft option, soft job, money for jam or old rope a lucrative sinecure with a massive government vanity project
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Hundterwasser Trust crumbled, you mean.
When the moist left retreat, they really run.
does anyone have a link to the hundertwasser flag?
The original Hundertwasser is here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koru_Flag
it is also included on the govt website as one of the thousands that weren’t chosen.
The Modern Hundertwasser that has been removed didn’t have the black vertical stripe at the left, the centre of the koru was more bold (it didn’t have so many turns) and the transition of the green from the bottom edge was more gradual.
An open letter from the Flag Con Panel
“I’m saddened at one level that there seems to be quite a bit of reluctance to engage in the conversation.”—HANA O’REGAN, Flag Con Committee
“The hope is to encourage public involvement in the process ahead of the vote, but hardly anyone turned up.”—JULIET SPEEDY, TV3 News
E ngā suckers.
Kia ora for the 10,292 designs you’ve suggested—even if half of them were from the same sad, obsessed, talent-free individual. Each of these (some quirkier than others!) was viewed by every Panel member—which gives the lie to the nasty allegations swirling around that this Panel is nothing but a sinecure for a bunch of nobodies who lacked the integrity to say no to putting their undistinguished names to a farcical vanity project for a frivolous and contemptible Prime Minister. We were, moreover, not impressed with the large number of “satirical” designs, such as the now infamous “laser Kiwi”, which were obviously intended to belittle this very serious process and to waste the Panel’s valuable time.
In reviewing flag designs, first and foremost, we were guided by what an average attendance of four Kiwis at each meeting, some of them unfortunately “homeless” people who had turned up for the complementary tea and biscuits, told us when they shared what is special to them about New Zealand. A special thank you must be paid here to the tireless, albeit reluctant, local National Party branches throughout the country!
The message was clear: you don’t really care. Many people wrote in saying: “Keep the Flag, change the Prime Minister”, but the Panel did not find that helpful. Others claimed that this panel was a collection of hand-picked dullards with the aesthetic sense of a kick in the head, the cultural knowledge of a concrete post and the historic appreciation of a goldfish. Again, we did not appreciate this kind of feedback or find it helpful.
In finalising the long list we invited a number of cultural (including tikanga), vexillology (the study of flags), art and design experts to talk to us. These experts really impressed the Flag Consideration Panel, as can be seen by their comments: “That was really interesting” (Sir Brian Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE); “Wow, just wow” (Beatrice Faumuina, ONZM); “That was so cool” (Julie Christie, ONZM), “Really interesting” (Stephen Jones) and “Piss off! How DARE you impugn my integrity? I —WE, goddammit, WE have all worked HARD! Just FUCK off!” (Kate De Goldi, Deputy Chair)
We encourage you to make sure you are enrolled to vote so that you can take part in this nationally significant process. We certainly hope you show more enthusiasm than you did when you failed to come to our heavily advertised consultation meetings.
Ngā mihi nui kia suckers.
Regards,
Flag Consideration Panel:
Prof John Burrows (Chair), ONZM, QC
Nicky Bell
Peter Chin, CNZM
Julie Christie, ONZM
Rod Drury
Kate De Goldi (Deputy Chair)
Beatrice Faumuina, ONZM
Lt Gen (Rtd) Rhys Jones, CNZM
Stephen Jones
Sir Brian Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE
Malcolm Mulholland
Hana O’Regan.
https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/open-letter/
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/low-turnout-for-first-public-flag-change-meeting-2015051716#axzz3jxQrsRgM
Enjoyed that thanks Morrissey.
I have been wondering lately about a way to sabotage the first referendum . It would take a huge social media campaign for all people loyal to the New Zealand flag to vote for a rank outsider in the first referendum but nothing is impossible.
“I have been wondering lately about a way to sabotage the first referendum”
Yes, God forbid that people who want a change have the opportunity to do so.
So much easier to try and sabotage something that you dont agree with.
James, it’s perfectly reasonable and legitimate to vote strategically in such cases. The current government has taught us that repeatedly when directing Epsom voters to vote for the ACT candidate of the day.
I’m sure you’ll agree that the fairer way to run this popularity contest would have been to have the one referendum with the New Zealand flag included.
This process has been engineered to provide maximum exposure and momentum to a marketing logo and it’s time for those loyal to the flag of New Zealand to fight at the earliest opportunity.
What do you expect those loyal to New Zealand to do? Not vote in the first referendum? Much better for us to vote for a logo design which will have the least chance of success against the New Zealand flag.
That is a sensible voting strategy, plain and simple.
People who are disloyal to the flag have the opportunity to vote too, nobody is stopping them.
Your comments never fail to amaze me. You don’t seem to quite get the point of anything that anyone posts here. Why don’t you give Leighton Smith a ring? He’s more your level.
Interestingly the Nats won’t support Sue Moroney’s earlier BIll on parental leave, which Seymour supports, but will draft their own bill giving the same thing. It’s almost like it’s a game they play to make sure they get credit for someone else’s ideas and work. Is that what you mean by sabotage?
So, you agree with Labour and a whole lot of us that the first referendum should be asking if we should actually change the flag?
this does not need sabotage.
1. referendum, those who want to vote should vote for the design they prefer
those that want to keep the Flag, should abstain, and not vote.
2. referendum, those who want to change the flag should vote Yes
those who don’t want to change the Flag should vote No.
Or as P.Winston, (the NZfirstler that everyone is so afraid of) says, put a big fat KOF on it Keep Our Flag, but that would most likely invalidate the vote, and I would venture such a vote will not be counted.
AS there will be no option in the First Referedum such as :Keep current design!! I personally will abstain for the first vote and only Vote in the second referendum.
Simple as that.
No sabotage, but a fair and democratic process……Most likely we will end up with a Trademarketet Design, that will costs million of dollars to change on every uniform, piece of stationary, and other assorted gimmicks, but hey, the PM and his sidekick the most Honorable and Honest Bill English, aka Mr. 19% have all the money they need to pay for that stuff, and most likely they will make a buck or two for themselves after all thats what they do. The only ones paying for these shenanigans is us……but hey….Dear Leader wants a new Flag, and his groupies, enablers and voters will happily see their tax dollars spend on a Kitchen Towel.
I’m not prepared to throw in the towel just yet.
My idea is simply to take the fight to John Key and his supporters before their logo gets traction.
God knows there’s been precious little of that lately.
Not throwing in any towels, but it is clear that this will come to vote, no matter what.
And I can only imagine the ‘outrage’ if no one actually participates in the first referendum.
Really, think of it. The first referendum is to get people involved, here choose your design, …..now defend it in the next referendum.
If people are actually not participating (lets say only 10 – 15 % would actually vote) How much of a ManDate would our dear Leader have to continue?
Also, what is it with National Government that they want to change the Flag, last time it was under Jenny Shipley….really what is it?
Sabine, it will come to campaign before vote.
I believe we haven’t seen the true size of the marketing campaign Key will throw at this once the first referendum is over and his cheap, poorly designed logo has been chosen to go up against the New Zealand flag.
They will throw everything at this because there’s much more at stake now than the flag. A loss for Key here would damage him personally. Having consulted Crosby-Textor, they will begin to attack the very heart of demographic of those loyal to the New Zealand flag.
The disloyal changers will not care one bit if the turnout is 10-15% at the first referendum. The fewer the better for them I imagine, to ensure that an ill-informed choice is made.
” and his cheap, poorly designed logo has been chosen to go up against the New Zealand flag”
No-one ever asks the PM why his preferred design is an existing commercial product with legal copyright. The media, and the flag-change supporters, never mention how the Kyle Lockwood designs are an existing commercial product currently under copyright. A copyright that is co-incidentally scheduled to expire in [late?] 2015 .
A question for the legal minds out there:
As the Lockwood designs are under a legal copyright should they not have the copyright logo visible beside them when images of them are published,? When in included in the long list for example?
Copyright doesn’t expire until after the death of the author plus 50 years (which would be extended to 70 under TPPA).
This is a screenshot of the Silverfernflag website as of 4pm today.
http://imgur.com/JMRXznU
I have highlighted the relevant information that suggests the copyright expires this year and also the information that shows how the stated copyright requirements are not being met with the publicity and promotion of the relevant designs.
If I am incorrect in my understanding of the information as it is presented then I am, as always, happy to be corrected.
Yeah, I knew what you were talking about. That’s a shorthand way to say the stuff on the site is copyrighted and that you need to get permission to copy it. It has nothing to do with when the copyright expires.
It is precisely because of the normal copyright protocol that I wonder why the obvious questions surrounding copyrighted images being included in the flag referendum process have not been addressed.
If , as Draco suggests, the copyright is not expiring in 2015 then we are left to wonder what the plan is if any of the Lockwood designs are selected as the new flag.
His designs are an existing commercial product that has been on the market for a decade.
If a copyrighted design of his is chosen:
Is he just going to sign over any rights to lost future earnings ?
Is he going to get offered compensation for the lost earnings?
Is a single journalist ever going to raise the issue with the PM? or anyone for that matter?
How much are they being paid by the taxpayers for being on the Panel.
MEMO
FROM: Julie Christie, ONZM
TO: rod
MESSAGE: MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS YOU FUCKING OIK. WHAT DOES IT MATTER HOW MUCH I GET? YOU THINK YOU COULD DO AS GOOD A JOB DO YOU? YOU FUCKING OIK.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11413938
$640 a day not bad for being given a job with no real target
The target was to eat all the taxpayer-funded food on offer.
$640 a day, plus unlimited free tea and all the biscuits you can eat, since hardly anybody turned up to consume them. I understand that Beatrice Faumuina, ONZM, Lt Gen (Rtd) Rhys Jones, CNZM and Malcolm Mulholland really tucked in to the goodies on offer.
Gerald Celente: They Blame China But That Country Is Just The Canary In The Coal Mine
John Key visits a hospital, asks some penetrating questions
Actually, it’s his ideological soulmate George Osborne, but it could be Key, or Jonathan Coleman….
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1440612776.html
Just thinking about a politician visiting a hospital and being penetrating.
Brings to mind a Filipino phantom surgeon who cuts into the patient’s body with his hand and pulls out all the useless entrails. That idea might have come from the children’s board game where they play at being a doctor!
Idea! The Filipino practice would solve our unmet health needs problem. So National – seeming like smart action, while really being a hoax and a farce.
Yep, that’d be about right for all National and other conservative MPs.
CYF report commented on by Children’s Commissioner who is doing a sterling job. How long will he last?
The Children’s Commissioner’s first annual report has strongly criticised Child, Youth and Family for what it calls a dump and run culture of neglect
Good RadioNZ report. Must make sure that ditto question doesn’t apply to them, or him for that matter.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/282515/kids-probably-no-better-off-in-state-care
Commissioner Russell Wills commenting on paucity of data! Hah!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201768177
And Anne Tolley Social Development Minister, who seems to be agreeing with the criticism. Along the lines that government is no good at this. Ditto with housing?
Slide out and leave it to the no- tenderer mercies of private profit makers or fundamentalist capitalist charities? Next step I’ll bet.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201768178
I think we can expect a lot more of the narrative that government is not very good at delivering social services and there will be better outcomes from the private sector delivering services.
This government has a lot further that they will want to go down this path and the end game will be terrible outcomes for the most vulnerable in our society.
Ministers’ love this as they have less accountability and they can achieve their aims at arms length.
+1
+ 1 yep good points from you and grey
The latest from NASA on sea level rise with videos
http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-science-zeros-in-on-ocean-rise-how-much-how-soon
Crikey, read this latest column from Dita de Boni in the herald:
I’m a bit lost for words on the brazen attack, it’s about bloody time and surprising. I can’t help but wonder what was edited out?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11503338
The way she wrote “thank you for reading” made me wonder if it is her last.
It’s her last. I always liked her, did not always agree with her, but always liked her.
It is a worrying trend for the herald. There was a time when the business section of the paper did not lie, or spin. It was one of the few sections in the paper that knew it’s place, and had to talk directly to it’s target market honestly and forthrightly.
In the last few years that part of the herald has died, forget right wing bias, forget the cost of print, etc. This is what has killed the herald. Not sure who made this editorial change, but it has been fun to watch, spin and lies being added to the business pages, to bring it in line with the rest of the newspaper.
No wonder sales had fallen away. Even it’s support base, can not trust it.
It’s her valediction. It was announced a few weeks ago that she was being made redundant. I guess you no longer have to hold your tongue when you’ve got nothing to lose.
That said, I’m somewhat optimistic for the Herald. Their new editor, Murray Kirkness, was a good editor of the Otago Daily Times and led the campaign to keep neurological surgery services at Dunedin Hospital. The editorial line at the ODT has been reasonably critical of the government in recent years.
“People have asked me over the years why my columns have become more strident in tone; more “biased against” the Government. The answer’s that the examples of contempt for the public, hypocrisy, and flat-out bulls***tery have become too overwhelming to ignore.”
Says it all really.
At least the Europeans managed to get a document released.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ttip-controversy-the-european-commission-and-big-tobacco-accused-of-coverup-after-heavily-redacted-documents-released-10473601.html
A lot of that article reads oddly familar…
The brits and UK are getting a lot of information compared to us. For some reason that Mapp and Groser can’t or won’t explain, secrecy of negotiating positions doesn’t matter over there…
John Key is a Jew banker. As such his loyalty is to other bankers, Jews and the rich. And yeah… he is a Jew.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-zealand-jewish-pm-wins-third-term/
[lprent: Hi, I see that you (or your clone) have stopped sending me those incoherent bigoted rants as junk emails. I’d strongly suggest that if you want to raise your paranoid fantasies on this site that you do so in Open Mike (like all of the other nuts do) where they don’t divert from posts on other topics. And you’d better reread the policy again.
Otherwise I lock you off the site again, except harder and more nastily. Learn to live within this sites rules or live without writing here. This is your warning.
Moving this thread to Open Mike as offtopic. ]
LPRENT CAN WE WATCH THIS SHIT PLEASE
[lprent: I do, every time he turns up under any name. ]
What “shit” is that ?
“and more nastily”
I have no idea what you are on about. I have never sent you anything and do not even know who you are. I have never been locked out. Why the hypersensitivity and hysteria ?
I must say I am surprised at your reaction. Clearly you don’t like the loyalties of John Key being questioned, or is it that you side with the rich, bankers etc ? Hard to fathom, have I missed something ?
Or MAYBE you don’t like me mentioning he is a Jew ?. Perhaps you should send your angry rant to the Times of Israel. Hint: Don’t for get to use trigger words like “anti-semite” and Holocaust™. The Times of Israel love being called names, being a conservative Hebrew news service and all.
Good luck with your endeavors to fight free speech. Should come in handy next time the chosen ones drop a shell on a school.
“free speech” does not include forcing others to publish your hate.
What “hate” ? Explain you accusation or withdraw it.
My comments about Key are pretty mild compared with others on this site. I even voted for him !
His loyalties ARE in question and I am left to wonder where they lay.
You can make no demands of me.
If you genuinely do not know why your comments are rightfully offensive, I doubt I am skilled enough as a teacher to explain it to you.
You’re more suited to the Daily Mail comments section.
So no answer then.
Amusing that a person who is so sensitive about bankers, Key and the rich etc being held to account, chooses to hang out at the Standard !
I’m sensitive about none of those things.
People who recycle racist caricatures and are too cowardly to admit their bigotry, on the other hand…
Again you make accusations with zero evidence and with no supporting argument. You can not even say why?
I voted for Key. I won’t again, but I did. The Jew is not a race, it is a religious cult.
People like you have blood on your hands. You refuse to speak out about any wrong done by Jews. Syria, Libya, Iraq are all human rights disasters because of the zionists lobby and Jews using America to destroy Muslim countries. And don’t even mention Palestine. You are a vile bigot and nothing more. They are not gods chosen and they are owed no special consideration.
John Key has the – right of return – [sic] to Israel. He is a Jew. It is quite proper to question the mans loyalties given his back ground and associations.
Yeah, I reckon you’ve made it clear to everyone exactly what you are.
Zero evidence?
Yeah, fuck off troll.
KrissCross
You seem to like stirring. You’ll do that and then say oh I am such an innocent free-speecher, if anyone takes offence that’s their choice. You seem to be sensitive enough about yourself.
It’s too easy to start a fight about contentious issues. We generally try to think how such issues can be made less so. It’s a good place to learn what others think, to discuss that, and do some thinking around your favourite subjects, if you are up to that.
If I mentioned JK was a Baptist would you have written that ?
Was the Times of Israel “stirring” ?
“Baptist banker” doesn’t quite have the same pedigree as what you actually wrote, and you’d have to be a moron to not know that.
1. Key is a banker.
2. According to the TIMES OF ISRAEL he is a Jew.
Would you prefer we tell lies ?
Jewish bankers do indeed have much to answer for. We should not be shy about addressing the issues. Your own intense burning hatred of free speech and honesty aside.
Just the mere mentions of the chosen master race and the place goes nuts. Even the moderator waded in and told a pack of lies in some sort of attempt to discredit me. Saying all sorts of things happened in the past that never did, accusing me of sending him messages and so on ! Hilarious.
@McFlock – wouldn’t surprise me if it was that loon Bluehorshoe posting under another account, can I suggest DNFTT ?
possibly, although BH is more into boasting about their intellect (against all available evidence).
This one just seems to enjoy being a bigot and then pleading ignorance to an absurd degree.
Meh. At least the sewer won’t be able to argue that this fucker turned up and their statements were accepted, but yeah – kris klan just likes the funny looks he gets for being racist. Done.
Ah yes because only one person could possibly be critical of the chosen ones and they MUST be crazy eh ?
How about a shot at the issue instead of the messenger bigot ?
Mr Flock, is the Times of Israel racist and full of hate for mentioning John Key is a Jew ?
Come on at least attempt one question. I will even let you call me an anti-semite so you can feel nice and [more] smug. 🙂
http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-zealand-jewish-pm-wins-third-term/
Ad, Still waiting for that answer. Are you struggling with it ?
What seems to be the issue ?
Perhaps anti Semite posts should be removed. It’s pretty offensive.
he also comes from a state house in Christchurch provided for him and his family by the generosity of New Zealand taxpayers and the New Zealand social welfare system
….as Andrew Little so eloquently reminded parliament and all New Zealanders yesterday
…this needs to be repeated again and again
GO ANDREW LITTLE !
Add didnt nz take his mother in as well as a refugee.
I have no idea what you are on about. I have never sent you anything and do not even know who you are.
I must say I am surprised at your reaction. Clearly you don’t like the loyalties of John Key being questioned, or is it that you side with the rich, bankers etc ? Hard to fathom, have I missed something ?
Or MAYBE you don’t like me mentioning he is a Jew ?. Perhaps you should send your angry rant to the Times of Israel. Hint: Don’t for get to use trigger words like “anti-semite” and Holocaust™
Good luck with your endeavors to fight free speech. Should come in handy next time the chosen ones drop a shell on a school.
You don’t understand – the problem with Hitler and Stalin and Mao and Pol Pot is not who they were but what they did. They did bad things.
The problem with John Key is that he is a liar, a thief and an abuser of the limited authority he temporarily bears.
His religion is not at issue, though his race, as a subnormal hyper-intelligent shapeshifting reptilian alien only one step ahead of the tacky luggage industry is certainly vexed. We need not resolve this however – he does bad things. This is ample reason to be done with him.
Do yourself a favour and do a dna test on your self – you may just be surprised by the results. Kriss X.
That said, anyone who brings up Jewish conspiracy is off the reservation. Because the reality is most conspiracy’s are exposed within in a few years, none longer than 30. So to think there is some grand conspiracy spanning over a century, shows you don’t know anything about the nature of conspiracy’s. People naturally gossip, brag or feel cheated – then talk. That is ultimately why conspiracy’s fail and/or are exposed.
Just found out about this – spreading the word …..
Tomorrow – Friday 28 August 2015 – is your last opportunity to:
“Give feedback on the Open Government Partnership
…..
New Zealand is part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a group of countries working to make government more open, accountable and responsive to citizens.
The NZ government has created a 2 year Action Plan showing how it’s going to promote open and transparent government in New Zealand.
They’re asking for feedback on the Action Plan, to find out if New Zealanders think that the government’s meeting the OGP goals.
The consultation closes on 28 August 2015.
Between now and the end of August 2015, anyone in New Zealand can provide feedback on New Zealand’s Action Plan. You can provide feedback on any, or all, of the Action Plan commitments, or provide more general feedback on the OGP.
Give general feedback on the OGP and New Zealand’s Action Plan
Provide feedback on:
the Government’s Better Public Services (BPS) Results programme
BPS Result 10
the Government ICT Strategy and Action Plan to 2017
ICT Strategy Action Area 4
the 2013 TINZ National Integrity System Assessment Report
the Kia Tūtahi Relationship Accord
The government will use your feedback to create a self-assessment report for the OGP.
OGP member countries must report on their progress regularly. New Zealand’s self-assessment report will be published after 30 September 2015, with another report due in June 2016.
The report will show:
what the government has done to meet the grand challenges and principles of OGP,
progress so far,
feedback from New Zealanders on the initiatives, and
what the next steps are.
If you’d like more information about the Open Government Partnership or the Action Plan, contact NZOGP_ActionPlan@ssc.govt.nz.
———————————————————————-
Penny Bright
Over on NoRightTurn
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/open-government-were-doing-it-wrong.html
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/open-government-insulting.html
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/open-government-still-doing-it-wrong.html
There are plenty of reasons to not like/hate John Key.
Being a Jew is not one of them.
No one has suggested otherwise. Nice grab for the moral high ground though.
Fool, isn’t there an ACT party meeting or a Sensible Sentencing Trust klaven that you should be at?
Hurry away now!