Once there was a proud nation which lead the world in so many ways.
A few to remember …
. first to have all adults voting.
. welfare state to look after its disadvantaged.
. in the vanguard of anti-apartheid movement.
. stopped the atmospheric weapon testing in the Pacific and then championed the anti-nuclear movement and gave hope to many other nations.
. developed an independent foreign policy.
. introduced an ETS scheme.
. developed a world leading education system.
But what leadership has it had since 2008?
Well for starters,
. a PM who believed we were missing in action in Iraq, and has now managed to all but completely trade away any independence.
. gutted the ETS scheme.
. demoralised the education sector
tinfoilhat. Yes Key and his crooks should be tried for treason AND stripped of any entitlements like Parliamentary Pension and Free Travel. AND definitely no knighthoods. AND never be referred to as The Honourable.
It’s going to be a 50 50 whether a future government allows the investigation into any impropriety on the part of the current administration… Don’t hold your breath.
Politics today. In Italy Berlusconi has had 33 cases brought against him. It’s only the last one that has gone against him and he is gobsmacked. He also got the law changed so that over 70s can’t be jailed.
Mind you they had it coming to them – they let a media magnate in to the job and wiped the controls to prevent cross-media ownership. He has floated along since then pleasing himself and self promoting. If you don’t demand good results from pollies then you get things you never had the guts to wish for. Have we guts in nz or not? Or are we waiting for a party that has guts to inspire us for a better nz?
– raised GST to 15% to hurt the poor; which also forces people to spend less (less money to spend on luxury items and New Zealand made goods) hurting small business
– introduced charter schools (where teachers need not be trained, and where creationism is king)
– introduced draconian surveillance and copyright laws
– made New Zealand the puppet of foreign interest groups i.e. raid on Kim Dotcom
– worked hard to increase child poverty, inequality, push down incomes and raise unemployment
– did nothing to get the dollar down so forced businesses to close down or move to China
– cannibalized the welfare system so no one can get help (including rape victims)
– made student loans harder to get and increased fees; thus forcing more across the ditch
– did nothing to stop New Zealand’s rising suicide rate i.e. listen to radio live at 11:00 pm onwards
– eliminated privacy i.e. a politician can just pick up a W&I file and read it for political purposes
If you need help from the government we know now that the only way to get help is to go on a hunger strike for 30 days or more; because they don’t care about people, only the votes they may lose for not helping someone that has gone to the media. Where is the ‘brighter future’ John?
Pricing to kill Kiwirail, the passenger service especially and probably Kiwirail in total e,g. the Napier-Gisborne rail link is to be stopped. As Minister of Railways Richard Prebble had an arsehole appointed as CEO of then NZRail to do similar damage as the current one appointed by National is doing.
Well from an international perspective (i.e. not those narrow minded Kiwi’s who continue to ignore the daily international economic storms) New Zealand is leading the world. In fact some have singled out New Zealand alone as the model for its balanced approach to the deepening international debt crisis.
Peter Orszag I think was the man to have made this claim.
I went searching and can’t actually find any international criticism of how the New Zealand government is managing and showing leadership through the double whammy of a major city rebuild during the worst economic meltdown in a generation.
The worst international economic year that Cullen and Clark had to govern through was still infinitley better than any year Key and English have had to manage. Blind Freddy could have governed through the 9 Clark years, those years when the world went on a debt fuelled spend up of anything and everything.
Luva
Oh good we can stop thinking for ourselves now – we know our judgment is so poor. We can just listen to what the rest of the world is saying about us and accept that as gospel, doesn’t matter whether it is based on rock hard reality or just hyperbole from the latest political/ economic movement. And always ignoring how the low income people are managing in the business environment that is unhealthy to say the least.
And of course with all that you would expect any decent opposition to make a huge dent in the NACTS numbers. But as usual Mr Stutter Stumblebum, and his merry band of me, me’s, are missing in action. Time for a serious rethink at the top of Labour.
The sooner people accept that our “democracy” is a sham, the sooner people might consider getting of their arse and demanding change, instead of sitting back and hoping the theatre script might change direction!
Its only going to get worse, that is 100% certain!
Calculating the seats suggested by yesterday’s Roy Morgan gives an interesting result. Assuming that ACT, UF and the Maori Party retain their current seats, the current Government totals 61 seats in a 123 seat Parliament. Labour/Greens/NZF also total 61 and Hone Harawira gets to be kingmaker.
National 55, MP 4 (one list), UF, ACT, Mana 1 each. NZF 9, Greens 16, Labour 36.
However, if National win Epsom, then the right bloc loses a seat and it totals 60 in a 122 seat parliament. Any improvement at all in the current opposition bloc just stretches the gap. As I noted yesterday, it’s far easier for Labour to lift their results than it is for National. And it looks like the Conservatives are just going to be a spoiler for National, draining votes from the right, but never likely to make the threshold.
I really don’t see NZF going with National, Lanth. There are some pretty big policy differences between them for a start and Winston currently seems determined to avenge his dumping 4 years ago by bringing National down. And seeing Labour, the Greens and NZF at the same table at the EPMU jobs summit sends a positive message that they can work together.
Peters can’t be trusted. 2 years is a long time, and he has demonstrated in the past that he is willing to betray even the people that vote for him. The left relying on NZF to form government is almost as stupid as Labour keeping Shearer as leader.
Still waiting to hear an analysis of how a L/G/NZF/Mana govt would work.
Must drop to 4% to let Winston back in.
He will then almost certainly have the balance of power (to whoever promises him personally the most).
Have to be Foreign Affairs to keep him out of the country as long as possible via Air Force flights in which he can smoke, as no civilian ones will.
Yep, Doc. National need to lift their vote to compensate for the weakness of their allies. There are no guarantees that ACT, UF and the MP will retain their current seats, so the Nats have to cover the gap. 47-48% is an outright win. 45-46% leaves them needing a hand up. Less than that and only Winston can save them.
Most of what he says isn’t that bad until he gets to this bit:
The report had this to say about farm finance: “Farmers face significant challenges in raising sufficient capital to fund growth and support farm turnover.
“Farm debt levels are already high and few external sources of equity capital are available to farmers, particularly in Australia,” it said.
“New structures for owning and operating farms need to be encouraged to attract investment from domestic and foreign investors and capital markets.
“These structures might include rapidly evolving partnerships, modern variants of share farming and use of off-take agreements, as in the mining sector.”
Between now and 2050 New Zealand agriculture will require $210 billion of additional capital to generate growth and a further $130 billion will be needed to support the purchase of existing farms from ageing farmers.
Where he makes the assumption that the only place that capital is available is from over seas at interest. Basically, he’s just another economist that wouldn’t know what an economy was if he tripped over one.
Where he makes the assumption that the only place that capital is available is from over seas at interest. Basically, he’s just another economist that wouldn’t know what an economy was if he tripped over one
Which is why the rest of it, making some sense or not, is irrelevant!
Understand from Reserve Bank figures that there is around $114 billion invested in (mostly Foreign) Bank Term deposits and the like in New Zealand.
Kiwisaver has some but only a small share so far, and not earning very much either (nearly all below term deposit rates.)
If no Asset sales this oney will continue to stay where it is on minimal interest returns, but in safe places.
On Kim Hill this morning Dr Ben Goldacre author, broadcaster, medical doctor and academic said that Tamiflu bought all around the world at the cost of billions and billions of dollars has little in the the way of published research/trials. Remember bird-flu precautions? The company marketing Tamiflu has avoided publishing credible research in spite of many requests to do so. If there was good news from the research you would think that the company would rush to publish. The absence of consistent credible trial data seems to spell out one thing. And NZ spent millions and millions as a precaution.
Man, he is either blind to the truth of what happens when the police break the law with impunity or he’s selling snake-oil. I’m going to bet on the latter.
But obviously the police would never break the law to get an “ordinary citizen” like him. As long as the only natural justice and human rights breaches are happening to Those Kind Of People it’s for the greater good.
I think the fake case against the undercover cop should go ahead. Either he does prison time or the police who forged a search warrant and committed perjury do time. If the police agree to take that risk, then let the case against the bikers proceed. It’d probably get thrown out for some other reason anyway, because the police are so arrogant they don’t even bother to do their jobs properly. Oh, and John Roughan’s cryptofascist column is more of a threat to society than any number of outlaw bikers. He’s openly encouraging people (police) to break the law. Will he be charged? He should be.
More doubt on Police practices, maybe enough to collapse the extradition plans. Thanks to the on the ball David Fisher:
Police got personal banking details of Kim Dotcom and his staff without getting a search warrant in a move that has implications for bank customers……….
….and received information back the same day from the BNZ showing names of account holders, account numbers and home address details.
…..Dotcom was charged with money-laundering when arrested – the only charge he faces on which he can be extradited. Criminal copyright violation charges are not serious enough for extradition. If they are dismissed, then the money laundering charge also collapses.
I liked this comment
“The banking industry last night said customer privacy was taken “very seriously” but offered no information about the level of proof needed to turn information over to government agencies.”
Police got personal banking details of Kim Dotcom and his staff without getting a search warrant in a move that has implications for bank customers………
My giddy aunt…
As a matter of interest, I have spent days trying to interest Americans on the IMDB message boards in the Dotcom macello. Not one of them could give a monkey’s – I don’t understand why!
Well, it appears that the oil industry in NZ doesn’t want any public oversight for operating in our waters and that the government is thinking about giving it to them.
The Government is developing regulations under the new EEZ legislation on which offshore activities should be prohibited, discretionary, which require consent, or are permitted within stated rules.
Mr Hughes and Forest & Bird were responding to reports Minister for the Environment Amy Adams would not rule out allowing deep-sea drilling as a permitted activity in the act.
Publicly notified consents should not be required for offshore oil and gas exploration activities within New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone, says the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association.
Yes they would say that…
The association’s chief executive, David Robinson, said the topography of New Zealand’s seabed was entirely different to that in the Gulf of Mexico, where the 2010 disaster occurred in 1500m of water. “The terrain and activity of the south is vastly different to the Gulf, which was [oil under] high pressure and high temperature.”
He noted the Great South Basin and Canterbury Basin, which may be hosting an exploration drill ship in about a year, were “more than likely gas prospects” rather than oil.
Because its been known what oil is in the GSB for a very long time already!
While he said there would always be “residual risk” to any drilling programme, it was “very unlikely New Zealand would ever have any problems drilling around its coastlines”.
Phew thats good then, risk acceptance = check!
He likened the risk mitigation to that of Air New Zealand, where commercial aircraft had crashed but Air New Zealand maintained theirs to the highest standard possible.
But not at the expense of profits though….good to get that cleared up!
I see the school principals are screaming blue bloody murder because they wont be able to have drug dogs go through students school bags and essentially run their schools like mini police states.
God forbid that students should have any protections from unreasonable search and seizure. From a young age they are being taught that the authorities can go through your possessions and invade your privacy and more or less treat you like a common criminal.
300 Tongans march against the right of consenting adults to arrange their own relationships. Someone needs to get the message through to them that they are filthy homophobes.
That’s actually a good test and someone should probably do something similar for NZ. I think a lot of NZers would be surprised with who they actually agree with.
If I take another position and type in ‘mmm’, ‘aah’, ‘uhh’ and the like, might Shearer pop up as the choice of presidential candidate?
Guitar is good. Must put guitar in there.
And Me. 96% for Jill Stein. I’m sure I read somewhere of a survey taken a couple of years ago that getting people to vote on blind policy tests gave green policy the overwhelming thumbs up.
So it seems that most of us fall into the group labeled “we know that there is only a finite amount to share and we’d like to share fairly equally.”
Likewise. 91% Jill Stein, 84% Barack Obama. If I had a vote in America, I might consider Stein and hope for eventual electoral reform, but were I in a swing state I’d go with Obama.
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Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Once there was a proud nation which lead the world in so many ways.
A few to remember …
. first to have all adults voting.
. welfare state to look after its disadvantaged.
. in the vanguard of anti-apartheid movement.
. stopped the atmospheric weapon testing in the Pacific and then championed the anti-nuclear movement and gave hope to many other nations.
. developed an independent foreign policy.
. introduced an ETS scheme.
. developed a world leading education system.
But what leadership has it had since 2008?
Well for starters,
. a PM who believed we were missing in action in Iraq, and has now managed to all but completely trade away any independence.
. gutted the ETS scheme.
. demoralised the education sector
Add to the list as you feel …
Key and his band of crooks should be tried for treason.
tinfoilhat. Yes Key and his crooks should be tried for treason AND stripped of any entitlements like Parliamentary Pension and Free Travel. AND definitely no knighthoods. AND never be referred to as The Honourable.
It’s going to be a 50 50 whether a future government allows the investigation into any impropriety on the part of the current administration… Don’t hold your breath.
Politics today. In Italy Berlusconi has had 33 cases brought against him. It’s only the last one that has gone against him and he is gobsmacked. He also got the law changed so that over 70s can’t be jailed.
Mind you they had it coming to them – they let a media magnate in to the job and wiped the controls to prevent cross-media ownership. He has floated along since then pleasing himself and self promoting. If you don’t demand good results from pollies then you get things you never had the guts to wish for. Have we guts in nz or not? Or are we waiting for a party that has guts to inspire us for a better nz?
– raised GST to 15% to hurt the poor; which also forces people to spend less (less money to spend on luxury items and New Zealand made goods) hurting small business
– introduced charter schools (where teachers need not be trained, and where creationism is king)
– introduced draconian surveillance and copyright laws
– made New Zealand the puppet of foreign interest groups i.e. raid on Kim Dotcom
– worked hard to increase child poverty, inequality, push down incomes and raise unemployment
– did nothing to get the dollar down so forced businesses to close down or move to China
– cannibalized the welfare system so no one can get help (including rape victims)
– made student loans harder to get and increased fees; thus forcing more across the ditch
– did nothing to stop New Zealand’s rising suicide rate i.e. listen to radio live at 11:00 pm onwards
– eliminated privacy i.e. a politician can just pick up a W&I file and read it for political purposes
If you need help from the government we know now that the only way to get help is to go on a hunger strike for 30 days or more; because they don’t care about people, only the votes they may lose for not helping someone that has gone to the media. Where is the ‘brighter future’ John?
Logie97.
Strangling Kiwirail.
Wasting money on unnecessary roads.
Looks like the coastal rail Picton to Christchurch Passengers will disappear and the Christchurch to Greymouth Alpine passenger line.
They could try doubling the price of fares as they have done for the Wellington to Auckland train. But seriously…….
I think that the Coastal rail fare is going up from about $60 to $100-180. Pricing to kill the market?
Pricing to kill Kiwirail, the passenger service especially and probably Kiwirail in total e,g. the Napier-Gisborne rail link is to be stopped. As Minister of Railways Richard Prebble had an arsehole appointed as CEO of then NZRail to do similar damage as the current one appointed by National is doing.
In the meantime, you can fly AKL to WEL, vice versa, for $29.
Or $7.
Waahaahaa.
My niece was just complaining about that on Facebook! (She’s the carer for her brother’s kids, and wanted to take them on a trip).
Well from an international perspective (i.e. not those narrow minded Kiwi’s who continue to ignore the daily international economic storms) New Zealand is leading the world. In fact some have singled out New Zealand alone as the model for its balanced approach to the deepening international debt crisis.
Peter Orszag I think was the man to have made this claim.
I went searching and can’t actually find any international criticism of how the New Zealand government is managing and showing leadership through the double whammy of a major city rebuild during the worst economic meltdown in a generation.
The worst international economic year that Cullen and Clark had to govern through was still infinitley better than any year Key and English have had to manage. Blind Freddy could have governed through the 9 Clark years, those years when the world went on a debt fuelled spend up of anything and everything.
Luva – it is hardly a matter of congratulation to be leading the world as it is today. But, then, we have to take your word for it, don’t we?
Luva
Oh good we can stop thinking for ourselves now – we know our judgment is so poor. We can just listen to what the rest of the world is saying about us and accept that as gospel, doesn’t matter whether it is based on rock hard reality or just hyperbole from the latest political/ economic movement. And always ignoring how the low income people are managing in the business environment that is unhealthy to say the least.
And of course with all that you would expect any decent opposition to make a huge dent in the NACTS numbers. But as usual Mr Stutter Stumblebum, and his merry band of me, me’s, are missing in action. Time for a serious rethink at the top of Labour.
The sooner people accept that our “democracy” is a sham, the sooner people might consider getting of their arse and demanding change, instead of sitting back and hoping the theatre script might change direction!
Its only going to get worse, that is 100% certain!
Your complacency is appreciated, and anticipated!
Sincerely
Your local (controlled) MP
+1. First giggle of the day.
“Mr Stutter Stumblebum, and his merry band”
Calculating the seats suggested by yesterday’s Roy Morgan gives an interesting result. Assuming that ACT, UF and the Maori Party retain their current seats, the current Government totals 61 seats in a 123 seat Parliament. Labour/Greens/NZF also total 61 and Hone Harawira gets to be kingmaker.
National 55, MP 4 (one list), UF, ACT, Mana 1 each. NZF 9, Greens 16, Labour 36.
However, if National win Epsom, then the right bloc loses a seat and it totals 60 in a 122 seat parliament. Any improvement at all in the current opposition bloc just stretches the gap. As I noted yesterday, it’s far easier for Labour to lift their results than it is for National. And it looks like the Conservatives are just going to be a spoiler for National, draining votes from the right, but never likely to make the threshold.
Is there an election today!
Unless the threshold is dropped to 4%, in which case they have a good chance of getting in, and NZFirst is almost certain to as well.
I also think on those results, that an NZFirst – Nat coalition is the easiest ruling majority.
I really don’t see NZF going with National, Lanth. There are some pretty big policy differences between them for a start and Winston currently seems determined to avenge his dumping 4 years ago by bringing National down. And seeing Labour, the Greens and NZF at the same table at the EPMU jobs summit sends a positive message that they can work together.
Not sure that Winston would let revenge get in the way of power.
Peters can’t be trusted. 2 years is a long time, and he has demonstrated in the past that he is willing to betray even the people that vote for him. The left relying on NZF to form government is almost as stupid as Labour keeping Shearer as leader.
Still waiting to hear an analysis of how a L/G/NZF/Mana govt would work.
Must drop to 4% to let Winston back in.
He will then almost certainly have the balance of power (to whoever promises him personally the most).
Have to be Foreign Affairs to keep him out of the country as long as possible via Air Force flights in which he can smoke, as no civilian ones will.
TPP – you really think National needs to lift their results, which given everything, are astonishingly high?
Yep, Doc. National need to lift their vote to compensate for the weakness of their allies. There are no guarantees that ACT, UF and the MP will retain their current seats, so the Nats have to cover the gap. 47-48% is an outright win. 45-46% leaves them needing a hand up. Less than that and only Winston can save them.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10843146
Bryan Gaynor, WFT are you on????
Most of what he says isn’t that bad until he gets to this bit:
Where he makes the assumption that the only place that capital is available is from over seas at interest. Basically, he’s just another economist that wouldn’t know what an economy was if he tripped over one.
Which is why the rest of it, making some sense or not, is irrelevant!
Understand from Reserve Bank figures that there is around $114 billion invested in (mostly Foreign) Bank Term deposits and the like in New Zealand.
Kiwisaver has some but only a small share so far, and not earning very much either (nearly all below term deposit rates.)
If no Asset sales this oney will continue to stay where it is on minimal interest returns, but in safe places.
On Kim Hill this morning Dr Ben Goldacre author, broadcaster, medical doctor and academic said that Tamiflu bought all around the world at the cost of billions and billions of dollars has little in the the way of published research/trials. Remember bird-flu precautions? The company marketing Tamiflu has avoided publishing credible research in spite of many requests to do so. If there was good news from the research you would think that the company would rush to publish. The absence of consistent credible trial data seems to spell out one thing. And NZ spent millions and millions as a precaution.
yeah another pandemic scare, another pharma corporate rip off.
John Roughman – As an ordinary citizen, I don’t find it offensive that police would fake a prosecution to protect someone’s cover.
Roughmen – The ordinary citizen, happy to tell you how he wants to turn whats left into rubble, and happily so!
Hope John Roughman never finds himself at the bottom of a very slippery slope.
Man, he is either blind to the truth of what happens when the police break the law with impunity or he’s selling snake-oil. I’m going to bet on the latter.
But obviously the police would never break the law to get an “ordinary citizen” like him. As long as the only natural justice and human rights breaches are happening to Those Kind Of People it’s for the greater good.
Roughan’s article wasn’t worth the time it took to read it.
I think the fake case against the undercover cop should go ahead. Either he does prison time or the police who forged a search warrant and committed perjury do time. If the police agree to take that risk, then let the case against the bikers proceed. It’d probably get thrown out for some other reason anyway, because the police are so arrogant they don’t even bother to do their jobs properly. Oh, and John Roughan’s cryptofascist column is more of a threat to society than any number of outlaw bikers. He’s openly encouraging people (police) to break the law. Will he be charged? He should be.
More doubt on Police practices, maybe enough to collapse the extradition plans. Thanks to the on the ball David Fisher:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10843215
I liked this comment
“The banking industry last night said customer privacy was taken “very seriously” but offered no information about the level of proof needed to turn information over to government agencies.”
Feel a yeah right comment coming on.
My giddy aunt…
As a matter of interest, I have spent days trying to interest Americans on the IMDB message boards in the Dotcom macello. Not one of them could give a monkey’s – I don’t understand why!
Well, it appears that the oil industry in NZ doesn’t want any public oversight for operating in our waters and that the government is thinking about giving it to them.
Yes they would say that…
Because its been known what oil is in the GSB for a very long time already!
Phew thats good then, risk acceptance = check!
But not at the expense of profits though….good to get that cleared up!
I see the school principals are screaming blue bloody murder because they wont be able to have drug dogs go through students school bags and essentially run their schools like mini police states.
God forbid that students should have any protections from unreasonable search and seizure. From a young age they are being taught that the authorities can go through your possessions and invade your privacy and more or less treat you like a common criminal.
300 Tongans march against the right of consenting adults to arrange their own relationships. Someone needs to get the message through to them that they are filthy homophobes.
Here’s a fun quiz for the weekend.
Find out who you should vote for in the US presidential election …
http://www.isidewith.com/presidential-election-quiz
Hints – if the choice is too limted, click on the “other” option, more choices available.
Picking Obama over Romney is easy, but you might be surprised how you align with other candidates.
Ive got the Green candidate, Jill Stein…
Yep, me too.
That’s actually a good test and someone should probably do something similar for NZ. I think a lot of NZers would be surprised with who they actually agree with.
If I take another position and type in ‘mmm’, ‘aah’, ‘uhh’ and the like, might Shearer pop up as the choice of presidential candidate?
Guitar is good. Must put guitar in there.
And Me. 96% for Jill Stein. I’m sure I read somewhere of a survey taken a couple of years ago that getting people to vote on blind policy tests gave green policy the overwhelming thumbs up.
So it seems that most of us fall into the group labeled “we know that there is only a finite amount to share and we’d like to share fairly equally.”
Me too! Hmmm …
Likewise. 91% Jill Stein, 84% Barack Obama. If I had a vote in America, I might consider Stein and hope for eventual electoral reform, but were I in a swing state I’d go with Obama.
Me too!
thanks for that .. Stein 94%, Romney 11%, Obama 68%, but he was bottom last .. curious!
.
Oh, noes!!!! Its all over for Obama.
; )
Pathetic fine for Rena disaster
Another judge has got it wrong! How topical is that?
Yeah saw that – Not sure I agree with the got it wrong statement..
Again its a question of representation, and whom is representing, whom, or what!
But the people of Denedin get to pay the equivilent of what the maximum fine for Rena would have been of over 600k in severance money…Lets see then..
Rena disaster fine 300K (half of max fine)
Total cost to “The Crown” of Rena Estimated at 47m, ..but…
“As a result of “extended and co-operative negotiations” the defendant and its insurers had agreed to compensate the Crown 27.6m ”
So thats a loss to “The Crown” of 20m – I’m sure QE2 will be happy to eat that loss won’t she eh!
Dunedin Council severence payouts 628,513,
In Summary
1: People of Dunedin have to eat job just payouts worth 2 x the Rena fine (will their rates come down now)
2: People of NZ get to eat the 20m loss on the Rena situation (not sure the breakdown)
3: People of Tauranga, and eastern coast get to eat the delayed fallout of – Rena chemicals at sea worry scientists
There is some twisted goings on in this country, that is for sure!
Fairly typical in a capitalist society – save the capitalists by throwing the workers under the bus.