The UN has delivered a withering verdict on the US’s human rights record, raising concerns on a series of issues including torture, drone strikes, the failure to close Guantánamo Bay and the NSA’s bulk collection of personal data…
…The committee also expressed alarm about the continued use of the death penalty in a 16 states, the “still high number” number of fatal shootings by certain police forces, notably in Chicago and the high proportion of black people in the country’s jails.
And the gall of the USA to condemn the Russian invasion of Crimea without loss of life after USA invaded Iraq with the loss of 100 X thousands of innocent life. The cheek of it!
If you actually bothered to connect to the real world, the Ukrainian death toll is currently at 75 and will no doubt be vast if Russia and Ukraine go to war. I see no value in jumping around and pointing fingers at the sins of the US when a possibly even worse bloodbath is about to occur
Yes, what’s a little torture between virtue ethicists. They’re our friends! They only torture bad guys, except for when they get the wrong guy, but you can hardly blame them for making a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes.
Today’s sick offering in Stuff illustrates why Duncan Garner’s work needs to be digested with a clothes-pegged nose. Today he starts with a story of a glazier who couldn’t obtain a building apprenticeship, while Fletcher Construction and fellow travelers are importing workers for the Christchurch rebuild. He then blows on the old dog-whistle, implying that the young unemployed are feckless dole bludgerswho should to be forced to work on the Christchurch building sites. Since Fletchers and others are the recipients of massive corporate welfare, they should be forced to provide employment and trade training opportunities for our youth. Instead, they are maximising on the unique profit-making situation the Government has gifted them by bringing in overseas navvies.
Seemingly, Garner’s brain cells are more idle than the hordes of lazy dole bludgers that exist more in his imagination than reality.
As PG seems to be here on TS a lot lately, I thought I would check out Politicheck’s website and their Twitter account to see what was happening.
There seems to be nothing new on the website since the announcement of staff appointments on March 10. Likewise, the latest entry on their twitter account was on March 15.
All these examples of dirty tricks, whisper campaigns and character assassination go by without comment. Our media are captured, lazy and unable to function properly.
Can’t forget the new front in the Nats media machine Gossip.
something ‘funny’ has also happened to john armstrong over the last couple of days..
..after earlier in the week penning one of the few intelligent/considered looks at the possible benefits for both mana party and internet party from forming an alliance-lite umbrella party to fight the election..
..today he is right/write on message – with the official-line..
..and has done a piece that totally pisses all over/rips up what he wrote 48hrs earlier…
..and is basically a vomit all over dotcom and all he stands for..
..and he laughs hysterically at any possibility of any electoral-success..
..on so many levels/ways..w.t.f. happened..?
..and which john armstrong should we give any credence to..?
Barking mad the lot of them, the dogs of National’s disinformation service, Armstrong, Trevett, O’Sullivan showing spasms of the fear that they echo on behalf of the 9th floor of the Beehive,
Does Armstrong have info from someone that us mere peasants are not privy to, in this morning’s grand gush of vitriol He does not mince words about the chances of DotCom being extradited,
”When he is extradited” is Armstrong’s ‘line’ pointing the finger at the Judiciary as having already decided the fate of DotCom,
What causes Armstrong to be so certain about the outcome, has He had word, along with the order to bark long and loud in an attempt to disparage DotCom that ‘the system’ has agreed to close ranks to rid the country of this interloper onto the political playing field???,
To pen such words as ”when He is extradited” with regards to DotCom implies certainty of knowledge from Armstrong, within such an admission is one of broader concern which suggests, far from the common belief, that the Judiciary is as tainted by the same open bias that appears to be the driving force behind the scribblings of Armstrong and the other dogs of the National Party disinformation service…
Armstrong does makes some valid points. Particularly relevant are those about would be voters for the ip not really being the mana demographic, friend of the poor/left which is quite unbelievable given his past form, which does make many think ‘wool over eyes’, and of course the whole paragraph about the real motive behind the party launch – To keep .com from being extradited.
The Alien, reading your comment i just about had a little ‘barking fit’ of my own, ”When He is extradited” is definitely what i read this morning,
Just about makes me want to go out and find the print edition of the Herald(National Party disinformation service),
Could John have been awoken from His slumbers at his computer terminal by the editorial staff telling Him to edit that piece because they have read the inference that i make about the words ”when He is extradited”,
While i cannot ‘swear’ that what i read this morning was what i read my opinion is the piece has suffered a speedy ‘edit’, to subtly change the blunt statement ”when He is extradited” to something a little more elongated but in essence saying exactly the same thing, Paragraph Six says this:
–”And that it will not fold the moment He and the Party’s main source of income move offshore through being extradited to the United States” unquote John Armstrong
There is no IF evident there,so it is still an event that Armstrong ‘sees’ as a given although as exhibited by the part of Paragraph Six i reproduce above there is an obvious softening from the blunt ”when he is extradited’ that i read this morning…
I don’t doubt what you read as on-line content is subject to change, just saying I didn’t see it in the article I linked to, speaking of which, I prefer this quote.
“Dotcom’s purpose in setting up the Internet Party is solely to make it a bottom-line of any post-election talks that whoever is Minister of Justice quash any court ruling which would force his extradition. Such a bottom-line would be preposterous and would amount to Dotcom’s party being the sickest joke played on New Zealand voters.”
i think Armstrong has something wrong with His memory, ”National will not be raising GST” widely broadcast as coming out of the mouth of Slippery the Prime Minister in 2008 prior to the election was a far sicker joke than a slight corruption of the system that Armstrong points to when that system already corrupted itself by allowing DotCom and any number of other’s who could be said to have characters far from unblemished into the country based upon their having ‘money’…
The nats letting weirdo colin and who ever is leading act at the moment in to parliament rivals the .com party as far as sick jokes go, but sadly, that’s what politics seems has come to in it’s race to the bottom.
I’m well aware your not fond of Kim Allen, but a question?
Do you think what Kim allegedly does is a criminal matter or a civil matter.
Because all I see is a civil matter.
If the Hollywood studios can’t sort this civil matter out without having to call in our very own ‘Keystone cops’ The New Zealand Police force, that by the way was seemingly handed over to them by a subservient Government then Hollywood have real problems.
And to take this a bit farther and I’m just day dreaming a bit now, but you really have to wonder if Key in one of his big headed moments, with a nose full of coke said, “leave it to me boys I can save you a fortune in Lawyers fees, I’ll just have the GCSB and the NZ Police sort it out.”
I’m no Lawyer either but I have a lot of faith in the system that we have and basically it works like this, when something new comes to light, it will be tested in law at some stage, I think this is a good system, sure there will be some winners and losers initially at times and some people will make a fortune if forward thinking, but lets take a breath and look at the alternative, which is every new idea has to be tested in law before we have any idea what will happen when it’s used in the real world, which is basically impossible, the genie is out of the bottle.
So basically Napster was a president in Law and since then the music industry has used that to protect and fight for their intellectual/property rights and the same applies here, yet in this case they tried to go down the criminal path from the beginning, when it really was only a civil matter, sure the US have thrown in money laundering and racketeering with the copyright infringement but really it’s about copyright infringement first and the rest is up to the tax department, lets not forget copyright infringement goes on every day in just about every house in this country.
As I understand it the presiding judge looks at the information presented for the extradition hearing by both parties, and makes a decision based solely on that information to make a decision, which is whether there is a case to answer, or not.
And that is all.
There is no jury or anything else – this is in accordance with the Extradition Act.
No you are quite wrong. Most of the decision is made by the judge and much of it is about the applicability of the extradition application to laws in NZ. Since the laws he is charged under in the US aren’t appliciable here, I would say it is a travesty.
Rather than being a lazy papa, raise your standard and read the MFAT summary. It will make you look less of a stupid limp dick…
Checked out the internet party app last this morning. The list of permissions is a bit different to most.
Allow to send messages, record audio, take pictures stand out. Seems unnecessary but I don’t really know how these things work all my other apps dont allow these.
Can anyone offer a more qualified opinion?
They’re attacking a fairly frivolous, comparatively-small amount of spending. It allows them to say ‘look, we attack National government spending too!’ and thus ‘prove’ that they’re independent and unbiased. This comes in handy when they’re later asked why they never criticise the huge wastefulness of the costs of flogging our assets, or the massive amount spent by Treasury on consultants, etc.
There is nothing odd about it at all. I would not be providing financial support to the Taxpayers Union if it was partisan. It is not aligned with any political party:
“The Taxpayers’ Union is 100 per cent politically independent. We are not affiliated with any political party and will never become a political party. ”
Its objective is to promote fiscal responsibility. Indirectly it also promotes policies that protect the poor. It is the poor who get screwed by poor government.
Morrissey………you’re too much. First good belly laugh of the day for me !
Moving on to other matters. Russel Norman on The Nation with Potty G.
“Have you ever smoked a joint ?” “Yes”.
That’s it. A simple, no bullshit “Yes”.
No no no hang on……..it was Gower doing the asking.
Watching it the words “Have you……you prick ?” immediately sprang to my mind. Not Russel Norman though. Perfectly done. More impressive every day that man.
My answer – “Nah……Morrissey, legally as yet, gives me all the giggles I need”.
“When so-called iwi leaders condemn teachers for daring to highlight the massive failings of the New Zealand education system for Maori children in case the Minister of Education might be embarrassed, then they show themselves up as a sad and pathetic group for whom the warm embrace of government has become more important than the needs of their own children and grandchildren.”
…“I am gutted that people who purport to represent Maori people could be so bloody selfish and blind, and I urge them to face up to the realities and demand concrete action to eliminate child poverty in this land of enormous wealth.”
Way to call it Hone, ‘the Iwi Leaders’ look way out of line barking their objections to legitimate protest,
i suppose having the likes of Parata and Slippery the Prime Minister paying to fly them here and there along with the tongue bath of the major ‘Slurps’ dished out their way for the ongoing support of the current regime must make them feel ‘big’,
Its sad to see ‘the leaders’ take the side of the Government while ignoring the plight of the worst off of their people, but,it’s happened befor and i dare say will happen again…
I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a happy ending, more a barely adequate resolution:
The Dunedin City Council has paid $3900 for the leg irons Mayor Dave Cull pulled from an auction after an investigation he instigated confirmed they could have been used to restrain Maori political prisoners almost 150 years ago… Mr Cull said although the shackles were already Dunedin City Council property, it was easier to buy them from Mr McCormack than start legal proceedings… The North Island descendants and Otakou runanga would be consulted on the future of the shackles. ”They are still ours and we get the final call, but out of respect since it was their tupuna shackled up in the damn things, we will ask them what they would like to see happen to them.”
Still no answers as to what happened to the other shackles that were there when these were stolen. Plus, with this precedent; it now seems to be open season on any historical artifact in Dunedin that can be swiped with 3 hacksaw blades or less.
They would appear to have rusted away. The obvious deteriation was the reason McCormack nicked them in the first place. Those caves should be made into a museum of this shameful and neglected episode of NZ history.
I’m not convinced by the “rusted away” story – though do recall it from the initial auction article. I strongly suspect the remnants of those shackles are in private hands (perhaps those that looted them, or maybe not even still in the country). Toitu (the Otago settlers museum) was supposed to be in charge of the artifact investigation. Perhaps their examination of the historical site will yield further information?
Reading between the lines, I’d say it was likely to be McCormack’s “late brother” who wanted to hold onto the things. It certainly seems likely that they were shown to others in the 40-odd years since since they were taken (and reconnected with a few links of train chain). But i doubt that an altruistic urge to arrest the artifact’s deterioration was the reason for them sawing their way into a locked cave.
Phil – you are on a roll although I wish you weren’t 🙂
The Greens could be part of a government that signs up to the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement, co-leader Russel Norman has conceded.
His comments on TV3’s The Nation this morning come ahead of nationwide marches against the TPP which are due to take place this afternoon.
Just watched the interview and this is closer to what Norman actually said “The TPP would have to change “very significantly” before the Greens would vote in favour of it.”
Of course the GP could be part of a govt that does things that the GP disagrees with. How else can coalitions be formed?
I’m not clear re the TPP, whether a house-wide vote is required, or whether they mean a decision within caucus. Does anyone know?
Any good reason why the GP in govt can’t abstain on votes or vote against legislation act by act?
Metiria Turei has posted this on Facebook:
“Metiria Turei
Don’t listen to Paddy Gower, he twists everything to what he wants to say not what is real. The Green Party opposes the TPPA. If we are in a govt with Labour it will be bec we have influence and we will use that influence over the TPPA as well as lots of other policies. We will have more influence if we have more votes so we need your Party Vote on September 20 to strengthen our arm in the negotiations. You have the power to influence the outcome on the TPPA and deep sea oil drilling. For the sake of our people and oceans, please use that power on September 20.”
Given that we’ve all seen what wee Paddy can do, I believe her.
In that case you should get in touch and ask her. As unbelievable as most of us would find it, your posts and your blog may not be the first items on her list of “must reads” each day.
Nah, with you, it’s always about you. You crave attention so much you have a Pete George like ability to settle for abuse and contempt. It’s about you so much that you expect that people will pay to read your blog. You have one of the largest and most undeserved egos I’ve ever come across. You misunderstand almost everything you read, then call others liars. Oh, it’s about you alright. You have a total inability to let it be about anything else.
Basically, Norman said the Greens would be pragmatic in any post-election deals as they have been in every case in the past (excluding GMO). Meanwhile Gower was trying his damndest to put words in Russel’s mouth.
What did you expect Russel to say, Phil?
“I’m not going to compromise on anything!”???
Can’t wait for the spun version of the interview from Gower on TV3 tonight.
Did he say he was going to compromise on everything?
No he did not.
He was realistic that whatever they could achieve would be dependent on their party vote. At one point I think he actually implored the viewer to vote Green so they would have more bargaining power post-election.
He wasn’t going to be drawn into a crystal-ball session just because Gower wanted him to say something he could hang him on.
I hope that Labour changes their position on TPP. I’m hoping that their position is really just Goff’s position and that Labour will change that in the near future.
They look foolish and untrustworthy to bang on about neoliberalism and then still support TPP.
Yeah OK Phil – welcome to ShonKey Python, then the Milky Bar Crud, then the poncey wee Simon Bridges, then some entitled little Young Nationals git who right now is still at Kings College – as our prime ministers from here until 20 years hence.
You’re reminding me of the virgin who while aching to get into it absolutely won’t get into it for fear that it won’t be perfect straight off and it might be messy. And fuck’n moaning about the lack of it. Lighten up for fuck’s sake.
Russel Norman/Metiria Turei/all the Greens are light years more real and gifted than ShonKey Python and his band of venal, mainchance sociopaths. They’ve been the only real opposition to the sociopaths for at least the past three years Phil ! Give them a little bit of credit man. Instead of being insufferably impeccable all the time. Grizzling old virgin you.
I’m not a Greenie either. Renewed my MANA Movement membership just the other day. Shit it felt good !
Can folks on The Standard pool information about which of our Member of Parliaments were speaking or standing with the people at the 16 locations this afternoon?
Quite obviously, Natz puppets would be safely tucked away in their corporate cupboards.
Greens have been very visible all round the country, I understand.
Were any Labour MPs or candidates out and about, and where?
I don’t have to spin anything, especially you making contradictory statements in the space of two posts, that’s plain to see by all.
I’ll wear your pedant medal like I wear the chuckle at your disingenuous perception.
For the record, I’m watching the replay of the nation and Norman explicitly said he was against deep sea drilling… That’s strike one.
On the tpp about whether the Green party could vote for the tpp he said, “it could potentially, but it depends” [on the size of the green vote and what the tpp contains]. Strike two
I can only repeat what I’ve just seen and heard, but it does differ from what you’ve stated, well the first time any way. The second time, when you said “he may well vote for the tpp” you got it correct.
Most rational folk will agree that Norman’s main thrust was the more votes the Green party gets, the stronger it’s negotiating position, and thus more party policy makes it to the statute book.
I’m happy to disagree, but certain those more qualified and invested in Green politics than I, can explain it to you.
I don’t have TV reception, and can’t see any online clips yet on the TV3 site of Norman’s Nation interview. However, I am more inclined to regard The Allen’s summary as the accurate one. I guess I’ll have to wait until after tomorrow to know for sure.
It does seem contradictory for the Green Party to both support today’s anti-TPPA rally, but on the same day have their co-leader state that he’ll vote for it.
“..It does seem contradictory for the Green Party to both support today’s anti-TPPA rally, but on the same day have their co-leader state that he’ll vote for it…”
doesn’t it..?
..you could call this the exposing the inherent contradictions interview for norman..
..and i guess..like allen..you will see/read/believe what you want to see/read/believe..
..but i don’t think i will be the only one making that call on normans’ revelations..
I don’t see how, the caveat on my music page clearly states I can’t sing or play, and I do advise the listener have cotton buds and bleach close to hand, just in case they need to rinse their ears.
Likewise I’m sure the Greens aren’t trying to con anyone out of a vote by becoming seriously electable and using the tools at their disposal to put forward their message. It’s not a sin or crime or double standard, just like Dylan using an electric guitar wasn’t a sell out or a bad thing.
But the Greens are doing well as a 15% party vote shows. They can sing there own tunes, with or without electronic aid, I don’t mind 😉
“If I were an old school green party supporter I would be feeling a bit gutted by this, and as I am, I am. What the fuck have they done to ‘my’ party?”
The edit is mine, as a little Saturday gift 😉
To answer, I think what they have done is make the party much more electable to a wider section of the electorate.
It’s still my intention to give them my party vote in September, and I’ve seen or heard nothing from them that has caused me to contemplate changing my mind. The party looks to be in good shape, based on sound principles, headed by professional, dedicated mps.
Who could want more from a left of centre party than an electable, credible partner in government shaping the direction of a still ‘wonky’ Labour party?
“It does seem contradictory for the Green Party to both support today’s anti-TPPA rally, but on the same day have their co-leader state that he’ll vote for it.”
It would indeed if Norman had said that, but he didn’t. What he said was that the agreement would have to change hugely for the GP to support it. He also didn’t say that he or the GP will support deep sea oil drilling or fracking. Nor did he say that legalising cannabis isn’t a priority. It was actually Gower that said the first two things and phil that said the third thing. I think The Al1en’s summation above is pretty good, and here is the link for those that can watch it online
No he didn’t say those things either, and I didn’t say he did. You really do have trouble with comprehension phil. All I have done is watch the video and point out that your portrayal was quite inaccurate. I’m not the only one that has done that.
Norman confirmed there were no bottom lines for the Green Party to support a Labour-led government.
Unlike genetically engineered organisms in 2002, the TPPA is not a bottom line for the Green Party in 2014. Whatever else he says, this is the pertinent point.
He also said he did not think legalising cannabis would be on the party’s key priority list in post election negotiations.
They’re valid questions, because this once radical party may be on the brink of holding ministerial posts.
As Sue Bradford suggested in the panel discussion afterwards, the party has changed and is now focused on the centre vote, and more willing to compromise.
Having said that, Gower needs to broaden his question base from bottom lines, it’s tiresome.
Surprisingly, Phil is completely wrong. Russel Norman explicitly says the Greens are against deep sea drilling and fracking, and support the decriminalisation of cannabis. Gower tries hard to push him into a corner, but is not successful.
What he says about the actions of a government in which the Greens might play a part is quite reasonable. They will fight for their policies and how successful they are will depend on the weight of seats. From his point of view, it would be irresponsible to say much more than this.
No-one is claiming the Greens will actively support policies against their core principles, just that they are not making them bottom lines in terms of giving support to Labour to form a government. There is a difference. Sue Bradford on the panel afterwards said that if she was a Green member, she would be worried by the extent to which the party has moved to the centre. She said she was surprised by some of Norman’s answers. Everyone knows politics is about compromise, but people have a right to feel disappointed if it’s a core issue for them, surely.
“Everyone knows politics is about compromise, but people have a right to feel disappointed if it’s a core issue for them, surely.”
I’ve lived in NZ for nearly 50 years and I’ve never had a govt or political party who met my expectations. I don’t really know why people on the outside of the bell curve expect things to be the way they want. I thought the point of being on the edge was to lead the way. The GP have been doing that for a long time. It’s now time for them to step into the responsibility they’ve been working for and that means being mainstream. There will have to be compromises, but I don’t see any problem with what they have done to date. Once the GP gain govt, I expect to be thoroughly pissed off with them within the decade, but I completely support the move they are making in that direction now. The best thing about that TV3 piece was Fitzimmons saying how not having cabinet posts worked in their favour and for the betterment of the country. The point there isn’t that staying outside of govt is best, but that the GP plays the game smart. They still are, it’s just that smart is a different strategy now. She also said that it was more important back then for them to build the GP long term. I feel such gratitude to her and those other GP workers right now, because that foresight and hard work is about to pay off.
Yes people can feel disappointed, but then they start slagging off the GP by misrepresenting what the GP is doing then they can expect to be called on it.
People can listen to it for themselves. He said decriminalisation woudn’t be on the top 10 issues. Anyone who hadn’t rotted their brain cells past the ability to write a coherent sentence, let alone understand one, would be able to see that.
It’s you that is outright lying phil. Decriminilising cannabis is still GP policy. Before the election they will name their top ten issues so that people will know what will be the key areas on the table for post-election negotiations, and Norman expects that cannabis won’t be on that list. But that is completely different than saying it’s not on their to do list.
No they fucking don’t. They think that there are at least 10 other issues more important to be dealing with as a priority this election (actually, we don’t know, because the GP hasn’t named that list of ten yet, Norman just said he doubted cannabis would be on it). Most GP voters will agree with that (and most NZers).
There is nothing to stop GP members or MPs advancing the cause of legalising cannabis in the next electoral cycle. What are you doing to help them phil?
“phil, there’s a difference between a list of stuff you want to do and a list of stuff you think you can do given your circumstances.”
Indeed, but I’ll just point out that all Norman said was that he doubted that cannabis decriminalisation would be in the top ten. He didn’t say it wasn’t going to be worked on, and in fact reasserted that decriminalisation is still GP policy.
Even if the GP were polling higher than Labour, I doubt that they would consider decriminalising cannabis as in the top ten (they might, it’s up to the party, not Norman). There are many urgent issues out there. Will be interesting to see what the top ten are this year.
Phil, all I am asking of you is some intellectual honesty. You are misrepresenting Norman’s words to suit your own agenda. Puts you in the same bracket as Gower. That’s up to you, but when it distorts the political discussion, that makes it other people’s business.
Thanks for the link. PU seems to have manned the barricades on this one, but Norman is no more pro-TPP than he is pro-deep sea drilling. No contradiction.
Too much time spent on David Hay in the preamble though, why is he so keen to be where he’s not wanted? And there were a few points where one might validly criticise Norman’s performance; fortunately PU and Gower seem to have missed them entirely.
Yeah, I thought the focus on Hay was ott (thankfully the guy seems to have gotten the message now). Am curious as to the points you where might criticise Norman’s performance.
Chris Trotter had a think about the Te Kohanga Reo and Maori TV situations that have been in the news lately.
His comments on Maori direction seem to fit what I observe.
…the next big challenge facing Maori. Either the gains of renaissance and revolution will be captured by an increasingly authoritarian and self-protective Maori middle-class, or they will be extended to all Maori people – especially those young Maori trapped in the poverty-racked and crime-ridden ghettoes of major cities.
The Kohanga Reo scandal (itself the result of young journalists from Maori Television’s `Native Affairs’ refusing to be intimidated by the trust board’s networks of patronage and protection) is, therefore, much more than an issue for Maori to sort out on their own.
The fruits of renaissance and revolution in Aotearoa-New Zealand cannot be secured for Maori in the face of Pakeha indifference.
Looking at the Maori Party and the behaviour exhibited by many iwi following treaty payouts and the still deplorable situations of many young urban Maori, one doesn’t need to be Nostradamus to work that one out.
Film-maker Ken Loach argues in the Guardian this week that Labour is part of the problem, not the solution.
It’s worth a read and applies equally in NZ; no party’s tapping into fragmented and various social causes and protest movements. The surge of enthusiasm we saw last year in the unions and to an extent the electorate for Cunliffe was in my view expressing hope of a new left movement. My fear is that if Labour loses this election the right of the party will firmly take control, under the phony pretext that the electorate rejected the move to the left, which never eventuated as Cunliffe turned out to be business as usual.
From Loach’s piece:
‘We know that housing support goes to rich landlords, that benefits for the working poor subsidise employers who pay poverty wages. We read that benefit fraud is a tiny fraction of the overall welfare budget, far less than unclaimed benefits, and is nothing compared to the amount lost through tax dodging. But as we rail against the injustice and hypocrisy, we fail to ask one big question. Where is our political fightback? It should be led by the Labour party but therein lies the problem.
The coalition parties proclaim the importance of the market economy. So does Labour. The coalition cuts back on public enterprise and prioritises the interests of big corporations and private companies. So did the last Labour government. Whenever workers organise to defend jobs, wages or conditions, who supports them? Not Ed Miliband or other Labour leaders.’
The coalition parties proclaim the importance of the market economy. So does Labour.
And therein lies the problem. Labour refuses to accept that the free-market dogma that they saddled us with in the 1980s is the problem and thus Labour remain part of the problem and not the solution.
Good comment worth reading – here are some bits of gold from Ken Loach leftunity article.
Labour’s rhetoric may be softer than the Tories’, but its fundamental stance is limited by the same imperative: profit comes before all else. Can the Labour party be reclaimed? Or, rather, made anew into one that will represent the interests of the people?
History suggests it cannot. The high-water mark of 1945 is long gone. The many great achievements of that government have largely been dismantled, either with the collusion of Labour or directly by the party when it has been in power. The Labour left has all but disappeared, and even Tony Benn’s voice is now sadly silent. A Miliband government will not reverse any of the privatisations in the health service or elsewhere. It will not take the railways back into public ownership – despite the popularity of such a move – or even reclaim Royal Mail…….
The Labour manifesto of 1945 would be a better inspiration. It promised “a socialist party and proud of it. Its ultimate purpose … is the establishment of the socialist commonwealth, free, democratic, efficient, progressive, public-spirited, its material resources organised in the service of the … people”.
A new party must be democratic, principled and properly organised. It needs an analysis of contemporary politics with a set of immediate demands: an industrial strategy to create green jobs, a statutory living wage, a public housing programme and a cap on private rents, an end to all privatisation in the health service.
Left Unity has a conference in Manchester on Saturday (29 March). Visit http://www.leftunity.org
Here’s more evidence that National’s anti-Internet-Party blitzkrieg is partly motivated by the fear that dotcom may get more votes than the MSM suspect.
Keith Locke talks about how National’s attempts to paint the Greens as extremists backfired and contributed to them breaking the 5% threshold to get into parliament.
Perhaps the same could occur with the Internet Party.
Just wanted to acknowledge the recent deaths of two important Wellington progressives:
Today’s Dominion Post included an obituary for trade unionist, feminist and activist, Viv Walker. Viv’s agenda “was not to get more women into the board rooms of CEO’s offices; it was to get rights for the women who cleaned the boardrooms and corporate offices.” She was active in the anti-apartheid and feminist movements and it’s typical of the modesty and humility of people like Viv that she left instructions that no-one was to make her into a hero at her funeral – she wanted to be seen as ordinary.
(Brilliant but self-depreciating activists like Viv are worth a thousand Helen Clarks and other status-seeking, power-hungry upper-middle class liberal elites in my opinion. She’s one of the true heros, even if she denied as much).
In January, long-time and legendary Victoria University Political Scientist, Les Cleveland , died (aged 92). He had a highly colourful life, fought as a member of the 2NZEF in the Pacific and Italy in WWII (a keen moutaineer, he scaled Mt Blanc as part of his own post-WWII victory celebration), a poet, singer/song-writer, authority on wartime songs, press gallery journalist, photographer, short-story writer and folklorist. Cleveland was also a long-time protester, as a relatively recent Dominion Post obituary put it: “there was an unashamed, generous, subversive side to this left-wing lifetime supporter of Michael Joseph Savage’s welfare state.”
Thanks swordfish. I like this comment on Les Cleveland –
“there was an unashamed, generous, subversive side to this left-wing lifetime supporter of Michael Joseph Savage’s welfare state.”
If all Labour had had that deeply embedded then we wouldn’t have lost Savage’s commitment to people and had it replaced by devotion to The People, The Party and to maintaining the Left idea in politics and unions, rather than the Left ideal.
“We’re cautious about saying, ‘Medical marijuana laws definitely reduce homicide.’ That’s not what we’re saying,” Morris said. “The main finding is that we found no increase in crime rates resulting from medical marijuana legalization. In fact, we found some evidence of decreasing rates of some types of violent crime, namely homicide and assault.
my comment is ,just to ask you why any body like my self who has spoken out about an issue that I feel needs a public discussion and has affected my whole adult life , find my self ignored should feel ok with democracy as it is . .five years is a long time to wait and if others have been brushed aside as I have been then all is lost . there is no longer any interest in what others who want my vote have too say yet again I will throw my vote away on a minor party .
Question Why pay attention to Dotcom.
Answer Because this is a political stage and all of us merely players: –
And now he is on our side. Why can’t we accept what could be a helping hand when we are stretched. Get real Pop. And don’t waste your venom on left supporters. We may be lesser beings to yourself but we have our uses.
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
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 Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
A positive, inspirational report to start the day, surprisingly the lead story on Stuff at the moment at least.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9881861/Driven-by-fight-for-justice
And best wishes to all of those able to make it to the various demonstrations happening throughout the country today.
EDIT – Snap with North at 2!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9881861/Driven-by-fight-for-justice
Beautiful !
US human rights high ground under pressure
And the gall of the USA to condemn the Russian invasion of Crimea without loss of life after USA invaded Iraq with the loss of 100 X thousands of innocent life. The cheek of it!
Turkey initiates Youtube ban to constrain inconvenient evidence.
http://rt.com/news/turkey-syria-phone-leak-861/
Turkey a NATO member seems to be implicated in a Wag the dog experiment.
If you actually bothered to connect to the real world, the Ukrainian death toll is currently at 75 and will no doubt be vast if Russia and Ukraine go to war. I see no value in jumping around and pointing fingers at the sins of the US when a possibly even worse bloodbath is about to occur
Yes, what’s a little torture between virtue ethicists. They’re our friends! They only torture bad guys, except for when they get the wrong guy, but you can hardly blame them for making a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes.
well don’t do the crime…geezzz
Today’s sick offering in Stuff illustrates why Duncan Garner’s work needs to be digested with a clothes-pegged nose. Today he starts with a story of a glazier who couldn’t obtain a building apprenticeship, while Fletcher Construction and fellow travelers are importing workers for the Christchurch rebuild. He then blows on the old dog-whistle, implying that the young unemployed are feckless dole bludgerswho should to be forced to work on the Christchurch building sites. Since Fletchers and others are the recipients of massive corporate welfare, they should be forced to provide employment and trade training opportunities for our youth. Instead, they are maximising on the unique profit-making situation the Government has gifted them by bringing in overseas navvies.
Seemingly, Garner’s brain cells are more idle than the hordes of lazy dole bludgers that exist more in his imagination than reality.
As PG seems to be here on TS a lot lately, I thought I would check out Politicheck’s website and their Twitter account to see what was happening.
There seems to be nothing new on the website since the announcement of staff appointments on March 10. Likewise, the latest entry on their twitter account was on March 15.
Dead in the water?
Waiting, waiting – 1,2,3,……
If there was ever any chance that Politicheck would succeed, it ended with the appointment of Pete George.
pete gorge has singlehandedly turned politichek into an antipodean marie celeste..
..”..unmanned and apparently abandoned..”
..heh..!
Peter Cook channels Fuctcheck’s Pete George (finest description of PG ever at 4.20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH0lraX7Hmk
“Is that a fact?”
rofl. Cheers TRP.
Two days, two articles, two different media outlets admitting that they know National use Slater/Farrar to smear and dissemble.
Both media outlets admit they are still happy to run those lines without attribution to who actually provides the source material.
Drinnan in The Herald & Watkin’s at Fairfax.
All these examples of dirty tricks, whisper campaigns and character assassination go by without comment. Our media are captured, lazy and unable to function properly.
Can’t forget the new front in the Nats media machine Gossip.
Good comment, – worth putting in a quick post, if you don’t mind, andy?
something ‘funny’ has also happened to john armstrong over the last couple of days..
..after earlier in the week penning one of the few intelligent/considered looks at the possible benefits for both mana party and internet party from forming an alliance-lite umbrella party to fight the election..
..today he is right/write on message – with the official-line..
..and has done a piece that totally pisses all over/rips up what he wrote 48hrs earlier…
..and is basically a vomit all over dotcom and all he stands for..
..and he laughs hysterically at any possibility of any electoral-success..
..on so many levels/ways..w.t.f. happened..?
..and which john armstrong should we give any credence to..?
..if any..?
Barking mad the lot of them, the dogs of National’s disinformation service, Armstrong, Trevett, O’Sullivan showing spasms of the fear that they echo on behalf of the 9th floor of the Beehive,
Does Armstrong have info from someone that us mere peasants are not privy to, in this morning’s grand gush of vitriol He does not mince words about the chances of DotCom being extradited,
”When he is extradited” is Armstrong’s ‘line’ pointing the finger at the Judiciary as having already decided the fate of DotCom,
What causes Armstrong to be so certain about the outcome, has He had word, along with the order to bark long and loud in an attempt to disparage DotCom that ‘the system’ has agreed to close ranks to rid the country of this interloper onto the political playing field???,
To pen such words as ”when He is extradited” with regards to DotCom implies certainty of knowledge from Armstrong, within such an admission is one of broader concern which suggests, far from the common belief, that the Judiciary is as tainted by the same open bias that appears to be the driving force behind the scribblings of Armstrong and the other dogs of the National Party disinformation service…
”when He is extradited”
Can’t see that bit in Armstrong’s article.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11228272
Armstrong does makes some valid points. Particularly relevant are those about would be voters for the ip not really being the mana demographic, friend of the poor/left which is quite unbelievable given his past form, which does make many think ‘wool over eyes’, and of course the whole paragraph about the real motive behind the party launch – To keep .com from being extradited.
The Alien, reading your comment i just about had a little ‘barking fit’ of my own, ”When He is extradited” is definitely what i read this morning,
Just about makes me want to go out and find the print edition of the Herald(National Party disinformation service),
Could John have been awoken from His slumbers at his computer terminal by the editorial staff telling Him to edit that piece because they have read the inference that i make about the words ”when He is extradited”,
While i cannot ‘swear’ that what i read this morning was what i read my opinion is the piece has suffered a speedy ‘edit’, to subtly change the blunt statement ”when He is extradited” to something a little more elongated but in essence saying exactly the same thing, Paragraph Six says this:
–”And that it will not fold the moment He and the Party’s main source of income move offshore through being extradited to the United States” unquote John Armstrong
There is no IF evident there,so it is still an event that Armstrong ‘sees’ as a given although as exhibited by the part of Paragraph Six i reproduce above there is an obvious softening from the blunt ”when he is extradited’ that i read this morning…
I don’t doubt what you read as on-line content is subject to change, just saying I didn’t see it in the article I linked to, speaking of which, I prefer this quote.
“Dotcom’s purpose in setting up the Internet Party is solely to make it a bottom-line of any post-election talks that whoever is Minister of Justice quash any court ruling which would force his extradition. Such a bottom-line would be preposterous and would amount to Dotcom’s party being the sickest joke played on New Zealand voters.”
i think Armstrong has something wrong with His memory, ”National will not be raising GST” widely broadcast as coming out of the mouth of Slippery the Prime Minister in 2008 prior to the election was a far sicker joke than a slight corruption of the system that Armstrong points to when that system already corrupted itself by allowing DotCom and any number of other’s who could be said to have characters far from unblemished into the country based upon their having ‘money’…
The nats letting weirdo colin and who ever is leading act at the moment in to parliament rivals the .com party as far as sick jokes go, but sadly, that’s what politics seems has come to in it’s race to the bottom.
I’m well aware your not fond of Kim Allen, but a question?
Do you think what Kim allegedly does is a criminal matter or a civil matter.
Because all I see is a civil matter.
If the Hollywood studios can’t sort this civil matter out without having to call in our very own ‘Keystone cops’ The New Zealand Police force, that by the way was seemingly handed over to them by a subservient Government then Hollywood have real problems.
And to take this a bit farther and I’m just day dreaming a bit now, but you really have to wonder if Key in one of his big headed moments, with a nose full of coke said, “leave it to me boys I can save you a fortune in Lawyers fees, I’ll just have the GCSB and the NZ Police sort it out.”
Not being a lawyer I wouldn’t have a clue, it’ll be a guess at best.
For the copyright infringements I’ll plump for criminal, citing Napster as a precedent, and the money laundering, if true, likewise.
I’m no Lawyer either but I have a lot of faith in the system that we have and basically it works like this, when something new comes to light, it will be tested in law at some stage, I think this is a good system, sure there will be some winners and losers initially at times and some people will make a fortune if forward thinking, but lets take a breath and look at the alternative, which is every new idea has to be tested in law before we have any idea what will happen when it’s used in the real world, which is basically impossible, the genie is out of the bottle.
So basically Napster was a president in Law and since then the music industry has used that to protect and fight for their intellectual/property rights and the same applies here, yet in this case they tried to go down the criminal path from the beginning, when it really was only a civil matter, sure the US have thrown in money laundering and racketeering with the copyright infringement but really it’s about copyright infringement first and the rest is up to the tax department, lets not forget copyright infringement goes on every day in just about every house in this country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A&M_Records,_Inc._v._Napster,_Inc.
This was nothing more than New Zealand bending over and taking one in the Ass for Uncle Sams Hollywood executives.
As I understand it the presiding judge looks at the information presented for the extradition hearing by both parties, and makes a decision based solely on that information to make a decision, which is whether there is a case to answer, or not.
And that is all.
There is no jury or anything else – this is in accordance with the Extradition Act.
No you are quite wrong. Most of the decision is made by the judge and much of it is about the applicability of the extradition application to laws in NZ. Since the laws he is charged under in the US aren’t appliciable here, I would say it is a travesty.
Rather than being a lazy papa, raise your standard and read the MFAT summary. It will make you look less of a stupid limp dick…
@Karol: Help yourself, I am not a writer so please feel free to expand. I am quite dejected about the poor state of our political media.
The Standard is suggested to be the leftwing counterpart to Whaleoil in the Watkins piece. Ugh.
The thing about Whaleoil is that it takes the heat off of David Farrar/KiwiBlog/Curia who I think is more destructive than Cameron Slater.
@ geoff..re slater/farrar comment..
..+ 1..
this is a really well-written piece of longform-journalism..
..it us a total delight..actually..(lyn of tawa prounciay-tion of ‘is’..)
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/28/dave-eggers-starship-mohegan-sun-casino-connecticut
cool guy goes to mock – a 70’s revival-band..and stays to praise…
Checked out the internet party app last this morning. The list of permissions is a bit different to most.
Allow to send messages, record audio, take pictures stand out. Seems unnecessary but I don’t really know how these things work all my other apps dont allow these.
Can anyone offer a more qualified opinion?
What’s going on here?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9877103/Taxpayers-Union-slags-Americas-Cup-spend
‘Taxpayers’ union (David Farrar + Jordan Williams) having a go at Steven Joyce.
Odd.
Explanation?
they support collins against joyce in the national party succession-battle..
..they see him as ‘wet’ vs collins’ ‘dry’..
..and this pushes that ‘wet’-meme..
..and is a dogwhistle to the party members/party-base..
..that could well be a component of that ‘explanation’..
They’re attacking a fairly frivolous, comparatively-small amount of spending. It allows them to say ‘look, we attack National government spending too!’ and thus ‘prove’ that they’re independent and unbiased. This comes in handy when they’re later asked why they never criticise the huge wastefulness of the costs of flogging our assets, or the massive amount spent by Treasury on consultants, etc.
There is nothing odd about it at all. I would not be providing financial support to the Taxpayers Union if it was partisan. It is not aligned with any political party:
“The Taxpayers’ Union is 100 per cent politically independent. We are not affiliated with any political party and will never become a political party. ”
http://taxpayers.org.nz/pages/q-a
Its objective is to promote fiscal responsibility. Indirectly it also promotes policies that protect the poor. It is the poor who get screwed by poor government.
So – I am surprised that you are surprised.
SSLands you wouldn’t be providing financial support to the Taxpayer’s Union if you were not a certifiable idiot of the worst kind…
membership/donating-member numbers..?
..and who are the selected wealthy rightwingers who are paying for this..?
..funding what is essentially a rightwing attack-machine..?
..like i believe the bullshit williams spouts..
It is the poor who get screwed by poor government.
Good to know you think National are a poor government.
Let’s work together to get rid of them!
Any movie makers out there?
(Serious ones, that is: not that bearded fat creep in Wellington)
Plot idea: 97 per cent of the world’s scientists contrive an environmental crisis, but are exposed by a plucky band of billionaires and oil companies.
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1395825903.html
Morrissey………you’re too much. First good belly laugh of the day for me !
Moving on to other matters. Russel Norman on The Nation with Potty G.
“Have you ever smoked a joint ?” “Yes”.
That’s it. A simple, no bullshit “Yes”.
No no no hang on……..it was Gower doing the asking.
Watching it the words “Have you……you prick ?” immediately sprang to my mind. Not Russel Norman though. Perfectly done. More impressive every day that man.
My answer – “Nah……Morrissey, legally as yet, gives me all the giggles I need”.
did you not think it more of note that he said that ending pot-prohibition would not be on their/his list of priorities..?
..and doesn’t that so much more bring into focus tureis’ criminal inaction on that medical marijuana bill..?
..eh..?..
..and take note of this..
..should the internet party..
..(on personal-freedom/evidence-based/harm-reduction grounds..what they claim are the rationales underpinning all their policies..so..?..)
..should they come out with a sane/rational legalise/regulate/tax cannabis policy..
..they will hoover up many votes..
..and not a few of those votes will be lost to the greens..
..’cos that was their mandate..and they have not delivered to those who first got them into parliament..(their ingratitude has been epic..)..
..and norman now confirming that no..they won’t be doing anything about prohibition..
..that leaves a huge vacuum/opportunity..
..one that i am sure dotcom and his advisers/policy-makers will also see..
..and..they would be mad not to really..
..and it wd hardly be radical for the internet party to go hard on pot..
..as this link shows..just a day or so ago..the southern state in america deemed to be the most conservative state in america…
..unanimously passed what they are calling ‘cathys’ law’..authorising serious funding for research into the seizure-prevention qualities in cannabis..
..we are told both sides of the house chanted in unison:..’pass the law..!..pass the law..!’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/27/conservative-south-states-ready-to-break-the-marijuana-taboo_n_5006454.html
..and this in the most conservative state in america..
..and meanwhile here in nz…?
..our green party hasn’t even got in anywhere on their to-do list..
..what is wrong with that picture..?
..it may be time for mr dotcom to step up to the bowl..
..and won’t a sane/rational pot-policy get that disenchanted youth motivated enough to go and vote..?
..eh..?
..it also puzzles me that the green party seems unable to see/understand this political-fact..
..i guess they are blinded by those bmw-badges..
..by their personal ambitions..
..how can this not be the case..
..and tho’ that rightwing green twerp who was interviewed..
..is/was wrong on so many levels..
..(especially in his craven self-serving during his time as candidate in epsom..)
..one thing he said cannot be contradicted..
..that is the insane pattern of the green party studiously ignoring where one third of the voters lie..
..from fitzsimons’ always just turning right at the airport exit..
..and driving to the coromandal..and was never seen in auckland..
..to former aucklanders norman and turei now in wellington and dunedin respectively..
..auckland is still clearly suffering from that benign neglect..
..one of them should be based in auckland..
..and part of their job being seen..
..at all ak has to offer each and every weekend..
..and their neglect is mirrored in their support here in ak..
..where their cote is much lower than in the rest of the country..
..the green party..putting the ‘belt’ in beltway..
..eh..?
Good response from Hone and Mana
http://mana.net.nz/2014/03/no-prestige-in-trying-to-hide-poverty/
Worth reading the whole press release imo
Good on yer Hone.
Way to call it Hone, ‘the Iwi Leaders’ look way out of line barking their objections to legitimate protest,
i suppose having the likes of Parata and Slippery the Prime Minister paying to fly them here and there along with the tongue bath of the major ‘Slurps’ dished out their way for the ongoing support of the current regime must make them feel ‘big’,
Its sad to see ‘the leaders’ take the side of the Government while ignoring the plight of the worst off of their people, but,it’s happened befor and i dare say will happen again…
I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a happy ending, more a barely adequate resolution:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/297047/shackle-buy-better-court-cull
Still no answers as to what happened to the other shackles that were there when these were stolen. Plus, with this precedent; it now seems to be open season on any historical artifact in Dunedin that can be swiped with 3 hacksaw blades or less.
They would appear to have rusted away. The obvious deteriation was the reason McCormack nicked them in the first place. Those caves should be made into a museum of this shameful and neglected episode of NZ history.
I’m not convinced by the “rusted away” story – though do recall it from the initial auction article. I strongly suspect the remnants of those shackles are in private hands (perhaps those that looted them, or maybe not even still in the country). Toitu (the Otago settlers museum) was supposed to be in charge of the artifact investigation. Perhaps their examination of the historical site will yield further information?
Reading between the lines, I’d say it was likely to be McCormack’s “late brother” who wanted to hold onto the things. It certainly seems likely that they were shown to others in the 40-odd years since since they were taken (and reconnected with a few links of train chain). But i doubt that an altruistic urge to arrest the artifact’s deterioration was the reason for them sawing their way into a locked cave.
I am only citing the answers they gave to the media, I do not claim to be able to do Vulcan mind melds.
russel norman is currently doing serious damage to the green vote/support..
..on the nation..
..they will support deep-sea drilling..
..changing cannabis laws is not a priority..
..they will suppport fracking..
..they will vote to support a tpp-deal..
..what..the..fuck..???..!!!!
..they will be a total sellout..to everything that matters to those whose shoulders they stand on
..and all just for fucken ministerial roles…
..fucken hell..!
..eh..?
..why the fuck would anyone vote for them..?
Re the TPPA – how does what you have written above reconcile with this
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151946683671372&set=a.489359751371.266952.10779081371&type=1&theater
it totally contradicts it marty…
..and i guess i wd lean to the words out of normans’ mouth under questioning..
..that i just heard..
..that he may well vote for the tpp..
..than a promo-poster..
..which wd you believe..?
“..they will vote to support a tpp-deal..”
“..that he may well vote for the tpp..”
“..that i just heard..”
“..which wd you believe..?”
what is the difference..allen..?
Really? One is a definitive, the other is not.
you get todays’ pedant-award..
..the bottom-line is that norman said that as part of a coalition with labour..
..they would support deep-sea-oil-drilling/fracking/wouldn’t decriminalise cannabis..
..and would vote for a tpp-deal..
..go on..!
..fucken spin that..!
Phil – you are on a roll although I wish you weren’t 🙂
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11228752
Just watched the interview and this is closer to what Norman actually said “The TPP would have to change “very significantly” before the Greens would vote in favour of it.”
Of course the GP could be part of a govt that does things that the GP disagrees with. How else can coalitions be formed?
I’m not clear re the TPP, whether a house-wide vote is required, or whether they mean a decision within caucus. Does anyone know?
Any good reason why the GP in govt can’t abstain on votes or vote against legislation act by act?
weka..
..and yr spin on the vote for fracking/deep-sea-drilling/no decrim of cannabis..?
..would love to see/hear how you will package that doozy-trio..
and seriously..!..one persons’ ‘significant-change’..
..is anothers’ s.f.a..
“..Any good reason why the GP in govt can’t abstain on votes or vote against legislation act by act?..”
..no weka..they can’t..it’s called collective cabinet responsibilty..
..if they slide their arses into those bmw’s..
..they will have to vote for whatever piece of shit labour may throw up..
..and they can’t even speak out against it..
..how’s them berries..?
Metiria Turei has posted this on Facebook:
“Metiria Turei
Don’t listen to Paddy Gower, he twists everything to what he wants to say not what is real. The Green Party opposes the TPPA. If we are in a govt with Labour it will be bec we have influence and we will use that influence over the TPPA as well as lots of other policies. We will have more influence if we have more votes so we need your Party Vote on September 20 to strengthen our arm in the negotiations. You have the power to influence the outcome on the TPPA and deep sea oil drilling. For the sake of our people and oceans, please use that power on September 20.”
Given that we’ve all seen what wee Paddy can do, I believe her.
i want to see her deny/promise the greens wd vote for the tpp..
..anything less is nothing…
..and just confirms that they wd..
..and how about the deep-sea-drilling/fracking/fuck pot-reform..?
In that case you should get in touch and ask her. As unbelievable as most of us would find it, your posts and your blog may not be the first items on her list of “must reads” each day.
it’s not about me muzza..
..it’s about the green party..
..eh..?
..and i’m sure i wouldn’t be the only one seeking that (elusive) assurance..
..you really have to pin lawyers down..
..i find..
Nah, with you, it’s always about you. You crave attention so much you have a Pete George like ability to settle for abuse and contempt. It’s about you so much that you expect that people will pay to read your blog. You have one of the largest and most undeserved egos I’ve ever come across. You misunderstand almost everything you read, then call others liars. Oh, it’s about you alright. You have a total inability to let it be about anything else.
was it something i said..there..?..muzza..?
http://www.3news.co.nz/Norman-sets-sights-on-deputy-PM-role/tabid/1348/articleID/337889/Default.aspx
I just watched the vid.
Basically, Norman said the Greens would be pragmatic in any post-election deals as they have been in every case in the past (excluding GMO). Meanwhile Gower was trying his damndest to put words in Russel’s mouth.
What did you expect Russel to say, Phil?
“I’m not going to compromise on anything!”???
Can’t wait for the spun version of the interview from Gower on TV3 tonight.
As Norman says:
“Well, no, Paddy- you can paraphrase it like that, but..”
“..What did you expect Russel to say, Phil?
“I’m not going to compromise on anything!”???
..maybe not..
‘i’m going to compromise on everything’
..eh.?
..i mean..why would you bother voting for them..
..if they are just fucken labour-lite..?
Did he say he was going to compromise on everything?
No he did not.
He was realistic that whatever they could achieve would be dependent on their party vote. At one point I think he actually implored the viewer to vote Green so they would have more bargaining power post-election.
He wasn’t going to be drawn into a crystal-ball session just because Gower wanted him to say something he could hang him on.
“Greens opposition to TPP remains. Our ability to deliver on this position, and others, in any post election negotiations depends on our vote”
https://twitter.com/RusselNorman/status/449778285874905089
Doorknocking for the party of David Cunliffe and Phil Goff won’t guarantee opposition to the TPP.
I hope that Labour changes their position on TPP. I’m hoping that their position is really just Goff’s position and that Labour will change that in the near future.
They look foolish and untrustworthy to bang on about neoliberalism and then still support TPP.
@ geoff..
“..Did he say he was going to compromise on everything?
No he did not…”
..yes he did..
‘we have no bottom-lines..’
..w.t.f does that mean..if not that..?
Tell me what minute in the video he utters the words “I’m going to compromise on everything”
Yeah OK Phil – welcome to ShonKey Python, then the Milky Bar Crud, then the poncey wee Simon Bridges, then some entitled little Young Nationals git who right now is still at Kings College – as our prime ministers from here until 20 years hence.
You’re reminding me of the virgin who while aching to get into it absolutely won’t get into it for fear that it won’t be perfect straight off and it might be messy. And fuck’n moaning about the lack of it. Lighten up for fuck’s sake.
Russel Norman/Metiria Turei/all the Greens are light years more real and gifted than ShonKey Python and his band of venal, mainchance sociopaths. They’ve been the only real opposition to the sociopaths for at least the past three years Phil ! Give them a little bit of credit man. Instead of being insufferably impeccable all the time. Grizzling old virgin you.
I’m not a Greenie either. Renewed my MANA Movement membership just the other day. Shit it felt good !
Meteria in Auckland for the TPPA demo today.
Can folks on The Standard pool information about which of our Member of Parliaments were speaking or standing with the people at the 16 locations this afternoon?
Quite obviously, Natz puppets would be safely tucked away in their corporate cupboards.
Greens have been very visible all round the country, I understand.
Were any Labour MPs or candidates out and about, and where?
cunnliffe was booed in ak..(over his weaseling around tpp….)
..he was the only labour person i saw..
..and a clutch of greens..were present….
(i saw roche/turei/graham..
..i actually complimented graham on the death-stare he employs/deploys in parliament..)
Cheers, phillip ure.
And, thanks to Poission for pointing out the press release from NZF which is clear and says:
“New Zealand First MPs will take part in the national day of action against the TPP.”
Can someone explain Labour’s penultimate paragraph with the specific reference to two weeks: https://www.labour.org.nz/tppa ?
I would like to see that explained too. I hope it is a typo – if it is not it is an insult to our intelligence.
Was hard to see in Auckland
David Cunliffe (Labour).
Asenati Lole-Taylor (NZ First)
I don’t have to spin anything, especially you making contradictory statements in the space of two posts, that’s plain to see by all.
I’ll wear your pedant medal like I wear the chuckle at your disingenuous perception.
For the record, I’m watching the replay of the nation and Norman explicitly said he was against deep sea drilling… That’s strike one.
On the tpp about whether the Green party could vote for the tpp he said, “it could potentially, but it depends” [on the size of the green vote and what the tpp contains]. Strike two
he says he will vote for them..
..take the cloth out of yr ears..
..you can’t polish a turd..
..no matter how hard you try..
Are you doing that ‘puppy thing’ again Phillip, must have a look at the Nation replay tomorrow to see if what you seen is what you seen…
I can only repeat what I’ve just seen and heard, but it does differ from what you’ve stated, well the first time any way. The second time, when you said “he may well vote for the tpp” you got it correct.
Most rational folk will agree that Norman’s main thrust was the more votes the Green party gets, the stronger it’s negotiating position, and thus more party policy makes it to the statute book.
I’m happy to disagree, but certain those more qualified and invested in Green politics than I, can explain it to you.
I don’t have TV reception, and can’t see any online clips yet on the TV3 site of Norman’s Nation interview. However, I am more inclined to regard The Allen’s summary as the accurate one. I guess I’ll have to wait until after tomorrow to know for sure.
It does seem contradictory for the Green Party to both support today’s anti-TPPA rally, but on the same day have their co-leader state that he’ll vote for it.
“..It does seem contradictory for the Green Party to both support today’s anti-TPPA rally, but on the same day have their co-leader state that he’ll vote for it…”
doesn’t it..?
..you could call this the exposing the inherent contradictions interview for norman..
..and i guess..like allen..you will see/read/believe what you want to see/read/believe..
..but i don’t think i will be the only one making that call on normans’ revelations..
..if i were an old skool green party supporter..
..i wd be feeling a bit gutted by this..
..and as i am..i am..
..what the fuck have they done to ‘my’ party..?
” i guess..like allen..you will see/read/believe what you want to see/read/believe”
That’s The Al1en to you, and a little irony lol for fun 😆
Have a nice day Mr Ure.
Isn’t that the same as rerecording your songs without the electronic voice?
woops should be for the comment below – sorry
I don’t see how, the caveat on my music page clearly states I can’t sing or play, and I do advise the listener have cotton buds and bleach close to hand, just in case they need to rinse their ears.
Likewise I’m sure the Greens aren’t trying to con anyone out of a vote by becoming seriously electable and using the tools at their disposal to put forward their message. It’s not a sin or crime or double standard, just like Dylan using an electric guitar wasn’t a sell out or a bad thing.
But the Greens are doing well as a 15% party vote shows. They can sing there own tunes, with or without electronic aid, I don’t mind 😉
I meant the editing of phil’s prose but it all went askew when I put the comment in the wrong place.
Fair enough, I didn’t get it, but was just spinning it for spins sake, just in case 😆
I’ll hum it if you sing it https://soundcloud.com/theal1en/easy-street
“If I were an old school green party supporter I would be feeling a bit gutted by this, and as I am, I am. What the fuck have they done to ‘my’ party?”
The edit is mine, as a little Saturday gift 😉
To answer, I think what they have done is make the party much more electable to a wider section of the electorate.
It’s still my intention to give them my party vote in September, and I’ve seen or heard nothing from them that has caused me to contemplate changing my mind. The party looks to be in good shape, based on sound principles, headed by professional, dedicated mps.
Who could want more from a left of centre party than an electable, credible partner in government shaping the direction of a still ‘wonky’ Labour party?
who would want another party just like labour..?
+1, nicely put Al1en
Hard to argue
+1
sounds like John Minto spoke well about Mana and the kaupapa on TV – will try and catch it online tomorrow.
minto kicked arse..
..and manas’ mana is rising moment by moment..
..it is fast becoming clear that they are the only party for serious change..
..the greens have become just another same-old same-old party..
..maybe they should go for a colour/name change..
..how about the beige-party..?
tve has a basic language/comprehension-fail..
..they are interpreting minto saying ‘there is no deal on the table’..
..as minto saying no-deal outright..
..whereas minto actually listed what is ok about i.p policies..
..and that mana is waiting to see the social-policies..
..’deal on the table’..means deal ready to be signed..
..how can they be such fucken morons..?
“It does seem contradictory for the Green Party to both support today’s anti-TPPA rally, but on the same day have their co-leader state that he’ll vote for it.”
It would indeed if Norman had said that, but he didn’t. What he said was that the agreement would have to change hugely for the GP to support it. He also didn’t say that he or the GP will support deep sea oil drilling or fracking. Nor did he say that legalising cannabis isn’t a priority. It was actually Gower that said the first two things and phil that said the third thing. I think The Al1en’s summation above is pretty good, and here is the link for those that can watch it online
http://www.3news.co.nz/Norman-sets-sights-on-deputy-PM-role/tabid/1356/articleID/337889/Default.aspx
haha..!..hilarious..!..there weka..
..so norman actually said no..we wont vote for tpp..
..and..we will vote agaimst deep-sea-drilling..
..and we will vote against fracking..
..and we will fight for pot-decrim:..’it’s on our list’..
..eh..?
..right ho..!
..carry on..!
No he didn’t say those things either, and I didn’t say he did. You really do have trouble with comprehension phil. All I have done is watch the video and point out that your portrayal was quite inaccurate. I’m not the only one that has done that.
i just went and watched it again..
..and i don’t resile from a word i said…
NZ first is both supporting the protest and calling for increased transparency.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1403/S00570/lift-the-black-out-on-sneaky-treaty-negotiations.htm
Norman confirmed there were no bottom lines for the Green Party to support a Labour-led government.
Unlike genetically engineered organisms in 2002, the TPPA is not a bottom line for the Green Party in 2014. Whatever else he says, this is the pertinent point.
He also said he did not think legalising cannabis would be on the party’s key priority list in post election negotiations.
They’re valid questions, because this once radical party may be on the brink of holding ministerial posts.
As Sue Bradford suggested in the panel discussion afterwards, the party has changed and is now focused on the centre vote, and more willing to compromise.
Having said that, Gower needs to broaden his question base from bottom lines, it’s tiresome.
Surprisingly, Phil is completely wrong. Russel Norman explicitly says the Greens are against deep sea drilling and fracking, and support the decriminalisation of cannabis. Gower tries hard to push him into a corner, but is not successful.
What he says about the actions of a government in which the Greens might play a part is quite reasonable. They will fight for their policies and how successful they are will depend on the weight of seats. From his point of view, it would be irresponsible to say much more than this.
No-one is claiming the Greens will actively support policies against their core principles, just that they are not making them bottom lines in terms of giving support to Labour to form a government. There is a difference. Sue Bradford on the panel afterwards said that if she was a Green member, she would be worried by the extent to which the party has moved to the centre. She said she was surprised by some of Norman’s answers. Everyone knows politics is about compromise, but people have a right to feel disappointed if it’s a core issue for them, surely.
“Everyone knows politics is about compromise, but people have a right to feel disappointed if it’s a core issue for them, surely.”
I’ve lived in NZ for nearly 50 years and I’ve never had a govt or political party who met my expectations. I don’t really know why people on the outside of the bell curve expect things to be the way they want. I thought the point of being on the edge was to lead the way. The GP have been doing that for a long time. It’s now time for them to step into the responsibility they’ve been working for and that means being mainstream. There will have to be compromises, but I don’t see any problem with what they have done to date. Once the GP gain govt, I expect to be thoroughly pissed off with them within the decade, but I completely support the move they are making in that direction now. The best thing about that TV3 piece was Fitzimmons saying how not having cabinet posts worked in their favour and for the betterment of the country. The point there isn’t that staying outside of govt is best, but that the GP plays the game smart. They still are, it’s just that smart is a different strategy now. She also said that it was more important back then for them to build the GP long term. I feel such gratitude to her and those other GP workers right now, because that foresight and hard work is about to pay off.
Yes people can feel disappointed, but then they start slagging off the GP by misrepresenting what the GP is doing then they can expect to be called on it.
i’ll come back later and unpack that one for u weka..
..but where to start..?
..news calls for now..
@ olsen..now you are just fucken outright lying..
..norman said pot was not on their to-do list..
..w.t.f.was unclear about that..?
.and he also admitted to being ready to comprimise on all those key issues..
..i repeat..w.t.f.was unclear about that..?
People can listen to it for themselves. He said decriminalisation woudn’t be on the top 10 issues. Anyone who hadn’t rotted their brain cells past the ability to write a coherent sentence, let alone understand one, would be able to see that.
+1
It’s you that is outright lying phil. Decriminilising cannabis is still GP policy. Before the election they will name their top ten issues so that people will know what will be the key areas on the table for post-election negotiations, and Norman expects that cannabis won’t be on that list. But that is completely different than saying it’s not on their to do list.
the logic/faith you display there weka..
..is worthy of something or other..
“.. Norman expects that cannabis won’t be on that list.
But that is completely different than saying it’s not on their to do list..”
fucken brilliant..!
..should i have called it their:..’might possibly think about at some time in the dim/dark/distant future list’..?
..would that ease yr unease..?
..fuck..!..yr funny..!
(and chrs 4 the early-morning belly-laughs..!..eh..?)
.and i am sure those fighting for an end to the evils of prohibition..
..will be both calmed and reassured by yr words..eh..?
..’rejoice..!..rejoice..!..it is still on a list..somewhere..’
and i’m telling ya..warning ya..
..that should the internet party come out with a sane/colorado-model policy to legalise/regulate/tax pot..
..that sucking sound you will hear will be a disturbing number of yr longterm voters..
..pulling away their support for you..
..don’t say you haven’t been fucken warned..eh..?
That’s probably true.
And unfortunate, because the IP are not going to find themselves in any position to negotiate legalisation.
And those voters are going to be super pissed off when they figure that out post-election.
phil, there’s a difference between a list of stuff you want to do and a list of stuff you think you can do given your circumstances.
correct..
.and they have pot on their can’t do list..
..yr point..?
Just the bleeding obvious. The Greens know that pushing legalisation will get them nowhere given their current circumstances.
Thing about circumstances is they change.
d’you know how far we are lagging behind the most conservative/southern states in america..on this issue..?
..i repeat..’the most conservative/southern states’..
..and all of yr protestations/pin-head-dancing to one side..
..the facts/perceptions still stand..
..and if dotcom comes out with a sane pot policy..
..the green party will lose an (unquantifiable) number of votes..
..to the internet party..
..spin that fact how you like..
“.and they have pot on their can’t do list..”
No they fucking don’t. They think that there are at least 10 other issues more important to be dealing with as a priority this election (actually, we don’t know, because the GP hasn’t named that list of ten yet, Norman just said he doubted cannabis would be on it). Most GP voters will agree with that (and most NZers).
There is nothing to stop GP members or MPs advancing the cause of legalising cannabis in the next electoral cycle. What are you doing to help them phil?
“phil, there’s a difference between a list of stuff you want to do and a list of stuff you think you can do given your circumstances.”
Indeed, but I’ll just point out that all Norman said was that he doubted that cannabis decriminalisation would be in the top ten. He didn’t say it wasn’t going to be worked on, and in fact reasserted that decriminalisation is still GP policy.
Even if the GP were polling higher than Labour, I doubt that they would consider decriminalising cannabis as in the top ten (they might, it’s up to the party, not Norman). There are many urgent issues out there. Will be interesting to see what the top ten are this year.
Phil, all I am asking of you is some intellectual honesty. You are misrepresenting Norman’s words to suit your own agenda. Puts you in the same bracket as Gower. That’s up to you, but when it distorts the political discussion, that makes it other people’s business.
Weka
Thanks for the link. PU seems to have manned the barricades on this one, but Norman is no more pro-TPP than he is pro-deep sea drilling. No contradiction.
Too much time spent on David Hay in the preamble though, why is he so keen to be where he’s not wanted? And there were a few points where one might validly criticise Norman’s performance; fortunately PU and Gower seem to have missed them entirely.
Yeah, I thought the focus on Hay was ott (thankfully the guy seems to have gotten the message now). Am curious as to the points you where might criticise Norman’s performance.
btw..porridge-recipie update:..
..i have come to the conclusion that both pear and (chopped up) dates are essential-ingredients..
..if seeking that transcendental-porridge-experience..
..my taste-buds are currently cossack-dancing all around my mouth..
..i have a serious afterglow going on..
Chris Trotter had a think about the Te Kohanga Reo and Maori TV situations that have been in the news lately.
His comments on Maori direction seem to fit what I observe.
Looking at the Maori Party and the behaviour exhibited by many iwi following treaty payouts and the still deplorable situations of many young urban Maori, one doesn’t need to be Nostradamus to work that one out.
Film-maker Ken Loach argues in the Guardian this week that Labour is part of the problem, not the solution.
It’s worth a read and applies equally in NZ; no party’s tapping into fragmented and various social causes and protest movements. The surge of enthusiasm we saw last year in the unions and to an extent the electorate for Cunliffe was in my view expressing hope of a new left movement. My fear is that if Labour loses this election the right of the party will firmly take control, under the phony pretext that the electorate rejected the move to the left, which never eventuated as Cunliffe turned out to be business as usual.
From Loach’s piece:
‘We know that housing support goes to rich landlords, that benefits for the working poor subsidise employers who pay poverty wages. We read that benefit fraud is a tiny fraction of the overall welfare budget, far less than unclaimed benefits, and is nothing compared to the amount lost through tax dodging. But as we rail against the injustice and hypocrisy, we fail to ask one big question. Where is our political fightback? It should be led by the Labour party but therein lies the problem.
The coalition parties proclaim the importance of the market economy. So does Labour. The coalition cuts back on public enterprise and prioritises the interests of big corporations and private companies. So did the last Labour government. Whenever workers organise to defend jobs, wages or conditions, who supports them? Not Ed Miliband or other Labour leaders.’
And therein lies the problem. Labour refuses to accept that the free-market dogma that they saddled us with in the 1980s is the problem and thus Labour remain part of the problem and not the solution.
Good comment worth reading – here are some bits of gold from Ken Loach leftunity article.
Labour’s rhetoric may be softer than the Tories’, but its fundamental stance is limited by the same imperative: profit comes before all else. Can the Labour party be reclaimed? Or, rather, made anew into one that will represent the interests of the people?
History suggests it cannot. The high-water mark of 1945 is long gone. The many great achievements of that government have largely been dismantled, either with the collusion of Labour or directly by the party when it has been in power. The Labour left has all but disappeared, and even Tony Benn’s voice is now sadly silent. A Miliband government will not reverse any of the privatisations in the health service or elsewhere. It will not take the railways back into public ownership – despite the popularity of such a move – or even reclaim Royal Mail…….
The Labour manifesto of 1945 would be a better inspiration. It promised “a socialist party and proud of it. Its ultimate purpose … is the establishment of the socialist commonwealth, free, democratic, efficient, progressive, public-spirited, its material resources organised in the service of the … people”.
Left Unity has a conference in Manchester on Saturday (29 March). Visit http://www.leftunity.org
Thanks E.R. for the link. Got to keep chewing on this bone.
Tamati Coffey selected as labour candidate in rotorua.
Here’s more evidence that National’s anti-Internet-Party blitzkrieg is partly motivated by the fear that dotcom may get more votes than the MSM suspect.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Minto-Mana-open-to-Dotcom-deal/tabid/1607/articleID/337923/Default.aspx
Key is really trying to drive home the Kim dotCom = Nazi meme.
Their efforts may well be counter productive.
In this vid (about 4mins in):
http://www.3news.co.nz/Minto-Mana-open-to-Dotcom-deal/tabid/1607/articleID/337923/Default.aspx
Keith Locke talks about how National’s attempts to paint the Greens as extremists backfired and contributed to them breaking the 5% threshold to get into parliament.
Perhaps the same could occur with the Internet Party.
Just wanted to acknowledge the recent deaths of two important Wellington progressives:
Today’s Dominion Post included an obituary for trade unionist, feminist and activist, Viv Walker. Viv’s agenda “was not to get more women into the board rooms of CEO’s offices; it was to get rights for the women who cleaned the boardrooms and corporate offices.” She was active in the anti-apartheid and feminist movements and it’s typical of the modesty and humility of people like Viv that she left instructions that no-one was to make her into a hero at her funeral – she wanted to be seen as ordinary.
(Brilliant but self-depreciating activists like Viv are worth a thousand Helen Clarks and other status-seeking, power-hungry upper-middle class liberal elites in my opinion. She’s one of the true heros, even if she denied as much).
In January, long-time and legendary Victoria University Political Scientist, Les Cleveland , died (aged 92). He had a highly colourful life, fought as a member of the 2NZEF in the Pacific and Italy in WWII (a keen moutaineer, he scaled Mt Blanc as part of his own post-WWII victory celebration), a poet, singer/song-writer, authority on wartime songs, press gallery journalist, photographer, short-story writer and folklorist. Cleveland was also a long-time protester, as a relatively recent Dominion Post obituary put it: “there was an unashamed, generous, subversive side to this left-wing lifetime supporter of Michael Joseph Savage’s welfare state.”
Two great progressives who deserve recognition.
Thanks swordfish. I like this comment on Les Cleveland –
“there was an unashamed, generous, subversive side to this left-wing lifetime supporter of Michael Joseph Savage’s welfare state.”
If all Labour had had that deeply embedded then we wouldn’t have lost Savage’s commitment to people and had it replaced by devotion to The People, The Party and to maintaining the Left idea in politics and unions, rather than the Left ideal.
I regret to inform you that you have all forgotten about Earth Hour, which finished 10 minutes ago. Does nobody care about the Earth any more?
Tell us more jaymam. I have forgottn anything I knew about this.
What’s not to like about a study that says medical marijuana’s legalization may lead to lower crime rates.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0092816
Press release:
“We’re cautious about saying, ‘Medical marijuana laws definitely reduce homicide.’ That’s not what we’re saying,” Morris said. “The main finding is that we found no increase in crime rates resulting from medical marijuana legalization. In fact, we found some evidence of decreasing rates of some types of violent crime, namely homicide and assault.
Bombast Bradbury desperately defensive that his Dotcom/MANA deal has fallen through and is now impossible.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/30/cameron-slater-press-gallery-hubris-and-bloggers-inside-the-press-council-tent/
my comment is ,just to ask you why any body like my self who has spoken out about an issue that I feel needs a public discussion and has affected my whole adult life , find my self ignored should feel ok with democracy as it is . .five years is a long time to wait and if others have been brushed aside as I have been then all is lost . there is no longer any interest in what others who want my vote have too say yet again I will throw my vote away on a minor party .
Why would anyone who believes in socialist principles vote for a charicature of capitalist greed, consumption and excess like Dotcom anyway?
I don’t imagine anyone who believes in socialist principles ever would.
Then as per usual you have not been paying attention, you irredeemable tosser
Sure. I guess you can demonstrate this somehow, perhaps some links to a few lefties/socialists saying they’ll vote for Dotcom.
Otherwise it’s all in your imagination. As usual.
Question Why pay attention to Dotcom.
Answer Because this is a political stage and all of us merely players: –
And now he is on our side. Why can’t we accept what could be a helping hand when we are stretched. Get real Pop. And don’t waste your venom on left supporters. We may be lesser beings to yourself but we have our uses.