Open mike 29/06/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 29th, 2012 - 125 comments
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

125 comments on “Open mike 29/06/2012 ”

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  1. colin 1
    29 June 2012 at 6:13 am

    “David Garrett” Alias “[deleted, no speculation on aliases please – r0b]”, “the most disliked person in Kaukapakapa”.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/5945715/Disgraced-MP-in-family-feud

    David Garrett’s locked his wife and two children aged six and 11 out of the family home in west Auckland.
    The week he pleaded not guilty to a drink-driving charge.
    Garrett drinking heavily and using online dating sites to meet women while still married,
    Saane claims their 10-year relationship has always been tumultuous, that she was the target of regular verbal abuse and that Garrett was openly unfaithful.
    She says she left him in 2005 when she allegedly discovered him being unfaithful, but returned to him when she fell pregnant a second time.
    In 2006 she found a print-out of Garrett’s online dating profile in their letter box and assumed it was put there by an angry woman.
    It listed him as divorced and Garrett had asked neighbour Helen Wilkinson to grab it before Saane found it, Wilkinson says.
    On Tuesday Saane says she returned to the home to gather her belongings. She says Garrett yelled at her, and forced her to leave when she was only half way through packing.
    She said the ordeal had been “hard” so far.
    “Maybe I was stupid to hang around there but most of the time I was there because of the kids but this year I just had enough.”
    Helen Wilkinson has known the couple for around five years and witnessed Garrett’s treatment of his wife, calling him “the most disliked person in Kaukapakapa”.
    “He calls her an effing native, eff off back to your tribe,” she said.
    A Howick woman, who met Garrett on an internet dating site, revealed he tried to woo her with a McDonald’s dinner and a private viewing of the film Casablanca.
    The married father-of-two met the woman, who declined to be named, through nzdating.com shortly after returning from Tonga in 2003.
    He later bombarded her with text messages and emails through the dating site.
    “The guy has got no respect for females,” she said.

    • millsy 1.1
      29 June 2012 at 7:19 am

      So [deleted, no speculation on aliases please – r0b] is David Garrett.

      That explains a lot…

    • felix 1.2
      29 June 2012 at 8:07 am

      You call it racism, spousal abuse, lying and cheating.

      I call it ‘an individual maximising his utility’.

    • TheContrarian 1.3
      29 June 2012 at 8:48 am

      An article from 2011? Wow, someone has their finger on the pulse!

    • Vicky32 1.4
      29 June 2012 at 3:52 pm

      he tried to woo her with a McDonald’s dinner and a private viewing of the film Casablanca.

      Last of the big spenders! 🙂

  2. Descendant Of Smith 2
    29 June 2012 at 6:28 am

    Hmmmmm I thought posts outing people’s real names were verboten. I don’t see why the thoroughly dislikeable should be an exception.

    [Agreed, fixed, be patient if it takes moderators a while to see these things. If it doesn’t get caught in the spam filter we don’t see it unless we happen to read a thread. – r0b]

    • Kotahi Tane Huna 2.1
      29 June 2012 at 6:49 am

      What’s one more identity? He has so many.

      Joking aside DoS has a point.

      • colin 2.1.1
        29 June 2012 at 11:12 pm

        Garrett states; effing native, eff off back to your tribe

        labours a joke (432) Says:
        June 29th, 2012 at 3:43 pm
        file 1026 ; fuckin scum natives.
        [DPF: 20 demerits]

        labours a joke (432) Says:
        June 29th, 2012 at 3:43 pm
        file 1026 ; fuckin scum natives.
        [DPF: 20 demerits]

    • OneTrack 2.2
      29 June 2012 at 9:04 pm

      It’s ok if they are enemies of the people ie righties.

  3. Kotahi Tane Huna 3
    29 June 2012 at 6:46 am

    More obscenity from ACC. Does “Psychology” even qualify as a science these days?

    • Carol 3.1
      29 June 2012 at 8:08 am

      ACC Code of Claimants’ Rights:

      http://www.acc.co.nz/making-a-claim/what-if-i-have-problems-with-a-claim/eci0046

      http://www.acc.co.nz/PRD_EXT_CSMP/groups/external_communications/documents/publications_promotion/wim2_059599.pdf

      This Code of ACC Claimants’ Rights (or ‘Code’) aims to make sure we provide you with a high standard of service by:
      • treating you with dignity, respect,honesty and courtesy. We’ll understand you may be finding everyday life hard (physically, emotionally, socially, financially)

      • treating you fairly and listening to you and your views. We’ll respect any
      impairment you may have

      • respecting your culture, values and beliefs

      • welcoming any support person(s) you bring with you

      • communicating with you openly and honestly. We’ll answer your questions
      and give you information quickly. We can also help to provide an interpreter

      • keeping you fully informed. We’ll give you information about the types of
      help we provide, how to apply and how long things may take. We’ll tell
      you about your entitlements and responsibilities, and let you know if
      these change. We’ll tell you about your options to review or appeal a
      decision we make

      • respecting your privacy, and letting you see and correct the information
      we hold about you
      • respecting your right to complain. We’ll work with you to find a solution.
      We’ll tell you about the options for resolving issues and how long it’s likely to take.

      My bold.

    • Vicky32 3.2
      29 June 2012 at 4:10 pm

      More obscenity from ACC. Does “Psychology” even qualify as a science these days?

      Personally, I hope not! Freud = fraud, and the rest is equally meaningless. (I’ve had the misfortune of studying psychology AND educational pyschology.)

    • Treetop 3.3
      30 June 2012 at 3:35 pm

      When it comes to any psychological tests that ACC are asking claimants to do, ACC would have to be sure of the following:

      1. Reliability of the test.
      2. Validity of the test.
      3. That an assessor’s report was based on the information gained from psychological testing.

      I note in my report dated September 2009 for a sensitive claim that psychological testing was not mentioned as a source in the report. I think that one test was given prior to the two hour assessment and another test was given after the assessment. I am not sure if the test was in two parts or two different tests. I did not expect to have testing shoved in my face and after the assessment all I wanted to do was to go home and ground myself because I had the most intense flash backs I’d had in 42 years. (I felt like I had to pick up my spilled guts off the floor when I left). The assessor rang me two weeks later and the call lasted 60 minutes.

  4. Te Reo Putake 4
    29 June 2012 at 7:20 am

    Readers may care to spare a thought for the family of a great union organiser, Garth Malpas, who has left us way too young. A mighty totara has fallen.

  5. Jenny 5
    29 June 2012 at 7:36 am

    National Geographic on fossil fuel subsidies.

    http://newsletters.nationalgeographic.com/PS!Prh9S400HLMFBgIAAAAGCgFICgkxMTQ1NjIwMzEKCjMwMDQwNjUxNzQJAG69ogoJNzE5NjY0NTk5BQ==

    Will the mainstream conservative media are convinced.

    When even the conservative New Zealand prints a large supplement dedicated to the danger of climate change and inserts it every copy then you know things are bad.

    When Glynn Dwyer follows this up with a major opinion piece in his Hereld column calling for ecocide to become a crime beside genocide, and it gets published, then you know that things are not just bad, they are very bad.

    There is now no longer any excuse for our government to continue expanding the deadly and polluting coal industry, or the reckless deep sea oil exploration, or fracking.

    Because everybody knows……

    Everybody knows that deep sea oil wells leak
    Everybody knows that the government lies
    Everyone has this hollow feeling
    If they keep on drilling the climate dies

    Everybody knows

    Everybody knows this fight is fixed
    It’s all about keeping the poor, poor and the rich, rich

    Everybody knows

    Everyone knows a plague is coming
    Everyone knows that it’s moving fast
    Everybody knows that a temperate climate
    Will become an artifact of the past

    Everybody knows

    Everybody knows that we’re in trouble
    Everyone knows that it’s coming apart

    Take one look before it blows

    Everybody knows

    (Apologies to Leonard Cohen)

  6. Jenny 6
    29 June 2012 at 7:37 am

    National Geographic on fossil fuel subsidies.

    http://newsletters.nationalgeographic.com/PS!Prh9S400HLMFBgIAAAAGCgFICgkxMTQ1NjIwMzEKCjMwMDQwNjUxNzQJAG69ogoJNzE5NjY0NTk5BQ==

    Will the mainstream conservative media are convinced.

    When even the conservative New Zealand Herald prints a large supplement dedicated to the danger of climate change and inserts it every copy then you know things are bad.

    When Glynn Dwyer follows this up with a major opinion piece in his Hereld column calling for ecocide to become a crime beside genocide, and it gets published, then you know that things are not just bad, they are very bad.

    There is now no longer any excuse for our government to continue expanding the deadly and polluting coal industry, or the reckless deep sea oil exploration, or fracking.

    Because everybody knows……

    Everybody knows that deep sea oil wells leak
    Everybody knows that the government lies
    Everyone has this hollow feeling
    if they keep on drilling the climate dies

    Everybody knows

    Everybody knows this fight is fixed
    It’s all about keeping the poor, poor and the rich, rich

    Everybody knows

    Everyone knows a plague is coming
    Everyone knows that it’s moving fast
    Everybody knows that a temperate climate
    Will become an artifact of the past

    Everybody knows

    Everybocy knows that we’re in trouble
    Everyone knows that it’s coming apart

    Take one look before it blows

    Everybody knows

    (Apologies to Leonard Cohen)

    • Urban Rascal 6.1
      29 June 2012 at 10:52 am

      I thought I read recently on this site that Fracking was actually the safer option as other carbon capture technology etc was more prone to causing earthquakes and pollution. And the danger to the water table in example cases are possibly due to previous drilling not recent fracking.
      God forbid their answer is to tax everyone more, way to solve a problem.

      • Murray Olsen 6.1.1
        29 June 2012 at 11:52 am

        Since when is fracking a carbon capture technology?

        • Urban Rascal 6.1.1.1
          29 June 2012 at 12:07 pm

          I think the point on the comment a few days ago was fracking didn’t need to use carbon capture where as the other strategies would need to use it to have the same green gas emissions. And carbon capture has worse effects on water table and more prone to provoking earthquakes.
          Again I’ve heard worse argument against fraking.
          I can’t really accept it as a logical resource gatherer being that it uses toxic chemicals on the land, can bring radioactive/heavy metals to the surface in flowback, possible methane releases. And that’s not including the contaminated water that has to go somewhere.
          The tests from ’95 in NZ were on the news the other day and the companies involved pumped it into rivers without the councils even being aware, they had carte blanche.

          But it would be interesting to hear a supporters argument

          • Lanthanide 6.1.1.1.1
            29 June 2012 at 12:39 pm

            You don’t seem to know what fracking is.

            Fracking is “hydraulic fracturing” of gas and oil wells to extract more gas and oil from the same well. It is precisely the opposite of carbon capture / sequestration.

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.2
          29 June 2012 at 12:48 pm

          CO2 is pumped into depleting oil fields to maintain pressure at the wells.

          • Urban Rascal 6.1.1.2.1
            29 June 2012 at 1:03 pm

            I never thought it was carbon capture. I am referring to a comment a few days ago on here that it was safer than other oil & gas options which proposed using carbon storage, maybe as colonial viper has mentioning. But wouldn’t they do the same thing once the fracked wells began depleting aswel?

            I am aware what fracking itself is, how would I comment of the various effects on environment otherwise?
            My comment is based on a previous comment that wasn’t referenced. I want to know if it was just trolling or shilling.

            • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.2.1.1
              29 June 2012 at 2:29 pm

              The purpose is certainly not carbon capture, the technique is used to access more hydrocarbons from under the ground. Any carbon capturing which goes on is incidental.

              Also I am not sure where the CO2 used is originally sourced from.

              The drilling companies recover as much of the pressurised CO2 from the well as they can to reuse.

              • Urban Rascal …
                29 June 2012 at 2:37 pm

                So do you mean carbon is a Non issue in fracking anyway and it is worse environmentally in comparrison to other extraction techniques that could be used in the same areas?

    • Redlogix 7.1
      29 June 2012 at 9:08 am

      The entire “Obamacare” debacle is an object lesson.

      Almost all civilised outsiders who look at the US system, that is both absurdly expensive and deeply ineffective, wonder that the American people tolerate it. Yet huge numbers of Americans are willing to not just defend it, but hold it up as some kind of ideal… and are genuinely distressed that this long, long overdue reform is proceeding. (However flawed, compromised and half-arsed it is.)

      This from the same nation where some 45% of the population now believe in creationism and that the earth is only 6000 years old or some such idiocy. Or that so many of them think we can pump endless CO2 into the atmosphere… and so on.

      It truly requires us to ask how is it that people delude themselves like this. Is our capacity for critical thinking that weak and fallible? What is it that makes many people so prone to passionately believing self-evident dreck? Do RWNJ’s actually suffer from some kind of brain damage or deficiency?

      How many thousands of times on The Standard alone have we seen a left wing position, backed by references and reasoned argument… countered by brain-dead sloganeering, history re-writing or plain obdurate refusal to engage facts from the right?

      It’s so temptingly easy to label RWNJ’s, as felix just has, “evil annoying idiot fucks”. Because that is the response they seem to so richly deserve. But it doesn’t make them go away, it doesn’t improve their mental functioning, it doesn’t seem to prompt any critical self-reflection or positive response. They just come back droning the same slogans over and over.

      Does anything work? What is the correct response to fools?

      • Bored 7.1.1
        29 June 2012 at 9:13 am

        Reading Kunstlers column on the daily life of Americans is illuminating: he also questions the national sanity. He also raises the question of who the common Joe will blame and what he is likely to do when the “emperors clothes” are revealed?

      • Uturn 7.1.2
        29 June 2012 at 9:31 am

        It truly requires us to ask how is it that people delude themselves like this. Is our capacity for critical thinking that weak and fallible? What is it that makes many people so prone to passionately believing self-evident dreck? Do RWNJ’s actually suffer from some kind of brain damage or deficiency?

        The collective western mind encourages control in all things; even things that can’t be controlled. From eagerness for control comes all things unnecessary.

        • Kotahi Tane Huna 7.1.2.1
          29 June 2012 at 10:24 am

          “The collective western mind encourages control in all things…”

          Haidt’s first five intuitions, or “moral foundations,” are 1) the sense of needing to provide care and protect from harm; 2) the sense of what is just and fair; 3) the sense of loyalty and willingness to sacrifice for a group; 4) the sense of obedience or respect for authority; and 5) the sense of needing to preserve purity or sanctity. And politically, Haidt finds that liberals tend to strongly emphasize the first two moral intuitions (harm and fairness) in their responses to situations and events, but are much weaker on emphasizing the other three (group loyalty, respect for authority, and purity or sanctity). By contrast, Haidt finds that conservatives more than liberals respond to all five moral intuitions.”

          Chris Mooney.

          Further reading, also from Chris Mooney:

          Conservatives Attack Scientific Findings About Why They Hate Science (Helping to Confirm the Science) goes into a lot more detail and points out that:

          “Liberals push the envelope, and err on the side of too much open-mindedness; conservatives pull us back again, and err on the side of too much closure. It could be a productive relationship.”

          • Uturn 7.1.2.1.1
            29 June 2012 at 12:16 pm

            Interesting stuff there KTH.

            There are links within links on that link. To follow them opens up a whole world of science, that gets quite challenging – for me anyway. In one podcast Johnathan Haidt outlines the discussion of right/wrong/morals between libs/republicans (that is conveniently played out in the posts below this one.). From Haidt’s explanation, Chris Mooney then highlights that central to the problem is the use of language, and more importantly, how the comprehension of certain words, phrases and concepts set off intuitive triggers for moral responses – on both sides.

            So from their point of view, the question is not so much, “why are they like that”, but “why do they present it wrong”. Which is pretty hard to swallow from a position of oppositon and even more difficult to accept once you move from the theoretical of what could happen to the actual results of policy in real life; where any attempt on abstract agreement is then interpreted as concrete consent to anything, anytime.

            In most left/right discussions you have the obvious moral reactions set off by intuitive triggers. Then you have the type of person that says “the middle ground is best”, while having no idea what is actually middle ground; and finally you have the new ground discussed by Haidt/Mooney which is they say is the actual middle ground, where left and right meet for inclusive harmonic effect.

            The difficulty is that to reach that point means using a language as yet undiscovered, to discuss transformative concepts that while they presently exist, cannot yet be articulated; and overall, require an evolutionary leap within politics and social life. They seem to point towards an approaching intellectual “cusp”.

            In the podcast itself, the language will be interpreted as “enabling and sympathetic to the right” by the people of the left, and if you are of the right, “close, but somewhat untrustworthy”. It’s worth a listen, as Haidt covers a huge amount of ground including religion, morals, politics, psychology, evolution, historical group behaviours, human development… and does it in a way that will insults and outrage nearly everyone! Which is probably an indicator of a fairly good scientist.

            http://traffic.libsyn.com/pointofinquiry/POI_2012_03_19_Jonathan_Haidt.mp3

            (Be patient, takes about 4 minutes to download and runs approx 20minutes.)

      • travellerev 7.1.3
        29 June 2012 at 9:47 am

        At the risk of being called a RWNJ here is my take on it.

        First of all I am in favour of socialised health care and think that that is a sign of civilised behaviour if… and that is a big if, the population can rely on it’s functioning as a truly social utility and not as the recent revelations from within ACC have shown, a state funded profit making entity designed to give minimal care and throw people out who are relying on it’s functioning as a social utility to serve the bottom line.

        There are serious problems with the Obama care program too.

        First of all it will be and obligatory tax increase of some $ 15.000 annually for Americans, of whom a 100 million are out of work and millions of whom simply have no income, who could forced to pay as the condition is that if they refuse to take out the insurance it will be punished by a tax equivalent to the insurance premium.

        The law was written by the same players who run the entire medical insurance industry and for them this is just great as it is a guaranteed income.

        There is a fear that the government will be granted life and death powers as they enforce austerity on their population and that this is not a benign healthcare program but in fact a Eugenics program and with more and more army on the streets, the government engaging in more and more wars and 400 FEMA camps waiting in the wings who can blame them?

        Especially as a top doctor in the UK has recently come out with the news that the NHS kills about a 130.000 elderly patients a year because they are difficult or keep a bed occupied needed for someone younger.
        The problem is not the pigheaded stupidity of the American population (which is considerable I know) but the fact that they have absolutely no confidence in their government any more.
        They see the banking bail outs, the injustice as the banksters get away with crime after crime while the little people get locked up for years for smoking pot, the wars, the Corporate take over of their government and they don’t want a bar of it.
         
        (I just had to go through a check in procedure because I had used a phrase which triggered a spam check.

        Wonder what that was?)
         

        • RedLogix 7.1.3.1
          29 June 2012 at 10:02 am

          The problem is not the pigheaded stupidity of the American population (which is considerable I know) but the fact that they have absolutely no confidence in their government any more.

          That’s not an unreasonable position. But the correct answer to a broken government is to fix it.

          Just trashing it is …. pigheaded stupid.

          • travellerev 7.1.3.1.1
            29 June 2012 at 2:00 pm

            The American Government like ours and that of most European countries is no longer in the hands of the population but in the hands of Corporates, banksters and the .1%. Nothing short of a revolution will fix that.

        • ropata 7.1.3.2
          29 June 2012 at 10:09 am

          I got the CAPTCHA the other day because I used the word “p.en1s”, maybe lprent has changed something so that comments over 100 words go there too…??

          • lprent 7.1.3.2.1
            3 July 2012 at 4:52 pm

            Sorry – been down with the flu (my traditional response to project completion 🙂 ).

            There are some mechanisms used as part of the anti-spam that are purely automatic. In Tev’s case it sounds like she caught the cloudflare which as well as getting some of the overseas load off our server added a new layer of checks. ‘captcha’ screen is different from the usual recaptcha that it pops up when the akismet picks up something it thinks is suspicious.

            I’ll be starting to de-clutter some of the bugs starting this week. Part of that will be to customize the captcha screens so that it should be obvious what layer caught people – in particular those who have been moderated automatically by general defence mechanisms rather than by the moderators.

            As most people commenting are probably aware, we don’t require that people log in or have valid e-mail addresses. Instead we use a mixture of automatic technical and manual means to exclude unwanted commentators. The technical means will pop up captchas when they are unsure and they want you to verify that you are a human. If it is at the akismet level then it currently holds it for moderation by a human.

            If it just puts you directly in moderation without a captcha then you have hit one of the manual moderations where we’re targeting someone or something. But sometimes that is simply because of a phrase or IP overlap. Moderation tends to get done as soon as a moderator is online. Usually rapidly – but sometimes many hours.

            If it disappears silently then you’ve discovered that we have you in spam. Those usually wait for me to have a look at them. These days we seldom get actual humans in spam apart from someone who has recently picked up a permanent ban.

            BTW: The cloudflare screen over the last 7 days has had 6% of the visitors fail its captcha type validation. Obviously not too many users have caught it or I’d be seeing widespread moaning (it has been on since June 13)… It has reduced the overseas traffic at our server down to a trickle because most it was spam or other irritating malware attempts. Breakdown on their stats looks like this for everything since startup with them..

            650,803 Page views
            365,336 from regular traffic
            182,548 from crawlers/bots
            102,919 from threats

            50,425 Unique visitors
            370 Unique crawlers
            5,824 Unique threats

            2,747,446 requests saved by CloudFlare
            3,976,936 total requests

            36.3 GB bandwidth saved by CloudFlare
            121.3 GB total bandwidth

            Mostly it is providing the static parts of the site from caches to queries. Since those are mostly cached by the client side as well, most of the queries consist of asking if a image or css or javascript file is still valid. That is why it reduced the requests down by far more than the actual bandwidth.

            Looks like it is doing its job…

        • Bored 7.1.3.3
          29 June 2012 at 10:39 am

          Good health is amongs’t those primary things in Maslow’s hierarchy, it concerns every person rich or poor. We are all subject to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune with regard to health.

          Being a primary need (as opposed to want) healthcare provision is a really good indicator of the state of the community / polity. It is my contention that when you make healthcare affordable to only those able to pay you are saying “those who cannot pay” are not part of our community / polity. The corollary is “those who can pay are the only people in our community / polity who belong”. No money, no rights.

          Ability to pay is a justification by those who have money for political / community / social exclusion of the poor. In the US if you have no money you have no say, you are not even a person. You may receive the largess or charity of those who have, but for that you are supposed to be thankful. This is the thinking behind Ryall and his political bed fellows.

        • Vicky32 7.1.3.4
          29 June 2012 at 4:43 pm

          (I just had to go through a check in procedure because I had used a phrase which triggered a spam check. Wonder what that was?)

          I just had the same experience. Psychology? That’s what I wrote about…

      • Kotahi Tane Huna 7.1.4
        29 June 2012 at 10:01 am

        In reply to Redlogix, this from the Live Science article Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice:

        “There may be cognitive limits in the ability to take the perspective of others, particularly foreigners,” Hodson said. “Much of the present research literature suggests that our prejudices are primarily emotional in origin rather than cognitive. These two pieces of information suggest that it might be particularly fruitful for researchers to consider strategies to change feelings toward outgroups,” rather than thoughts.

        Edit: that is in specific reference to strategies to combat right-wing attitudes to other ethnic groups, but I expect it’s applicable to other situations.

      • OneTrack 7.1.5
        29 June 2012 at 9:10 pm

        Why do so many people want to emigrate there? But, you must be right of course, it’s a hell- hole.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.2
      29 June 2012 at 9:53 am

      This is, apparently, the CNN headlines before and after a correction.

      Why do I get the distinct impression that the first was written before the court ruling?

    • joe90 7.3
      29 June 2012 at 10:26 am

      Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.

      Barry Goldwater.

  8. vto 8
    29 June 2012 at 8:05 am

    I reckon Gerry Browlee has pretty much turned himself into a joke. Suggesting that people should not inhabit red zone houses and instead pay squillions to selfish landlords or live in cars and tents etc is just plain dumb.

    Get this… there are countless absolutely fine houses in the red zone. Remember that these areas are zoned red becuase of land damage, NOT because of house damage. Of course many are wrecked and many are broken but there are even more many that are absolutely fine. Warm, sheltered, safe.

    Why the fuck does the bozo not want people to inhabit them? I betcha it will be for other reasons – such as cause him political problems in trying to get the people out later. It will be all about that, and his political situation.

    Brownlee deserves complete contempty for this and people will be moving in and telling him to shove a broken house up his f%#@ing fat arse. Prick.

    Oh, and btw, big day in Chch for final land zone announcements on the port hills. Many chewed fingernails today….

    • Pascal's bookie 8.1
      29 June 2012 at 8:20 am

      ” I betcha it will be for other reasons – such as cause him political problems in trying to get the people out later.”

      What’s the long term plan for all the ‘broken land’? Can’t have people being incovenient about it v.

    • Vicky32 8.2
      29 June 2012 at 5:02 pm

      Suggesting that people should not inhabit red zone houses and instead pay squillions to selfish landlords

      I heard the figure of $1000 a week is being charged by some landlords – Radio NZ this morning. As I was getting ready to leave, I didn’t hear the rest, but wish I had…

  9. marsman 9
    29 June 2012 at 8:19 am

    Big trougher tells a big group of troughers that all beneficiaries should be drug tested, everybody laughs and claps. Bill English at a meeting of Federated Farmers members.

  10. David 10
    29 June 2012 at 8:39 am

    Gotta love Rick Santorum: Supreme court upholds Obamacare, and here’s his response.

    “President Obama believes he is above the law, entitled to abusing his power to get what he wants, and willing to violate the constitution and the oath he was sworn to uphold,” said former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

    Actually Rick I think you are reading from the speech you wrote for if Obama LOST in the supreme court?

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10816249

  11. mike e 11
    29 June 2012 at 8:50 am

    Barclays bank admits fraudulent behaviour all other major international banks have done the same and will be taken courts in various countries by govts and private investors.
    A trillion dollars worth of fines and reparation is expected.
    ShonKey type traders have been at the heart o this problem.
    Maybe our PM might have to face court action.

    • Carol 11.1
      29 June 2012 at 8:57 am

      The dates of the financial manipulation by banks are 2005-2009. So it was after Key’s time as a finance trader.

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/markets/news/article.cfm?c_id=62&objectid=10816268

      • Bored 11.1.1
        29 June 2012 at 9:11 am

        Carol, don’t you suspect just a little that the behaviors between the dates mentioned are the same as they were before and after? Was Key as straight trader? Who knows, I heard rumours that on local trading floors his team lost a packet a couple of times and it all got hushed up.

        On the issue of financial manipulation it seems clear that the whole finance industry in the major exchanges were committing fraudulent / larcenous acts. Unfortunately the only government to prosecute bankers to date has been Iceland. Since walking away from “debts” their economy has recovered splendidly. Removing cancers does the body a pile of good.

        • Carol 11.1.1.1
          29 June 2012 at 9:30 am

          Oh, highly likely, Bored. But Key’s time frame in the business is not the period currently being investigated. So I don’t expect Key to be investigated.

      • mike e 11.1.2
        29 June 2012 at 10:53 am

        carol not true these corrupt practices began in the mid 1990’s’
        BBC world news overnight.

  12. freedom 12
    29 June 2012 at 9:49 am

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10816280

    So not only does NZ look increasingly servile to the USA, we are now having much needed (and much touted) business opportunities being dissuaded from coming here.

    MegaUpload carried 4% of net traffic, that is a big big business, so when one of its owners tells the world don’t come here to open an IT business, people will listen.

    Well done to the Solicitor and Attourney Generals, well done, clap clap clap

    • weka 12.1
      29 June 2012 at 6:37 pm

      Wonder if the US will lend us Mickey Mouse 😉
       
      From that Herald articles:
       

      She noted that even if she was wrong about the validity of the warrants, it was clear police had “exceeded what they could lawfully be authorised to do” because they continued to hold irrelevant material.
       

      I’d like to know what happened to the Ao Cafe forum that got taken down as part of the Tuhoe raids and has never been seen since. Most of what was on that website had nothing to do with the case.

  13. felix 13
    29 June 2012 at 9:56 am

    Saw Chester Borrows on Backbenches the other night saying he was definitely going to buy himself some shares in Mighty River Power.

    I assume other MPs intend to do the same (except of course John Key who has no idea what he owns and definitely doesn’t spend his time trading stocks, bonds and currency, no sir he’s far too busy looking after your interests which is how he became so wealthy, by putting the public first, it’s just his nature).

    How does this work in terms of the requirement to remove themselves from conflicts of interest? It seems that Ministers are introducing legislation from which they explicitly intend to benefit personally, and MPs are voting in favour of it, also with the intent to benefit personally from the bill’s passing.

    I realise that John Key doesn’t really understand what a conflict of interest is, or at least he pretends he doesn’t. (Actually I think he sees dishonesty as simply a tool or a skill like any other, and I don’t believe he makes any sort of moral value judgment either way).

    But he often justifies an obvious conflict of interest by saying that if the conflicted party didn’t actually make any gain, and you can’t definitively prove that they intended to gain, then no no harm no foul. It’s a spurious argument at best but he seems to get away with it to an extent.

    This one seems much clearer though. I can’t see a way to argue that someone is buying shares without intending to gain.

    What have I missed?

    • deuto 13.1
      29 June 2012 at 10:36 am

      Also saw Burrows say that on BBs – but think I read something somewhere a few days ago that Ministers (or all MPs), their families, staff etc would be prohibited from buying shares but unfortunately cannot remember where I read it and haven’t got time to research it right now. Perhaps someone else has a better memory and/or links.

    • Fortran 13.2
      29 June 2012 at 1:35 pm

      I understand that all Kiwisaver Managers will take up as many shares as they can, as they consider that they are a good long term investment, for their members.

  14. colin 14
    29 June 2012 at 11:59 am

    Garrett said being locked up by police was “very difficult to cope with”

    David Garrett made “NO OPOLOGY” to the family after been caught stealing.

    A brother of the dead child said that Mr Garrett was the “lowest of the low”
    The brother of the dead boy told the Herald: “How much lower can you go? I know damn well if my father was alive, being a Scotsman, he would have gone after him, I would think.”
    He said he would probably “lose his cool” if he came face to face with Mr Garrett.
    His 94-year-old mother was “disgusted over the whole thing”, he said.
    He was not aware of any apology that had come from Mr Garrett, but thought his mother would be expecting one.
    “Surely the guy has got the balls to stand up and say, ‘I did something wrong’. And he didn’t do that.”
    The man said he was about 16 when his 2-year-old brother was admitted to hospital after contracting a virus infection. Death came suddenly.
    He described his young brother as “a real bubbly little kid”, and his death as a “hell of a shock” to the family.
    Another brother said that as far as he knew, no one in his family had received an apology, let alone an explanation, from Mr Garrett.
    “It’s quite alarming. I didn’t think that sort of thing was happening here. It’s very hard to believe that a person could consider taking the identity of a baby,” he said.
    In the court documents, the deceased child’s mother said the identity theft caused her considerable stress and anxiety, and what Mr Garrett did was “akin to stealing from a grave”.
    Court documents reveal Mr Garrett visited a cemetery in New Plymouth in 1984 and found the gravestone of the boy, whose birthdate was close to his own.
    He copied the details, obtained the child’s birth certificate, filled out a passport application form and photographed himself in a disguise which included dyed hair and glasses.
    Garrett gave a fake postal address in Christchurch on his application form and supplied a fake reference of another offender: It was, as with many crimes, a series of deliberate steps.”
    The family of the dead child whose identity was stolen “have effectively been gagged for years by a suppression order while they have to listen to Mr Garrett pontificating about being opposed to suppression orders, being in favour of openness, being in favour of the rights of victims”.
    Garrett having first denied the allegation of stealing to police.
    Garrett said being locked up by police was “very difficult to cope with”. “PUSSY”
    Garrett’s lawyer, Gary Gotlieb, told the judge that Garrett had an anxiety disorder and may have lost his legal practising certificate if he was convicted.
    He had an anxiety depressive condition and was taking medication at the time of appearing in court.
    Garrett asked to keep his identity secret to “maintain his reputation”.

  15. travellerev 15
    29 June 2012 at 12:25 pm

    Yesterday the vote to support a ban against Depleted Uranium was stalemated because Pita Sharples couldn’t be bothered to show up.
    Here is a link to several video’s you might want to watch on the subject and if you feel that this is something you want to share with the people who voted against the ban I suggest you download them and send them to these idiots.

    • muzza 15.1
      29 June 2012 at 1:38 pm

      What happened with that bill is a disgraceful for NZ politics, and NZ as a country.

      What we have said is that we endorse the use of DU, as a weapon to destroy human beings, animal, and the environment!

      NZ via the NACT, and the Maori, have allowed this!

      Even Dunne managed to vote in favour of the bill, by looks of it

      SHAME!

    • Ed 15.2
      29 June 2012 at 4:06 pm

      Sharples was quite reasonably at a funeral – it was well reported. What it does show is that there should be some way of a proxy vote being cast in those circumstances – or was it administrative incompetence by his party that the absence was not suitably processed?

      • David C 15.2.1
        29 June 2012 at 7:00 pm

        Dunne was at a funeral when the MOM bill was passed…he managed to have a proxy vote for him…

        Is Sharples lazy or disorganised? he has a Doctorate ? hmmm…

    • deuto 15.3
      29 June 2012 at 8:50 pm

      It was a real shame that the bill didn’t get through, but as others have pointed out Sharples was absent due to a very important funeral.

      Phil Twyford has blogged on the situation at Red Alert entitled Turning Up. As his post is reasonably short, here it is in full.

      Posted by Phil Twyford on June 28th, 2012

      It was disappointing to see my Depleted Uranium Prohibition Bill go down last night. With a 60-60 vote it doesn’t proceed.

      And it was a shame that although support from Labour, the Greens, NZ First, Maori Party, Mana, and United Future should have delivered a one vote majority, the Maori Party cast only two votes instead of their full three. The party has explained that Pita Sharples was away at the tangi of Hoani Waititi but casting only two votes meant they can only have had one of their three MPs in the House. Rules allow three votes if they have two or three of their MPs in the House, and two votes if only one is present.

      Pita Sharples’ office has since apologised to me, saying they didnt realise the vote would be so tight. I appreciate that, but I did email their Whip and his assistant yesterday to say that we were relying on them voting their full quota to deliver the bill majority support.

      First rule of democracy: you have to turn up.

      I found the explanation re the number of votes the Maori Party can cast depending on the number of their MPs in the House of particular interest as this obviously also affected their voting numbers etc on various stages of the MOM Bill – for example, they only cast two votes at the second reading stage leading to the 61 for vs 59 votes against.

      Turia and Sharples were noticable by their absence in the House throughout the passage of the MOM Bill (including in Question Time and other debates). The lack of participation by the Maori Party in any of the debates on the bill was highly noticable particularly in the debates on the sections of the bill relating to Treaty issues. Flavell at least put out a news release on the day the Bill was going through its second reading reiterating that the Maori Party would be opposing the Bill and he was occasionally in the House during its passage, but IIRC he never spoke or sought to take a call.

      • muzza 15.3.1
        30 June 2012 at 8:09 am

        What is so openly distubing about the past few bills alone (MOM, DU), is the blatantness of those who have sold out. The NATO sign up, was the reason the NACT voted aginst the DU bill.

        So now NZ can’t even get a bill passed to illustrate our position agains the use of weaponised nuclear waste byproducts!

        The current governnent supports/endorses the use of these weapons on humanity by NATO!

  16. colin 16
    29 June 2012 at 12:42 pm

    I missed a couple of lines from the NZ herald about “David Garrett made “NO OPOLOGY” to the family after been caught stealing,.”

    Garrett said and he never used the passport. “AFTER” it expired, he destroyed it.
    The dead boy’s sister was also quoted.
    “The deeply cruel, shameful and malicious manner in acquiring such details has caused deep distress for the entire family, especially for my elderly mother, to be subjected to further trauma and pain in the memory of her beloved infant son and our darling little brother’s name.

    • McFlock 16.1
      29 June 2012 at 1:27 pm

      so what’s with the regurgitation of the garrett chronicles? 
          
      The guy’s a tory hypocritical fuckwit, but he’s yesterday’s tory hypocritical fuckwit. Why bring it up again now?

    • OneTrack 16.2
      29 June 2012 at 9:20 pm

      So why did the news media advise the family involved. If they hadn’t done that then the family would have been fine. But better to get some tears on television to get the ratings up and how they “care”. Professional news media RIP.

  17. colin 17
    29 June 2012 at 1:29 pm

    Because, The guy’s a tory hypocritical fuckwit,

    • McFlock 17.1
      29 June 2012 at 1:44 pm

      Has he done anything recently that I missed? 

      e.g. why didn’t you just start with Adams, Amy and go through to Young, Jonathan? 

  18. colin 18
    29 June 2012 at 2:02 pm

    This is recently, or do you wish to forget? human rights.
    29 June 2012 at 6:13 am
    “David Garrett” Alias “[deleted, no speculation on aliases please – r0b]”, “the most disliked person in Kaukapakapa”.
    David Garrett’s locked his wife and two children aged six and 11 out of the family home in west Auckland.

    • Draco T Bastard 18.1
      29 June 2012 at 2:06 pm

      Um, no, that story was last year.

      Last updated 05:00 11/11/2011

      And please use the reply button when replying to people – makes following a thread so much easier.

  19. colin 19
    29 June 2012 at 2:08 pm

    End of last year

    • McFlock 19.1
      29 June 2012 at 2:26 pm

      Meh.
             
      I just figure that unless something more has come to light in the past few days there are bigger tory swine in front of him in the queue.

      • colin 19.1.1
        29 June 2012 at 2:39 pm

        What ever

      • Vicky32 19.1.2
        29 June 2012 at 6:12 pm

        I just figure that unless something more has come to light in the past few days there are bigger tory swine in front of him in the queue.

        That being said, I find it very interesting! 🙂

  20. Draco T Bastard 20
    29 June 2012 at 2:18 pm

    Oh dear, it seems that even the incompetent Bill English is starting to get worried by his colleagues incompetence.

    Official documents released today show Finance Minister Bill English has serious concerns about his colleague Steven Joyce’s MoBIE white whale bureaucratic empire, says Labour’s Economic Development Spokesperson David Cunliffe.

    And the casino deal that sells our law to SkyCity is costing a bomb too:

    “Now we know the National Government has in fact quietly behind the scenes created a $2.1 million slush fund of taxpayers’ money to be used for the design process and facilities for their preferred SkyCity deal.

    “This fund was taken from some of the $120 million of cuts made to economic development and jobs programmes in this year’s Budget, including support for earthquake-devastated businesses in Christchurch, increasing exports to Asia, regional development programmes and assistance to start-up businesses.

    So, pay to sell our law to SkyCity while removing support from other businesses.

    • Uturn 20.1
      29 June 2012 at 2:30 pm

      By removing 20,000 beneficiaries from the books over five years, National think they’ll save $8billion dollars. They have a quarter of that money put aside for selling laws to the … only bidder. New longterm jobs from an additional Sky City business? Not quite 5000. Not even a thousand. Not even 500.

      I dunno, but unless you’re a fraudster or suffering from a mental illness, you’d have to do some serious mental gymnastics to support these guys and consider yourself a competent professional.

      • McFlock 20.1.1
        29 June 2012 at 3:08 pm

        ???

        20k beneficiaries = $8bil over 5 years, or $400000 per beneficiary?
        That’s $80k per year per beneficiary, if all 20,000 are kicked tomorrow. 
                  
        I’m not sure that those numbers are correct. 

        • fender 20.1.1.1
          29 June 2012 at 8:15 pm

          There would be job cuts at Winz once the 20,000 are off the books, the $8billion must include these savings?

          • McFlock 20.1.1.1.1
            29 June 2012 at 8:32 pm

            Even if the beneficiaries were on an average of $40kp.a., that’s still around one fulltime staff member per beneficiary. I’m not sure even the national party believe that.
               
            And of course it works the other way – a 50,000 increase in beneficiary numbers means actually 100,000 more unemployed people, but 50,000 got employed to pay the benefits of the other lot.
               
            Something stinks in the numbers, but I don’t know enough to know what.

            • fender 20.1.1.1.1.1
              29 June 2012 at 8:58 pm

              Yes theres some weird numbers being plucked out of the air in the usual National style. Maybe they have included the income tax from the 20k in new employment.

              With the NactUf mismanagement taking place its more like there will be 20k extra homeless living on the streets.

          • Colonial Viper 20.1.1.1.2
            29 June 2012 at 8:41 pm

            Cuts to beneficiaries means cuts to money flowing into local communities, which means more economic stagnation and decline.

  21. Draco T Bastard 21
    29 June 2012 at 2:28 pm

    And another nail in the coffin for the reason for shareholders.

    The professor’s argument is that as companies have increasingly focused on their stock prices, and given managers more shareholdings, they have inadvertently empowered hedge funds that push for short-term solutions. Mutual funds, dependent on winning money from retail investors, have become myopic as well. The average holding period of a stock was eight years in 1960; today, it’s four months.

    The biggest ill has been to align top executives pay with performance, usually measured by the stock price. This has proven to be “a disaster,” Ms. Stout says. Managers have become share price obsessed. By focusing on short-term stock moves, prices managers are eroding the long-term value of their franchises.

    Now all we need is a researched reason to get rid of the directors…

    • Colonial Viper 21.1
      29 June 2012 at 2:45 pm

      The biggest ill has been to align top executives pay with performance, usually measured by the stock price.

      And this was done because the IRS said that performance pay would be taxed at a lesser rate than a salary,

      Hence all these Wall St types with $250K pa pay packages – but who earn millions annually in bonuses. Its a rort in multiple ways.

      • OneTrack 21.1.1
        29 June 2012 at 9:28 pm

        Many directors are paid way over the top for what they do. I wouldn’t mind too much if it was worth it to the companies but it demonstrably isn’t and some of the guys seem to be a waste of space.

  22. Bored 22
    29 June 2012 at 3:07 pm

    Banksters banksters banksters………flamenco flamenco flamenco…dont mess with the Spanish!

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/22/us-spain-banks-protests-idUSBRE85L0WO20120622?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=69

  23. BillODrees 23
    29 June 2012 at 4:36 pm
    Environmentalists are our Enemies, says Groser, Climate Change Minister. 

    Enemies within hurtful to ‘100% NZ brand’ Brand by Rob Hosking in NBR,   Thursday June 28, 2012  
    The “100% Pure New Zealand” brand – meant to promote tourism but extended for political reasons – is now being used to hurt New Zealand, Trade Minister Tim Groser says.
    Mr Groser told a Wellington Employers Chamber of Commerce function today the brand, begun in mid-1999 by Tourism New Zealand, was now being used to hurt this country.
    “Our enemies, who are internal, will find one cow in one stream and feed it back to environmental activists in the developed world to be used to try to exclude New Zealand’s products and services in the ludicrous belief that this will somehow help New Zealand.”
    The 100% brand was created to market the New Zealand tourism experience “and it has been deliberately manipulated in this political space”, Mr Groser  says.
    The comments came in response to questions about whether New Zealand could grow more “global brands” such as Fonterra, and what could be done to develop such brands.
    Mr Groser says development of such brands might be possible but size and the nature of New Zealand ‘s economic strengths makes their development difficult.  While some may eventuate, he says New Zealand is more likely to develop its own brand as a country, and also to have its products as part of other international brands.
    Development of niche industries, such as making specialist parts of international brands, is a more likely productive path. 
    “I cannot believe you can build many brands at a commercial level – there will be one or two of them who may do it. But we are just too small an economy.
    “Our future lies not in creating serious brands, although that is certainly an option for Fonterra.
    “But they will tell you some of the facile stuff you read about in the newspapers is just so ill-informed about the reality of what it takes to build a brand.
    “The reality is the way forward is to be part of the supply chain of a company that has a global brand. It’s about finding a niche in the supply chain of something that may be a global brand.”

    Who made this little muppet the Minister for Climate Change?
    • mickysavage 23.1
      29 June 2012 at 4:42 pm

      Gawd, I used to think that Groser was not so bad a tory …

    • AnnaLiviaPluraBella 23.2
      29 June 2012 at 5:11 pm

      Last Saturday David Cunliffe, the MP for New Lynn who won the old Titirangi Seat from the Nats, gave a very intelligent, insightful and stimulating speech on the Environment and the Economy. 
      Within a week this little man, who tries (and fails) every election to un-seat Cunliffe, comes out with this gibberish.
      What were they serving at the Chamber function?      
      He was made Climate Minsiter only a few months ago after Nick Smith was shafted by Collins. 

      This speech will do more harm to New Zealand’s Brand reputation than any number of environmentalists. He is a disgrace. Put him back on a plane to Geneva. He was harmless and merry there.

      Cunliffe’s speech is to be found here…..

       http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/david-cunliffe/the-dolphin-and-the-dole-queue/10150912334027798

    • McFlock 23.3
      29 June 2012 at 5:32 pm

      the jerk who twice promised a brighter future for the country – and thinks he’s achieved it.

    • rosy 23.4
      29 June 2012 at 6:35 pm

      “The reality is the way forward is to be part of the supply chain of a company that has a global brand”
      Ambitious for New Zealand *sigh*

      • AnnaLiviaPluraBella 23.4.1
        29 June 2012 at 6:45 pm

        You got it in one, Rosy.

        I can’t put my fingrt on it: why do Natz have so little confidence in the people of New Zealand.  

        Hope and Confidence in our People, a Sense of Ambition for the Country should be the only reason a politician gets out of bed in the morning. 

        This lot are are weird. They are actually “Loosers” ….a word I normally hate, but it is the only one that comes to mind when I see Groser’s attitude and this Natz frontbench (and idiotbench).

         
         

        • Draco T Bastard 23.4.1.1
          29 June 2012 at 6:57 pm

          I can’t put my fingrt on it: why do Natz have so little confidence in teh people of New Zealand.

          It’s not just the nats.

        • Anne 23.4.1.2
          29 June 2012 at 8:53 pm

          Hope and Confidence in our People, a Sense of Ambition for the Country should be the only reason a politician gets out of bed in the morning.

          Let me re-phrase that:

          Hope and confidence in ourselves (most of us Nats got private school educations remember), a sense of personal ambition and privileged status is what gets us out of bed in the morning.

          There’s your answer.

      • felix 23.4.2
        30 June 2012 at 6:32 am

        More like *Ambushes* for NZ.

    • BLiP 23.5
      29 June 2012 at 10:00 pm

      .

      No, Tim, you are the “enemy within”. Since coming to power, the John Key National Ltd™ government:

      – has been caught out repeatedly lying in the run up to and during the election campaign about its real intentions in relation to the environment

      – celebrated the opening of the foreign-owned Pike River Coal Ltd mine on DOC land adjacent to the Paparoa National Park from which 1 megatonne of coal will be extracted per year for the next 20 years – Pike River Coal Ltd has announced that it has found additional coal in the national park

      – removed a proposed efficiency standard (MEPS) on incandescent lightbulbs

      – reversed a moratorium on building new gas/oil/coal power stations

      – removed the bio fuel subsidy

      -scrapped the scheme that would have penalised imported vehicles producing high emissions

      – removed regulations for water efficient new housing

      – renewed leases on sensitive high country farms which were meant to return to DOC

      – reversed restrictions on the freeholding of vast swathes of land on the edge of the Southern Lakes

      – arbitrarily excised 400 hectares from the brand new Oteake Conservation Park, including the most important and, ecologically, the rarest part of the new Park, the tussock and shrubland that went right down to the banks of the Manuherikia River, to enable future access to lignite

      – said nothing to say in regard to the World Commission on Protected areas of IUCN’s severe criticism of its intention to investigate mineral resources and mining opportunities in protected conservation areas including our three UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Te Wahi Pounamu-South West New Zealand, Tongariro National Park and the Sub Antarctic Islands

      – approved two prospecting permit applications lodged by Australian iron-ore giant Fortescue Metals Group subsidiary FMG Pacific lodged in June – areas covered by the two-year permits include an 8204-square-kilometre area of seabed adjoining the west coast from Cape Reinga to the Manukau Harbour and a 3798-square-kilometre prospecting area of land from Cape Reinga to the Kaipara Harbour including Ninety Mile Beach, the west side of the Aupouri Peninsula, Kaitaia and the Hokianga.

      – approved an additional prospecting permit for Fortesque Metals in relation to 3568sq km right next door to the Kahurangi National Park where the Heaphy Track is

      – was forced to release its Ministry of Economic Development (MED) report under the Official Information Act that proclaims “significant mineral potential” in the Fiordland, Kahurangi and Paparoa national parks – the report said the Waitutu area of the Fiordland National Park had sufficient petroleum reserves to be “worthy” of inclusion in a review of conservation land protected from mining

      – secretly granted the minerals industry the right to veto proposed National Park boundaries and permission for any such vetoes to be kept confidential – in spite of recommendations from its own officials against any such a veto

      – Minster of Conservation Tim Grosser, on 29 August 2009, called for caring New Zealanders to halt their “emotional hysteria” and recognise that conservation land should be mined for minerals and went on to say “Mining in a modern, technological way can have a negligible effect”

      – Associate Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson, in an interview in “Canterbury Farming” rubished her own department, DOC, suggesting it was incapable of looking after the high country reserves and parks under its control

      – gutted the home insulation scheme

      – pulled $300 million out of public transport, walking and cycling schemes and added it to a pot of $2 billion to ‘upgrade’ state highways

      – changed the law to provide billions of dollar in subsidies for polluters via the ETS casino which is now a target for scamming by international criminals

      – begun a process of gutting the Resource Management Act to make it difficult/impossible for the public to lodge appeals against developers

      – removed the ability of Auckland to introduce a fuel levy to fund planned public transport upgrades

      – left electrification of the national rail network up in the air without promised funding commitments

      – removed the Ministry for the Environment’s programme to make Government Departments ‘carbon neutral’

      – removed funding for public tv advertising on sustainability and energy efficiency

      – pulled funding for small-town public litter bin recycling schemes

      – cabinet ministers expressing public support the bulldozing of Fiordland

      – reduced Department of Conservation funding by about $50 million over three years

      – canceled funding for the internationally acclaimed ‘Enviroschools’ programme

      – usurped the democratic role of local Councils of determining policies for their citizens by requiring the abandonment of the efficient and well-established tree protection rules for urban areas

      – set about revamping Auckland governance in a way that is likely to greatly reduce the ‘Environmental Watchdog’ role of the the current Regional Council

      – removed Auckland’s metropolitan limits and opened the gateway for unfettered urban sprawl

      – defended internationally the importation of rain-forest-wrecking palm kernel and stood silent while Federated Farmers called Greenpeace “terrorists”

      – stood silent while Godfrey Bloom, a Member of the European Parliament and infamous Climate Change Denialist, publicly rejoiced in the 1985 bombing of the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior – who was doing so while standing on a dock next to the replacement vessel

      – took a 0% emissions reduction target to Copenhagen. Yes, seriously, that isn’t a misprint – that was the lower bound of their negotiation platform – then missed the 01/02/10 deadline for commitment to action it had agreed to – meanwhile 55 of the 80 countries which attended did make the deadline

      – secretly cancelled the internationally recognised scheme for the mandatory labelling of exotic woods to ensure the timber has not been taken from rain forests in direct contradiction of its own statements made at the 13th World Forestry Congress in Argentina

      – supported the Department of Conservation’s decision to open up the pristine Cathedral Cove to an ice-cream franchise

      – given the Department of Conservsation $1.7 million to further develop commercial activities on DOC land and started an “off set” plan allowing company’s to damage the conservation estate if they agree to improve land elsewhere – no monitoring regime has been suggested on put in place

      – left DOC director-general Al Morrison to announce that DOC is to charge for services that had been free and, to soften the public up to the idea that there will be more “energy generation schemes” operating on DOC land

      – taken no action to reduce existing pollution pouring into the Manawatu River and is “leaving it up to industry” to come up with solutions to heal the river which was described by the Cawthorn Institute as “one of the worst polluted in the Western world”

      – announced a $1.1 million industry subsidy to kick start marine farming without identifying no-go areas nor putting in place a consultation process for individiuals, communities, and other general coastal users

      – blamed New Zealanders after a Japanese whaling ship deliberately smashed into a smaller, more vulnerable craft in the open sea

      – was forced to release documents under the Official Information Act which confirm that DOC has “giving up” on ecologically valuable high-country land in the Mackenzie Basin because of funding cuts. The released documents cite “statements made by ministers”, “diminishing funding” and the Government’s new high-country policies as reasons for the changed stance – the comments from DOC were made after Land Information New Zealand (Linz), which manages the tenure review process, ignored DOC’s previous conservation recommendations for the farms

      – used former National Party minister and current director of Open Country Cheese – a company convicted of filthy farming practices – Wyatt Creech to head up an enquiry into Environment Canterbury which had been standing up the dairy farmers’ demands for more and more water resources and less and less regulation. The Creech report recommended the Environmental Canterbury be sacked and replaced with government appointments and the voters of Canterbury do without democracy until the water situation had been resolved. The Canterbury area holds 50 percent of New Zealand’s fresh water reserves and 50 percent of the water required for hyrdo energy. The Creech report said Environmental Centerbury put too much focus on the environment.

      – Despite international condemnation for knowing next to nothing about the parlous state of the New Zealand fisheries, National Ltd™ bucks international trends, pours more acid on the 100% Pure brand and increases the bluefin tuna quota.

      – New Zealand is subject to international criticism for its backing of commericial whaling which National Ltd supports

      – Government-owned company Solid Energy runs an essay competition entitled “The role of coal in sustainable energy solutions for New Zealand” for school children. First prize is a trip to New Zealand’s largest coal customer, China.

      – Supported access fees for entrance onto DOC walkways – fee introduced following cuts to DOC’s budget.

      – New Zealand’s environment would profit from mining national parks, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson says.

      – Department of Conservation director-general Al Morrison said the conservation estate created “opportunities to do a whole lot for a lot of different people”.
      “We’ve got to get away from this idea that somehow we have to protect one-third of New Zealand for a certain constituency and put it in a jar of formaldehyde and leave it.”

      – State coal miner Solid Energy could get an extra slice of the action if highly sensitive conservation land is opened to gold, silver and other prospecting.
      Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said Solid Energy’s work could be widened to include other minerals and resources, or it could form part of a new state-owned enterprise to maximise government returns from any mining.
      He did not rule out the company, which produces 80 per cent of New Zealand’s coal, having a role in mining gold and other minerals on Great Barrier Island and other conservation areas being eyed by the Government http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3519703/Golden-possibility-for-state-coal-miner

      http://www.maf.govt.nz/mafnet/press/2010/180310-dairy-clean-streams.htm

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3556402/Letter-pointed-to-Carter-conflict

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10647161

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10648408

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10654369

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2010/06/28/12480acb875c

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3972851/Government-may-reduce-local-authorities-powers

      . . . and that was just in the first term.

      . . . very aspirational indeed. In fact, it would appear the provision of evidence proving that that New Zealand sucks is, in fact, solely down to the efforts of National Ltd® and its big-business sugar daddies

      http://forum.forestandbird.org.nz/topic/government-attacks-on-nature-conservation

      source for most of stuff in relation to national parks

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/opinion/2947054/Nats-new-green-leaf-withering-on-the-branch/

      National Lied during the election about its intentions in regard to the environment

      “National will have policies that reflect the fact that living on a diet of carbon will be increasingly bad – bad for the world and bad for our economy. We will have policy that encourages ‘climate friendly’ choices like windmills, hydro power and tree planting, and reduces the desire for ‘climate unfriendly’ behaviours, like burning coal,” Mr Key promised in May 2007.

      “National will provide Kiwis with good signals about the cars that are the best for the environment. We will do this by ensuring our emission and noise standards for new vehicles keep up with international standards and practices and by introducing more sophisticated emissions and noise testing for existing vehicles. If Kiwis have a highly polluting or excessively noisy car, we think they should know about it and have an incentive to do something about it.”

      “National proudly shares many of your values: like you, we want to protect our unique native species. We want our children and grandchildren to be able to swim in our rivers and lakes. We believe in sound environmental science. We are committed to high environmental standards.”

      http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-42.172703,171.89378&z=13&t=h&hl=en

      If you want to check out the latest “keyhole surgery” zero in on the ridge south & slightly east of Reefton on Google Earth and you’ll see Oceana Golds brand new high tech gold mine.

      http://www.youtube.com/user/MandyH111#p/a/u/0/wokmHp2nx6M

      video talking about dairy farming in the McKenzie

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/4173795/Dairy-boss-in-calving-strife

      Up to 200 calves were induced on Fonterra chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden’s Putaruru farms this calving season in a controversial practice to lift milk production.
      The practice, which Sir Henry has not denied, has prompted claims of hypocrisy, as Fonterra says it doesn’t support inductions, and even a call for Sir Henry to stand down while the matter is investigated.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4376344/Mining-disaster-delays-lignite-report

      Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright’s report, “Lignite and climate change: The high cost of low grade coal” was meant to be released at midday today.
      The report tackles the climate change ramifications of plans by two companies, state-owned miner Solid Energy and L&M Group, to mine lignite in Otago and Southland and convert it to diesel.
      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4399914/Environmental-fund-irks-Greens

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ministry-for-the-environment/news/article.cfm?o_id=116&objectid=10686869

      a third of new zealand lakes have poor water quality

      Dr Norman was sceptical of the reasons why the release of the report was delayed. It was to be released last week.
      “It is interesting timing that the report’s release was delayed during the World Dairy Summit in Auckland, when the report concludes that pastoral land use is associated with the ecological deterio

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ministry-for-the-environment/news/article.cfm?o_id=116&objectid=10670507

      plastic packaging

      37689 (2010). Brendon Burns to the Minister of Health (09 Dec 2010): Has he received any advice on the current quality of drinking water in Reidston; if so, what, if any, actions will he be taking concerning that advice?
      Hon Tony Ryall (Minister of Health) replied: Reply due: 17 Dec 2010

      http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QWA/2/5/6/QWA_37689_2010-37689-2010-Brendon-Burns-to-the-Minister-of-Health.htm

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10694471

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10694625

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10697056

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4512779/Hundreds-of-snapper-wash-up-on-beaches

      http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/01/19/report-slams-official-waterview-claims/

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/67317/govt-to-formalise-reduction-in-greenhouse-gases

      http://www.straterra.co.nz/Media%20Releases/2009/Oct#Air%20quality

      http://blog.greens.org.nz/2011/01/18/rubbing-salt-water-in-the-wounds/

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10720250

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10737766

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10737633

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/5268508/Climate-change-blamed-for-jellyfish-explosion

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5631048/Slow-down-ETS-implementation-report

      http://www.3news.co.nz/Key-keeps-meeting-with-Anadarko-boss-quiet/tabid/370/articleID/233099/Default.aspx

      secret meeting with boss of company responsible for massive oil spill and which wants to drill offshore New Zealand
      http://www.boprc.govt.nz/news-centre/media-releases/november-2011/dairy-compliance-falling-on-deaf-ears/
      Bay of Plenty Regional Council is concerned the importance of environmental compliance is falling on deaf ears for a portion of the farming community. This follows three cases heard in the Tauranga District Court yesterday relating to pollution reaching waterways.

      http://blog.greens.org.nz/2011/11/10/dams-will-damn-our-rivers/

      Fed Farmers have welcomed National’s $400 million water storage and irrigation investment announced yesterday.
      Of course Fed Farmers would. Damming rivers to store water for irrigation means farmers can convert more land to dairying, which is highly profitable at the moment.
      But Fed Farmers pretend that damming rivers to store water for irrigation won’t hurt the environment.
      http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/4580805/Dam-blamed-for-river-ruin

      Fisherman Ray Brokenshire fears it will be too late in five years to save the Opihi River from the effects of degradation.
      The Temuka man is involved in plans to create an Opihi River group and wants concerned people to contact him to discuss river issues, including problems caused by the toxic algae phormidium.
      “A lot of us at our age remember what it was like. What we are trying to say is it’s in an awful state.”
      An Environment Canterbury (ECan) warning remains in place cautioning people to avoid the river at State Highway 1 because of the risk of exposure to toxins from phormidium, and some anglers will no longer fish in the river because they say the fish are smelly and inedible.
      As of yesterday an ECan warning was also in place at Waipopo. A warning at the Saleyards Bridge has been removed.
      Some South Canterbury anglers have blamed the growth in phormidium on a design feature of the Opuha Dam.
      Barry Stone told the Timaru Herald last week the algae increase was a result of how the dam company took its water, which was by a single-take and not a multiple-take system.
      http://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/rma_consent_process_perspective_from_waikato_regional_council_0.pdf

      Government statements re: RMA delays are flat out bullshit

      http://blog.greens.org.nz/2011/10/30/uranium-yellowcake-in-nuclear-free-new-zealand-ports/

      National Plays down risks of yellow cake shopments passing through New Zealand waters

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6100372/Warning-over-DOC-cuts

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10771535

      http://thestandard.org.nz/they-made-this-guy-the-minister-of-tourism/

      The New Zealand Government is jeopardising its good name in international negotiations at this fortnight’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban. It has been identified as one of a small number of States stalling progress in forming an international climate agreement. Other parties have privately condemned its conduct and predict it could risk the possibility of a credible outcome.“Negotiators and observers have been telling us that New Zealand is taking an exceptionally irresponsible position in the talks”, says Rachel Dobric of the New Zealand Youth Delegation.

      http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/govt-risks-nz-reputation-climate-summit/5/109660

      The 2nd place Fossil goes to New Zealand for proposing the most Flexible Mechanism imaginable with no oversight or review. Bring on the wild west. They want to be able to use any market mechanisms they wish with absolutely no oversight or international review! There would be no way to ensure that the units from one mechanism have not been sold two or three times to another such mechanism. This would likely unleash a wild west carbon market with double or triple counting of offsets and a likely increase of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

      http://www.climatenetwork.org/fossil-of-the-day/brazil-takes-1st-new-zealand-earns-2nd-canada-comes-3rd

      http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2011/12/farmers-lie-about-dirty-dairying.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

      Dirty dairying is one of our country’s biggest environmental problems, resulting in polluted waterways and undrinkable (and unswimmable) water. But the government fobs off concern about it, pointing to the “Clean Streams Accord”, an agreement between Fonterra, central government and regional councils, under which Fonterra promises to get its farmers to clean up their act voluntarily. Every year, MAF produces an annual snapshot of progress (collected here), and every year it shows that farmers are slowly but surely fencing their waterways, complying with the RMA, and setting nutrient budgets. So we don’t have a problem, right?
      Wrong. That report is based on what farmers tell Fonterra assessors every year. And it turns out that they lie, overstating their compliance on excluding stock from waterways by 100%:

      New Zealand’s fresh water can never be as clean and pure as it once was, but action must be taken to improve the quality of rivers, lakes and wetlands, the parliamentary commissioner for the environment says.
      In a new report for MPs on water quality, released today, commissioner Jan Wright says “clear clean cool streams, full of life” still flowed through forests in remote parts of the country.
      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6601622/Freshwater-report-We-need-to-come-clean

      Professional surfer and environmentalist Dave Rastovich worries that the world class waves at Raglan are being threatened by proposed iron ore seabed mining in New Zealand’s coastal waters.
      Kiwi-born Rastovich attended a recent protest in Raglan that coincided with the arrival of Andy Sommerville of Australian mining company Trans Tasman Resources (TTR).
      Sommerville was there to meet local iwi at Poihakena Marae to discuss TTR’s plans to extract  one billion tonnes of iron ore along the west coast of the North Island, a process that involves moving five billion tones of sand.
      It’s not just the waves that are threatened, there are also fears for the critically endangered Maui’s Dolphin.
      http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/6598727/Top-surfer-worries-Raglan-under-threat

      Economic issues top the list of worries for most New Zealanders, while environmental worries have dropped in people’s priorities, according to the latest state of the nation report by pollsters Roy Morgan

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6580017/Economy-trumps-environment-on-worry-list

      It brings into question the scientific models created by New Zealand and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to allow fishing.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/6595293/McMurdo-Sounds-toothfish-population-at-risk

      Global greenhouse gas emissions could rise 50 per cent by 2050 without more ambitious climate policies, as fossil fuels continue to dominate the energy mix, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/6584939/OECD-warns-of-huge-greenhouse-gas-rise

      Imagine, if you will, taking your children down to the park to find an overseas’ owned company had set up a dairy farm in one corner. Over time the shit builds up and flows onto the play ground. You complain, but are told the farm is under no obligation to treat or retain their waste and the council has no powers to do anything about the mess. You wonder why this was allowed to happen.
      Well the government changed the rules and this company had only to apply to National’s new Environmental Protection Agency or (EPA) for the use of the land, pay a small application fee, and next thing, the company has the use of the land for eternity.
      This is not fiction, it’s what’s going on right now in the Marlborough Sounds. Anyone can apply to the EPA to set up a salmon farm, and pollute the surrounding water for free, paying no rent or rates. Unbelievable but true!
      http://thestandard.org.nz/king-salmon-stealing-our-future/

      Expansion of fish-farming in the Marlborough Sounds could cause unacceptable changes in the coastal environment, says Nelson-based research company Cawthron.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/6427926/More-fish-farms-seen-as-environment-risk

      Auckland has New Zealand’s worst air pollution which is at levels nearly double that of Sydney, World Health Organisation data out today reveals.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/5690388/Auckland-air-worse-than-Sydneys

      Has anyone noticed the word “environment” steadily and strategically being removed from the lexicon of local and central government?

      Staff within the Department of Conservation, already reeling from nationwide cuts and greatly reduced budgets, are now required to put “Conservation for prosperity” at the bottom of their emails. Prosperity for whom? The Ministry for the Environment also has the relatively new mantra of “Environmental stewardship for a prosperous New Zealand”. At least the “E” word makes an appearance, but then it is the Ministry for the Environment after all.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/opinion/5960344/Environment-issues-dumped-in-favour-of-promoting-prosperity

      Synopsis: Every year, New Zealand drops huge quantities of poison-laced food into its forest ecosystems; enough poison to kill its human population 4 times over, every year. No country has ever done anything remotely similar, on such a scale… The targets are possums and rats, but the poisonous bait kills everything that eats it – including native birds, deer, farm stock, pets, and even insects. The US manufacturer advises that all uneaten baits, and carcasses, must be recovered, and burned or buried deeply. But the rules have changed in New Zealand. Baits and carcasses are left to decompose, where they fall. Poisoning Paradise investigates the scientific theory and rationalisation that drives this extraordinary practice, and provides a close-up look at one of the worlds most deadly poisons…
      http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/7123

      Parliamentary commissioner for the environment Jan Wright was in Southland last week speaking about 1080 and lignite. SCOT MacKAY caught up with her.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/life-style/5736046/Leading-the-charge-for-a-healthy-environment

      Prime Minister John Key has dismissed claims he is placing pressure on the Conservation Department (DoC) by appearing at the opening of Bathurst Resources’ new office.
      Environment groups and the Green Party said Key’s appearance would be a sign to DoC – which is to decide on access agreements for Bathurst’s flagship West Coast project – of what the Prime Minister wanted it to do.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6615499/PM-accused-of-taking-sides-on-mining

      marsman 2.1
      22 March 2012 at 4:24 pm
      This is from Penny Bright in ‘Smith to go’ post.
      Is this not a major ‘conflict of interest’ if Prime Minister John Key stands to personally profit from opencast coal mining on conservation land, because of his personal shareholding in the Bank of America, which, in turn is a significant shareholder in Bathurst Resources Ltd?
      Whose interests are being served by NZ Prime Minister John Key?
      His own?
      As of 24 February 2012, the Bank of America was a substantial holder of shares in Bathurst Resources Ltd:
      “Class of Securities (4) – Ordinary
      Present Notice “Person’s Votes 72,302,308 Voting Power (5) 10.44%
      http://www.bathurstresources.com/files/files/1079_20120229_Change_in_substantial_holding.pdf
      NZ Prime Minister John Key is a shareholder in the Bank Of America.
      http://thestandard.org.nz/john-key-aussie-miners-stooge/comment-page-1/#comment-449977

      Access to some of New Zealand’s most endangered species and isolated islands is up for sale to help fund a pest programme in the Southern Ocean.
      The Department of Conservation is opening up berths on some of its most exclusive trips – including to the Snares Islands and Dusky Sound – to be auctioned off on TradeMe today.
      Money raised will go towards the “Million Dollar Mouse” project, which aims to find $1 million to eradicate mice off the Antipodes Islands.
      The Antipodes are an ecological treasures that lie 800km southeast of Bluff, home to rare species like the Antipodes Island snipe and the Antipodes Island parakeet.
      http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/7075119/DOC-auctioning-access-to-rare-species

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      Whale Survey: From killers to conservationists
      Rena crisis
      Science » Politics » World » National »

      Government wants to cash in on conservation
      LOIS CAIRNS
      Last updated 14:36 02/06/2012

      The Government wants to make more money from its conservation estate and is eying opportunities for increased revenue gathering.
      A Statement of Intent setting out the direction for the Department of Conservation (DOC) over the next five years says New Zealand is facing ongoing biodiversity losses at the same time as overall public spending is coming under growing pressure, so new ways of funding conservation must be found.
      ”The Department must fundamentally change its approach to continue the momentum for conservation. This means not just finding new sources of revenue . . .but changing the mindset and behaviours of the organisation as a whole,” the statement said.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/7035181/Government-wants-to-cash-in-on-conservation

      Twenty years of broken promises and failures to meet environmental obligations have left New Zealand with little to be proud of, according to a new “wake-up call” report issued on the eve of a global summit.
      The World Wildlife Fund report, Beyond Rio, has slated successive governments for failing the environment since promises made at the original Rio Earth Summit in 1992, and says the country now risks some of the highest rates of biodiversity loss on Earth unless urgent action is taken.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/6998244/NZ-fails-to-act-on-environmental-vows

  24. KhandallahMan 24
    29 June 2012 at 6:07 pm

    David Cunliffe beat the useless little man by 6 or 7,000 votes, while the Nats had 1,000 part vote advantage in New Lynn. Groser is a legend in his own lunch-time! 

  25. Colonial Viper 25
    29 June 2012 at 8:21 pm

    Friday night movie for Standardistas

    Venezuela and Hugo Chavez, a socialist democracy crashing against the American empire.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H40_rZWelRA&feature=endscreen&NR=1

    • Colonial Viper 25.1
      29 June 2012 at 8:31 pm

      press CC at the bottom of the youtube frame to get the subtitles.

    • joe90 25.3
      29 June 2012 at 11:03 pm

      https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/chile/index.html

      In October 1973, the CIA had credible information that a high-level contact was involved in specific human rights abuses; contact was severed.

      Although the CIA had information indicating that a high-level contact was a hard-liner and therefore more likely to commit abuses, contact with him was allowed to continue in the absence of concrete information about human rights abuses.

      CIA maintained indirect contact with a source in close contact with human rights violators. There was no evidence that the source engaged in abuses, but he almost certainly knew about the practice. The intelligence value of the contact was sufficiently important that the contact was not dropped.

      In the case of an individual about whom the CIA had information concerning a corruption issue that may have been related to human rights issues, a decision was made to seek contact given his position and potential intelligence value.

      In more than one case, in light of the contacts’ service affiliation and position, it seemed likely that they were involved in, knew about or covered up human rights abuses. However, because such contacts allowed the CIA to accomplish its intelligence reporting mission and maintain a channel through which to voice concerns about human rights abuses, contact was continued.

  26. Woody 26
    29 June 2012 at 9:07 pm

    Kiwirail are to shed 300 jobs. What a pity the workers are bearing the burden of recent poor spending decisions. One may have thought that Management would have mopped up the over paid contractors and consultants before the cuts. How can one justify General Managers on 40k/month (evidence available) especially when they are in these positions for years at a time.

  27. bad12 27
    29 June 2012 at 11:47 pm

    The shame of education Minister Hekia Parata deepens with the revelation that the canceled cuts to the number of teachers in schools was initially planned to be double what caused the furore after the Budget,

    And on it goes,the lies flooding the news not on a monthly or weekly basis creating a stench emanating from the Slippery National Government, it seems now a daily occurrence where one Minister or other has taken the lead from the current Prime Minister and conveniently left honesty out of what they would consider their job description,

    Sadly the economy continues to rush headlong into the brick wall being whipped into futile ‘growth’ where export GDP has risen over 1% this year while export returns have nosedived negatively by another 400 million dollars,

    Slippery and the Member from Dipton have the Government borrowing up at an obscene 300 million bucks a week and another 2 and a half years of that will see that debt and the servicing of it sliding us all further into the same situation as the European PIGS economy’s are all experiencing,

    The Dullard from Dipton among the many mouthings of stupidity this week patted Himself on the back for such borrowing saying it was clever of Him to be borrowing so much while interest rates are so low,

    Someone else today mentioned of this Government an asked opinion of it either being deliberately stupid or cynically so,

    My view is it is deliberately cynical where the Government accounts are deliberately being put in such a perilous state so as to knee-cap the next Government…

  28. bad12 28
    29 June 2012 at 11:57 pm

    Oh befor i forget,congratulations to all the dairy farmers for having taken that first big step in becoming the Nestle/Fonterra Dairy Co-operative,

    The international bankers whom will become in the next ten years the ‘new’ owners wish to also thank the farmers for a job well done in developing the dairy farms and only ask that in order for them to amalgamate them into bigger lots in the future that you prepare the way for doing so now…

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    8 hours ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    8 hours ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    8 hours ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    8 hours ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    9 hours ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    10 hours ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    11 hours ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    11 hours ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    11 hours ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    11 hours ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    11 hours ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    12 hours ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    15 hours ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    15 hours ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    15 hours ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    16 hours ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    17 hours ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    18 hours ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    18 hours ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    18 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    19 hours ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    22 hours ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    4 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: “What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
    In order to catch up to the actual progress of the D&D campaign, I present you with another couple of sessions. These were actually held back to back, on a Monday and Tuesday evening. Session XV Alas, Goatslayer had another lycanthropic transformation… though this time, he ran off into the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Accelerating the Growth Rate?
    There is a constant theme from the economic commentariat that New Zealand needs to lift its economic growth rate, coupled with policies which they are certain will attain that objective. Their prescriptions are usually characterised by two features. First, they tend to be in their advocate’s self-interest. Second, they are ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • The only thing we have to fear is tenants themselves
    1. Which of these acronyms describes the experience of travelling on a Cook Strait ferry?a. ROROb. FOMOc. RAROd. FMLAramoana, first boat ever boarded by More Than A Feilding, four weeks after the Wahine disaster2. What is the acronym for the experience of watching the government risking a $200 million break ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Peters talks of NZ “renewing its connections with the world” – but who knew we had been discon...
    Buzz from the Beehive The thrust of the country’s foreign affairs policy and its relationship with the United States have been addressed in four statements from the Beehive over the past 24 hours. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters somewhat curiously spoke of New Zealand “renewing its connections with a world ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
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