Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Selfish, greedy.
Private landlords.
‘Working group formed to combat substandard housing’
“Horrendous” rental accommodation in Tararua has prompted the community to take matters into their own hands. A working group has been formed to look at the quality of community housing, social housing and pensioner housing in the district.
Winter told Stuff some people simply struggled to keep their homes warm, dry and safe.
“Housing is an important issue. It’s a lot more important than people think. When you’ve never had to live in a car or sleep in someone’s garage you don’t understand. Often those people who are in that position don’t have much of a voice.”
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Uncaring.
Timaru District Council
Timaru council report dismisses ‘living wage’ proposal
A call to raise Timaru District Council workers’ wages has been knocked back in a council report.
Timaru man Roger Fagg has requested the council pay a “living wage to all those it employs and to those it contracts work to”.
However, a council report estimates paying at least $19.25 an hour to all workers would cost an extra $200,000 a year and recommends not implementing the measure.
In fact, an announcement from the Family Centre Social Policy Research Unit in February indicates its definition of the living wage for the financial year ending 2017 is $19.80 an hour, or 29.8 per cent higher than the national minimum wage of $15.25 an hour.
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Greedy.
The rich.
The top tenth of Kiwis hold well over half of New Zealand’s wealth
On Tuesday Statistics NZ figures showed the wealthiest 10 per cent of Kiwis now hold close to 60 per cent of the wealth, with their share of the pie increasing.
In the year to June 30, 2015, the top 10 per cent of individuals held about 59 per cent of the wealth in New Zealand, compared to about 54 per cent in 2009/10.
The top 5 per cent of individuals held around 45 per cent of the wealth, while the top 1 per cent held about 22 per cent.
For both groups the share of the nation’s wealth has risen significantly since 2010.
Labour leader confidence vote result, or as it turns out, very much no confidence.
On these numbers, Corbyn won’t even have enough support to be be named on a leadership ballot, when it actually eventuates. That’s fatally damning.
172 votes against Jeremy Corbyn
40 in support
4 abstentions
Seems to be fairly explicit.
Clause 4 – its original remit.
To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.
I’m guessing you’re just looking for a way to discredit. By picking what may, or may not, be the wrong choice of word to use, then so be it. That’s not sloppy thinking, but is evidence of a certain amount of butt hurt on your part for some reason.
As it is, the clause 4 comment wasn’t the addressed reply, and as 80% of the plp not supporting it’s leader isn’t factual evidence of any measure demonstrating how the party has strayed from it’s original remit, I’m not sure hypothesis really is the wrong word after all.
Please don’t believe everything the Guardian and the Independent tells you.
They are spokespeople for the Blairite warmongers and neo-liberals.
John Pilger is worth reading.
I’ve always found the Ashburton Guardian to be quite sound on the Blair matter. Sure, they don’t talk about Mr Tony often, concentrating instead on spore counts and sheep kill numbers, but they’re still a lot more sensible than John Pilger.
I’d rather read the Guardian. Particularly all their many, many lefty authors who generally don’t call everyone whose views they don’t agree with Blairite Neolibs, because they know how silly that would make them look.
Ahhhh the Chardonnay Socialist Establishment Guardian. They were anti Corbyn the first time around, and they will be anti Corbyn this time around. Not surprised you like them TRP, you are their kind of Labour Third Way reader.
i don’t think you understand Ad, even though the evidence is right in front of your face. Even though regional England just sent a very loud and very clear message. Even though Labour general members sent the very highly paid Labour caucus a very clear message by electing Jeremy Corbyn.
Radicalism and extremism is on the upswing in western society. Dissatisfaction with the business as usual establishment is strong. The right understand this and are taking advantage of it. The Parliamentary Labour Party on the other hand are too arrogant to even listen.
When I speak up in favour of sound, sustainable and just governance it’s wrong to think this makes me pro-establishment.
Right now it’s absolutely undeniable the establishment is broken, and it’s only conviction is clinging to power and suppressing the voice of ordinary people. Over the past decade every authentic progressive grass-roots political movement has been ruthlessly put down.
The inevitable outcome will of course be a radical break-down of the political process and a failure of government, and at that point we all discover that the only thing worse than bad government … is no government at all.
The sole issue worth thinking about at the moment, is how do ordinary people take back democratic accountability of the system? It is of course easiest and logical to start personal, work local and progress upward, coalescing with other similar efforts. Top down reform is no longer possible. That door is slammed shut and tightly welded over.
But it is a fatal error to only work at the local scope. To my mind the critical factor will be reaching out globally to others of like mind. There are hundreds of millions of us all over the planet. Isolated and atomised by the forces of capitalism we are reduced to irrelevancy.
Connect us globally, reach out to progressives in all countries, cultures and political settings – and we would change everything.
And how does one counter the normal human limits of people only being able to establish personal relationships with only 100-200 people max? Let alone a whole planet worth of humans?
Kiwis are more socialist and more educated than most.
But as a society we tolerate dozens or hundreds of NZ kids in poverty living within just kilometres of us. (For those of us resident in NZ).
We can’t even get past this supposedly simple hurdle, let alone talk about connecting with hundreds of millions of theoretical people ten thousand kilometres away somewhere.
Yes a few people can visualise an entire city, or an entire country or an entire world (or an entire universe) in their minds eye.
You nailed it better below “successful mass movements rarely make the compromises necessary to wield formal power, rather they pressure the establishment to do the right thing”.
All the big political, economic and environmental problems we face are global in nature. The privileged elites we face have little commitment to any nation, their loyalty lies to their class that owns businesses and property anywhere on the globe, and who fly their private jets around with little to no concern for the lives of us ordinary people.
If we are to ever pressure these people to ‘do the right thing’, we must apply a pressure to them everywhere, and leave no place for them to hide. This means we must be everywhere they are.
And how does one counter the normal human limits of people only being able to establish personal relationships with only 100-200 people max? Let alone a whole planet worth of humans?
Fair question. The answer is … this is what we have formal organisations and institutions for. Too many on the left have real issues with the notion of authority, but without it humans never achieve anything of lasting value at scale.
Hey, at least I have the advantage of having met John Pilger a few times. I found him to warm, pleasant, intelligent and often wrong. But he’s bright enough not to characterise the alternative ideas of other people as being cast iron evidence of them being establishment tool, neo cons, Blairites etc. In other words, he’s grounded and sensible, which makes his opinions valuable, even if they’re not always on the money.
yes Pilger is bright enough to understand the mechanisms and actions of western imperial empire. No wonder he has to publish this via socialist Venezuela media. The UK establishment media finds this kind of truth radioactive.
Pilger writes:
The most effective propagandists of the “European ideal” have not been the far right, but an insufferably patrician class for whom metropolitan London is the United Kingdom. Its leading members see themselves as liberal, enlightened, cultivated tribunes of the 21st century zeitgeist, even “cool”. What they really are is a bourgeoisie with insatiable consumerist tastes and ancient instincts of their own superiority. In their house paper, the Guardian, they have gloated, day after day, at those who would even consider the EU profoundly undemocratic, a source of social injustice and a virulent extremism known as “neoliberalism.”
People should read the full link that Paul provided
Thanks Paul. I also enjoy reading John Pilger, and that article is a good explanation of how the referendum result occurred.
Watching the British Labour Party act so badly, is like watching the true colours of butterflies emerge. The analogy may be pretty, but the reality is not.
He should be on, but there are two schools of thought on that, both apparently with legal advice claiming to support their positions.
Another wait and see.
Not really. With Cunliffe, he was (probably still is) disliked by a large number in a small caucus.
With Corbyn, most of the resignation letters, like a lot of statements I’ve seen from plp members, have said he’s a nice guy, but is never going to win.
If they’re to be taken at their word then it’s about winning the next election, so not like Cunliffe and NZ labour at all.
Note. The Labour Caucus was OK with Cunliff until his “cut off your leg” speech signaled a tilt towards real Labour values outside the comfort zone of the majority of smug, entitled, time serving Labour MP’s.
Even if the consequences are a great and permanent schism in the Labour Party, the best possible result would be the membership re-electing Corbyn to present a great middle finger to the parliamentary Labour Party. If that splinters the left-leaning electorate into arguinging factions, at least an argument is a debate in the sense of being an open competition of ideas. Nothing could be worse than than the capture of an inert leftist voting public by the those third-way neoliberals who for so long have taken the left vote for granted without doing much at all to earn it. A Left which makes itself unelectable in the short term is still better than an electable Left that was never worth electing in the first place.
Chris Hedges frames it slightly differently but the message is the same: effective mass movements rarely make the compromises necessary to seek formal power – instead they have applied powerful pressure to the establishment to do the right thing.
From what I’m reading if the UK Labour caucus manage to force a leadership challenge and then force Corbyn off of the ballot then the membership have no power to do anything at all. This seems to be the problem with a lot of political parties – the only people that the membership are allowed to vote for are the people that the leaders choose.
From the Guardian article: Corbyn’s support among members is the reason that Labour MPs, desperate to oust him, want just one candidate to stand against him.
Shows how fucked up this is, lucky they passed that new party cannibalism bill last week.
We’ll have to see, if Corbyn doesn’t see sense and resigns after he realises he can’t credibly lead a party where 80% of the plp publicly reject him, whether a unified plp candidate will do the business when the leadership election happens.
Of course if 80% of national mps all of a sudden voted no confidence in Key, we all say he should stay put, right?
If anyone knew Margaret Jones from Auckland, she was the staunchest and best activist I’ve seen in Auckland. She was also the aunt of Lindsay Perigo, and this is his tribute.
Submitted by Lindsay Perigo on Mon, 2016-06-20 05:14
“It may seem incongruous, if not downright blasphemous, to pay tribute to an avowed communist on an Objectivist/libertarian site, but, ex-communist that I am, I am going to do exactly that.
My aunt Margaret Jones passed away overnight at the age of 96. I pay homage not because of our polar opposite political views but because she was an exemplary human being. She belonged to a species that has now all but died with her: someone prepared to stand up ferociously for what she believed in without giving a damn about the consequences or the opinions of others (whom she routinely described as “boneheads”).
This trait ran (runs) in the family, of course. Margaret’s father, Leo Sim, was a World War One veteran who converted to Marxism as a result of reflecting on his wartime experiences and an encounter in Ireland with the legendary revolutionary, James Connolly. Her mother, Mary (May) provided tireless back-up both for Leo’s proselytising and in raising their five children.
Leo went to jail during the 30s for distributing “seditious” literature. He went on to become General Secretary of the New Zealand Communist Party, in which capacity he spent more than a year in the Soviet Union learning how to be more seditious. Back home, however, he fell out with his comrades over their support for the Hitler-Stalin pact, and was expelled. Never one to let a good excommunication go to waste, he founded his own Bolshevik Party with its own organ, The Spark—whose “seditious” contents promptly got him jailed again. Margaret, meanwhile, notwithstanding her notorious pedigree, was accepted for teacher training and embarked upon her lifelong career. As an educator she was more enamoured of the theories of A. S. Neill as practised at his Summerhill school in England than of the conventional state school orthodoxy of which she was part, but unlike her father never fell cataclysmically foul of The System.
In retirement she continued to do relief teaching for many years, and shared with her libertarian nephew a horror at declining standards, in education in general and of speech in particular. She was vocally supportive of my fledgling quixotic plan to save spoken English from barbarism when I outlined it to her in 2010. (Her husband Neville, who died in 1993, was one of the most beautifully-spoken men one could ever hope to hear.)
Margaret Jones also made a name for herself in the world of organic foods and alternative medicine. Believing that the medical profession were little more than legalised drug pushers who killed more people than they helped, she must have been deeply gratified in her last few weeks to know that she was slipping away because of nothing more than simple unmitigated old age, after a very long, doctor-free life lived in vibrant good health.
Wherever she was, she was the life and soul of whatever it was, often bedecked in outfits that made the word “colourful” a hopeless understatement, as it was of her. When I spoke to her by phone a few days ago and asked if there were many people taking care of her she shot back, “Too bloody many!”
Among her siblings, Margaret was predeceased by her sister Rita and brother Karl (C. F. Goldie, the “Foxton Forger”). She is survived by her sisters Erica (“Peach”) and Leomay (“Baba”)—my mother—and by her sons Marx (the “Eden Park flour-bomber”), Rhys and Brodie.
Abandoning communism in my twenties, I ceased to share the political beliefs that Margaret retained, while continuing to admire the flair and passion with which she espoused and lived all her values. I’m delighted that she died exactly as she would have wished, peacefully in her sleep, with family keeping watch. No expectation of anything hereafter (“Bullshit!” she would have said), just a tranquil release into infinite oblivion.
There are few people in the world now who know what “socialism” and “capitalism” mean, let alone are capable of debating the merits of either. “Socialism” to moronnials has something to do with Faecesbook, but they’re not sure what. And this is part of an even bigger contemporary catastrophe: not just an incapacity to deal in abstractions but complete indifference to any values of any type whatsoever.
Margaret Jones, passionate valuer, was part of a world that has gone … and was far, far better.”
A great challenge to live a life as passionately and resolutely as that.
If anyone was at the Te Atatu farewell, or has good stories on her, would be great to hear them.
Does Britain’s Labour party need to re-brand itself.
Its infighting is worse than NZs, with competing ego’s, competing interests, no clear future policy directives, it wants to be a lot of things, for many people, from Rainbows to Feminism, to the dispossessed, and marginalized.
Representing the economics of all workers is the last cause on its list,
FYI – a significant development in the fight for transparency and accountability within Auckland Council and Auckland Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs).
28 June 2016
Request for Speaking Rights at the Auckland Council Governing Body meeting, 30 June 2016.
My subject matter is the recent Report of the Local Government and Environment Select Committee, regarding my petition:
Petition 2014/33 of Penelope Mary Bright and 55 others, and Report from the Controller and Auditor-General, Governance and accountability of council-controlled organisations
Recommendation
The Local Government and Environment Committee has considered Petition 2014/33 of Penelope Mary Bright and 55 others, and the report from the Controller and AuditorGeneral, Governance and accountability of council-controlled organisations, and recommends that the House take note of its report.
Introduction
The petition from Penelope Mary Bright and 55 others requests
That the House conduct an urgent inquiry into the cost-effectiveness, transparency, and democratic accountability to Auckland Council and the majority of Auckland citizens and ratepayers, of all Auckland Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs).
We decided to consider this petition alongside a report from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) which covers similar issues about the governance and accountability of council-controlled organisations (CCOs).
…..
Accountability and transparency of Auckland’s council-controlled organisations
The petitioner told us of her concern that the public was unable to have a say on the model of Auckland’s CCOs after the 2009 Auckland “super city” merger.
She stressed that the public is also unable to have a say about the directorship of CCOs or to have any direct say in CCO statements of intent.
She believes that this is because CCOs are not classified as local authorities for the purposes of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.
The petitioner strongly believes that CCOs need to be more accountable to Auckland ratepayers because a percentage of rates goes towards the operations of CCOs.
She told us that she is defending her “lawful right as a citizen to know where my money is being spent”.
The petitioner questions how the efficiencies and cost-effectiveness of Auckland CCOs is monitored.
She is particularly concerned that information about the financial transactions of CCOs is unclear and difficult for the public to access.
For example, she would prefer that contractor transactions were easily available in a written format for public scrutiny.
The petitioner also asked why Auckland Transport does not provide open access to information about transport subsidies, given that much transport in Auckland is privately operated.
We were also told that Auckland rates have increased to pay for a transport levy.
The petitioner believes that the transparency of CCO operations would be improved if the Public Records Act 2005, specifically section 17 (Requirement to create and maintain records), was “implemented and enforced in a proper way”.
The petitioner acknowledged that some Auckland CCOs have made progress towards providing more transparent information.
She praised Watercare Services Limited for acting on some of her concerns.
However, she says that more needs to be done.
In particular, she believes that all Auckland CCOs should clearly and uniformly display information on their websites about the procurement of their awarded contracts.
She suggests that the following standard information be made readily available to the public:
the unique contract number
the name of the consultant or contractor
a brief description of the scope of the contract
the start and finish dates for the contract
the monetary value of the contract (including subcontractors)
whether the contract was awarded by direct appointment or public tender.
To require all CCOs to clearly display this information—given that, according to the petitioner, they are not classed as local authorities for the purposes of the Local Government (Rating) Act—the petitioner sees value in making minor legislative changes to one or more of the following Acts: the Local Government Act, the Local Government (Rating) Act, or the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009.
We asked the petitioner whether she had tried using the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 to obtain information about contracts.
The petitioner said that she has not received the level of information that she has requested.
Usually, this is on the grounds that the information is commercially sensitive.
The petitioner considers that this information should not be classed as commercially sensitive once a contract has been awarded.
We note that CCOs are subject to the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act and if people are dissatisfied with the information provided as a result of requests they should seek redress through the Ombudsman.
Conclusion
We would like to thank the OAG for its report on the governance and accountability of CCOs.
The report provided us with useful information that helped us consider Ms Bright’s petition.
We also would like to thank the petitioner for coming down from Auckland to speak to us about her petition.
We agree that ratepayers should be able to easily access information about how public money collected through rates is spent.
We support the petitioner’s plea for transparency and standardisation of the information that Auckland CCOs provide to the public.
We note the petitioner’s desire for legislative change, as well as for an inquiry into the cost effectiveness, transparency, and democratic accountability of Auckland CCOs.
…”
If this Select Committee of ‘law makers’ has asked Parliament to ‘take note of this report’ – which clearly affects the current governance of the Auckland region, then in my view, it is of significant and urgent ‘public interest’, that the Auckland Council Governing Body not only equally ‘takes note’ of this Report, but takes immediate action to effect the following concerns of the Local Government and Environment Select Committee:
“We agree that ratepayers should be able to easily access information about how public money collected through rates is spent.
We support the petitioner’s plea for transparency and standardisation of the information that Auckland CCOs provide to the public.”
The simple way of doing this is as I have outlined, and as stated in the above-mentioned Local Government and Environment Select Committee Report:
Please ensure that (Auckland Council) and all Auckland CCOs clearly and uniformly display information on their websites about the procurement of their awarded contracts, as follows:
the unique contract number
the name of the consultant or contractor
a brief description of the scope of the contract
the start and finish dates for the contract
the monetary value of the contract (including subcontractors)
whether the contract was awarded by direct appointment or public tender.
Please also ensure that Auckland Council Controlled Organisation – Auckland Transport (AT) provide full transparency and details of the public subsidy of private passenger transport services – particularly given that road tolls are now being considered.
SUPPLEMENTARY EVIDENCE PROVING THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY REGARDING AUCKLAND COUNCIL CCO – AUCKLAND TRANSPORT ON PUBLIC SUBSIDIES OF PRIVATELY OWNED, OPERATED / MANAGED PASSENGER TRANSPORT PROVIDERS:
PRIVACY ACT REPLY FROM AUCKLAND COUNCIL CCO AUCKLAND TRANSPORT – WHICH PROVES THAT THE PRIVATE PASSENGER TRANSPORT PROVIDERS DID NOT WANT THE AMOUNT OF PUBLIC SUBSIDY THAT THEY RECEIVED, REVEALED FOR PUBLIC SCRUTINY:
Hello Penny,
Just a question, What has happened to the million dollars donated by Barfoot n Thomson , for a state house art work for the Wharf, the council had reported spent over a million dollars for extra’s. I called it a great privy for the homeless.
The Herald blocks any mention of the donation.
Or is it under investigation by the serious fraud squad.
“The majority vote by Britons to leave the European Union was an act of raw democracy. Millions of ordinary people refused to be bullied, intimidated and dismissed with open contempt by their presumed betters in the major parties, the leaders of the business and banking oligarchy and the media.
This was, in great part, a vote by those angered and demoralised by the sheer arrogance of the apologists for the “remain” campaign and the dismemberment of a socially just civil life in Britain. The last bastion of the historic reforms of 1945, the National Health Service, has been so subverted by Tory and Labour-supported privateers it is fighting for its life.
A forewarning came when the Treasurer, George Osborne, the embodiment of both Britain’s ancient regime and the banking mafia in Europe, threatened to cut £30 billion from public services if people voted the wrong way; it was blackmail on a shocking scale.
Immigration was exploited in the campaign with consummate cynicism, not only by populist politicians from the lunar right, but by Labour politicians drawing on their own venerable tradition of promoting and nurturing racism, a symptom of corruption not at the bottom but at the top. The reason millions of refugees have fled the Middle East – first Iraq, now Syria – are the invasions and imperial mayhem of Britain, the United States, France, the European Union and Nato. Before that, there was the wilful destruction of Yugoslavia. Before that, there was the theft of Palestine and the imposition of Israel…
. The Labour Parliamentarians – 172 of them – want to crush what all of them label “as a very decent man”. Et tu brutus by 172 murderers.
So far, Jeremy Corbyn has taken the daggers hurled into his very decent head and body. An impossibly skeleton crew of 40 parliamentarians, to their eternal credit, have stayed to protect him against the parliamentary murderers.
These Loyals may not succeed. But Hundreds of thousands of citizens will avenge the “very decent man” they voted in as Leader just nine months ago.
For Jeremy stands for the very sacred principles that they have always stood for.
The 172 traitors who belittle the citizens with every living breath, don’t like a Leader who lives on the same street as that of the jobless, the lowly waged, the over rented, the poorly nursed, the fathers and mothers of families. People without equal opportunity or adequate wealth. The present and the future denied them by the wealthy Tories.
The 172 scheming labour mob have only one fault. That is, they are a watery thin facsimile of the Tories. A pity that there is room for only one Tory Party in the House.
Andrew Little is under attack again – this time by Shewan. Obviously the right-wing think they’ll shut him up with threats of defamation – and of course those very threats distract the sheeples from the real issue – that the PM lied about foreign trusts.
Edit – story online in Herald this morning.
Why doesn’t he just apologise? That’s all Shewan has asked for. Let’s face it he did a very good job and is definitely not a government puppet. Little is looking like a fool yet again.
Much like when Key refused to apologise to Red Cross or Amnesty International. Infact Key often looks like a fool remember the shower/soap debacle? Prancing on the catwalk, the merp face, tugging little girls ponytails. Doesn’t seem to affect his fanbois affections, each to their own I suppose.
The Prime Minister’s gutter ethics are no model for the leader of the opposition. If Little feels he’s done something wrong he should apologise for it. What he doesn’t have to do is apologise for the state of Shewan’s mind.
That this is the only apology Shewan wants is revealing.
Ad
No apology from me. I think I’ll continue jeering at Sherwan’s appointment, and also regard his report as; the least he could get away with in the circumstances, even though it isn’t a total whitewash. But Godon Campbell says it much better:
Inadvertently, Shewan’s report can be blackly humorous at times. Tax havens? Here? Shewan’s discussion (circa page 45-46) suggests that the modern, sophisticated folk at the OECD just don’t find that term very useful anymore. Blame the media – and its excitable ‘tone’ – though, for alarming the public unduly on that score…
this new, proposed way of handling foreign trusts remains a regulator-to-regulator system that will still be entirely reliant on overseas authorities sensing that New Zealand could be harbouring a miscreant, and lodging a search request. (There’s no real enhancement of the domestically initiated oversight – such as might have been gained from a full public inquiry.)
Essentially Shewan has, at considerable expense, suggested pretty much what IRD was advocating back in 2014, before the department got blocked by the lobbying of the lawyers most heavily involved in this dodgy line of business.
Bradbury puts it well, although without the rigorous research backing up GC’s article:
While Shewan hilariously declares NZ isn’t a tax haven, he then goes on to describe a tax haven…
“The rules are not fit for purpose in the context of preserving New Zealand’s reputation as a country that co-operates with other jurisdictions to counter money laundering and aggressive tax practices.”
…if it quacks like a tax haven, walks like a tax haven and avoids tax like a tax haven – it’s a bloody tax haven!
In my always humble opinion Andrew Little (who probably is an intelligent guy) still hasn’t quite grasped the idea that what works on the picket line or in the smoko room doesn’t work when you’re the (some may argue this point) leader of the opposition
Andrew Little, for whatever reason, seems to have a real issue with apologising. Its pretty straight forward really, did Shewan do a fair job?
If he did then Andrew Little should apologise, if he didn’t then Andrew Little can say he told you so
Trying to second guess Andrew Little I think hes betting that people will believe his version of events over John Shewans
If you keep telling yourself that Andrew Little doesn’t smear people and doesn’t have issues that need to be sorted sooner rather then later then you’re going to get quite a rude shock the night of the 2017 election
I see you’re back onto your scripted message, Puckish Rogue:
“Little is hopeless, Labour will lose the election”.
Your epiphany didn’t last long, did it – leopard, spots, indelible and all that.
Oh, and in anticipation of your response, yawn
Same back at you, Little is wrong on this. He now has a history (short though it is) of smearing people for political gain, of grandstanding and of drawing things out to gain publicity
Just because I’m trying to remain positive with other posters on here, mainly by not being disrespectful, doesn’t mean I’m not going to comment on when Andrew Little does something bone headed and his supporters blindly support him
If that’s true I don’t think it’ll work because that’s comparing apples with oranges
The voters of NZ have elected John Key PM since 2008 yet Andrew Little has failed both times he stood for election as an MP and John Key has built up a considerable amount of goodwill with the NZ voters (that’s rapidly diminishing) whereas the voters of NZ barely know Andrew Little
Its a risky strategy, if true, and not what I’d be advising him to do
I remember puckish saying he would try to clean up his troll shit …..
he should apologize for being a liar.
Why should anyone apologize to shewan who should be in jail ……….
Or are you impressed by his $2.2 billion tax theft vehicle that he hocked around to the aussie banks to use against New Zealanders ?
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Is this highly independent John Shewan the same John Shewan at National’s caucus party, held at Premier House, hosted by the Prime Minister?
I don’t have a problem with that, I don’t have a problem with him opening his gob before he engages his brain but I do have a problem with his supporters trying to tell me that the sky is green, the grass is blue and Andrew Little has never smeared anyone
Heres the thing, Andrew Little probably is, like most people, quite honest. The problem is he’s been busted more then once smearing people to score a political point.
All politicians do of course but Andrew Little is trying to sell himself as the next leader of the opposition so he needs to be careful about what he says and does
I doubt you thought about it at all – your script is to white-ant Little and you haven’t deviated from it at all. Shewan is still a poor choice to regulate tax havens – it should be a long-suffering and embittered IRD prosecutor. The bad trust owners include criminals and terrorists – you usually try to conceal your support for your disreputable colleagues better PR.
He pointed out that Mr Shewan had effectively advised the Bahamas – a country known for tax haven activity – on how to protect its offshore financial services industry and maintain its haven status.
However, he later withdrew those comments after Mr Shewan took offence and said he was incorrect.
Following the release of Mr Shewan’s inquiry yesterday, Mr Little said he did not need to go further.
“He explicitly said I don’t need you to apologise, I want a correction of a statement, and that’s what I’ve done,” he told reporters this morning.
Why on earth would Andrew say he wasn’t asked for an apology when it was expressly requested in writing? His office didn’t tell him about the letter or he thought Shewan wouldn’t go public?
Either way its an all to familiar shambles.
Nope, I’m more interested in what he needs to do to become leader. John Key is already the leader, he doesn’t need to change much of anything but Andrew Little needs to make some changes fast
Unless you think its ok that hes the leader of the second largest party but is third most preferred PM
It’s fine. It’s not a presidential race, it’s MMP.
To put it another way, the All Blacks captain can be the best rugby player in the world, but if they’re a shit captain, the team will lose and lose badly.
I’m happy that Labour is looking more stable than it’s been since 2008, more energetic than its been since at least 2007, and is working better with the Greens since, well, fuck, whenever.
Polls are largely irrelevant at the moment, and even so the opposition parties are sliiiiightly improving over the last few months, and that’s not even including NZ1.
Puckish Rogue said:
“Fair call, John Key has issues around honesty…”
and
” John Key is already the leader, he doesn’t need to change much of anything …”
When asked, “Are you saying John Key is a liar and smears people for political gain? “, Puckish Rogue said:
As you are a friend of the highly competent and sensitive Mr Shewan, could you ask him if he found any depositers from overseas who:
a) either deposited laundered money
b) paid no income tax to the appropriate authority.
If he found either of those two things, and has not reported them – then he is protecting Fraudsters. Is he not?
Possibly Mr Shewan was not given adequate staffing to assist him and was unable to find much detail. If so why didn’t he report to our Parliament that he found out sweet all?
Which part of my comment intimated that I am friend or for that matter foe of Mr Shewan?
I simply ask if there is any plausible reason why Andrew Little would make a comment “He explicitly said I don’t need you to apologise” that’s demonstrablyfalse.
My worry is he wasnt informed of the letter that was sent and that there is an active white anting campaign in action.
This whole thing has the appearance of a beatup smokescreen. Shewan’s had nearly a fortnight to go to his lawer to demand an apology, but waited till just after the release of his tax haven whitewash to whinge to the Herald about the meanness of the Labour leader. Better a clear correction than an insincere apology, to my mind.
“I wasn’t asked to provide an apology. I was asked to provide his assurance that the media report I relied on was wrong.”
He added: “[Mr Shewan] explicitly said ‘I don’t need you to apologise, I want a correction of a statement’, and that’s what I’ve done.”
When asked again to confirm that Mr Shewan had not asked for an apology, Mr Little said: “That’s my recollection of the first face-to-face discussion that we had.”…
Mr Shewan said today that he originally only asked the Labour leader to retract his “defamatory” comments…
he wrote back to Mr Little’s office on June 10 and asked for the retraction to be expanded to include an apology… the Labour leader’s office rejected this request. He was also told that any further correspondence should be sent to Mr Little’s lawyer.”
Do you always give such credence to Republican committee reports? And yet I doubt you would do the same for the National Party. Perhaps your rote-learned hatred of Hillary Clinton is showing.
OAB…skewed disinformation?…from you?…black/ white simplistic thinking?
Hillary’s emails are Republican reports?…don’t think so ! …read the rest of the links
… Hillary Clinton’s emails and responsibility for the fiasco in Libya has been widely reported and condemned elsewhere
…and btw Republican reports are NOT always wrong! ( nor is the Democratic Party always on the side of the righteous) …this report which goes softly softly adds to a list of Hillary Clinton’s incompetence (…and war crimes)
Like TRP and McFlock, they are characters better suited for those ages when we need bureaucratic stability, protection of the existing order and improved management of the status quo.
Witless flailing fails to change the status quo over and over and over and over again and still you cling to it, the way you cling to your NZLP membership.
“There’s many examples that I site in my book where she blows up at people,” Byrne said. “Like I’ve said, she has blown up at me before, and agents, and her staff. At one time, I saw her staff so afraid to tell her about a mistake that was made. They weren’t upset about the waste of the mistake, ordering the wrong invitations, they were terrified that someone was going to have to tell Hillary Clinton that there was a mistake made.”
“In other words: As President, she would aim to sign into law a program to provide subsidies from U.S. taxpayers to Monsanto and other biotech firms, to assist their PR and lobbying organizations to eliminate what she says is “a big gap between the facts and what the perceptions are” concerning genetically modified seeds and other GMOs. In other words: she ignores the evidence that started to be published in scientific journals in 2012 showing that Monsanto and other GMO firms were selectively publishing studies that alleged to show their products to be safe, while selectively blocking publication of studies that — on the basis of better methodology — showed them to be unsafe. She wants U.S. taxpayers to assist GMO firms in their propaganda that’s based on their own flawed published studies, financed by the GMO industry, and that ignores the studies that they refuse to have published. She wants America’s consumers to help to finance their own being poisoning by lying companies, who rake in profits from poisoning them.”
It appears that Labour did a good job when it set up the existing overseas trust/company regime after all, because it stopped kiwis from hiding their taxable income in trusts/companies, a practice that was common pre 1988.
However, back in 1988 it wasn’t anticipated that overseas people would use the regime for hiding taxable income and money laundering. Because of this in 2013 the IRD told the current National government to change the regime to include disclosure of financial accounts and details of beneficiaries for all overseas trusts/companies. National ignored this advice because its mates were making $23m a year (or more?) administering the overseas trusts and it didn’t have any qualms about rich overseas people fiddling their taxes or money laundering.
This situation would still be going on today except for the leaking of the Panama Papers. Key’s initial reaction was to lie through his teeth saying that disclosure requirements were fine and they were recognised as such internationally. However, the Shewan report found the opposite; disclosure requirements were woefully inadequate thus affecting NZ’s reputation abroad. Julie Anne Genter’s Bill was right all along.
However 2 issues remain that the Shewan report has been weak on. Firstly, as the article says, under the Shewan recommendations:
“The problem remains that trusts would not be transparent to foreign tax authorities unless they know what to ask for. Some users of foreign trusts will have good reason to hide wealth from criminal extortionists and corrupt regimes but we have to ensure we are not serving the criminal and corrupt.”
And secondly, as Andrew Little says, the trusts/companies need to be searchable by the general public; this has also not been recommended by Shewan. Why should this information be hidden from the public? We should be able to see if our country is being used to syphon overseas money.
There is no danger of confusion here with legitimate domestic trusts set up by NZ residents/citizens as this can be sorted out by making the disclosure requirements for overseas trusts/companies dependent on the beneficiaries proving they are either NZ residents or citizens. Failure to prove this should subject them to an overseas trust/company regime that includes the financial disclosure requirements recommended by Shewan and to searchability by not just the IRD but by the NZ public too.
Labour should have this requirement in its manifesto.
Gordon Campbell has a good take on the Shewan report: “What to do? Well, as Bernard Hickey points out on the same site, Shewan had given himself four possible options :
1. Some increase in information disclosure to include details of settlors and beneficiaries in trust deeds,
2. A significant increase in disclosure with a register of foreign trusts searchable by authorities, including details of settlors, persons with effective control, non-resident trustees, beneficiaries, coupled with an annual return, expanded application of Anti-Money Laundering rules and a register searchable by authorities,
3. The same significant increase in disclosure coupled with a fully publically searchable register,
As expected Key’s mate Shewan has gone for what can be got away with, Option 2, rather than what is really needed, Option 3. Key will opt to implement only parts of Option 2. Labour can sort this out with a press-release offering a cast-iron guarantee it will implement all of Option 3 if elected.
My impression is that they are seeking ways to make the problem go away, without sacrificing what they are gaining from it – the $5,000 to get out of Auckland was a move in that direction. Last night on the news a man suggested buying a defunct cruise ship or two as a temporary solution while houses are being built, but Paula did not seem to warm to the idea. Twyford thought it was at least worth exploring. Meanwhile, you have a Mr Bell of the drugs foundation saying that “… Housing New Zealand has been suckered in and is evicting tenants unfairly. “I think that it’s deliberate,” he says. “They know the truth [and] they’re using the lies to kick people out.” Which Ms Bennett denies. http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/housing-nzs-meth-testing-is-overzealous—drug-foundation-2016062819#axzz4CqulmvVR?ref=newshubFB
Ummm. Maybe she’s hiding somewhere, worried that a reporter might ask her another question about climate change and what her thoughts are on the fact that NZ has just recorded the hottest first 6 months of a year, since records began approximately 100 years ago, (TVNZ news last night) and the fact that the planet is on f – ing fire
It’s all the hard questions see. Perhaps she’s thinking why do I get the hard portfolio’s? This sucks. I’m gonna nick one of these vans that people seem to want to live in these days. I’ll just turf them out and stick this mattress against the window so no one can see me. I’ll go park up at Piha (hmmm, if the brakes on this old dunga don’t give out going down the hill) and sip on some bubbly, something decent I think. Problem solved darlings!
Nice bunch of caring people there attending that event. Good to see out northern ward candidate, Peter Gilberd there too. I always appreciate Frank Macskasy photographing political events and rallies.
Mr Allen said: “I will not be participating in today’s vote of no confidence. It has no standing in our party’s rules. I will not give it, or any faction, any legitimacy by voting today.
“If MP’s wish to remove a leader there is clear provision in the party’s rules for 51 MPs to nominate a named alternative. If such a step is taken, you and I and every other party member will have the opportunity to assess the records of the candidates and make our decision.
“It is important however that everyone should then accept the decision of our party and support the Leader whoever it is.
“In the meantime we should follow due process and cease all the orchestrated activity which is destroying the possibility of our party coming to government in 2020.”
, Dear Cricklewood
.
Andrew Little did as he was asked by Mr Shewan, and corrected his statement that Shewan had been an advisor to Bahama tax Havens. Shewan definitely said that he was not seeking an apology. Just a correction. An important correction.
Andrew Little made that correction. An apology not having been sought and expressly not required by Shewan, made an apology unnecessary.
Now it appears that Mr Shewan has gone back on his word and threatened A Defamatory Action.
I am wondering whether MR Shewan will write another letter demanding that Mr Little cleans and polishes Mr Shewans shoes.
It is a pity you have not answered my question as to whether MR Shewan found overseas Depositers who have avoided their financial responsibilites.
It seems to me that he has pretty much followed, in different words ways, the view of NZ IRD as sent to the current Prime Minister 2013 to fixup the serious Frauds that Depositers may have made and are are still making. Making New Zealand a Tax Haven. Just as reported by the Panama Papers.
MR Key ignored the IRD in 2013. He subsequently lied about the recent release of the Panama Papers. He has not apologised for that.
You are missing the bit where Shewan requested (in writing) an apology from Little. Even after receiving this letter, Little stated to RNZ that Shewan did not request an apology. I suggest you go and read the full Herald article.
If Key had acted in the same fashion, he would be accused here of being an outright liar.
“Sometimes it is more important to ask the right question than to get the right answer.” (Werner Herzog, interviewed by Kim Hill, RNZ National, 25 June 2016).
“Some of you may recall this from almost 2 weeks ago when the Globalist’s & their assortment of LameStream propaganda mouth pieces were assuring us all THERE WOULD BE NO BREXIT?????
“gee whiz! I must have missed the fantastically wonderful macro-economic data or news that were the catalysts for todays 200 point ramp of the Dow Jones Propaganda Index…
Surely me and the other “simple folk” around here just don’t understand that theres a perfectly logical “technical” explanation for another FRAUDULENT F***G STICK SAVE OF THE PHONY DJPI AND S&PISS BY THE FED, BOE, AND EXCHANGE STABILIZATION FUND ON YET ANOTHER DAY HEADING INTO AN IMPENDING VOTE BY BRITS, WHO DESPITE THE OBVIOUS DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN BEING WAGED, JUST MIGHT DECIDE TO TELL THE KHAZAR LED MONEYCHANGER EUROPEON TECHNOF***S TO F***K THE F** OFF…”
Well now, with that all in the books what’s up with todays Fraud Market activities now that IN FACT those brave Brits HAVE told the EuroPEON puppets and their money masters to F***K OFF???
before & after Brits seized back their independence what has the MoneyChangers propaganda machine been telling us –
“all hell will break loose”…
“cats & dogs will be holding paws while singing Kumbaya…”
“the seas would part and the Krackens would be released…”
And so today with U.K. banks facing downgrades, the U.K. itself as a nation facing downgrades,
Jean Claude Drunker & every EuroPEON puppet talking shit to Britain & Farage as to how much more their economy would become F***D, you’d expect further deterioration in these manipulated Fraud Market’s – WOULDNT YOU????
Oh no…never that….instead we get treated to an EuroPEON/AmeriDUMB market rampalloza on both openings, the predictable “sideways shuffle” for 4 straight hours, and then the “grand finale” . . . . . ALL YET AGAIN ON NO VOLUME & ABSOLUTELY NO POSITIVE MACRO-ECONOMIC DATA OR NEWS WHATSOF****GEVER…
. . . . .
Oh and how you guys like the little game these assholes are playing with the phony paper prices of the ONLY 2 forms of REAL MONEY??? I mean really, are you Khazar f**ks that afraid of $1320 Gold & $18.00 Silver???
Yeah – i thought so…Could this be the reasons why???
* “As the price of gold has soared, funds that track the precious metal are also reaching new heights. Following Britain’s vote to exit the European Union, the third largest U.S. gold ETF, ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares, announced on Monday that its assets have surpassed $1 billion. …”
* “Chinese investors are rushing to gold as a haven after the U.K.’s vote to quit the European Union. . . . . “
. . . . .
. . . TO THE F****G MONEYCHANGERS.”
Well, as a retired academic, I wouldn’t have put it QUITE like that, but I have to say I agree with the general sentiments expressed therein, somewhere around about 100%.
[lprent: seems to have little to do with the post topic and more of a personal rant. Moved to OpenMike. ]
Interesting, Sabine. It shows that Trump is a rank amateur. He needs to take lessons from Hillary Clinton on how to bring in real money from foreign donors. Especially from China and Saudi Arabia.
From a Clinton Foundation document revealed by a hacker. (Please forgive the caps, they were in the article).
Here are some of the section titles:
*THE CLINTON FOUNDATION RECEIVED DONATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS TIED TO SAUDI ARABIA WHILE CLINTON SERVED AS SECRETARY OF STATE
*AN EMBATTLED BUSINESSMAN WITH “TIES TO BAHRAIN’S STATE-OWNED ALUMINUM COMPANY” GAVE BETWEEN $1 MILLION AND $5 MILLION TO THE CLINTON FOUNDATION
*A VENEZUELAN MEDIA MOGUL WHO WAS ACTIVE IN VENEZUELAN POLITICS DONATED TO THE CLINTON FOUNDATION DURING CLINTON’S TENURE AS SECRETARY OF STATE
*GERMAN INVESTOR WHO HAS LOBBIED CHANCELLOR MERKEL’S ADMINISTRATION GAVE BETWEEN $1 MILLION AND $5 MILLION TO THE CLINTON FOUNDATION, SOME OF WHICH WAS DURING MRS. CLINTON’S TENURE AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT
*THE CEO OF AN AMSTERDAM BASED ENERGY COMPANY DONATED AT LEAST $1 MILLION TO THE CLINTON FOUNDATION AND LATER ANNOUNCED AT THE 2009 CGI MEETING A $5 BILLION PROJECT TO DEVELOP ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY POWER GENERATION IN INDIA AND CHINA
*INDIAN POLITICIAN AMAR SINGH, WHO HAD DONATED AT LEAST $1 MILLION TO THE CLINTON FOUNDATION, MET WITH HILLARY CLINTON IN SEPTEMBER 2008 TO DISCUSS AN INDIA-U.S. CIVIL NUCLEAR AGREEMENT
*THE CLINTON FOUNDATION RECEIVED ADDITIONAL DONATIONS FROM INDIAN BUSINESS INTERESTS PRIOR TO HER BECOMING SECRETARY OF STATE
*BILLIONAIRE STEEL EXECUTIVE AND MEMBER OF THE FOREIGN INVESTMENT COUNCIL IN KAZAKHSTAN LAKSHMI MITTAL GAVE $1 MILLION TO $5 MILLION TO THE CLINTON FOUNDATION BEFORE CLINTON BECAME SECRETARY OF STATE
*SOON AFTER SECRETARY CLINTON LEFT THE STATE DEPARTMENT, THE CLINTON
FOUNDATION “RECEIVED A LARGE DONATION FROM A CONGLOMERATE RUN BY A MEMBER OF CHINA’S NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS”
Question Time today.
David Parker had a question for McCulley re a person “double dipping” while McCulley was Minister of Rugby World Cup.
What is interesting that, as the Minister of the Rugby WC no longer exists, no questions can be asked of McCulley. Or for that matter of Brownlee as Minister of Earthquake repairs as that position does not exist either.
A lot of debate re this in Q 11 @ https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=176810
(Trevor reckons that such questions should be referred instead to the PM.)
Q11 “What part did he have in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s engagement of Alex Matheson or his consultancy company to work on Middle Eastern issues, and what other roles has Mr Matheson, or his consultancy companies, previously carried out for Hon Murray McCully or other entities he has been responsible for?”
I just watched Maiki Sherman’s piece on Newshub about the time it take Housing NZ to find homes for people. 155 days or nearly half a year. Paula Bennet’s excuse; the problem is because the applicants aren’t reachable. In other words it’s the homeless’s own fault because they aren’t immediately available on a fucking iPhone. That woman is becoming a major liability.
She IS, an always was, a liability, not to her puppet masters, but to those who need help the most.
Oh, and BTW, fingers up to the the burning planet and the future health and well being of those who are born now and those who will approach old age in anywhere between 2030 onwards.
“Rt Hon Winston Peters: How does he reconcile his Government’s comments that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will be worth $5 billion, year on year, by 2025 when no other proponents have made such extravagant claims?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member should table the quote where I said that.
Rt Hon Winston Peters: I seek leave to table two quotes, one from Minister Groser and one from Gerry Brownlee.
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The Rt Hon Winston Peters just misled the House. He said that that was my quote. It was not my quote—
Speaker: order order wank wank wake up john,
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Despite the fact that I never said they were, Prime Minister—and obfuscation and deviation will not work in this House—why is the Government blocking a free-trade deal with Russia and pouring massive taxpayer support into the Hollywood film industry, Skycity Casino, Rio Tinto, and now the TPP agreement campaign when the Democrat and Republican campaigns’ leadership in the United States thinks it is a real dog—
Hon Steven Joyce: What’s your question?
Rt Hon Winston Peters: —no, not you; the TPP agreement—and a big corporate protection racket against the interests of its workers and its farmers?
Chris Bishop: How’s that Northland office going?
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Then, of course—how is the Northland office going? The Northland office is going the same way it was when you turned up at one of our campaigns in Kaipara. We took that poor lad Chris Bishop to the cleaners. We gave him a lesson in heartland politics. They were so embarrassed that they were skulking at the back door, hiding behind the tea ladies, and the tea ladies were trying to get away from them. They did not want to be contaminated. But instead of saying “Thank you, Winston. Is that how it’s done?”, no, no, he is still as arrogant. He is still not telling his next-door neighbour Sarah Dowie that she is gone next time, and still not telling the next-door neighbour from Whangarei that he is gone next time. Oh, believe me, I tell you what: I know from the communications from National Party stalwarts that it is all over, Rover. They know that there is one party that understands heartland New Zealand. It is in our name—it is New Zealand First.
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Despite Tim Groser and Gerry Brownlee’s comments, how is his response that the TPP agreement is a financial relief for New Zealand dairy farmers, when US free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and Korea took more than 4 years to receive congressional approval after signing? In short, how will the dairy industry in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 expect any relief at all from his flippant comments?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: This is going to come as a great revelation, but Panama, Colombia, and Korea are not part of the TPP “
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For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
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Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Selfish, greedy.
Private landlords.
‘Working group formed to combat substandard housing’
Read more here…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/81506260/working-group-formed-to-combat-substandard-housing
Selfish, greedy.
Private tenants.
Pretty stupid, huh?
bad rental housing doesn’t kill the landlords.
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Uncaring.
Timaru District Council
Timaru council report dismisses ‘living wage’ proposal
Read more here…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/81462652/timaru-council-report-dismisses-living-wage-proposal
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/78592099/Timaru-council-makes-recommends-continuing-pay-premiums-for-extra-duties The Mayor is on a paltry $115,000
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/79652997/waimate-councillors-to-consider-pay-rises-premiums Happy to vote themselves pay rises, who wouldn’t I suppose.
Thank you.
Greedy, selfish and uncaring.
Timaru District Council
If you do not approve, vote councillors on who will campaign for the living wage.
Maybe someone from the left can successfully stand for mayor in Timaru? No?
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Greedy.
The rich.
The top tenth of Kiwis hold well over half of New Zealand’s wealth
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/81539857/top-tenth-of-kiwis-hold-well-over-half-of-new-zealands-wealth-official-figures-show
Change the word ‘hold’ to ‘hoard’.
Labour leader confidence vote result, or as it turns out, very much no confidence.
On these numbers, Corbyn won’t even have enough support to be be named on a leadership ballot, when it actually eventuates. That’s fatally damning.
172 votes against Jeremy Corbyn
40 in support
4 abstentions
Just shows how far the Labour Party has strayed from its original remit.
That’s one hypothesis
Seems to be fairly explicit.
Clause 4 – its original remit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clause_IV
Never mind clause 4.
It’s certainly changed the 1918 vision. That leaflet has some pretty good writing in it…
How can it be an “hypothesis” when the vote has already taken place, and the original aims of the Labour party are known?
Sloppy language is often an indication of sloppy thinking.
I’m guessing you’re just looking for a way to discredit. By picking what may, or may not, be the wrong choice of word to use, then so be it. That’s not sloppy thinking, but is evidence of a certain amount of butt hurt on your part for some reason.
Hypothesis synonyms: theory, theorem, thesis, conjecture, supposition, speculation, postulation, postulate, proposition, premise, surmise, assumption, presumption, presupposition
As it is, the clause 4 comment wasn’t the addressed reply, and as 80% of the plp not supporting it’s leader isn’t factual evidence of any measure demonstrating how the party has strayed from it’s original remit, I’m not sure hypothesis really is the wrong word after all.
Please don’t believe everything the Guardian and the Independent tells you.
They are spokespeople for the Blairite warmongers and neo-liberals.
John Pilger is worth reading.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/John-Pilger-Why-the-British-Said-No-to-Europe-20160625-0022.html
https://off-guardian.org/2016/06/27/new-labour-emerges-from-hibernation-sooner-than-expected-and-unready/
https://off-guardian.org/2016/06/28/did-the-uk-independent-actually-say-democracy-isnt-working/
https://off-guardian.org/2016/06/27/brexit-and-the-diseased-liberal-mind/
https://uprootedpalestinians.wordpress.com/2016/06/28/the-labour-party-traitors-really-wanted-corbyn-out-of-the-way-before-the-chilcot-report-is-discussed-in-parliament/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg6NmHZoCTM
I’ve always found the Ashburton Guardian to be quite sound on the Blair matter. Sure, they don’t talk about Mr Tony often, concentrating instead on spore counts and sheep kill numbers, but they’re still a lot more sensible than John Pilger.
The Guardian has changed quite a lot in the past few years…..
‘Red Neoliberals: How Corbyn’s Victory Unmasked Britain’s Guardian’
https://off-guardian.org/2015/09/21/red-neoliberals-how-corbyns-victory-unmasked-britains-guardian/
I’d rather read the Guardian. Particularly all their many, many lefty authors who generally don’t call everyone whose views they don’t agree with Blairite Neolibs, because they know how silly that would make them look.
And there’s always Steve Bell:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2016/jun/28/steve-bells-if-sith-lord-tony-blair-attacks-obi-jez-corbyn
Ahhhh the Chardonnay Socialist Establishment Guardian. They were anti Corbyn the first time around, and they will be anti Corbyn this time around. Not surprised you like them TRP, you are their kind of Labour Third Way reader.
We all just need to be more and more radical.
And just enjoy extremist things.
It’s a sure fire winner.
i don’t think you understand Ad, even though the evidence is right in front of your face. Even though regional England just sent a very loud and very clear message. Even though Labour general members sent the very highly paid Labour caucus a very clear message by electing Jeremy Corbyn.
Radicalism and extremism is on the upswing in western society. Dissatisfaction with the business as usual establishment is strong. The right understand this and are taking advantage of it. The Parliamentary Labour Party on the other hand are too arrogant to even listen.
So the message is going to get louder.
People without jobs, homes, proper income is extremist. The state of the environment is extreme too. Looking for answers is not extremism.
whereas a 200 member caucus fucking over a hundred thousand party general membership is seen as mainstream and reasonable by some.
When I speak up in favour of sound, sustainable and just governance it’s wrong to think this makes me pro-establishment.
Right now it’s absolutely undeniable the establishment is broken, and it’s only conviction is clinging to power and suppressing the voice of ordinary people. Over the past decade every authentic progressive grass-roots political movement has been ruthlessly put down.
The inevitable outcome will of course be a radical break-down of the political process and a failure of government, and at that point we all discover that the only thing worse than bad government … is no government at all.
The sole issue worth thinking about at the moment, is how do ordinary people take back democratic accountability of the system? It is of course easiest and logical to start personal, work local and progress upward, coalescing with other similar efforts. Top down reform is no longer possible. That door is slammed shut and tightly welded over.
But it is a fatal error to only work at the local scope. To my mind the critical factor will be reaching out globally to others of like mind. There are hundreds of millions of us all over the planet. Isolated and atomised by the forces of capitalism we are reduced to irrelevancy.
Connect us globally, reach out to progressives in all countries, cultures and political settings – and we would change everything.
And how does one counter the normal human limits of people only being able to establish personal relationships with only 100-200 people max? Let alone a whole planet worth of humans?
Kiwis are more socialist and more educated than most.
But as a society we tolerate dozens or hundreds of NZ kids in poverty living within just kilometres of us. (For those of us resident in NZ).
We can’t even get past this supposedly simple hurdle, let alone talk about connecting with hundreds of millions of theoretical people ten thousand kilometres away somewhere.
Yes a few people can visualise an entire city, or an entire country or an entire world (or an entire universe) in their minds eye.
But that’s a very few people out of the whole.
You nailed it better below “successful mass movements rarely make the compromises necessary to wield formal power, rather they pressure the establishment to do the right thing”.
All the big political, economic and environmental problems we face are global in nature. The privileged elites we face have little commitment to any nation, their loyalty lies to their class that owns businesses and property anywhere on the globe, and who fly their private jets around with little to no concern for the lives of us ordinary people.
If we are to ever pressure these people to ‘do the right thing’, we must apply a pressure to them everywhere, and leave no place for them to hide. This means we must be everywhere they are.
And how does one counter the normal human limits of people only being able to establish personal relationships with only 100-200 people max? Let alone a whole planet worth of humans?
Fair question. The answer is … this is what we have formal organisations and institutions for. Too many on the left have real issues with the notion of authority, but without it humans never achieve anything of lasting value at scale.
As opposed to characterising all who voted for Brexit as xenophobic, misogynistic uneducated rednecks.
Top work trp
sheep?…what are they?
“but they’re still a lot more sensible than John Pilger.”
Always ready with the establishment point of view TRP. You won’t shed a tear when Corbyn is run over by the UK Labour neoliberals.
Hey, at least I have the advantage of having met John Pilger a few times. I found him to warm, pleasant, intelligent and often wrong. But he’s bright enough not to characterise the alternative ideas of other people as being cast iron evidence of them being establishment tool, neo cons, Blairites etc. In other words, he’s grounded and sensible, which makes his opinions valuable, even if they’re not always on the money.
How would you compare John Pilger to Oliver Stone?
or Michael Moore. Or Glenn Greenwald.
I wouldn’t compare them. They all contribute positively, though in different ways.
yes Pilger is bright enough to understand the mechanisms and actions of western imperial empire. No wonder he has to publish this via socialist Venezuela media. The UK establishment media finds this kind of truth radioactive.
Pilger writes:
People should read the full link that Paul provided
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/John-Pilger-Why-the-British-Said-No-to-Europe-20160625-0022.html
Pilgar is, most of the time, entirely correct, which is why he is so often marginalised by self appointed pundits.
Thanks Paul. I also enjoy reading John Pilger, and that article is a good explanation of how the referendum result occurred.
Watching the British Labour Party act so badly, is like watching the true colours of butterflies emerge. The analogy may be pretty, but the reality is not.
He’ll be on the ballot by right, apparently. Assuming he doesn’t resign, that is.
He should be on, but there are two schools of thought on that, both apparently with legal advice claiming to support their positions.
Another wait and see.
with any luck the general membership will tell this disloyal Labour caucus to march themselves in to the Channel.
Cunliffe redux.
I like this line from Monbiot (not specifically about Labour, but it is apt):
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/28/brexit-disaster-crisis-changes-left
Not really. With Cunliffe, he was (probably still is) disliked by a large number in a small caucus.
With Corbyn, most of the resignation letters, like a lot of statements I’ve seen from plp members, have said he’s a nice guy, but is never going to win.
If they’re to be taken at their word then it’s about winning the next election, so not like Cunliffe and NZ labour at all.
Note. The Labour Caucus was OK with Cunliff until his “cut off your leg” speech signaled a tilt towards real Labour values outside the comfort zone of the majority of smug, entitled, time serving Labour MP’s.
+1
Even if the consequences are a great and permanent schism in the Labour Party, the best possible result would be the membership re-electing Corbyn to present a great middle finger to the parliamentary Labour Party. If that splinters the left-leaning electorate into arguinging factions, at least an argument is a debate in the sense of being an open competition of ideas. Nothing could be worse than than the capture of an inert leftist voting public by the those third-way neoliberals who for so long have taken the left vote for granted without doing much at all to earn it. A Left which makes itself unelectable in the short term is still better than an electable Left that was never worth electing in the first place.
A Left which makes itself unelectable in the short term is still better than an electable Left that was never worth electing in the first place.
Jeeze that’s grim … but perfectly expressed.
Chris Hedges frames it slightly differently but the message is the same: effective mass movements rarely make the compromises necessary to seek formal power – instead they have applied powerful pressure to the establishment to do the right thing.
From what I’m reading if the UK Labour caucus manage to force a leadership challenge and then force Corbyn off of the ballot then the membership have no power to do anything at all. This seems to be the problem with a lot of political parties – the only people that the membership are allowed to vote for are the people that the leaders choose.
The political system were those in power get to choose their successors, is called a Dictatorship.
From the Guardian article:
Corbyn’s support among members is the reason that Labour MPs, desperate to oust him, want just one candidate to stand against him.
Shows how fucked up this is, lucky they passed that new party cannibalism bill last week.
We’ll have to see, if Corbyn doesn’t see sense and resigns after he realises he can’t credibly lead a party where 80% of the plp publicly reject him, whether a unified plp candidate will do the business when the leadership election happens.
Of course if 80% of national mps all of a sudden voted no confidence in Key, we all say he should stay put, right?
Will never happen.
The National parties owners will decide when Key has done his dash.
And give him a knighthood and a directors position to leave.
Time for the general membership to deselect those Labour MP shites.
Is that Vlad’s message for today? Thanks for that, Tiddles. lol
I’m serious. These careerist MPs have now outed themselves.
Their electorate membership should now move to deselect every single one of them.
All 172, that’s 80% of them, those damn careerist buggers. lol
This film looks worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVdvp188rk4
If anyone knew Margaret Jones from Auckland, she was the staunchest and best activist I’ve seen in Auckland. She was also the aunt of Lindsay Perigo, and this is his tribute.
Submitted by Lindsay Perigo on Mon, 2016-06-20 05:14
“It may seem incongruous, if not downright blasphemous, to pay tribute to an avowed communist on an Objectivist/libertarian site, but, ex-communist that I am, I am going to do exactly that.
My aunt Margaret Jones passed away overnight at the age of 96. I pay homage not because of our polar opposite political views but because she was an exemplary human being. She belonged to a species that has now all but died with her: someone prepared to stand up ferociously for what she believed in without giving a damn about the consequences or the opinions of others (whom she routinely described as “boneheads”).
This trait ran (runs) in the family, of course. Margaret’s father, Leo Sim, was a World War One veteran who converted to Marxism as a result of reflecting on his wartime experiences and an encounter in Ireland with the legendary revolutionary, James Connolly. Her mother, Mary (May) provided tireless back-up both for Leo’s proselytising and in raising their five children.
Leo went to jail during the 30s for distributing “seditious” literature. He went on to become General Secretary of the New Zealand Communist Party, in which capacity he spent more than a year in the Soviet Union learning how to be more seditious. Back home, however, he fell out with his comrades over their support for the Hitler-Stalin pact, and was expelled. Never one to let a good excommunication go to waste, he founded his own Bolshevik Party with its own organ, The Spark—whose “seditious” contents promptly got him jailed again. Margaret, meanwhile, notwithstanding her notorious pedigree, was accepted for teacher training and embarked upon her lifelong career. As an educator she was more enamoured of the theories of A. S. Neill as practised at his Summerhill school in England than of the conventional state school orthodoxy of which she was part, but unlike her father never fell cataclysmically foul of The System.
In retirement she continued to do relief teaching for many years, and shared with her libertarian nephew a horror at declining standards, in education in general and of speech in particular. She was vocally supportive of my fledgling quixotic plan to save spoken English from barbarism when I outlined it to her in 2010. (Her husband Neville, who died in 1993, was one of the most beautifully-spoken men one could ever hope to hear.)
Margaret Jones also made a name for herself in the world of organic foods and alternative medicine. Believing that the medical profession were little more than legalised drug pushers who killed more people than they helped, she must have been deeply gratified in her last few weeks to know that she was slipping away because of nothing more than simple unmitigated old age, after a very long, doctor-free life lived in vibrant good health.
Wherever she was, she was the life and soul of whatever it was, often bedecked in outfits that made the word “colourful” a hopeless understatement, as it was of her. When I spoke to her by phone a few days ago and asked if there were many people taking care of her she shot back, “Too bloody many!”
Among her siblings, Margaret was predeceased by her sister Rita and brother Karl (C. F. Goldie, the “Foxton Forger”). She is survived by her sisters Erica (“Peach”) and Leomay (“Baba”)—my mother—and by her sons Marx (the “Eden Park flour-bomber”), Rhys and Brodie.
Abandoning communism in my twenties, I ceased to share the political beliefs that Margaret retained, while continuing to admire the flair and passion with which she espoused and lived all her values. I’m delighted that she died exactly as she would have wished, peacefully in her sleep, with family keeping watch. No expectation of anything hereafter (“Bullshit!” she would have said), just a tranquil release into infinite oblivion.
There are few people in the world now who know what “socialism” and “capitalism” mean, let alone are capable of debating the merits of either. “Socialism” to moronnials has something to do with Faecesbook, but they’re not sure what. And this is part of an even bigger contemporary catastrophe: not just an incapacity to deal in abstractions but complete indifference to any values of any type whatsoever.
Margaret Jones, passionate valuer, was part of a world that has gone … and was far, far better.”
A great challenge to live a life as passionately and resolutely as that.
If anyone was at the Te Atatu farewell, or has good stories on her, would be great to hear them.
I went to Marg Jones’ funeral and this is what I said:
“Well-behaved women rarely make history.
I first met Marg Jones as I did a number of others here during the 1981 Springbok Tour.
Activists get things done.
We will all remember Marg for her energy and enthusiasm.
Marg has had 95 years of getting things done.
Have a rest Marg – you deserve it. ”
Penny Bright.
Nice Penny………… respects well said.
Thanks Ad. that puts a smile on my face.
Does Britain’s Labour party need to re-brand itself.
Its infighting is worse than NZs, with competing ego’s, competing interests, no clear future policy directives, it wants to be a lot of things, for many people, from Rainbows to Feminism, to the dispossessed, and marginalized.
Representing the economics of all workers is the last cause on its list,
rebranding; an excellent neoliberal response for a deeply neoliberal organisation.
it could be the Rainbow party, clearly Labour it isnt.
Again, its like the Presidential race in America, just tired, old geriatric, one term wonders.
How is Canada progressing with its Feminist Prime Minister.
“The Whigs” has a nice ring to it.
Avert your eyes away from the old English dog for a while – it’s just chowing down and licking its own balls for a couple of years.
Good. Time for the Scots and Northern Irish to leave them to it.
I think your getting me 🙂
FYI – a significant development in the fight for transparency and accountability within Auckland Council and Auckland Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs).
28 June 2016
Request for Speaking Rights at the Auckland Council Governing Body meeting, 30 June 2016.
My subject matter is the recent Report of the Local Government and Environment Select Committee, regarding my petition:
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-nz/51DBSCH_SCR69296_1/924613ec7fb831c4e74bd062f73287ac2ceb5081
Petition 2014/33 of Penelope Mary Bright and 55 others, and Report from the Controller and Auditor-General, Governance and accountability of council-controlled organisations
Recommendation
The Local Government and Environment Committee has considered Petition 2014/33 of Penelope Mary Bright and 55 others, and the report from the Controller and AuditorGeneral, Governance and accountability of council-controlled organisations, and recommends that the House take note of its report.
Introduction
The petition from Penelope Mary Bright and 55 others requests
That the House conduct an urgent inquiry into the cost-effectiveness, transparency, and democratic accountability to Auckland Council and the majority of Auckland citizens and ratepayers, of all Auckland Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs).
We decided to consider this petition alongside a report from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) which covers similar issues about the governance and accountability of council-controlled organisations (CCOs).
…..
Accountability and transparency of Auckland’s council-controlled organisations
The petitioner told us of her concern that the public was unable to have a say on the model of Auckland’s CCOs after the 2009 Auckland “super city” merger.
She stressed that the public is also unable to have a say about the directorship of CCOs or to have any direct say in CCO statements of intent.
She believes that this is because CCOs are not classified as local authorities for the purposes of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.
The petitioner strongly believes that CCOs need to be more accountable to Auckland ratepayers because a percentage of rates goes towards the operations of CCOs.
She told us that she is defending her “lawful right as a citizen to know where my money is being spent”.
The petitioner questions how the efficiencies and cost-effectiveness of Auckland CCOs is monitored.
She is particularly concerned that information about the financial transactions of CCOs is unclear and difficult for the public to access.
For example, she would prefer that contractor transactions were easily available in a written format for public scrutiny.
The petitioner also asked why Auckland Transport does not provide open access to information about transport subsidies, given that much transport in Auckland is privately operated.
We were also told that Auckland rates have increased to pay for a transport levy.
The petitioner believes that the transparency of CCO operations would be improved if the Public Records Act 2005, specifically section 17 (Requirement to create and maintain records), was “implemented and enforced in a proper way”.
The petitioner acknowledged that some Auckland CCOs have made progress towards providing more transparent information.
She praised Watercare Services Limited for acting on some of her concerns.
However, she says that more needs to be done.
In particular, she believes that all Auckland CCOs should clearly and uniformly display information on their websites about the procurement of their awarded contracts.
She suggests that the following standard information be made readily available to the public:
the unique contract number
the name of the consultant or contractor
a brief description of the scope of the contract
the start and finish dates for the contract
the monetary value of the contract (including subcontractors)
whether the contract was awarded by direct appointment or public tender.
To require all CCOs to clearly display this information—given that, according to the petitioner, they are not classed as local authorities for the purposes of the Local Government (Rating) Act—the petitioner sees value in making minor legislative changes to one or more of the following Acts: the Local Government Act, the Local Government (Rating) Act, or the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009.
We asked the petitioner whether she had tried using the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 to obtain information about contracts.
The petitioner said that she has not received the level of information that she has requested.
Usually, this is on the grounds that the information is commercially sensitive.
The petitioner considers that this information should not be classed as commercially sensitive once a contract has been awarded.
We note that CCOs are subject to the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act and if people are dissatisfied with the information provided as a result of requests they should seek redress through the Ombudsman.
Conclusion
We would like to thank the OAG for its report on the governance and accountability of CCOs.
The report provided us with useful information that helped us consider Ms Bright’s petition.
We also would like to thank the petitioner for coming down from Auckland to speak to us about her petition.
We agree that ratepayers should be able to easily access information about how public money collected through rates is spent.
We support the petitioner’s plea for transparency and standardisation of the information that Auckland CCOs provide to the public.
We note the petitioner’s desire for legislative change, as well as for an inquiry into the cost effectiveness, transparency, and democratic accountability of Auckland CCOs.
…”
__________________________________________________________
(My bolding).
__________________________________________________________
If this Select Committee of ‘law makers’ has asked Parliament to ‘take note of this report’ – which clearly affects the current governance of the Auckland region, then in my view, it is of significant and urgent ‘public interest’, that the Auckland Council Governing Body not only equally ‘takes note’ of this Report, but takes immediate action to effect the following concerns of the Local Government and Environment Select Committee:
“We agree that ratepayers should be able to easily access information about how public money collected through rates is spent.
We support the petitioner’s plea for transparency and standardisation of the information that Auckland CCOs provide to the public.”
The simple way of doing this is as I have outlined, and as stated in the above-mentioned Local Government and Environment Select Committee Report:
Please ensure that (Auckland Council) and all Auckland CCOs clearly and uniformly display information on their websites about the procurement of their awarded contracts, as follows:
the unique contract number
the name of the consultant or contractor
a brief description of the scope of the contract
the start and finish dates for the contract
the monetary value of the contract (including subcontractors)
whether the contract was awarded by direct appointment or public tender.
Please also ensure that Auckland Council Controlled Organisation – Auckland Transport (AT) provide full transparency and details of the public subsidy of private passenger transport services – particularly given that road tolls are now being considered.
SUPPLEMENTARY EVIDENCE PROVING THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY REGARDING AUCKLAND COUNCIL CCO – AUCKLAND TRANSPORT ON PUBLIC SUBSIDIES OF PRIVATELY OWNED, OPERATED / MANAGED PASSENGER TRANSPORT PROVIDERS:
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-nz/51SCLGE_EVI_51DBHOH_PET66634_1_A494427/9aa813e65f89372033c648c285010dec9ff0b40f
PRIVACY ACT REPLY FROM AUCKLAND COUNCIL CCO AUCKLAND TRANSPORT – WHICH PROVES THAT THE PRIVATE PASSENGER TRANSPORT PROVIDERS DID NOT WANT THE AMOUNT OF PUBLIC SUBSIDY THAT THEY RECEIVED, REVEALED FOR PUBLIC SCRUTINY:
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-nz/51SCLGE_EVI_51DBHOH_PET66634_1_A494428/9b31a5acc867353077952bd23648be429134bbf6
Penny Bright
_______________________________
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
‘Activists’ – get things done.
Hello Penny,
Just a question, What has happened to the million dollars donated by Barfoot n Thomson , for a state house art work for the Wharf, the council had reported spent over a million dollars for extra’s. I called it a great privy for the homeless.
The Herald blocks any mention of the donation.
Or is it under investigation by the serious fraud squad.
I have no idea.
It would be great if you could ask and find out?
(I’m a bit swamped 🙁
Kind regards
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
I have been asking in Herald opinions.
But its like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1eUIK9CihA
Farage booed.
https://youtu.be/woaS1b_seEM
https://youtu.be/q-QRhp6H-4w
the English strongly backed UKIPs BREXIT agenda. The undemocratic assembly there were never going to be keen on that.
Indeed.
Nevertheless, it was a good speech.
John Pilger was for Brexit
http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/06/27/brexit-john-pilger-explains-why-the-british-said-no-to-europe/
“The majority vote by Britons to leave the European Union was an act of raw democracy. Millions of ordinary people refused to be bullied, intimidated and dismissed with open contempt by their presumed betters in the major parties, the leaders of the business and banking oligarchy and the media.
This was, in great part, a vote by those angered and demoralised by the sheer arrogance of the apologists for the “remain” campaign and the dismemberment of a socially just civil life in Britain. The last bastion of the historic reforms of 1945, the National Health Service, has been so subverted by Tory and Labour-supported privateers it is fighting for its life.
A forewarning came when the Treasurer, George Osborne, the embodiment of both Britain’s ancient regime and the banking mafia in Europe, threatened to cut £30 billion from public services if people voted the wrong way; it was blackmail on a shocking scale.
Immigration was exploited in the campaign with consummate cynicism, not only by populist politicians from the lunar right, but by Labour politicians drawing on their own venerable tradition of promoting and nurturing racism, a symptom of corruption not at the bottom but at the top. The reason millions of refugees have fled the Middle East – first Iraq, now Syria – are the invasions and imperial mayhem of Britain, the United States, France, the European Union and Nato. Before that, there was the wilful destruction of Yugoslavia. Before that, there was the theft of Palestine and the imposition of Israel…
TRP doesn’t think that Pilger made convincing points in that essay. Personally I think Pilger hit the nail on the head.
+100…doesn’t surprise me about TRP
…and yes Pilger is a famous journalist for fearlessly seeking out and unerringly banging in the truth nails…rarely missing his mark
.
. Let’s keep the Corbynites
. The Labour Parliamentarians – 172 of them – want to crush what all of them label “as a very decent man”. Et tu brutus by 172 murderers.
So far, Jeremy Corbyn has taken the daggers hurled into his very decent head and body. An impossibly skeleton crew of 40 parliamentarians, to their eternal credit, have stayed to protect him against the parliamentary murderers.
These Loyals may not succeed. But Hundreds of thousands of citizens will avenge the “very decent man” they voted in as Leader just nine months ago.
For Jeremy stands for the very sacred principles that they have always stood for.
The 172 traitors who belittle the citizens with every living breath, don’t like a Leader who lives on the same street as that of the jobless, the lowly waged, the over rented, the poorly nursed, the fathers and mothers of families. People without equal opportunity or adequate wealth. The present and the future denied them by the wealthy Tories.
The 172 scheming labour mob have only one fault. That is, they are a watery thin facsimile of the Tories. A pity that there is room for only one Tory Party in the House.
Stay Jeremy, Stay !
.
Andrew Little is under attack again – this time by Shewan. Obviously the right-wing think they’ll shut him up with threats of defamation – and of course those very threats distract the sheeples from the real issue – that the PM lied about foreign trusts.
Edit – story online in Herald this morning.
Why doesn’t he just apologise? That’s all Shewan has asked for. Let’s face it he did a very good job and is definitely not a government puppet. Little is looking like a fool yet again.
Much like when Key refused to apologise to Red Cross or Amnesty International. Infact Key often looks like a fool remember the shower/soap debacle? Prancing on the catwalk, the merp face, tugging little girls ponytails. Doesn’t seem to affect his fanbois affections, each to their own I suppose.
The Prime Minister’s gutter ethics are no model for the leader of the opposition. If Little feels he’s done something wrong he should apologise for it. What he doesn’t have to do is apologise for the state of Shewan’s mind.
That this is the only apology Shewan wants is revealing.
Apologise for what? Shewan wants an apology for his hurt feelings, which is by definition a Clayton’s apology, a back-handed insult.
If Little has anything to apologise for it would be for something he said or did, not the internal monologue in cry-baby Shewan’s mind.
Little should say, “I apologise for hurting your feelings, John. Have a biscuit.”
Oh yeah? – when is full disclosure not full disclosure? When it’s a Shewan construct. Little was on the money – Shewan is only taking the money.
As should all commenters on this site who jeered at Mr Shewin’s appointment.
I recall that I complained that the IRD should have done the investigation. Mr Shewin has done the job. So for what it’s worth, I owe him an apology.
Know them by their work.
Ad
No apology from me. I think I’ll continue jeering at Sherwan’s appointment, and also regard his report as; the least he could get away with in the circumstances, even though it isn’t a total whitewash. But Godon Campbell says it much better:
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2016/06/28/gordon-campbell-on-the-inquiry-into-our-tax-haven-rules/
Bradbury puts it well, although without the rigorous research backing up GC’s article:
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/06/28/keys-tax-haven-whitewash-report-and-the-politician-about-to-have-a-panama-paper-meltdown/
IRD should have done the report, like they were wanting to do, before the Nats scrapped it because of lobbying from the tax haven enablers.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11665006
In my always humble opinion Andrew Little (who probably is an intelligent guy) still hasn’t quite grasped the idea that what works on the picket line or in the smoko room doesn’t work when you’re the (some may argue this point) leader of the opposition
Andrew Little, for whatever reason, seems to have a real issue with apologising. Its pretty straight forward really, did Shewan do a fair job?
If he did then Andrew Little should apologise, if he didn’t then Andrew Little can say he told you so
Trying to second guess Andrew Little I think hes betting that people will believe his version of events over John Shewans
..@ Puckish Rogue
I think you will have a problem with Andrew Little.
His honesty. Plain simple standout honesty.
Have you ever tried it?
PR probably doesn’t know what “plain simple standout honesty” is, OT.
If you keep telling yourself that Andrew Little doesn’t smear people and doesn’t have issues that need to be sorted sooner rather then later then you’re going to get quite a rude shock the night of the 2017 election
I see you’re back onto your scripted message, Puckish Rogue:
“Little is hopeless, Labour will lose the election”.
Your epiphany didn’t last long, did it – leopard, spots, indelible and all that.
Oh, and in anticipation of your response, yawn
Same back at you, Little is wrong on this. He now has a history (short though it is) of smearing people for political gain, of grandstanding and of drawing things out to gain publicity
Just because I’m trying to remain positive with other posters on here, mainly by not being disrespectful, doesn’t mean I’m not going to comment on when Andrew Little does something bone headed and his supporters blindly support him
He’s following Key’s lead, for better or worse.
If that’s true I don’t think it’ll work because that’s comparing apples with oranges
The voters of NZ have elected John Key PM since 2008 yet Andrew Little has failed both times he stood for election as an MP and John Key has built up a considerable amount of goodwill with the NZ voters (that’s rapidly diminishing) whereas the voters of NZ barely know Andrew Little
Its a risky strategy, if true, and not what I’d be advising him to do
Are you saying John Key is a liar and smears people for political gain? Interesting.
Yes he does however NZ is going well under John Keys watch so for me its a choice choice between the devil you know and the devil you don’t
Lesser of two evils if you prefer
FIFY
Unfortunately NZ isn’t doing so well for the remaining 90% although many have yet to wake up to the fact.
I remember puckish saying he would try to clean up his troll shit …..
he should apologize for being a liar.
Why should anyone apologize to shewan who should be in jail ……….
Or are you impressed by his $2.2 billion tax theft vehicle that he hocked around to the aussie banks to use against New Zealanders ?
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Is this highly independent John Shewan the same John Shewan at National’s caucus party, held at Premier House, hosted by the Prime Minister?
He is shameless ……………. and you are a fuck-wit.
I don’t have a problem with that, I don’t have a problem with him opening his gob before he engages his brain but I do have a problem with his supporters trying to tell me that the sky is green, the grass is blue and Andrew Little has never smeared anyone
Heres the thing, Andrew Little probably is, like most people, quite honest. The problem is he’s been busted more then once smearing people to score a political point.
All politicians do of course but Andrew Little is trying to sell himself as the next leader of the opposition so he needs to be careful about what he says and does
“Busted”.
No. The people whose actions have come under scrutiny are upset and embarrassed, and yet have failed to rebut any of his criticisms.
That’s why they’re all about their hurt feelings. Little’s honest opinion of their behaviour isn’t the sort of thing they hear at Cabinet Club.
The leader of the opposition doesn’t respect them enough for all the work they do for the National Party. Sob sob.
That may well be true but Andrew Little is in a position where he can’t just throw out allegations and smear people he doesn’t agree with
When called out on it he either needs to apologise and move on or provide proof of what he says
I’m sure his office will be glad to file your well-meaning advice under “sincere concerns”.
People can listen or not, its all good, but that’s what I think he should be doing
I doubt you thought about it at all – your script is to white-ant Little and you haven’t deviated from it at all. Shewan is still a poor choice to regulate tax havens – it should be a long-suffering and embittered IRD prosecutor. The bad trust owners include criminals and terrorists – you usually try to conceal your support for your disreputable colleagues better PR.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11664887
Why on earth would Andrew say he wasn’t asked for an apology when it was expressly requested in writing? His office didn’t tell him about the letter or he thought Shewan wouldn’t go public?
Either way its an all to familiar shambles.
“I now request the statement I sent to you yesterday be issued with the following additions: ‘I apologise to Mr Shewan for any embarrassment I have caused him through my statements’.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11665006
Meh, BFD.
I think Andrew Little may be listening to a little too much Elton John:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2e4NlnLr28
http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/girl-in-tears-after-john-keys-maori-language-week-remark-2015080218#axzz4CurifRPg
Must have missed this apology. Had a good laugh & googled “John Key Says Sorry”…What is it with the PM picking on young girls?
Fair call, John Key has issues around honesty but it doesn’t seem to be hurting his re-election chances all that much
Andrew Little though is third behind Winston for preferred PM and under him Labour is stuck in the mid to late twenties
All good, you hold Little to a higher standard than the leader of the country, fair enough I suppose.
Nope, I’m more interested in what he needs to do to become leader. John Key is already the leader, he doesn’t need to change much of anything but Andrew Little needs to make some changes fast
Unless you think its ok that hes the leader of the second largest party but is third most preferred PM
It’s fine. It’s not a presidential race, it’s MMP.
To put it another way, the All Blacks captain can be the best rugby player in the world, but if they’re a shit captain, the team will lose and lose badly.
I’m happy that Labour is looking more stable than it’s been since 2008, more energetic than its been since at least 2007, and is working better with the Greens since, well, fuck, whenever.
Polls are largely irrelevant at the moment, and even so the opposition parties are sliiiiightly improving over the last few months, and that’s not even including NZ1.
Puckish Rogue said:
“Fair call, John Key has issues around honesty…”
and
” John Key is already the leader, he doesn’t need to change much of anything …”
When asked, “Are you saying John Key is a liar and smears people for political gain? “, Puckish Rogue said:
“Yes he does however…”
There you have it. Puckish Rogue.
Well you’re actually being a concern troll PR. Sticks out like the proverbial……..
Too funny: Shewan wants Little to apologise for the embarrassment in Shewan’s mind.
“I’m sorry you are a thin-skinned cry-baby”.
Should tell him to ‘Zip it sweety’, did Shewan apologise to the country after encouraging the big banks to rip us off? Must have missed that one too.
.
. Cricklewood
As you are a friend of the highly competent and sensitive Mr Shewan, could you ask him if he found any depositers from overseas who:
a) either deposited laundered money
b) paid no income tax to the appropriate authority.
If he found either of those two things, and has not reported them – then he is protecting Fraudsters. Is he not?
Possibly Mr Shewan was not given adequate staffing to assist him and was unable to find much detail. If so why didn’t he report to our Parliament that he found out sweet all?
Thanks Cricklewood
Which part of my comment intimated that I am friend or for that matter foe of Mr Shewan?
I simply ask if there is any plausible reason why Andrew Little would make a comment “He explicitly said I don’t need you to apologise” that’s demonstrablyfalse.
My worry is he wasnt informed of the letter that was sent and that there is an active white anting campaign in action.
This whole thing has the appearance of a beatup smokescreen. Shewan’s had nearly a fortnight to go to his lawer to demand an apology, but waited till just after the release of his tax haven whitewash to whinge to the Herald about the meanness of the Labour leader. Better a clear correction than an insincere apology, to my mind.
“My worry is he wasnt informed of the letter that was sent and that there is an active white anting campaign in action”
That is one possibility, i think it is more likly that Little is so arrogant he thought he could get away with his lies.
I note that Little has now supported his position with Shewan’s own words. In writing.
You are wrong about everything else you reckon, too.
You can bet Shewan got paid a nice fat bonus for releasing what Key wanted.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
Now who thinks Hillary Clinton should be President, again?
‘Tragic failure of leadership’: House committee blasts Obama admin and Clinton in Benghazi report
https://www.rt.com/usa/348726-benghazi-report-delayed-response/
http://www.anonews.co/hillary-emails-nato-destroyed-libya-to-prevent-gold-backed-dinar/
https://news.vice.com/article/libyan-oil-gold-and-qaddafi-the-strange-email-sidney-blumenthal-sent-hillary-clinton-in-2011
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2016/01/06/new-hillary-emails-reveal-true-motive-for-libya-intervention/
Do you always give such credence to Republican committee reports? And yet I doubt you would do the same for the National Party. Perhaps your rote-learned hatred of Hillary Clinton is showing.
+100 lol
OAB…skewed disinformation?…from you?…black/ white simplistic thinking?
Hillary’s emails are Republican reports?…don’t think so ! …read the rest of the links
… Hillary Clinton’s emails and responsibility for the fiasco in Libya has been widely reported and condemned elsewhere
…and btw Republican reports are NOT always wrong! ( nor is the Democratic Party always on the side of the righteous) …this report which goes softly softly adds to a list of Hillary Clinton’s incompetence (…and war crimes)
this is not just recognised by the Republicans
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/28/hillary-clintons-benghazi-cover-up-a-warning-for-a/
http://nypost.com/2016/06/28/final-benghazi-report-blames-clinton-disregarding-witnesses/
http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/breaking-smoking-gun-docs-show-hillary-clinton-knew-benghazi-along-whoa/
Hey dickhead, I responded to your comment, not your links.
Unlike you, I have my own opinion on Hillary Clinton. Keep chanting your slogans.
You’re the one sloganeering like a fanboy.
Chooky’s provided ample links which attest to what Clinton is really like.
thanx CV!…lol…sometimes I really wonder about AOB…whether he is for real or not
Like TRP and McFlock, they are characters better suited for those ages when we need bureaucratic stability, protection of the existing order and improved management of the status quo.
Witless flailing fails to change the status quo over and over and over and over again and still you cling to it, the way you cling to your NZLP membership.
You’re a smart, intelligent individual OAB. But your ‘witful’ barbs are wasted.
We need better wingnuts.
edit:
fuck it who cares. You want the world to end just so you can say “told you so”.
I’m only the messenger, McFlock.
“messengers” usually receive their messages from somewhere other than being pulled from their own arse.
The intrinsic intelligence of the universe provides knowledge to human kind. Always has, always will.
Ah. The messages you bring us are from the intrinsic intelligence of the universe.
Let us know if the intrinsic intelligence suggests you harm yourself or anyone else, there’s a good chap.
Deny it as much as you want, mate, disconnect from it as much as you want. Makes no difference to me.
Obviously it does, because you’re the one who brought my name into the discussion, prophet-boy.
It’s tragic, really, your feeble insistence that you can know the truth because some media stories agree with what you reckon.
Raise the double standard some more, Gummy.
Hi OAB. A good evening to you.
I’d vote Clinton over Trump, any day. Just like I’d always vote for a NZ labour led government, no matter how imperfect, over national every time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZSD2cUjGOE&feature=youtu.be
“There’s many examples that I site in my book where she blows up at people,” Byrne said. “Like I’ve said, she has blown up at me before, and agents, and her staff. At one time, I saw her staff so afraid to tell her about a mistake that was made. They weren’t upset about the waste of the mistake, ordering the wrong invitations, they were terrified that someone was going to have to tell Hillary Clinton that there was a mistake made.”
Thats sure a great management style, is she fit to be president.
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/the-real-reason-hillary-clinton-wont-allow-her-corporate-speeches-to-be-published_062016
“In other words: As President, she would aim to sign into law a program to provide subsidies from U.S. taxpayers to Monsanto and other biotech firms, to assist their PR and lobbying organizations to eliminate what she says is “a big gap between the facts and what the perceptions are” concerning genetically modified seeds and other GMOs. In other words: she ignores the evidence that started to be published in scientific journals in 2012 showing that Monsanto and other GMO firms were selectively publishing studies that alleged to show their products to be safe, while selectively blocking publication of studies that — on the basis of better methodology — showed them to be unsafe. She wants U.S. taxpayers to assist GMO firms in their propaganda that’s based on their own flawed published studies, financed by the GMO industry, and that ignores the studies that they refuse to have published. She wants America’s consumers to help to finance their own being poisoning by lying companies, who rake in profits from poisoning them.”
Today’s Herald explains the overseas Trust/Company issue here well:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11665089
It appears that Labour did a good job when it set up the existing overseas trust/company regime after all, because it stopped kiwis from hiding their taxable income in trusts/companies, a practice that was common pre 1988.
However, back in 1988 it wasn’t anticipated that overseas people would use the regime for hiding taxable income and money laundering. Because of this in 2013 the IRD told the current National government to change the regime to include disclosure of financial accounts and details of beneficiaries for all overseas trusts/companies. National ignored this advice because its mates were making $23m a year (or more?) administering the overseas trusts and it didn’t have any qualms about rich overseas people fiddling their taxes or money laundering.
This situation would still be going on today except for the leaking of the Panama Papers. Key’s initial reaction was to lie through his teeth saying that disclosure requirements were fine and they were recognised as such internationally. However, the Shewan report found the opposite; disclosure requirements were woefully inadequate thus affecting NZ’s reputation abroad. Julie Anne Genter’s Bill was right all along.
However 2 issues remain that the Shewan report has been weak on. Firstly, as the article says, under the Shewan recommendations:
“The problem remains that trusts would not be transparent to foreign tax authorities unless they know what to ask for. Some users of foreign trusts will have good reason to hide wealth from criminal extortionists and corrupt regimes but we have to ensure we are not serving the criminal and corrupt.”
And secondly, as Andrew Little says, the trusts/companies need to be searchable by the general public; this has also not been recommended by Shewan. Why should this information be hidden from the public? We should be able to see if our country is being used to syphon overseas money.
There is no danger of confusion here with legitimate domestic trusts set up by NZ residents/citizens as this can be sorted out by making the disclosure requirements for overseas trusts/companies dependent on the beneficiaries proving they are either NZ residents or citizens. Failure to prove this should subject them to an overseas trust/company regime that includes the financial disclosure requirements recommended by Shewan and to searchability by not just the IRD but by the NZ public too.
Labour should have this requirement in its manifesto.
Gordon Campbell has a good take on the Shewan report:
“What to do? Well, as Bernard Hickey points out on the same site, Shewan had given himself four possible options :
1. Some increase in information disclosure to include details of settlors and beneficiaries in trust deeds,
2. A significant increase in disclosure with a register of foreign trusts searchable by authorities, including details of settlors, persons with effective control, non-resident trustees, beneficiaries, coupled with an annual return, expanded application of Anti-Money Laundering rules and a register searchable by authorities,
3. The same significant increase in disclosure coupled with a fully publically searchable register,
4. The full repeal of the foreign trust regime.
Shewan chose option two. Note that the rejected third option would have enabled the public – and the media – to play a useful monitoring role. That potential has been snuffed out.
http://werewolf.co.nz/2016/06/gordon-campbell-on-the-shewan-inquiry-into-our-tax-haven-rules/
Thanks ianmac.
As expected Key’s mate Shewan has gone for what can be got away with, Option 2, rather than what is really needed, Option 3. Key will opt to implement only parts of Option 2. Labour can sort this out with a press-release offering a cast-iron guarantee it will implement all of Option 3 if elected.
Where is Paula Bennett and what ACTIONS have been made over the last week to help the homeless and desperate?
I for one am over brexit, over the eu, over trump and Hilary – there are people suffering here today – what have we done about this today.
My impression is that they are seeking ways to make the problem go away, without sacrificing what they are gaining from it – the $5,000 to get out of Auckland was a move in that direction. Last night on the news a man suggested buying a defunct cruise ship or two as a temporary solution while houses are being built, but Paula did not seem to warm to the idea. Twyford thought it was at least worth exploring. Meanwhile, you have a Mr Bell of the drugs foundation saying that “… Housing New Zealand has been suckered in and is evicting tenants unfairly. “I think that it’s deliberate,” he says. “They know the truth [and] they’re using the lies to kick people out.” Which Ms Bennett denies. http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/housing-nzs-meth-testing-is-overzealous—drug-foundation-2016062819#axzz4CqulmvVR?ref=newshubFB
Thanks Olwyn
Ummm. Maybe she’s hiding somewhere, worried that a reporter might ask her another question about climate change and what her thoughts are on the fact that NZ has just recorded the hottest first 6 months of a year, since records began approximately 100 years ago, (TVNZ news last night) and the fact that the planet is on f – ing fire
It’s all the hard questions see. Perhaps she’s thinking why do I get the hard portfolio’s? This sucks. I’m gonna nick one of these vans that people seem to want to live in these days. I’ll just turf them out and stick this mattress against the window so no one can see me. I’ll go park up at Piha (hmmm, if the brakes on this old dunga don’t give out going down the hill) and sip on some bubbly, something decent I think. Problem solved darlings!
Well she definitely wasn’t here:
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/06/28/park-up-in-wellington-people-speaking-against-the-scourge-of-homelessness/
Nice bunch of caring people there attending that event. Good to see out northern ward candidate, Peter Gilberd there too. I always appreciate Frank Macskasy photographing political events and rallies.
Thanks Rosie
Mr Allen said: “I will not be participating in today’s vote of no confidence. It has no standing in our party’s rules. I will not give it, or any faction, any legitimacy by voting today.
“If MP’s wish to remove a leader there is clear provision in the party’s rules for 51 MPs to nominate a named alternative. If such a step is taken, you and I and every other party member will have the opportunity to assess the records of the candidates and make our decision.
“It is important however that everyone should then accept the decision of our party and support the Leader whoever it is.
“In the meantime we should follow due process and cease all the orchestrated activity which is destroying the possibility of our party coming to government in 2020.”
https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/747718822547841025
, Dear Cricklewood
.
Andrew Little did as he was asked by Mr Shewan, and corrected his statement that Shewan had been an advisor to Bahama tax Havens. Shewan definitely said that he was not seeking an apology. Just a correction. An important correction.
Andrew Little made that correction. An apology not having been sought and expressly not required by Shewan, made an apology unnecessary.
Now it appears that Mr Shewan has gone back on his word and threatened A Defamatory Action.
I am wondering whether MR Shewan will write another letter demanding that Mr Little cleans and polishes Mr Shewans shoes.
It is a pity you have not answered my question as to whether MR Shewan found overseas Depositers who have avoided their financial responsibilites.
It seems to me that he has pretty much followed, in different words ways, the view of NZ IRD as sent to the current Prime Minister 2013 to fixup the serious Frauds that Depositers may have made and are are still making. Making New Zealand a Tax Haven. Just as reported by the Panama Papers.
MR Key ignored the IRD in 2013. He subsequently lied about the recent release of the Panama Papers. He has not apologised for that.
You are missing the bit where Shewan requested (in writing) an apology from Little. Even after receiving this letter, Little stated to RNZ that Shewan did not request an apology. I suggest you go and read the full Herald article.
If Key had acted in the same fashion, he would be accused here of being an outright liar.
Roger, Roger, We’ve got clearance Clarence. What’s our vector Victor ? . . . . .” (“Flying High” Hollywood, USA,19xx?).
“Sometimes it is more important to ask the right question than to get the right answer.” (Werner Herzog, interviewed by Kim Hill, RNZ National, 25 June 2016).
And now THIS from a (justifiably angry) commenter named Kaiser Sousa on “Zero Hedge”:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-28/brexit-hedge-unwind-sparks-volumeless-dead-cat-brounce:
NB: (This is in the COMMENTS section. I have modified some of the expletives, but the SENTIMENT EXPRESSED is about right IMO.
(Quote from the Zero Hedge Commenter):
“Some of you may recall this from almost 2 weeks ago when the Globalist’s & their assortment of LameStream propaganda mouth pieces were assuring us all THERE WOULD BE NO BREXIT?????
“gee whiz! I must have missed the fantastically wonderful macro-economic data or news that were the catalysts for todays 200 point ramp of the Dow Jones Propaganda Index…
Surely me and the other “simple folk” around here just don’t understand that theres a perfectly logical “technical” explanation for another FRAUDULENT F***G STICK SAVE OF THE PHONY DJPI AND S&PISS BY THE FED, BOE, AND EXCHANGE STABILIZATION FUND ON YET ANOTHER DAY HEADING INTO AN IMPENDING VOTE BY BRITS, WHO DESPITE THE OBVIOUS DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN BEING WAGED, JUST MIGHT DECIDE TO TELL THE KHAZAR LED MONEYCHANGER EUROPEON TECHNOF***S TO F***K THE F** OFF…”
Well now, with that all in the books what’s up with todays Fraud Market activities now that IN FACT those brave Brits HAVE told the EuroPEON puppets and their money masters to F***K OFF???
before & after Brits seized back their independence what has the MoneyChangers propaganda machine been telling us –
“all hell will break loose”…
“cats & dogs will be holding paws while singing Kumbaya…”
“the seas would part and the Krackens would be released…”
And so today with U.K. banks facing downgrades, the U.K. itself as a nation facing downgrades,
Jean Claude Drunker & every EuroPEON puppet talking shit to Britain & Farage as to how much more their economy would become F***D, you’d expect further deterioration in these manipulated Fraud Market’s – WOULDNT YOU????
Oh no…never that….instead we get treated to an EuroPEON/AmeriDUMB market rampalloza on both openings, the predictable “sideways shuffle” for 4 straight hours, and then the “grand finale” . . . . . ALL YET AGAIN ON NO VOLUME & ABSOLUTELY NO POSITIVE MACRO-ECONOMIC DATA OR NEWS WHATSOF****GEVER…
. . . . .
Oh and how you guys like the little game these assholes are playing with the phony paper prices of the ONLY 2 forms of REAL MONEY??? I mean really, are you Khazar f**ks that afraid of $1320 Gold & $18.00 Silver???
Yeah – i thought so…Could this be the reasons why???
* “As the price of gold has soared, funds that track the precious metal are also reaching new heights. Following Britain’s vote to exit the European Union, the third largest U.S. gold ETF, ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares, announced on Monday that its assets have surpassed $1 billion. …”
* “Chinese investors are rushing to gold as a haven after the U.K.’s vote to quit the European Union. . . . . “
. . . . .
. . . TO THE F****G MONEYCHANGERS.”
Well, as a retired academic, I wouldn’t have put it QUITE like that, but I have to say I agree with the general sentiments expressed therein, somewhere around about 100%.
[lprent: seems to have little to do with the post topic and more of a personal rant. Moved to OpenMike. ]
Donald Trump – or better one of his sons – illegally fundraising overseas.
Ahhh, what a champion he is. All truth and such.
https://twitter.com/NatalieMcgarry/status/747559880723161090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Interesting, Sabine. It shows that Trump is a rank amateur. He needs to take lessons from Hillary Clinton on how to bring in real money from foreign donors. Especially from China and Saudi Arabia.
From a Clinton Foundation document revealed by a hacker. (Please forgive the caps, they were in the article).
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-21/clinton-foundation-vulnerabilities-document-leaked-after-foundation-says-it-was-hack
Hey Lyn,n what’s up with Cameron Slater leaving Whaleoil?
He is going on sabbatical after 11 years of non-stop blogging. Don’t worry, he will be back in a month or two to stick it to the new Labour leader.
On another trip to Israel? Join the IDF? They accept volunteers from around the world.
Good point.
Seriously. I don’t want to google it. just to prove it because I’ve just had dinner, but you know his history…………..
+100 Rosie
Question Time today.
David Parker had a question for McCulley re a person “double dipping” while McCulley was Minister of Rugby World Cup.
What is interesting that, as the Minister of the Rugby WC no longer exists, no questions can be asked of McCulley. Or for that matter of Brownlee as Minister of Earthquake repairs as that position does not exist either.
A lot of debate re this in Q 11 @
https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=176810
(Trevor reckons that such questions should be referred instead to the PM.)
Q11 “What part did he have in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s engagement of Alex Matheson or his consultancy company to work on Middle Eastern issues, and what other roles has Mr Matheson, or his consultancy companies, previously carried out for Hon Murray McCully or other entities he has been responsible for?”
I just watched Maiki Sherman’s piece on Newshub about the time it take Housing NZ to find homes for people. 155 days or nearly half a year. Paula Bennet’s excuse; the problem is because the applicants aren’t reachable. In other words it’s the homeless’s own fault because they aren’t immediately available on a fucking iPhone. That woman is becoming a major liability.
She IS, an always was, a liability, not to her puppet masters, but to those who need help the most.
Oh, and BTW, fingers up to the the burning planet and the future health and well being of those who are born now and those who will approach old age in anywhere between 2030 onwards.
Threw her own ministry under the bus. Surprised she didn’t name the people doing the data. Morale must be rock bottom there.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/bennett-disputes-five-month-wait-for-hnz-house-2016062916#axzz4CxfsstdI
Is John Key pissed in parliament ?
Or are there other reasons for his inability to understand simple english when it comes from Winston.
Its almost like he can see winston claiming his head ………………… and putting it in a wine-box.
Theres three of them trying to sledge winston at one point …… he wiped the floor with them.
*****************************************************
“Rt Hon Winston Peters: How does he reconcile his Government’s comments that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will be worth $5 billion, year on year, by 2025 when no other proponents have made such extravagant claims?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member should table the quote where I said that.
Rt Hon Winston Peters: I seek leave to table two quotes, one from Minister Groser and one from Gerry Brownlee.
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The Rt Hon Winston Peters just misled the House. He said that that was my quote. It was not my quote—
Speaker: order order wank wank wake up john,
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Despite the fact that I never said they were, Prime Minister—and obfuscation and deviation will not work in this House—why is the Government blocking a free-trade deal with Russia and pouring massive taxpayer support into the Hollywood film industry, Skycity Casino, Rio Tinto, and now the TPP agreement campaign when the Democrat and Republican campaigns’ leadership in the United States thinks it is a real dog—
Hon Steven Joyce: What’s your question?
Rt Hon Winston Peters: —no, not you; the TPP agreement—and a big corporate protection racket against the interests of its workers and its farmers?
Chris Bishop: How’s that Northland office going?
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Then, of course—how is the Northland office going? The Northland office is going the same way it was when you turned up at one of our campaigns in Kaipara. We took that poor lad Chris Bishop to the cleaners. We gave him a lesson in heartland politics. They were so embarrassed that they were skulking at the back door, hiding behind the tea ladies, and the tea ladies were trying to get away from them. They did not want to be contaminated. But instead of saying “Thank you, Winston. Is that how it’s done?”, no, no, he is still as arrogant. He is still not telling his next-door neighbour Sarah Dowie that she is gone next time, and still not telling the next-door neighbour from Whangarei that he is gone next time. Oh, believe me, I tell you what: I know from the communications from National Party stalwarts that it is all over, Rover. They know that there is one party that understands heartland New Zealand. It is in our name—it is New Zealand First.
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Despite Tim Groser and Gerry Brownlee’s comments, how is his response that the TPP agreement is a financial relief for New Zealand dairy farmers, when US free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and Korea took more than 4 years to receive congressional approval after signing? In short, how will the dairy industry in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 expect any relief at all from his flippant comments?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: This is going to come as a great revelation, but Panama, Colombia, and Korea are not part of the TPP “