That is more bizarre – to link the two separate things.
Both should be ditched mostly anyway – people show more allegiance today to their ethnicity and other life aspects than to their nationality, which makes more sense. The nation state is both dissipating and being hovered up by global elites hell bent on the coming world order. We are in the midst of this change which future historians will note we lived through and were part of.
They are the two primary representations of national identity, which at least Little should be able to figure.
Fair that the nation-state isn’t as strong as a concept as it once was, but it’s done a couple of millennia already and there’s little replacement on the horizon.
So how many on here prefer to sing along with the Australian anthem?
Where the hell does Little get that idea? I dont know a single person who does (We always sing the anthem at games as a family) – and have never seen this.
In fact as evidence that Little is talking shit – go to a AB game – Listen to the difference in the number of people singing to the NZ vs Aust anthem when we play Australia.
So how many on here prefer to sing along with the Australian anthem?
What’s that got to do with it?
Where the hell does Little get that idea? I dont know a single person who does (We always sing the anthem at games as a family) – and have never seen this.
That’s nice but do you actually like it? Everyone I know absolutely hates the bloody thing.
In fact as evidence that Little is talking shit – go to a AB game – Listen to the difference in the number of people singing to the NZ vs Aust anthem when we play Australia.
1. The Australian National Anthem has nothing to do with NZ’s being shit except possibly that they were both written by Australians
2. Just because people sing it doesn’t mean that they like it
So how many on here prefer to sing along with the Australian anthem?
What’s that got to do with it?
Well – Little stated the “fact” that many NZ’s perferred to sing along to the Oz anthem – Quote from the link:
“Labour leader Andrew Little has described the national anthem as a “dirge” and said many New Zealanders preferred to sing along to the Australian anthem than our own.”
He also said “Most of them sing along to the Australian national anthem before they sing along to our own.””
Im saying what he said was bullshit.
And yes – I do like it.
When I see someone saying something like “Everyone I know absolutely hates the bloody thing.” I think really ….. 100% everyone you know …… You need a wider circle of friends. Variety of views is good.
Why aren’t the revelations about our future medicine buying power under the TPPA the front page news in the Herald? Key says consumers won’t pay more, the Government will – but I wonder where people think the Government gets their revenue from – could it possibly be the taxpayers ?? Pharmac won’t be charging the consumer more for the medicines because Pharmac won’t be able to buy them at all in the future. The extension of patents on medicines will mean that generics will be so long in coming that the medicines will be superseded by others by the time we can buy the generic versions of them. Yet nothing in the country’s major newspaper – Has Key once again calmed the sheeple like the Pied Piper did the rats? Every person in the country except for the multi-millionaires should be very worried about themselves, their children, their parents. None of us know when we might get cancer or some other illness which requires expensive medicines – if we think they’re expensive now, just wait!!
Hami S – Strong words have come out from Labour and Andrew Little on TPPA re Pharmac ….. see below, and personally, I think NZers have started to wake up to the TPPA. It’ll be interesting to see what the next polling shows.
We said Pharmac and its purchasing model had to be protected’ – Little
The Labour Party says the undermining of Pharmac in the Trans Pacific Partnership breaches one of its bottom lines on the trade deal.
Leader Andrew Little said Government had misled the public by not being upfront about the potential impact on the Government agency, which uses bulk-buying power to reduce the costs of medicine for New Zealanders.
He would not rule out removing New Zealand from the controversial TPP if Labour entered Government.
Prime Minister John Key conceded for the first time today that medicine costs could rise if New Zealand signed up to the TPP, which is expected to be finalised this week. ………………………
…..Asked whether that meant Labour could not support the deal, he said: “If that bottom line isn’t met, then we don’t support the TPP.”
The TPP does not need Labour’s support to be ratified, but Government may seek cross-party support on the legislation which would confirm the deal.
Mr Little said he could not comment on whether a future Labour government would pull out of the TPP because the contents of the deal were not yet known.
He said Labour had a number of options if it entered Government, which included “fixing” the agreement or leaving it altogether.
Labour’s trade spokesman David Parker said he was confident that Labour could renegotiate the deal if it did not serve New Zealanders’ interests.
Trade deals usually required a country to give six months’ notice before pulling out. …………………………………..
Little is doing well on the TPP considering the caucus still has Goff in it but on what planet is David Parker living?
Confident we could renegotiate? Yeah sure , Japan and USA would be happy to help out.
David Parker brought his credibility (and that of the Labour Party) into question when he said he was confident that Labour could renegotiate the deal.
Jenny, how on earth can you have so much faith in any lawyer??? What has Parker achieved in the field of international FTAs which gives you so much faith in him?
How do you expect NZ to be able to force the US Congress to meet and agree to the US renegotiating the TPPA after we have signed?
Why should we place so much trust in the judgement of the Labour caucus?
I can’t really see anything changing, what is off patent now and/or contracted by PHARMAC will remain off patent and/or contracted by PHARMAC.
Suggesting that PHARMAC is somehow going to disappear and that suddenly medicines are going to be more expensive in NZ is bizarre and yet another example of Key speaking without thinking, Helen clark would never have made such a silly comment.
Even though there is some small variance in patents between the US and NZ in relation to medicines it is often the case that the relevant patent expires in the US before it expires in NZ. In relation to your comment about medicines for cancer the prices for those that are currently funded by the DHBs/PHARMAC will not change under a TPP except during a tender round wherein the price usually (but not always) declines quite significantly.
I can’t really see anything changing, what is off patent now and/or contracted by PHARMAC will remain off patent and/or contracted by PHARMAC.
As you well know it will be the new medicines that are going to cost more and they’ll do so for longer. We don’t keep using the same medicines forever.
At present PHARMAC drip feeds new medicines into the market anyway. Quite often we’ve had to wait for a products patent to expire before pHARMAC funded a product…
If people really think the PHARMAC issue is the biggest hook in the TPPA they rally aren’t looking in the right place.
“Quite often we’ve had to wait for a products patent to expire before pHARMAC funded a product…”
So now we’ll have to wait even longer for the patent to expire. How many people are going to die in the meantime?
There was a story on stuff the other day about a drug that will cure hepatitis C. It costs something like $174,000 per patient in New Zealand, precisely because it is patented and the company can therefore charge monopoly rates.
It is a literal life-saving drug. Pharmac cannot justify the current price. If prices like that (or slightly cheaper) stay around for more years, it means more people will go without the treatment than otherwise might have it, had we not agreed to longer patents.
This is all so terribly basic, I don’t know why it needs to be spelt out to someone called “northshoredoc”.
Someone from the Doctors for Public Health against Trade Agreements association (obviously biased) this on an interview on National Radio this morning that adding 1 year to patent lengths will cost Pharmac an extra $25-50 million per year. Frankly I trust their numbers more than your “nothing to see here” charade.
There are also stories about new cancer drugs that are available in Australia, but not in NZ. Is increasing patent lengths on drugs generally going to lead to more drugs being available in NZ, or fewer? The answer is obviously fewer.
This is a step forward from what we had available previously. The new medications from abbott and gilead are certainly a further improvement with reported ‘cure’ rates in the high 90% range. They are extremely expensive and many western 1st world jurisdictions around the world have struggled to fund them as the manufacturer’s pricing is exorbitant to reflect this price per cure (and saving on a liver transplant).
With or without a TPPA these medications will struggle to be funded in NZ, of note the patent on these particular products expires earlier in the USA than in NZ. This is the same case for the new cancer medications I believe you may be alluding to .. biologics for malignant melanoma perhaps ?
While you may consider this a ‘simple’ or ‘basic’ area I can assure you it is not and the simplistic comments on this website and by morons like key does little to inform anyone.
I refer you to the NZMJ, 14th February 2014, Volume 127 Number 1389
Through the TPPA, the United States (US) is seeking to eliminate therapeutic reference pricing, introduce appeals processes for pharmaceutical companies to challenge formulary listing and pricing decisions, and introduce onerous disclosure and “transparency” provisions that facilitate industry involvement in decision-making around coverage and pricing of medicines (and medical devices).
This editorial examines trends in pharmaceutical industry conduct and strategy over the past 15–20 years and argues that if the TPPA (based on the US proposals) is successfully prosecuted, it will contribute to adverse health outcomes by increasing costs and reducing access to affordable medicines for New Zealanders. This in turn can be expected to disproportionally affect disadvantaged population groups, including Māori and Pacific peoples.
CV, Yes if any of those things are in the TPPA, most especially the inability to reference price it would make things more difficult for PHARMAC… do you have any information to suggest that they are ?
Interestingly PHARMAC don’t tend to apply reference pricing to generics as the prices are so low there’s no real need and it would just lead to certain medicines no longer being available.
As I have stated a number of times I think the PHARMAC issue is a red herring and we should be far more concerned regarding other issues of the TPPA most importantly… what’s actually in it for us in terms of better access to overseas markets, really we are all in the dark until there is an agreement in front of us to peruse.
Not sure, Sanctuary. NZers don’t like early elections – they punished the Nats last time they tried it.
Also – haven’t you seen the Maori Party (minus Sharples and Turiana) rolling over like good dogs for the Nats – they won’t vote against them.
I think you’re absolutely right xianmac I doubt we’ll get anything meaningful for our agricultural/horticultural industries in the next 20 years which begs the question why do it ?
Yup. We simply need to behave like a good little colony of the economic imperium of the United States, a supine position our Hawaii based, and paid up member of the globalised elite, prime minister is more than happy to adopt.
@CV, Yes I think it’s more about wanting to be part of the club and free trade ideology than anything else. I’m also of the opinion that Labour and National will OK the deal regardless.
Tell that to Switzerland or Greece of the UK in relation to the EU…. many more example where being outside the tent hasn’t particularly harmed a national or in Greeces case where being inside has harmed them.
I don’t really believe in absolutes as many do on these blog sites.
lol
that’s neoliberalism right there – 1% fart in the tent and then tell everyone else to stay inside because what they’re really smelling is chocolate.
Jenny Kirk – of course they will – their bottom lines as they are, will be found not to be in conflict with supporting signing the TPPA if it comes down to it.
Kathryn Ryan claims big pharmaceutical companies are “not the bad guy”;
Does she actually do any preparation for her interviews? Nine to Noon, Radio NZ National, Wednesday 29 July 2015
We have expressed our concern on many occasions at the shallowness and the lack of knowledge exhibited by Kathryn Ryan.
This morning she perhaps scraped the very bottom of the barrel during an interview with a medical oncologist about the government’s reckless endangerment of our public health system by exposing us to the predations of the pharmaceutical conglomerates….
KATHRYN RYAN: Let’s be clear here; Pharma, or the big pharmaceutical companies, is not the bad guy here.
DR. BERNIE FITZHARRIS: No, and that’s fair enough. They want to maximise the return to their shareholders.
Agree also. Does Kathryn Ryan not know WHY Pharmac was formed? The big pharmaceuticals WERE playing bad guys in the 19802 and forcing the cost of medicines up high – too high for NZers.
They don’t even try to justify the price of the drug…..
“The price of Sovaldi and Harvoni is determined on a country-by-country basis taking into account the burden of disease in the country, its economic means and the value of the medicine in terms of its impact on improving overall health outcomes.”
In other words they’re saying they charge as much as they can possibly get away with. They’re little more than hostage takers demanding ransom.
I wonder if our consumer laws might be used to some advantage here. They should at least be required to refund if the cure doesn’t cure……
And if you could work out which countries it is cheap in a little internet buying or even a trip overseas ( and arrangements with customs to bring it back in) would see a solid price drop
The Labour (or Labor) Parties in Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia are currently afflicted with mealy-mouthed, inept and pretty much useless leaders.
But in Britain, at least, there is a real sense of hope emerging….
“The crisis (in the British Labour party) consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born”
Corbyn is merely reflecting what is happening across the wider European left – an acceptance on the ground that the left is no longer defenders of social democratic welfare states but is again weak enough institutionally to be in a position to champion revolutionary action.
The comfortably institutionalised elite leadership cadres centre-left parties are either going to be shaken out their torpor and into this new revolutionary paradigm (and be part of the new that is being born) or be the old, and die/merge with the right wing establishment so many of them are in reality part of.
In the short to medium turn, that’ll probably involve a split in British Labour, with a bunch of Blairites moving to occupy the ground left by the recently massacred Liberal Democrats.
ENERGY prices have been falling for a year. Over the last month that trend has accelerated. On July 24th, the price of a barrel of oil in America reached a low of $48. In spite of this, governments are still splurging on subsidies to prop up production. Fossil fuels are reaping support of $550 billion annually, according the International Energy Agency (IEA), an organisation that represents oil- and gas-consuming countries, more than four times those given for renewable energy. The International Monetary Fund’s estimates are substantially higher. It said in May that countries will spend $5.3 trillion subsiding oil, gas and coal in 2015, versus $2 trillion in 2011. That is equivalent to 6.5% of global GDP, and is more than what governments across the world spend on healthcare. At a time of low energy prices, high government debt and rising concern over emissions there is scant justification for such spending. So why is the world addicted to energy subsidies?
Apparently to help the rich
This is a problem because it wastes fiscal resources and hardly benefits the poor, as the wealthy drive more and guzzle more power. The IEA believes that only 8% of subsidies accrue to the poorest fifth of the population.
Just think, if we took those $5.3 trillion of subsidies and put them fully onto renewables we’d easily be able to achieve 0 emissions by 2050 across the world.
“Ummmm, ahhhh, you know”: The Eloquence of Fran O’Sullivan
The NZ Herald‘s Fran O’Sullivan is a regular commentator on business and politics. While she is capable of speaking clearly and effectively, as she does when she is on television, or when addressing a gathering of business people, it’s quite clear that she doesn’t put a lot of effort in when she talks to someone for whom she doesn’t respect….
1.) Monday 16 February 2009, 6:14 to 6:21 p.m.
Fran O’Sullivan on Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB…
“Um”………. 51 times
“Ahh”……….15 times
“y’ know”…….9 times
“um, er”………4 times
2.) Monday 23 February 2009, 6:12 to 6:19 p.m.
Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB…
“Umm, aah, errrr”…….. 39 times
“y’ know”…….7 times
“Sort of”……..2 times
“I mean”……..1 time
“At the end of the day”….2 times
3.) Thursday 26 February 2009, 6:10 to 6:20 p.m.
Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB,
In a rambling ten-minute chat with Williams, O’Sullivan said “um” or “aaah” 76 times. That’s SEVENTY-SIX times. She said “You know” 20 (TWENTY) times.
4.) Monday 11 July 2011, 6:20 to 6:25 p.m.
Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB….
“Umm, ahhh”………. 47 times
“y’ know”…….23 times
5.) Monday 18 July 2011, 6:25 to 6:29 p.m.
Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB…
“Umm, ahhh”………. 45 times
“y’ know”……………….14 times
6.) Wednesday 21.3.2012, 6:38 to 6:41 p.m.
Still dumbing it down for Larry Williams…
“Umm, ahhh”………. 56 times
“y’ know”……………….6 times
7.) Wednesday 11 June 2013, 11:07 to 11:24 a.m.
Fran O’Sullivan, interviewed by Kathryn Ryan, Radio NZ National…
“um, ahh”…. 89 times
“Well” …….….11 times
An OPEN LETTER from some of the world’s leading citizens
10236 Charing Cross Road,
Los Angeles,
California
Wednesday, 29 July 2015
Dear World,
What exactly is it that Lord Sewel did that is wrong?
Sincerely,
H.R.H. Prince Harry
Alan Dershowitz
H.R.H. Prince Andrew
Silvio Berlusconi
Senator John Edwards
Gary Condit
Ed Schrock
Congressman Mark Foley
Newt Gingrich
Donald “Buz” Lukens
Senator Brock Adams
Gary Hart
William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton
William Henry “Bill” Cosby Jr.
Rolf Harris
Rob Lowe
Lord Lambton
Lord Archer
Eliot Spitzer
Senator Robert “Bob” Packwood
Max Mosley
Richard Worth
David Letterman
Paul Gadd
Max Clifford
Sir Cyril Smith
David Wu
Vance McAllister
Anthony Weiner
In this interview in Australia, Professor Steve Keen of Kingston University predicts a full market crash in China and explains why the crushing of Greek democracy by the European Union may well open the doors to fascism in Greece.
The discussion is noteworthy for the economist’s very pessimistic views on Greece, Europe and China that chime with comments made by fund manager and Planet Ponzi author Mitch Feierstein.
In addition, there is some discussion of the Australian property market and, although the focus is on Australian housing, his comments on private debt also provide lessons for the UK market.
Even an arch-Tory sees problems with hot and dirty money being allowed into the housing market. Pity our arch-Tories are blind to it.
“David Cameron will promise to act against corrupt foreigners who buy up luxury properties in the UK using secretive holding companies to hide their “dirty money”.
The prime minister will use a visit to Singapore to make an anti-corruption speech on Tuesday in which he will express concern that some properties, mainly in London, “are being bought by people overseas through anonymous shell companies, some with plundered or laundered cash”.
Drawing on proposals advanced by campaign group Transparency International, Cameron will set out his determination to ensure that “the UK must not become a safe haven for corrupt money from around the world”.
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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, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
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Couldn’t agree more, good on you Mr Little
“Labour leader Andrew Little has described the national anthem as a “dirge”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11488272
I like Mr Little.
He is not scared of calling things out.
He shows strength.
He is unafraid to stand up to things wrong.
Keep going Mr Little – and let a bit of that humour that we all know you have in spades out for some sunlight
Hes not wrong about the anthem
It’s a bizarre comment.
Why complain about the national anthem when you don’t want to change the national flag?
That is more bizarre – to link the two separate things.
Both should be ditched mostly anyway – people show more allegiance today to their ethnicity and other life aspects than to their nationality, which makes more sense. The nation state is both dissipating and being hovered up by global elites hell bent on the coming world order. We are in the midst of this change which future historians will note we lived through and were part of.
They are the two primary representations of national identity, which at least Little should be able to figure.
Fair that the nation-state isn’t as strong as a concept as it once was, but it’s done a couple of millennia already and there’s little replacement on the horizon.
I’ll take the nation state over global governance and control any day of the week. In fact I’ll fight tooth and nail to defend it.
What a pity he doesn’t speak out so forcefully about something that actually matters—like the persecution of journalists in this country.
So how many on here prefer to sing along with the Australian anthem?
Where the hell does Little get that idea? I dont know a single person who does (We always sing the anthem at games as a family) – and have never seen this.
In fact as evidence that Little is talking shit – go to a AB game – Listen to the difference in the number of people singing to the NZ vs Aust anthem when we play Australia.
What’s that got to do with it?
That’s nice but do you actually like it? Everyone I know absolutely hates the bloody thing.
1. The Australian National Anthem has nothing to do with NZ’s being shit except possibly that they were both written by Australians
2. Just because people sing it doesn’t mean that they like it
So how many on here prefer to sing along with the Australian anthem?
What’s that got to do with it?
Well – Little stated the “fact” that many NZ’s perferred to sing along to the Oz anthem – Quote from the link:
“Labour leader Andrew Little has described the national anthem as a “dirge” and said many New Zealanders preferred to sing along to the Australian anthem than our own.”
He also said “Most of them sing along to the Australian national anthem before they sing along to our own.””
Im saying what he said was bullshit.
And yes – I do like it.
When I see someone saying something like “Everyone I know absolutely hates the bloody thing.” I think really ….. 100% everyone you know …… You need a wider circle of friends. Variety of views is good.
Ever since I can remember, my mum has said she always thought the NZ national anthem was crappy and Australia’s was much better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NXnxTNIWkc
Song for Karol wherever she is, and women of the left in general.
Four non-blondes – What’s Going On?
Had me right there at the boots 😉
cheers js!
Why aren’t the revelations about our future medicine buying power under the TPPA the front page news in the Herald? Key says consumers won’t pay more, the Government will – but I wonder where people think the Government gets their revenue from – could it possibly be the taxpayers ?? Pharmac won’t be charging the consumer more for the medicines because Pharmac won’t be able to buy them at all in the future. The extension of patents on medicines will mean that generics will be so long in coming that the medicines will be superseded by others by the time we can buy the generic versions of them. Yet nothing in the country’s major newspaper – Has Key once again calmed the sheeple like the Pied Piper did the rats? Every person in the country except for the multi-millionaires should be very worried about themselves, their children, their parents. None of us know when we might get cancer or some other illness which requires expensive medicines – if we think they’re expensive now, just wait!!
Hami S – Strong words have come out from Labour and Andrew Little on TPPA re Pharmac ….. see below, and personally, I think NZers have started to wake up to the TPPA. It’ll be interesting to see what the next polling shows.
We said Pharmac and its purchasing model had to be protected’ – Little
The Labour Party says the undermining of Pharmac in the Trans Pacific Partnership breaches one of its bottom lines on the trade deal.
Leader Andrew Little said Government had misled the public by not being upfront about the potential impact on the Government agency, which uses bulk-buying power to reduce the costs of medicine for New Zealanders.
He would not rule out removing New Zealand from the controversial TPP if Labour entered Government.
Prime Minister John Key conceded for the first time today that medicine costs could rise if New Zealand signed up to the TPP, which is expected to be finalised this week. ………………………
…..Asked whether that meant Labour could not support the deal, he said: “If that bottom line isn’t met, then we don’t support the TPP.”
The TPP does not need Labour’s support to be ratified, but Government may seek cross-party support on the legislation which would confirm the deal.
Mr Little said he could not comment on whether a future Labour government would pull out of the TPP because the contents of the deal were not yet known.
He said Labour had a number of options if it entered Government, which included “fixing” the agreement or leaving it altogether.
Labour’s trade spokesman David Parker said he was confident that Labour could renegotiate the deal if it did not serve New Zealanders’ interests.
Trade deals usually required a country to give six months’ notice before pulling out. …………………………………..
Further details in this link – NZ Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11488237
I sure hope the population starts thinking long and hard about this – they haven’t done much of that for the last few years!
Little is doing well on the TPP considering the caucus still has Goff in it but on what planet is David Parker living?
Confident we could renegotiate? Yeah sure , Japan and USA would be happy to help out.
Little is doing well on the TPP considering the caucus still has Goff in it…
I thought the same thing. I haven’t caught up with David Parker’s stance so I can’t comment on that.
David Parker brought his credibility (and that of the Labour Party) into question when he said he was confident that Labour could renegotiate the deal.
Nonsense, TC. Parker is a lawyer, and he’s a very bright guy. He doesn’t say anything he doesn’t mean.
Jenny, how on earth can you have so much faith in any lawyer??? What has Parker achieved in the field of international FTAs which gives you so much faith in him?
How do you expect NZ to be able to force the US Congress to meet and agree to the US renegotiating the TPPA after we have signed?
Why should we place so much trust in the judgement of the Labour caucus?
hi cr, speaking of labour and lawyers, makes me think of langes quip about never trust a lawyer, half of them are always wrong.
heh Lange was good with his one liners
Jenny, it was a silly comment for a supposedly “bright guy”.
His confidence may be genuine but the reality of Labour renegotiating the deal is slim to none.
I suppose it is no secret, but my sense is that Parker is not personally opposed to the TPPA.
I can’t really see anything changing, what is off patent now and/or contracted by PHARMAC will remain off patent and/or contracted by PHARMAC.
Suggesting that PHARMAC is somehow going to disappear and that suddenly medicines are going to be more expensive in NZ is bizarre and yet another example of Key speaking without thinking, Helen clark would never have made such a silly comment.
Even though there is some small variance in patents between the US and NZ in relation to medicines it is often the case that the relevant patent expires in the US before it expires in NZ. In relation to your comment about medicines for cancer the prices for those that are currently funded by the DHBs/PHARMAC will not change under a TPP except during a tender round wherein the price usually (but not always) declines quite significantly.
As you well know it will be the new medicines that are going to cost more and they’ll do so for longer. We don’t keep using the same medicines forever.
How will the new medicines cost more ?
At present PHARMAC drip feeds new medicines into the market anyway. Quite often we’ve had to wait for a products patent to expire before pHARMAC funded a product…
If people really think the PHARMAC issue is the biggest hook in the TPPA they rally aren’t looking in the right place.
“Quite often we’ve had to wait for a products patent to expire before pHARMAC funded a product…”
So now we’ll have to wait even longer for the patent to expire. How many people are going to die in the meantime?
There was a story on stuff the other day about a drug that will cure hepatitis C. It costs something like $174,000 per patient in New Zealand, precisely because it is patented and the company can therefore charge monopoly rates.
It is a literal life-saving drug. Pharmac cannot justify the current price. If prices like that (or slightly cheaper) stay around for more years, it means more people will go without the treatment than otherwise might have it, had we not agreed to longer patents.
This is all so terribly basic, I don’t know why it needs to be spelt out to someone called “northshoredoc”.
Someone from the Doctors for Public Health against Trade Agreements association (obviously biased) this on an interview on National Radio this morning that adding 1 year to patent lengths will cost Pharmac an extra $25-50 million per year. Frankly I trust their numbers more than your “nothing to see here” charade.
There are also stories about new cancer drugs that are available in Australia, but not in NZ. Is increasing patent lengths on drugs generally going to lead to more drugs being available in NZ, or fewer? The answer is obviously fewer.
Lanthanide I have no idea who these “Doctors for Public Health against Trade Agreements association ” are, perhaps you could enlighten me.
In relation to the new medications for Hep C, PHARMAC has recently funded new products for Hep C as below.
http://www.pharmac.health.nz/assets/notification-2013-08-09-boceprevir-and-pegylated-interferon.pdf
This is a step forward from what we had available previously. The new medications from abbott and gilead are certainly a further improvement with reported ‘cure’ rates in the high 90% range. They are extremely expensive and many western 1st world jurisdictions around the world have struggled to fund them as the manufacturer’s pricing is exorbitant to reflect this price per cure (and saving on a liver transplant).
With or without a TPPA these medications will struggle to be funded in NZ, of note the patent on these particular products expires earlier in the USA than in NZ. This is the same case for the new cancer medications I believe you may be alluding to .. biologics for malignant melanoma perhaps ?
While you may consider this a ‘simple’ or ‘basic’ area I can assure you it is not and the simplistic comments on this website and by morons like key does little to inform anyone.
“With or without a TPPA these medications will struggle to be funded in NZ”
At best, the TPPA changes nothing.
At worst, it means these drugs will stay expensive for longer, hence less access.
It really is very simple.
🙄
northshoredoc
I refer you to the NZMJ, 14th February 2014, Volume 127 Number 1389
CV, Yes if any of those things are in the TPPA, most especially the inability to reference price it would make things more difficult for PHARMAC… do you have any information to suggest that they are ?
Interestingly PHARMAC don’t tend to apply reference pricing to generics as the prices are so low there’s no real need and it would just lead to certain medicines no longer being available.
As I have stated a number of times I think the PHARMAC issue is a red herring and we should be far more concerned regarding other issues of the TPPA most importantly… what’s actually in it for us in terms of better access to overseas markets, really we are all in the dark until there is an agreement in front of us to peruse.
Agree with your contention that there may be bigger fish to fry in the TPPA in terms of things that we need to look out for.
You’re right Hami. Perhaps Auckland is in a Housing Bubble and in “TPP Free”
Bubble.
A great talk on Morning Report after 8 this morning.
here are the various TPPA articles from this morning’s Morning Report
6:40 a.m. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201764256/tim-groser-says-tppa-finish-line-is-in-sight
7:11 a.m. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201764266/final-tpp-negotiations-begin-in-hawaii-this-morning
7:49 a.m. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201764273/maori-voice-their-tpp-related-claims-on-eve-of-negotiations
8:11a.m. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201764276/smoke-screen-put-up-on-ballooning-medicine-costs-tpp-objector
8:16 a.m. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201764277/tppa-and-canadian-concerns-about-any-agreement
8:39 a.m. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201764283/tppa-from-the-canadian-angle
but there is a heavy question overhanging another story from this morning’s broadcast –
How can NZ reform its regulations when the TPPA has not been signed and how can this reform continue in any meaningful manner until the rules of our new obligations are known?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/businessnews/audio/201764262/business-nz-gives-thumbs-up-to-government-reform-plans
and from Nine to Noon
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201764290/clinicians-alarmed-over-impact-of-tpp-on-drug-costs
from Nine to Noon
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/279978/cancer-specialist-warns-tpp-will-delay-medicines
John Key simply bullshitted New Zealand yesterday when he said that Pharmac costs will not affect New Zealanders…
liar
liar
liar
deceiver extraordinaire
deceitful
snake-oil salesman
can’t stand liars and deceit
Constitutional question:
National unilaterally signs up to the TPP. Cabinet and Select committee use government majority to rubber stamp deal.
National fails to pass enabling Pharmac legislation, being defeated by Labour/Green/NZ First/Maori Party votes.
Constitutional crisis? Early election?
Sigh….what pHARMAC enabling legislation ?
There won’t be any..
Not sure, Sanctuary. NZers don’t like early elections – they punished the Nats last time they tried it.
Also – haven’t you seen the Maori Party (minus Sharples and Turiana) rolling over like good dogs for the Nats – they won’t vote against them.
My guess is that Countries with high tariffs and subsidised farming will only free trade after about 25 year lead in. Just wait.
I think you’re absolutely right xianmac I doubt we’ll get anything meaningful for our agricultural/horticultural industries in the next 20 years which begs the question why do it ?
Suggests that this commercial agreement is primarily directed by power politics, not by good economics.
Yup. We simply need to behave like a good little colony of the economic imperium of the United States, a supine position our Hawaii based, and paid up member of the globalised elite, prime minister is more than happy to adopt.
quote John Kerry…’when it comes to NZ ..we dont even have …to ask!’
@CV, Yes I think it’s more about wanting to be part of the club and free trade ideology than anything else. I’m also of the opinion that Labour and National will OK the deal regardless.
Always better to be inside the tent than out.
Tell that to Switzerland or Greece of the UK in relation to the EU…. many more example where being outside the tent hasn’t particularly harmed a national or in Greeces case where being inside has harmed them.
I don’t really believe in absolutes as many do on these blog sites.
Switzerland isn’t in the EU and never has been (due to their policy of neutrality).
Yes ..that was my point..being outside the tent hasn’t done them any noticeable harm.
Not always. Being inside the tent as a slave certainly isn’t and that seems to be NZ’s position inside the TPPA.
Not if someone farts.
Depends: http://www.pilulepet.com/en/15-pilule-qui-parfume-les-flatulences.html
lol
that’s neoliberalism right there – 1% fart in the tent and then tell everyone else to stay inside because what they’re really smelling is chocolate.
NSdoc – Nonsense – Labour won’t okay the deal if their bottom lines are knocked out. Please get a bit real about this.
Jenny Kirk – of course they will – their bottom lines as they are, will be found not to be in conflict with supporting signing the TPPA if it comes down to it.
Dim Post makes the same point via dear ole Fran.
https://dimpost.wordpress.com/2015/07/29/nuanced/
Kathryn Ryan claims big pharmaceutical companies are “not the bad guy”;
Does she actually do any preparation for her interviews?
Nine to Noon, Radio NZ National, Wednesday 29 July 2015
We have expressed our concern on many occasions at the shallowness and the lack of knowledge exhibited by Kathryn Ryan.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-18072014/#comment-850765
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17072014/#comment-850188
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21012014/#comment-760529
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13122013/#comment-744053
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24102013/#comment-715845
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-12042012/#comment-458258
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-04062013/#comment-643309
This morning she perhaps scraped the very bottom of the barrel during an interview with a medical oncologist about the government’s reckless endangerment of our public health system by exposing us to the predations of the pharmaceutical conglomerates….
KATHRYN RYAN: Let’s be clear here; Pharma, or the big pharmaceutical companies, is not the bad guy here.
DR. BERNIE FITZHARRIS: No, and that’s fair enough. They want to maximise the return to their shareholders.
Anyone who wishes to go a step further than Kathryn Ryan and actually do some reading about this should click on the following link….
http://www.citizen.org/publications/publicationredirect.cfm?ID=7065
@Morrissey
Agreed. Ryan let her right wing leanings show this morning. I’m always amazed how few people on TS realise she favours the right.
She’s hopeless and clueless.
I was also disappointed by the muddle-headed response by Dr Fitzharris.
Agree also. Does Kathryn Ryan not know WHY Pharmac was formed? The big pharmaceuticals WERE playing bad guys in the 19802 and forcing the cost of medicines up high – too high for NZers.
There’s a good article here on how big Pharmas are ripping nations off….
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/70539656/cost-keeps-cure-out-of-reach-for-those-with-hepatitis-c
They don’t even try to justify the price of the drug…..
“The price of Sovaldi and Harvoni is determined on a country-by-country basis taking into account the burden of disease in the country, its economic means and the value of the medicine in terms of its impact on improving overall health outcomes.”
In other words they’re saying they charge as much as they can possibly get away with. They’re little more than hostage takers demanding ransom.
I wonder if our consumer laws might be used to some advantage here. They should at least be required to refund if the cure doesn’t cure……
And if you could work out which countries it is cheap in a little internet buying or even a trip overseas ( and arrangements with customs to bring it back in) would see a solid price drop
🙄
Finally, some good news from the United Kingdom
The Labour (or Labor) Parties in Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia are currently afflicted with mealy-mouthed, inept and pretty much useless leaders.
But in Britain, at least, there is a real sense of hope emerging….
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-takes-22point-lead-in-labour-leadership-race-10422523.html
dont worry, his Blairite caucus will sort him out
“The crisis (in the British Labour party) consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born”
Corbyn is merely reflecting what is happening across the wider European left – an acceptance on the ground that the left is no longer defenders of social democratic welfare states but is again weak enough institutionally to be in a position to champion revolutionary action.
The comfortably institutionalised elite leadership cadres centre-left parties are either going to be shaken out their torpor and into this new revolutionary paradigm (and be part of the new that is being born) or be the old, and die/merge with the right wing establishment so many of them are in reality part of.
In the short to medium turn, that’ll probably involve a split in British Labour, with a bunch of Blairites moving to occupy the ground left by the recently massacred Liberal Democrats.
Why Labour is considered National Lite and losing voters. From the herald on TPPA
Already the Labour Party has given conditional support only to the deal. It not only wants to see the fine-print but has signaled five no go areas.
How can Labour give conditional support to a deal they have not even seen?
Ideology.
The global addiction to energy subsidies
Apparently to help the rich
Just think, if we took those $5.3 trillion of subsidies and put them fully onto renewables we’d easily be able to achieve 0 emissions by 2050 across the world.
“Ummmm, ahhhh, you know”: The Eloquence of Fran O’Sullivan
The NZ Herald‘s Fran O’Sullivan is a regular commentator on business and politics. While she is capable of speaking clearly and effectively, as she does when she is on television, or when addressing a gathering of business people, it’s quite clear that she doesn’t put a lot of effort in when she talks to someone for whom she doesn’t respect….
1.) Monday 16 February 2009, 6:14 to 6:21 p.m.
Fran O’Sullivan on Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB…
“Um”………. 51 times
“Ahh”……….15 times
“y’ know”…….9 times
“um, er”………4 times
2.) Monday 23 February 2009, 6:12 to 6:19 p.m.
Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB…
“Umm, aah, errrr”…….. 39 times
“y’ know”…….7 times
“Sort of”……..2 times
“I mean”……..1 time
“At the end of the day”….2 times
3.) Thursday 26 February 2009, 6:10 to 6:20 p.m.
Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB,
In a rambling ten-minute chat with Williams, O’Sullivan said “um” or “aaah” 76 times. That’s SEVENTY-SIX times. She said “You know” 20 (TWENTY) times.
4.) Monday 11 July 2011, 6:20 to 6:25 p.m.
Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB….
“Umm, ahhh”………. 47 times
“y’ know”…….23 times
5.) Monday 18 July 2011, 6:25 to 6:29 p.m.
Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB…
“Umm, ahhh”………. 45 times
“y’ know”……………….14 times
6.) Wednesday 21.3.2012, 6:38 to 6:41 p.m.
Still dumbing it down for Larry Williams…
“Umm, ahhh”………. 56 times
“y’ know”……………….6 times
7.) Wednesday 11 June 2013, 11:07 to 11:24 a.m.
Fran O’Sullivan, interviewed by Kathryn Ryan, Radio NZ National…
“um, ahh”…. 89 times
“Well” …….….11 times
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11082011/#comment-363119
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/07/27/whistleblower-exposes-torture-and-child-abuse-profit-prison?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork
An OPEN LETTER from some of the world’s leading citizens
10236 Charing Cross Road,
Los Angeles,
California
Wednesday, 29 July 2015
Dear World,
What exactly is it that Lord Sewel did that is wrong?
Sincerely,
H.R.H. Prince Harry
Alan Dershowitz
H.R.H. Prince Andrew
Silvio Berlusconi
Senator John Edwards
Gary Condit
Ed Schrock
Congressman Mark Foley
Newt Gingrich
Donald “Buz” Lukens
Senator Brock Adams
Gary Hart
William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton
William Henry “Bill” Cosby Jr.
Rolf Harris
Rob Lowe
Lord Lambton
Lord Archer
Eliot Spitzer
Senator Robert “Bob” Packwood
Max Mosley
Richard Worth
David Letterman
Paul Gadd
Max Clifford
Sir Cyril Smith
David Wu
Vance McAllister
Anthony Weiner
Auckland you need to put on the biggest turn out that Queen St has ever seen!
Join
TPPA – Walk Away! AUCKLAND
Saturday, August 15 at 1:00pm
Aotea Square in Auckland, New Zealand
1,755 people are going
TPPA Nationwide Protests – Christchurch
Saturday, August 15 at 12:30pm
Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand
840 people are going
Professor Steve Keen on Greece, China and private debt
Well worth watching/listening to.
http://www.vox.com/2015/7/28/9014491/bernie-sanders-vox-conversation
A great interview with US Sen Bernie Sanders. I hope this man becomes President.
Im sure that a few on here will love this news: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11488774
Colin Craig taking people to court, again.
Looking for $650k from Cameron Slater.
Of course this will be interesting if its defended – If Whale has material to back up his post.
Colin Craig is a gift to the left.
The mans cheese has slid off the cracker
Even an arch-Tory sees problems with hot and dirty money being allowed into the housing market. Pity our arch-Tories are blind to it.
“David Cameron will promise to act against corrupt foreigners who buy up luxury properties in the UK using secretive holding companies to hide their “dirty money”.
The prime minister will use a visit to Singapore to make an anti-corruption speech on Tuesday in which he will express concern that some properties, mainly in London, “are being bought by people overseas through anonymous shell companies, some with plundered or laundered cash”.
Drawing on proposals advanced by campaign group Transparency International, Cameron will set out his determination to ensure that “the UK must not become a safe haven for corrupt money from around the world”.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jul/28/david-cameron-fight-dirty-money-uk-property-market-corruption
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/70653837/men-charged-with-500-sex-offences-against-girl-in-australia
At some point i’d like to see a discussion started on the merits (or not) of the death penelty but i doubt it’ll ever happen
There are no merits. End of discussion.