Open mike 29/11/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 29th, 2012 - 99 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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

Step right up to the mike…

99 comments on “Open mike 29/11/2012 ”

  1. Te Reo Putake 1

    Nice signs of a fightback against the age of austerity. This is the second factory occupation in Taranaki in a week, after a group of metal workers also held a sit down strike to get their company to recognise their delegate’s right to represent them at pay talks:
     
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/8011469/Unionised-Tegel-staff-push-for-5pc
     
     
     
     
     

    • One Tāne Huna 1.1

      Some context:

      The latest annual accounts from Tegel’s parent company show total comprehensive income for the year to April 25, 2010 of NZ$18.3 million up from NZ$10.2 million the previous year. The profit rose as revenue fell to NZ$401.7 million from NZ$464.3 million and cost of sales dropped to NZ$282.9 million from NZ$340.8 million.

      My emphasis.

      • Te Reo Putake 1.1.1

        Yep, belt tightening is for workers only. Bonuses and trebles all round for the bosses!

        • KJT 1.1.1.1

          And. Ports of Tauranga made a record profit. Guess who is now trying to get staff to take wage cuts and sit around on call.

          Along with POAL trying to make the rest of their skilled staff, planner, pilots etc. take cuts to help pay for Gibson’s 34 mill fuckup. And presumably his 750k salary.

    • karol 1.2

      I have been thinking lately, that it’s worth looking more at local newspapers, because they often print articles more relevant to ordinary people than the big dailies.

      • Rosie 1.2.1

        A fair comment Karol. The regions do appear to get ignored by City newspapers and TV news in general unless theres a mountain exploding or a multiple car crash involving tourists. News seems to be shaped into a top down format. People/community centred news that is still relevent to the country as a whole probably never makes it out the area.

      • vto 1.2.2

        Local dailies always have the juicy bits and they are pretty much all I read when trundling around our vast country. They are also very entertaining.

      • Fortran 1.2.3

        Karol

        Agreed, but the Herald has already morfed into a small minded Auckland local paper.
        Others in the same ownership only repeat what the Herald says, so why waste money ?

    • millsy 1.3

      Ahhh Tegel, those were the days…back in early 04 I did 2 weeks there as a casual worker. At that time, Allied Workforce (which was in a great growth period under the supposedly worker-friendly Labour government), had a contract with Tegel to supply casual workers to the plant, it bascially involved sitting by the phone, waiting for AWF to ring for you to come into work — if you missed the call, too late, someone else got the work, anyway, the guys at AWF would tell you about how their workers would be subjected to nasty harrasment by the permanent workers, but I experienced none, though in the cafeteria the AWF workers and the permanent workers tended to keep apart, with the permanent workers having the luxury of having purchases from the cafeteria deducted from their next pay slip.

      But anyway, the work was hard, and one would come home at night very sore and stinking of chicken. Also, I found training to be more or less a senior worker spending 5 mins telling me what to do, and then leaving me to it to bumble round.

      After being shifted to about 4 different departments (and having the privilige of pulling innards out of dead chickens), I left after getting chemical burns on my wrist when I was washing out dixie creates — something that I was responsible for, as I had deliberately not worn correct PPE when working, in the belief that it would be easier. The scars sometimes still itch to this day. And I havent been to Tegel since — the office job that I have spent 7 years in is more suited to me.

      I belive Addeco has the contract now, but Tegel is a shit place to work. I dont blame the workers for striking for more pay — the money is the reason why so many people work there.

      • Te Reo Putake 1.3.1

        Cheers, millsy, that’s a good summary of the place from what I’m told. And also testament to the need for a living wage.

  2. KhandallaMan 2

    Mallard’s appallingly prepared and badly communicated Auckland Waterfront RWC Stadium Proposal comes to mind. 
    Did Annette get coaching on her Auckland Housing Solution from Mallard?

    Annette and Mallard have had their last Hurray’s too many times.
    Shadbolt should be retiring in Invergiggle soon, Trev!  

  3. felix 3

    Nothing looks more desperate than someone trying to start a meme.

    I had to laugh when I heard Vogon Commander Joyce in parliament yesterday claiming that Labour have been nicknamed “the hobbit haters” by the nz media.

    I’ve never noticed anyone in the media use the term, unless they were directly quoting a script-reading Nat MP. Has anyone?

    • Pascal's bookie 3.1

      Noted entertainer John Key has been using it a lot. Maybe that’s what he meant?

    • Professor Longhair 3.2

      I’m a Hobbit-hater, and not ashamed to say so.

    • Tiger Mountain 3.3

      “Hobbit Love” is more of a worry, when a union buster is celebrated by thousands of grinning kiwis.

      Hobbit hater is attempted code for ‘unkiwi’, or not sticking to the default kiwi setting of twisted nationalism and subservience. The type that sees support for troops in Afghanistan, youthful trips to Gallipoli and ANZAC day, tears during Dave Dobbyn songs as patriotism.

      Key and business has been “storming the shire” since ’08 and the kiwi hobbit lovers do not seem to care a bit.

      • Tiger Mountain 3.3.1

        More on the H****t. quite good from Tom Scott.
        http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/cartoons/6736460/Tom-Scott-2012

        • weka 3.3.1.1

          Scott got one thing wrong though – Key didn’t pay for some of it, we did.

          • Tiger Mountain 3.3.1.1.1

            @ weka, the implication I took via Lord Jackson’s shifty look was that “you” (The Prime Minister) by implication meant “us” (the taxpayers). Jackson knows well it did not come out of Key’s pocket, and that he was the bagman for Warners.

          • Mary 3.3.1.1.2

            According to Key, it was Peter “Jackshon” who made the “Hobbits”. Our very own George W. Scott should do a cartoon about that.

            • Rogue Trooper 3.3.1.1.2.1

              “I’m goin’ back in Jachshon…Jackshon’s who I want to be…”

              -in Key j minor

      • Rosie 3.3.2

        Hey TM. That unpatriotic vibe you’re referring to was disturbingly evident on 3’s coverage of the hobbit premiere last night. The whole angle on “if we didn’t act (meaning bend over for Hollywood) we wouldn’t be here today” was devisive and nauseating. Key was so fill of ‘told you so” smugness and was smirking and grinning like the cat who got the cream. Ugh!
        And yes, the Tom Scott cartoon in todays dompost was a good leveller.

        • muzza 3.3.2.1

          Hi Rosie,

          The whole thing is disgusting, and seeing the thronging masses fawning over the event makes me shake my head.

          These are the spells weaved by the “magic” of hollywood, which is what people seem to “care’ about these days.

          • Rosie 3.3.2.1.1

            Kia Ora Muzza:-)
            Yep. Ignorance is bliss.
            Its’ been particluarly tiresome here in Wgtn with the whole Jackson adoration and “isn’t the Hobbit great for Wellington, blah blah blah” going on ad nauseum.

    • karol 3.4

      Seen it used a lot by right wing blog commenters. Does Joyce consider them to be part of the media?

    • Enough is Enough 3.5

      Stop being so precious.

      Does anyone in the media use the meme “Planet Key”?

      Does it matter?

      • karol 3.5.1

        The point was, that Joyce was trying to claim the term is used by the media.

        • Enough is Enough 3.5.1.1

          And my point is – so what…?

          The media has reported the “hobbit Hater” meme.

          There are big things to worry about and legitimate things to crticise this corrupt government about. But the message gets lost when we cry about Mr Joyce saying nasty things in Parliament which may not be true.

          • felix 3.5.1.1.1

            No, the media has reported that Key has used the term “hobbit haters” to describe Labour.

            Joyce is pretending that the media themselves used the term to describe Labour which is an entirely different thing altogether.

          • Ant 3.5.1.1.2

            I don’t think any ‘message’ is going to get lost due to an open mike discussion.

        • QoT 3.5.1.2

          Hey now, Joyce has a point. The media does use it. When reporting on how it was entirely coined by the Nats. But that still totally counts!

      • Lanthanide 3.5.2

        “Does anyone in the media use the meme “Planet Key”?”

        Actually, yes. And that meme was created by Key himself (and picked up by the Greens), which is quite different from an opposition party manufacturing a meme entirely, as National are now attempting to do.

  4. Professor Longhair 4

    http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/ambassadors-rage-doesnt-dispel-facts-20121128-2ae99.html

    Ambassador’s rage doesn’t dispel facts
    by Elizabeth Farrelly, November 29, 2012

    ‘Swedish ambassador goes berserk over Assange,” read Monday’s Wiki-tweet. It rang a bell, as it bounced around the globe, for while most diplomats are polite to the point of somnambulism, my sole encounter with the Swedish ambassador had been distinguished by rage (his). This rage, rooted in WikiLeaks, had itself been Wikileaked.

    Sven-Olof Petersson is Sweden’s man in Yarralumla. By now he may be wishing he’d followed the advice I give my 13 year-old.

    It’s this. If you have something savage to say, sleep on it. Then, if it really must be said, pick up the phone. Say it in person. Shout it from the rooftops, if need be. But under no circumstances commit it to cyber-space. Cyber-speech, seemingly ethereal, is etched in stone.

    Back story: last April I wrote a column about Julian Assange. ”It’s quite clear,” I said, ”that Assange is not guilty – not of rape, not of treason”, but it was more a logical deduction (from the definition of these things) than a claim to knowledge of the events. In particular, I wrote of my dismay at what can happen to speakers of truth, especially at the hands of those who pretend to uphold it.

    It made the Swedish ambassador mad. Really mad. We now know it made him, by his own admission, out-of-control mad.

    Read more….
    http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/ambassadors-rage-doesnt-dispel-facts-20121128-2ae99.html

    • kiwi_prometheus 4.1

      “In particular, I wrote of my dismay at what can happen to speakers of truth, especially at the hands of those who pretend to uphold it.”

      You can include the hands or should I say paws of “Cry rape!” Feminists like Felix and QofT who are CIA dupes. They’ve jumped on board the trial by media smear campaign against Assange like good little toadies – “Rape culture! Rape culture!” they wail on cue, like professional mourners.

      Of course what makes Julian Assange ‘guilty’ in their eyes is A) he is a man, B) his political activism against the rich and powerful that dwarfs anything Team Feminists and other Assange haters, have or ever will accomplish.

      • felix 4.1.1

        Not sure I’ve passed any opinion on those matters, k_p.

        Care to show where I have? Otherwise an apology and retraction will be fine, thanks.

      • QoT 4.1.2

        Still really, really desperate to deny there’s rape culture, k_p. Interesting.

    • McFlock 4.2

      How can one logically deduce that someone did not commit rape without any knowledge of the events? 
           
      That entire piece is moronic. But thanks of regurgitating the “sex without a condom is illegal” lie. Just to remind us that even nice anti-establishment people will perpetuate rape myths if they think it will piss of America.

      • Rogue Trooper 4.2.1

        carry on Shrek?

        • McFlock 4.2.1.1

          you calling me fat? 😉

          • Rogue Trooper 4.2.1.1.1

            naaaah, not at all, just wondering if there is any merit in offloading some more sociological precis allah 🙂
            Ellul, which I have to share, is dead on the money; everything he thought and wrote across the 20th
            Century, Fox, (she’s a twentieth century fox) came to fruition and he is referred to as the prophet of
            the 21st; sees social phenomena corresponding to waves, currents and depths 😉 ; present events and
            personalities which the MSM and increasingly the academic social scientists focus on, deeper abstract philosophical concerns and of course, his interest in the middle of the trending currents.

            His corpus has a foundation in Marxist analysis but it goes way beyond money and settles on technique
            so I’ll search for a link and tell me what your thoughts are; many of the Sounds of Silence tell me it’s all
            happening at The Zoo 🙂

            interestingly there is a work entitled Presence amidst consideration is given to
            lived experience
            “common places”
            and the
            Sacred (isn’t it interesting where the teleology of one’s ontological project can lead?)

            I really recommend this text Living the Word, Resisting the World: The Life and Thoughts of
            Jacques Ellul, there are rooms in the reason for everybody, but then what would I know, I am
            just a weary gardener 😉

  5. Lanthanide 5

    So how about those ridiculous predictions of 100,000 people turning out for the premiere? Seems the actual turnout was around 20k.

    As Wellington City itself has a population of approx 200,000, that would have been half the city turning out and squishing into downtown, just to see some famous people walk on a red-coloured carpet and hear the same old suspects have some speeches.

    • Enough is Enough 5.1

      look at what the world thinks of us

      http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/blistering-cnn-report-calls-kiwis-desperate-over-hobbit-5247237

      John Key has made us the laughing stock of the world.

      New Zealand truly does suck while he continues to embarass us all

      • “John Key has made us the laughing stock of the world.”

        Clark did the same thing with Return of the King don’t forget.

        • McFlock 5.1.1.1

          Clark did what? Rewrite employment law or just build an international reputation as a suck-up?

        • felix 5.1.1.2

          Really The Contrarian? Helen Clark drew the ridicule of international media for sucking up?

          Do go on…

      • BM 5.1.2

        Article written by a one Pattrick Smellie

        http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1209/S00629/pattrick-smellie-wins-scholarship-to-london.htm

        Once again Labour aligned people taking a dump in the Hobbit punch bowl, in a feeble attempt to sling shit at John Key and National

        Notch another one up for the “Hobbit haters”

        • Pascal's bookie 5.1.2.1

          Fark.

          2 and one half internet points for trying there son, but a 15 point deduction for trying to pull some shit that might fly on a trade me forum in the wee small hours but otherwise should have sent the abort abort woop woop sirens ringing well before you got the actual typing part.

          • BM 5.1.2.1.1

            Trade me forums aye.
            I assume you post in opinions, what handle do you go by over there?

            • Pascal's bookie 5.1.2.1.1.1

              Don’t.

              • BM

                You should do, the left side could really do with some help.

                • Pascal's bookie

                  Reckon seeing how Trademe forums are for people who can’t figure how to make Stuff comments work, losing a flame war is the least of their probs.

                  • Jackal

                    I wouldn’t be too down on Trademe forums Pascal’s bookie… They have a huge readership if the large amount of hits are anything to go by whenever somebody links to a Jackal post there.

                    Besides, BM’s reasoning is far more simplified… How else to explain him/her thinking that CNN article is the only negative international attention Key and the Hobbit has recently received?

                    The trend is very worrying indeed, with the world clearly starting to think New Zealand is backwards and run by morons. Unfortunately people like BM and the politicians he/she supports do nothing but encourage people to form those beliefs.

                    • Pascal's bookie

                      Do you know haow many people drink Coke? Neither do I, but it’s an imperial shit-tonne. Doesn’t mean I’m going to start drinking it, and it doesn’t mean there’s any reason for me to start trying to get them to make it drinkable for me.

        • felix 5.1.2.2

          BM: “… Labour aligned people …”

          lolwut? From your link, the only mention of Labour is this:

          Pattrick Smellie is a co-founder of BusinessDesk an independent business news wire agency. He has spent 21 years working in journalism in New Zealand and for publications across the Tasman. He also was a press secretary for Labour’s Finance Minister Roger Douglas from 1985 to 1988 and has worked in corporate communications with Fonterra and Contact Energy.

          Damn libril medja.

    • Janice 5.2

      The phrase “bread and circuses” came to my mind. The film evidently cost each and every one of us $8.00/head and then they will still expect us to pay full price for admission should we really want to go.

      • prism 5.2.1

        Cripes Janice – can’t you lift your sights above your personal cost to attend the film. If you want to comment why don’t you have something to say about the multiplier effect for every $8 (or whatever) spent. And that it comes from an continuing film making niche here providing opportunities for creatives and actors. And that it raises our profile overseas so we seem like a vital alive and beautiful country, which objectively, we probably still are.

        But people grousing about the cost of any initiative and heaping loads of brown stuff on ‘the man they love to hate’ helps to drag us down to the boring, conservative, dour sadarse place we can still morph into.

        • Rogue Trooper 5.2.1.1

          very waltzing in black, strangle the life out of me there is plenty more I could say to make you change
          your mind, didn’t have much money but I had a morrie thou’ sand ways to leave your lover and step out
          the back Jack White is a very talented man with a beat full of eye candy. (deep inhalation) Shandi,
          say goodnight and gooo home because you Sure Know Something ahaaa…

          • prism 5.2.1.1.1

            Rogue Trooper
            Your special weirdness gives an interesting counterpoint to our often banal comments. What are you on? Is it legal? Watch your dosage.

            • Rosie 5.2.1.1.1.1

              Yes, I like RT’s style. I like the song titles woven into the free form conversation. Even if they’re bad songs I still like it. Keep on truckin’ RT.

              • Rogue Trooper

                “cos we gotta mighty Convoy truckin on through the night, come join our convoy…see what’s outta
                Sight. Breaker 1 9 you got your ears on? I seen a cab-over Pete with a Reefer on and a PM hauling hogs”

              • just saying

                I’ve had “send me an angel” playing in my mind, off and on, since you mentioned it a couple of days ago 🙂

      • millsy 5.2.2

        Im going to download it myself, down the track.

        This whole Hobbit-hater thing is getting a bit overboard though. Anyway, the same people who go on about this stupid movie and the jobs that it will create are the same people who support the closure of the rail workshops at Hillside, the jobs there were secure, high wage and high skilled. They turned out some pretty good stuff. KiwiRail flash carriages being the latest — could have exported them to other countries as well.\

        But oh no, appareantly we should all be independent contractors on Lord Jackson’s Tolkein adaptions.

  6. JazzaBelle 6

    http://www.ch9.co.nz/content/your-word-labours-leadership-problems
    Duneding Labour Supporters are unhappy with the state of the Leadership.

    90% of poll believe Cunliffe’s demotion does not address the Leadership problems.

    Clare Curran has her work cut-out.

    • Bill 6.1

      That was a remarkable contrast to the ‘Campbell Caravan’ or whatever they call it where (if we are to believe the editing was done in an even handed way) absolutely everyone sampled in Lower Hutt was of the opinion that Shearer was ‘the man’…if they knew who he was… and most didn’t know who Cunliffe was.

      http://www.3news.co.nz/Who-should-lead-Labour/tabid/367/articleID/277266/Default.aspx

      • karol 6.1.1

        The TV3 news straw poll asked a different question – quite a narrowly defined one: basically Shearer or Cunliffe? – and that was immediately after the MSM was giving Cunliffe bad press, while Shearer was identified as the legitimate leader.

        The Dunedin-9 poll asks whether the  Labour leadership problems have been ended with Cunliffe being sent to the back benches.

    • Crimson Tide 6.2

      It’s hard to understand what David Cunliffe’s demotion was actually supposed to achieve for the Labour Party, or for the chances of a Labour Government getting elected. I took a look at the latest Roy Morgan results but the next one will be telling, I believe.

    • Anne 6.3

      Yeah well, rumour has it that Clare Curran’s electorate members clearly indicated a preference for Cunliffe at the time of the leadership contest 12 months ago and she ignored them. What does that say about Clare Curran I wonder?

  7. BLiP 7

    .

    Can’t say you weren’t warned, eh John?

    7 December 2011

    To:

    The Honourable Kate Wilkinson, MP

    The Director General, Department of Conservation, Mr Al Morrison

    We wish to register our collective dismay at the current restructuring of the Department of Conservation. The effect of these changes is of particular concern with regards to science and technical support staff. The dedicated staff in these positions are intimately involved in planning and advising field based conservation management and research. Therefore, to suggest that rangers and field based staff will not be affected by these changes, as the Minister and Director General claim, is ludicrous.

    The Department of Conservation is characterised by an incredibly dedicated staff who are passionate about their jobs. Unfortunately, this dedication to conservation is not reflected by government. There is an ongoing reduction in capacity, support and funding for New Zealand conservation, along with the continual threat of restructuring and reprioritisation of resources. The loss of positions coupled with those who chose to leave an under-resourced and uncertain future within the department is to the detriment of New Zealand Conservation and ultimately to New Zealanders.

    New Zealand has an outstanding international reputation for innovative and effective conservation management.

    This reputation has been hard won through snatching iconic species from the brink of extinction the Chatham Island black robin, kakapo, takahe and saddleback. Many more species and ecosystems teeter on the edge of oblivion. We have the expertise to prevent this from happening but the experts require funding, support and job security.

    This week over 1300 conservation biologists from more than 75 countries will converge on Auckland for the International Congress on Conservation Biology. As academics and scientists with intimate links to New Zealand-based conservation management, science and research what will we say when our international colleagues ask about conservation in New Zealand? We have many good things to tell them because conservationists are, by necessity, a dedicated and determined group of people. But we cannot say that this commitment is reflected by our government and we will doubtless relay our fears for the future of New Zealand conservation.

    100 per cent Pure New Zealand has to be more than a marketing slogan to attract tourists and buoy exports of our agriculture products. It requires a well-funded Department of Conservation and secure roles within the department for the dedicated staff to simply get on with their job of protecting New Zealand’s biodiversity. We acknowledge the current economic challenges facing the globe but we also ask that conservation management and science be properly acknowledged as a strategic asset for the wealth of all New Zealanders and funded as such. Recessions come and go: extinction is forever.

    Kind Regards

    107 top scientists and academics
    .

  8. kiwi_prometheus 8

    More pro gay “marriage” propaganda in the NZ Herald.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10850682

    Some homosexual, celebrity hairdo working as a “reporter” for the ET! channel “Close Up!” program, blubbering about Daddy not being able to see his son get married – boo hoo hoo!

    Looks like Team Pro Gay are really scraping the bottom [ no pun intended ] of the barrel now in their social engineering attempts.

    Well when the whole pro gay marriage crusade hinges on flakey Academic Left deconstructionist mumbo jumbo like Carol’s “binary opposites”, what else can they do?

    • BLiP 8.1

      ^^^DFTT

    • Pascal's bookie 8.2

      Fuck that “no pun intended” crap.

      Pretty much the only legitimate use of that phrase is here:

      http://t.co/80MRdynR

      That’s ‘pretty much’ because possibly, (possibly), you could come up with some word that is the only possible word to use, and it makes a pun that makes no sense, or that conveys some shit you don’t want to say.

      Your case here?

      Total tool move.

      If you didn’t like the pun, get fucking rid of it. If you don’t want to get rid of it, own it, especially if you go out of your way to highlight the lame arsed piece of weak.

    • QoT 8.3

      Holy shit, you found a homosexual person who’s in favour of gay marriage? I’m fucking stunned. Oh, wait, you meant “homosexual” as a perjorative. Interesting.

  9. joe90 9

    Seems our resident doom sayer Robert A isn’t the only one crying wolf.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/were-headed-for-a-disaster-of-biblical-proportions-2012-11?op=1

    • kiwi_prometheus 9.1

      70 million extra human beings squeezed onto the planet every year.

      • Daveosaurus 9.1.1

        If you are genuinely concerned about overpopulation, then you should support gay marriage. The simplest, least invasive way of curbing overpopulation is not having so many children in the first place.

        • Populuxe1 9.1.1.1

          Logical fallacy – same sex couples are no less likely, and quite probably more likely, to pursue having children if married. Gay people have all the functioning bits, and what we don’t have we can go get. You’re actually being a bit patronising – especially if you are assuming that gay marriage will make more people gay, or whatever weird idea you have in your head.

          • Lanthanide 9.1.1.1.1

            A culture that accepts gay people will see fewer of them live unfulfilling heterosexual lifestyles. I would suggest it probably isn’t uncommon for closeted gays to shack up and have children under some mistaken belief that it might ‘fix’ them or whatever. So there’s that.

            But otherwise, yeah, doesn’t really make any sense.

    • KJT 9.2

      Well he is not wrong. Except I think he is just as bad as the deniers in one way.

      Why bother doing anything if we are doomed anyway!

  10. RedLogix 10

    And on a lot more modest scale, those of you who’ve ever been tramping will get a mild chuckle from pg.2 of the latest FMC Newsletter:

    http://www.fmc.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/Newsletter/Club1210.pdf

  11. Rogue Trooper 11

    Well, Hope the MSM responsibly broadcast this to the people joe

  12. prism 12

    Another giant step forward for NZ on radio today! No. Sorry just another case of the wealthy playing monopoly with NZ people’s money. RAM otherwise Ross Assets Management or some lying name, has gone belly up with just $400 million somewhere and about $10 million assets can be found and another $67 million that might be raised from the dead hands of investors paid out with newcomers money, also the IRD receiving real tax on mythical profits. When will this stop!!!!!!

    We can’t get anywhere in this country if we allow some bloated, calaculating business fatneck to swan along and pick our pockets. Who can you invest with and trust? When is there going to be close monitoring and regulation of financial entities from government? We don’t want the Goldman Sachs copycats doing an Antiques Roadshow on our bits and bank balances and then conniving to acquire them, and we don’t want the Standard and Poors acting stable assessing our businesses. We want integrity, and by god if we have to pay for it we should shut up and fork out. It would be advantageous in the long run.

    The ASB has just done a city by city chart as to the most financially active business centre and Aucland wins – why because they have more housing start ups. I would like to see two separate lots of figures, one for housing only and the other for real business which would include commercial buildings. Housing masks other activities and it is a relatively easy option for business investment. We need reassurance that there is actitivity and investment in other areas of enterprise in NZ.

    And another ruined golden goose – the kiwifruit debacle continues. All those great people mortgaging themselves, doing hands on productive work, refining methods to meet quality standards – putting muscle and thought and innovation into a growing market have been severely checked if not wiped out by this pollen business. Bring back hanging? No no that’s the wrong attitude but directing passion to introducing tight precautionary actions to prevent this sort of commercial sabotage, whether un- or intended, is where strong feelings should be channelled.

    • Draco T Bastard 13.1

      This government isn’t even aspiring to average – they want to keep as as backwards hicks.

  13. Rogue Trooper 14

    I been for a wonder and a quick look at the BBc before communion. The options before the UK
    parliament at the mo’ are to either get the press to self-regulate or be under government regulation.
    According to RT television, which is really a humurus watch at times, the Spaniards are loosing
    1000’s more Jobs in an exchange for MORE bankier support from EU Central and the French
    are exibiting fears of disenfranchised Islamists; remember Algeria? oui oui
    Remember when you walked home from school for lunch and Mum had made fresh ham and chicken
    sandwiches while Dad pulled up out front in the bright Red CA Bedford van. Family home for Lunch.
    and the son of the men who founded the company died recently in an industrial accident, along creep
    of increasing competitiveness and Size in the Transport Industry; very sad,

    Oh well, there is always Question Time for a laugh 🙂

  14. Rogue Trooper 15

    The things they say in parliament are interesting because they go in the Hansard and and not to mislead
    i wear baggy pants and i can not lie Stag and me ‘ad our own litle mag with Stars on Radio with
    Pictures in our eyes like Talking To A Stranger sow the NZIER also recognise that NZ imports to ausie
    are down non-people anyways “she’ll be right” and the germ Joyce acknowledges NSW and Queen Vic.
    economies are “struggling” while the MC assail the Battered seas Power Station. Russell was sowing
    them memes Pa, sure did look purty Metiria (although there are burgeoning Mass Body issues in NZ)
    we seem a “fattist” society as a generalization, which thankfully has been reframed thanks to Pacifica
    30 Years Tenure, figurative rhetoric bites them apples deep.
    Unbelievable boiled lolly behaviour over a hard-to-swallow sweetie we’ll modify statistical reporting
    frequently to maximize the fleece between Shares.
    Funny fred Brown-stone just needed Pebbles-dash splattered down his tie; Wilmah!..Wilmah!

    ugh Gee Fred.

    -Barney Rubble

  15. Rogue Trooper 16

    f.ism = Mob Rules thats why ya’ need the Hounds Of Love Running Up That Hill to see Black Sabbath
    playing April. Fools in Cuba? Alright! Alllllright! as Tool?s have always boot-strapped the apex predator
    wannabee a Hot Child In The City as National lampoon democracy.

    -All Fred Einstein Gary Numan 😉 (craig, you’re a fossil alright yeah, just lay your hands on me…lay your hands on me Alright Yeah)

  16. Professor Longhair 17

    How morally blind is Stevie Wonder?

    You might have thought that his tuneless singing of this witless, plodding campaign tribute in 2008 was the low-point of Stevie Wonder’s foundering career….

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svogqpLuXyI

    But you would be wrong. He’s sunk about as low as anyone who is not Clint Eastwood could sink….

    http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/alexander-billet/will-israeli-apartheid-steal-stevie-wonders-soul

    • Draco T Bastard 18.1

      Typical RWNJ with no solutions just more suggestions on giving the rich even more wealth.

  17. Herbert 19

    I have just sent this letter to the Honourable Lockwood Smith.

    “Dear Sir
    I am deeply disappointed by what took place during Question Time, no.4 today (29/11/2012). I am astonished that you allowed the derogatory phrase “shut it sweetie” to pass by without stern censure. This type of language is more likely, for example, to be found in the build up to a bar room brawl between drunk females, or by an adult trying to bully a child into submission. “Shut it sweetie” is neither appropriate nor fittting language for use in the House, and especially by a Minister of the Government. I expect far greater competence from those in positions of great responsibility.
    Whilst there may be loud and rude comments made in the to and fro of the House’s business, I find this comment to be quite offensive.
    The Minister of Social Development has an important portfolio to care for some of the weakest and most vulnerable people in our country. This is especially pertinent in the context of today’s question dealing with vulnerable youth. As you will no doubt be aware, many of these youth are the victims of abuse, both physical and verbal. The Minister just compouded that abuse by her offensive remarks
    Furthermore, I would suggest that there was very little provocation that caused this gross remark. The remark was not just “less that ideal.” The remark is offensive.
    I found this interchange disgusting and your involvement was especially disappointing. Both the dignity of the House and the responsibilities the House has to the people of New Zealand were seriously belittled today.
    I expect more that to hear Ministers of the Crown say “shut it sweetie.”!”

  18. Populuxe1 20

    To the tune of “Little Buttercup” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance

    For I’m called Paula Benefit — plump Paula Benefit, 
    Though I could never tell why, 
    But still I’m called Benefit — plump little Benefit, 
    Though benefit no one do I!

    I’ve slashed solo mothers and plenty of others, 
    My clothing puts Bett Lynch to shame; 
    I hiss “Zip it, Sweetie,” at all who’d defeat me, 
    And ethics can go to the flame.

    I’m a leopard-print manatee, I lack all humanity, 
    My office leaks like a sieve;
    All of those unemployed just make me so annoyed, 
    I strike them wherever they live.

    Then ask for a Benefit – beg for a Benefit; 
    Of jobs there are never enough; 
    So, come to your Benefit — plump little Benefit; 
    So I can say go and get stuffed!  

  19. Rogue Trooper 21

    cool Pop Music M People “movin’ on up yes we’re movin on up…”
    2.2M FB users in NZ and only 15K tax after “legitimate tax avoidance” save Facebook now!
    Horan, what a cheeky wee dog; is the forecast for cloudy or fine?).The Retirement Watchdog
    Commission warns that housing affordability for the smothering litter will be in the dog-house
    (of course) while MFAT is further trimmed we’re givin the dog a bone just givin the dog a bone
    The New Demons
    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1362676.The_New_Demons
    they sound attractive
    nothing tautological about it Word
    you reap by the technique you sow with language sticks to mark out the rows, all in all we are just
    bricks in a wall from Te Mata peak look down where The Mushroom Farm grows beneath a
    Golden Gate Ellulian arche, underline, that spans civilisation, modernity and technique employing
    the tools of a christian Post-Christian ethique.
    There was some excellent representative television on Close-UP 7PM in my view.

  20. Draco T Bastard 22

    ACTUALLY, THE RETIREMENT AGE IS TOO HIGH

    Third, we don’t need the workers. Productivity gains and cheap imports mean that we can and do enjoy far more farm and factory goods than our forebears, with much less effort. Only a small fraction of today’s workers make things. Our problem is finding worthwhile work for people to do, not finding workers to produce the goods we consume.

    Which is what I’ve been saying for a long, long time.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • EV road user charges bill passes
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April.  “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Bill targets illegal, unregulated fishing in international waters
    New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Reserve Bank appointments
    Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates.  Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Stronger protections for apartment owners
    Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Travel focused on traditional partners and Middle East
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend.    “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says.   Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Keep safe on our roads this Easter
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Cost of living support for over 1.4 million Kiwis
    About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Tenancy reviews for social housing restart
    Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary plan halted
    The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Cutting all that dam red tape
    Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track.  “Dam safety regulations ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Drought support extended to parts of North Island
    The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Passage of major tax bill welcomed
    The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Lifting economy through science, tertiary sectors
    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government announces Budget priorities
    The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.  The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government to consider accommodation solution
    The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government approves extension to Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care
    Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says.                                         “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • $18m boost for Kiwis travelling to health treatment
    The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says.   “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM’s Prizes for Space to showcase sector’s talent
    The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Concerns conveyed to China over cyber activity
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government.     “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry
    Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function.  The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Brynderwyns open for Easter
    State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech to the Infrastructure Funding & Financing Conference
    Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Parliamentary network breached by the PRC
    New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to provide support for Solomon Islands election
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ-EU FTA gains Royal Assent for 1 May entry to force
    The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union.    “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • COVID-19 inquiry attracts 11,000 submissions
    Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says.  “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Families to receive up to $75 a week help with ECE fees
    Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Unlocking a sustainable, low-emissions future
    A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Chief of Army thanked for his service
    Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders
    25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government commits nearly $3 million for period products in schools
    Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Speech – Making it easier to build.
    Good morning, it’s great to be here.   First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning.  I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Pacific youth to shine from boost to Polyfest
    Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 2024 Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships announced
    ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Breast Cancer Foundation – Insights Conference
    Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Kiwi research soars to International Space Station
    New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Planning Institute
    Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Support for Northland emergency response centre
    The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed.  “Northland has faced a number ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Celebrating 20 years of Whakaata Māori
    New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Some commercial fishery catch limits increased
    Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-29T08:18:05+00:00