—-What is characterising and feeding the ongoing divide?
In 2009 an approach to counter Key was necessary: a Hi-profile Leadership strategy was chosen. This became the mantra under both Goff and Shearer: and anything that might distract from a singular public image of Labour being personified through the Leader became verboten.
That is now characterised by the obsession with The Standard by the Caucus insiders and their staff. The membership 60/40 vote at Conference only confirmed and strengthened an atmosphere of paranoia.
There are other behaviours, events and attitudes that are characteristic of what is driving the divide in the party.
The Tamihere thing, so soon after a divisive Conference when calm was needed, involved wanton disregard of the membership’s wishes.
The continuation of the four years of marginalising Cunliffe is another example.
The dissing of “not one of us” MPs, and now members, is a characteristic.
The offering of Labour seats to prominent figures on condition that they buy into the one-voice one-leader mantra is a characteristic of the behaviour splitting the party.
The not-left not-right stance by the Leadership on social issues is one characteristic that is driving most activist members nuts.
The mis-management of the very poor public performances for so long, followed by a strategy of only allowing the Leader to speak in rehearsed set-pieces is driving the rest of the members nuts.
–How can the destructive spell be broken and the ground prepared for a Labour victory in 2014?
The attitude behind the behaviour above must change.
If you ever needed a reason to feel contempt for Public Relations types then this morning’s Herald provides plenty of them.
Apparently the phrase “100% pure NZ” is, although factually woefully incorrect, justifiable on the basis that it is an advertising campaign.
Tourism New Zealand spokeswoman Deborah Gray said some people were confusing the campaign with an environmental issue.
“The 100 per cent Pure New Zealand campaign is a marketing campaign not an environmental promise,” she said.
“It tells the story of how the combination of landscapes, people and activities is 100 per cent unique to us, that is 100 per cent pure New Zealand.”
So all the hints about how great the environment are accidental. All the campaign was meaning to say is that New Zealand is 100% New Zealand, not that it is in pristine environmental shape.
Another advertising sort David Bibby thought that we were taking it all too literally.
“Advertising is all about accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative, so if you start from that premise, advertising is a selling process,” he said.
Truth is obviously less important than achieving the sale.
Thankfully Professor Shaun Hendy was also interviewed. He said that on a per-capita basis, New Zealand had one of the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. He backed up Mike Joy’s statement that it was wrong to call NZ “100% pure”.
It is interesting that there should be a debate on whether the truth or lies should form an acceptable part of an advertising campaign.
Deborah Gray certainly has the corporate -lie-speak down pat.
“It tells the story of how the combination of landscapes, people and activities is 100 per cent unique to us, that is 100 per cent pure New Zealand.”
And, of course, there’s no double meaning intended in the use of “100 per cent pure New Zealand”? – especially when used in connection with pristine-looking landscapes?
And PhD marketing candidate Bibby is well on the way to perfecting the corporate-speak. He’ll probably be co-opted to being an MP candidate before too long.
MS: It is all “aspirational” anyway under the Key led government. So anything goes, you can promise the blue sky, tell lies and say, we endeavour to reach the truth and aspire to get better, at all times. That is where we are, and the MSM just repeat the crap, as they are themselves no longer able to work on issues of substance (see the new announcement by Fairfax today).
MONEY does the talking, and the whores are dancing, as the boat is about to come in, full of desperate sailors, wanting to spend their money to get the hormones going.
Also in today’s Herald online, a well-written rebuttal to Fran O’Sullivan’s column last Saturday white-anting Chief Justice Sian Elias and calling for her to recuse herself from hearing the water rights claim – or at least (I suspect) testing the waters on this.
“It would be a big call to challenge the Chief Justice, who has (in fact) presided over at least three Supreme Court hearings in which the Maori Council has been a plaintiff without facing any challenge from the Executive. But Cabinet ministers are understood to have asked Crown Law to look at whether grounds do in fact exist for a challenge, or a request to be made to her to stand aside.
Elias’ prior connections with the Maori Council were so deep that it is surprising that issue has not come up in a considered way before.”
Bold is mine. Many of the 41 comments on the article were negative to O’Sullivan’s assertions
Today’s rebuttal is by Richard Cornes – “Dr Richard Cornes is a NZ-trained lawyer and legal academic specialising in Supreme Courts. He is a senior law lecturer at Essex University, in England.”
Dr Cornes is succinct,to the point and well-worth reading – and hopefully IMO his rebuttal will put an end to any suggestion the the Chief Justice should be challenged or recuse herself. As he points out:
…
The Chief Justice was appointed to the bench in 1995 during the fourth National Government’s term of office. It must be at least 17 years since she acted for the Maori Council, and quite possibly more. Simply having been the council’s lawyer does not come close to meeting the threshold set by the common law for recusal.
There have not been similar calls for the court’s second most senior member, Justice McGrath, to recuse himself whenever the Government is a party before the Court. Justice John McGrath was the Solicitor-General (the Government’s top lawyer) for 11 years before he became a judge in 2000. On the reasoning attributed in Saturday’s report to the unnamed Cabinet ministers – that having acted for a party over a significant period disqualifies a judge from hearing cases involving his or her old client – Justice McGrath would spend an awful lot of time alone in his Supreme Court office while his colleagues decided all those cases involving the Government. That would obviously be nonsensical. And there is nothing odd about having appointed a former Solicitor General to the bench – to do so is common elsewhere in the world.
New Zealand has a proud history of an independent and impartial judiciary. We can take comfort that all the judges who will sit on the water rights appeal – not just Chief Justice Elias – will give the parties a fair hearing and decide the case according to the law. It would be best if a named Cabinet minister came forward and said so.
I somhow doubt that we will see “a named Cabinet minister come forward”.
O’Sullivan is a real damned trouble maker and biased stirrer, I must say. She was trying to politicise the appointment of judges in general. If she would have her way, most judges would not be allowed to hear any cases, as they would all have been acting as legal representatives of various parties before, who may bring new cases, and thus put them at risk of “privilege” or bias.
That is well over the top. I do not rule out that some judges may be biased on certain issues due to personal views. But the fact is: Judges have a role and responsibility to interpret the law and to rule on existing law as it is.
That sets clear standards and limits on what a judge can do.
The personal view or emotions of a judge will have to be put behind this absolute requirement, to interpret and apply the law, as it is written and valid.
NZ is in political terms perhaps close to being a “banana republic” kind of system, but I cannot really see this to be the case at the courts.
We have had controversial rulings and determinations over year, and always some will say, that makes no sense, that is biased or whatever. But generally, my impression is, besides of the executive and legislative, the judiciary is about the least corrupted and most independent institution in NZ.
So Dame Elias is there, will also not make a decision on her own at Supreme Court level anyway, and I think Fran O’Sillivan went over the top yet again with another politically motivated article, to throw doubt into an area she has little knowledge and qualifications in. I am really sick of Fran’s articles, most of which are so damned biased, and she is one of the worst examples of modern day journalism in NZ.
!o Signs we live in a false Economy
very American but there are many parallels with NZ not to mention thant the US economy and financial markets have been shown to have a significant flow on effect to the rest of the world…. food for thought anyway..
now what about smiles and greetings in the street? I observe a 50 / 50 response rate; yin yang, or
Bipolar Nation
Scar Tissue-RHCP say it all? Mr Sarcasm and know-it-all
(Been Away Too Long-Soundgarden); hope you’re not working for the art race-Ska
Fairfax tears holes in the worth of tissues
Whanganui Infrastructure “stinks”; Laws should feel Right at home checking out the crack
Nick Lowe-Jesus of Cool? i coulda been a Lawyer a Doctor or a Thief, it’s all the same to Thee
(the dogs are talking…the dogs are talking, Underground, according to the Soul Surgeon)
(to that Guy, I collected childrens games too; Snakes and Ladders)
11:2 When pride comes, then comes dis grace, but with Humility comes wisdom
4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath
ya gotta roll the correct throw to get outta this place
The Message of Isaiah in 24 is that of a Damaged World
-devastation of the earth
-sellers and buyers
-borrowers and lenders
-debtors and creditors
The earth dries up and withers, languishes and withers in the Heat, defiled by it’s people through
disobedience and a broken covenant (coven) of stewardship; regretfully, people must bear the
guilt for what they have harmed. Better a culture of guilt than shame.
Be still and know that I am watching
Be still and know that I am listening
Be still and know that I am tasting
Be still and know that I am touching
Be still and know that I am feeling
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know
Be still
Be
(mmmm…smell that fragrance) Could be Barbiecue
Right, lets leave the City, and erect a tent city; Sheriff Joe Arpaio would see the possibilities.
cos we’re livin with a love for the common people, far from the hearts of a family man
cues and cues at (former) Fantasyland. The things that we will do for our children to see
yet cannot see to do for our children; bus y lanes for mobility scooters next?
-One Good Man. (Rossington Collins Band) Three Times As Bad
This is The Way, Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
(gimme three steps Mr, gimme three steps more, gimme three steps Mr and we’ll be in the door…
It’s The End of the World as we know it, and I feel fine; gonna be Made, over 30, In The Shade
Rode over this button sign on the cycle Way here- http://www.skip.org.nz/ (links are not happening for me, but we can type)
now, back to
Jonah (easily deceived and senseless)
sooo, Assyria defeats Damascus, ending almost a century of sporadic see-saw conflict
between Israel and it’s neighbour
(prior to that time the king of Damascus had even been able to control Internal Affairs in the
northern kingdom)
Yet, soon after Triumph, Israel began to gloat over new-found power, feeling jealously complacent about her forward status with God, focusing on her “expectations” of the “day of the LORD” when
darkness would engulf other sites leaving Israel to bask in His light (not).
The Lord announced he would “spare them no longer”, and this included sending Jonah to Nineveh
(like a Glittering Prize, up on the Waterfront, get in, get out of the rain; Don’t you forget about me,
I’ll be around, dancing with you baby…), i digress, to warn of the imminent danger of divine judgement.
There is an assumption; the books’ accounts sprang essentially from the whales imagination.
Nonetheless, the book of Jonah recounts real events in the life and trembling ministry of the
Hooked himself;
But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish (Phoenicia?, well plenty of sails)
anyway, Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea. All the sailors were afraid and each cried
Out, to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Then the sailors
said, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity”. You know where they fell (they knew he was running away from the Lord because he had already told them so)
Meanwhile, the sea was getting higher and saltier. “Pick me up and throw me into the sea”, replied Jonah, “I know this is my fault that this great blitz has come upon you.”
But,,the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Thus he began his slippery prayer, which could have been a prayer of thanksgiving for deliverance as he was sinking into the depths of a
Great Depression; his gratitude could have been heightened by his knowledge that he deserved
Death, but that God had shown him extraordinary mercy.
And then what? After God spares the sacks at Nineveh Jonah was angry that God would have
Compassion on an enemy of Israel; “O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than
continue spewing this filth.
Jonah goes at sits on an eastern beach, maybe out pass the dump, (probably be “green fields”
developments soon). There he made himself a panic shelter, sat in it’s shade with a chardonnay
and waited to see what Len and Gerry would do to the city. Then, the Lord God provided a vine,
made it grow up over Jonah to give shade from the UV and also ease his discomfort.
Initially, Jonah was very happen with the vine (probably a castor Oil plant, God being gracious
towards this stubborn “prophet”), but at the dawn of the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine in a Standard way so that it withered. When the Son rose, God provided a
scorching East wind, and the Son blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. Thus, he wanted
to be cast and die again; “Angry” he cried out to God, “I am angry enough to die”.
-Her Man (Karma Police; this is what you get when you mess around)
Funny if you’re in the business of slandering someone, as you are ineptly trying to do.
Otherwise, it’s about as funny as a Bernard Manning routine attacking “the Pakis”, an Andrew Dice Clay rant against Asians, or a Seinfeld quip about “ugly homeless people”.
Nope. It was funny against you and only you simply because it juxtaposed your description of the photo with previous debates you have had with P.
Previous “debates”? Hurling absurd, groundless but incendiary accusations is not debating in any accepted sense of the word.
….those who falsely accuse others of having been found guilty in a law court should be wary of using the “slander” accusation. Just saying.
What on earth are you darkly insinuating? It looks like your job is to issue ominous vague warnings while the other fellow hurls around the inflammatory language.
Either way, you look like a pair of incompetent clowns.
Previous “debates”? Hurling absurd, groundless but incendiary accusations is not debating in any accepted sense of the word.
Then why do you do it?
For example:
What on earth are you darkly insinuating?
So your memory expires some time before the five day duration. I was simply “insinuating” that your repeated accusations of others being defamatory are somewhat hypocritical. And every time you make one, it gives others an opportunity to describe you as a delusional and obsessive hypocrite. Hence maybe you should try another tactic, such as (and I’m just throwing this out there as an option) providing evidence for your claims.
“… or a Seinfeld quip about “ugly homeless people”.”
Citation. please, Moz. I’d hate to think you’re making shit up again.
ELAINE: You know what? That’s discriminatory. That is unfair. Why should these women have all the advantages? It’s not enough they get all the attention from men, they have to get all the waitress jobs, too?
JERRY: Hey that’s life. Good-looking men have the same advantages. You don’t see any handsome homeless.
(scene ends)
[setting: doctor’s clinic]
GEORGE: You see, It’s right here. It’s all white…
DOCTOR: Oh yeah. Yeah. I’ve never seen this before.
Cheney is most definitely a war criminal. Check out his role in the development of the torture program for starters, and the attempts to keep it out of the courts including the pressure he was putting on Justice officials.
I heard Bush senior was in hospital too, due to serious ill health. Now is this the curse coming to follow all those war mongers that went mad in Iraq??
Do you see what I see…Do you see what I see…
all over bar the shouting now. Peace in our times?
Obama’s “Politics of Hope”?
Wow! Firefighting heart attacks as ambulance
Crews struggle to gurney all the demand
(inside goss’; that field their RHnesses graced is “not very friendly”)
Thats strange, plenty of pubs, yet it’s all on the q.t about “that” Guy
everyone knows someone, Everybody knows the dice are loaded
everybody knows the good guys lost
Emmerson takes an excellent toss of the waldork salad.
Boehner, what a no-brainer
“sometimes Satan come as a man of peace”
(he flays and blames the game) two-faced plier
Syria; S.O.C it to the Ass. Ad-“more bloody chaos to come”
Thatcher and Savile from the same predatory row.
H.B.Today: power rises prices on av $107 p.a up to $2fitty (Nat; 117, 400 respectfully yours)
Privatisation and dribbling asset sales. Further spiking to come for 13. Filthy Few
commercial Krays lie their pots a stones throw from the shore.
The Lord sung sam a telegram Tool today
Cayced the “H” and “Stinkfist” out
so, for $19 prepaid per month we are able
and willing to keep tabs on the posse and the pound
a stirling idea.This freedom tramping is a real take off
virtually rock into your local public library
use the loo. Staff log on;
News Sources
Press Display
Library Access
Titles by Country, Wallah, world at our fingertips for free
Thats two steps, just some a.v to see the whites of their lyin feline eyes
To go thanks. Yes, I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more
to be the man who fools you at your door. Brut 24 hour performance
Nothin’ like an original Better Man Spoonman for Pearl Jam.
Low”burn” (couldn’t make that up) High”bury” too
Whats next? Poverty Bay? Flick is my name
now when aussie has it’s scrubfires, kiwis have the same
Tokes urea out his rrrs. Animal Nitrate
It’s not only India where men give women a curry up
Calling Doctor Bombay, Calling Doctor Bombay
Swami Berlusconi’s got away and “returns from the dead”.
that silver fox
SAM’s bewitching Arabian Knights
steaming into narrow straits.’Muz next?
another rogue “satellite” state 4.95 a plate
Pyongyangs gettin’ in tune Going Mobile
another “Shining Son”
Starvation is a spreading problem; Marmageddon.
New Brighton, old brighton apiers
water water everywhere.Wizard spell it.does.not.sink
back to science; blindly stab botox in the park next son?
(one luckless family’s holiday tent is pitched at the ablution entrance)
great sadness to see. always the bungled and botched
“she’ll be right mate”
-The Singing Detective (with a long ride from Black Bess)
-rest tomorow N.I.B, oops I meant Born Again (keep it warm) 😉
check out The Warning
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because some are slow to learn.12. In fact
though by this time you could be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of
God’s word all over again. You prefer milk, not solid food! 13. Anyone who lives on milk, being still
an infant, is not aquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature,
(us old soldiers here bearing The Standard), who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from unhelpful thinking. Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about
Christ (knows what?) and go on to maturity etc etc.
IV.It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who
have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are
crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Seven. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop Useful to those for who it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces gorse and california thistles
is worthless and in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
(this may well be “hypothetical”, a warning, or a prophecy of more loss to come, yet I do not make stuff up; all these ramblings just come, I scrawl a few lines for about an hour while having
break fast, or cycling / walking around and then The Word just flows out; the immature beseech
me to speak in “tongues” Hello? 🙂 )
anyway, Jesus is more than ” just alright” with me; Way.
-John (Back Pages Man)(just checked “beseech” with merriam, and thats exactly what “they”
attempt. Oh Well, good thing I began with Mk VII and am a convinced Universalist, yet,
How long, how long must we sing this song?
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Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 23 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
—-What is characterising and feeding the ongoing divide?
In 2009 an approach to counter Key was necessary: a Hi-profile Leadership strategy was chosen. This became the mantra under both Goff and Shearer: and anything that might distract from a singular public image of Labour being personified through the Leader became verboten.
That is now characterised by the obsession with The Standard by the Caucus insiders and their staff. The membership 60/40 vote at Conference only confirmed and strengthened an atmosphere of paranoia.
There are other behaviours, events and attitudes that are characteristic of what is driving the divide in the party.
The Tamihere thing, so soon after a divisive Conference when calm was needed, involved wanton disregard of the membership’s wishes.
The continuation of the four years of marginalising Cunliffe is another example.
The dissing of “not one of us” MPs, and now members, is a characteristic.
The offering of Labour seats to prominent figures on condition that they buy into the one-voice one-leader mantra is a characteristic of the behaviour splitting the party.
The not-left not-right stance by the Leadership on social issues is one characteristic that is driving most activist members nuts.
The mis-management of the very poor public performances for so long, followed by a strategy of only allowing the Leader to speak in rehearsed set-pieces is driving the rest of the members nuts.
–How can the destructive spell be broken and the ground prepared for a Labour victory in 2014?
The attitude behind the behaviour above must change.
If you ever needed a reason to feel contempt for Public Relations types then this morning’s Herald provides plenty of them.
Apparently the phrase “100% pure NZ” is, although factually woefully incorrect, justifiable on the basis that it is an advertising campaign.
Tourism New Zealand spokeswoman Deborah Gray said some people were confusing the campaign with an environmental issue.
“The 100 per cent Pure New Zealand campaign is a marketing campaign not an environmental promise,” she said.
“It tells the story of how the combination of landscapes, people and activities is 100 per cent unique to us, that is 100 per cent pure New Zealand.”
So all the hints about how great the environment are accidental. All the campaign was meaning to say is that New Zealand is 100% New Zealand, not that it is in pristine environmental shape.
Another advertising sort David Bibby thought that we were taking it all too literally.
“Advertising is all about accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative, so if you start from that premise, advertising is a selling process,” he said.
Truth is obviously less important than achieving the sale.
Thankfully Professor Shaun Hendy was also interviewed. He said that on a per-capita basis, New Zealand had one of the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. He backed up Mike Joy’s statement that it was wrong to call NZ “100% pure”.
It is interesting that there should be a debate on whether the truth or lies should form an acceptable part of an advertising campaign.
Deborah Gray certainly has the corporate -lie-speak down pat.
“It tells the story of how the combination of landscapes, people and activities is 100 per cent unique to us, that is 100 per cent pure New Zealand.”
And, of course, there’s no double meaning intended in the use of “100 per cent pure New Zealand”? – especially when used in connection with pristine-looking landscapes?
And PhD marketing candidate Bibby is well on the way to perfecting the corporate-speak. He’ll probably be co-opted to being an MP candidate before too long.
Mikeysavage:
So will queensland drop their advert of “Beautiful one day, perfect the next”???? if it rains??
Of course not, its about branding.
But Brett should branding be an excuse to lie?
Mickey:
You want advertising to be honest??? hahaha
BTW the Gruen transfer is one of the greatest programs ever.
MS: It is all “aspirational” anyway under the Key led government. So anything goes, you can promise the blue sky, tell lies and say, we endeavour to reach the truth and aspire to get better, at all times. That is where we are, and the MSM just repeat the crap, as they are themselves no longer able to work on issues of substance (see the new announcement by Fairfax today).
MONEY does the talking, and the whores are dancing, as the boat is about to come in, full of desperate sailors, wanting to spend their money to get the hormones going.
Also in today’s Herald online, a well-written rebuttal to Fran O’Sullivan’s column last Saturday white-anting Chief Justice Sian Elias and calling for her to recuse herself from hearing the water rights claim – or at least (I suspect) testing the waters on this.
O’Sullivan’s column is here
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10855648
A taste:
“It would be a big call to challenge the Chief Justice, who has (in fact) presided over at least three Supreme Court hearings in which the Maori Council has been a plaintiff without facing any challenge from the Executive. But Cabinet ministers are understood to have asked Crown Law to look at whether grounds do in fact exist for a challenge, or a request to be made to her to stand aside.
Elias’ prior connections with the Maori Council were so deep that it is surprising that issue has not come up in a considered way before.”
Bold is mine. Many of the 41 comments on the article were negative to O’Sullivan’s assertions
Today’s rebuttal is by Richard Cornes – “Dr Richard Cornes is a NZ-trained lawyer and legal academic specialising in Supreme Courts. He is a senior law lecturer at Essex University, in England.”
Dr Cornes is succinct,to the point and well-worth reading – and hopefully IMO his rebuttal will put an end to any suggestion the the Chief Justice should be challenged or recuse herself. As he points out:
…
The Chief Justice was appointed to the bench in 1995 during the fourth National Government’s term of office. It must be at least 17 years since she acted for the Maori Council, and quite possibly more. Simply having been the council’s lawyer does not come close to meeting the threshold set by the common law for recusal.
There have not been similar calls for the court’s second most senior member, Justice McGrath, to recuse himself whenever the Government is a party before the Court. Justice John McGrath was the Solicitor-General (the Government’s top lawyer) for 11 years before he became a judge in 2000. On the reasoning attributed in Saturday’s report to the unnamed Cabinet ministers – that having acted for a party over a significant period disqualifies a judge from hearing cases involving his or her old client – Justice McGrath would spend an awful lot of time alone in his Supreme Court office while his colleagues decided all those cases involving the Government. That would obviously be nonsensical. And there is nothing odd about having appointed a former Solicitor General to the bench – to do so is common elsewhere in the world.
New Zealand has a proud history of an independent and impartial judiciary. We can take comfort that all the judges who will sit on the water rights appeal – not just Chief Justice Elias – will give the parties a fair hearing and decide the case according to the law. It would be best if a named Cabinet minister came forward and said so.
I somhow doubt that we will see “a named Cabinet minister come forward”.
Sure the Cabinet Minister was real – oh – it will spoil the story otherwise.
What?
O’Sullivan is a real damned trouble maker and biased stirrer, I must say. She was trying to politicise the appointment of judges in general. If she would have her way, most judges would not be allowed to hear any cases, as they would all have been acting as legal representatives of various parties before, who may bring new cases, and thus put them at risk of “privilege” or bias.
That is well over the top. I do not rule out that some judges may be biased on certain issues due to personal views. But the fact is: Judges have a role and responsibility to interpret the law and to rule on existing law as it is.
That sets clear standards and limits on what a judge can do.
The personal view or emotions of a judge will have to be put behind this absolute requirement, to interpret and apply the law, as it is written and valid.
NZ is in political terms perhaps close to being a “banana republic” kind of system, but I cannot really see this to be the case at the courts.
We have had controversial rulings and determinations over year, and always some will say, that makes no sense, that is biased or whatever. But generally, my impression is, besides of the executive and legislative, the judiciary is about the least corrupted and most independent institution in NZ.
So Dame Elias is there, will also not make a decision on her own at Supreme Court level anyway, and I think Fran O’Sillivan went over the top yet again with another politically motivated article, to throw doubt into an area she has little knowledge and qualifications in. I am really sick of Fran’s articles, most of which are so damned biased, and she is one of the worst examples of modern day journalism in NZ.
!o Signs we live in a false Economy
very American but there are many parallels with NZ not to mention thant the US economy and financial markets have been shown to have a significant flow on effect to the rest of the world…. food for thought anyway..
http://www.theidealistrevolution.com/10-signs-we-live-in-a-false-economy/
Some of that’s correct but most of it seems to be libertarian BS.
Doc; Hebrews 10:25 (i know, it’s a battle)
now what about smiles and greetings in the street? I observe a 50 / 50 response rate; yin yang, or
Bipolar Nation
Scar Tissue-RHCP say it all? Mr Sarcasm and know-it-all
(Been Away Too Long-Soundgarden); hope you’re not working for the art race-Ska
Fairfax tears holes in the worth of tissues
Whanganui Infrastructure “stinks”; Laws should feel Right at home checking out the crack
Nick Lowe-Jesus of Cool? i coulda been a Lawyer a Doctor or a Thief, it’s all the same to Thee
(the dogs are talking…the dogs are talking, Underground, according to the Soul Surgeon)
(to that Guy, I collected childrens games too; Snakes and Ladders)
11:2 When pride comes, then comes dis grace, but with Humility comes wisdom
4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath
ya gotta roll the correct throw to get outta this place
The Message of Isaiah in 24 is that of a Damaged World
-devastation of the earth
-sellers and buyers
-borrowers and lenders
-debtors and creditors
The earth dries up and withers, languishes and withers in the Heat, defiled by it’s people through
disobedience and a broken covenant (coven) of stewardship; regretfully, people must bear the
guilt for what they have harmed. Better a culture of guilt than shame.
Be still and know that I am watching
Be still and know that I am listening
Be still and know that I am tasting
Be still and know that I am touching
Be still and know that I am feeling
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know
Be still
Be
(mmmm…smell that fragrance) Could be Barbiecue
Right, lets leave the City, and erect a tent city; Sheriff Joe Arpaio would see the possibilities.
cos we’re livin with a love for the common people, far from the hearts of a family man
cues and cues at (former) Fantasyland. The things that we will do for our children to see
yet cannot see to do for our children; bus y lanes for mobility scooters next?
-One Good Man. (Rossington Collins Band) Three Times As Bad
This is The Way, Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
(gimme three steps Mr, gimme three steps more, gimme three steps Mr and we’ll be in the door…
It’s The End of the World as we know it, and I feel fine; gonna be Made, over 30, In The Shade
Rode over this button sign on the cycle Way here-
http://www.skip.org.nz/ (links are not happening for me, but we can type)
now, back to
Jonah (easily deceived and senseless)
sooo, Assyria defeats Damascus, ending almost a century of sporadic see-saw conflict
between Israel and it’s neighbour
(prior to that time the king of Damascus had even been able to control Internal Affairs in the
northern kingdom)
Yet, soon after Triumph, Israel began to gloat over new-found power, feeling jealously complacent about her forward status with God, focusing on her “expectations” of the “day of the LORD” when
darkness would engulf other sites leaving Israel to bask in His light (not).
The Lord announced he would “spare them no longer”, and this included sending Jonah to Nineveh
(like a Glittering Prize, up on the Waterfront, get in, get out of the rain; Don’t you forget about me,
I’ll be around, dancing with you baby…), i digress, to warn of the imminent danger of divine judgement.
There is an assumption; the books’ accounts sprang essentially from the whales imagination.
Nonetheless, the book of Jonah recounts real events in the life and trembling ministry of the
Hooked himself;
But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish (Phoenicia?, well plenty of sails)
anyway, Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea. All the sailors were afraid and each cried
Out, to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Then the sailors
said, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity”. You know where they fell (they knew he was running away from the Lord because he had already told them so)
Meanwhile, the sea was getting higher and saltier. “Pick me up and throw me into the sea”, replied Jonah, “I know this is my fault that this great blitz has come upon you.”
But,,the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Thus he began his slippery prayer, which could have been a prayer of thanksgiving for deliverance as he was sinking into the depths of a
Great Depression; his gratitude could have been heightened by his knowledge that he deserved
Death, but that God had shown him extraordinary mercy.
And then what? After God spares the sacks at Nineveh Jonah was angry that God would have
Compassion on an enemy of Israel; “O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than
continue spewing this filth.
Jonah goes at sits on an eastern beach, maybe out pass the dump, (probably be “green fields”
developments soon). There he made himself a panic shelter, sat in it’s shade with a chardonnay
and waited to see what Len and Gerry would do to the city. Then, the Lord God provided a vine,
made it grow up over Jonah to give shade from the UV and also ease his discomfort.
Initially, Jonah was very happen with the vine (probably a castor Oil plant, God being gracious
towards this stubborn “prophet”), but at the dawn of the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine in a Standard way so that it withered. When the Son rose, God provided a
scorching East wind, and the Son blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. Thus, he wanted
to be cast and die again; “Angry” he cried out to God, “I am angry enough to die”.
-Her Man (Karma Police; this is what you get when you mess around)
“if you do not at first succeed, try and try again”; correction, do not try, Do!
A-freakinmen 🙂 (still no p.c)
🙂
THE SATURDAY CHALLENGE
How many War Criminals can YOU name in this photograph?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Powell,_Schwarzkopf,_and_Wolfowitz_at_Cheney_press_conference,_February_1991.jpg
African American. Jew. Jew. Sensing a theme….
I sense a theme: your continued desperation, evident all too clearly in your inability to argue without telling the most rancorous lies.
I found it pretty funny.
Yes, Hive Mind Syndrome does that to people.
Or it could just be that it was a pretty funny comment, but your conceit doesn’t let you see it.
Funny if you’re in the business of slandering someone, as you are ineptly trying to do.
Otherwise, it’s about as funny as a Bernard Manning routine attacking “the Pakis”, an Andrew Dice Clay rant against Asians, or a Seinfeld quip about “ugly homeless people”.
Nope. It was funny against you and only you simply because it juxtaposed your description of the photo with previous debates you have had with P.
Oh, and those who falsely accuse others of having been found guilty in a law court should be wary of using the “slander” accusation. Just saying.
Nope. It was funny against you and only you simply because it juxtaposed your description of the photo with previous debates you have had with P.
Previous “debates”? Hurling absurd, groundless but incendiary accusations is not debating in any accepted sense of the word.
….those who falsely accuse others of having been found guilty in a law court should be wary of using the “slander” accusation. Just saying.
What on earth are you darkly insinuating? It looks like your job is to issue ominous vague warnings while the other fellow hurls around the inflammatory language.
Either way, you look like a pair of incompetent clowns.
Unfunny clowns, to boot.
Then why do you do it?
For example:
So your memory expires some time before the five day duration. I was simply “insinuating” that your repeated accusations of others being defamatory are somewhat hypocritical. And every time you make one, it gives others an opportunity to describe you as a delusional and obsessive hypocrite. Hence maybe you should try another tactic, such as (and I’m just throwing this out there as an option) providing evidence for your claims.
“… or a Seinfeld quip about “ugly homeless people”.”
Citation. please, Moz. I’d hate to think you’re making shit up again.
“… or a Seinfeld quip about “ugly homeless people”.”
Citation. please, Moz. I’d hate to think you’re making shit up again.
ELAINE: You know what? That’s discriminatory. That is unfair. Why should these women have all the advantages? It’s not enough they get all the attention from men, they have to get all the waitress jobs, too?
JERRY: Hey that’s life. Good-looking men have the same advantages. You don’t see any handsome homeless.
(scene ends)
[setting: doctor’s clinic]
GEORGE: You see, It’s right here. It’s all white…
DOCTOR: Oh yeah. Yeah. I’ve never seen this before.
GEORGE: You’ve never seen this before?
http://www.seinology.com/scripts/script-63.shtml
Thanks for that, Morrissey. Good to see you pointing out your own mistakes, that’s a sign of maturity.
Thanks for that, Morrissey. Good to see you pointing out your own mistakes, that’s a sign of maturity.
What mistake did I make? Did Seinfeld sneer at homeless people or not?
Or perhaps you think it’s funny to laugh at the down and out.
Your mistake was using quotation marks. And misunderstanding the joke.
Full list of Seinfeld writers here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098904/fullcredits
Amazingly, some of the names don’t appear to be Jewish. But that just shows the cunning of the IDF/JDL/Zionist conspiracy, doesn’t it?
And you’re still, moronically, trying to smear me as a conspiracist anti-Semite.
Character assassination might seem easy, I guess, but you’re not really clever enough to keep telling lies like this.
I don’t write the comments that have “Morrissey” at the top. They’re all your own work.
No, that didn’t work, either, my friend.
Larry David you are not.
Pretty dodgy that that’s what you see when you look at that picture Pop. Apart from Wolfowitz, who else is Jewish there BTW?
None, was it a trick question?
Cheney is most definitely a war criminal. Check out his role in the development of the torture program for starters, and the attempts to keep it out of the courts including the pressure he was putting on Justice officials.
Idiot.
0
That your IQ, is it, halfwit?
I heard Bush senior was in hospital too, due to serious ill health. Now is this the curse coming to follow all those war mongers that went mad in Iraq??
Taxi, “Taxi Cab” (sounded good if you can hail it)
Do you see what I see…Do you see what I see…
all over bar the shouting now. Peace in our times?
Obama’s “Politics of Hope”?
Wow! Firefighting heart attacks as ambulance
Crews struggle to gurney all the demand
(inside goss’; that field their RHnesses graced is “not very friendly”)
Thats strange, plenty of pubs, yet it’s all on the q.t about “that” Guy
everyone knows someone, Everybody knows the dice are loaded
everybody knows the good guys lost
Emmerson takes an excellent toss of the waldork salad.
Boehner, what a no-brainer
“sometimes Satan come as a man of peace”
(he flays and blames the game) two-faced plier
Syria; S.O.C it to the Ass. Ad-“more bloody chaos to come”
Thatcher and Savile from the same predatory row.
H.B.Today: power rises prices on av $107 p.a up to $2fitty (Nat; 117, 400 respectfully yours)
Privatisation and dribbling asset sales. Further spiking to come for 13. Filthy Few
commercial Krays lie their pots a stones throw from the shore.
The Lord sung sam a telegram Tool today
Cayced the “H” and “Stinkfist” out
so, for $19 prepaid per month we are able
and willing to keep tabs on the posse and the pound
a stirling idea.This freedom tramping is a real take off
virtually rock into your local public library
use the loo. Staff log on;
News Sources
Press Display
Library Access
Titles by Country, Wallah, world at our fingertips for free
Thats two steps, just some a.v to see the whites of their lyin feline eyes
To go thanks. Yes, I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more
to be the man who fools you at your door. Brut 24 hour performance
Nothin’ like an original Better Man Spoonman for Pearl Jam.
Low”burn” (couldn’t make that up) High”bury” too
Whats next? Poverty Bay? Flick is my name
now when aussie has it’s scrubfires, kiwis have the same
Tokes urea out his rrrs. Animal Nitrate
It’s not only India where men give women a curry up
Calling Doctor Bombay, Calling Doctor Bombay
Swami Berlusconi’s got away and “returns from the dead”.
that silver fox
SAM’s bewitching Arabian Knights
steaming into narrow straits.’Muz next?
another rogue “satellite” state 4.95 a plate
Pyongyangs gettin’ in tune Going Mobile
another “Shining Son”
Starvation is a spreading problem; Marmageddon.
New Brighton, old brighton apiers
water water everywhere.Wizard spell it.does.not.sink
back to science; blindly stab botox in the park next son?
(one luckless family’s holiday tent is pitched at the ablution entrance)
great sadness to see. always the bungled and botched
“she’ll be right mate”
-The Singing Detective (with a long ride from Black Bess)
-rest tomorow N.I.B, oops I meant Born Again (keep it warm) 😉
check out The Warning
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because some are slow to learn.12. In fact
though by this time you could be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of
God’s word all over again. You prefer milk, not solid food! 13. Anyone who lives on milk, being still
an infant, is not aquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature,
(us old soldiers here bearing The Standard), who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from unhelpful thinking. Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about
Christ (knows what?) and go on to maturity etc etc.
IV.It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who
have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are
crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Seven. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop Useful to those for who it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces gorse and california thistles
is worthless and in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
(this may well be “hypothetical”, a warning, or a prophecy of more loss to come, yet I do not make stuff up; all these ramblings just come, I scrawl a few lines for about an hour while having
break fast, or cycling / walking around and then The Word just flows out; the immature beseech
me to speak in “tongues” Hello? 🙂 )
anyway, Jesus is more than ” just alright” with me; Way.
-John (Back Pages Man)(just checked “beseech” with merriam, and thats exactly what “they”
attempt. Oh Well, good thing I began with Mk VII and am a convinced Universalist, yet,
How long, how long must we sing this song?
Heretaunga.