Seeing as affordable housing is their leading policy, one would assume they would have a strong position, utilizing the opportunity, maintaining the momentum, and capitalizing by showing decisiveness and unity with the Greens..
Unfortunately, when a strong and clear position is required, they’re indecisive.
What comes to my mind is Wales where there was an ‘unfortunate’ spate of house fires in the 80s and for ‘some strange reason’ those houses that ‘caught’ fire all seemed to be second homes/holiday houses owned predominantly by English people. (It may be continuing, I don’t know).
But do you imagine for one moment that if all of the English owners of second houses in Wales had quit their housing investments that prices would have dropped and the availablity of homes risen for Welsh people and others living in Wales? Well, of course not. And even if the housing stock was reserved for only those people living in Wales, then simple market dynamics would have yet again concentrated ownership in the hands of a relative few.
And it’s the same here, whether we’re talking houses or farms or whatever. And so I tend to agree with those charges of xenaphobia when they are directed against those who would niavely hold that everything would be okay if only those pesky foriegners – and disturbingly – especially those pesky foreigners we can readily identify by sight, and who come from a different cultural tradition, and who just happen to be associated with a nationality that is fast becoming the ‘official’ enemy of western (ie, our) states.
If property prices are being ramped up because richer people are buying multiple houses then the solution doesn’t lie in vilifying one identifyable section of those owners of muliple houses but in dooing something concrete that is aimed fairly and squarely at every single last one of them regardless of their cultural or national origins.
The Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey rates housing as ‘severely’ unaffordable at 5.1 times annual household income.
Auckland is the least affordable market, with a median multiple of 6.7.times annual household incomes..
It’s not NZ low incomes that are sustaining these ‘severely’ unaffordable prices
Supply and demand. The amount of local wealth is limited. Opening NZ up to affluent offshore investors increases buyer demand., pricing locals out of the market.
Concentration of wealth rather than the over-all amount of wealth is the problem. And while I can understand an argument that holds prices have gone up even further than they otherwise would have due to wealthy over seas investors/buyers, that doesn’t mean that a market accessable only by domestic buyers would make much of a toss of a difference.
There is a demographic that can afford to buy houses and who can use previous purchases as collateral on further purchases. They exist and would persist even in the absence of foreign buyers and the market would merely be concentrated in their hands rather than the hands of them and foreigners.
The difference is the exchange rate. The Brits were buying land were at one stage and easily outbidding the locals, and thus the property prices went up, quite massively in some cases. That was with immigrants, but you can see the same dynamic in places like Queenstown, where large amounts of houses are owned offshore. Stewart Island is another place where foreign buyers changed property pricing exponentially.
So, sure, there are problems anyway, and only certain NZers could afford to buy property. But now houses are too expensive for even those people.
If I lived in Auckland instead of the SI I’d no doubt be talking about the Chinese more than the Brits or Americans đ It’s a tricky conversation to be had, because obviously there are distinct racism against Asians issues in NZ. And yet, the overseas ownership issue, and immigration issues are real.
Vast inequality and the negative implications of the concentration of wealth is a global phenomenon.
The problem with the local demographic that you highlighted is further exacerbated by allowing unrestricted foreign ownership of houses.
Moreover, the much needed investment returns (rents) largely leave our economy and head offshore, further adding to our fiscal shortfall and economic slowdown.
Supply and demand. The amount of local wealth is limited. Opening NZ up to affluent offshore investors benefiting from economies where money printing is occurring increases buyer demand., pricing locals out of the market.
If I may?
basically NZers are stupid enough to exchange our real local wealth for overseas printed fiat currency. Not a good deal.
On November 14, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce announced the renaming of the Advanced Technology Institute as Callaghan Innovation.
Callaghan Innovation is one of the Governmentâs key priorities to build a stronger, more competitive economy, and was a major recommendation of the independent Powering Innovation report, which looked at how to boost the growth of firms in the manufacturing and services sector.
The purpose of Callaghan Innovation is to help get New Zealandâs most innovative ideas out of the lab and into the marketplace more quickly.
Callaghan Innovation will have operations in Auckland, Wellington (including Hutt Valley) and Canterbury regions.
It will help high-tech firms become more competitive by better connecting them with the expertise and facilities that exist both within Callaghan Innovation and across New Zealandâs Crown Research Institutes, universities, polytechnics, and other research organisations.
TG – Exactly! (Maybe they will be paid, but it will be a pittance I am sure).
Rehabilitation? How is it that National got to hear that word? Kind of rolls around their tongue, feels good. National knows and understands only one word on prisoners (and beneficiaries) and that is Punishment!
The Herald: (quoting Key)
– Up to 1400 inmates will be working 40 hours a week – without pay
– Inmates at Rolleston Prison had already begun 40-hour weeks in response to a demand for labour for the rebuild of Christchurch.
-Asked whether working prisons were a form of cheap labour, Mr Key said: “Not really. There already are work programmes which are … sometimes controversial because they take work … off the private sector
From Stuff: (quoting Tolley)
– The scheme is already under way in Christchurch’s Rolleston prison, which has a contract with Housing New Zealand to refurbish earthquake-struck properties.
-denied prisoners would be providing cheap labour for Corrections, pointing out that Release to Work participants get market wages.
Not singing from the same hymn sheet it seems, and it looks like Tolley is the one who has the briefing notes.
More on Timbuktu. The BBC and other news outlets are reporting that it now seems possible that staff from the two libraries may have hidden substantial parts of the collections during the occupation. Here’s hoping.
but wait, there’s more-
(sadly air pollution in Beijing is “beyond index” and that is all that was clear in the Herald today)
Dom (inic Crossan) Rules Daily (well, maybe not the editorials, but that’s a matter of opinion…)
(yet that former school teacher and i, we see eye to eye, whats a dignified way to live, and die; me and you and a dog named Blue)
on the subject of Education; “Govt funding not enough to provide even the basics”
Principles? “struggling to meet 21st C expectations”, cos “IT-man that sucks up money” (maybe MS are really making vacuum cleaners)
MoBIE- workplace health and safety rules not working-Play http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby_play (The- Everlasting- Sky is Broken; My Weakness? Natural Blues) Ministry of Primary Industries finally advises of warmer climate change predicting
More Floods-More Droughts-and Productivity Pests
and, and, Cancer is mutating from a “terminal” to “chronic” dis ease; can now “carry on” business “for a good decade or more”. (resistance to drugs will be a Major Growth industry Pharmacy) while the U.S economy vital stats are Banking, Building and Auto Ambulances.
A military vizier to the pharoah advises that the Egyptian State may collapse (Spinxcters clenched)
Holy Moses! (Travelin’ Soldier; now there’s some Southern candy.man!)
Peter Calder in the NZHerald today speaks of why it is so necessary not to get rid of libraries.
I like all the gadgets, but my home library and study is my analogue retreat from the world. I am aprt of the long tail of those who will never give up analogue preference for reading in long form.
Is it just me, or do all major corporations that could suffer from pirating repeatedly screw their customers to the point that pirating is the only option?
fatty, Excellent work squeezing the pseudo-“righteousness” out of the “priest”; they clearly had not heard there is sin and didn’t seem benevolent to their compatriots (their thoughts were revealed, maybe someone slipped them a roofie in their Jungle Juice to cloud their future draping)
The world exists through three things- The Law, worship and beneficence.
-Simeon The Just (Descended into sublime curved-Space)
Slippery the Prime Minister spends up large on money He aint got and has a laugh at the Supreme Court while He is at it,
Missed due to the enthralling tantrum befitting a 4 year old as Slippery the Prime Minister lost His rag going from making a ‘State of the Nation’ speech to yelling a torrent of abuse at the combined opposition,(brought about so rumor has it by an opposition MP taunting the Prime Minister on His way into the Chamber yesterday over whether or not the dead piece of animal fur that covers Slippery’s bald spot is really made from the soft hairs gently plucked from the anal crevice of a blind donkey called Brucie),
The little gem that He,(Slippery), plans this year to spend 800 million bucks from the sale of Mighty River Power into the economy,
What a grand economic vision, spending money that you aint got from assets that aint sold and where there’s every chance that the Supreme Court will rule against you in a case involving the small fact that someone else might have prior rights to the water flowing down that Mighty River,
Some might call that confidence, more to the point tho it looks like a confidence trick being played by the Slippery little Shyster on us all,
I suppose that when the Supreme Court in it’s wisdom rules that yes Maori do have prior existing rights to the waters of that Mighty River the Slippery little Shyster will simply borrow the 800 million He plans on spending from the sale proceeds to add to the 42 billion His Government has already borrowed in 4 years as a tax against future generations…
What did having me sitting up and watching with interest yesterday during the ‘State of the Nation’ speeches was John Banks when the cameras caught Him ‘in shot’ while focusing on the Prime Minister,
I have to ask, is He(Banks), clinically dead and medical science is keeping some form of resemblance of life apparent???
Banks gave every impression of being the ‘wooden indian’, not a facial tic,neither a smile nor grimace and nary a hear here as the Prime Minister gave the nation His impression of a 4 year old in the midst of a toy tossing episode,
Banks tho seems to have taken to a very good display of anal retention perhaps fearful of spraying something putrid like fear into His diapers at the thought of His upcoming date with the judiciary in the form of a private prosecution laid at the Wellington District Court,
More to the point i believe tho would be that the word He(Banks) got from Slippery the Prime Minister was that of ‘dear john’ if that private prosecution in the Wellington District Court enters a conviction against you, bye bye,
Hey i know,how bout ‘Banksie’ for Mayor of Auckland, any takers??? ha ha ha didn’t think so…
Lolz they must have done a Lance Armstrong on Him, He was wheeled out befor PrimeNews to blather on about something forgettable tonight his mouth appeared to be moving tho i cannot say the same about His brain…
Paula Bennett’s and the Key led government’s most draconian, mean spirited and punitive welfare reforms in New Zealand’s recent history, are now increasingly being taken note of at the other side of the globe.
Yes, ‘Black Triangle’ organisation and others there, who have been and are fighting the ruthless benefit regime put in place there, just having been tightened even further under the Cameron led government, have taken note of the concerns agencies and advocates here in NZ raise.
New Zealand is being watched, and this is good.
See the newest on CCS, what amongst others stuff.co reported, and what is being quoted and shared there:
So Professor Mansel Aylward and his promoted tough work capacity testing, that Bennett seems to be so fond of, is going to be scrutinised “internationally”, while Bennett claims there is “international medical evidence” for the new approach to push sick and disabled back into work being justified and good.
Her speech is full of one sided propaganda and pseudo science, referring to this bizarre “bio-psycho social model” Prof. Aylward and a handful other UK “experts” thought out, and are presenting as “international scientific evidence” (strangly almost only from them, in the UK):
Growing Up Poor (2012)
A two-part documentary from the BBC following teenagers dealing with the pressures of growing up with one similarity – they are all surviving on under ÂŁ10 a day
LPrent, earlier today (11ish), when moving between posts at the Standard, I twice ended up back in time with the Standard as of the 24th of January. Just as I was about to tell you the phone rang, and then life intervened, so it has taken me until now to mention it.
The reason I do is that the last time I was transported back in The Standard time, there was something quite serious wrong. It seems like everything is fine, so hopefully that won’t be the case today.
It is an imaginary debate between the major modern economists: Keynes, Marx, Friedman, and Schumacher. Each offers their perspective on the present world economy. It also applies to the NZ economy and our politicians.
Who do you agree with? Disagree with? Where do our leaders seem to be?
Keynes: Shit, this going nowhere
Friedman: This is working…I was right when I said it’d be more efficient than slavery.
Schumacher: Oh dear…they went with greed. I told them it would end like this.
Marx: You fuckin morons, I told you this would fail 100 years ago
I get the impression that the respondent made a half-hearted attempt at an “intent” defense, but didn’t want a massive fine to result from a full denial.
True. It might be a strategy to scare and intimidate, or get some “per song” case history before cracking down on massive pirates (if they really exist, of course).
Certainly does seem to be something not quite right about the case. What it’s all really about though is provability…
If you want to use content that’s not yours, it’s a bit of a no-brainer that you shouldn’t go and search for it using google and then download it from a public site with poker adverts or what not…
Most sharing apps aren’t accessible to tracking and despite what the government wants you to believe, ISP’s aren’t very well set up to track P2P data sharing.
She has claimed that Ministry of Education staff losing their wages through server problems is “karma”. Obviously in her flea sized National issue brain it is the whole department’s fault that Novopay has stuffed up and she has no responsibility.
She can now be described as the best communicator of reasons why we have to get rid of this Government. I do not think that Crosby Textor’s consultants can spin this around.
Yes barely a day into the Parliamentary year and Parata is snidely at it again, it’s the one reason why i was hoping that Slippery the Prime Minister would keep Her in His Cabinet,
Hekia an opposition asset every-time She chooses to open Her mouth…
well strung shiny one.
May be up to 3000 Samuels “humanely” put down at the NZP; SOE gotta make a profit; that’s M-C
law. Now, of course (Not Guaranteeing Officially) there will be a Variety of “administrative costs” sponsoring these wee deserving dears; I know, how about we just help our neighbour (and their children) directly, be our sister and brothers’ keeper as Metiria so biblically put it. At our Station on the Way a garage sale is held and the items donated are, wait for it, Free, yes Free (a once in an Autumn offer, annually).cos in A Forest A Play For Today is Primary.
Global and Local? Power to The People, Right On! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtvlBS4PMF0
And yesterday Turei included climate change in her debate speech – particularly the support needed for our Pacific Island neighbours taking the brunt of the changes.
Shhh don’t tell anyone the Green Party have a specific set of policies to address climate change, they are just waiting for Jenni’s permission befor they release them,
That’s a bit cruel ae??? come back jenni your attitude to the Green Party is ok…
Thanks for bringing this to my attention Qot. Much appreciated.
You are right this is a damn good speech. Keep up the good work Russel.
The only thing is, Key skewered him over the Emissions Trading Scheme. The fact of the matter is that the Pollution Trading Scheme, as it should rightly be called, is a Labour Party and National Government supported scheme to let the polluters off the hook. If I remember the debate properly, (and I do), at the time the Green Party had severe reservations about the PTS. Reservations that have been proved correct.
Now is the perfect to rip the veil off who really supports this dirty scheme.
Key in his reply, threatened Russel Norman that if the climate debate comes up in the election he will use the Pollution Trading Scheme to flay the Green Party.
The Green Party need to answer fire with fire.
And expose the Nats for their support for this scheme, that lets polluters off the hook to freely pollute at will. And dumps the bill on the taxpayers.
I call on the Green Party to put up private members bill calling for the complete repeal of the falsely named, Emissions Trading Scheme.
That should do it.
Then we can have the real debate on how to concretely cut back on our CO2 emissions. Instead of being a “fast follower” let’s be a shining example to the world.
The bill: The Green Party calls on parliament to completely abolish the Emissions Trading Scheme. the purpose of this bill to clear the ground for parliament to discuss a more proper and equable way to concretely cut our CO2 emissions.
Let’s have this debate out. Right here. And ritght now, and during the elections. Without this terrible charade, clouding the issue.
Whether it is the National, or Labour Party version of the Pollution Trading Scheme both versions permit Business As Usual to carry on regardless. (Which was the intention).
Such an initiative if taken up by the Green Party caucus will earn them banner headlines and the respect of all sections of society. (Except probably the fossil fuel industry barons, who love this scheme.)
Politics especially for those who do it in parliament is not easy. They are beset from all sides by all sorts of pressures from colleagues and from lobbyists and advisors and experts andn media and make over artists and flatterers and glad handers, all leaning on them not to make a fuss and to ignore their ideals and go with the flow, to not break from the herd. It is not easy to resist this pressure, even in your own interests. This pressure is so intense and relentless that some politicians are often left wondering. even to themselves Why on earth did I let myself go along with that?
Fletcher Building pop Slippery’s bubble tonight on OneNews, of course WE can says the Fletcher Building spokesperson when asked if it can build the houses the Labour party say will cost 300 grand,
There are savings that WOULD be made from the economies of scale of building such houses under one contract says the bloke from Fletchers,
Theres further savings that WOULD be made from designing out of such buildings unnecessary materials and being able to swap cheaper materials for more expensive ones in the design,
Cannot build 300,000 dollar houses Slippery??? i call bullshit on that and Slippery on tonight’s OneNews was forced to make a sniveling back down on His previous statements when shown the tape of Fletcher building saying that such a build on such a budget was entirely possible…
While i am on the subject great work from Labour’s Annette King in defending the “KiwiBuild” program +1 for making the Slippery little Shyster we have as Prime Minister eat humble pie for earlier having shot His mouth off that ‘KiwiBuilt’ couldn’t be built on those numbers,
The piece on OneNews tonight was great on a number of levels as well as for the Kiwibuild, and i think that as a campaign piece you only need show that news clip over and over in every town-hall in New Zealand,i would tho ask you Annette to compare what You said on the news this evening with what Dave Shearer said on the same subject the other day,
Draw your own conclusions but please consider that it is just that which has got most of the commenters here at the Standard fired up about Dave Shearer…
Just watched David Cunliffe on tv in the parliament debate, he was articulate,spoke with
meaning and sincerely, Labour under Cunliffe would streak ahead in the next election,if
only he was given a chance,but i guess those within the clique inside caucus have the
last say, an opportunity lost.
You reckon? I don’t think he will, he’s been very clear that he’s not challenging. Time back in the home electorate with his young family, no pressure to prepare and present policy shit, out of the media scrum, sounds like a good career shift to me.
A great speech. My only reservation, where once hot on the topic, Cunliffe never once mentioned the words “climate change”.
Surely the government’s inability to address this issue is the biggest failing of all. And in fact is the policy where National is most weakest.
My question to David Cunliffe is this;
I know that in your speech you alluded to the government’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Accord, but why did you only hint at the matter?
Why did you never mention the words “climate change”?
David, are you constrained in your comments on this issue?
Why couldn’t you say those two words? maybe include them in a short paragraph?
“This government’s lack of action in the face of climate change, which surely is the single most threatening calamity to affect the future of our grandchildren and the world they will inherit, is climate change. This National Government by refusing to act against this existential threat is condemning our children and children’s children to a severely degraded environment where the safety and stability and beauty of this world which we all enjoy today will be forever denied. A world in which the natural climate necessary to sustain human society will be denied to our grandchildren forever, by the selfish inaction of our political leaders today.
I hope I am wrong and that you are not constrained from challenging the government over their role in continuing with polices that worsen climate change. Or for that matter your own party for contemplating continuing the same polices when they are again the government of this country.
He was toeing the Shearer Labour Party lines, but doing it so much better. That’s how a leader SHOULD speak. He was doing the “hands on” line, and “change”. And he had some little extras in there: talking about listening to the people, and a bottom up government, not top down as under Key’s government.
The speech started off low key, then wound up to something sounding very prime ministerial. Cunlifffe is such a sharp, clear and articulate speaker… and passionate.
CV-Real Labour’s attempt to trivialise the threat of climate change, is of course, being carried out with a deadly serious purpose.
Not being able to defend the Labour Party policy for doing nothing and continuing with BAU. CV-RL attempts to make it all a big joke. A cover for political irresponsibility and cowardice.
It is not the activists that need to reunite it. It is the politicians that need to start listening to the people
then based on what they hear from the people put together a short,medium and long term plan that can capture peoples imagination. A plan that shows them a vision for the future. A plan that they can see working themselves. Once in power (if they get they get there) they need to be bold and be brave they actually need to lead the country to a happier future.
Demand policy. Democratising the leadership is the beginning of the process, not the end.
What are our priories in Government? How do we convince enough of the middle to move left without significant compromise?
For mine, it will also come down to what we can afford after Dunnokeyo has finished skinning us alive. It simply may not be affordable to get our assets back in the short term, short of a Chavezian popular movement. Key will blight this country the way Muldoon did; handing over the keys to a husk of an economy.
Speaking of the asset sales, its not to late to get signatures and it would be good to have a few extra to cover double ups and non-registered voters. Take enrolmernt forms with you, too. That’s the next big challenge; getting ’em on the roll. The Nats do not want the rolls to get any larger and the exodus to Oz hurts our (LP, GP, Mana) vote.
Sorry ’bout the tone of the earlier comment, but I thought it was worth noting. Great speech. I reckon Cunliffe is going to have a bit of licence over the next two years to help mobilise the troops.
I’d be interested to see Standardistas policy ideas (and funding models?). What’s in, what’s out.
btw C.V đ , There is only one Law giver and Judge; the One who is able to save (Seek) and Destroy.
Now Listen (Oh we’re Steppin Out, We’re gonna turn around, Gonna turn around once) you who say, Today or Tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why? You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
11:26 People curse the man who hoards grain, yet blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.
11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, yet the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
JACINDA Ardern goes on only about the lack of jobs being the issue with the draconian, punitive, hostile and totally unreasonable welfare reforms that Bennett and the Key led government push for:
So it is the lack of jobs that is the issue? That is where National is supposed to be criticised and blamed? So nothing about truly sick and disabled going to be forced into harsh, severe, inhumane work capacity testing, like they have done in the UK for years now?
It is not relevant what UK advocates and support organisations of beneficiaries and disabled have to say, shouting it out loud???
Just one bloody example, dear JACINDA, how fancy your name sounds!? What do you stand for, where do you really stand, what is your position, where is your bloody voice? Is this for bloody real? We are going to get work tests introduced under Bennett that led to over 1,100 deaths in the UK in much of 2011 alone. So Jacinda just distracts again and talks about child welfare issues, as if sick and invalids and others suffering have no voice, or justification to be heard?
What about Dr David Bratt, the Labour introduced madcap hardline fan of Dr Mansel Aylward, the hard line inventor of the draconian work ability tests in the UK? Is it a TABU for anyone to raise this? That Labour hired a total hardliner, comparing beneficiaries to drug addicts?
So maybe you will be happy to work with Bennett and the Nats, create a Grand Coalition, bring in eugenics and also some day the good old work camps?
I hear Key wants prisoners to work 24/7 for a start, so that is a goal of sorts, is it not?
I am sure it will catch on with the large number of Kiwi rednecks and “battlers”, so they will vote Nats or a hard line Labour lot in, to get this implemented. Bring in forced Labour, that is what “Labour” may mean in future, for those that cannot comply?!
JACINDA Ardern goes on only about the lack of jobs being the issue with the draconian, punitive, hostile and totally unreasonable welfare reforms that Bennett and the Key led government push for
Not quite.
She was pointing out that the finance minister is an idiot because he thinks welfare reforms will lead to fiscal recovery, when the macro-scale growth problem we have is that 7% of the workforce is officially unemployed. God knows what the true rate is.
Agree that there is not enough focus on the dreadful impacts of the reforms, but in a short press release Jacinda did try to cover a bit of this ground:
âIt seems then that Mr Englishâs stated priority of âbedding inâ these reforms basically hinges entirely around reducing access to support, an approach that is not only wrong but that has been discredited in the UK where Paula Bennett seems to be gleaning most of her ideas from.
…
âNational is prepared to spend at least $520 million on these harmful welfare reforms rather than on job creation and removing barriers to getting work. That, in my book, is a mis-directed spend,â Jacinda Ardern says.
‘wrong’, ‘discredited’ and ‘harmful’ reforms. In the context of a 6-sentence press release from the spokesperson for social development and children it’s not enough focus, but it’s not terrible either.
I’m not sure her name has anything to do with anything.
The most left wing social democratic humanitarian I’ve ever known was Farquar Hubert Muddlethorpe Billingsworth Trotsky Smithe.
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Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from âserious populist discontentâ. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring âhard-working peopleâ. ...
Chris Trotter writes –Â MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling â or non-handling â of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealandâs two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from âserious populist discontentâ. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring âhard-working peopleâ. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to âdefend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.â To achieve this, they have pledged they âwill not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes –Â The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workersâ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
Itâs a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand mediaâs failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes –Â Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people â the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cassâs review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the âholiday highwayâ into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes –Â Thereâs a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere â mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand mediaâs failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting MÄori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that wonât compromise Beijingâs plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealandâs good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National governmentâs lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for TÄmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Governmentâs democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Governmentâs proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change thatâs great for the planet and great for consumers after her memberâs bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the countryâs books after Teanau Tuionoâs membersâ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his memberâs bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Todayâs advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Governmentâs newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealandâs urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
MÄori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, MÄori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Governmentâs refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. âRecently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachersâ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.  âThe Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. âScience, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During todayâs meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. âThe Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in TaupĆ as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the TaupĆ International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. âAnticipation for the ITM TaupĆ Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. âThe coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. âThis project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sectorâs productivity,â Mr Jones says. âThe project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Governmentâs plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. âBenefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Governmentâs commitment to doubling New Zealandâs renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealandâs latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. âOur Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. âNew Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Governmentâs intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. âThe introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Todayâs announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Governmentâs plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. âInflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sectorâs role in the export-led recovery of the economy. âI am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Governmentâs support for the revitalisation the sector.  "New Zealandâs wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. âThe inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. âMy meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singaporeâs outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.  Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpartâs almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During todayâs meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. âI am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. âPets are important members of many Kiwi families. Itâs estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iranâs shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.  âThese attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.  "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand â Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.  âDame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,â says Dr Reti. âI have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Governmentâs 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. âBoosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Governmentâs plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  âOur country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,â Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.  âWe cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. âThis is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  âThe strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin itârule ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term âbulk billedâ refers to a GP visit they donât have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss whatâs in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to whatâs been on my mind for a while. Itâs very important. You see weâve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so weâve destroyed valuable coastal habitat â in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he canât stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
MÄori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of MÄori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao MÄori (the MÄori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, âWeâre here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment thatâs thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didnât find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. âI thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, hereâs our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
ZoĂ« Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new âFast-track Approvals Billâ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister â the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory â gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australiaâs flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But thatâs changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum âre-imaginedâ itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-oldâs seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so itâs wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhardâs rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock Youâd be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesnât require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project Youâre not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesnât fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Booksâ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingwayâs Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans peopleâs self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelonaâs city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoffâs Wellington editor Joel MacManus: âYou can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups âClimate Action VUWâ, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Governmentâs âWar on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modiâs popularity has grown exponentially â and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, theyâre better for the environment. No, thatâs not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
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Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. Itâs consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
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The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. âIn 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
There are no official figures kept on foreign ownership of houses and there are currently no restrictions.
Estate agents, developers and buyers have complained that wealthy Chinese buyers are ramping up property prices..
The Greens and NZ First have called for restrictions. Key accused them of racism.
What’s Labour’s position?
ummm, ask Labour?
Seeing as affordable housing is their leading policy, one would assume they would have a strong position, utilizing the opportunity, maintaining the momentum, and capitalizing by showing decisiveness and unity with the Greens..
Unfortunately, when a strong and clear position is required, they’re indecisive.
It seems they need to talk about it.
Poor form.
I dont know any other country that allows unfettered overseas ownership to the extent that we do..
Perhaps Somalia?
Hmm. I don’t know of any country that doesn’t.
What comes to my mind is Wales where there was an ‘unfortunate’ spate of house fires in the 80s and for ‘some strange reason’ those houses that ‘caught’ fire all seemed to be second homes/holiday houses owned predominantly by English people. (It may be continuing, I don’t know).
But do you imagine for one moment that if all of the English owners of second houses in Wales had quit their housing investments that prices would have dropped and the availablity of homes risen for Welsh people and others living in Wales? Well, of course not. And even if the housing stock was reserved for only those people living in Wales, then simple market dynamics would have yet again concentrated ownership in the hands of a relative few.
And it’s the same here, whether we’re talking houses or farms or whatever. And so I tend to agree with those charges of xenaphobia when they are directed against those who would niavely hold that everything would be okay if only those pesky foriegners – and disturbingly – especially those pesky foreigners we can readily identify by sight, and who come from a different cultural tradition, and who just happen to be associated with a nationality that is fast becoming the ‘official’ enemy of western (ie, our) states.
If property prices are being ramped up because richer people are buying multiple houses then the solution doesn’t lie in vilifying one identifyable section of those owners of muliple houses but in dooing something concrete that is aimed fairly and squarely at every single last one of them regardless of their cultural or national origins.
The Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey rates housing as ‘severely’ unaffordable at 5.1 times annual household income.
Auckland is the least affordable market, with a median multiple of 6.7.times annual household incomes..
It’s not NZ low incomes that are sustaining these ‘severely’ unaffordable prices
Supply and demand. The amount of local wealth is limited. Opening NZ up to affluent offshore investors increases buyer demand., pricing locals out of the market.
Concentration of wealth rather than the over-all amount of wealth is the problem. And while I can understand an argument that holds prices have gone up even further than they otherwise would have due to wealthy over seas investors/buyers, that doesn’t mean that a market accessable only by domestic buyers would make much of a toss of a difference.
There is a demographic that can afford to buy houses and who can use previous purchases as collateral on further purchases. They exist and would persist even in the absence of foreign buyers and the market would merely be concentrated in their hands rather than the hands of them and foreigners.
The difference is the exchange rate. The Brits were buying land were at one stage and easily outbidding the locals, and thus the property prices went up, quite massively in some cases. That was with immigrants, but you can see the same dynamic in places like Queenstown, where large amounts of houses are owned offshore. Stewart Island is another place where foreign buyers changed property pricing exponentially.
So, sure, there are problems anyway, and only certain NZers could afford to buy property. But now houses are too expensive for even those people.
If I lived in Auckland instead of the SI I’d no doubt be talking about the Chinese more than the Brits or Americans đ It’s a tricky conversation to be had, because obviously there are distinct racism against Asians issues in NZ. And yet, the overseas ownership issue, and immigration issues are real.
Did the GP mention the Chinese specifically?
The only thing google news spits out is this, from our friend Patrick Gower –
http://www.3news.co.nz/Housing-affordability-Key-accuses-Greens-NZ-First-of-racism/tabid/1607/articleID/284683/Default.aspx
Nothing on the GP website press releases.
Looks like and out and out dog whistle from Key, or perhaps orchestrated by Gower.
Vast inequality and the negative implications of the concentration of wealth is a global phenomenon.
The problem with the local demographic that you highlighted is further exacerbated by allowing unrestricted foreign ownership of houses.
Moreover, the much needed investment returns (rents) largely leave our economy and head offshore, further adding to our fiscal shortfall and economic slowdown.
Additionally, Bill.
There are numerous issues driving up the price of property.
Limiting foreign investment, hence immensely reducing buyer demand, would vastly slowdown the price increase.
The reasons behind the problem with the local demographic that you highlighted are varied.
Investor distrust in the sharemarket drives many investors into property
With interest rates staying low and around $110b invested in bank deposits, that problem is compounded with investors seeking higher yields
Bank lending, that finances many investors, also comes under the spotlight.
Addressing foreign investment is merely one in a list of required initiatives to genuinely deal with the problem. But where is Labour on the matter?
If I may?
basically NZers are stupid enough to exchange our real local wealth for overseas printed fiat currency. Not a good deal.
Key accused them of racism.
Key is subject to both federal capital gains and Hawaiian non resident property tax of property tax of 15%.
‘Callaghan Innovation’ comes into being on Friday…
Anyone know what it is supposed to do?
Good Question:
Another grand scheme by Innovation Minister, Steven Joyce: Callagahan innovation.
More on it at the above link.
There used to be a word for forced unpaid workâslavery. Rehabilitation should be an automatic part of the prison system not an exploitative add on.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10862190
TG – Exactly! (Maybe they will be paid, but it will be a pittance I am sure).
Rehabilitation? How is it that National got to hear that word? Kind of rolls around their tongue, feels good. National knows and understands only one word on prisoners (and beneficiaries) and that is Punishment!
The Herald: (quoting Key)
– Up to 1400 inmates will be working 40 hours a week – without pay
– Inmates at Rolleston Prison had already begun 40-hour weeks in response to a demand for labour for the rebuild of Christchurch.
-Asked whether working prisons were a form of cheap labour, Mr Key said: “Not really. There already are work programmes which are … sometimes controversial because they take work … off the private sector
From Stuff: (quoting Tolley)
– The scheme is already under way in Christchurch’s Rolleston prison, which has a contract with Housing New Zealand to refurbish earthquake-struck properties.
-denied prisoners would be providing cheap labour for Corrections, pointing out that Release to Work participants get market wages.
Not singing from the same hymn sheet it seems, and it looks like Tolley is the one who has the briefing notes.
Close enough to have radio rantland applauding and that swinging centre being dog whistled into shape.
Rosy, that Herald link didn’t work. Was this it?
Interestingly, Greg Newbold was not quick to write it off and saw some positives in it.
Be nice to have more details on this.
Sorry, always issues working from a mobile device…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10862240
More on Timbuktu. The BBC and other news outlets are reporting that it now seems possible that staff from the two libraries may have hidden substantial parts of the collections during the occupation. Here’s hoping.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/01/29/heres-what-was-in-the-torched-timbuktu-library/
Gutsy brave librarians (HEH!), fingers crossed indeed đ
but wait, there’s more-
(sadly air pollution in Beijing is “beyond index” and that is all that was clear in the Herald today)
Dom (inic Crossan) Rules Daily (well, maybe not the editorials, but that’s a matter of opinion…)
(yet that former school teacher and i, we see eye to eye, whats a dignified way to live, and die; me and you and a dog named Blue)
on the subject of Education; “Govt funding not enough to provide even the basics”
Principles? “struggling to meet 21st C expectations”, cos “IT-man that sucks up money” (maybe MS are really making vacuum cleaners)
MoBIE- workplace health and safety rules not working-Play
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby_play (The- Everlasting- Sky is Broken; My Weakness? Natural Blues) Ministry of Primary Industries finally advises of warmer climate change predicting
More Floods-More Droughts-and Productivity Pests
and, and, Cancer is mutating from a “terminal” to “chronic” dis ease; can now “carry on” business “for a good decade or more”. (resistance to drugs will be a Major Growth industry Pharmacy) while the U.S economy vital stats are Banking, Building and Auto Ambulances.
A military vizier to the pharoah advises that the Egyptian State may collapse (Spinxcters clenched)
Holy Moses! (Travelin’ Soldier; now there’s some Southern candy.man!)
Timbuktu Name of the Rose redux!
Peter Calder in the NZHerald today speaks of why it is so necessary not to get rid of libraries.
I like all the gadgets, but my home library and study is my analogue retreat from the world. I am aprt of the long tail of those who will never give up analogue preference for reading in long form.
Got your library on Kindle? Did you know Amazon can burn it down at the click of a button from 5000km away?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/10/23/why-did-amazon-close-a-womans-account-and-delete-all-her-kindle-books/
Is it just me, or do all major corporations that could suffer from pirating repeatedly screw their customers to the point that pirating is the only option?
Not consuming their product is always an option.
good idea…tell that woman to get in her time machine, go back and not buy a Kindle.
Hang on, time machines don’t exist…bad idea
It’s the way of the future, as you have correctly identified, KK
fatty, Excellent work squeezing the pseudo-“righteousness” out of the “priest”; they clearly had not heard there is sin and didn’t seem benevolent to their compatriots (their thoughts were revealed, maybe someone slipped them a roofie in their Jungle Juice to cloud their future draping)
The world exists through three things- The Law, worship and beneficence.
-Simeon The Just (Descended into sublime curved-Space)
it was an Excellent article ad, imho
From yesterdays tragedy, to todays hope!
That’s the name of a book by Carroll Quigley – Maybe read it some time!
Here’s a BBC documentary about Timbuktuâs libraries, including the one that was burned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Heh_91lhenA
Slippery the Prime Minister spends up large on money He aint got and has a laugh at the Supreme Court while He is at it,
Missed due to the enthralling tantrum befitting a 4 year old as Slippery the Prime Minister lost His rag going from making a ‘State of the Nation’ speech to yelling a torrent of abuse at the combined opposition,(brought about so rumor has it by an opposition MP taunting the Prime Minister on His way into the Chamber yesterday over whether or not the dead piece of animal fur that covers Slippery’s bald spot is really made from the soft hairs gently plucked from the anal crevice of a blind donkey called Brucie),
The little gem that He,(Slippery), plans this year to spend 800 million bucks from the sale of Mighty River Power into the economy,
What a grand economic vision, spending money that you aint got from assets that aint sold and where there’s every chance that the Supreme Court will rule against you in a case involving the small fact that someone else might have prior rights to the water flowing down that Mighty River,
Some might call that confidence, more to the point tho it looks like a confidence trick being played by the Slippery little Shyster on us all,
I suppose that when the Supreme Court in it’s wisdom rules that yes Maori do have prior existing rights to the waters of that Mighty River the Slippery little Shyster will simply borrow the 800 million He plans on spending from the sale proceeds to add to the 42 billion His Government has already borrowed in 4 years as a tax against future generations…
What did having me sitting up and watching with interest yesterday during the ‘State of the Nation’ speeches was John Banks when the cameras caught Him ‘in shot’ while focusing on the Prime Minister,
I have to ask, is He(Banks), clinically dead and medical science is keeping some form of resemblance of life apparent???
Banks gave every impression of being the ‘wooden indian’, not a facial tic,neither a smile nor grimace and nary a hear here as the Prime Minister gave the nation His impression of a 4 year old in the midst of a toy tossing episode,
Banks tho seems to have taken to a very good display of anal retention perhaps fearful of spraying something putrid like fear into His diapers at the thought of His upcoming date with the judiciary in the form of a private prosecution laid at the Wellington District Court,
More to the point i believe tho would be that the word He(Banks) got from Slippery the Prime Minister was that of ‘dear john’ if that private prosecution in the Wellington District Court enters a conviction against you, bye bye,
Hey i know,how bout ‘Banksie’ for Mayor of Auckland, any takers??? ha ha ha didn’t think so…
I think he may have overdone the botox.
Lolz they must have done a Lance Armstrong on Him, He was wheeled out befor PrimeNews to blather on about something forgettable tonight his mouth appeared to be moving tho i cannot say the same about His brain…
Paula Bennett’s and the Key led government’s most draconian, mean spirited and punitive welfare reforms in New Zealand’s recent history, are now increasingly being taken note of at the other side of the globe.
Yes, ‘Black Triangle’ organisation and others there, who have been and are fighting the ruthless benefit regime put in place there, just having been tightened even further under the Cameron led government, have taken note of the concerns agencies and advocates here in NZ raise.
New Zealand is being watched, and this is good.
See the newest on CCS, what amongst others stuff.co reported, and what is being quoted and shared there:
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2013/01/11/new-zealand-british-style-work-tests-concern-tests-were-developed-by-disability-expert-prof-sir-mansel-aylward/
http://www.politicus.org.uk/news/new-zealand-%E2%80%98britishstyle-work-tests-concern%E2%80%99-tests-were-developed-by-disability-%E2%80%98expert%E2%80%99-prof-sir-mansel-aylward_1833
Also of interest soon:
http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/tt5jz/panorama–the-great-disability-scam—panorama
So Professor Mansel Aylward and his promoted tough work capacity testing, that Bennett seems to be so fond of, is going to be scrutinised “internationally”, while Bennett claims there is “international medical evidence” for the new approach to push sick and disabled back into work being justified and good.
Her speech is full of one sided propaganda and pseudo science, referring to this bizarre “bio-psycho social model” Prof. Aylward and a handful other UK “experts” thought out, and are presenting as “international scientific evidence” (strangly almost only from them, in the UK):
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-medical-professionals
Growing Up Poor (2012)
A two-part documentary from the BBC following teenagers dealing with the pressures of growing up with one similarity – they are all surviving on under ÂŁ10 a day
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pwyvx
Ok, so the trools are out in force today, but do we really have to give them a place at the dinner table?
LPrent, earlier today (11ish), when moving between posts at the Standard, I twice ended up back in time with the Standard as of the 24th of January. Just as I was about to tell you the phone rang, and then life intervened, so it has taken me until now to mention it.
The reason I do is that the last time I was transported back in The Standard time, there was something quite serious wrong. It seems like everything is fine, so hopefully that won’t be the case today.
A very interesting read and possible Standard conversation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics-blog/2013/jan/27/ultimate-davos-debate-marx-keynes
It is an imaginary debate between the major modern economists: Keynes, Marx, Friedman, and Schumacher. Each offers their perspective on the present world economy. It also applies to the NZ economy and our politicians.
Who do you agree with? Disagree with? Where do our leaders seem to be?
interesting…
Here’s a summary of what they would say…
Keynes: Shit, this going nowhere
Friedman: This is working…I was right when I said it’d be more efficient than slavery.
Schumacher: Oh dear…they went with greed. I told them it would end like this.
Marx: You fuckin morons, I told you this would fail 100 years ago
i ackshully read that article the day it came out in The Guardian (ya know I agree)
swoon, before spitoon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLBgmbXBOb8
đ
lol true
Weird. The first Skynet copyright decision…. fined for illegally downloading/uploading 3 songs!
I get the impression that the respondent made a half-hearted attempt at an “intent” defense, but didn’t want a massive fine to result from a full denial.
But such small fry. I was somehow expecting the first decisions about someone who has uploaded/downloaded massive amounts.
True. It might be a strategy to scare and intimidate, or get some “per song” case history before cracking down on massive pirates (if they really exist, of course).
McFlock
Certainly does seem to be something not quite right about the case. What it’s all really about though is provability…
If you want to use content that’s not yours, it’s a bit of a no-brainer that you shouldn’t go and search for it using google and then download it from a public site with poker adverts or what not…
Find one of the well known file sharing applications and use it, particularly those apps that retain anonymity.
Most sharing apps aren’t accessible to tracking and despite what the government wants you to believe, ISP’s aren’t very well set up to track P2P data sharing.
I’d believe that when I see it.
They might just have been testing the waters before going through their main target lists.
He, Parata is in trouble.
She has claimed that Ministry of Education staff losing their wages through server problems is “karma”. Obviously in her flea sized National issue brain it is the whole department’s fault that Novopay has stuffed up and she has no responsibility.
She can now be described as the best communicator of reasons why we have to get rid of this Government. I do not think that Crosby Textor’s consultants can spin this around.
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/parata-blames-karma-after-ministry-education-staff-miss-pay-day-5329868
Oh yes what a great communicator this brainless woman is, she’s gotta go!
Yes barely a day into the Parliamentary year and Parata is snidely at it again, it’s the one reason why i was hoping that Slippery the Prime Minister would keep Her in His Cabinet,
Hekia an opposition asset every-time She chooses to open Her mouth…
well strung shiny one.
May be up to 3000 Samuels “humanely” put down at the NZP; SOE gotta make a profit; that’s M-C
law. Now, of course (Not Guaranteeing Officially) there will be a Variety of “administrative costs” sponsoring these wee deserving dears; I know, how about we just help our neighbour (and their children) directly, be our sister and brothers’ keeper as Metiria so biblically put it. At our Station on the Way a garage sale is held and the items donated are, wait for it, Free, yes Free (a once in an Autumn offer, annually).cos in A Forest A Play For Today is Primary.
Global and Local? Power to The People, Right On!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtvlBS4PMF0
-John Lenin
Interesting coincidence: Russel Norman asks Key a primary oral question on climate change; Jenny doesn’t comment on the Open Mike of the day.
I’m pretty sure that Norman was ordered by his coal industry sponsors to do this in order to throw us off the scent.
And yesterday Turei included climate change in her debate speech – particularly the support needed for our Pacific Island neighbours taking the brunt of the changes.
Shhh don’t tell anyone the Green Party have a specific set of policies to address climate change, they are just waiting for Jenni’s permission befor they release them,
That’s a bit cruel ae??? come back jenni your attitude to the Green Party is ok…
Thanks for bringing this to my attention Qot. Much appreciated.
You are right this is a damn good speech. Keep up the good work Russel.
The only thing is, Key skewered him over the Emissions Trading Scheme. The fact of the matter is that the Pollution Trading Scheme, as it should rightly be called, is a Labour Party and National Government supported scheme to let the polluters off the hook. If I remember the debate properly, (and I do), at the time the Green Party had severe reservations about the PTS. Reservations that have been proved correct.
Now is the perfect to rip the veil off who really supports this dirty scheme.
Key in his reply, threatened Russel Norman that if the climate debate comes up in the election he will use the Pollution Trading Scheme to flay the Green Party.
The Green Party need to answer fire with fire.
And expose the Nats for their support for this scheme, that lets polluters off the hook to freely pollute at will. And dumps the bill on the taxpayers.
I call on the Green Party to put up private members bill calling for the complete repeal of the falsely named, Emissions Trading Scheme.
That should do it.
Then we can have the real debate on how to concretely cut back on our CO2 emissions. Instead of being a “fast follower” let’s be a shining example to the world.
The bill: The Green Party calls on parliament to completely abolish the Emissions Trading Scheme. the purpose of this bill to clear the ground for parliament to discuss a more proper and equable way to concretely cut our CO2 emissions.
Let’s have this debate out. Right here. And ritght now, and during the elections. Without this terrible charade, clouding the issue.
Whether it is the National, or Labour Party version of the Pollution Trading Scheme both versions permit Business As Usual to carry on regardless. (Which was the intention).
Such an initiative if taken up by the Green Party caucus will earn them banner headlines and the respect of all sections of society. (Except probably the fossil fuel industry barons, who love this scheme.)
“That should do it”
Yes, politics is as easy as you say it is.
Politics especially for those who do it in parliament is not easy. They are beset from all sides by all sorts of pressures from colleagues and from lobbyists and advisors and experts andn media and make over artists and flatterers and glad handers, all leaning on them not to make a fuss and to ignore their ideals and go with the flow, to not break from the herd. It is not easy to resist this pressure, even in your own interests. This pressure is so intense and relentless that some politicians are often left wondering. even to themselves Why on earth did I let myself go along with that?
Fletcher Building pop Slippery’s bubble tonight on OneNews, of course WE can says the Fletcher Building spokesperson when asked if it can build the houses the Labour party say will cost 300 grand,
There are savings that WOULD be made from the economies of scale of building such houses under one contract says the bloke from Fletchers,
Theres further savings that WOULD be made from designing out of such buildings unnecessary materials and being able to swap cheaper materials for more expensive ones in the design,
Cannot build 300,000 dollar houses Slippery??? i call bullshit on that and Slippery on tonight’s OneNews was forced to make a sniveling back down on His previous statements when shown the tape of Fletcher building saying that such a build on such a budget was entirely possible…
While i am on the subject great work from Labour’s Annette King in defending the “KiwiBuild” program +1 for making the Slippery little Shyster we have as Prime Minister eat humble pie for earlier having shot His mouth off that ‘KiwiBuilt’ couldn’t be built on those numbers,
The piece on OneNews tonight was great on a number of levels as well as for the Kiwibuild, and i think that as a campaign piece you only need show that news clip over and over in every town-hall in New Zealand,i would tho ask you Annette to compare what You said on the news this evening with what Dave Shearer said on the same subject the other day,
Draw your own conclusions but please consider that it is just that which has got most of the commenters here at the Standard fired up about Dave Shearer…
Just watched David Cunliffe on tv in the parliament debate, he was articulate,spoke with
meaning and sincerely, Labour under Cunliffe would streak ahead in the next election,if
only he was given a chance,but i guess those within the clique inside caucus have the
last say, an opportunity lost.
Thanks for the heads up. And it’s on YT now.
Ta. Watched it.
Yup, he’ll stand for leader if caucus calls for a vote on Monday.
You reckon? I don’t think he will, he’s been very clear that he’s not challenging. Time back in the home electorate with his young family, no pressure to prepare and present policy shit, out of the media scrum, sounds like a good career shift to me.
Yup. Subtext.
May need to be called on ….in the unlikely event that the caucus votes for sanity….
Yeah maybe his arm could be twisted if push came to shove…we will see.
Thanks for putting it up Karol; a very heartening speech.
Thanks Karol. Yes – that speech was well worth listening to.
A great speech. My only reservation, where once hot on the topic, Cunliffe never once mentioned the words “climate change”.
Surely the government’s inability to address this issue is the biggest failing of all. And in fact is the policy where National is most weakest.
My question to David Cunliffe is this;
I know that in your speech you alluded to the government’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Accord, but why did you only hint at the matter?
Why did you never mention the words “climate change”?
David, are you constrained in your comments on this issue?
Why couldn’t you say those two words? maybe include them in a short paragraph?
“This government’s lack of action in the face of climate change, which surely is the single most threatening calamity to affect the future of our grandchildren and the world they will inherit, is climate change. This National Government by refusing to act against this existential threat is condemning our children and children’s children to a severely degraded environment where the safety and stability and beauty of this world which we all enjoy today will be forever denied. A world in which the natural climate necessary to sustain human society will be denied to our grandchildren forever, by the selfish inaction of our political leaders today.
I hope I am wrong and that you are not constrained from challenging the government over their role in continuing with polices that worsen climate change. Or for that matter your own party for contemplating continuing the same polices when they are again the government of this country.
“My only reservation”
Blow me down.
I noted the line about David Shearer’s Labour Party. No doubt now the phoney war is over.
Edit: Phonies war?
He was toeing the Shearer Labour Party lines, but doing it so much better. That’s how a leader SHOULD speak. He was doing the “hands on” line, and “change”. And he had some little extras in there: talking about listening to the people, and a bottom up government, not top down as under Key’s government.
The speech started off low key, then wound up to something sounding very prime ministerial. Cunlifffe is such a sharp, clear and articulate speaker… and passionate.
Yes Cunliffe does pretty well for a backbencher. Certainly a potential prospect for future promotion to an Associate portfolio spot??
Only, if he keeps up the self censorship.
You sorta need to relax. The end of the world may be coming but you’re allowed to sit back with a G&T and just enjoy the spectacle.
Is this Labour Party policy, or just your own personal view?
Yes I get sign off on all Labour Party policy, what do you want done next?
Also I should add that Labour Party policy specifies a good working class bourbon and coke as the drink of choice, not a G&T.
CV, defines what he sees as the difference between Labour and National.
As CV becomes more silly and irrational.
‘
CV-Real Labour’s attempt to trivialise the threat of climate change, is of course, being carried out with a deadly serious purpose.
Not being able to defend the Labour Party policy for doing nothing and continuing with BAU. CV-RL attempts to make it all a big joke. A cover for political irresponsibility and cowardice.
Personally:
“I’d Rather Fight Like Hell”
He was toeing the Shearer Labour Party lines
karol
I agree, particularly in letting the government off the hook on their record over climate change.
So TRP how do you propose that activists sort this out? Your comment was rather cheap. How do the activists reunite the party?
It is not the activists that need to reunite it. It is the politicians that need to start listening to the people
then based on what they hear from the people put together a short,medium and long term plan that can capture peoples imagination. A plan that shows them a vision for the future. A plan that they can see working themselves. Once in power (if they get they get there) they need to be bold and be brave they actually need to lead the country to a happier future.
Demand policy. Democratising the leadership is the beginning of the process, not the end.
What are our priories in Government? How do we convince enough of the middle to move left without significant compromise?
For mine, it will also come down to what we can afford after Dunnokeyo has finished skinning us alive. It simply may not be affordable to get our assets back in the short term, short of a Chavezian popular movement. Key will blight this country the way Muldoon did; handing over the keys to a husk of an economy.
Speaking of the asset sales, its not to late to get signatures and it would be good to have a few extra to cover double ups and non-registered voters. Take enrolmernt forms with you, too. That’s the next big challenge; getting ’em on the roll. The Nats do not want the rolls to get any larger and the exodus to Oz hurts our (LP, GP, Mana) vote.
Sorry ’bout the tone of the earlier comment, but I thought it was worth noting. Great speech. I reckon Cunliffe is going to have a bit of licence over the next two years to help mobilise the troops.
I’d be interested to see Standardistas policy ideas (and funding models?). What’s in, what’s out.
I could just about weep for that loss of talent. He speaks what I believe, with greater vision and skill than anyone else on the Labour benches.
+1
btw C.V đ , There is only one Law giver and Judge; the One who is able to save (Seek) and Destroy.
Now Listen (Oh we’re Steppin Out, We’re gonna turn around, Gonna turn around once) you who say, Today or Tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why? You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
11:26 People curse the man who hoards grain, yet blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.
11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, yet the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
-D.C (wonder if they’re ski-ing Unturnwasser?)
đ
So it is clear, here we go AGAIN!
JACINDA Ardern goes on only about the lack of jobs being the issue with the draconian, punitive, hostile and totally unreasonable welfare reforms that Bennett and the Key led government push for:
http://jacinda.co.nz/index.php/2013/01/english-desperate-if-failed-welfare-reforms-are-his-answer/
So it is the lack of jobs that is the issue? That is where National is supposed to be criticised and blamed? So nothing about truly sick and disabled going to be forced into harsh, severe, inhumane work capacity testing, like they have done in the UK for years now?
It is not relevant what UK advocates and support organisations of beneficiaries and disabled have to say, shouting it out loud???
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2013/01/11/new-zealand-british-style-work-tests-concern-tests-were-developed-by-disability-expert-prof-sir-mansel-aylward/
Just one bloody example, dear JACINDA, how fancy your name sounds!? What do you stand for, where do you really stand, what is your position, where is your bloody voice? Is this for bloody real? We are going to get work tests introduced under Bennett that led to over 1,100 deaths in the UK in much of 2011 alone. So Jacinda just distracts again and talks about child welfare issues, as if sick and invalids and others suffering have no voice, or justification to be heard?
What about Dr David Bratt, the Labour introduced madcap hardline fan of Dr Mansel Aylward, the hard line inventor of the draconian work ability tests in the UK? Is it a TABU for anyone to raise this? That Labour hired a total hardliner, comparing beneficiaries to drug addicts?
http://www.gpcme.co.nz/pdf/GP%20CME/Friday/C1%201515%20Bratt-Hawker.pdf
http://www.gpcme.co.nz/pdf/2012/Fri_DaVinci_1400_Bratt_Medical%20Certificates%20are%20Clinical%20Instruments%20too%20-%20June%202012.pdf
So maybe you will be happy to work with Bennett and the Nats, create a Grand Coalition, bring in eugenics and also some day the good old work camps?
I hear Key wants prisoners to work 24/7 for a start, so that is a goal of sorts, is it not?
I am sure it will catch on with the large number of Kiwi rednecks and “battlers”, so they will vote Nats or a hard line Labour lot in, to get this implemented. Bring in forced Labour, that is what “Labour” may mean in future, for those that cannot comply?!
Oh, I hate you all, I hate you!!!
JACINDA Ardern goes on only about the lack of jobs being the issue with the draconian, punitive, hostile and totally unreasonable welfare reforms that Bennett and the Key led government push for
Not quite.
She was pointing out that the finance minister is an idiot because he thinks welfare reforms will lead to fiscal recovery, when the macro-scale growth problem we have is that 7% of the workforce is officially unemployed. God knows what the true rate is.
Agree that there is not enough focus on the dreadful impacts of the reforms, but in a short press release Jacinda did try to cover a bit of this ground:
‘wrong’, ‘discredited’ and ‘harmful’ reforms. In the context of a 6-sentence press release from the spokesperson for social development and children it’s not enough focus, but it’s not terrible either.
” dear JACINDA, how fancy your name sounds!”
I’m not sure her name has anything to do with anything.
The most left wing social democratic humanitarian I’ve ever known was Farquar Hubert Muddlethorpe Billingsworth Trotsky Smithe.
đ
always been a storm (in a green tea cup)
Edit: sea-cup