I want to pose a problem for a Sunday to commentators on the Standard.
We need a philosophy and a political ideology which will take us into the 21st century and hopefully cope with the enormous problems facing mankind.
George Monboit hinted in a lecture that some sort of idea was being formulated and will be broadcast next year. Until that happens – some thoughts:
Neoliberalism is discredited and dead.
Socialism may be able to take its place, but we cannot have infinite growth in a finite world.
So any ideology will have to aim at equality without growth, economic justice without any skewering of the rewards. Such a philosophy must allow for human initiative and endeavour without the financial payment.
Such a philosophy must motivate people to make the potentially enormous sacrifices which will be required if we are to combat climate change; must eliminate greed at a motivating force, yet encourage entrepreneurship!
I can’t get my head round all the parameters of such a philosophy, except to be convinced that we are in desperate need of something political to believe in!
That hasn’t really helped scientists who feel like they will lose their jobs if they speak out. Or that flag thingy. Or health boards beings sacked. Or CERA or NZTA. Or TVNZ7 or Campbell.
Participatory Democracy is great.
We don’t have that any more now.
We have corporatocracy.
Lobbyists for the elite run the show.
And that is not the best.
I’m not trying to be annoying, but you would have to admit to current capitalism’s successes – as well as its failures – first off. Ain’t no refugee boats heading from Italy to Libya. Our current form of capitalisms’ capacity for wealth acceleration has been better for more of the world’s people than democracy.
Capitalism also generates its own crises through its own accumulative speed and consuming volumes. Also, unemployment, pollution, extreme inequalities, and world environmental destruction.
After that, a successor system theory would need a few things before you could really imagine something completely outside what we have:
– It should be concrete enough to see how it might work in practice
– It should be able to look back, learning from gains and errors of other earlier efforts
– It should illuminate the features and limitations of current reform movements and party platforms
– It should outline transitional strategies to get from ‘here’ to ‘there’.
That’s not a philosophy. But it’s the jungle-gym you’d need to start something.
I’m not trying to be annoying, but you would have to admit to current capitalism’s successes – as well as its failures – first off.
Ah, but were those successes due to capitalism or socialism?
I think you’ll find that it has more to do with the socialism after WWII than with capitalism. The capitalism of the 19th century increased poverty and we’re seeing the same thing happening again now that similar laissez-faire policies are being re-enacted.
And then there’s the fact that people like being challenged, like creating new tools and generally making the world a better place. Capitalism actually needs that desire of people so that it can be exploited by the bludgers – the capitalists.
Put in place the necessary support systems (education, resources) and I’m sure that we’ll get the same, if not better, development and we’ll do it without rich people and the poverty that they bring about.
The mantra upon which neo-liberal ‘Rogernomic$’ was based, is ‘public is bad – private is good’.
There was no evidence provided to substantiate this myth, either before this neo-liberal model was forced upon us – or since.
In my considered opinion, this ‘commercialise – corporatise – PRIVATISE’ model has been the root cause of significant ‘grand’ corruption, locally, nationally and internationally.
In my view, the only ones who have benefited from local and central government services being run in a more ‘business-like’ way, are those businesses which have been awarded the contracts.
In my view, it is the public majority – not the corporate minority, who should benefit from tax and rate payers’ public monies.
The first step?
OPEN THE BOOKS!
Everywhere that local and central government uses private sector consultants and contractors – ensure the Public Records Act 2005 is implemented and enforced, and the following information is made available for public scrutiny:
The unique contract number.
The name of the consultant / contractor.
A brief description of the scope of the contract.
The contract start and finish dates.
The exact dollar value of every contract including those sub-contracted.
How the contract was awarded – by direct appointment or public tender.
Make this information publicly accessible under ‘Procurement – Awarded Contracts’ on the front page of each and every local government / CCO / central government / SOE / Crown Entity that spends public money on private sector consultants and contractors.
Bloody good question Tony. Can I put that up as a post?
For me the philosophy (philosophies) already exist. I see them in Green politics, not so much the front end stuff that we see in something like the NZ Green Party that has to operate pragmatically within a neoliberal/patriarchal dominated culture, but in the deeper aspects. I can see it in the kauapa of the Greens (eg in their charter) and trace lines back to the Values Party work done in the 70s where sustainability and social justice were married (it also goes back much further than that). I also see lines coming from many other philosophies esp for me the understandings that come out of indigenous cultures where you also see a similar marriage of valuing people and valuing the land.
Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster) 1.4.1
It seems to me that we are all searching for a political philosophy or ideology which will address the issues facing us all. Sure as hell capitalism is not the answer. Socialism may be (my preference) but how to sell it is the problem. And how to sustain it in the face of some determined (monied) opposition – well!
What I had hoped for from my original comment was some ideas, some concepts, some suggestions, but the original idea, apart from a couple of comments, got sidetracked.
So a major post exploring ideas on which we can hang some unifying concepts and philosophies would, I think, be welcome.
NeoLiberalism may well be discredited, and maybe it smells dead, but you would be foolish to believe that it actually was dead.
Mrs Clinton is about to try and ride it around the block at least one more time, and her big bankers dont seem to have heard of this “death” which you mentioned.
Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster) 1.5.1
Its worth taking a look at Tim Jackson’s book “Prosperity without Growth – ecomomics for a finite planet” if you are interested in alternatives to the current recipe for disaster that dominates Western (and more recently, Chinese) contemporary political-economic thinking.
Monbiot is on the right track, of course but Jackson takes the argument a lot further.
” just after World War Two”
God how fast time seems to pass. At this distance it probably does seem to be “just after”.
It was in fact about fifteen and a half years after the end of WW2, as the speech was made on 17January 1961, just before he ceased to be President.
Great speech though, given by the most underrated President of the 20th century. It is still worth reading and still relevant. http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.html
One of the biggest pains in the ass is this idea of “revolution”. I can almost guarantee that the coup would have worked in Turkey if they hand’t bombed Parliament.
Bernie Sanders used the word like it was a colonic. He didn’t want to define it; it was simply a verbal stand-in for ‘huge change fast’. Better known as ‘Magic Fairy Dust’.
The old leftie idea form the 20th century of military insurrection should be taken out the back and buried in the offal pit. Democracy itself is going backwards fairly fast – that’s what reformist movements need to defend if they’re going for structural change.
Again, I know this is more instrumental thinking rather than end-goal fresh ideology, but it’s a biggie that needs permanently squelching.
Bernie Sanders used the word like it was a colonic. He didn’t want to define it; it was simply a verbal stand-in for ‘huge change fast’… Well, that is one of the ways in which the word “revolution” is used – the introduction of Thatcherism has also been described in such terms. Bernie has often said “we need to get the public good back to the centre of politics” which is what he seemed to have in mind in his use of the word.
You use the term “capitalism” in a rather general way yourself, when what people are mostly concerned about is capitalism in its current form. I see it as an analogous to soviet communism. In the soviet case, a bunch of statist bureaucrats determined that things had to be organised so that capitalism could not get a foothold. In post-Thatcher capitalism a bunch of financiers, speculators and managers have sought to organise things so that socialism cannot get a foothold. Both involve a segment of society deciding that their interests trump those of everyone else, a state of affairs which is not conducive to the broader public good. It may take something like a counter-revolution to Thatcher/Reagan/Douglas’s one in order to address the many problems that their revolution has generated.
And all done with a funding stranglehold Sabine. Maybe it is a plot to force National Radio to become funded by advertising. National have said that this should happen, so they force RNZ to its fiscal knees.
The headline on that story is wrong*. It’s impossible to say it’s a ratings resurgence. It’s the first time in 17 years that RNZ has been included in that survey.
This will feed the perception that the shift to a more commercial model has widened the audience. And that it can continue to be starved of funding by the RNZ-loathing National Party.
Personally there are things I quite like about the commercial tone such as the shift to more aggressive interviewing, and things that aren’t good, such as making a leading science journalist redundant.
There is major change afoot at a public broadcaster with no public consultation, no transparency, and a pretence that because ”platforms” are changing, the ”content” must also change. Only in New Zealand.
*Media consultant Tim Murphy said commercial stations probably always knew RNZ had a larger audience.
Yep, among other things regional coverage at Fairfax was decimated under his watch.
And this morning on MediaWatch he kept referring to the ”media eco-system”.
To clarify my comment above, I certainly don’t see ”aggressive interviewing” as the province of commercial media, but RNZ had become staid and uncertain. I’m enjoying its sense of purpose and advocacy in political and social coverage.
While Guyon Espiner is too quick to make his mind up about particular stories, his style and grasp of facts is good and has really helped Morning Report.
True about Guyon but I have no time for Sleazey Fergusson. Thank goodness for John Campbell – he has injected some life back into Natrad in the afternoon/evening.
Oh i dunno cambell comes accross as too damn friendly to me when he interviews someone and its a serious issue he sounds like hes gonna give them a big slobbery kiss !! Better than mary sure ..her greatest problem was she never seemed to vary her go for the jugular style wouldnt have mattered if it was attilla the hun she was interviewing or mother teresa .
I sure you can point me to many links showing how the left are extremely happy with the democratic process they are running in the UK Leadership race?
The Corbyn activist have been treated extremely fairly and the party have done everything possible to ensure that it is a fair and even contest right?.
So in direct contradiction to your original smear that “the Left” “aren’t big on democracy”, you now seem to be saying that “the Left” is fighting for democracy…
When you have a coherent narrative, you won’t be a right winger any more.
“The Opposition tried to paint the political failings of the minister into a story about the failure of the Government to take the threats of a trade war seriously. But the facts did not support the claim. Mr Key had been kept in the dark by Mr McClay.” – Audrey Young
&
“Trade Minister Todd McClay initially denied any knowledge of such threats as did Prime Minister John Key. But then Mr McClay “remembered”, after “checking overnight”, that he had been briefed by his officials about it the previous week, while he was in China. Now we are told officials have been looking into it for months, & the Prime Ministers department knew of it but despite its importance, didn’t brief Mr Key (yeah right!)” – CIVIS.
😎 😎 😎 Suggests you’re a bit of a charismatic, silver-tongued lothario, CV 😎 😎 😎
I appear to have James Madison tendencies (albeit on just 3 of the 5 dimensions, I notice). I like to think I’m also just a little bit Woodrow Wilson, a little bit Dwight D Eisenhower and a whole lot Ulysses S Grant.
Of course, to take your isidewith test seriously, Ad, we’d all have to assume that Clinton’s policy programme really will turn out, in reality, to be virtually synonymous with Stein’s. That, for example, Hillary really is genuinely opposed to TPP.
Oh come now Swordfish, Clinton may have had a genuine ‘road to Damascus’ moment just before the DNC Convention, like so many seem to want her to have had.
I don’t normally recommend books to other people as we all have our own reading tastes. However if you want to read how a down and out got himself up off the ground I suggest reading “A Street Cat Named Bob” by James Bowen and the assistance he got from an unexpected source.
The bit that got to me was, he was describing all the different unfortunates trying to eek a living on the streets of London outside The Angel Islington Tube Station. Funny that I thought, as it reminded me of a book I had many years ago written by Henry Mayhew in the 1800’s describing all the different characters trying to live off the streets of London.
We have definitely gone back at least a 100 years in our care and welfare as a society, after reading how this unfortunate became as he said “a non person” It also has hope for the future, and as much as Thatcher said “there was no such thing as society” there is, with a lot of caring people out there from all walks of life.
When the next opinion poll shows support for National is over 50% will that be considered yet another rogue poll? How high will the figure have to go till the penny drops that most people are happy.
Are you able to discuss policy?
Or do just discuss polls?
Many people are not happy about the cost of housing.
It’s just they aren’t voting at all.
Only 33% of the adult population voted National.
And even of these 33%, not all are happy.
Here are the polls that really matter. As long as the right direction remains over 50% there is no mood for change. No one is talking about income equality, universal basic incomes or the other whacky ideas of the Left. Houses are very affordable in over 90% of New Zealand (ex Auckland and Queenstown)
“Based on this official work, it seems to have become accepted that a median multiple of 3.0 times or less is a very good marker for housing affordability.”
NZ total 5.83
Tauranga 6.90
Nelson 5.80
Wellington 5.61
Christchurch 5.35
and historic low interest rates to boot……you are of course incorrect again and nothing if not consistent.
Affordable house prices are around 3 to 4 times median household income. Most of that list was above 4 times median household income, i.e, into the unaffordable. 14 out of 29 was above 5 times median household income, i.e, well into the unaffordable.
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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 ...
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 Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s 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 Tāmaki 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 Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s 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 that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s 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 country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ 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 member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s 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 Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s 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. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s 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. ...
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. “Recently 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 Teachers’ 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. “The 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. “Science, 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 today’s 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. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō 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. “The 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. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s 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 Zealand’s 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. “Our 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. “New 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 Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s 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 Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation 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 sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I 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 Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s 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. “The 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. “My 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 Singapore’s 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 counterpart’s 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 today’s 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. “I 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. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s 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 Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These 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 – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s 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. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We 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. “This 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. “The 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 it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
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 “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s 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 what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve 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 we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t 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, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
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, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s 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 didn’t 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. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s 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 ...
Zoë 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 ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ 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 — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — 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 Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s 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 “re-imagined” 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-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s 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 Bernhard’s 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 You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t 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 You’re 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 doesn’t 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 Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s 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 people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s 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 Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, 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 Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – 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, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s 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 ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
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. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
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 ...
I want to pose a problem for a Sunday to commentators on the Standard.
We need a philosophy and a political ideology which will take us into the 21st century and hopefully cope with the enormous problems facing mankind.
George Monboit hinted in a lecture that some sort of idea was being formulated and will be broadcast next year. Until that happens – some thoughts:
Neoliberalism is discredited and dead.
Socialism may be able to take its place, but we cannot have infinite growth in a finite world.
So any ideology will have to aim at equality without growth, economic justice without any skewering of the rewards. Such a philosophy must allow for human initiative and endeavour without the financial payment.
Such a philosophy must motivate people to make the potentially enormous sacrifices which will be required if we are to combat climate change; must eliminate greed at a motivating force, yet encourage entrepreneurship!
I can’t get my head round all the parameters of such a philosophy, except to be convinced that we are in desperate need of something political to believe in!
Your thoughts?
A dictatorship is what we’re after.
A dictatorship is what you’re after.
A bankster dictatorship is what we have.
Perhaps – is there such a beast as a benevolent dictatorship?
That would be the best option
I think I’d be great as the world’s first velvet gloved dictator.
My billboard will be.
Don’t vote for waghorn ,kneel before him now or else , please and thankyou.
Sorry, should have added /sarc.
Right there – “benevolent dictator” and “beast” in the same sentence!
What makes you think we haven’t already got a dictatorship?
MMP
That hasn’t really helped scientists who feel like they will lose their jobs if they speak out. Or that flag thingy. Or health boards beings sacked. Or CERA or NZTA. Or TVNZ7 or Campbell.
🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄
You already have a dictatorship under the national party.
Was it a dictatorship between 1999 -2008?
Words that describe western ‘democracy’ better.
Plutocracy.
Corporatocracy.
It’s currently the best system by far, great thing about democracy is that it has the ability to evolve.
Not in the case of the Key government – they’re so unevolved they drink paint stripper.
Participatory Democracy is great.
We don’t have that any more now.
We have corporatocracy.
Lobbyists for the elite run the show.
And that is not the best.
I’m not trying to be annoying, but you would have to admit to current capitalism’s successes – as well as its failures – first off. Ain’t no refugee boats heading from Italy to Libya. Our current form of capitalisms’ capacity for wealth acceleration has been better for more of the world’s people than democracy.
Capitalism also generates its own crises through its own accumulative speed and consuming volumes. Also, unemployment, pollution, extreme inequalities, and world environmental destruction.
After that, a successor system theory would need a few things before you could really imagine something completely outside what we have:
– It should be concrete enough to see how it might work in practice
– It should be able to look back, learning from gains and errors of other earlier efforts
– It should illuminate the features and limitations of current reform movements and party platforms
– It should outline transitional strategies to get from ‘here’ to ‘there’.
That’s not a philosophy. But it’s the jungle-gym you’d need to start something.
That’s because capitalism destroyed Libya.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-destruction-of-libya-the-destabilization-of-a-nation-us-nato-crimes-against-humanity/5437027
Paul Mason. Post capitalism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQyr9l22fLE
Paul Mason’s book is not a bad place to start on this field.
Has a bit more oomph than ‘why can’t we all just be good people?’
The last chapters have some sketchy ideas on where it could go – far more helpful than that little milquetoast Monbiot.
Ad – “capitalisms’ capacity for wealth acceleration” .v. ” world environmental destruction.”
Y’gotta take a balanced view, eh!
Stretch your legs and have a go at the original question.
Maybe something in those little binaries.
I didn’t see a question, Ad. A problem was described. In any case, animism.
Ah, but were those successes due to capitalism or socialism?
I think you’ll find that it has more to do with the socialism after WWII than with capitalism. The capitalism of the 19th century increased poverty and we’re seeing the same thing happening again now that similar laissez-faire policies are being re-enacted.
And then there’s the fact that people like being challenged, like creating new tools and generally making the world a better place. Capitalism actually needs that desire of people so that it can be exploited by the bludgers – the capitalists.
Put in place the necessary support systems (education, resources) and I’m sure that we’ll get the same, if not better, development and we’ll do it without rich people and the poverty that they bring about.
‘Roll back Rogernomic$’.
The mantra upon which neo-liberal ‘Rogernomic$’ was based, is ‘public is bad – private is good’.
There was no evidence provided to substantiate this myth, either before this neo-liberal model was forced upon us – or since.
In my considered opinion, this ‘commercialise – corporatise – PRIVATISE’ model has been the root cause of significant ‘grand’ corruption, locally, nationally and internationally.
In my view, the only ones who have benefited from local and central government services being run in a more ‘business-like’ way, are those businesses which have been awarded the contracts.
In my view, it is the public majority – not the corporate minority, who should benefit from tax and rate payers’ public monies.
The first step?
OPEN THE BOOKS!
Everywhere that local and central government uses private sector consultants and contractors – ensure the Public Records Act 2005 is implemented and enforced, and the following information is made available for public scrutiny:
The unique contract number.
The name of the consultant / contractor.
A brief description of the scope of the contract.
The contract start and finish dates.
The exact dollar value of every contract including those sub-contracted.
How the contract was awarded – by direct appointment or public tender.
Make this information publicly accessible under ‘Procurement – Awarded Contracts’ on the front page of each and every local government / CCO / central government / SOE / Crown Entity that spends public money on private sector consultants and contractors.
That is STEP ONE…..
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Bloody good question Tony. Can I put that up as a post?
For me the philosophy (philosophies) already exist. I see them in Green politics, not so much the front end stuff that we see in something like the NZ Green Party that has to operate pragmatically within a neoliberal/patriarchal dominated culture, but in the deeper aspects. I can see it in the kauapa of the Greens (eg in their charter) and trace lines back to the Values Party work done in the 70s where sustainability and social justice were married (it also goes back much further than that). I also see lines coming from many other philosophies esp for me the understandings that come out of indigenous cultures where you also see a similar marriage of valuing people and valuing the land.
Feel free.
It seems to me that we are all searching for a political philosophy or ideology which will address the issues facing us all. Sure as hell capitalism is not the answer. Socialism may be (my preference) but how to sell it is the problem. And how to sustain it in the face of some determined (monied) opposition – well!
What I had hoped for from my original comment was some ideas, some concepts, some suggestions, but the original idea, apart from a couple of comments, got sidetracked.
So a major post exploring ideas on which we can hang some unifying concepts and philosophies would, I think, be welcome.
given the nature of the challenges we will have to confront from hereon in I suspect the only practical option will be some form of technocracy
NeoLiberalism may well be discredited, and maybe it smells dead, but you would be foolish to believe that it actually was dead.
Mrs Clinton is about to try and ride it around the block at least one more time, and her big bankers dont seem to have heard of this “death” which you mentioned.
Yes, there’s many a kick in the corpse yet, as we shall find to our cost if HRC gets to be POTUS!
Tony:
Its worth taking a look at Tim Jackson’s book “Prosperity without Growth – ecomomics for a finite planet” if you are interested in alternatives to the current recipe for disaster that dominates Western (and more recently, Chinese) contemporary political-economic thinking.
Monbiot is on the right track, of course but Jackson takes the argument a lot further.
FYI
I’ve just spent 26 minutes listening to this expose of the revolving door between the Pentagon and USA ‘military/ industrial complex’.
Names are named – it’s ‘political dynamite’!
PLEASE SHARE.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=TLSZFbOq4lPzAzMDA3MjAxNg¶ms=OAFIAVgB&v=8xlaHW6PbGU&mode=NORMAL
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
I think Eisenhower beat you to it, just after World War Two.
Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wxJlMH3jZA
Seems that Eisenhower was dead damn right – the information in this You Tube clip is a bit more recent.
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
” just after World War Two”
God how fast time seems to pass. At this distance it probably does seem to be “just after”.
It was in fact about fifteen and a half years after the end of WW2, as the speech was made on 17January 1961, just before he ceased to be President.
Great speech though, given by the most underrated President of the 20th century. It is still worth reading and still relevant.
http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.html
One of the biggest pains in the ass is this idea of “revolution”. I can almost guarantee that the coup would have worked in Turkey if they hand’t bombed Parliament.
Bernie Sanders used the word like it was a colonic. He didn’t want to define it; it was simply a verbal stand-in for ‘huge change fast’. Better known as ‘Magic Fairy Dust’.
The old leftie idea form the 20th century of military insurrection should be taken out the back and buried in the offal pit. Democracy itself is going backwards fairly fast – that’s what reformist movements need to defend if they’re going for structural change.
Again, I know this is more instrumental thinking rather than end-goal fresh ideology, but it’s a biggie that needs permanently squelching.
Bernie Sanders used the word like it was a colonic. He didn’t want to define it; it was simply a verbal stand-in for ‘huge change fast’… Well, that is one of the ways in which the word “revolution” is used – the introduction of Thatcherism has also been described in such terms. Bernie has often said “we need to get the public good back to the centre of politics” which is what he seemed to have in mind in his use of the word.
You use the term “capitalism” in a rather general way yourself, when what people are mostly concerned about is capitalism in its current form. I see it as an analogous to soviet communism. In the soviet case, a bunch of statist bureaucrats determined that things had to be organised so that capitalism could not get a foothold. In post-Thatcher capitalism a bunch of financiers, speculators and managers have sought to organise things so that socialism cannot get a foothold. Both involve a segment of society deciding that their interests trump those of everyone else, a state of affairs which is not conducive to the broader public good. It may take something like a counter-revolution to Thatcher/Reagan/Douglas’s one in order to address the many problems that their revolution has generated.
ahhhh say it ain’t so cries Mike Hoskins
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/82627601/Bloody-marvellous-John-Campbell-and-Morning-Report-lead-RNZ-to-a-ratings-resurgence
And all done with a funding stranglehold Sabine. Maybe it is a plot to force National Radio to become funded by advertising. National have said that this should happen, so they force RNZ to its fiscal knees.
The headline on that story is wrong*. It’s impossible to say it’s a ratings resurgence. It’s the first time in 17 years that RNZ has been included in that survey.
This will feed the perception that the shift to a more commercial model has widened the audience. And that it can continue to be starved of funding by the RNZ-loathing National Party.
Personally there are things I quite like about the commercial tone such as the shift to more aggressive interviewing, and things that aren’t good, such as making a leading science journalist redundant.
There is major change afoot at a public broadcaster with no public consultation, no transparency, and a pretence that because ”platforms” are changing, the ”content” must also change. Only in New Zealand.
*Media consultant Tim Murphy said commercial stations probably always knew RNZ had a larger audience.
To put it mildly ,Paul Thompson is no left winger, going by his record at Fairfax.
Yep, among other things regional coverage at Fairfax was decimated under his watch.
And this morning on MediaWatch he kept referring to the ”media eco-system”.
To clarify my comment above, I certainly don’t see ”aggressive interviewing” as the province of commercial media, but RNZ had become staid and uncertain. I’m enjoying its sense of purpose and advocacy in political and social coverage.
While Guyon Espiner is too quick to make his mind up about particular stories, his style and grasp of facts is good and has really helped Morning Report.
True about Guyon but I have no time for Sleazey Fergusson. Thank goodness for John Campbell – he has injected some life back into Natrad in the afternoon/evening.
Oh i dunno cambell comes accross as too damn friendly to me when he interviews someone and its a serious issue he sounds like hes gonna give them a big slobbery kiss !! Better than mary sure ..her greatest problem was she never seemed to vary her go for the jugular style wouldnt have mattered if it was attilla the hun she was interviewing or mother teresa .
Gee the left wing in the UK arnt big on democracy are they. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/anti-corbyn-mps-accused-of-trying-to-subvert-labour-leadership-election-a7163846.html
“Left wing”? Don’t make me laugh.
I note that you are citing the reported opinions of a sub-set of anti-Corbyn UKLP MPs and pretending the Left is a hive mind. Projecting much?
Meanwhile in NZ under a right wing Govt http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/79934298/Beehive-extends-Southern-District-Health-Board-commissioner-team-to-2019 no democracy for us in the south, how far does your concern go James?
According to one of the comments Labour voted for this extension.
Democracy in action
“Labour did it tooooooooooooooooooo” want some crackers with that wine? National are the Govt of the day, so own it.
No – what he is saying is that Labour voted the same was as National on this at the same time. Something that you were saying was undemocratic.
What BM was pointing out is that this is democracy in action.
But given the Dem in the US and Labour in the Uk – I can see how a leftie can be getting confused about what a democratic process is.
Anyway – do you have anything to add to the discussion on the link I posted ?
[citation needed]
And, no, that’s not how democracy works. Democracy works when everyone has a say rather than just a few at the top of the pile.
Hansard confirms it. They tried to get an amendment writing the actual date of the election into the bill. National voted it down.
You will never see a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
I sure you can point me to many links showing how the left are extremely happy with the democratic process they are running in the UK Leadership race?
The Corbyn activist have been treated extremely fairly and the party have done everything possible to ensure that it is a fair and even contest right?.
So in direct contradiction to your original smear that “the Left” “aren’t big on democracy”, you now seem to be saying that “the Left” is fighting for democracy…
When you have a coherent narrative, you won’t be a right winger any more.
The Blairites are right wing.
I thought you would have known that.
The Blairites are about as Left-wing as John Key.
https://twitter.com/liamyoung/status/759391232720240640
The establishment doesn’t needs crowds.
It requires a compliant media that feeds the ‘consumers’ of mainstream ‘news’
Yes which is very Left indeed!
John Key is hard right-wing as you well know. You’re just even further into the delusional space that is RWNJ.
He’s not really right – he’s just dishonest. He’s closer to Mugabe (left dishonest) than Churchill (right honest)
As I say. The right-wing have to lie because their policies never meet reality.
2 views in yesterdays ODT…
Regarding Todd McClay –
“The Opposition tried to paint the political failings of the minister into a story about the failure of the Government to take the threats of a trade war seriously. But the facts did not support the claim. Mr Key had been kept in the dark by Mr McClay.” – Audrey Young
&
“Trade Minister Todd McClay initially denied any knowledge of such threats as did Prime Minister John Key. But then Mr McClay “remembered”, after “checking overnight”, that he had been briefed by his officials about it the previous week, while he was in China. Now we are told officials have been looking into it for months, & the Prime Ministers department knew of it but despite its importance, didn’t brief Mr Key (yeah right!)” – CIVIS.
CIVIS is continuously excellent in the ODT.
Audrey Young is a great spinner for Key. Must be her next career move but she better be quick. Key will be out by end of 2017
History will not judge her I’ll kindly.
At least you get the two versions in the ODT. The rest of the country only gets the first version via APN and Fairfax.
Yesterdays editorial, which lays bare the Govt ‘pest free’ announcement.
http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/editorial/392036/war-pests-or-grandstanding
shouldnt the date in the heading be 31st?
Fixed. Ta, Chooky.
A test for you:
http://www.isidewith.com/political-quiz
Note there are options to complete many more questions, in the lower tab on each section.
I came out preferring Hillary, but Stein was a close run thing.
I got Donald Trump and I was a bit of this, bit of that, policy wise.
http://www.isidewith.com/elections/2016-presidential/2480200662
This site could be a bit of a vote winner for Trump
Came out 95% Stein and Clinton.
Should try the reverse psychology thing of choosing the opposite of what I actually think!
94% for Stein and Clinton. 20% for Trump – should have been zero. 😮
Stein for me but it gave 96% for her and Clinton
98% Stein.
Try this … http://www.celebritytypes.com/personality-tests.php
Take the Political Test to find your ideological co-ordinates
Take the Presidential Test to discover, crucially, which former US President your personality most resembles.
Sigh…I came up with frickin Obama
😎 😎 😎 Suggests you’re a bit of a charismatic, silver-tongued lothario, CV 😎 😎 😎
I appear to have James Madison tendencies (albeit on just 3 of the 5 dimensions, I notice). I like to think I’m also just a little bit Woodrow Wilson, a little bit Dwight D Eisenhower and a whole lot Ulysses S Grant.
I appear to have James Madison tendencies.
Me too. Have to do a google and find out more about him.
I did the morality test6 on that page.
Cheers, Draco. I have very similar scores to you on 4 of the 6 dimensions.
On that political one, I was between Obama and Bill Clinton.
On the Presidential one, I was very similar to Obama.
Of course, to take your isidewith test seriously, Ad, we’d all have to assume that Clinton’s policy programme really will turn out, in reality, to be virtually synonymous with Stein’s. That, for example, Hillary really is genuinely opposed to TPP.
Seems, you know, just a little unlikely …
Oh come now Swordfish, Clinton may have had a genuine ‘road to Damascus’ moment just before the DNC Convention, like so many seem to want her to have had.
Ahem.
Indeed
With the list of paid bribes taken directly and indirectly by Hillary and Bill, there is slim to no chance of Hillary being opposed to the TPP
Still, there are many who enjoy being lied to, made hypocrites of being ‘anti TPP’ while at the same time ‘pro Hillary’
Pathological liars are not to be trusted
98% Stein, now there’s a surprise 😉
I don’t normally recommend books to other people as we all have our own reading tastes. However if you want to read how a down and out got himself up off the ground I suggest reading “A Street Cat Named Bob” by James Bowen and the assistance he got from an unexpected source.
The bit that got to me was, he was describing all the different unfortunates trying to eek a living on the streets of London outside The Angel Islington Tube Station. Funny that I thought, as it reminded me of a book I had many years ago written by Henry Mayhew in the 1800’s describing all the different characters trying to live off the streets of London.
We have definitely gone back at least a 100 years in our care and welfare as a society, after reading how this unfortunate became as he said “a non person” It also has hope for the future, and as much as Thatcher said “there was no such thing as society” there is, with a lot of caring people out there from all walks of life.
And rapidly heading further back under the neo-liberal paradigm. If we continue we will be full on feudal within a few decades.
A few weeks ago (search is broken so I can’t find it) I made a comment about farming being a sunset industry.
More evidence: http://www.newshub.co.nz/environmentsci/beef-substitute-set-to-take-on-meat-industry-2016073017#axzz4FsEWyvFn
I hope h.r.c can keep the voter suppression and fraud going. She is going to need it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPISK6_xAbc&mc_cid=f5467d73bf&mc_eid=524e48683c
Hillary massively jumps over Trump due to Reuters/IPSOS poll question change.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-30/clinton-lead-over-trump-surges-after-reuters-tweaks-poll
Excellent opinion piece from Jeremy Corbyn in the Grauniad today, on strengthening worker’s rights.
A lot of the problems he describes are entrenched in NZ. I hope he becomes Britain’s next PM – could set a good example for New Zealand to follow.
When the next opinion poll shows support for National is over 50% will that be considered yet another rogue poll? How high will the figure have to go till the penny drops that most people are happy.
Are you able to discuss policy?
Or do just discuss polls?
Many people are not happy about the cost of housing.
It’s just they aren’t voting at all.
Only 33% of the adult population voted National.
And even of these 33%, not all are happy.
I wouldn’t do the 33% thing because it means 20% voted for Labour and 7% voted for Greens.
Better to be honest about it. Polls should have to include the non-vote.
Seats in parliament aren’t allocated based on the portion of the population that vote.
Would be interesting if only 80 of the 120 seats were filled, though.
Bronagh will prob do the next one
Rank stupidity from The Fizzy One so hopelessly devoted to The Effete Giggling One.
http://www.roymorgan.com/morganpoll/new-zealand/nz-government-confidence
Here are the polls that really matter. As long as the right direction remains over 50% there is no mood for change. No one is talking about income equality, universal basic incomes or the other whacky ideas of the Left. Houses are very affordable in over 90% of New Zealand (ex Auckland and Queenstown)
“Houses are very affordable in over 90% of New Zealand (ex Auckland and Queenstown)”
Your idea of “very affordable” would appear to be at odds with accepted measures
http://www.interest.co.nz/property/house-price-income-multiples
Not at 4.0-4.5 which is the norm ex Auckland and Queenstown as per the figures you quote
might pay to read the attached link fisi….
“Based on this official work, it seems to have become accepted that a median multiple of 3.0 times or less is a very good marker for housing affordability.”
NZ total 5.83
Tauranga 6.90
Nelson 5.80
Wellington 5.61
Christchurch 5.35
and historic low interest rates to boot……you are of course incorrect again and nothing if not consistent.
“Houses are very affordable in over 90% of New Zealand (ex Auckland and Queenstown)”
Given that 32% of the population live in those two districts, your 90% figure is deliberately misleading.
“in” indicates geography. I am of course correct yet again.
No, you’re lying by numbers yet again.
And house prices are rising in the regions becoming unaffordable in relation to local wages there as well.
Wrong again.
http://www.interest.co.nz/property/house-price-income-multiples
“Very affordable” indicates a household income multiple of 3 or under. That would be Invercargill or Wanganui.
4 starts to become a stretch and 5 is on the very limit.
6 is an impractical debt burden for most families.
No, you’re wrong again.
Affordable house prices are around 3 to 4 times median household income. Most of that list was above 4 times median household income, i.e, into the unaffordable. 14 out of 29 was above 5 times median household income, i.e, well into the unaffordable.
I said you use of the 90% figure was deliberately misleading. I didn’t say it was incorrect.