Does anyone have a link to what Andrew little actually said about the national anthem. My understanding is that he said he didn’t like it much but unlike John key he had better things to do than campaign for it to change. ZB talk back has twisted it to saying he wants to change the anthem.
Labour leader Andrew Little has described the national anthem as a “dirge” and said many New Zealanders preferred to sing along to the Australian anthem than our own.
Key talks gibberish most days and yet you choose to make a big deal of one off the cuff remark by Little ,look out you’re true colours are showing again.
Looks it’s simple. In this day and age, when we are being sold down the river by the Government. Who gives a royal fuck about the goddam anthem or the bloody Flag!
Because John Key has the job and has held it since 2008 so the voters of NZ have an idea of what hes about.
Andrew Little has really only come to be known by the voting public for, what, six months so hes not really known at all so when he comes out with comments like this its what people will remember about him
Not the greatest track for Little to be heading down. Maybe it’s the God bothering aspect? God of….God defend….Christian God we haven’t seen you for a while.
I actually really like and prefer the Maori version which sounds beautiful compared to the hum drum english version. I love hearing school children singing along to the Maori version it makes ya proud of Te Reo. Is a pity not enough Kiwi’s bother to learn the words, All Black games in Christchurch are a classic example.
Pokarekare ana could be a good national anthem. Great sing-along that everyone loves. Is there an English version…? and if not wouldn’t be hard to come up with some suitable lyrics.
Personally, I would be more favourable to a change in national anthem than in a change in flag. The flag should remain the same.
“representative of modern NZ” – which will date it for future generations, I mean are we going to continually update our flag to be “representative of modern NZ”.
What the fuck does “modern NZ” even mean? Its a vanity project for the PM & everyone knows it.
The flag is representative of our colonialist past where all we were was a British Empire out post.
Modern NZ is a multicultural country that sells it’s products world wide, about we got a flag that represented that.
The only opposition seems to be coming from whiny old fossils and some lefties, who are actually for it but would rather try to fuck up the process due to their irrational hatred of John Key, then support it.
For your info, Britain is also “a multicultural country that sells it’s products world wide”. There is absolutely nothing outdated about retaining a visible link to a country that not only is intrinsically linked to NZ through the Treaty, heritage, democratic institutions and customs over many generations, but which is also a European and world leader in any number of different areas.
I agree the current flag is crap get rid of the shackles to Empire and toss out the sons and daughters of generations of royal toilet cleaners while we are at it, those bludgers have sucked enough money out of us. Let’s become an independent Nation. And ditch the National anthem, or at least the reference to Gods.
Ha, I had precisely the same thought. An Audience with Billy Connolly from the mid-80s. I remember recording the whole programme at the time on an arcane thing known as ‘A Video Recorder’. (Too complex to explain to younger readers but it was very similar to a gyrocopter – the precursors of today’s helicopter).
Great to see all those sad old BBC showbiz luvvies of the 80s, some even elaborately endowed with mullet hairdos.
“That is not a poor reflection on New Zealanders, many of whom would like something different, many of whom would like a change. Many of them want a change to the national anthem, too, because they are sick of singing a dirge every time you turn up to a festive occasion. Most of them sing along to the Australian national anthem before they sing along to our own. They want something different, but they do not want it at a time—and they do not want this Government, which parades itself as the great financial managers and the great financial responsibility – people of the generation, spending $17 million—when this country can ill afford it. ”
Thanks for that Ch_ch chiquita that is what I was looking for. It looks like the whole thing was totally taken out of context and Andrew Little’s ideas were misrepresented – an academic offence as bad as plagiarism. It seems like the media are desperate to find something anything to pin on Little, untrue when he basically said their are heaps of problems out there and spending time on the flag is a waste of time and although he understands why some people might want to change it as he might want to change the anthem now is neither the time or place.
When a boatload of highly motivated entrepreneurs next beaches itself in John Keys electorate he should go down there to thank them for the increased competition and remind them that there is no reichstag .. sorry, upper house .. to prevent *any* future prime minister changing our flag on a whim.
“Critics like to compare Fonterra – unfavourably – with the successful but tiny co-op Tatua. But that criticism overlooks the fact that Tatua operates deep in the heart of prime Waikato dairy country, with most of its suppliers close to its processing facilities. While Tatua focuses on high end, niche products, Fonterra’s sheer size means it doesn’t have the same luxury.”
It’s almost as if they haven’t heard of what American corps were doing in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. It ‘s almost as if they’re thick as shit. Have any of them studied at Harvard? Do any of them even have an MBA?
“We don’t have the same luxury… boohooohooohoooooo!”
This why we can’t have nice things. They don’t even know the parameters of their own stupid game, but goddamnit, they want respect… yessireee! Must be the po’ folk’s fault – not working hard enough, long enough, cheap enough.
Also sad that Theo Spierings is clear in another article that he will not change direction.
In both international trade diplomacy, and in economic management, this is a catastrophe of political leadership about our largest company by the Prime Minister.
National will lose the farming community over this.
National will also lose media sentiment.
Last night Bernie Sanders had an online organisation meeting, with at least 600 networked local organisation meetings across America. Now one of the reasons I like Bernie, is this clip – He is the leader for the president, but stands aside when other leaders are needed on other issues. If only we had more of that on the left in NZ.
Amazing chap that Bernie. And he is gaining resonance. No doubt the knives will be out to try and demolish him. Perhaps they will call on Whaleoil’s Dirty Tricks to help wipe him out?
the ‘yankee devils’ sure do things differently with their politics, Bernie would just make the Labour party here, but over there he is a “god damn socialist”
The arrogant clique that believes they are born to rule the Labour Party in England are getting their comeuppance. For too long a small elite followed a path through Oxbridge directly into party jobs and then parachuted into safe seats against the wishes of the locals. Jeremy Corbyn’s ascent has challenged that clique. Labour everywhere needs to overturn the self serving technocrats who are responsible for the current state of powerlessness.n
Remind you of the career path of many in Wellington? The Labour Party here needs to be a lot tougher on the smug group that believes they get the cabinet posts once their turn come in the “cycle”.
I don’t have an issue with this in all seriousness, if a politician can find something on-line that explains what they’re talking about then they should use it
All 3rd level teacher use the software to check papers for plagerism. It’s the teachers call how to respond: many, I’d say most, would reject this attempt.
god yeah – third year students would be in the shit.
Although on the flipside this is a website, not an academic work. I recall one health and safety manual that had a section on dealing with workplace stress – one of the suggestions was to go for a sauna at the Waikato Students’ Union recreation centre. My employer at the time was in Dunedin 🙂
Wow, this Quin guy is a really helpful Labour Party member. First create a think tank of where Labour policy is all wrong and now he’s just lobbing grenades in from the outside.
Actually, since that oil slick Goff is supposedly being pensioned off to try to be the next ageing middle-class white guy to be mayor of that multicultural metropolis, Auckland, with Robertson’s penchant for plagiarism, couldn’t be be sold to the Maxim Institute?
Labour’s greatest resource is its Policy generation capability . We can produce more and better policy than every other party put together and more again.
Why the hell did Robertson have to resort to this when we have the real stuff by the bucketful. Is there a disconnect between our Policy Council and the front bench ?
Unfortunately, there’s a reasonable argument to be had that Labour are a cut and paste party. They scout around and ‘focus group’ on various bits and pieces then paste together something they reckon we’ll vote for.
Contrast with Corbyn of UK Labour or the SNP…they know where they stand and what they stand for, and then say where they stand and promote things on the basis of what they stand for.
Reminds me of a recent opinion piece in ‘the Guardian’. DJ’s. New comes along and puts a set together on what they imagine punters want. They fade away…just the ‘same old, same old’. Another new one comes along and plays what they themselves want and like. Audience numbers might drop initially, but then….
are we seeing a secret deal to make key and groser look good? dairy industry spokespeople from nz and canada suggest retractable positions. are they being duped too and the pollies will announce a deal? problem for canada is a good deal for groser and key will lead to outrage in the canadian dairy community?
just seems key and groser at complete odds with our main exporter over achievements in tpp?
will key and groser really sign something that is useless for dairy or will that clause state that discussions will be ongoing? which is still a loss for nz dairy.
I get the feeling that Key is biding his time, letting the left say its all doom and gloom about the partnership and then he’ll make an announcement thats quite good for NZ and will make the left look like chicken Littles (again)
I’m saying that like the previous budget where National suggested it was going to be tight and the Left led by the exulted Andrew Little made all sorts nonsense statements and Key then announced that benes would be getting an increase in their payments thereby making the left and Mr Andrew Little look like they’d jumped the gun
“announced that benes” beneficiaries with children “would be getting an increase in their payment”
the spin might anger National party supporters more easily the way you parrot it, but sorry PR -facts matter
You could be right. Key signs. Lauds the wonderful job he has done. Ra RA Ra.
But the actual text is embargoed for four years!
By the time we find out just what he has done he will be off to be the Chairman of IMF or something.
and you are ok with an elected official signing an agreement that is binding for your and your offspring, but who will not let you know what the heck he is signing.
Are you sure that you are as comfortable about this as is dear Leader, who is financially well cushioned, who can leave this country to live elsewhere, and who surely will be profiting from signing this “Free Trade Agreement”.
WE (i) and a million others effectively voted against dear Leader, WE (1 million) are so dis-interested or dis-enfranchised they did not vote at all, and WE (you and 1 million others) voted for National, The Maori Party, The conservatives and any of the others supplier parties that support the National Party in its endeavors.
So not WE did not decide anything. And even you are not deciding anything, considering that no one is asking you 🙂
I just asked if you were comfortable to be signed up for an agreement which is going to cost you more in Health Care, and so on.
All of the right-wing prefer dictatorship. You can see it in everything that they say on here, the way that they support this governments dictatorial actions that go against what the people of NZ want.
What puzzles me MBG is how after the treaty has been signed how can it be debated/approved/disapproved by any of the other parties unless it is in the other MPs hands?
PR, there won’t be any surprise that this will be good for NZ. There may be some lie dished out that it is, but that will be quickly seen through. NZ is the equivalent of a 6 year old child turning up to the negotiating table, we’ll be given a couple of sweets by mummy and daddy and told to run along, which we’ll do rather excitedly.
Feeling a bit dejected today with the above news that was highlighted today on National Radio.
What can happen to a beautiful environment when there is little restriction upon harmful activities by companies and individual boat owners to harm the Sounds seabed by siltation from forestry, dredging and the use of anchors.
One generation of Kiwis (and the odd overseas-owned company) who have caused significant degradation, assisted by insufficent protection afforded by national and local government, insufficient monitoring and policing, lack of authority to make the changes.
I heard on the radio the other day that big salmon farm was looking to expand down here in the south, they were talking about creating farms around Stewart Island & Milford Sound, which seems crazy to me environmentally wise)
Must say the site’s running slower then a wet week.
When I open up Chrome developer tools , there’s lots of 504 errors.
I noticed that there was also an error relating to this bit of code
[script type=”text/javascript”]
// do this late so the display updates after jquery runs
document.getElementById(“single-top”).style.visibility = “visible”;
document.getElementById(“single-bottom”).style.visibility = “visible”;
[/script]
Please please tell me Grant Robertson did not plagiarise other people’s work without giving credit in an official Labour Party discussion paper.
Too many own goals lately.
I would love to be able to tell you that Lynda.
The only problem is that if I did so I would be lying and not being an MP I don’t do that.
Sorry but he did copy the material. Someone cancel his Economist subscription.
I can’t believe i’m doing this but I really don’t see what the big deal is, if what he copied and pasted is the same as what he wants put down on paper then why not use it?
At the very least it probably makes it more readable then the usual political waffle that comes out
Herald: “Labour Party MP Clare Curran has apologised for lifting paragraphs from business magazine The Economist for an issues paper on the “Future of Work”.
Ms Curran, the party’s ICT spokeswoman, admitted this afternoon that sections of the issues paper which she was responsible for had not been attributed.
“A large number of documents were used during the research for this paper, from many sources over a period of weeks and months,” the Dunedin South MP said in a statement.”
Be no point in deliberately plagiarising so benefit of the doubt?
And wasn’t it kind of ex-Labour supporter Phil Quin to go public so that Clare would have no chance to correct.
Yep. If you take a quote from a source make sure that it’s actually in quotation marks and is sourced. It’s not that hard and both MS Word and LibreOffice have referencing systems and both can also export to PDF.
Clare Curran has always been a lightweight. Good intentions, but too willing to make the easy hits without doing the real work required.
I really wish they’d give broadcasting to somebody who has a better handle on the problem than she has ever exhibited. Unfortunately Labour have never understood how important public broadcasting is to democracy.
In reading this, and other similar pieces over the past few months, I have come to see why the adherents of neo-liberalism claim to reject ideology, and to be ideology-free themselves. Along with Plato’s Thrasymachus, they think that “justice is the will of the powerful,” and that this is just the way the world is. To do well, you must roll with the fact rather than fruitlessly beat your head against it. John Key and Paula Bennett, for example, very likely see things in just this light. However, when dissent breaks out around the edges of the “realist” view to which they are committed, they are forced to defend it as an ideology, whether or not they class it as one.
the nbr is suggesting that success is measure in millions. by that definition we are a nation of failures… minus a few people. such nonsense of a measure. however the growth of their wealth since gfc in stark comparrison to wages for middle class and lower shows something is wrong and it isnt just about working hard.
Sorry – terrible wording, I was a bit tired and distracted at the time. I meant that in dealing with Syriza, who took democracy’s side against them, they were forced to show themselves for the tyrants they are.
Thanks Sabine. Brilliant work by Graham. Love the report on Mr Shaws speech to Parliament regarding our supporting in the Middle East,
“The Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill, which was passed in this House yesterday after several minutes of careful consideration and thoughtful debate… is designed to stop New Zealanders from going to fight for the Islamic State, which is fighting the Iraqi government, which we support. And we will shortly be sending the military over to help Iraq fight the Islamic State, which definitely will not have any New Zealanders fighting with them because we said so – yesterday.
“We also support Saudi Arabia, which also supports the Islamic State, which is fighting the government of Iraq, which we also support. The Middle East is a very supportive environment right now. Our military will feel well-supported when they get over there. I will tell this House whom we do not support, and that is President al-Assad in Syria. We do support some of the freedom fighters who are fighting against President al-Assad, who are primarily led by the Islamic State, but we do not support the Islamic State. We also do not support Iran, which also does not support the Islamic State, and which does support the government of Iraq, which we do support……”
The powerful, wealthy Roman Emperors inevitably became corrupt and many lived a debauched and immoral lifestyle.
A decline in morals, especially in the rich upper classes and the emperors, had a devastating impact on the Romans. Immoral and promiscuous sexual behaviour including adultery and orgies.
In fact, there is much in that article that mirrors a lot of what is happening in today’s society especially the corruption and debauchery of the rich.
Have you read “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle” by Chris Hedges – Draco T Bastard? Fits nicely with what your saying.
“A culture that does not grasp the vital interplay between morality and power, which mistakes management techniques for wisdom, and fails to understand that the measure of a civilization is its compassion, not its speed or ability to consume, condemns itself to death.”
― Chris Hedges, Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
Labour’s future of work programme is well meaning, but wrong headed. Labour can’t even deal with today’s youth unemployment let alone that of the next 20 years. Climate change, immediate transition off fossil fuels, and caring/creative activities must be the centre points of the future of work.
Nothing more needs to be said except that Key is telling Australia that they need more confidence and that we have growing confidence because economics is all about confidence.
The sound of music – I have confidence. It’s all we need – business is so rationally economic, or economically rational and yet they take confidence readings, news items abound with the feelings of business people. It would be funny if it wasn’t so… funny.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzs0oUUFWmM)
The police are covering up for Slater. Claim he and Ede committed no offence when they hacked into Labour’s computer system. Slater’s going to demand an apology from Little.
Geez… I hope Little ridicules him and tells him where to get off in the strongest of language.
The infamous racism that has stained Australia for more than two centuries has blown up over the last week. I commend anyone who is interested to read the following article from the ABC website. Interestingly, and legitimately, “leftrightout” in the comments section compares Adam Goodes’ theatricality to the New Zealand haka. Depressingly, however, a couple of ignorami (“Fincon” and “doikus”) reckon there is no comparison. …
…. Certainly the serial booing of Goodes is racist and unjustifiable. The probability that most of the idiots doing it don’t have much idea why doesn’t excuse them.
As for those who have sought to defend the victimisation of Goodes, their principal rationale seems to be that his imaginary spear throwing was offensively violent, or that somehow this is all his fault. As Alan Jones explained it, people aren’t booing Goodes because he’s black, they’re booing him because he’s a sook. He just needs to stop playing the victim over tiddling matters like people calling him an ape. This reverse logic is just a fig leaf to cover the latent racism that always lies just under the Australian surface and which Goodes has managed to provoke out of hiding.
There is, however, an interesting conundrum here, for racists and anti-racists alike. Racism as a subject matter is actually a morass of confusion; morality, law, rights and emotions all mingled together in a mess that defies the drawing of distinct lines.
Goodes probably knew he’d get a reaction. He was probably tired of being told to go back in the zoo and worse, tired of being minimised and objectified because of his skin colour and heritage. So he chose to respond with a potent piece of physical symbolism, and he hit a raw nerve. Not many AFL supporters would know that Governor Arthur Phillip was speared in the shoulder and nearly died at Manly Beach in 1790. But they are unconsciously reflecting a collective cultural memory of White Australia that Aborigines weren’t supposed to fight back, as well as the dread of what could happen when they did. ….
Effective immediately the management of this prison must be replaced by a private company. Heads must roll and ministers responsible for the department running this place should resign.
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What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
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Does anyone have a link to what Andrew little actually said about the national anthem. My understanding is that he said he didn’t like it much but unlike John key he had better things to do than campaign for it to change. ZB talk back has twisted it to saying he wants to change the anthem.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11488272
The anthem isn’t the greatest but why he made the Australian comment really leaves me scratching my head.
Talk about making life tough for yourself.
Key talks gibberish most days and yet you choose to make a big deal of one off the cuff remark by Little ,look out you’re true colours are showing again.
The point about the anthem was completely destroyed by saying people would prefer singing the Australian anthem.
All this has done is put peoples backs up, bit of a own goal to be honest.
“Australians all let us rejoice
For we are young and BM free
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil,
BM waffle is girt by sea: “
Perhaps we need lyrics that express what NZ is all about- such as this excerpt from the USA anthem Star Spangled Banner.
“…And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there…”
@ adam and Rodel.
Very nice both of you. 😀
Looks it’s simple. In this day and age, when we are being sold down the river by the Government. Who gives a royal fuck about the goddam anthem or the bloody Flag!
Because John Key has the job and has held it since 2008 so the voters of NZ have an idea of what hes about.
Andrew Little has really only come to be known by the voting public for, what, six months so hes not really known at all so when he comes out with comments like this its what people will remember about him
Not the greatest track for Little to be heading down. Maybe it’s the God bothering aspect? God of….God defend….Christian God we haven’t seen you for a while.
I actually really like and prefer the Maori version which sounds beautiful compared to the hum drum english version. I love hearing school children singing along to the Maori version it makes ya proud of Te Reo. Is a pity not enough Kiwi’s bother to learn the words, All Black games in Christchurch are a classic example.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11488865
Yes, it does have a smell of desperation to it and just generally being a bit of a tool by trying to throw spanners in the works.
Pokarekare ana could be a good national anthem. Great sing-along that everyone loves. Is there an English version…? and if not wouldn’t be hard to come up with some suitable lyrics.
Personally, I would be more favourable to a change in national anthem than in a change in flag. The flag should remain the same.
I’m all for changing the flag, we’re no longer a British colony and the flag really isn’t representative of modern NZ.
Also it’s a great opportunity for NZ to get a bit of extra coverage on the world stage.
Fairly average about the anthem apart from All Black games and the Olympics who ever hears it.
I want the Union Jack to stay.
“representative of modern NZ” – which will date it for future generations, I mean are we going to continually update our flag to be “representative of modern NZ”.
What the fuck does “modern NZ” even mean? Its a vanity project for the PM & everyone knows it.
The flag is representative of our colonialist past where all we were was a British Empire out post.
Modern NZ is a multicultural country that sells it’s products world wide, about we got a flag that represented that.
The only opposition seems to be coming from whiny old fossils and some lefties, who are actually for it but would rather try to fuck up the process due to their irrational hatred of John Key, then support it.
For your info, Britain is also “a multicultural country that sells it’s products world wide”. There is absolutely nothing outdated about retaining a visible link to a country that not only is intrinsically linked to NZ through the Treaty, heritage, democratic institutions and customs over many generations, but which is also a European and world leader in any number of different areas.
I agree the current flag is crap get rid of the shackles to Empire and toss out the sons and daughters of generations of royal toilet cleaners while we are at it, those bludgers have sucked enough money out of us. Let’s become an independent Nation. And ditch the National anthem, or at least the reference to Gods.
@Skinny
Are you the face of the “Modern NZ” with your mindless rant? If so, the old one was miles better. God Save The Queen.
Well if your so in love with the royal bludgers and Mother England you could always you know what.
This debate reminds me of this Billy Connolly clip …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9nnnM-__JQ
Yes. Billy puts it all in perspective. Great clip Micky.
Ha, I had precisely the same thought. An Audience with Billy Connolly from the mid-80s. I remember recording the whole programme at the time on an arcane thing known as ‘A Video Recorder’. (Too complex to explain to younger readers but it was very similar to a gyrocopter – the precursors of today’s helicopter).
Great to see all those sad old BBC showbiz luvvies of the 80s, some even elaborately endowed with mullet hairdos.
I think this is what you were looking for:
“That is not a poor reflection on New Zealanders, many of whom would like something different, many of whom would like a change. Many of them want a change to the national anthem, too, because they are sick of singing a dirge every time you turn up to a festive occasion. Most of them sing along to the Australian national anthem before they sing along to our own. They want something different, but they do not want it at a time—and they do not want this Government, which parades itself as the great financial managers and the great financial responsibility – people of the generation, spending $17 million—when this country can ill afford it. ”
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/51HansD_20150728_00000020/new-zealand-flag-referendums-bill-%E2%80%94-second-reading
Thanks for that Ch_ch chiquita that is what I was looking for. It looks like the whole thing was totally taken out of context and Andrew Little’s ideas were misrepresented – an academic offence as bad as plagiarism. It seems like the media are desperate to find something anything to pin on Little, untrue when he basically said their are heaps of problems out there and spending time on the flag is a waste of time and although he understands why some people might want to change it as he might want to change the anthem now is neither the time or place.
When a boatload of highly motivated entrepreneurs next beaches itself in John Keys electorate he should go down there to thank them for the increased competition and remind them that there is no reichstag .. sorry, upper house .. to prevent *any* future prime minister changing our flag on a whim.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11489246
A good article on NZ’s Dairy demise out of todays NZH.
“Critics like to compare Fonterra – unfavourably – with the successful but tiny co-op Tatua. But that criticism overlooks the fact that Tatua operates deep in the heart of prime Waikato dairy country, with most of its suppliers close to its processing facilities. While Tatua focuses on high end, niche products, Fonterra’s sheer size means it doesn’t have the same luxury.”
It’s almost as if they haven’t heard of what American corps were doing in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. It ‘s almost as if they’re thick as shit. Have any of them studied at Harvard? Do any of them even have an MBA?
“We don’t have the same luxury… boohooohooohoooooo!”
This why we can’t have nice things. They don’t even know the parameters of their own stupid game, but goddamnit, they want respect… yessireee! Must be the po’ folk’s fault – not working hard enough, long enough, cheap enough.
Also sad that Theo Spierings is clear in another article that he will not change direction.
In both international trade diplomacy, and in economic management, this is a catastrophe of political leadership about our largest company by the Prime Minister.
National will lose the farming community over this.
National will also lose media sentiment.
Key must act.
Last night Bernie Sanders had an online organisation meeting, with at least 600 networked local organisation meetings across America. Now one of the reasons I like Bernie, is this clip – He is the leader for the president, but stands aside when other leaders are needed on other issues. If only we had more of that on the left in NZ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQi2gTD4Jzo
Amazing chap that Bernie. And he is gaining resonance. No doubt the knives will be out to try and demolish him. Perhaps they will call on Whaleoil’s Dirty Tricks to help wipe him out?
Jeez Adam, ease up! Next you’ll be openly stating that the power of ideas should take precedence over the power of (vain)glorious leaders! 😉
Dam there goes my cult of personality.
the ‘yankee devils’ sure do things differently with their politics, Bernie would just make the Labour party here, but over there he is a “god damn socialist”
He is just a social democrat – lets you know how far to the right american politics has gone.
The arrogant clique that believes they are born to rule the Labour Party in England are getting their comeuppance. For too long a small elite followed a path through Oxbridge directly into party jobs and then parachuted into safe seats against the wishes of the locals. Jeremy Corbyn’s ascent has challenged that clique. Labour everywhere needs to overturn the self serving technocrats who are responsible for the current state of powerlessness.n
Remind you of the career path of many in Wellington? The Labour Party here needs to be a lot tougher on the smug group that believes they get the cabinet posts once their turn come in the “cycle”.
http://www.philquin.com/blog/2015/7/30/judging-by-their-discussion-paper-labours-future-of-work-involves-a-lot-of-cutting-and-pasting
Well looking on the positive side since Robertsons plagiarised others work it means the document is probably well written 🙂
Amy student caught doing that in a paper would have the paper rejected, get a fail and have some further sanction applied.
dont be so sure. they would appeal, threaten to drop out and in a desire to retain eft … thats money to ordinary folk…. an exception would be made
I don’t have an issue with this in all seriousness, if a politician can find something on-line that explains what they’re talking about then they should use it
All 3rd level teacher use the software to check papers for plagerism. It’s the teachers call how to respond: many, I’d say most, would reject this attempt.
god yeah – third year students would be in the shit.
Although on the flipside this is a website, not an academic work. I recall one health and safety manual that had a section on dealing with workplace stress – one of the suggestions was to go for a sauna at the Waikato Students’ Union recreation centre. My employer at the time was in Dunedin 🙂
tertiary can use turnitin BUT that doesnt determine the co sequence. too often the folding stuff wins through.
lol they’ve now added footnotes that weren’t in google cache version from last night.
Wow, this Quin guy is a really helpful Labour Party member. First create a think tank of where Labour policy is all wrong and now he’s just lobbing grenades in from the outside.
If we allow our leaders to feel they are beyond reproach they will end up like the English Labour Party.
Calling Robertson a plagiarist suggests that the poseur actually did some work, expending actual energy. Possibly even thinking.
Actually, since that oil slick Goff is supposedly being pensioned off to try to be the next ageing middle-class white guy to be mayor of that multicultural metropolis, Auckland, with Robertson’s penchant for plagiarism, couldn’t be be sold to the Maxim Institute?
Labour’s greatest resource is its Policy generation capability . We can produce more and better policy than every other party put together and more again.
Why the hell did Robertson have to resort to this when we have the real stuff by the bucketful. Is there a disconnect between our Policy Council and the front bench ?
Unfortunately, there’s a reasonable argument to be had that Labour are a cut and paste party. They scout around and ‘focus group’ on various bits and pieces then paste together something they reckon we’ll vote for.
Contrast with Corbyn of UK Labour or the SNP…they know where they stand and what they stand for, and then say where they stand and promote things on the basis of what they stand for.
Reminds me of a recent opinion piece in ‘the Guardian’. DJ’s. New comes along and puts a set together on what they imagine punters want. They fade away…just the ‘same old, same old’. Another new one comes along and plays what they themselves want and like. Audience numbers might drop initially, but then….
I’m resolving to cut back on dairy products until I lose another 5 kilos, or the price starts coming down to meet global prices.
Like the way that the Shell No kayaktivists have reclaimed the activist tag.
They continue their protest after Obama grants consent for exploratory drilling in the Artic. (Good photos.)
are we seeing a secret deal to make key and groser look good? dairy industry spokespeople from nz and canada suggest retractable positions. are they being duped too and the pollies will announce a deal? problem for canada is a good deal for groser and key will lead to outrage in the canadian dairy community?
just seems key and groser at complete odds with our main exporter over achievements in tpp?
will key and groser really sign something that is useless for dairy or will that clause state that discussions will be ongoing? which is still a loss for nz dairy.
I get the feeling that Key is biding his time, letting the left say its all doom and gloom about the partnership and then he’ll make an announcement thats quite good for NZ and will make the left look like chicken Littles (again)
so you are saying that the Federated Farmers are on the left side of the political spectrum?
http://www.fedfarm.org.nz/
and Fonterra is also on the left side of the political spectrum?
http://www.fonterra.com/nz/en/About/Our+Locations/NewZealand
really?
like double really?
oh boy oh boy oh boy
I’m saying that like the previous budget where National suggested it was going to be tight and the Left led by the exulted Andrew Little made all sorts nonsense statements and Key then announced that benes would be getting an increase in their payments thereby making the left and Mr Andrew Little look like they’d jumped the gun
You mean the budget where Key PROMISED us a surplus, then delivered a $100B debt?
“announced that
benes” beneficiaries with children “would be getting an increase in their payment”the spin might anger National party supporters more easily the way you parrot it, but sorry PR -facts matter
You could be right. Key signs. Lauds the wonderful job he has done. Ra RA Ra.
But the actual text is embargoed for four years!
By the time we find out just what he has done he will be off to be the Chairman of IMF or something.
Well its a simple trick isn’t it especially when you know whats in the deal but the opposition doesn’t
and you are ok with an elected official signing an agreement that is binding for your and your offspring, but who will not let you know what the heck he is signing.
Are you sure that you are as comfortable about this as is dear Leader, who is financially well cushioned, who can leave this country to live elsewhere, and who surely will be profiting from signing this “Free Trade Agreement”.
Are you ?
Yes I am, our politicians are voted in because we decide we want them to make the decisions on running this country so I’m comfortable about this
We did not decide that,
WE (i) and a million others effectively voted against dear Leader, WE (1 million) are so dis-interested or dis-enfranchised they did not vote at all, and WE (you and 1 million others) voted for National, The Maori Party, The conservatives and any of the others supplier parties that support the National Party in its endeavors.
So not WE did not decide anything. And even you are not deciding anything, considering that no one is asking you 🙂
I just asked if you were comfortable to be signed up for an agreement which is going to cost you more in Health Care, and so on.
But obviously you are….so as you were.
The old we didn’t agree to it so National don’t have a mandate arguement again
Don’t worry I’ll remember that when Labour eventually are able to form a government
Puckish, it is a democracy, so while National won they will also have two rule for the two million people that did not vote for them.
Are you happy for a dictator? Puckish, is that what you actually are looking for …. a Putin style figure? Really?
All of the right-wing prefer dictatorship. You can see it in everything that they say on here, the way that they support this governments dictatorial actions that go against what the people of NZ want.
No in four years Key will hopefully be in Mt Eden awaiting sentencing on his treason and corruption convictions.
In fours time John Key will still be the leader of NZ and will be preparing to step down 🙂
@ianmac
Someone will leak the text.
What puzzles me MBG is how after the treaty has been signed how can it be debated/approved/disapproved by any of the other parties unless it is in the other MPs hands?
Me too. What the hell is going on?
I guess we have to rely on Honest-John* assuring us that voting for it will be good for NZ…..cue hollow laugh.
I think parliament knew what was in the Korea and China deals before they were voted on?
*sarc
He’ll be in a role enforcing or benefitting what he’s implementing now.
It’s how the bankstas work.
PR, there won’t be any surprise that this will be good for NZ. There may be some lie dished out that it is, but that will be quickly seen through. NZ is the equivalent of a 6 year old child turning up to the negotiating table, we’ll be given a couple of sweets by mummy and daddy and told to run along, which we’ll do rather excitedly.
+1
you realise the dairy industry people being negative are probably nat voters
dairy is just another commodity to trade in keys world.
He’s not focused on a 4th Term he’s assured his future by implementing the backers hollowmen checklist.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/70508896/marlborough-ecosystems-being-destroyed
Feeling a bit dejected today with the above news that was highlighted today on National Radio.
What can happen to a beautiful environment when there is little restriction upon harmful activities by companies and individual boat owners to harm the Sounds seabed by siltation from forestry, dredging and the use of anchors.
One generation of Kiwis (and the odd overseas-owned company) who have caused significant degradation, assisted by insufficent protection afforded by national and local government, insufficient monitoring and policing, lack of authority to make the changes.
I heard on the radio the other day that big salmon farm was looking to expand down here in the south, they were talking about creating farms around Stewart Island & Milford Sound, which seems crazy to me environmentally wise)
Must say the site’s running slower then a wet week.
When I open up Chrome developer tools , there’s lots of 504 errors.
I noticed that there was also an error relating to this bit of code
[script type=”text/javascript”]
// do this late so the display updates after jquery runs
document.getElementById(“single-top”).style.visibility = “visible”;
document.getElementById(“single-bottom”).style.visibility = “visible”;
[/script]
You might want to use this
https://learn.jquery.com/using-jquery-core/document-ready/
Please please tell me Grant Robertson did not plagiarise other people’s work without giving credit in an official Labour Party discussion paper.
Too many own goals lately.
It was evidently Clare Curran. How stupid can you get.
I would love to be able to tell you that Lynda.
The only problem is that if I did so I would be lying and not being an MP I don’t do that.
Sorry but he did copy the material. Someone cancel his Economist subscription.
I can’t believe i’m doing this but I really don’t see what the big deal is, if what he copied and pasted is the same as what he wants put down on paper then why not use it?
At the very least it probably makes it more readable then the usual political waffle that comes out
That’s my sort of feeling on it, too.
Yes, plagiarism is stupid and it ‘looks bad’, but on the other hand, at least they’re plagiarising from a fairly authoritative and respected source?
Herald: “Labour Party MP Clare Curran has apologised for lifting paragraphs from business magazine The Economist for an issues paper on the “Future of Work”.
Ms Curran, the party’s ICT spokeswoman, admitted this afternoon that sections of the issues paper which she was responsible for had not been attributed.
“A large number of documents were used during the research for this paper, from many sources over a period of weeks and months,” the Dunedin South MP said in a statement.”
Be no point in deliberately plagiarising so benefit of the doubt?
And wasn’t it kind of ex-Labour supporter Phil Quin to go public so that Clare would have no chance to correct.
My thoughts too ianmac. He is all heart and generosity of spirit. Especially where the LP is concerned. (sarc)
Having spent the last five or more years publicly running down Labour at every opportunity, I was surprised to discover he was still a member…
I have no problem with cut and paste as log as you acknowledge the source in a footnote. Clare has only added footnotes because she was caught out.
The point is that was a stupid thing to do for someone who claims to be a communication expert.
It’s worse than that, the citations were all re-worded slightly, so trying to just say she forgot the footnotes is a load of shit.
Yep. If you take a quote from a source make sure that it’s actually in quotation marks and is sourced. It’s not that hard and both MS Word and LibreOffice have referencing systems and both can also export to PDF.
It amazes me that anyone wouldn’t know to do that unless they were trying to pretend it was their own work. I don’t know……… sigh.
chuckle…. but why not acknowledge. .. unless you claimed to have spent weeks on it instead of a day?
Facepalm. I mean, I like the Economist, but the overlap between political nerds and Economist readers is quite high.
So the Police are going to carry tasers at all times. Are they anticipating civil unrest??
compliance enforcement.
still late for any crime…..and no good for anything other then writing tickets, but at least they get to torture their compatriots.
Probably as it’s generally what happens when dictatorships oppress the poor to enrich the wealthy.
How could she?
Clare Curran has always been a lightweight. Good intentions, but too willing to make the easy hits without doing the real work required.
I really wish they’d give broadcasting to somebody who has a better handle on the problem than she has ever exhibited. Unfortunately Labour have never understood how important public broadcasting is to democracy.
+1 karen
This is a good, clearly expressed article on Greece, Europe and the neo-liberal project.
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/finance-vs-democracy-in-greece/
In reading this, and other similar pieces over the past few months, I have come to see why the adherents of neo-liberalism claim to reject ideology, and to be ideology-free themselves. Along with Plato’s Thrasymachus, they think that “justice is the will of the powerful,” and that this is just the way the world is. To do well, you must roll with the fact rather than fruitlessly beat your head against it. John Key and Paula Bennett, for example, very likely see things in just this light. However, when dissent breaks out around the edges of the “realist” view to which they are committed, they are forced to defend it as an ideology, whether or not they class it as one.
thanks for the link.
the nbr is suggesting that success is measure in millions. by that definition we are a nation of failures… minus a few people. such nonsense of a measure. however the growth of their wealth since gfc in stark comparrison to wages for middle class and lower shows something is wrong and it isnt just about working hard.
What’s happened to Greece over the last few years is probably the best proof we have that capitalism is anathema to democracy.
I agree. At least the Syriza government has robbed them of democracy as a fig leaf under which to operate. Their tyranny is now out in the open.
Wow, did you really do that? Blame Syriza for the undemocratic actions of the Troika in forcing austerity upon Greece?
The tyranny is from the private banks and others who want their pound of flesh.
Sorry – terrible wording, I was a bit tired and distracted at the time. I meant that in dealing with Syriza, who took democracy’s side against them, they were forced to show themselves for the tyrants they are.
absurdistan is us
http://www.metromag.co.nz/current-affairs/how-bizarre/
or maybe we wanna call it bizarro world 🙂
Planet Key?
Thanks Sabine. Brilliant work by Graham. Love the report on Mr Shaws speech to Parliament regarding our supporting in the Middle East,
“The Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill, which was passed in this House yesterday after several minutes of careful consideration and thoughtful debate… is designed to stop New Zealanders from going to fight for the Islamic State, which is fighting the Iraqi government, which we support. And we will shortly be sending the military over to help Iraq fight the Islamic State, which definitely will not have any New Zealanders fighting with them because we said so – yesterday.
“We also support Saudi Arabia, which also supports the Islamic State, which is fighting the government of Iraq, which we also support. The Middle East is a very supportive environment right now. Our military will feel well-supported when they get over there. I will tell this House whom we do not support, and that is President al-Assad in Syria. We do support some of the freedom fighters who are fighting against President al-Assad, who are primarily led by the Islamic State, but we do not support the Islamic State. We also do not support Iran, which also does not support the Islamic State, and which does support the government of Iraq, which we do support……”
GOLD
Realistically, NZ should stay far far away from the ME
James Shaw nailed it the other day
Hi bill, re focus group politcking:
i recently watched tony benn clip on weathercocks vs signposts.
How appropriate
This type of shit was prevalent amongst the rich and powerful of Rome just before its collapse as well:
In fact, there is much in that article that mirrors a lot of what is happening in today’s society especially the corruption and debauchery of the rich.
Have you read “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle” by Chris Hedges – Draco T Bastard? Fits nicely with what your saying.
“A culture that does not grasp the vital interplay between morality and power, which mistakes management techniques for wisdom, and fails to understand that the measure of a civilization is its compassion, not its speed or ability to consume, condemns itself to death.”
― Chris Hedges, Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
No, I have read that. Sounds like it’s something that I should get round to reading at some point.
Have = haven’t.
Thanks for the reference.
I see the media are hoeing into the “Future of Work” bu Labour, no surprises there then….
I see they are hoeing into Labour’s “Future of Work” in the media already, jealous maybe?
Labour’s future of work programme is well meaning, but wrong headed. Labour can’t even deal with today’s youth unemployment let alone that of the next 20 years. Climate change, immediate transition off fossil fuels, and caring/creative activities must be the centre points of the future of work.
Or maybe everyone can become web site designers.
Hong Kong protester gets 3 1/2 months jail for assaulting a police officer with her breasts. Video shows her being shoved to the ground and blood streaming from her nose. No word on whether or not the police officer is ok.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/70721000/woman-jailed-after-accusing-police-officer-of-groping-her-during-protest-in-hong-kong
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11490084
“there is no evidence of criminal offending”.
So that clears Cam on that count. One to Whaleoil.
Australia needs to get over its recession ‘temperament’ says NZ prime minister John Key
Nothing more needs to be said except that Key is telling Australia that they need more confidence and that we have growing confidence because economics is all about confidence.
The sound of music – I have confidence. It’s all we need – business is so rationally economic, or economically rational and yet they take confidence readings, news items abound with the feelings of business people. It would be funny if it wasn’t so… funny.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzs0oUUFWmM)
Oh dear oh dear,
The police are covering up for Slater. Claim he and Ede committed no offence when they hacked into Labour’s computer system. Slater’s going to demand an apology from Little.
Geez… I hope Little ridicules him and tells him where to get off in the strongest of language.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11490084
http://i.imgur.com/UCNKyMH.jpg
Looks like they put the same amount of effort into the letter as they put into the rest of the investigation.
Nicely sums it up.
I’ve read the police correspondence and can’t see how the police are “covering” for Slater ?
pretty strong claim there Anne, got any evidence to back it up??????
Your tin foil hat is slipping and the crazy is coming out.
Do you have any evidence AT ALL that the police are covering up for Slater?
No?
Thought not – thats simply being a liar.
Racism explodes in Australian football
The infamous racism that has stained Australia for more than two centuries has blown up over the last week. I commend anyone who is interested to read the following article from the ABC website. Interestingly, and legitimately, “leftrightout” in the comments section compares Adam Goodes’ theatricality to the New Zealand haka. Depressingly, however, a couple of ignorami (“Fincon” and “doikus”) reckon there is no comparison. …
Goodes’ war dance reveals our moral confusion
by MICHAEL BRADLEY, Thursday 30 July 2015
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-30/bradley-goodes-war-dance-reveals-our-moral-confusion/6657960
…. Certainly the serial booing of Goodes is racist and unjustifiable. The probability that most of the idiots doing it don’t have much idea why doesn’t excuse them.
As for those who have sought to defend the victimisation of Goodes, their principal rationale seems to be that his imaginary spear throwing was offensively violent, or that somehow this is all his fault. As Alan Jones explained it, people aren’t booing Goodes because he’s black, they’re booing him because he’s a sook. He just needs to stop playing the victim over tiddling matters like people calling him an ape. This reverse logic is just a fig leaf to cover the latent racism that always lies just under the Australian surface and which Goodes has managed to provoke out of hiding.
There is, however, an interesting conundrum here, for racists and anti-racists alike. Racism as a subject matter is actually a morass of confusion; morality, law, rights and emotions all mingled together in a mess that defies the drawing of distinct lines.
Goodes probably knew he’d get a reaction. He was probably tired of being told to go back in the zoo and worse, tired of being minimised and objectified because of his skin colour and heritage. So he chose to respond with a potent piece of physical symbolism, and he hit a raw nerve. Not many AFL supporters would know that Governor Arthur Phillip was speared in the shoulder and nearly died at Manly Beach in 1790. But they are unconsciously reflecting a collective cultural memory of White Australia that Aborigines weren’t supposed to fight back, as well as the dread of what could happen when they did. ….
Read more….
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-30/bradley-goodes-war-dance-reveals-our-moral-confusion/6657960
Effective immediately the management of this prison must be replaced by a private company. Heads must roll and ministers responsible for the department running this place should resign.
How does an inmate get a weapon into court ?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/70721140/inquiry-into-how-remand-prisoner-had-weapon-when-he-appeared-in-court