Vernon Small on what little the National Party and their private state service lapdogs have learned in the past 3 years. He quotes himself from 2014 and 2015:
“The ‘no surprises’ rule … is being stretched, distorted and subverted into something much worse that ought to worry the public and (then-State Services Commissioner Iain) Rennie.
No surprises has morphed into ‘no embarrassment’ and has reached the next stage of evolution – ‘how can we help you avoid embarrassment?’.
The next tentative steps on the journey are already being taken: ‘how we can help you overcome the Opposition?’ ”
A year later, in 2015, after some questionable use of the Official Information Act:
“This latest cluster-failure feeds the suspicion officials are less interested in merely adhering to the principle of ‘no surprises’ … but are distorting it into ‘no embarrassments’ and now into a proactive policy of political assistance by hiding information that could be damaging to the Government.
Given how close Farrar and Williams are to Seymour and how much they knew early, is it too far to suggest Seymour is the leaker? Under Small’s criteria for the leaker Seymour certainly qualifies as ‘no genius’.
Yeah, the smear spinners seem quite desperate in their search for any other source apart from some the likely National people being criminal arseholes playing dirty politics. It might highlight themselves too much eh?
Most implausible if you listen to the interview on RNZ. Unless, of course, Peters is a brilliant actor. If Peters had engineered the situation he would have gone in guns blazing, in high dudgeon, whereas the Peters in the interview was using weak humour to deflect his discomfort. Sorry, Incognito, not a runner. Especially after the reaction to Turei’s gambit.
The disclosure emphasises how old Peters is; that forms are complicated to him or he was setup, you choose which is worse, weak or senile; but I think worst of all it says something about lolly grabs. He took a pension he did not need, now sure he has every right, but it says he wants cash over the political ?casha? of not taking it.
I just think pensioners would want their vote to goto someone who was better.
Who has history for this behaviour? It is just a spalusible, using your low threshold, that having seen the polls, someone in National is ensuring that party will need a new leader soon… https://thestandard.org.nz/all-i-can-do-is-tell-the-truth/
I wish the media would stop repeating like a Buddhist mantra Labour is “weak on the economy” and “vulnerable on taxes” and tonight Jacinda has to compete with “experience and competence”.
These are basically National party talking points. Hosking will of course hammer on about them, in the fairest possible way if you ignore the completely tilted playing field he wants to start the game on.
In a sense, our medias obsession with the talking points of the cosy National, ACT, Banks and big business club and their collusion with the establishment is a perfect illustration of why they failed to detect (until it happened) the mood for change and why the don’t understand that for most Kiwis this election isn’t about tax cuts and “economic competence” (whatever that means) but about hosuing, health and growing inequality. This election isn’t about National party talking points, it is about other things completely.
Personally, if I were Jacinda every time Hosking says the “economy is going gangbusters” I’d ask if it was working for the homeless, people who can’t afford a first home, and those on low wages.
Personally paying down debt before you hand cash back to the family… ..the whole notion that our income reflects our exact value in a rational market is flaky cuckoo musings of fraudster bankers… …govt must target the general malaise growing for 30 years of inaction. National had 9 years… ..Nothing. even their ad has no houses in.
+1 and let her remind Bill Engli$h that he disinvested in Housing NZ, through taking dividends, at a time when unprecedented numbers are homeless and cannot access accommodation.
How long did it take him to reach that surplus, and at what price for Government debt?
“We live in a society which holds fast the belief that being a man makes you more rational, and being white makes you more intelligent, and being old entitles you to a public platform, and being rich proves you’re right about everything. We have a frankly religious attachment to Enlightenment thinking, raising “evidence” on a pedestal which cannot be challenged. It’s a virtue to not have ideology. “We’ll just do what works,” they nod seriously, from seats across the whole political spectrum.
Ardern has been seriously under estimated by, both National and the critics, she is way more than just a “pretty face”, she has provided hope and aspiration to those who wish for a “Brighter Future” for NZ, pardon the pun.
I expect that Ardern will put the likes of Hosking in his place, and we all know where that is.
Total Movements
Overall, a total of 15,382 cyclist movements4 were recorded across the 85 sites monitored in 2015. This figure represents a 19 per cent increase when compared with 2014 (12,877 movements).
Across the 60 sites monitored since the manual cycle monitor began in 2007, in 2015 cyclist movements have increased by 38 per cent.
Of the sites monitored in both 2014 and 2015, the average number of cycle movements in the region across the morning and evening periods has increased (181 per site in 2015, compared with 151 per site in 2014 – an increase of 20 per cent).
Its good to see to see that the rest of the world is getting some coverage on there NATURAL DISASTERS .
And the Muppet’s are leavening my elderly and vulnerable clients alone thanks to
THESTANDARD.
We need to help all the 3 world nations mitigate againts climate change the WEST OWE THIS TO THOSE NATION we no what has gone on for the last 200 years and what is still going on now see what Noam Chomsky has to say on this subject .
Lets talk about tax these businesses so they can claim asset deprecate and all the other expenses small businesses claim 20% of rent power rates or 20% of mortgage
repayments.
And Duncan is pissing in the wind moaning about business having to pay capital gains
tax now capital gains is a profit that no one is working hard for as one sleeps there assets gain capital when one is on holiday there assets gain capital .
So why are the Neo-liberal on news hub bashing this tax we no why because they don’t want
to shear there LOLLIES . They should shear there capital gains profit to help make New Zealand a = and fairer Society.
I do not mind paying more tax so labour can get all these vulnerable people off our streets and into warm healthy houses .
I see these people are gaining every week in my travels .We need more tax to pay to fix all the damage that NATIONAL have done to OUR SOCIETY.
One knows that it all ways cost more to fix something that is broken it is far cheaper to keep something MAINTAINED ESPECIALLY A SOCIETY .
Now come on Us kiwis dont mind paying more tax. Our Scandinavian cousins pay way more tax than we do and they have a much fairer Society
Yo, Emo. How old to your have to be to join the Masons?
Serious thoughts. Milking cows is great, but if I could develop my image, perhaps I could someday be a farm adviser.
…Such opinions are especially prevalent among NZ First supporters.
Thirty-six percent of them ticked Trump, while 29 per cent said the system of government is “completely broken”. And two thirds of NZ First supporters said that the government’s policies towards minorities are “too politically correct”, compared with 39 per cent of the survey sample as a whole.
(My bold)
So next time you hear some minority group member whinging about “political correctness” (which they probably are incapable of defining), ask them if they think minority groups get too much attention. 😈
Must agree, I don’t think it comes from govt policy. But on the other side of the coin, I can think of a few minority groups that get too much attention. There is limit to the benefits of political correctness. I can certainly understand Mohammed Ali explaining some race politics.
Eg. There is a point when the positive politics of feminism tips and becomes the negative politics of neo-feminism. Happens when one starts to generalise a negative aspect of masculinity across men as a group. Like the sun and the moon, male and female will always be. Or religion, there’s a labyrinth.
NZF isn’t my first choose, but they do have plenty of value for the next govt. Hope Labour/Green invite them to join from the start, to make a strong majority. Interesting how differently they can be interpreted, by different folk and different perspectives.
“There is a point when the positive politics of feminism tips and becomes the negative politics of neo-feminism. Happens when one starts to generalise a negative aspect of masculinity across men as a group. ” CoroDale 2017
“Femininity is depicted as weakness, the sapping of strength, yet masculinity is so fragile that apparently even the slightest brush with the feminine destroys it.”
― Gwen Sharp
“what saying “not all men” actually does –
refuses to acknowledge that gender violence happens too often
takes the focus off the men who are violent and/or misogynistic
refuses to acknowledge that even “good guys” can enable the problem
makes the conversation about men and semantics instead of the epidemic of levels of violence against women
what saying “not all men” does not do –
reveal a fascinating new insight we did not already know”
+1 Carolyn
Particularly this:
“refuses to acknowledge that even “good guys” can enable the problem”
I wish all those men who spend time berating women calling out sexism claiming “not all men” instead called out the men who engage in sexist and misogynist behaviour. In addition, they should maybe start listening to women for a change.
+1000 tracey We live in 2017 Women are our = not taken for granted or to be oppress by some dick head males . Most Women are more cautious they don’t do stupid shit like some men do they are more compassionate cares .
In a good family you need a good mother and father that treat each other as equals in my view to raze the children successfully.
And this is why I say that all our successful sports women should be payed and promoted by the media as role models for our girls to aspire to and have there confident s razed so we get more women in the top roles in our society so laws are made to benefit females as well as males laws made to benefit all people
not just the 1 %
I won’t respond to that dick head
+3 Some men take it personally and think that critiquing men as a class with privilege means all men are something. It misses the point and as pointed out, misdirects from the issues being raised.
The debate last night was rather robust. Not sure what Seymour was even doing there. Winston is pissed off as about the leak, and made that very clear. Joyce did the usual spin, Grant called him out on his crap, loved that.
James was a stand out again, Grant was fantastic, especially how he handled questions from the blue electorate. Good work.
Gower was pretty good as moderator, but he did let Seymour take plenty of wise cracks at winston about his age, which in my opinion was not warranted.
Tonight 7pm on tvnz the Red Princess will go up against Boring Bill, my eldest is thrilled about the air time, she will be able to watch it. She doesn’t know about Hosking and his bias and attitude, I’ll keep quiet about it as I’m interested in her reaction and assessment.
Cinny
Thanks for linking these reminders about debate times, it is easy for people who don’t watch television to forget about them. I found the camera movement hard to take and only saw part of it, so can’t give a real overview – Bradbury has his assessment over on TDB:
Maybe it was just the portions I watched, but I thought Gower had little control over the barracking (particulary from Joyce) while others were talking which is more a feature of parliamentary than televised debates. Others seem to think he did a good job though, and I assume they watchedthe whole thing.
One thing I’d observe is that the speeches can’t really be compared directly to one another, as it wasn’t really about winning the room over. Each participant was effectively addressing a different portion of the electorate and their success has to be assessed at how well they did in the task they set out to do. I thought Peters did better than Bradbury suggests, and Seymour worse. Joyce he seems spot on about; “smooth as silk and as confident as a porn star at a pissing contest… if you had only been listening for him you would believe all is well in NZ and that we don’t realise how lucky we are”. I’d been thinking of how he reminded me of one of the late great John Clarke’s parodies myself while watching it.
Hosking already showing his ghastly sexist approach by asking Jacinta what she’ll be wearing tonight.
Jacinda asked whether he’ll ask English the same question.
Hosking is a Neanderthal unfit to moderate a 21st century political debate.
Yep Cinny, ably assisted by TVNZ’s celebrity willy sucking management , Newsdorks ZB and those wankers at the Herald who are so thick they thought Jacinda was joking when she said she wanted English treated in the same demeaning manner as she was.
the sicko has probably been having a party in his pants thinking about it. it’s like, if she had answered by describing her choice of garment would it go on to, yeah you would look good in that.. dirty old boys network.
would be interesting to find out how frequent that kind of question has been in the past.
You got that right Cinny Mike is so thick he has not worked out that everything he does can be read like the chauvinistic dick head he is.
He is not the sort of male role model that TV NZ should be displaying to our boys.
Not worried about presenting herself in the best possible light, make up, photo shoots etc etc
Theres nothing wrong with that but it does open the doors to questions about fashion although the questioning did seem light hearted
Ardern said she’d started considering colour schemes yesterday, before questioning the broadcaster whether he’d be asking English the same question.
“Are you asking Bill that question too?
“I want it framed in exactly the same way,” she joked.
Hosking assured Ardern he would be, saying there would be “balance up the wazoo”.
After the interview English was asked by reporters what he would wear for tonight’s debate and said: “I’m going to wear a suit and tie. It might be a new tie, yes it will be a new tie, not a new suit.”
Well he was the one who compared the Green Party shambles to the Jacobins wasn’t he? http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2017/08/have-greens-entered-their-jacobin-phase.html
That seems to have turned out to be a rather accurate prediction so perhaps so will the one you are putting forward.
Somehow I doubt it though. Chris is getting a bit hyperbolic as he sees his dream of the red dawn fading away into a blue sky.
Pat: Last night in Queenstown Winston accused Joyce of promoting the Super story to those National Party people on the Saturday night and/or at the NP launch.
Hence on Daily Blog:
“@KD Try Joyce , he was shopping the story all over the place on Saturday , plenty of witnesses .”
Interesting read, I saw that indicator too Ian, but then I scrolled back up and re read Trotters post and this bit here stands out for me.
“The most damning of these involved the deliberate leaking of confidential information about a senior politician’s financial affairs as part of a broader “strategy of distraction”. Equally shocking was the discovery that an alarming number of public servants had aided and abetted the Government’s strategy.”
Just wanted to stress that the Barclay scandal is dirty as. But maybe that isn’t it either..
Well styles makes fights as they say so can Jacinda prove shes more that just a collection of one liners, can Bill get whats in his brain out of his mouth in a way that doesn’t bore people to death
Not too sure about winning/losing debates millsy. Demonstrate confidence and willingness to find out along with clarity and conciseness.
Just hope Jacinda does well. No doubt there will be some tricky economic/monetary questions well suited to Bill but of course he tends to go on and on and on and on (like Joyce) so may loose his audience.
Who would write this?
“The expectations of a knock-out performance by her will be low, given she has been leader for just over four weeks. She will be considered a success if she comes away looking half-way competent and able to foot it with English. She has an advantage over him in that the camera loves her and she is instantly likeable.”
by Audrey National Young. Almost fair? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11914406
Mean while, it would appear that the USA state roles on. Who cares how many priests get murdered, who cares how many women, how many innocence, as long as the all mighty dollar is in play.
The Canary has a interesting and horrifying article about Australia’s concentration camps, the damage they are doing and how some Australians are making a stand.
400 men, women and children were flown to Australia from the offshore refugee camps on Nauru and Manus Island (Papua New Guinea). Some due to serious illness; others who were victims of rape or serious assault. All needed medical attention.
Daniel Webb of the Human Rights Law Centre explained:
We’re talking about women who were sexually assaulted on Nauru. Men who were violently attacked on Manus. Children who were so traumatised by offshore detention that they needed urgent psychiatric care in Australia.
But now, the Australian government has announced that all 400 are to be returned to Nauru or Manus. And the first stage of this process will see 100 men and women issued with a final departure bridging visa. In the meantime, they are to be deprived of all resources – housing, financial, and other support.
Peter Dutton should have New Zealand Citizenship Instantaneously and irrevocably conferred upon him.
He is an evil man – but this would remove him from office and hopefully a more humane human being would take over as Minister for Aussie Immigration.
This sort of stuff has been happening in Australia for more than a century. So much so that it seems to be a part of their country’s culture. So, changing from one Australian to another doesn’t really seem to be an answer.
Making him a NZ citizen is waayyyyyyyy to good for him, interestingly, he will replace Turnbull if the polls continue negatively for him, so far 18 consecutive negative polls for Turnbull, and sliding, the man is NO leader.
Boosting private charity to provide core services. This poor law mentality is disgusting. Even the language is foul. Providing “beds”. They think “beds” is the answer. They are greedy evil fucks who deserve the fucking worst.
I wondered how they can proudly promote rapid and last minute expansion of emergency social services five minutes before and election as an example of a government ‘delivering for New Zealanders’.
‘Homelessness will not be solved by building private homes for sale or for rent. Good quality, supported accommodation needs to be delivered as part of new developments. It needs to be a fundamental part of the planning process and not an afterthought when all the main planning decisions have been made.
When considering development councils must consider the role of temporary and supported housing. We need decent temporary accommodation for single homeless people.’
If Twyford said they were both good ideas then heaven fucking help us. The belief that private charity is a legitimate means for providing for the poor is a most despicable concept imaginable. I remember National in the 1990s together with the BRT brought a right-wing English academic out to NZ to talk about reintroducing poor law based welfare in this country. If Labour doesn’t understand how fundamentally wrong this is then not only is it completely ignorant of its own history as a party but it’s clear that they haven’t got a fucking clue. This is so fucking angering.
From the article you yourself gave us, Chris
“”It’s been our policy for ages to support Housing First as a very successful strategy to deal with chronic homelessness and rough sleepers. But it’s not a good solution to the explosion of people who cannot find affordable rental housing.”
He supported the Auckland City Mission funding too but noted that it wouldn’t deliver any new beds until at least 2020, when they were needed immediately.
Twyford.
Who should provide this support is less important than that it should be provided-and now. State, local authorities, City Mission, whoever.
Chris, would you curse Mother Theresa for being a private charity.
The real evil is that not enough is being provided, surely?
Charity has been around for centuries. There’s always going to be people who need it. Jesus giving the cup of water etc. It’s when it’s regarded as the main way for certain groups to have basic needs met. That’s not participation. Why do you think England and New Zealand replaced the Poor Laws with rights-based access to social security? And no, I’m not necessarily cursing the charities, but it’s certainly naive to think that setting up places with access to “beds” is going to be a temporary thing while things are being done to “fix the housing crisis”. This government is quite happy to see charity-based responses to social problems become the norm and firmly entrenched into mainstream institutions.
Chris + 100 we no that most of the Private Charity funds are used up by there management I.E CEO wages $100.000 ect the government is the organisation
that has to provide for the needs for the vulnerable and not some Charity that is only going to spend half the funds on the vulnerable and the rest on paper pushers .
It is well documented that world aid ect that only 40% of the funds got to the people that need it WTF Gemmon
They probably think Workhouses are enlightenment. Plenty of work the homeless could do, generating electricity on a tredmill, picking tow from old ropes, collecting wool from barbed wire fences, the possibilities for turning a profit from hopelessness are endless.
“Housing First is a wrap-around service that focuses on individual need rather than a one-size-fits all approach. Independent research shows 80 per cent of people who receive the service retain their housing.”
Is nobody but me bothered that this means 1 in 5 DON’T retain their housing? Seems shocking.
A proportion of those living on the streets are very badly damaged and dysfunctional.
If the number of those living on the street can be reduced by 80% I’ll happily take that as a bloody good start.
“We are a socially liberal and economically rational political party focused on securing a better deal for future generations. Give your list vote to UnitedFuture in 2017 and help us become an even more influential support partner to the next government.”
I’m assuming he is still being paid up until such point as he is no longer an MP.
What a self serving shit head. Worm chaser. In his own words…
“strutting earnest ways and the egregious ever-so-keen-to-please and not offend tones….. the absolute worst of politicians focused on nothing more than their own promotion”
He is paid until election day. he took a few weeks off (although he and some of his rabid supporters claimed he was around – even though the media couldn’t find him) . I think they appointed a clone in his place. There is no shortage of young white men to enter parliament for the nats.
Yet these days business has grown complex, super-fast, and hyper-connected. And in this world, top performers may actually be doing more to hurt innovation than helping it.
Unfortunately, many leaders, still employing an industrial-era mindset, aren’t able to recognize this. They can’t see that innovation no longer comes from innovative individuals. As the best companies are now showing us, it comes from innovative cultures.
Thus, innovation–once the exclusive domain of elite problem-solvers–is now a collaborative process involving many.
For many organizations the impact of this shift has been monumental. For instance, David Weinberger has pointed out that “as knowledge becomes networked, the smartest person in the room…is the room itself.”
That can be applied to a nation as well. If we want an innovative nation then we need to build a culture of innovation. And because the the information is diverse and spread across many fields we need to build that up as a culture of cooperation and sharing.
In other words, we need to be doing the exact opposite of what our governments have been doing as they built up privatisation and increased restrictions on ‘intellectual property’.
I’m still wondering how competition (Unless it racing of some form or Medical Research) helps research when most research conducted is a long term not some quick fix solution as its all trail and error. As we say at work “you’re got crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run.”
When one looks on DSIR it was surly amazing organisation that only talk and work with the private sector, but also other Government Depts as well such as the former MoW, the former Forestry Dept, MoD including the other Services, All the universities and the Technical collages etc.
Then have you the Female and Blokes working in their shed out of the house or in the case of my great grandfather at the family run co-op coal mine and the list of notable’s is very long and famous.
Another right wing grumpy old man (Neville Gibson?) blathering on ignorantly about the issues. Climate change and homelessness only an issue because the media mention them, according to him and governments cannot do little about them.
Honestly.
Why are fools like him on the show?
Things that come to bite you on the bum…..
Two weeks ago Trump Scraped the Obama-Era Rule To Protect Infrastructure From Climate-Change Flooding. This required federal, state, and local agencies to take steps to protect infrastructure from flooding caused by climate change. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-executive-order-flooding_us_599323d4e4b04b193360926b
Meanwhile…
House Republicans want to cut almost $1 billion from FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which only has $2.3 billion remaining in its budget. Trump, meanwhile, is promising billions to help Texas rebuild from Harvey-caused flooding. The $876 million cut pays for roughly half the cost of Trump’s down payment on the border wall
And…
Trump tweeted that he intentionally understaffed FEMA in order to shrink the federal government. His tweet came in response to a critical Fox and Friends segment where Laura Ingraham said the damage and flooding in Texas from Hurricane Harvey is proof that the Trump administration needs to be fully staffed. Of the 591 key positions that require Senate confirmation, just 117 have been filled. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/29/trump-shrink-government-laura-ingraham-242128
But no worries…
It’s all due to a Hoax perpetuated by China.
Why are the crucial questions about Hurricane Harvey not being asked?
George Monbiot
“It is not only Donald Trump’s government that censors the discussion of climate change; it is the entire body of polite opinion. This is why, though the links are clear and obvious, most reports on Hurricane Harvey have made no mention of the human contribution to it.
In 2016 the US elected a president who believes that human-driven global warming is a hoax. It was the hottest year on record, in which the US was hammered by a series of climate-related disasters. Yet the total combined coverage for the entire year on the evening and Sunday news programmes on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News amounted to 50 minutes. Our greatest predicament, the issue that will define our lives, has been blotted from the public’s mind…..’
The whole article is worth a thread.
I have included excerpts.
‘Bill English fiddles whilst the world burns: our Prime Climate Change Denier
There will be one moment of mismanagement by Bill English this election that will be studied and debated in the future. That moment is neither Todd Barclay’s alleged workplace bullying nor the leaks of Winston Peters’ superannuation over-payment. That moment was captured in his Radio New Zealand interview on 28 August 2017; when he was challenged on his past dismissal of climate change as policy for the ‘elite,’ he doubled down, asserting that:
“well, as a day to day concern, I don’t think people are getting out of bed in the morning saying, look, the most important thing that happens today is that the climate changes…”
This moment will be studied as a recorded example of Bill English misunderstanding climate change; he sees it as a political issue, rather than a survival issue.
I wonder what Bill does think about when he wakes up? What radio station plays to start his day? I didn’t pick him for the Rock. I’d be surprised if its not Radio New Zealand, the AM Show and/or Breakfast before he goes for his walk run. If it’s any of those three, I wonder how he cannot think of climate change.
On the very day that Bill English was interviewed, even our mainstream media was covering the unfolding humanitarian and environmental disaster in Texas and America’s fourth largest city, Houston from Hurricane Harvey. As of today, that state has had 15 trillion litres of rain; you can fill all of the NFL and college stadiums in Texas to the brim one hundred times over. The numbers of dead are climbing, and the displaced from Houston are now displacing the displaced from Corpus Christi who are looking for refuge centres further afield………
On the very day that Bill English was interviewed, one third of the entire country of Bangladesh is underwater. At least 1,200 have died from flooding in Nepal, Bangladesh and India. Seventeen million people have been affected by the flooding in India, with thousands of villages cut off from food and clean water. Ninety thousand homes have been washed away in Nepal……
..Bill English may not wake up thinking about climate change. But that is not a virtue nor indicative of a sober, realistic mindset. It is the statement of a deluded, self-serving man who is no leader for New Zealand. All he has confirmed is that he and his colleagues are a danger to the future of our country. Never trust the ones who say “peace, peace,” when all about us is evidence of war and danger. Change is upon us.’
ED I was going to say he would be thinking about how much he was going to get from the next clip but that is a insult to our farmers . So I say hes thinking I AM PRIME MINISTER and any other topic just goes way over his head.LOL
And after tonight’s polls he probably still thinks National can hold on to that slippery pole of power
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On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
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Vernon Small on what little the National Party and their private state service lapdogs have learned in the past 3 years. He quotes himself from 2014 and 2015:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/96306749/peters-pension-saga-delivers-embarrassed-government-no-surprises-there
Given how close Farrar and Williams are to Seymour and how much they knew early, is it too far to suggest Seymour is the leaker? Under Small’s criteria for the leaker Seymour certainly qualifies as ‘no genius’.
I think it is possible and even plausible that Peters is the ‘leaker’, as I have explained before.
It has given him a huge platform (and moral high ground) to run the election campaign of his life.
We’ll see who is coming out smelling of roses but so far Peters is doing extremely well out of it …
That does not sound credible to me Incognito. Sounds like a deflection. Wonder why you would?
Only a few days ago farrar and Hooton were gossiping about a green party sympathising data operator… now it is Peters himself!
Yeah, the smear spinners seem quite desperate in their search for any other source apart from some the likely National people being criminal arseholes playing dirty politics. It might highlight themselves too much eh?
Most implausible if you listen to the interview on RNZ. Unless, of course, Peters is a brilliant actor. If Peters had engineered the situation he would have gone in guns blazing, in high dudgeon, whereas the Peters in the interview was using weak humour to deflect his discomfort. Sorry, Incognito, not a runner. Especially after the reaction to Turei’s gambit.
The disclosure emphasises how old Peters is; that forms are complicated to him or he was setup, you choose which is worse, weak or senile; but I think worst of all it says something about lolly grabs. He took a pension he did not need, now sure he has every right, but it says he wants cash over the political ?casha? of not taking it.
I just think pensioners would want their vote to goto someone who was better.
Who has history for this behaviour? It is just a spalusible, using your low threshold, that having seen the polls, someone in National is ensuring that party will need a new leader soon…
https://thestandard.org.nz/all-i-can-do-is-tell-the-truth/
I wish the media would stop repeating like a Buddhist mantra Labour is “weak on the economy” and “vulnerable on taxes” and tonight Jacinda has to compete with “experience and competence”.
These are basically National party talking points. Hosking will of course hammer on about them, in the fairest possible way if you ignore the completely tilted playing field he wants to start the game on.
In a sense, our medias obsession with the talking points of the cosy National, ACT, Banks and big business club and their collusion with the establishment is a perfect illustration of why they failed to detect (until it happened) the mood for change and why the don’t understand that for most Kiwis this election isn’t about tax cuts and “economic competence” (whatever that means) but about hosuing, health and growing inequality. This election isn’t about National party talking points, it is about other things completely.
Personally, if I were Jacinda every time Hosking says the “economy is going gangbusters” I’d ask if it was working for the homeless, people who can’t afford a first home, and those on low wages.
Just quote the debt nationals been racking up to defeat the competent BS and the slashing in health etc they’ve done alongside that.
Personally paying down debt before you hand cash back to the family… ..the whole notion that our income reflects our exact value in a rational market is flaky cuckoo musings of fraudster bankers… …govt must target the general malaise growing for 30 years of inaction. National had 9 years… ..Nothing. even their ad has no houses in.
+1 and let her remind Bill Engli$h that he disinvested in Housing NZ, through taking dividends, at a time when unprecedented numbers are homeless and cannot access accommodation.
How long did it take him to reach that surplus, and at what price for Government debt?
“We live in a society which holds fast the belief that being a man makes you more rational, and being white makes you more intelligent, and being old entitles you to a public platform, and being rich proves you’re right about everything. We have a frankly religious attachment to Enlightenment thinking, raising “evidence” on a pedestal which cannot be challenged. It’s a virtue to not have ideology. “We’ll just do what works,” they nod seriously, from seats across the whole political spectrum.
Yet that is not how the world is.”
https://bootstheory.wordpress.com/2017/08/24/the-evidence-gareth-morgan-doesnt-want-to-see/
Ardern has been seriously under estimated by, both National and the critics, she is way more than just a “pretty face”, she has provided hope and aspiration to those who wish for a “Brighter Future” for NZ, pardon the pun.
I expect that Ardern will put the likes of Hosking in his place, and we all know where that is.
Build it and they will come. Guess what, people actually like trains, especially electric ones!
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/08/aucklanders-taking-20-million-train-trips-a-year.html
They like bicycles as well:
Its good to see to see that the rest of the world is getting some coverage on there NATURAL DISASTERS .
And the Muppet’s are leavening my elderly and vulnerable clients alone thanks to
THESTANDARD.
We need to help all the 3 world nations mitigate againts climate change the WEST OWE THIS TO THOSE NATION we no what has gone on for the last 200 years and what is still going on now see what Noam Chomsky has to say on this subject .
Lets talk about tax these businesses so they can claim asset deprecate and all the other expenses small businesses claim 20% of rent power rates or 20% of mortgage
repayments.
And Duncan is pissing in the wind moaning about business having to pay capital gains
tax now capital gains is a profit that no one is working hard for as one sleeps there assets gain capital when one is on holiday there assets gain capital .
So why are the Neo-liberal on news hub bashing this tax we no why because they don’t want
to shear there LOLLIES . They should shear there capital gains profit to help make New Zealand a = and fairer Society.
I do not mind paying more tax so labour can get all these vulnerable people off our streets and into warm healthy houses .
I see these people are gaining every week in my travels .We need more tax to pay to fix all the damage that NATIONAL have done to OUR SOCIETY.
One knows that it all ways cost more to fix something that is broken it is far cheaper to keep something MAINTAINED ESPECIALLY A SOCIETY .
Now come on Us kiwis dont mind paying more tax. Our Scandinavian cousins pay way more tax than we do and they have a much fairer Society
Man Duncan is kissing his own ASS he must be questing his IMAGE he will be able to change that when National slip out of power
Yo, Emo. How old to your have to be to join the Masons?
Serious thoughts. Milking cows is great, but if I could develop my image, perhaps I could someday be a farm adviser.
Some encouraging snippets in one of Stuff’s surveys…
(My bold)
So next time you hear some minority group member whinging about “political correctness” (which they probably are incapable of defining), ask them if they think minority groups get too much attention. 😈
Must agree, I don’t think it comes from govt policy. But on the other side of the coin, I can think of a few minority groups that get too much attention. There is limit to the benefits of political correctness. I can certainly understand Mohammed Ali explaining some race politics.
Eg. There is a point when the positive politics of feminism tips and becomes the negative politics of neo-feminism. Happens when one starts to generalise a negative aspect of masculinity across men as a group. Like the sun and the moon, male and female will always be. Or religion, there’s a labyrinth.
NZF isn’t my first choose, but they do have plenty of value for the next govt. Hope Labour/Green invite them to join from the start, to make a strong majority. Interesting how differently they can be interpreted, by different folk and different perspectives.
Mohammed Ali/Μοχάμεντ Ali, “I love my racial identity, I want my children to look like me.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcWzwwnHAMI
“There is a point when the positive politics of feminism tips and becomes the negative politics of neo-feminism. Happens when one starts to generalise a negative aspect of masculinity across men as a group. ” CoroDale 2017
“Femininity is depicted as weakness, the sapping of strength, yet masculinity is so fragile that apparently even the slightest brush with the feminine destroys it.”
― Gwen Sharp
“what saying “not all men” actually does –
refuses to acknowledge that gender violence happens too often
takes the focus off the men who are violent and/or misogynistic
refuses to acknowledge that even “good guys” can enable the problem
makes the conversation about men and semantics instead of the epidemic of levels of violence against women
what saying “not all men” does not do –
reveal a fascinating new insight we did not already know”
laci green
+1 Carolyn
Particularly this:
“refuses to acknowledge that even “good guys” can enable the problem”
I wish all those men who spend time berating women calling out sexism claiming “not all men” instead called out the men who engage in sexist and misogynist behaviour. In addition, they should maybe start listening to women for a change.
+1000 tracey We live in 2017 Women are our = not taken for granted or to be oppress by some dick head males . Most Women are more cautious they don’t do stupid shit like some men do they are more compassionate cares .
In a good family you need a good mother and father that treat each other as equals in my view to raze the children successfully.
And this is why I say that all our successful sports women should be payed and promoted by the media as role models for our girls to aspire to and have there confident s razed so we get more women in the top roles in our society so laws are made to benefit females as well as males laws made to benefit all people
not just the 1 %
I won’t respond to that dick head
+3 Some men take it personally and think that critiquing men as a class with privilege means all men are something. It misses the point and as pointed out, misdirects from the issues being raised.
The debate last night was rather robust. Not sure what Seymour was even doing there. Winston is pissed off as about the leak, and made that very clear. Joyce did the usual spin, Grant called him out on his crap, loved that.
James was a stand out again, Grant was fantastic, especially how he handled questions from the blue electorate. Good work.
Gower was pretty good as moderator, but he did let Seymour take plenty of wise cracks at winston about his age, which in my opinion was not warranted.
Tonight 7pm on tvnz the Red Princess will go up against Boring Bill, my eldest is thrilled about the air time, she will be able to watch it. She doesn’t know about Hosking and his bias and attitude, I’ll keep quiet about it as I’m interested in her reaction and assessment.
And another poll will be released later today.
If you missed last nights debate here is a link to watch it
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/decision-17-livestream-the-asb-great-finance-debate.html
It’s all on like donkey kong. This is the most exciting election I’ve ever seen.
0.4% of the electorate vote and invited.
Another spokesperson for the 0.4% party gets a platform.
Amazing what happens when you are prepared to shill for the uber elite.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11914232
Red Princess…I like it!
Winston won’t deliver, he’s got one term to build a rail line to Northport. Ain’t happening.
Cinny
Thanks for linking these reminders about debate times, it is easy for people who don’t watch television to forget about them. I found the camera movement hard to take and only saw part of it, so can’t give a real overview – Bradbury has his assessment over on TDB:
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/08/31/the-finance-leaders-political-debate-james-shaw-clear-winner/
Maybe it was just the portions I watched, but I thought Gower had little control over the barracking (particulary from Joyce) while others were talking which is more a feature of parliamentary than televised debates. Others seem to think he did a good job though, and I assume they watchedthe whole thing.
One thing I’d observe is that the speeches can’t really be compared directly to one another, as it wasn’t really about winning the room over. Each participant was effectively addressing a different portion of the electorate and their success has to be assessed at how well they did in the task they set out to do. I thought Peters did better than Bradbury suggests, and Seymour worse. Joyce he seems spot on about; “smooth as silk and as confident as a porn star at a pissing contest… if you had only been listening for him you would believe all is well in NZ and that we don’t realise how lucky we are”. I’d been thinking of how he reminded me of one of the late great John Clarke’s parodies myself while watching it.
Where was the Maori Party?
Have to say it again, the more I see Shaw the more impressed I am. I reckon he could eat the lot of them for lunch.
Yes Shaw got a good IQ weka
Hosking already showing his ghastly sexist approach by asking Jacinta what she’ll be wearing tonight.
Jacinda asked whether he’ll ask English the same question.
Hosking is a Neanderthal unfit to moderate a 21st century political debate.
Fire the TVNZ board.
Boycott their advertisers.
Ewwwwwwwwww what a creepy pervert
Yep Cinny, ably assisted by TVNZ’s celebrity willy sucking management , Newsdorks ZB and those wankers at the Herald who are so thick they thought Jacinda was joking when she said she wanted English treated in the same demeaning manner as she was.
Yes his behaviour is endorsed and encouraged by those boards.
the sicko has probably been having a party in his pants thinking about it. it’s like, if she had answered by describing her choice of garment would it go on to, yeah you would look good in that.. dirty old boys network.
would be interesting to find out how frequent that kind of question has been in the past.
You got that right Cinny Mike is so thick he has not worked out that everything he does can be read like the chauvinistic dick head he is.
He is not the sort of male role model that TV NZ should be displaying to our boys.
Why not, shes shown in the past shes not worried about that kind of thing
https://static2.stuff.co.nz/1267862442/078/3414078.jpg
http://d3lp4xedbqa8a5.cloudfront.net/s3/digital-cougar-assets/nzww/2015/07/24/post-97942/P_Jacinda4.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7DqbpZ3ISKU/VahFi1wcVCI/AAAAAAAAKYo/Y-vvQMUOis0/s1600/Jacinda1509187_867606473275719_3213297850476094987_n.jpg
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/jacindaarden_152c5456_mx.300jpg_187urki-187urqn.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7DqbpZ3ISKU/VahFi1wcVCI/AAAAAAAAKYo/Y-vvQMUOis0/s1600/Jacinda1509187_867606473275719_3213297850476094987_n.jpg
I agree some questions shouldn’t be asked of politicians unless the politician brings it up themselves
Also ignore the double up of pics
Not worried about what kind of thing Dirk? Wearing clothes?
Not worried about presenting herself in the best possible light, make up, photo shoots etc etc
Theres nothing wrong with that but it does open the doors to questions about fashion although the questioning did seem light hearted
Ardern said she’d started considering colour schemes yesterday, before questioning the broadcaster whether he’d be asking English the same question.
“Are you asking Bill that question too?
“I want it framed in exactly the same way,” she joked.
Hosking assured Ardern he would be, saying there would be “balance up the wazoo”.
After the interview English was asked by reporters what he would wear for tonight’s debate and said: “I’m going to wear a suit and tie. It might be a new tie, yes it will be a new tie, not a new suit.”
The tie that looks like a pizza slice?
Or perhaps he’ll wear an albatross around his neck – his “Toddy” tie.
[lprent: How about logging in and reducing the moderators workload. We have to release your comments from automoderation. ]
I’d suggest no tie and his shirt open to the waist, get some sex appeal going
Why not – he certainly has nothing else to offer.
My apologies! Done. And thank you for going to the trouble.
You don’t want to see Blinglish’s chest. One of my brothers was at St Pats with him and says he had a very hollow chest.
Not just his chest….
What’s your bro got against hollow chests? He hasn’t bought into some outmoded stereotype of masculinity has he?
Going for the ladies vote:
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-10-at-7.26.59-PM-600×565.png
“presenting herself in the best possible light, make up, photo shoots ”
…opens herself up?
And if she wore nothing?
Would probably get Waitakere Man back on board I’d say
Do you ever read your posts before you hit submit?
Depends on how busy I am at work 🙂
She’s a stylist and fashion designers dream to dress up.
Normal transmission resumed!
Hosking is so vain he’s probably worried Ardern might outshine him.
Hosking is unfit to be on national television.
Considering that he is we therefore have to assume that those who are running it are unfit to do so.
+1
I get the impression the public broadcaster will see some significant changes after the election, maybe return it to a public broadcaster.
I see their profit just plummetted by 85%
Not even Hosking can save them from being run down by the government.
Cover up.
Second Climate Change Report Withheld By Government
Paula Bennett failing to do her job again.
Not delivering for New Zealanders.
https://teggtalk.wordpress.com/2017/08/30/second-climate-change-report-withheld-by-government/amp/
Not releasing a report until post election, reeks of a coverup. Our species depends on the climate
Thanks for the link
Ardern will be on this pronto. Afterall it is the Nuclear issue of our times.
Not to worry ED Bennett will be warming the opposition seats very soon
When they decide to give Wayne Eagleson a knighthood, will the information be leaked before the embargoed date?
He certainly crops up a lot in the incidents which are driving the increase in government and public sector corruption in NZ.
Yup
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/08/30/tales-from-a-possible-future-the-mother-of-all-scandals-breaks/
Fiction?….or prophetic?
Well he was the one who compared the Green Party shambles to the Jacobins wasn’t he?
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2017/08/have-greens-entered-their-jacobin-phase.html
That seems to have turned out to be a rather accurate prediction so perhaps so will the one you are putting forward.
Somehow I doubt it though. Chris is getting a bit hyperbolic as he sees his dream of the red dawn fading away into a blue sky.
Pat: Last night in Queenstown Winston accused Joyce of promoting the Super story to those National Party people on the Saturday night and/or at the NP launch.
Hence on Daily Blog:
“@KD Try Joyce , he was shopping the story all over the place on Saturday , plenty of witnesses .”
promoting which angle of the super story?…the Trotter version or the Hooten (original) version?…or something else?
Interesting read, I saw that indicator too Ian, but then I scrolled back up and re read Trotters post and this bit here stands out for me.
“The most damning of these involved the deliberate leaking of confidential information about a senior politician’s financial affairs as part of a broader “strategy of distraction”. Equally shocking was the discovery that an alarming number of public servants had aided and abetted the Government’s strategy.”
Just wanted to stress that the Barclay scandal is dirty as. But maybe that isn’t it either..
Certainly prophetic, but accurately predictive? weshallsee.
Jacinda needs to win these debates. No ifs, buts or maybes. Starting with the first tonight,
If Jacinda wins the debate (as agreed by most), this debate, Labour will take the election
All the pressure is on the 2-time anti-Midas, taking an enormous dump on Key’s entire 9 years of electoral capital, and setting it on fire.
How to make a small political party: give a big political party to Bill English and wait a week.
Well styles makes fights as they say so can Jacinda prove shes more that just a collection of one liners, can Bill get whats in his brain out of his mouth in a way that doesn’t bore people to death
Lets get it on!
John Key dumped on his own political capital. Eight years of arguably unprecedented popularity… and did sweet fuck all with it.
But yeah… all the pressure is on English.
Not too sure about winning/losing debates millsy. Demonstrate confidence and willingness to find out along with clarity and conciseness.
Just hope Jacinda does well. No doubt there will be some tricky economic/monetary questions well suited to Bill but of course he tends to go on and on and on and on (like Joyce) so may loose his audience.
Who would write this?
“The expectations of a knock-out performance by her will be low, given she has been leader for just over four weeks. She will be considered a success if she comes away looking half-way competent and able to foot it with English. She has an advantage over him in that the camera loves her and she is instantly likeable.”
by Audrey National Young. Almost fair?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11914406
Jacinda will win the debates 🙂 Unless James is there, he is kicking arse on the debating front have been super impressed with him.
Mean while, it would appear that the USA state roles on. Who cares how many priests get murdered, who cares how many women, how many innocence, as long as the all mighty dollar is in play.
The Canary has a interesting and horrifying article about Australia’s concentration camps, the damage they are doing and how some Australians are making a stand.
400 men, women and children were flown to Australia from the offshore refugee camps on Nauru and Manus Island (Papua New Guinea). Some due to serious illness; others who were victims of rape or serious assault. All needed medical attention.
Daniel Webb of the Human Rights Law Centre explained:
We’re talking about women who were sexually assaulted on Nauru. Men who were violently attacked on Manus. Children who were so traumatised by offshore detention that they needed urgent psychiatric care in Australia.
But now, the Australian government has announced that all 400 are to be returned to Nauru or Manus. And the first stage of this process will see 100 men and women issued with a final departure bridging visa. In the meantime, they are to be deprived of all resources – housing, financial, and other support.
https://www.thecanary.co/2017/08/29/army-citizens-takes-stand-modern-day-concentration-camps-tweets/
Good. God!!
Peter Dutton should have New Zealand Citizenship Instantaneously and irrevocably conferred upon him.
He is an evil man – but this would remove him from office and hopefully a more humane human being would take over as Minister for Aussie Immigration.
This sort of stuff has been happening in Australia for more than a century. So much so that it seems to be a part of their country’s culture. So, changing from one Australian to another doesn’t really seem to be an answer.
You’re absolutely right Draco, but IMO Dutton is the most sadistic bastard in a long line. He has taken the abuse of others to extreme.
Making him a NZ citizen is waayyyyyyyy to good for him, interestingly, he will replace Turnbull if the polls continue negatively for him, so far 18 consecutive negative polls for Turnbull, and sliding, the man is NO leader.
This is sickening:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96344311/government-pledges-two-funding-boosts-to-combat-homelessness
Boosting private charity to provide core services. This poor law mentality is disgusting. Even the language is foul. Providing “beds”. They think “beds” is the answer. They are greedy evil fucks who deserve the fucking worst.
I wondered how they can proudly promote rapid and last minute expansion of emergency social services five minutes before and election as an example of a government ‘delivering for New Zealanders’.
Methinks they have to nights poll result fed to them already.
If that’s the case then they truely are desperate.
Charities can’t be expected to solve homeless crisis
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/charities-cant-be-expected-to-solve-homeless-crisis-higgins-31598077.html
‘Homelessness will not be solved by building private homes for sale or for rent. Good quality, supported accommodation needs to be delivered as part of new developments. It needs to be a fundamental part of the planning process and not an afterthought when all the main planning decisions have been made.
When considering development councils must consider the role of temporary and supported housing. We need decent temporary accommodation for single homeless people.’
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/07/homelessness-will-not-be-solved-building-private-homes-we-need-radical-solution
Labour’s Phil Twyford said both initiatives were good ideas but their announcement this close to the election was “cynical politicking”.
Isn’t it extraordinary how compassionate this National government gets close to an election?
Yet extraordinarily close-fisted with public information as with the climate change report.
Yet extraordinarily loose with their security about the superannuation details of private citizens.
Extraordinary. Don’t get it at all………..
If Twyford said they were both good ideas then heaven fucking help us. The belief that private charity is a legitimate means for providing for the poor is a most despicable concept imaginable. I remember National in the 1990s together with the BRT brought a right-wing English academic out to NZ to talk about reintroducing poor law based welfare in this country. If Labour doesn’t understand how fundamentally wrong this is then not only is it completely ignorant of its own history as a party but it’s clear that they haven’t got a fucking clue. This is so fucking angering.
From the article you yourself gave us, Chris
“”It’s been our policy for ages to support Housing First as a very successful strategy to deal with chronic homelessness and rough sleepers. But it’s not a good solution to the explosion of people who cannot find affordable rental housing.”
He supported the Auckland City Mission funding too but noted that it wouldn’t deliver any new beds until at least 2020, when they were needed immediately.
Twyford.
Who should provide this support is less important than that it should be provided-and now. State, local authorities, City Mission, whoever.
Chris, would you curse Mother Theresa for being a private charity.
The real evil is that not enough is being provided, surely?
As Twyford says.
Charity has been around for centuries. There’s always going to be people who need it. Jesus giving the cup of water etc. It’s when it’s regarded as the main way for certain groups to have basic needs met. That’s not participation. Why do you think England and New Zealand replaced the Poor Laws with rights-based access to social security? And no, I’m not necessarily cursing the charities, but it’s certainly naive to think that setting up places with access to “beds” is going to be a temporary thing while things are being done to “fix the housing crisis”. This government is quite happy to see charity-based responses to social problems become the norm and firmly entrenched into mainstream institutions.
Chris + 100 we no that most of the Private Charity funds are used up by there management I.E CEO wages $100.000 ect the government is the organisation
that has to provide for the needs for the vulnerable and not some Charity that is only going to spend half the funds on the vulnerable and the rest on paper pushers .
It is well documented that world aid ect that only 40% of the funds got to the people that need it WTF Gemmon
They probably think Workhouses are enlightenment. Plenty of work the homeless could do, generating electricity on a tredmill, picking tow from old ropes, collecting wool from barbed wire fences, the possibilities for turning a profit from hopelessness are endless.
The comments under that article!
Oh dear, National!
“I actually don’t believe a word National says right now”
(One of the mildest).
From the article
“Housing First is a wrap-around service that focuses on individual need rather than a one-size-fits all approach. Independent research shows 80 per cent of people who receive the service retain their housing.”
Is nobody but me bothered that this means 1 in 5 DON’T retain their housing? Seems shocking.
A proportion of those living on the streets are very badly damaged and dysfunctional.
If the number of those living on the street can be reduced by 80% I’ll happily take that as a bloody good start.
How odd, what with there being no crisis and all
Panic has set in well and truly.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96347978/longtime-mp-peter-dunne-calls-political-landscape-superficial
This is rich, coming from him, of all people!
He is now an irrelevance
“We are a socially liberal and economically rational political party focused on securing a better deal for future generations. Give your list vote to UnitedFuture in 2017 and help us become an even more influential support partner to the next government.”
http://unitedfuture.org.nz/
Did he do a plug for the new leader of UnitedFuture?
“UnitedFuture has appointed Damian Light as the new Party Leader, Deputy Leader Judy Turner announced today.
Mr Light will takes over from Hon. Peter Dunne, who will remain as Parliamentary Leader.”
Has National pulled the plug on their candidate in Mr Light’s seat?
I’m assuming he is still being paid up until such point as he is no longer an MP.
What a self serving shit head. Worm chaser. In his own words…
“strutting earnest ways and the egregious ever-so-keen-to-please and not offend tones….. the absolute worst of politicians focused on nothing more than their own promotion”
As I presume Todd Barclay is still getting paid? Did he abandon his duties as an MP? Are there parliamentary rules about dereliction of duties?
Probably, but Gnats would think it only applies to other people
He is paid until election day. he took a few weeks off (although he and some of his rabid supporters claimed he was around – even though the media couldn’t find him) . I think they appointed a clone in his place. There is no shortage of young white men to enter parliament for the nats.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=8NpirIDH&id=B6170E56484CDF34B6CF521DE36FCC57E69F6B5C&thid=OIP.8NpirIDHuypJLOEmrb9aAAEsCm&q=hamish+walker+nz&simid=608043946341894058&selectedIndex=1&ajaxhist=0
I think an outgoung MP is paid for 3 months after leaving. That would be Xmas for Barclay I think.
Innovation Is Essential. But Are Your Best and Brightest Killing It?
That can be applied to a nation as well. If we want an innovative nation then we need to build a culture of innovation. And because the the information is diverse and spread across many fields we need to build that up as a culture of cooperation and sharing.
In other words, we need to be doing the exact opposite of what our governments have been doing as they built up privatisation and increased restrictions on ‘intellectual property’.
+1
Innovation is one of the keys to a successful nation, there was a time when NZ was considered an innovative nation and then there was National
+100 Draco
The Culture of innovation died when DSIR was killed off by the last National government under old Ruthie and her Muppet colleagues of the 90’s.
Yup – our aquaculture came out of there – not MAF, much less the fatuous MPI.
That was certainly a part of it. The other part was the emphasis on ‘competition’ while making a few people rich and then expecting them to do it.
I’m still wondering how competition (Unless it racing of some form or Medical Research) helps research when most research conducted is a long term not some quick fix solution as its all trail and error. As we say at work “you’re got crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run.”
When one looks on DSIR it was surly amazing organisation that only talk and work with the private sector, but also other Government Depts as well such as the former MoW, the former Forestry Dept, MoD including the other Services, All the universities and the Technical collages etc.
Then have you the Female and Blokes working in their shed out of the house or in the case of my great grandfather at the family run co-op coal mine and the list of notable’s is very long and famous.
Another right wing grumpy old man (Neville Gibson?) blathering on ignorantly about the issues. Climate change and homelessness only an issue because the media mention them, according to him and governments cannot do little about them.
Honestly.
Why are fools like him on the show?
Things that come to bite you on the bum…..
Two weeks ago Trump Scraped the Obama-Era Rule To Protect Infrastructure From Climate-Change Flooding. This required federal, state, and local agencies to take steps to protect infrastructure from flooding caused by climate change.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-executive-order-flooding_us_599323d4e4b04b193360926b
Meanwhile…
House Republicans want to cut almost $1 billion from FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which only has $2.3 billion remaining in its budget. Trump, meanwhile, is promising billions to help Texas rebuild from Harvey-caused flooding. The $876 million cut pays for roughly half the cost of Trump’s down payment on the border wall
And…
Trump tweeted that he intentionally understaffed FEMA in order to shrink the federal government. His tweet came in response to a critical Fox and Friends segment where Laura Ingraham said the damage and flooding in Texas from Hurricane Harvey is proof that the Trump administration needs to be fully staffed. Of the 591 key positions that require Senate confirmation, just 117 have been filled.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/29/trump-shrink-government-laura-ingraham-242128
But no worries…
It’s all due to a Hoax perpetuated by China.
Why are the crucial questions about Hurricane Harvey not being asked?
George Monbiot
“It is not only Donald Trump’s government that censors the discussion of climate change; it is the entire body of polite opinion. This is why, though the links are clear and obvious, most reports on Hurricane Harvey have made no mention of the human contribution to it.
In 2016 the US elected a president who believes that human-driven global warming is a hoax. It was the hottest year on record, in which the US was hammered by a series of climate-related disasters. Yet the total combined coverage for the entire year on the evening and Sunday news programmes on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News amounted to 50 minutes. Our greatest predicament, the issue that will define our lives, has been blotted from the public’s mind…..’
The Panel talking about the floods in Mumbai and India now.
And sure enough, no mention of climate change.
Good on you, Jim.
You really are a spineless broadcaster.
Keep saying this is the irony election but this one takes the cake. It involves Sean Plunket, TOP, a MSM journo and some sweary abuse,
https://mobile.twitter.com/duncangreive/status/903096415433351168
The whole article is worth a thread.
I have included excerpts.
‘Bill English fiddles whilst the world burns: our Prime Climate Change Denier
There will be one moment of mismanagement by Bill English this election that will be studied and debated in the future. That moment is neither Todd Barclay’s alleged workplace bullying nor the leaks of Winston Peters’ superannuation over-payment. That moment was captured in his Radio New Zealand interview on 28 August 2017; when he was challenged on his past dismissal of climate change as policy for the ‘elite,’ he doubled down, asserting that:
“well, as a day to day concern, I don’t think people are getting out of bed in the morning saying, look, the most important thing that happens today is that the climate changes…”
This moment will be studied as a recorded example of Bill English misunderstanding climate change; he sees it as a political issue, rather than a survival issue.
I wonder what Bill does think about when he wakes up? What radio station plays to start his day? I didn’t pick him for the Rock. I’d be surprised if its not Radio New Zealand, the AM Show and/or Breakfast before he goes for his walk run. If it’s any of those three, I wonder how he cannot think of climate change.
On the very day that Bill English was interviewed, even our mainstream media was covering the unfolding humanitarian and environmental disaster in Texas and America’s fourth largest city, Houston from Hurricane Harvey. As of today, that state has had 15 trillion litres of rain; you can fill all of the NFL and college stadiums in Texas to the brim one hundred times over. The numbers of dead are climbing, and the displaced from Houston are now displacing the displaced from Corpus Christi who are looking for refuge centres further afield………
On the very day that Bill English was interviewed, one third of the entire country of Bangladesh is underwater. At least 1,200 have died from flooding in Nepal, Bangladesh and India. Seventeen million people have been affected by the flooding in India, with thousands of villages cut off from food and clean water. Ninety thousand homes have been washed away in Nepal……
..Bill English may not wake up thinking about climate change. But that is not a virtue nor indicative of a sober, realistic mindset. It is the statement of a deluded, self-serving man who is no leader for New Zealand. All he has confirmed is that he and his colleagues are a danger to the future of our country. Never trust the ones who say “peace, peace,” when all about us is evidence of war and danger. Change is upon us.’
https://firstwetakemanhattan.org/2017/08/30/bill-english-fiddles-whilst-the-world-burns-our-prime-climate-change-denier/
ED I was going to say he would be thinking about how much he was going to get from the next clip but that is a insult to our farmers . So I say hes thinking I AM PRIME MINISTER and any other topic just goes way over his head.LOL
And after tonight’s polls he probably still thinks National can hold on to that slippery pole of power