Archive for April, 2009
Where would you get that idea? 2
Written By: - Date published: 12:04 am, April 8th, 2009 - 21 comments
Well, Granny Herald breaks the news: “NZ’s murder rate halved in past 20 years”: New Zealand’s murder rate appears to have almost halved in the past 20 years despite an overwhelming public belief that crime has got worse An overwhelming overwhelming public belief that crime has got worse? Where would we the dumb old public […]
Higher education
Written By: - Date published: 4:40 pm, April 7th, 2009 - 32 comments
Turns out Richard Worth’s not the only one with a passion for flying. Tertiary Education Minister Anne Tolley has been joyriding in helicopters at the taxpayers’ expense.
Cullen leaving Parliament
Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, April 7th, 2009 - 67 comments
The press statement from Michael Cullen on his departure from Parliament is here. He will be missed, and probably not just by members of the Labour Party. He has been an outstanding Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. His attention to looking forward to circumstances such as the current world economic chaos has left […]
Cullen to chair NZ Post and Kiwibank
Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, April 7th, 2009 - 10 comments
Trans-Tasman reports: the Government will offer former Deputy PM and Finance Minister Michael Cullen the post of Chairman of the Board of NZ Post and its subsidiary Kiwibank, succeeding Jim Bolger who is due to retire this month. Cullen is announcing his retirement from Parliament today. Good on him. UPDATE: Stuff reports Cullen will be […]
Key paralytic as ice melts
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, April 7th, 2009 - 42 comments
John Key’s government is at the climate change talks in Bonn avoiding doing their part in combating more climate change in the future (along with Russia and the Ukraine). Meanwhile the British Antarctic Survey is reporting that the Wilkins ice shelf is likely to disappear shortly. A large part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf on […]
Yes, if Bill will let me
Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, April 7th, 2009 - 6 comments
A wag emails us: So Key is keen on offering mortgage holidays like in Aussie. Any bets on how long before English overrules him?
Garrett lying to his own supporters
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, April 7th, 2009 - 25 comments
Not content with lying to the New Zealand public, ACT MP David Garrett has now been busted lying to his own supporters about his Three Strikes Bill. In the email to supporters last Friday: [Garrett] claimed that if the “three strikes” bill had been in place in May 2008, 78 lives wold have been saved, […]
Out of touch
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, April 7th, 2009 - 32 comments
Vernon Small suggests that a further 60,000 workers may lose their jobs by next year. So it comes as a shock to read that John Key’s response to this latest news is to stick firmly to his: “optimistic and sunny” approach. It’s almost like he’s living in some alternative reality. While Bill is quietly crapping […]
Mt Albert nominations open for Labour
Written By: - Date published: 6:48 am, April 7th, 2009 - 19 comments
Normally I don’t put up press releases but this one is special to me. It is about my home electorate and where I moved to in 1964 to start primary school. Labour Party President Andrew Little is calling for nominations for the Mt Albert by-election, following the appointment of Rt Hon Helen Clark as Head […]
Why won’t Key sack his Minister?
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 pm, April 6th, 2009 - 23 comments
The Herald is now reporting that John Key won’t sack Richard Worth, despite new information coming to light that an associated company to WSD Global (in which Worth was director while a Minister) was investigated by the Serious Fraud Office: Mr Key said today he had spoken to Dr Worth on Saturday. “I believe he […]
New Left blog
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 pm, April 6th, 2009 - Comments Off on New Left blog
Loco Burro Politics.
Still stuck in the slow lane
Written By: - Date published: 5:42 pm, April 6th, 2009 - 44 comments
In the Dom Post today Tom Pullar-Strecker calls Steven Joyce’s recently announced broadband fibre plans: old wine in new bottles – a backdown on the ambitions sketched out by National before the election, which were arguably always too grandiose. Managing the expectations they raised during the campaign was always going to be a problem for […]
Messy play at Playcentre
Written By: - Date published: 3:52 pm, April 6th, 2009 - 20 comments
Playcentre was founded during the second world war as a way for families (mainly mothers) to support each other while providing quality child-centred pre-school education for their children. This the was era of the innovative educational ideas of Fraser and Beeby and the Playcentre concept was developed by Beatrice Beeby and her friends while Dr […]
Imagine
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, April 6th, 2009 - 9 comments
I grew up in the long shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis (you youngsters can go look it up). I have never quite shaken the feeling that, somehow or other, the world was due to end in nuclear fire. This is the reason that I am such a fervent supporter of our Nuclear Free policy, […]
Talleys: Corporate scum
Written By: - Date published: 2:14 pm, April 6th, 2009 - 41 comments
I’ve long been of the opinion that the Talley family, owners of the Talleys food empire, are a corrosive force in this country who have a complete contempt for their workforce, the public and our democratic institutions. Sure enough, they’re at it again. NZPA reports: The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) plans to call […]
It’s just not worth the risk
Written By: - Date published: 8:06 pm, April 5th, 2009 - 23 comments
From Bill Ralston’s latest column on the Richard Worth scandal: Key’s predecessor had no qualms about making ministers walk the plank if they failed to tell her everything. Unless he wants to appear weak and risk further embarrassment to his Government, Key will have to throw the hapless Worth overboard. Ralston’s right. Key should protect […]
English kicks cycleway to touch
Written By: - Date published: 7:41 pm, April 5th, 2009 - 22 comments
While John Key’s been bouncing from cloud to cloud, Bill English has been grinding away in the back room. He’s finally done the the numbers on Key’s cycleway, announcing today that: We won’t be spending $50 million on it this year or next year or the year after. With one swift stroke, he’s effectively killed […]
Your water footprint
Written By: - Date published: 6:42 pm, April 5th, 2009 - 10 comments
How big is your water footprint? Find out here.
Ominous Trickles before the Flood
Written By: - Date published: 5:35 pm, April 5th, 2009 - 13 comments
The attack on democratic local government is taking shape in the public domain. 1. Hide was not made the Minister of Local Govt for nothing. Radical changes are planned and National chose an ACT Party frontman to deflect public reaction. The Bill about to be introduced, and likely passed, to ‘cap rates at the rate […]
Compare and Contrast
Written By: - Date published: 4:32 pm, April 5th, 2009 - 4 comments
Prior to the last election our fearless MSM media uncritically repeated Key’s ‘NZ Sucks’ Crosby/Textor attack lines, framing an historically unremarkable rise in emigration, as evidence of Labour’s failure and general perfidy. Lots of examples abound, this being fairly typical. Of course since November emigration numbers peaked in January (and have fallen since in line […]
Who’s zooming who?
Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, April 5th, 2009 - 27 comments
The Herald reports: Last week John Key used poor United States sales of the new BMW 7-series – 10 were sold in February, compared with more than 1500 in the same 2008 month – as an example of how much other countries were hurting in the economic crisis. But New Zealand… sales of the top-of-the-line […]
When are politicians like cats?
Written By: - Date published: 12:50 am, April 5th, 2009 - 6 comments
For some reason the convolutions in this video reminded me of the twin comedy act of Worth and Grosser this week. Not to mention Key doing a weak-kneed ‘bollocking’ in a direct contrast to his expectations of what Labour should have done last term. This video is one of the best (and earliest) funny cat […]
How to approach Auckland
Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, April 4th, 2009 - 12 comments
No Right Turn and David Farrar have written posts on the massive lack of proportionality in the suggested voting regime by the Royal Commission report on Auckland governance. Shades of a rotten borough of 18th century England, it seems to be designed to make some voters far more ‘equal’ than others. Unlike the evolution of […]
Meeting Joe Overton
Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, April 4th, 2009 - 17 comments
A little while ago we had some discussion here about the Sensible Sentencing Trust and their status as a charity. That’s not what this post is about. Rather, I’m going to write a little bit about the functional role groups like the SST play in the political process and how they are successful. The SST, […]
The spun praising the spinner
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, April 4th, 2009 - 6 comments
Falling for a politician’s tricks – that’s gullibility Seeing those tricks for what they are – that’s nous Seeing them for what they are but falling for them anyway and praising the politician – what’s that? colin espiner 1 April – …the PM was overjoyed by the success of the Twitter story. It may have boomeranged, […]
One of these things is not like the other
Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, April 3rd, 2009 - 64 comments
One of these things is not like the other… One of these things is not quite the same. Can you guess which one is not like the other… Can you tell me before I finish the game?
DL Wellington next week
Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, April 3rd, 2009 - 2 comments
Metiria Turei is at Drinking Liberally next week. Thursday, April 9, 5:30 at Southern Cross. Nice new logo too. Meanwhile, here’s Andrew Little from last week.
Trillion Dollar Campaign
Written By: - Date published: 12:56 pm, April 3rd, 2009 - 4 comments
Read more about it here.
G20 outcomes
Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, April 3rd, 2009 - 40 comments
Well the G20 process – which many said would “redesign capitalism” – has now finished. Various agreements were reached, which are predictably being touted as “historic”. Some of the main points from summaries here: Bankers’ pay and bonuses will be subject to stricter controls A new Financial Stability Board will be set up to work […]
G20 updates
Written By: - Date published: 4:06 am, April 3rd, 2009 - 8 comments
The Guardian has excellent video of the G20 protests. Gives you a real feeling of what things are like in the ground. So much better than our coverage. No twit talking all the time and trying to dramatise things. Most of the people there are completely peaceful, the Police seem to be looking for trouble […]
The server has moved (finally).
Written By: - Date published: 3:16 am, April 3rd, 2009 - 20 comments
The Standard has moved the server to an off-shore site. There are many reasons for this. I can get equivalent or better service offshore for about a tenth of the local price. To be precise, I paid for a year of hosting on a better system, it cost slightly more than I was paying for […]
- Israel orders patients, staff to ‘evacuate’ last two hospitals in northern Gaza siege
Asia Pacific Report Israel is forcing two hospitals in northern Gaza to evacuate under threat of attack as its ethnic cleansing campaign continues. Israeli forces have surrounded the Indonesian Hospital, where many staff and patients sought shelter after nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was destroyed in an Israeli raid last week, ...5 days ago - Pacific 2025: Vanuatu quake, Tongan and Kanaky shakeups, Trump questions set tone for coming year
Navigating the shared challenges of climate change, geostrategic tensions, political upheaval, disaster recovery and decolonisation plus a 50th birthday party, reports a BenarNews contributor’s analysis. COMMENTARY: By Tess Newton Cain Vanuatu’s devastating earthquake and dramatic political developments in Tonga and New Caledonia at the end of 2024 set the tone ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan: what do these Sierra Leone developmen...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan: what two Sierra Leone developments a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- ‘You’ll love it, but you’ll hate it’: Christian Cullen on becoming CTI’s most unlikely sta...
Summer reissue: Former All Black and recent Celebrity Treasure Island castaway Christian Cullen looks back on his life in TV. First published October 12, 2024. Every season of Celebrity Treasure Island brings with it a surprise breakout star, and often it’s the person you know the least about or have ...6 days ago - Mike Johnson elected speaker of US House as Trump’s Republicans unite behind him
Two Republican opponents switched their votes to support him after more than half an hour of negotiations. ...6 days ago - My emotion is my strength – Karen Chhour
“People comment a lot on how emotional I am.”The children’s minister says she’s always been an emotional person. It’s her way of coping with trauma.“Because if you bottle that up it turns into something quite nasty, right? It turns into anger, it turns into frustration, and you start to look ...6 days ago - Anne Salmond: Hunger Games in the Beehive
Comment: There are times when fiction anticipates life, and dystopian nightmares become real.Who would have thought that in New Zealand, a relatively wealthy country that was once proudly egalitarian, a version of The Hunger Games would play out?That a government would cut thousands of jobs, deny desperate families emergency food ...6 days ago
- The Secret Diary of .. New Year’s Resolutions
Christopher LuxonWell, what I’d say to you about my New Year’s resolutions is that this year is going to be better than the last, probably, I mean I should think there’s a good chance of that happening, an even chance, there’s a narrow window, the odds are against us but ...6 days ago
- ‘Grossly misleading to me and to the country’: the Lange-Douglas letters, unearthed
Summer reissue: The meltdown in the relationship between the key players in the fourth Labour government can be charted in an extraordinary exchange of correspondence. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...6 days ago
- How many goddamn words should I be saying to my baby?
Summer reissue: I read yet another study about toddlers, screen time and language development, and it sent me off the deep end. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to ...6 days ago
- What it takes to be an Olympian, and why you don’t have it
Summer reissue: This year Tori Peeters competed at the Paris Olympics in the javelin. Ten years ago, Madeleine Chapman thought she might be in the same position. She talks to Peeters about what it takes to go all the way – and mulls her own life decisions in the process. ...6 days ago
- Remembering Young George, the barber who cut Auckland’s hair forever
Summer reissue: He earned 5c for his first cut in 1955, and $35 for his last in March. Duncan Greive recalls the life of his late barber, ‘Young’ George Dyas, who never stopped snipping. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these ...6 days ago
- Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January
The post Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan, what can two Sierra Leone development...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- ‘Suspend Israel ties’ plea to global medical professionals – Auckland hospital protest vigil o...
Asia Pacific Report The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, has called on “medical professionals worldwide” to suspend ties with Israel in an act of solidarity with the more than “1000 colleagues of yours” killed in Gaza over the past 14 months. Countless ...6 days ago
- A politician for the people: Dame Tariana Turia, 1944-2025
The co-founder of Te Pāti Māori and architect of Whānau Ora will be remembered as a skilled political tactician who dedicated her life to the wellbeing of Māori, writes Miriama Aoake. Part of the hesitation of entering politics for any sane person is surely compromise. Compromise is essential in the ...7 days ago
- Honouring Kahurangi Tariana Turia:
...7 days ago - ‘She believed in people’ – Tributes from across political parties for Dame Tariana...
A stern but loving auntie, a woman of unshakeable principle, the very definition of a wāhine toa - those are just a few of the tributes flooding in for Dame Tariana Turia. ...7 days ago
- A year in The House: Law and order, deregulation and repeal
In its first year this Parliament has passed 46 new laws, with another 37 underway. We outline some of the government's major changes. ...7 days ago
- ‘Crime against journalism’: Gaza journalists slam PA’s Al Jazeera ban
By Maram Humaid in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Journalists gathered at Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital expressed outrage and confusion about the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s office in the occupied West Bank. “Shutting down a major outlet like Al Jazeera is a crime against journalism,” said freelance ...7 days ago
- Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab: The Palestine tragedy – why it should matter to you and our world
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab As 2024 came to a close and we have stepped into a new year overshadowed by ongoing atrocities, have you stopped to consider how these events are reshaping your world? Did you notice how your future ...7 days ago
- Cook Islands ‘not qualified’ for UN membership, says prime minister
By Talaia Mika of the Cook Islands News The Cook Islands will not pursue membership in the United Nations and the Commonwealth due to its inability to meet the criteria for UN membership and existing relationship with New Zealand, which fulfils Commonwealth membership requirements. Prime Minister Mark Brown has clarified ...7 days ago
- Obit: Dame Tariana Turia has died
The former Labour Party MP and Te Pāti Māori co-founder was recognised for her commitment to Māori. ...7 days ago
- Division, abuse and rates pain: Local politics year in review
A rising tide of abuse, escalating costs and the clash between central and local government - Marika Hill looks back at local politics in 2024. ...7 days ago
- Dame Tariana Turia has died
The former politician suffered a stroke earlier this week. ...7 days ago
- ‘One of the most important species for science’: how the humble fruit fly transformed 4 fields o...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ary Hoffmann, Professor, School of BioSciences and Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne Drosophila melanogaster. Deep Scope/Shutterstock The common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), more correctly called the vinegar fly, is a frequent visitor to ripe fruit in households around the world, where ...1 week ago
- Genius or charlatan? The strange tale of a 19th-century polymath who left a trail of controversy acr...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Ludewig, Professor and Head of the School of Humanities, The University of Western Australia The Burra Burra Mine, 1847. Samuel Thomas Gill / State Library of NSW About 20 minutes’ drive north of Geraldton, on Australia’s west coast, lies a hill ...1 week ago
- Summer holidays haven’t changed much since ancient Greece and Rome (except maybe the sand wrestlin...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, researching Greco-Roman antiquity, The University of Melbourne Imagine a summer holiday at a seaside resort, with days spent sunbathing, reading books, exploring nature and chatting with friends. Sounds like it could be anywhere in Australia or ...1 week ago
- The elimination of cervical cancer in NZ is within reach in our lifetime – but not without funding...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesca Storey, Deputy Director Te Tātai Hauora o Hine – National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington After committing to a global plan to eliminate cervical cancer, New Zealand is lagging behind Australia and ...1 week ago
- Why do some people’s hair and nails grow quicker than mine?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Moscova, Adjunct Associate Professor, Anatomy, UNSW Sydney Jari Lobo/Pexels Throughout recorded history, our hair and nails played an important role in signifying who we are and our social status. You could say, they separate the caveman from businessman. It ...1 week ago
- Monarch butterflies are in decline in NZ and Australia – they need your help to track where they g...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myron Zalucki, Professor in Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Kathy Reid, CC BY-SA Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) appear to be declining not just in North America but also in Australiasia. Could this be a consequence of global change, including ...1 week ago
- Australia needs better ways of storing renewable electricity for later. That’s where ‘flow batte...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, Professor Emeritus, School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney As more and more solar and wind energy enters Australia’s grid, we will need ways to store it for later. We can store electricity in several different ways, from pumped hydroelectric ...1 week ago
- Unlocking the past: how NZ’s first jail tells a complex story of colonial identity
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine McCarthy, Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington View of Kororāreka in the Bay of Islands, 1845, by George Thomas Clayton. via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY New Zealand’s first jail was a simple affair, just ...1 week ago
- Is it important to read the explanatory labels next to artworks? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Noor Gillani, Digital Culture Editor Shutterstock You’re standing at the centre of an expansive art gallery, overwhelmed by what’s in front of you: panel after panel of stupendous works – densely-written labels affixed next to each piece. These labels may offer ...1 week ago
- Te Pāti Māori co-founder Dame Tariana Turia dies
Dame Tariana Turia has died aged 80 in Whangaehu overnight.The founder and former co-leader of Te Pāti Māori suffered a stroke earlier this week and was said not to have long left.A press release from Te Ranga Tupua said she had died in the early hours of Friday morning. “A mother ...1 week ago
- DoC’s big donation drive gets mixed reviews
An $80 million subantarctic pest eradication project is being backed by a high-profile conservation charity targeting wealthy individuals.Since it was established in 2000, NZ Nature Fund has raised $5 million for project-specific conservation work, including $1.2 million over the past year. Projects, often managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC), ...1 week ago
- Rust Belt vs the beltway: Vance’s memoir more relevant than ever
Opinion: When it was first published in 2016, JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy was hailed by Britain’s Sunday Times as “the political book of the year”. The Independent described it as “an insight into Trump and Brexit”.Hillbilly Elegy is an autobiographical account of Vance’s life, growing up in a poor, white ...1 week ago
- Positive sports fandom: netball fans show the way
Sport is a place where ‘real’ fans are often assumed to be men. Global research tells us that female fans of live men’s sport often face misogynistic and homophobic environments that include swearing, drunkenness and yelling negative comments and abuse at opponents and referees. In men’s sport, a quick skim through ...1 week ago
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