A quick note to John Key

Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, July 7th, 2014 - 44 comments
Categories: david cunliffe, education, election 2014, greens, Hekia parata, john key, labour, mana, schools, slippery, spin - Tags:

Remember when you said this:

John Key Private Schools small classes

h/t Jerome Mika on twitter, who tweeted:

Smaller classes should be for all our Kiwi children, not just .

And now, Mr Key, with your support, Hekia Parata says this:

“Labour’s ‘back to the future’ idea of reducing class sizes at the margin is proven to achieve very little in terms of better results for Kiwi kids. We know that because that was their policy last time they were in government and student achievement flat-lined at best.

The wider vision of Labour’s latest education policy, which aims to serve the many not the few.

David Cunliffe - TS-1

The Greens

and Mana

have some pretty got education policies, too.

Meanwhile, the current NZ government plays with words and spin, and fails to serve all Kiwis.

Vote left this election!

 

vote left 2014

 

[Edit] See 2012 NZ Herald article on Key’s statements and the Listener poster derived from it:

The Prime Minister told the Listener he sent his children to private schools for educational reasons, including smaller classes and better resources.

It was not a direct quote, but a picture of Mr Key with the comment alongside was posted on Facebook yesterday and by last night had appeared on numerous blogs and been shared by more than 6000 people.

Comments about it included labelling Mr Key a hypocrite for arguing now that increasing class sizes in the state sector would not affect standards of education.

[h/t Paul via Anne’s reference to his comment]

 

 

44 comments on “A quick note to John Key ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Mary 1
    7 July 2014 at 10:23 am

    That’s a very good message on that poster.

  2. Mary 2
    7 July 2014 at 10:25 am

    And after national’s failed “let’s increase class sizes” Parata on Radio NZ this morning said national will reduce class sizes “because the research is clear.” Labour needs to start making hay.

  3. Jester 3
    7 July 2014 at 10:28 am

    Guess Jerome didn’t get the memo about positivity and petty politics.

    • karol 3.1
      7 July 2014 at 10:31 am

      I wouldn’t call highlighting the Nats’ contradictory claims on some crucial polices, “petty”.

      This is not about negativity or cheap smears. it’s about comparing and debating policies, and highlighting the differences between parties and their values.

    • Paul 3.2
      7 July 2014 at 10:57 am

      Pot…kettle…black

    • Ant 3.3
      7 July 2014 at 11:30 am

      What’s petty about that? Key supports Labour’s policy, directly demonstrated by his choices in raising his own kids, a ringing endorsement.

    • Appleboy 3.4
      7 July 2014 at 5:22 pm

      f for god’s sake – calling key out on his lies nis not being petty. Key said smaller class room is a he sent he sent his kids to a private school, now he says class size is not an issue. What Planet are you right whingers on?! Oh that’s right. Planet key.

      He needs to have this lie rammed down his throat til the election.

  4. North 4
    7 July 2014 at 10:33 am

    ” One Rule For Me And Mine – A Different Rule For You And Yours “. This reeks so badly of naked elitism that it must be pushed really, really hard.

    Evoking a visceral sense in the public will render presently paraded “figures” and “studies” mealy mouthed cover-up. Something to ‘say’ in the absence of anything to say. The bogus Everyman image will depete significantly with widespread exposure. There’s a paper trail a mile wide which must be hoist on GodKey and The Parrota. Social media – into it !

    To the impeccable and immaculate amongst us: what pray tell is petty or non-issue based about exposing the The Scam Of The Everyman in the many contexts in which it is operative ? That scam has been foundational to the National Party modus operandi since before its present leader was returned to New Zealand in the very early 2000s.

  5. One Anonymous Bloke 5
    7 July 2014 at 10:38 am

    What’s wrong with Hekia Parata? Why does she struggle to construct a meaningful sentence? What does “at the margin” mean in the context of her flailing incompetence wider remarks?

    How does someone with such an obvious intellectual handicap retain a seat around the New Zealand government’s cabinet table?

    Relative merit?

    • Te Reo Putake 5.1
      7 July 2014 at 10:42 am

      Could it be that Parata is a perfect reflection of National’s commitment to education?

      • One Anonymous Bloke 5.1.1
        7 July 2014 at 10:54 am

        She’s charged with destroying the public education model, hardly a minor goal. I think she’s the best they can do.

        Can you name a more talented minister?

  6. Anne 6
    7 July 2014 at 10:43 am

    And lets rub it in yet again – hat-tip to Paul on Open Mike:

    Key called hypocrite over class sizes

  7. vto 7
    7 July 2014 at 12:45 pm

    Then there is the perverse act by this horrid government to subject East Christchurch (but not the northwest private schools – no, no) to not just larger class sizes, but larger super-schools…..

    ffs, when a government takes aim at ones children it really does get the blood to boil, especially when they claim and do the opposite in their own personal lives.

  8. Tracey 8
    7 July 2014 at 12:53 pm

    My guess is mr key wanted his children to thrive, have choices and reach their potential.

    As PM his aim is to provide the minimum, produce fodder for the low wage economy. This govt’s objective appears based around an idea that people have a right to survive, not thrive.

    The sign of a successful nation is how many are thriving. Not living on top of rubbish tips is not the measure of this.

  9. dimebag russell 9
    7 July 2014 at 2:26 pm

    now he is going to throw the education system over to lunatics who want the jobs and the prestige but have no expertise whatsoever except their own say so.
    John Key will go down as an egregious criminal wrecker of the education system if he lets this dismemberment proceed.
    best just get rid of him and his party and the rest of their peculiar ideas.

  10. NZJester 10
    7 July 2014 at 2:30 pm

    Hekia Parata says this:
    “Labour’s ‘back to the future’ idea of reducing class sizes at the margin is proven to achieve very little in terms of better results for Kiwi kids. We know that because that was their policy last time they were in government and student achievement flat-lined at best.”

    Flat-lining is what most things do just before they start to go up again and how is flat-lining worse than it dropping again under National? All Labours hard work of taking the time to reduce class sizes and trying to better resource schools was tossed out the window by National just as it was about to pay off for public school students.

    National has made it so teachers are bogged down in paperwork so they can hardly give any time to students even when in class. Some of that paperwork is them just trying to get paid and hold off their creditors till then thanks to Novopay!

    National seams to have been trying to make their coalition partner happy be making schools so under funded and by closing a number of them down so that there are plenty of empty schools to be had and lots of students needing smaller classes that their parents will be happy to send them to a charter school most that will be run in previously closed public schools.

    National was very happy to fund charter schools at much higher per child rates than a public school. Charter schools have also been set up in such a way that they will end up having better results than public schools due to two big factors. They can pick and choose their students so will only take the best students and leave the harder ones for the public schools to educate. Having better funding also helps them to better educate their students.

    If National gets in for another 3 years they will use those stacked figures as proof that charter schools are better than public schools and close more public schools to replace them with charter schools.

  11. ianmac 11
    7 July 2014 at 2:58 pm

    Parata reckons that class sizes won’t matter anyway because she has discovered Open Plan Classrooms. This is where you but 75 or 80 kids together in a large space with say 3 teachers. They share the group and have small withdrawl rooms for group teaching. Tried during the 80s but because of serious logistical problems, difficulty in matching compatible teachers, lack of suitable buildings, stress for many kids who were unable to fit the model, kids falling through the cracks, it faded away.The sometimes gains were outweighed by the failures.

    So Ms Parata try another harebrained idea or even consult with the people who have the research and the experience. Unless that is too hard.

    PS I believe that the Charter Schools run classes of fewer than 18 kids.

    • Tracey 11.1
      7 July 2014 at 3:14 pm

      john key’s children are at university now, so class sizes are irrelevant to him.

    • miravox 11.2
      7 July 2014 at 3:26 pm

      Jeepers ianmac, if class sizes don’t matter why would she need 3 teachers?

  12. dimebag russell 12
    7 July 2014 at 3:12 pm

    heka paratai is just a big bag of words that mean nothing.

  13. whateva next? 13
    7 July 2014 at 6:26 pm

    The far right are very worried about Labour’s policy….I have just been rung to ask if I would complete a survey for maritime NZ…..they immediately ask what I think about Labour’s policy which will cost $50,000,000 to stop parental donations??? I asked what that has to do with Maritime NZ, and she mumbled something about social policy questions being added?

    • Tracey 13.1
      7 July 2014 at 6:58 pm

      yikes?

      did they carry on the questions?

    • Anne 13.2
      7 July 2014 at 7:08 pm

      whateva next.

      Can you recall anything else the woman said?

      It sounds like the Tories are indulging in push polling.

      From Wikipedia:

      A push poll is an interactive marketing technique, most commonly employed during political campaigning, in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of voters under the guise of conducting a poll.

      In a push poll, large numbers of voters are contacted briefly (often less than 60 seconds), and little or no effort is made to collect and analyze response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as a poll.

    • mickysavage 13.3
      7 July 2014 at 8:03 pm

      Any chance you can dig out the phone number the call was from?

    • felix 13.4
      7 July 2014 at 8:55 pm

      Curias and Curiaser…

    • freedom 13.5
      8 July 2014 at 7:28 pm

      This is the only operational public consultation Maritime NZ is currently engaged in that I could find
      http://www.transport.govt.nz/sea/maritime-labour-convention-2006

      It is for the Ministry of Transport and it closes on July 11 2014. Perhaps they are running a small poll to include with the submissions, but for the questions you referenced to be included in such a submission seems a bit odd. Unless there is some under the door poll gathering being done in that grey area of public consultation all Ministries seem to wrangle out of their budgets. Like the opposition policy questions on ‘Your local MP’ fact sheets that have been pouring out of some National MP electorate offices the past few months.

  14. North 14
    7 July 2014 at 6:47 pm

    For as long as I’ve had any political consciousness at all, which now approaches 50 years, I’ve been aware of the National Party parading itself as possessing that admirable ‘something’ known to no other political grouping. It was irritating but one felt, grudgingly, that even with the hooting snobbery and ‘Born to Rule’ delusion there was a broad decency attaching to the ‘Old National Party’. That hint of ‘noblesse oblige’, if patronising, was somehow caring. Under the “Old National Party’ knowing one’s station at least connoted having a ‘station.’

    The Neo-National Party of today ? Wide boys/girls, cynical, bullying, hectoring demonisers, shameless self-promoters, crashing incompetents hidden in power, barefaced unrepentant liars. Many whose ethos is ” Get away with it ? Go for it ! “. Cold reptilian eyes above fake gargoyle smiles applied to professing love for Kiwis’ and New Zealand. Endless whipped-up celebration of the bogus Everyman/GodKey.

    Producing, creating, enlarging the nation’s pie for the general good, all unfashionable, unworldly, naive. Pointing of the illusory cargo-cult where it will best politically advantage the upper echelons of the Neo-National Party. Worse and more ruinously still – serial, concerted, targeted, public campaigns of vilification. To market as justified the clinical eviction of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders from any ‘station’ in life previously held, however lowly. To render as fodder for any prevailing construct.

    The road to an emasculated, malignant, shamed, ‘toy’ state. The Neo-National Party stands ready to proceed to denouement.

    • Once was Tim 14.1
      7 July 2014 at 9:01 pm

      @ North.
      Your first paragraph I find really interesting because that was my experience of the Nats too (though I’ve never voted or agreed with their politics).
      I often wonder though, what the likes of McKinnon and others think of his party today – Bolger even.
      It’s also why I can only conclude that the likes of Finlayson are either really shallow and superficial, or are basically whores operating with the expectation they’ll be rewarded with some cushy little number when they leave the chamber (probably in some nice little Pacific Isle the Kethlic Church has had to abandon). Perhaps Finlayson is actually a Populuxe2.0 – or even a 1 – maybe not! He’s more likely to be the sugar daddy than the sugar dadee.

      There’s always been cronyism (I’m useless with names), but I’m thinking of NZBC appointments, Post Masters General, SIS appointments and so on, but there is something really different about modern day Nats (aside from the fact that they’re now Natzis – prepared to whore and accommodate at will, anything and anyone that’ll serve their cause – ACT/Conservatives for example).

      It’s probably that they can legitimately lay claim to having lost their snobbery – philistines, anti-science adherents, ferals, liars, sociopaths – they’re all welcome in today’s #TeamNational (and I didn’t see a Karori Blue rinse dowager in sight at MFC the weekend before last – even though there were some pretty bloody horrendous fashion crimes coming and going).

      I ‘spose that makes them unpretentious despite being a bunch of pretenders.

      If you can show me a couple of original ideas I could rub together offered by Neshnool (i.e. ones that aren’t regurgitated shite from days gone by or from offshore), I’ll modify my opinion.
      So far, much as I try, and with the respect I hold for one or two or the ‘Old National’, I can’t see anything.
      The other thing I notice with the ‘New National’ is the effects of cargo cultists invading: Hek Yeas in sham relationships playing dress-ups; regular gals in leopard skins from the West very suddenly ‘re-imaging’ to suit their cause(s) and heading up to market North Shore; traditionalists from Wellington’s Eastern suburbs who have become SO utterly pragmatic and expedient they’re destined for ‘bitter old queen’ status; Kapiti Coast stoners who ‘never inhaled’ desperately trying to get respectable with the treats and trinkets laid on them; …… Christ – let’s not go near BOP/Tauranga!!! (It’s a bit of a lost cause but there are so many MPI/Immigration/CYFS/WINZ failures I could recount, it’s a fekkin joke).

      Do you think the trolls will be in shortly to protest (too loudly). I’ve just returned after a couple of days but they seem to be in hiding very recently.

      • North 14.1.1
        8 July 2014 at 8:41 am

        Never fear OnceWasTim – FizzyAnus stands true !

        Marvelled at in Neo-National circles for weekend after weekend after weekend – come rain or shine – of simultaneous door knocking in Johnsonville, Woburn, Melrose, Paekakariki – engaging astral travel even when Christchurch Central calls.

        Returning exhausted but satisfied to the rat hole late of a weekend afternoon to deposit in the bleak carport thereof his weekend bag of up to 300 formerly Labour and Green souls. All glowing with the ‘light’ transfused by FazzyInus.

        Then to genuflect on abcessed knee before the garishly flashing wall mounted neon study of TheGodKey. Chokingly – “Mine Labours Are For Thee Oh My Lord”.

        This faith does not go unnoticed. It is said the 9th floor puts store by FuzzyAnis delivering govern alone. Yes…..really !

  15. Anne 15
    7 July 2014 at 6:47 pm

    Maritime NZ? Your caller is not operating from a bona fide polling company whateva next.

    My immediate reaction is that its a wealthy advertising agency acting for either National or ACT. I was involved in a poll conducted from a well known ad. agency back in the mid 1990s. The recipients of the calls had no idea it was a poll being carried out for ACT by ACT members and supporters. How I came to be involved is a long story but one I don’t regret. Gave me an insight into how the other political half operates.

  16. Clemgeopin 16
    7 July 2014 at 8:14 pm

    What we need is not increased class sizes as proposed by Key, Parata and the National party, but a much reduced size of these stupid and dangerous right wing nut jobs in parliament after Sept 20.

  17. North 17
    7 July 2014 at 9:01 pm

    Native Affairs Maori TV right now. Peter-Peter-ShonKey-Eater. What a clapped out but personally ‘done very well thank you’ old fool !

    “Colonisation took Te Reo from the people.”

    My God, HE talks about colonisation !

  18. Whatever next? 18
    7 July 2014 at 9:18 pm

    The young woman asked to speak to oldest female over 18, went straight into asking if I agreed with labours policy regarding school donations costing the tax payer $50 million etc. went onto ask about if I had school age children. At the end asked if I thought everyone should wear life jackets, all the time and then asked me if I had various sea vessels, of which I have none.an 0800 number was given, but it was 6.00 and I was too busy to note it, which I regret now! Cannot get number, so I might ask maritime NZ if they are actually doing a poll at the moment?

  19. Dramaticus 19
    14 July 2014 at 10:45 am

    Tell it like it is Key, you sent your kids to private schools because your a rich elitist prick who thinks your better than everyone else and you really couldnt give a fuck about the under paid, unemployed, unemployable,lower class white people, beneficiaries,polynesians who are dying because of your shit , intellectually impaired ,fiscally challenged,poor
    ANGRY voters who have had a guts full of your fascist policies that suck the life and resources out of this country and leave us with lies, corruption, pollution, debt, despondency and a country with no history before Key came to be, You should be charged with treason and convicted

  20. Dramaticus 20
    14 July 2014 at 10:49 am

    Tell it like it is Key, you sent your kids to private schools because your a rich elitist prick who thinks your better than everyone else and you really couldnt give a fuck about the under paid, unemployed, unemployable,lower class white people, beneficiaries,polynesians who are dying because of your shit , intellectually impaired ,fiscally challenged,poor
    ANGRY voters who have had a guts full of your fascist policies that suck the life and resources out of this country and leave us with lies, corruption, pollution, debt, despondency and a country with no history before you Key came to be, You should be charged with treason and convicted

  21. Dramaticus 21
    14 July 2014 at 10:49 am

    Tell it like it is Key, you sent your kids to private schools because your a rich elitist prick who thinks your better than everyone else and you really couldnt give a fuck about the under paid, unemployed, unemployable,lower class white people, beneficiaries,polynesians who are dying because of your shit , intellectually impaired ,fiscally challenged,poor
    ANGRY voters who have had a guts full of your fascist policies that suck the life and resources out of this country and leave us with lies, corruption, pollution, debt, despondency and a country with no history before you Key came to be, You should be charged with treason and convicted

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 hours ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 hours ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    12 hours ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    13 hours ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    16 hours ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    16 hours ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    16 hours ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    18 hours ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    20 hours ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    21 hours ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    23 hours ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 day ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    2 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    7 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    7 days ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-04T19:08:09+00:00