With regards the question “Will the All Blacks be the first team to defend a RWC title?” the obsessive-compulsive in me says no, the All Blacks will be the third team to defend a RWC title.
Australia defended its 1999 title in 2003, but lost to England, while England defended its 2003 title in 2007 but lost to South Africa. The other finals occasions have not included the winner from the previous tournament.
Will the All Blacks be the first team to ‘successfully’ defend a RWC title? – quite probably, but I’m not staying up to watch any awarding of cups, medals, or giving of dodgy three-way handshakes … there’s too high a risk of seeing more of the blossoming bro’mance between Key and McCaw
Heard today from some National supporters that there’s been a lot of work going in to convincing McCaw to run for office after he retires from the ABs.
-Probably still going to get up to watch the game though. I do enjoy my rugby.
Politicians are so narcissistic that they think everyone wants to be one. McCaw is bright enough and has the leadership skills to do whatever he wants in the world. Who knows, but I doubt prime minister of NZ is on his list. I suspect he regards Key’s affection the way the captain of the first XV regarded the admiration of the geeky kid in the 4th form – something he knows it would be rude to reject and which he just has to put up with.
After 14 years as an ab and probably the top paid one for at least half that he can probably do what ever takes his fancy. Coaching might be a on the list I would think.
“McCaw came to the attention of national selectors during a 5-all draw with Rotorua Boys’ High School in the 1998 New Zealand secondary schools rugby final in Christchurch. However, he failed to make the New Zealand Secondary Schools Team, losing out to Sam Harding, Angus McDonald and Hale T-Pole. With Sam Harding moving south to study at the University of Otago, McCaw headed to Christchurch’s Lincoln University to study agricultural science and pursue his rugby interests. He achieved all but two papers for his Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree before rugby became his life.“
Exactly Joe Bloggs. Key and McCaws’ antics have put me off New Zealand rugby for life. (although it’s probably not all McCaws’ fault and I hope I will recover once key has disappeared.)
Splitting infinitives was deemed an outrage by Victorian grammarians who wanted English to conform to Latin grammatical structure.
Personally, I split or don’t split infinitives on aesthetic/aural grounds.
McCaw’s scholastic history does not suggest that he is exceptionally intellectual though clearly he is no dullard. (He neither completed his undergraduate degree nor went on to postgraduate study.)
Rugby was obviously a greater allure than was exploration of the fields of knowledge and philosophical or scientific enquiry – which is not at all a criticism.
Being passionate about thinking and enquiring into the nature of the world is not everyone’s cup of tea.
That is a bit unfair — McCaw was proxime accessit (second to the dux) at high school, and gain consistently high marks at school. He only gave up on uni because of his rugby.
Yes a back to back win between 5 – 10 points. The ABs have so much to play for, they have never met Australia in a rugby cup final, both NZ and Australia have won twice and previously mentioned NZ are the current holders of the cup.
Last weekend I got up 2 minutes before the start of the second half when the score was 12 SA and & 7 NZ, what a second half it was; Carter’s drop goal gave the game to NZ.
I’m sorry, but can I frame it another way…
World number one in Domestic violence nation against number one gang rape nation , (at least that was true though out the twentieth century) .Not looking forward to the end result, but on a selfish level , out of our faces for awhile.
No, was I so post to be, played football, all sorts of sport, thats called participation, no supporter of this muck sucking up most of the sponsorship money about, and I think they are failing grassroots rugby I would add, like some other sports here an in Australia, they add a sort of twisted bullying nature to politics.
I enjoyed your wee rant. I expect there is going to be a bit of ranting if NZ lose, bulging eye balls, griting teeth etc. Any win against Aussie is always the best.
He wasn’t too far out, was he?
He predicted a 15 point margin and it was in fact 17.
I didn’t think it would have been that much and if I had been willing to bet on it I would have picked the ABs by about 5.
âŚ.part of me wants the All Blacks to lose,so I don’t have to watch Key dribble all the celebrationâŚ..with his sycophantic”me toâŚme to” lackeydom and his grovelling fourth form boys toadyismâŚâŚâŚ..oh godâŚ..go Australia!!!!!
Some cardiologist on TV yesterday reckons the rate of heart attacks double or triple within a few days of the ABs losing. Coleman won’t want extra hospital admissions.
Do you think key has had a path already cleared so he can scuttle down to the sheds after the game, before the AB’s can get there, so he can nab the seat next to Richie’s and be there waiting with his stubby in hand?
I don’t think SA liked the slippery ball last week. Could you imagine brylcreem on the ball, penalty after penalty and nothing going over the goal post.
What a dreadful thought.
It is probably lucky that we don’t have a Dennis Compton clone in the team.
I wonder if he rubbed his hands through his hair before polishing the ball when he was playing for England?
I actually hope the All Black’s put the game beyond doubt, with 10 minutes to go. Already found the semi-final stressful enough LOL. (Although I think the AB’s will win 20-10.) Also, with the Rugby League/Cricket/Netball world Cups, already across the ditch, I think the Aussies have enough silverware.
The AB’s to win — they seem to be unstoppable, and have come together as a unit. There were some concerns early on, but their performance against France (a thrashing), and SA (hanging on in a tight match) have led me to the conclusion that they are firing on all cylinders.
Whatever your opinion of McCaw, he is a legend of the game — he first played in 2001,and has racked up over 100 tests, over 14 years.
And there has been a lot of stuff said about Sonny Bill Williams, but playing in world cup finals for both union, and league (and even representing your nation both those codes) is a tremendous achievement.
Though, If we do lose, I hope we all remember that its not the end of the world, and the sun will still rise tomorrow.
I agree – Nonu’s try was just brilliant! This is an exceptional All Black team, with a few ready to bow out now. They have earned this moment of glory.
This is the same Pocock whom disagreed with coal-mining in a NSW forest-and chained himself to one of their diggers-and would refuse to marry his partner until same-sex marriage was legal in Australia
Can’t they ever give it a break over there in Perth, the reincarnation of the 1950s?
The season has been over for a month and they still haven’t anything else to talk about? Even in Melbourne they give the AFL a break from about a week after the Grand Final until the end of the Spring Racing Carnival in mid-November.
I guess in Perth there is nothing else that ever happens.
I just loved the piling on of points in the last quarter from 4 ahead, then 7, then 10, then 17.
McCaw has now played 148 tests, there are at least two more tests in him. Ma’a’s try was a blast.
Congratulations to the team on a historic win, first time for a team to make it 3 wins and both Australia and NZ entered the final as being unbeaten in the tournament.
Great game and congratulations on the team’s hard work. My only grouch is our rugby commentators over here, when I have watched games with Welsh, English, Scots etc commentators they are calm, measured, usually only one voice sparely giving an account of the game with an occasional comment by a second commentator. They just know when to shut up. A pleasure to listen to as it doesn’t grate and get in the way of concentrating on the game. Always here in NZ the two commentators keep up a running conversation on the game together and it grates on the nerves with them testing each other’s opinions – who cares – why can’t they just shut up occasionally. I end up with the sound turned off and can see and get everything from the game without their input quite nicely thank you. The All Black’s deserve better.
I’ve really enjoyed the ITV commentary and analysis which we received here in the Middle East – as you say calm, measured and non-intrusive to enjoying the spectacle. The biggest issue I have with the NZ commentary is Justin Marshall – sometimes he says things that make me wonder if he had even played the game at all – let alone at the highest level!
…As well as the first team to win three World Cups (the most by any other rugby nation). Also, it’s the first time that the All Blacks had won a World Cup away from home.
Is it called a hat trick if you win three in a row? (I realise the third win cannot happen until 2019). I know that I sound like a Nat on election night.
I assume that they don’t have the rule they used to have in the FIFA World Cup.
When Brazil won for the third time in 1970 they got to keep the trophy.
Congratulations ABs, who played strong and played well. A well deserved win đ
Commiserations Wallabies. Excellent work for getting up there into the finals to play off the ABs.
Also well done the other rugby teams whose contribution made this event possible.
Leave the politics aside for today and allow the boys to enjoy their glory, without hindrance. Hopefully a politician or two, or three will respectfully do the same.
John Key had to go down to the Police office at the stadium I understand.
Some balding little fellow in glasses tried to get on the pitch and take a selfie with McCaw. He got flattened by a tiny little policewoman though.
The pitch invader tried to claim he knew McCaw but Richie said he had no idea who he was. They asked Key to go down and identify the chap as being little Andie and to explain that, although he was delusional, he was actually harmless.
Superb stuff. Well played Australia but what a super All Black performance. I bet Ben Smith will cop a few fines though in the kangaroo court later on!
Watched the ITV coverage beamed through here in the Middle East – great commentary and after match analysis (Sean Fitzpatrick, Johnny Wilkinson & Michael Lynagh).
Nothing like an Otago pub to re-understand the religious force Rugby opens up. Great screaming and cheering. Pity the only dark beer was Guiness!
I would wish all the retirees well, but especially Richie great success in his future life. Huge and humble service to this country for a decade and more.
Unless he chooses politics. Then he’ll see what a contact sport looks like.
Back to back WC’s is a unique achievement so well done AB’s, Hansen etc.
I hope the NZRU has a good look at youth and grassroots (provinces) as we don’t seem to have the ritchies/dans/kevins coming through in enough numbers imo as not all make it to the very top.
Only 3% of all german youth academy attendees make it as a pro so you need the raw material and plenty of it to keep the top level supreme.
In March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...
This month’s open thread for climate related topics. Please be constructive, polite, and succinct. The post Unforced variations: Feb 2023 first appeared on RealClimate. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two fresh press releases had been posted when we checked the Beehive website at noon, both of them posted yesterday. In one statement, in the runup to Waitangi Day, Maori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis drew attention to happenings on a Northland battle site in 1845. ...
It’s that time of the week again when I’m on the site for an hour for a chat in an Ask Me Anything with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump in for a chat on anything, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which are set to cost insurers and the Government well over ...
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) has published a 6,000 word manifesto called ‘Capitalism after the Crises’ arguing for ‘values-based capitalism’. Yet here in NZ we hear the same stale old rhetoric unchanged from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The rest of the world is talking about inflation ...
A couple of weeks ago, after NCEA results came out, my son’s enrolment at Auckland Uni for this year was confirmed - he is doing a BSc majoring in Statistics. Well that is the plan now, who knows what will take his interest once he starts.I spent a bit of ...
Kia ora. What a week! We hope you’ve all come through last weekend’s extreme weather event relatively dry and safe. Header image: stormwater ponds at Hobsonville Point. Image via Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland There’s been a storm of information and debate since the worst of the flooding ...
Hi,At 4.43pm yesterday it arrived — a cease and desist letter from the guy I mentioned in my last newsletter. I’d written an article about “WEWE”, a global multi-level marketing scam making in-roads into New Zealand. MLMs are terrible for many of the same reasons megachurches are terrible, and I ...
Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Ministerâs direction of travel â already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta â must be confirmed by an emphatic ...
Open access notables Via PNAS, Ceylan, Anderson & Wood present a paper squarely in the center of the Skeptical Science wheelhouse: Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased. The signficance statement is obvious catnip: Misinformation is a worldwide concern carrying socioeconomic and political consequences. What drives ...
Mark White from the Left free speech organisation Plebity looks at the disturbing trend of ‘book burning’ on US campuses In the abstract, people mostly agree that book banning is a bad thing. The Nazis did us the favor of being very clear about it and literally burning books, but ...
 Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has undergone a stern baptisim of fire in his first week in his new job, but it doesnât get any easier. Next week, he has a vital meeting  in Canberra with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, where he has to establish ...
As PM Chris Hipkins says, itâs a âno brainerâ to extend the fuel tax cut, half price public subsidy and the cut to the road user levy until mid-year. A no braoner if the prime purpose is to ease the burden on people struggling to cope with the cost of ...
Buzz from the Beehive Cost-of-living pressures loomed large in Beehive announcements over the past 24 hours. The PM was obviously keen to announce further measures to keep those costs in check and demonstrate he means business when he talks of focusing his government on bread-and-butter issues. His statement was headed ...
Poor Mike Hosking. He has revealed himself in his most recent diatribe to be one of those public figures who is defined, not by who he is, but by who he isnât, or at least not by what he is for, but by what he is against. Jacindaâs departure has ...
New Zealand is the second least corrupt country on earth according to the latest Corruption Perception Index published yesterday by Transparency International. But how much does this reflect reality? The problem with being continually feted for world-leading political integrity â which the Beehive and government departments love to boast about ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
Transport Minister and now also Minister for Auckland, Michael Wood has confirmed that the light rail project is part of the government’s policy refocus. Wood said the light rail project was under review as part of a ministerial refocus on key Government projects. âWe are undertaking a stocktake about how ...
Sometime before the new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced that this year would be about “bread and butter issues”, Nationalâs finance spokesperson Nicola Willis decided to move from Wellington Central and stand for Ohariu, which spreads across north Wellington from the central city to Johnsonville and Tawa. Itâs an ...
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed.Mainly because it turns ...
One of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Tomorrow we have a funeral, and thank you all of you for your very kind words and thoughts — flowers, even.Our friend Michèle messaged: we never get to feel one thing at a time, us grownups, and oh boy is that ever the truth. Tomorrow we have the funeral, and ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
A new Prime Minister, a revitalised Cabinet, and possibly revised priorities – but is the political and, importantly, economic landscape much different? Certainly some within the news media were excited by the changes which Chris Hipkins announced yesterday or – before the announcement – by the prospect of changes in ...
Currently the government's strategy for reducing transport emissions hinges on boosting vehicle fuel-efficiency, via the clean car standard and clean car discount, and some improvements to public transport. The former has been hugely successful, and has clearly set us on the right path, but its also not enough, and will ...
Buzz from the Beehive Before he announced his Cabinet yesterday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced he would be flying to Australia next week to meet that countryâs Prime Minister. And before Kieran McAnulty had time to say âThree Watersâ after his promotion to the Local Government portfolio, he was dishing ...
The quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing that unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%. There are now 99,000 people unemployed - 24,000 fewer than when Labour took office. So, I guess the Reserve Bank's plan to throw people out of work to stop wage rises "inflation", and ...
Another night of heavy rain, flooding, damage to homes, and people worried about where the hell all this water is going to go as we enter day twenty two of rain this year.Honestly if the government can’t sell Three Waters on the back of what has happened with storm water ...
* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on âbread and butterâ issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on âbread and butterâ issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...
Hi,It’s weird to me that in 2023 we still have people falling for multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs for short). There are Netflix documentaries about them, countless articles, and last year we did an Armchaired and Dangerous episode on them.Then you check a ticketing website like EventBrite and see this shit ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Shortly, the absolute state of Wayne Brown. But before that, something I wrote four years ago for the council’s own media machine. It was a day-in-the-life profile of their many and varied and quite possibly unnoticed vital services. We went all over Auckland in 48 hours for the story, the ...
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...
Pity the poor Brits. They just canât catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...
On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planetâs atmosphere is ...
Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters When early settlers came to the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers before the California Gold Rush, Indigenous people warned them that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when great winter rains came. The storytellers described water filling the ...
Wayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...
Wayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes –Â Last nightâs opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins ...
Hipkins’ aim this year will be to present a ‘low target’ for those seeking to attack Labour’s policies and spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Anyone dealing with Government departments and councils who wants some sort of big or long-term decision out of officials or politicians this year should brace for ...
Hipkins’ aim this year will be to present a ‘low target’ for those seeking to attack Labour’s policies and spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Anyone dealing with Government departments and councils who wants some sort of big or long-term decision out of officials or politicians this year should brace for ...
Last nightâs opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins has changed everything, and Labour is back ...
Over the last few years, it’s seemed like city after city around the world has become subject to extreme flooding events that have been made worse by impacts from climate change. We’ve highlighted many of them in our Weekly Roundup series. Sadly, over the last few days it’s been Auckland’s ...
And so the first month of the year draws to a close. It rained in Auckland on 21 out of the 31 days in January. Feels like summer never really happened this year. It’s actually hard to believe there were 10 days that it didn’t rain. Was it any better where ...
A âsmall targetâ strategy is not going to cut it anymore if National want to win the upcoming election. The game has changed and the game plan needs to change as well. Jacinda Ardernâs abrupt departure from the 9th floor has the potential to derail what looked to be an ...
When Grant Robertson talks about how the economy might change post-covid, one of the things he talks about is what he calls an unsung but interesting white paper on science. âItâs really important,â he says. The Minister in charge of the White Paper — Te Ara Paerangi, Future Pathways ...
The clean up has begun but more rain is on the way. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Auckland’s floods over the last three days are turning into a macroeconomic event, with losses from Aotearoa’s biggest-ever climate event estimated at around $500 million and Auckland’s schools all closed for a week until ...
The clean up has begun but more rain is on the way. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Auckland’s floods over the last three days are turning into a macroeconomic event, with losses from Aotearoa’s biggest-ever climate event estimated at around $500 million and Auckland’s schools all closed for a week until ...
The news media were at one ceremony by the looks of things. The Governor-General, the Prime Minister and his deputy were at another. The news  media were at a swearing-in ceremony. The countryâs leaders were at an appointment ceremony. The New Zealand Gazette record of what transpired says: Appointment of ...
I n some alternative universe, Auckland mayor Efeso Collins readily grasped the scale of Fridayâs deluge, and quickly made the emergency declaration that enabled central government to immediately throw its resources behind the rescue and remediation effort. As Friday evening became night, Mayor Collins seemed to be everywhere: talking with ...
They called it an âatmospheric riverâ, the weather bombardment which hit NZâs northern region at the weekend. It exacted a terrible toll on metropolitan Auckland and the rest of the region. Few living there may have noted a statement from electricity generator Mercury Energy labelled âWET, WET, WET!â This was ...
I know, that is a pretty corny title but given the circumstances here in the Auckland region, I just had to say it. The more oblique reference embedded in the title is to the leadership failures exhibited by Mayor Wayne Brown and his so-called leadership team when confronted by the ...
How much confidence should the public have in authorities managing natural disasters? Not much, judging by the farcical way in which the civil defence emergence in Auckland has played out. The way authorities dealt with Aucklandâs extreme weather on Friday illustrated how hit-and-miss our civil defence emergency system is. In ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
Mayor Wayne Brown, under fire for his communication failures, quietly visited the scene of the fatal Remuera slip on Sunday, with his staff taking photos for social media updates. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: The cleanup and the post-mortem have begun, even though the rain just keeps falling in Auckland after ...
Mayor Wayne Brown, under fire for his communication failures, quietly visited the scene of the fatal Remuera slip on Sunday, with his staff taking photos for social media updates. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: The cleanup and the post-mortem have begun, even though the rain just keeps falling in Auckland after ...
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The recent leadership change in the governing Labour party resulted in a very strange response from National’s (current) leader, Christopher Luxon. Mr Luxon berated Labour for it’s change of leader, citing no actual change.As ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 22, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 28, 2023. Story of the Week New Study Reveals Arctic Ice, Tracked Both Above and Below, Is Freezing LaterClimate change is affecting the timing of both ...
There once was a mayor called WayneWho observed there was terrible rainHe said - we really need this to stopI’m no good with bucket and mopPerhaps it will just go down the drainRNZHis council said call an emergencyHe replied, what’s with all the urgency?I’m having a nice cuppa of teaThen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yes, thereâs life â and the hint of ministerial hum â in the Beehive. The latest announcement on the Beehive website deals with flood relief for Auckland: Government steps up to assist Auckland during floodingAs the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the ...
Troubles can build by the hour. It can take you some time to fully register their meaning.Friday morning began with Karren phoning to check on her mother Betty who was in hospital, for a second time, with heart problems.They had been monitoring her overnight.The rain was coming down. We looked ...
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.It was another ‘SHOCK! HORROR!’ headline from a media increasingly venturing into tabloid-style journalism:Andrea Vance’s article seemed to focus on the "million dollar sums from the Government as the country grapples with a housing ...
Weâve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, weâre making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in TÄmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Governmentâs top priority â and this week, weâve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
 The tools exist to help families with surging costs â and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in WhangÄrei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between MÄori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. âWeâre supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. âPrincess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Armyâs Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealandâs horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien OâConnor said. âOur food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealandâs economic security. Weâre focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 â reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. âThe Governmentâs economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,â ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. âCabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. âWe need a greater focus on whatâs in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. âThe trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealandâs closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,â Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. âWe moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,â Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. âIâd urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papÄ te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wÄhi rua mai ana rÄ runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te mÄreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira NÄ reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mĹwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pĹuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the TairÄwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. âAnnouncing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,â Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 daysâ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien OâConnor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien OâConnor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. âWeâre making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,â ...
Viewers across the United States were today shown a slice of New Zealand, with a reporter for Good Morning America broadcasting live from Rotorua. Robin Roberts, a co-anchor for the popular morning TV show, has been touring the country this week. During her visit to Rotoruaâs Te Puia centre, she ...
They can be environmentally unsound and are a symbol used to shame millennials, but everyone still loves an avo. I love avocados, always have, always will. The buttery golden-green flesh from a perfectly ripe avocado is a culinary blessing. Today Iâd love to simply wax poetic about twisting open a ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Booksâ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1Â The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Penguin Press, $50) The beautiful ...
A new poem by Robin Peace. To the kahikatea I see from my bed Thinking inside the square, the ellipse, the round of what life is, I only see the trees. Not only as if that were the only thing I see, but only as if the tree matters more. ...
A week ago, Elton Johnâs first Auckland show was called off at the last minute. What was it like getting there, being there, and trying to return home afterwards?Elton John has long been a blessing for our ears, but in recent years his Auckland shows have been cursed. His ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Aucklandâs Wayne Brown, as his response to last weekâs flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Aucklandâs Wayne Brown, as his response to last weekâs flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
Ours Not Mines is cautiously excited about reporting that the Government is drafting legislation to ban new mines on conservation land. The anti-mining group's spokesperson, Morgan Donoghue says: "The Government has been promising us some action for ...
People who enjoy the outdoors for recreation, fishing and hunting will lose rights under the Natural and Built Environments Bill. Fish & Game New Zealand chief executive Corina Jordan says the proposed replacement for the Resource Management ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has conceded he âdropped the ballâ during last Fridayâs major flooding event. The state of emergency in the super city has today been extended for a further seven days, though Brown said he expects it will be lifted early. After a week of defensiveness over his ...
As the reality TV juggernaut returns for a new season, Tara Ward steps into the minds of the showâs relationship experts to assess the compatibility of this yearâs brides and grooms. Married at First Sight: Australia returns on Monday night, and by season ten, youâd think the showâs relationship experts ...
Aucklandâs state of emergency is expected to be extended for another seven days, according to the Herald. It was due to expire overnight after being declared a week ago, the day of the worst flooding in the super city. While weather conditions have improved, the city is continuing to experience ...
Proposed pay equity claim settlements for school librarians and science technicians have been reached between the Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa, Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted and NZEI Te Riu Roa president, Mark Potter, announced ...
Members of NZEI Te Riu Roa negotiating on behalf of school librarians, library assistants and science technicians are excited to announce that proposed pay equity settlements are ready to be voted on by their colleagues. They include pay increases of up to ...
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is calling for Michael Wood, the Minister of Transport, and now Auckland, to cancel the light rail project immediately. Auckland Light Rail was never going to happen, as our group has repeatedly said dozens of ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been asked to intervene following confirmation today that the Government plans to implement a ban on all extractive sector activities on the conservation estate. Wayne Scott, CEO of the Aggregate and Quarry Association, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images The heated (and often confused) debate about âco-governanceâ in Aotearoa New Zealand inevitably leads back to its source, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. But, as its long-contested meanings demonstrate, very little ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Hunter, Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University Jodie Hutchinson/Red StitchReview: Wittenoom, directed by Susie Dee, Red Stitch Deep in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, the town of Wittenoom lies empty, desolate ⌠and contaminated. Wittenoom ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Oliver Bown, Postdoctoral fellow, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock The past few years have seen an explosion in applications of artificial intelligence to creative fields. A new generation of image and text generators is delivering impressiveresults. Now AI has also found ...
New Zealandâs egg shortage is hitting cruise ships too â forcing the crew of one vessel to hatch a poaching plan. This story was first published on Stuff. On the hunt for eggs, a crew from a luxury cruise ship got cracking and hatched a cunning plan. Earlier this week, Stuff ...
Now demolished, the First Church of Christ Scientist was a masterclass of architectural imagination. Kate Linzey visits the site on which it once stood, to learn more. The object is delicate and small. Small enough to sit in the palm of my hand and weighing less than 300 grams. It ...
When your food parcel arrives before the emergency alert, you know somethingâs not working properly.This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. Iâve spent the last week desperately and at times fruitlessly attempting to drain and then sweep my whÄnau home of knee-deep water, pull up ...
Drongo-gate continues for another day with the Herald reporting that Aucklandâs mayor has been caught out using the slang term for a second time. It comes this time from a former minor mayoral candidate, Mike Kampkes, who said he received a message from Brown in response to a media release ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how venture capitalists are funding Aotearoaâs fastest growing, least-polluting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Guastella, Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, University of Sydney Shutterstock With childcare and schools starting the new year, parents might be anxiously wondering how their child will adapt in a new ...
I am delighted to announce the appointment of John Price ONZM as the new Director Civil Defence Emergency Management and Deputy Chief Executive Emergency Management for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). John has been a member of the ...
Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki are calling on the new Prime Minister and new Minister of Conservation Willow Jean Prime to immediately implement the 2017 promise to ban new mining activity on conservation lands. â The mining industry group Straterra ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. In the latest episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how ...
Thereâs a fear that highlighting menopause will undermine women, especially at work. But what have centuries of secrecy achieved for us? Are you sick of hearing about menopause? Kim Hill is. The living legend of Aotearoa broadcasting told actor Robyn Malcolm (also a legend) on her Saturday Morning show on RNZ ...
Dunedin city council has reached an agreement to save Foulden Maar from commercial mining. The maar is the site of a crater lake from 23 million years ago with the diatomite of the lake preserving fossils and a climate record covering 100,000 years from that period. It is fantastic news for Otago University ...
Some are speculating whether the Auckland Mayor's leadership is circling the drain. James Elliott hopes they're right. Thereâs never been a week quite like it. It was the week when the rains came. All of them. Even the rain from Spain that was supposed to fall mainly on the plain, came. ...
The Bus and Coach Association supports the Governmentâs decision to continue half-price fares on public transport services. The fare reduction was set to expire on 31 March 2023, but will now continue to 30 June 2023. âHalf-price fares have cost ten-times ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup:Â Hipkins’ bread and butter reshufflePolitical scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup:Â Chris Hipkins hires a lobbyist to run the BeehiveNew Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, speaking when Minister of Education, at NZEI Te Riu Roa strike rally on the steps of the New Zealand Parliament, 15th August 2018. Image; Wiki Commons. New Zealand is ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance todayCO-GOVERNANCE, WAITANGI, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Tweed, Senior lecturer, Massey University Shutterstock/Renata Apanaviciene As we approach another Waitangi Day, we should be thinking again about what Te Tiriti o Waitangi means. As the late Moana Jackson commented, the meaning of Te Tiriti will be ...
Even prime ministers get caught in bad weather. Itâs a week on from the devastating flooding that hit Auckland and Northland and Chris Hipkins has been forced to drive north for the start of Waitangi weekend commemorations after his plan was turned away from Kerikeri airport (twice). Today will see ...
Less than a year ago, co-governance had a future, at least as potentially accepted terminology. Now some iwi leaders want the label removed and replaced, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoffâs morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.  ...
âThe decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to not replace the late Queen with Charles on the Aussie $5 note should indicate to our Reserve Bank that itâs time to change the NZ $20 noteâ said Lewis Holden, campaign chair of New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Wolf, Associate Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University Somchat Parkaythong/Shutterstock Black holes are bizarre things, even by the standards of astronomers. Their mass is so great, it bends space around them so tightly that nothing can escape, even ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Revell, Associate Professor in Environmental Physics, University of Canterbury Getty Images The ozone layer is on track to heal within four decades, according to a recent UN report, but this progress could be undone by an upsurge in rocket ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Clune, Honorary Associate, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney At the New South Wales election on March 25 a 12-year-old Coalition government will be seeking re-election. Hoping to return as premier is Liberal leader Dominic Perrottet â a political conservative ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Trauer, Associate Professor, Monash University Anastelfy/Shutterstock The XBB.1.5 subvariant, known informally as âKrakenâ, is the latest in a menagerie of Omicron subvariants to dominate the headlines, following increasing detection in the United States and United Kingdom. But there ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Combe, Doctoral student, University of Technology Sydney Shutterstock As the economist Herman Daly pithily said, the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment â not the reverse. Nature makes our lives possible through what scientists call ecosystem ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Jefferson, Lecturer in Education, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock Grit. Donât quit. Thatâs the mantra many parents may have in mind when they, like me, spend what feels like years ferrying children to a seemingly endless variety of sports and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW Sydney Sam Shere/Wikimedia Commons A few weeks ago, Gautam Adani was indisputably Indiaâs richest man. Now his fortune is slipping away as the stocks of his many companies crash, thanks to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Divna Haslam, Senior Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock Have you ever found yourself scrolling through social media and noticed you felt a bit down? Maybe a little envious? Why arenât you on a yacht? Running a startup? Looking ...
The science of âevent attributionâ is growing, with researchers working to accelerate their assessments. A leading NZ climate scientist tells Toby Manhire how it works, how climate change impacted the âoff the chartâ weekend downpours, and why we canât put a number on it tomorrow. Brutal, unexpected, record-breaking, destructive, tragic. ...
Those lockdown vibes are back â and maybe they never really went away. We were supposed to be organised. For a while there, we were. A uniform, purchased across a frenzied weekend dashing between specialist stores, was spread out over our sonâs bed. Tags removed, shirts folded, socks in balls, ...
Establishing a Truth, Reconciliation and Justice Commission and recognising MÄori tino rangatiratanga are among several recommendations in two pivotal reports released today (Friday 3 February) by Te KÄhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission. The ...
The latest Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list, described by Steve BrauniasFICTION 1 KÄwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99) Huzzah to Monty Soutar, huzzah to his publishers, and huzzah to the three wise judges of the fiction prize at the 2023 Ockham New Zealand national book awards for ...
James Shaw says his Labour colleagues need to work with him to plug the emissions gap created by extending the fuel tax cuts Less than a week after a climate-fuelled storm laid waste to wide swathes of Auckland, the Government resurrected fossil fuel subsidies in the form of an extension ...
Jacinda Ardern was treated like royalty at Waitangi with people coming from near and far to see her every February. Newly minted Prime Minister Chris Hipkins isnât a familiar face in the Far North and will have his work cut out this weekend, writes political editor Jo Moir.Analysis: About ...
By extending the fuel excise duty cut, the Government is encouraging people to drive more, which will only worsen the climate challenges we face in the very near futureOpinion: By most accounts, the storms that have been wreaking havoc in Auckland and Northland are fuelled by climate change. The ...
Is a sponge city the answer to Auckland's flooding woes? The Detail finds out what the concept is all about. With the cleanup in full swing all over Auckland after this week's catastrophic flooding, people are starting to talk about throwing out the old building rules and "unengineering" our city - ...
Losing her mum at an early age, Ivari Christie found strength in netball. The explosive teen midcourter has now burst into the Southern Steel, with help from a couple of Silver Ferns legends, Suzanne McFadden writes. It was the biggest moment in Ivari Christieâs netball career; just 18 years old ...
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Airstrikes ordered against civilian targets, destruction of thousands of buildings, millions displaced, nearly 3000 civilians murdered, more than 13,000 jailed, the countryâs independent media banished, and the country locked in a deadly nationwide civil war. Myanmar civilians now ask what else must happen before they receive international support in line ...
By Nick Young of Greenpeace My family and I are lucky to have come through it unscathed, but my neighbourhood in Titirangi has been ravaged. Many people here and around the wider region have lost their homes altogether. Iâve seen peopleâs belongings out on the streets in piles ruined beyond ...
By Jonty Dine, RNZ News reporter While Auckland residents enjoy a brief reprieve from the rain, the rubbish continues to pile up as the full cost of the New Zealand flash floods continues to be counted. Some streets in Auckland are littered with items damaged and discarded from Fridayâs freak ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Former Fijian Broadcasting Corporation chief executive Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum was paid $224,792 in bonuses during his term at FBC which began in 2008, the new board chair has claimed. He was due for a $30,000 bonus this year. FBC chair Ajai Bhai Amrit also revealed Sayed-Khaiyum, ...
In additon to the MetService severe thunderstorm warning issued earlier this afternoon for Auckland, Coromandel and the Waikato, the MetService has issued a further update saying it is âideal thunderstorm weatherâ in Auckland. Auckland is experiencing very high humidity and MetService meteorologist Georgina Griffiths says âToday and tomorrow brings us ...
The Green Party co-leader joins Grant Robertson and Nicola Willis in opting not to contest the seat.Just six days after five-term Wellington Central MP and finance minister Grant Robertson announced he would not be contesting the Wellington Central seat and would go list-only at this yearâs election, James Shaw ...
The decision turns Wellington into a 2023 battleground, with three brand new faces set to contest the electorate - and Shaw has already thrown his support behind Tamatha Paul. ...
The Wellington Central electorate is set to be a wide-open race, with Greens co-leader James Shaw joining Labour incumbent Grant Robertson in opting against a run for the seat later this year Green Party co-leader James Shaw will not run for the Wellington Central seat at this yearâs election, instead ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zahid Shahab Ahmed, Senior research fellow, Deakin University Muhammad Sajjad/AP Earlier this week, a suicide blast ruptured the relative calm that had returned to Pakistan in recent years. The attack at a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed ...
With regards the question “Will the All Blacks be the first team to defend a RWC title?” the obsessive-compulsive in me says no, the All Blacks will be the third team to defend a RWC title.
Australia defended its 1999 title in 2003, but lost to England, while England defended its 2003 title in 2007 but lost to South Africa. The other finals occasions have not included the winner from the previous tournament.
Will the All Blacks be the first team to ‘successfully’ defend a RWC title? – quite probably, but I’m not staying up to watch any awarding of cups, medals, or giving of dodgy three-way handshakes … there’s too high a risk of seeing more of the blossoming bro’mance between Key and McCaw
Heard today from some National supporters that there’s been a lot of work going in to convincing McCaw to run for office after he retires from the ABs.
-Probably still going to get up to watch the game though. I do enjoy my rugby.
Might be why he is not keen on a knighthood.
A good way for him to destroy his popularity.
I would think that R McCaw has , as he always had, very high aspirations in whatever he does in life.
However, what makes Key think Politics would suit McCaw ?
Politicians are about as low in the scrap heap as anyone can go and is full of lying, cheating low life.
And I would think Ritchie well knows that.
J Key, do not bring a great man down to your level, you weasel.
Politicians are so narcissistic that they think everyone wants to be one. McCaw is bright enough and has the leadership skills to do whatever he wants in the world. Who knows, but I doubt prime minister of NZ is on his list. I suspect he regards Key’s affection the way the captain of the first XV regarded the admiration of the geeky kid in the 4th form – something he knows it would be rude to reject and which he just has to put up with.
Yes I think you are probably right Matthew – at least I would hope you are. I would be very disappointed if your assessment was not the case.
Nearly all attempts by high profile rugby players to stand for public office have ended in failure — Laidlaw, Thorne to name a few.
I am picking that that McCaw will probably find his home in the corporate word — which has seen ex-AB’s prosper.
After 14 years as an ab and probably the top paid one for at least half that he can probably do what ever takes his fancy. Coaching might be a on the list I would think.
Doesn’t McCaw have a law degree or something? He might want a break from the rugby world… hopefully he joins Greenpeace đ
Something to do with agriculture from Lincoln I think.
From Wikipedia:
“McCaw came to the attention of national selectors during a 5-all draw with Rotorua Boys’ High School in the 1998 New Zealand secondary schools rugby final in Christchurch. However, he failed to make the New Zealand Secondary Schools Team, losing out to Sam Harding, Angus McDonald and Hale T-Pole. With Sam Harding moving south to study at the University of Otago, McCaw headed to Christchurch’s Lincoln University to study agricultural science and pursue his rugby interests. He achieved all but two papers for his Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree before rugby became his life.“
MCCaw ended up working with soil.
Exactly Joe Bloggs. Key and McCaws’ antics have put me off New Zealand rugby for life. (although it’s probably not all McCaws’ fault and I hope I will recover once key has disappeared.)
Shouldn’t that be, “Will the All Blacks be the first team to defend a RWC title ‘successfully'”? đ
Yes. Good spotting. “To successfully defend” is a grammatical outrage that Richie would never commit (although Key would).
Splitting infinitives was deemed an outrage by Victorian grammarians who wanted English to conform to Latin grammatical structure.
Personally, I split or don’t split infinitives on aesthetic/aural grounds.
McCaw’s scholastic history does not suggest that he is exceptionally intellectual though clearly he is no dullard. (He neither completed his undergraduate degree nor went on to postgraduate study.)
Rugby was obviously a greater allure than was exploration of the fields of knowledge and philosophical or scientific enquiry – which is not at all a criticism.
Being passionate about thinking and enquiring into the nature of the world is not everyone’s cup of tea.
That is a bit unfair — McCaw was proxime accessit (second to the dux) at high school, and gain consistently high marks at school. He only gave up on uni because of his rugby.
Arts degree, waste of money,
I find cutting them quite funny.
We need Kiwis to be thicker!
Who needs thinkers when we have a kicker!
âJK love poetry, Twitter
Whatever your opinion of Victorian grammarians, pedants deserve to be held to a more annoying standard than the rest of the population.
Yes a back to back win between 5 – 10 points. The ABs have so much to play for, they have never met Australia in a rugby cup final, both NZ and Australia have won twice and previously mentioned NZ are the current holders of the cup.
Last weekend I got up 2 minutes before the start of the second half when the score was 12 SA and & 7 NZ, what a second half it was; Carter’s drop goal gave the game to NZ.
I’m sorry, but can I frame it another way…
World number one in Domestic violence nation against number one gang rape nation , (at least that was true though out the twentieth century) .Not looking forward to the end result, but on a selfish level , out of our faces for awhile.
So you’re not a rugby fan!
No, was I so post to be, played football, all sorts of sport, thats called participation, no supporter of this muck sucking up most of the sponsorship money about, and I think they are failing grassroots rugby I would add, like some other sports here an in Australia, they add a sort of twisted bullying nature to politics.
I don’t like the corruption of betting in cricket, no doubt some corruption of betting occurs in many other sports.
Rugby has changed over the years, big play pay packets and sponsorship deals.
Your view is as valid as anyone elses.
I should add that I wasn’t getting at you, just a wee rant. please enjoy.
I enjoyed your wee rant. I expect there is going to be a bit of ranting if NZ lose, bulging eye balls, griting teeth etc. Any win against Aussie is always the best.
This is an interesting outsider look at this game by American National Public Radio. It really is the biggest rugby match in history. Even people who aren’t sports or rugby fans might get something out of watching such a spectacle. You don’t have to be a football fan or know anything about it to enjoy watching a FIFA World Cup final between Brazil and Italy.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/30/453287933/the-rugby-world-cup-final-is-saturday-and-its-going-to-be-a-doozy
Interesting link, and here’s the follow-up from NPR
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/31/453462384/new-zealand-wins-rugby-world-cup
Key has already been published as predicting a win to the ab’s 27-12 I believe. Key curse will guarantee a loss. Hope I’m wrong. But not really.
He wasn’t too far out, was he?
He predicted a 15 point margin and it was in fact 17.
I didn’t think it would have been that much and if I had been willing to bet on it I would have picked the ABs by about 5.
âŚ.part of me wants the All Blacks to lose,so I don’t have to watch Key dribble all the celebrationâŚ..with his sycophantic”me toâŚme to” lackeydom and his grovelling fourth form boys toadyismâŚâŚâŚ..oh godâŚ..go Australia!!!!!
Some cardiologist on TV yesterday reckons the rate of heart attacks double or triple within a few days of the ABs losing. Coleman won’t want extra hospital admissions.
Correction the increased rate of heart attacks is 50% – 100% when the ABs lose.
Do you think key has had a path already cleared so he can scuttle down to the sheds after the game, before the AB’s can get there, so he can nab the seat next to Richie’s and be there waiting with his stubby in hand?
His minders are setting up the cones and brightly coloured tapes as we speak.
I reckon Key has a plan to pinch the seat of the CEO of World Rugby and be centre stage at the cup presentation ceremony.
Key will also hand out a bunch of shiny medals with his face on both sides. (they will look good on TV but in reality they are cheap plastic)
AB’s by 13 and over….pile it on like brylcreem.
I don’t think SA liked the slippery ball last week. Could you imagine brylcreem on the ball, penalty after penalty and nothing going over the goal post.
What a dreadful thought.
It is probably lucky that we don’t have a Dennis Compton clone in the team.
I wonder if he rubbed his hands through his hair before polishing the ball when he was playing for England?
I actually hope the All Black’s put the game beyond doubt, with 10 minutes to go. Already found the semi-final stressful enough LOL. (Although I think the AB’s will win 20-10.) Also, with the Rugby League/Cricket/Netball world Cups, already across the ditch, I think the Aussies have enough silverware.
Its good of prime to put it on for us non sky customers.
Looking forward to good match
The AB’s to win — they seem to be unstoppable, and have come together as a unit. There were some concerns early on, but their performance against France (a thrashing), and SA (hanging on in a tight match) have led me to the conclusion that they are firing on all cylinders.
Whatever your opinion of McCaw, he is a legend of the game — he first played in 2001,and has racked up over 100 tests, over 14 years.
And there has been a lot of stuff said about Sonny Bill Williams, but playing in world cup finals for both union, and league (and even representing your nation both those codes) is a tremendous achievement.
Though, If we do lose, I hope we all remember that its not the end of the world, and the sun will still rise tomorrow.
I find your last sentence implausible in several ways đ
Lucky that it doesn’t need to be tested đ
Well done All Blacks and hard luck Australia – coach and team have moved mountains in the last 6 months, but not this one.
Player of the tournament for me – Nonu. Magnificent final try and sadly the end of a mid-field era with he and Smith moving on.
I agree – Nonu’s try was just brilliant! This is an exceptional All Black team, with a few ready to bow out now. They have earned this moment of glory.
Good to see David Pocock say global warming worries him more than the All Blacks. Sorry can’t post the link but its at The Mirror. Worth reading.
This is the same Pocock whom disagreed with coal-mining in a NSW forest-and chained himself to one of their diggers-and would refuse to marry his partner until same-sex marriage was legal in Australia
Yep, be good if we had an All Black one of those. It might be the best shot at getting good progressive change in this country.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/30/australia-flanker-david-pocock-sport-politics
My favourite rugby player. Puts McCaw, Nonu and Dagg, the latter two who tweeted support for JK on election day to shame.
In my mind the true winner and hero of the world cup…………David Pocock.
The closest we had was possibly before your era.
Graham Mourie. A very good player. Pity he was a bloody awful coach for the Hurricanes later on.
GeezI hope the Wallabies win! Am in Perth tonight- so it’s its more Dockers v’s Eagles. Pocock could be the deciding factor.
Can’t they ever give it a break over there in Perth, the reincarnation of the 1950s?
The season has been over for a month and they still haven’t anything else to talk about? Even in Melbourne they give the AFL a break from about a week after the Grand Final until the end of the Spring Racing Carnival in mid-November.
I guess in Perth there is nothing else that ever happens.
Awesome try right on half time!
Bigger score than I expected.
Great finish!
Great game and well done All Blacks. I imagine that John Key is now sprinting towards the All Black dressing room with his camera ready to go …
FFS, let it go and enjoy the moment. Plenty of time over the ensuing weeks to critique every photo and comment made by Key & Co.
Best quote from the commentary team after the match when discussing Key arriving in the dressing room – “just as well Richie doesn’t have a ponytail”.
You are obsesseed
If there was an election this month then whoever the incumbent happened to be would win
That second half… nail biting there for a second
Yeah Aussie were looking good ’til they dropped the ball đ
thank god team Key got us over the line…again.Thanks John.
I just loved the piling on of points in the last quarter from 4 ahead, then 7, then 10, then 17.
McCaw has now played 148 tests, there are at least two more tests in him. Ma’a’s try was a blast.
Congratulations to the team on a historic win, first time for a team to make it 3 wins and both Australia and NZ entered the final as being unbeaten in the tournament.
First team to win two in a row.
Great game and congratulations on the team’s hard work. My only grouch is our rugby commentators over here, when I have watched games with Welsh, English, Scots etc commentators they are calm, measured, usually only one voice sparely giving an account of the game with an occasional comment by a second commentator. They just know when to shut up. A pleasure to listen to as it doesn’t grate and get in the way of concentrating on the game. Always here in NZ the two commentators keep up a running conversation on the game together and it grates on the nerves with them testing each other’s opinions – who cares – why can’t they just shut up occasionally. I end up with the sound turned off and can see and get everything from the game without their input quite nicely thank you. The All Black’s deserve better.
I’ve really enjoyed the ITV commentary and analysis which we received here in the Middle East – as you say calm, measured and non-intrusive to enjoying the spectacle. The biggest issue I have with the NZ commentary is Justin Marshall – sometimes he says things that make me wonder if he had even played the game at all – let alone at the highest level!
…As well as the first team to win three World Cups (the most by any other rugby nation). Also, it’s the first time that the All Blacks had won a World Cup away from home.
Is it called a hat trick if you win three in a row? (I realise the third win cannot happen until 2019). I know that I sound like a Nat on election night.
I assume that they don’t have the rule they used to have in the FIFA World Cup.
When Brazil won for the third time in 1970 they got to keep the trophy.
For all the grouching and bad history between progressives and the conservative rugby hierarchy – you have to acknowledge excellence when you see it.
This impressive team can teach us all something about contemporary leadership, and a commitment to mastery.
Congratulations ABs, who played strong and played well. A well deserved win đ
Commiserations Wallabies. Excellent work for getting up there into the finals to play off the ABs.
Also well done the other rugby teams whose contribution made this event possible.
Leave the politics aside for today and allow the boys to enjoy their glory, without hindrance. Hopefully a politician or two, or three will respectfully do the same.
Quite disappointed. Expected Key to be on the dais but he wasn’t. Left all looking bereft and flat. Really took the shine off the whole Cup. Sigh.
John Key had to go down to the Police office at the stadium I understand.
Some balding little fellow in glasses tried to get on the pitch and take a selfie with McCaw. He got flattened by a tiny little policewoman though.
The pitch invader tried to claim he knew McCaw but Richie said he had no idea who he was. They asked Key to go down and identify the chap as being little Andie and to explain that, although he was delusional, he was actually harmless.
Superb stuff. Well played Australia but what a super All Black performance. I bet Ben Smith will cop a few fines though in the kangaroo court later on!
Watched the ITV coverage beamed through here in the Middle East – great commentary and after match analysis (Sean Fitzpatrick, Johnny Wilkinson & Michael Lynagh).
There was certainly a gap in the backline defence when B Smith was yellow carded on the bench and he knew it.
Nothing like an Otago pub to re-understand the religious force Rugby opens up. Great screaming and cheering. Pity the only dark beer was Guiness!
I would wish all the retirees well, but especially Richie great success in his future life. Huge and humble service to this country for a decade and more.
Unless he chooses politics. Then he’ll see what a contact sport looks like.
Back to back WC’s is a unique achievement so well done AB’s, Hansen etc.
I hope the NZRU has a good look at youth and grassroots (provinces) as we don’t seem to have the ritchies/dans/kevins coming through in enough numbers imo as not all make it to the very top.
Only 3% of all german youth academy attendees make it as a pro so you need the raw material and plenty of it to keep the top level supreme.