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The shame of homelessness
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, January 18th, 2017 - 54 comments
A rich old white idiot, who would only be amused at our anger, has vented about the homeless, in a piece that shouldn’t be rewarded with our clicks.
Screwing more out of Auckland renters
Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, January 10th, 2017 - 12 comments
Already sky-high Auckland rents are set to rise further.
Hacking Schmacking
Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, January 7th, 2017 - 155 comments
In all seriousness. Apparently.
Rudman on Nats’ total housing fail
Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, December 21st, 2016 - 196 comments
Rudman: “The Prime Minister, in his role in charge of Housing New Zealand, and Smith have spectacularly failed to solve Auckland’s housing crisis over several years.”
What Paula is proud of
Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, December 17th, 2016 - 76 comments
Apparently it’s “getting homeless people into homes”. Given the ongoing explosion of homelessness, just think how much scope she has to make herself proud next year…
“Social bonds” fail – blame the officials!
Written By: - Date published: 3:09 pm, December 16th, 2016 - 31 comments
A scapegoat for the failure of the Nats’ first “social bonds” programme has been found. Turns out it was the fault of government officials! Shocker!
A cutting review of National’s lineup
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, December 15th, 2016 - 240 comments
Jay Kuten writing in the Wanganui Chronicle: “Most of these folks couldn’t reliably run a bath.”
Charter schools fiddling their results
Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, December 9th, 2016 - 110 comments
Charter schools are fiddling their results. Just another example of the way that education for profit is all about profit, with education hardly getting a look in. All of National’s ideological interventions in education are failures.
Massive education fail
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, November 30th, 2016 - 45 comments
Thanks National: “NZ kids worst at maths in English-speaking world”.
Todd Barclay faces Clutha-Southland selection challenge
Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, November 29th, 2016 - 47 comments
Todd Barclay is one of National’s worst MP’s, who made a mess of the party apparatus he inherited from Bill English. No surprise that he is facing a selection challenge. Ex Philip Morris tobacco vs. Merrill Lynch banker – lucky Clutha-Southland!
Treasury predictions – not good
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, November 27th, 2016 - 66 comments
Brian Fallow in The Herald summarises the take-home messages from the latest Treasury report. National have us on track to disaster.
Sale of Key’s old house a powerful symbol
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, November 25th, 2016 - 11 comments
English admits that the government has done a poor job of maintaining state houses, and uses it as an excuse for privatisation – its by design. The attempted sale in Christchurch, incuding Key’s childhood home, is a powerful symbol of the way this government likes pulling up the ladder that they used behind them.
Nothing’s Going to Happen.
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, October 11th, 2016 - 104 comments
A wee reflection on our psychological fuck-edness.
HoliPay fiasco – 1 in 3 workers robbed
Written By: - Date published: 6:51 am, September 26th, 2016 - 48 comments
Do you work irregular shifts (even only occasionally)? Overtime? Sometimes on Public Holidays?
Then you’re probably part of the 1 in 3 workers owed more than $2 billion lost thru incorrect calculations of holiday pay.
Thanks Steven Joyce.
Nats cut police resources then demand the impossible
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, August 30th, 2016 - 46 comments
We have had years of systematic under funding of the police and front-line numbers are falling. None the less police are now expected to attend every burglary. For the sake of this exercise in public perception other areas of police wrok will suffer.
Land banking – National gives up on housing crisis
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, August 29th, 2016 - 29 comments
As the average Auckland house price hits $1 Million, the Special Housing Areas fail, and Real Estate agents openly promote land banking, what does National do? Why, they give up, of course.
Toby Morris: TA’s Story
Written By: - Date published: 11:12 am, August 28th, 2016 - 10 comments
Illustrator and commentator Toby Morris has animated TA’s story: “What do you want most in the world,” John Campbell asks TA, who has been living in a van with her family since February. “A library.”
Hollowing out the regions
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, August 28th, 2016 - 44 comments
The closure of 19 mostly rural Westpac branches is indicative of the ongoing hollowing out the regions. Neglecting Northland cost the Nats the last by election. Neglecting regional NZ as a whole might cost them the next general.
Nick Smith commits to raising average wage to $250,000
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, August 27th, 2016 - 37 comments
Great news everyone! On The Nation this morning Nick Smith committed to raising average NZ wage to $250,000!
The Spinoff: Housing crisis costing Nats
Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, August 27th, 2016 - 14 comments
The Spinoff: “Lose the top of your party vote in Auckland, with Labour making ground, and the picture for the general election in 2017 looks like, walks like and quacks like a crisis.”
Chart of the day: The “building boom”
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, August 26th, 2016 - 119 comments
Homeless crisis – Nats in full denial
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 26th, 2016 - 82 comments
New research on homelessness from Otago University sheds light on the depth and breadth of the problem. Naturally Paula Bennett says she doesn’t believe it, and that she won’t read it. Because of course.
Key vs science on water quality
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, August 24th, 2016 - 60 comments
Nats push stupidest education plan ever
Written By: - Date published: 2:26 pm, August 23rd, 2016 - 218 comments
It’s not April 1st, so I’m forced to conclude that this is a genuine announcement: Students to learn online from home instead of at school under major education reform.
America bails on private prisons
Written By: - Date published: 3:49 pm, August 19th, 2016 - 19 comments
America is bailing on private prisons because they don’t work. What’s the bet that National is ‘too proud and arrogant’ to follow suit.
Tents warehouses and driveways
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, August 19th, 2016 - 64 comments
Tents and warehouses have been considered as emergency housing. Working people sleeping in cars are looking for driveways to rent. Say – has anyone seen John Key lately?
UNICEF call for action on NZ poverty
Written By: - Date published: 7:08 am, August 18th, 2016 - 165 comments
Once again this country under National is rightly shamed in the international media.
Affordable housing fail – we can’t rely on the private sector
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, August 17th, 2016 - 55 comments
To the complete surprise of no one, private sector developers have largely waited out the “affordable houses” requirement in the special housing areas. Another National failure.
Nats contradicting each other on panicked infrastructure policy
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, August 8th, 2016 - 29 comments
From Newshub:
Fewer police, more crime
Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, August 5th, 2016 - 39 comments
The number of police (per head of population) is falling, and crime figures are rising. But no doubt National will play the “tough on crime” card again next year.
Government puts 15% tax on foreign house buyers
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, August 4th, 2016 - 32 comments
No, not our government. Though as the average NZ house price just hit $600,000, and Auckland just short of $1m, they really should.
- In a global nursing shortage, NZ’s reliance on overseas-trained staff is not sustainable
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Holloway, Associate Professor, Director of the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Practice, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Olafur Seinar Gestsson/Getty Images The global shortage of trained nurses has been described as a health emergency by the ...3 days ago - Deportations hampered by availability and cost of flights
A lack of flights is being blamed for the number of deportations being hundreds short of government targets. ...3 days ago - Live: te Hīkoi mō te tiriti is over, but the debate isn’t
After the hīkoi: supporters are proud of the message sent, but a six month long process for the Treaty Principles Bill still lies ahead. ...3 days ago
- What now for the Treaty Principles Bill?
"Kill the bill" was the cry from the hīkoi - and that's likely to happen with National and NZ First saying they will not support the Treaty Principles Bill at its second reading, but it may not be as quickly as protestors would like. ...3 days ago
- The smack: How a family’s plea to Oranga Tamariki for help with their son unravelled
A family living in fear of their young son's increasingly dangerous behaviour asked for support. Instead, the agency turned its focus on his mum. ...3 days ago
- Was the hīkoi New Zealand’s largest-ever protest?
Media estimates of the crowd size ranged from 17,000 to 100,000+, but one thing we can say for sure — it was bloody massive. Thirty-five thousand people. That’s the crowd size police initially estimated for the final leg of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, the nine-day march in protest of ...3 days ago - How has Luxon’s position on the Treaty Principles Bill changed over time?
The prime minister has never supported David Seymour’s bill in principle, or beyond first reading in practice, but his language has certainly changed. The National Party has spent a large amount of time in this parliamentary term talking about a bill it doesn’t like. Which is not much fun. In ...3 days ago
- Has Netflix forgotten about New Zealand?
Following the opening of the Netflix ANZ office in Sydney and lacklustre commissioning of New Zealand content, the local industry has been left wondering where we fit in. Here at the bottom of the globe, we’re used to being overlooked. New Zealand has been left off the world map so ...3 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 20 November
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...3 days ago - Reserve Bank likely to cut key interest rate by 50bp next week
Reserve Bank has had Kiwi economy in a chokehold to kill inflation, and it now needs to loosen its grip, Kiwibank says The post Reserve Bank likely to cut key interest rate by 50bp next week appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Foodstuffs’ merger now hinges on narrow view of Commerce Act
Analysis: Foodstuffs and the Commerce Commission’s different interpretations of Commerce Act will be tested in court The post Foodstuffs’ merger now hinges on narrow view of Commerce Act appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- The Kiwi business leader giving exploited migrants a second chance
Indian immigration to New Zealand has been going on for more than 100 years, but in the past 25 it’s become synonymous with exploitation.The stories come thick and fast – dozens of Indian men living in squalid conditions, their promised jobs amounting to nothing; nurses training for and gaining Kiwi ...3 days ago
- Three generations: the court queens of Kāhu
At seven months old, little Holitopa won’t yet comprehend she’s part of basketball history. But her mother, grandmother and aunties hope that one day, she will follow in their shoes.“I hope she’s taller and longer than all of us,” says her mum, Krystal Leger-Walker. “There are a lot of basketball ...3 days ago
- Wellington intervention looks like a first resort, not the last
Opinion: This looks like ‘punching down’, in the mayor’s words The post Wellington intervention looks like a first resort, not the last appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Homeowners move house sooner than you think: Why the average stay is shrinking
It turns out that the so called ‘seven year itch’ is more like five these days. The latest data from realestate.co.nz shows how long people hold onto their homes before they sell. And it’s shorter than you’d think.Kiwis keep their homes for an average of just five and a half ...3 days ago
- Country calendar: woolsheds
Milking sheds, I know intimately; the headlights of a farmbike illuminating mysterious valleys in the darkness before dawn, herding the old moos, working the pumps, tuning the transistor to the Concert Programme to soothe yourself and the beasts, the whole place reeking of wet pooh and spilt milk; but of ...3 days ago
- Let’s not play into Seymour’s hands by talk of racist Treaty bill
Opinion: David Seymour is playing the long game, and we’d be dangerously foolish to count him out.As his Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading in Parliament last week, there was no shortage of news coverage and analysis.Much of the commentary has focused on the ignorance of his interpretation of Te ...3 days ago
- Daily crossword, Wednesday 20 November
The post Daily crossword, Wednesday 20 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Hīkoi: ‘The whole world is watching’
Māori leaders say the hīkoi was ‘never about the bill’, it was about forging unprecedented unity throughout the country The post Hīkoi: ‘The whole world is watching’ appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- ‘What’s good for Māori is good for everyone’ – Hīkoi ends with peaceful protest
By Ashleigh McCaull, RNZ News journalist Aotearoa New Zealand’s capital Wellington Pōneke turned into a sea of black, white and red today, as more than 42,000 people supporting te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti overflowed Parliament’s lawn and onto the streets. Supporters then headed to Waitangi Park, where a post-hīkoi concert ...3 days ago
- Kiwi workers lose jobs as billion-dollar firm quietly shifts production to USA
There was a sense of secret pride among the 300 staff at the little-known contract manufacturer Alaron.Tied up by non-disclosure agreements, the Nelson workers weren’t allowed to talk about their biggest customer – ... 3 days ago - Chalmers targets reforms to superannuation products and transparency in the retirement phase
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers will announce on Wednesday a package of reforms to the retirement phase of the superannuation system, to make it easier to navigate and consumer friendly. In a speech to the industry, Chalmers ...3 days ago
- We rated the urban forests of 8 global cities – only Singapore passed the 30% canopy test
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thami Croeser, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Ryan DeBerardinis, Shutterstock Can you see three trees from your home, school or workplace? Is there tree canopy cover shading at least 30% of the surrounding neighbourhood? Can you find a ...3 days ago
- More children going hungry, Health Survey shows
Meanwhile, wait times for GPs keep increasing, along with rates of mental distress. ...3 days ago
- Kiwi pilot kidnapping in West Papua leads to police raids in Australia
By Duncan Graham An alleged plot involving firearms and threatening the life of New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens when held hostage in Papua this year is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police. The case involves “advancing a political cause by the separation of West Papua from Indonesia . . ...3 days ago
- 42,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
By mid-afternoon today 42,000 people gathered at the Parliamentary precinct and the surrounding streets, police say. ...3 days ago
- Political finance law reforms will reduce big money in politics, but will rich donors be the ultimat...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Political funding in Australia has long been shrouded in secrecy. It is also dominated by large donations and unrestrained spending, courtesy of laissez-faire federal political finance laws. The Albanese government has ...3 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke reacts to haka heard around the world
In the face of criticism, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke says there was definitely a moment of 'what just happened?', after the House was suspended during voting. ...3 days ago - ‘What’s good for Māori is good for everyone’ – hīkoi ends with peaceful pr...
The capital turned into a sea of black, white and red today, as more than 42,000 people supporting te Hīkoi mō te tiriti overflowed Parliament's grounds and onto the streets. ...3 days ago
- Bunnings breached privacy law by scanning customers’ faces – but this loophole lets other shops ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margarita Vladimirova, PhD in Privacy Law and Facial Recognition Technology, Deakin University Nils Versemann/Shutterstock Hardware giant Bunnings breached the privacy of “likely hundreds of thousands” of Australians through its use of facial recognition technology, the Privacy Commissioner ruled today. “Individuals who ...3 days ago
- Could keeping native species as pets save them from extinction? Here’s why it’s not that simple
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meg Edwards, Lecturer in Wildlife Science, University of Southern Queensland Captive squirrel glider Author provided, CC BY Humans have been turning wild animals into pets for thousands of years. Pets – animals kept for companionship, not for food or work – were ...3 days ago
- Why did the US change its mind on Ukraine firing missiles into Russia? And will it impact the war?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Richardson, Visiting Fellow, Centre for European Studies, Australian National University The lifting of US restrictions on the use of ATACMS ballistic missiles by Ukraine may help it repel Russian forces trying to retake Russian territory seized by Ukraine earlier this year. ...3 days ago
- Albanese government gives firm ‘no’ to joining UK-US agreement to advance nuclear technology
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government has been put on the spot by a new agreement – which it has declined to join – signed by the United Kingdom and the United States to speed up the deployment of ...3 days ago
- The government wants to keep cash alive for buying essentials. Here’s why it’s such a challenge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Worthington, Adjunct Professor, Swinburne University of Technology Cre8tive Images/Shutterstock Cash usage has fallen off a cliff in Australia, but the federal government says it must have a future. So, it’s going to mandate one. The Australian government will require ...3 days ago
- Time for soldiers to do civilian work extended until mid-February
The government has notified Parliament it is extending the time soldiers will be filling in for their striking non-uniformed colleagues until Valentines Day. ...3 days ago
- Live: 42,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
By mid-afternoon today 42,000 people gathered at the Parliamentary precinct and the surrounding streets, police say. ...3 days ago
- Hīkoi day 9: 35,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill protest reaches Parliament
RNZ News More than 35,000 people today gathered as Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hīkoi mō te Tiriti overflowed from Parliament’s grounds and onto nearby streets in the capital Wellington Pōneke. Eru Kapa-Kingi told the crowd “Māori nation has been born” today and that “Te Tiriti is forever”. ACT leader David Seymour ...3 days ago
- Hīkoi not representative of New Zealand, David Seymour says
Seymour came out of the Beehive today to acknowledge the hīkoi and wave at the protesters - but retreated inside after just a few minutes. ...3 days ago
- Alan Jones once seemed unassailable. What ended it was a peculiarly Sydney story of media, politics ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne For decades it seemed Alan Jones was unassailable. A finding against him of professional misconduct by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (2000); a finding that he incited hatred, serious contempt ...3 days ago
- Daily smoking rates flat-line, youth vaping keeps rising – NZ Health Survey
Daily smoking rates have flat-lined after dramatic falls in previous years, while vaping among younger people continues to rise. ...3 days ago
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