A family complained to Education Minister Hekia Parata over a year ago about a seclusion room being used to discipline their son.
They’ve released the letter, which advised the Minister of “grave concerns” regarding the treatment of their son at Ruru Specialist School in Invercargill.
Those concerns included alleged “psychological abuse” and “unexplained bruising”.
Sorry about the swearing, I get so angry. kids you know, that’s horrible treatment locking people up like that let alone a kid..it’s past disgusting, it reviles me.
I asked some questions and a reporter kindly replied to me at the Herald, strangely, usually I just get ignored or told to F off pretty much :/
Anyways basically I read something here and asked why the herald wasn’t doing much to keep the government honest when journalism was desimated of quality staff/staff and the dpms had doubled with no budget restrictions.., in that it surely is in their best interests.
So if he’s right you guys stop painting BS pictures too, we DO NOT stoop to their level period.
1. DPMC is not John Key’s personal department. It is the department which acts as the administrative centre for government. It is not a political office.
2. It does have budget restrictions. Those restrictions are in the Budget.
3. Our tax money does go to the PM’s publicity, to a degree, but not through DPMC. There are slush funds for that.
4. Decimated might be accurate but it depends when you take your starting point from.
5. DPMC had 130 staff in 2007 and currently has about 250, having incorporated CERA over the last year. It is projected to level out at 200 staff over the next year. Given the relatively weakened state it had operated in and the extra duties it now carries, that does seem outlandishly staffed.
6. I would think the Herald is concerned with the ethical and other actions of every government. That’s why we staff a Press Gallery and have other reporters – myself included – outside the gallery who also write on political issues.
It is the journalists’ job to hold power to account – to shine light in dark places.
But you can only do so if you have the courage of your convictions – if you have done your journalism properly – and if you are properly able to weigh up the consequences of your actions.
The problem is that the privately owned press actually want to hide that power rather than hold it to account because their owners happen to be that power.
Supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The department supports the Prime Minister’s twin roles as leader of the government and chair of Cabinet, and provides three kinds of direct support to the Prime Minister:
Support for constitutional issues, including those associated with the formation of governments; and issues associated with the operation of the Cabinet system.
Overview of government activity and access to information on any and all issues that arise.
Administrative support to the Prime Minister (and also to the Governor-General). This includes services to the Prime Minister – such as preparing replies to Parliamentary questions, and dealing with Official Information Act 1982 requests and other correspondence.
So yes it does work for the PM.
Yes it does control information.
Yes it has expanded (almost doubled in funding and staff) – and not just because of CERA.
And it was from within this Department that the Official information with regards to the “israeli terrorists” (you remember that just before the 2014 election) suddenly reached a certain blogger of ill repute and gave the impression that the now mayor of Auckland was a liar with direct consequences for the election result. (something similar is now occurring over the big pond with the FBI.)
Thanks, I added that to my reply to David Fisher, i’ll be interested in his response specially after he wrote about the Terrorist threat .. evidence shown, but none..
pointing out subtly that there seems to be a pattern of this whenever Nationals in hot water..i’d be interested in his response but I suspect it’ll be how to palm someone off much like a ministerial reply.
Thanks for taking this up R R – It is a concern for me that the number of journalists in this country is steadily decreasing and with that the quality of information available to the general public. Too often journalist now rely on handouts from the PR people rather than to dig deeper and to garner the full facts.
Take the issue of NZ’s GHG emissions – Brian Fallow at the Herald has done some good work on this over the past few years, as has the Morgan Foundation, and a few others, but the concerns raised are just left to dangle in the air. It’s just all to difficult – much better to concentrate on the latest murder trial , or the price of houses. So the government continues to get away with doing nothing much, and the people of NZ are left to sleep on.
It was the former mayor of Palmy that a little while ago Mr Key confidently predicted was going to take Palmerston North off Labour so I doubt that envy is what Labour’s feeling right now.
“When John Key in 2008 established the “Ministry of Truth” aka Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet* (which now receives more funding than National Radio and has doubled its number of “spin doctors”, whilst over the same period, the number of full time journalists in the country has halved) reality went out the window and the majority of NZers now live on Planet Key.
For there to be an ethical judgement, the truth of the matter must be clear and understood, that situation is now beyond the reach of most ordinary citizens in this country who obtain their perception of reality from a daily dose of NZ’s TV “news”, provided mainly from the MoT. It is not surprising that ethics is now consigned to the dustbin of history.
*I know that the DoPMC has “always” been there – it is just that since 2008 – John Key has taken its role to new “heights” (or more correctly depths.) as evidenced by the fact that of all public departments it has never been subject to budgetary restrain or capping of personnel, and its funding has now increased to absurd levels.
Note that it was also involved in the 2014 electoral scam.”
So I wrote to the Herald asking them WTF? Especially the lack of budget constraints etc.
Macro..sort it out dude, it appears your skewed a little off centre pal.
A news item on Prime News 5.30 was about tourist going to Baldwin Street in Dunedin and complaining that there were no toilet facilities. Funny that Baldwin Street is a RESIDENTIAL area.
The tour operators are telling the tourist according to Prime to use people’s front gardens and public gardens as toilets. If I lived there I would invest in a high-pressure fireman’s hose and if I saw any prat using my front garden as a shithouse they would get it full bore. I wonder if the are tours round where the fucking spiv lives and if there are toilet facilities in his street and if not are the tourist told to use the fucking spivs front garden as a shithouse. Mind you if they did it would not make much difference it will just increase the depth of shit that is already there.
This country I love is fast becoming the shithouse for all and sundry created by the policies of this shit government we have.
Tourism is set up to shit in people’s front and backyards. It’s been happening in the roadside wilderness for a long time, including beside lakes and rivers. When transnational corporations are allowed to run van rental companies for tourists and they encourage those tourists to ‘free camp’, then of course those tens of thousands of people are going to shit somewhere we don’t want. This is what we signed up for when we sanctioned industrial tourism as a way for us to make a living.
“This is what we signed up for when we sanctioned industrial tourism as a way for us to make a living.”
You may have signed up for that mate but I haven’t signed up for anyone shitting in people’s gardens. or on the side of the road or in the layby we stopped a few weeks ago and saw it and by the lakes or bush etc etc etc. I am also aware that it has been going on for awhile so you are not telling me something new,
I get the impression that you are in favour of the fucking spiv’s government allowing this. What kind of sewer do you want to turn this country into
With regards to the freedom campers, the government should have BANNED any camper van that did not have contained onboard toilet facilities. But they are not going to do that are they mate, too many fucking potential dollars involved. and we must not stop the flow of dollars. irrespective the harm it is doing to NZ and the people.
This country is fast becoming the sewer of the South Pacific with the over intensive dairying polluting all the streams and rivers and now affecting area’s like the Hauraki Gulf, tourist allowed to shit everywhere and in people’s gardens just, Quote you ” to make a living.”
“Tourism is set up to shit in people’s front and backyards.”
Let me make this absolutely clear mate MY backyard is not set up for anybody to shit in and if they do they will have a high pressure hose set on them.
Mate..it’s fucking horrible but I cannot stop cracking up at the thought of tourists squatting behind the bushes of someone’s front lawn.
and if some bus driver told me to do that i’d question why the fucking toilet in his bus wasn’t working????
I spent 2 days about ish on a bus London to Germany.. all for LUV..had a toilet, though if anyone’s ever tried to crap or piss on a moving bus.., they will know what I mean, good luck to them.
Hey Richard that’s hilarious, had a larf at your use of English. Not the best of terminology “cracking up having a shit”. Possibly the bus didn’t have a shithouse on board except the one in the front telling them to use people’s gardens.
“I get the impression that you are in favour of the fucking spiv’s government allowing this.”
I have not idea what you mean by ‘spiv’, but don’t be a fuckwit. I’m arguing that industrial tourism is hugely damaging to NZ, and that shitting in people’s backyards wherever that may be is a natural consequence of us valuing tourism in the economy. Yes, National are doing this shit on steroids, but Labour are pro-industrial tourism too.
Precisely. Halfcrown – you need to understand more than half of what someone means before you leap in like that. If you look more carefully, you might perceive that Weka was on your side.
Bit late but first chance to reply
Yeah you are so right Vino, that was definitely a shot from the hip on my part, but I was infuriated to think New Zealanders have to and are putting up with this filth for the almighty dollar. Also, I have a soft spot for Dunedin though I would not like to see that done anywhere.
I broke a golden rule a lawyer friend told many many years ago, which is worth repeating here “If you ever get a communication that really angers you put it under your blotter for 48 hrs then re-read it before responding” OK we don’t have blotters in this modern age, and can’t wait 48 hrs but this snippet of wisdom is more valid today with the infernal net.
One of the houses had a landlord present when a tourist took a dump in the yard – landlord bagged it up like dogshit and handed it right back to him.
The biggest hazard is trying to slalom down the hill when tourists don’t get off the fucking road.
On the occasions I go on holiday, living on Baldwin St certainly gave me a lot more consieration for the locals and not being a dickhead.
All because Dunedin has a longstanding tradition of having the dumbest city planners in the world. Seriously, who just draws a straight line across a contour like that? The forebears of those who put a $200million rugby stadium on reclaimed land right next to the harbour, that’s who.
Sometimes I feel like all we are doing is going backwards. I can’t believe that NZ is still like this. Good on the manager for being straight up about how appalling this is. Goff not so much.
The Tuesday evening ceremony was a proud moment for Efeso Collins, who was the first in his family with a university education and was sworn in as one of two representatives in the Manukau Ward in south Auckland.
He was one of those who read his oath in Māori.
But the joy wasn’t fully shared by his wife, daughter and elders, who were refused their allocated seating in the councillor’s family area at the Auckland Town Hall.
“My family was told that they couldn’t sit where they were because that was reserved for council guests, and that’s when my wife said ‘We are council guests’, but no one believed them,” he said.
In the formal atmosphere of a gala-style ceremony, Mr Collins had no doubt as to what happened to his Samoan relatives.
I trust that the ushers are now coming to grips with their staggering racist prejudices. If so, maybe it will help a few more people to do the same. I believe the public deserves informative follow-up reporting. But I guess another All Black will do something saucy.
When you stand back a bit Goff looks like Shane Jones mkII. A government proxy.
I just can’t see Goff achieving anything except for the occupying of the seat. His response to Efeso Collins’ family’s hassle on the day they should have been most proud was weak when it could have been much stronger.
Goff blamed the contractor. Not the management and not the Council, he blamed the the worker, a default position for the current John Key government.
There was a dump of bad news yesterday and today; report on sheep-gate, Novopay still fubar, GCSB overstepping but doesn’t apologise for ‘by catch’, etc.
Of no great surprise then was the interference line run from the ninth floor, a non-story with no specific time relevance; ‘we’ve got terrorists in our midst!’
And not working as well as it used to. Been all about Hekia today anyway. The likelihood of her getting shuffled out of Education in the New Year surely has gone up markedly.
Seriously I think your wrong. I always write to the minister, PM whoever and make my points clear. a lot of the time my abuse of them remains unanswered, and I just don’t know why 🙂
However I do it every time. I won’t be the only one.., that’s all that matters statistically I won’t be alone and as the government becomes more and more inept more will write complaining to. So I doubt very much ignorance is king I suspect they count exactly how many negatives they receive..
Everyone should write BTW.. at least do something as well as moan here.
Of course MB your spot on and if you had seen all the reporters huddled around Findlayson, he could barely contain his grin as they took him for his word, hook line and sinker.. I bet he wandered off chucking his sick little fart out.
Of no great surprise then was the interference line run from the ninth floor, a non-story with no specific time relevance; ‘we’ve got terrorists in our midst!’
McCully repeatedly says that a legal opinion was sought and given. We assumed that the legal opinion was a “go-ahead Murray.” He implies that it was. We know that the legal opinion will not be released.
But what if the legal opinion was, “Murray do not go ahead with your plan. It is a wrong move Murray. Don’t go there!”
You see? A legal opinion was sought and given. Tick.
The legal opinion will never be seen by the public. Tick.
McCully did all the right things. Tick.
Lets all cheer for our Murray!
BTW before it happens I just want to warn the readers here, when key finally does reshuffle and hopefully clears some old oaks from his forest.. there’s a fella called Bridges coming along..
500 000 Kiwis don’t see a doctor because of the cost. These are the families of people who are unable to work and the families of people who are stuck in part time work and low wages. These are the families of people who have been displaced from both state housing and private rental housing.
This underclass is blossoming under the current government.
Question: Is this a strategy by the current government to deliberately unsettle teachers and distract them from the job the love thereby lowering their performance?
We’ve seen the current government degrade once high achieving public services as a pretence to restructuring and the selling of assets.
Conehead (that’s right, Mr dildo) is supposedly one of the three best ministers in the current government and he can’t even control the Australian based and owned payroll system he is in charge of.
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PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
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The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
FOR FUCKS SAKE
A family complained to Education Minister Hekia Parata over a year ago about a seclusion room being used to discipline their son.
They’ve released the letter, which advised the Minister of “grave concerns” regarding the treatment of their son at Ruru Specialist School in Invercargill.
Those concerns included alleged “psychological abuse” and “unexplained bruising”.
with the FUCKING LETTER..
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/parata-knew-about-seclusion-rooms-a-year-ago—family-2016110313
the LIES are just getting fucking ridiculous from this government..
Do you reckon that will get the rules right, so kids are able to go to the toilet by them selves??
More dicking around by National has caused irreparable harm to NZ children.
Sorry about the swearing, I get so angry. kids you know, that’s horrible treatment locking people up like that let alone a kid..it’s past disgusting, it reviles me.
I asked some questions and a reporter kindly replied to me at the Herald, strangely, usually I just get ignored or told to F off pretty much :/
Anyways basically I read something here and asked why the herald wasn’t doing much to keep the government honest when journalism was desimated of quality staff/staff and the dpms had doubled with no budget restrictions.., in that it surely is in their best interests.
So if he’s right you guys stop painting BS pictures too, we DO NOT stoop to their level period.
1. DPMC is not John Key’s personal department. It is the department which acts as the administrative centre for government. It is not a political office.
2. It does have budget restrictions. Those restrictions are in the Budget.
3. Our tax money does go to the PM’s publicity, to a degree, but not through DPMC. There are slush funds for that.
4. Decimated might be accurate but it depends when you take your starting point from.
5. DPMC had 130 staff in 2007 and currently has about 250, having incorporated CERA over the last year. It is projected to level out at 200 staff over the next year. Given the relatively weakened state it had operated in and the extra duties it now carries, that does seem outlandishly staffed.
6. I would think the Herald is concerned with the ethical and other actions of every government. That’s why we staff a Press Gallery and have other reporters – myself included – outside the gallery who also write on political issues.
I’m struggling to understand what you’re on about there Richard?
Try taking those blue ear plugs out then BM, and use that thing between your ears to work it out using logic and reasoning..
Oh that’s right I forget your at a disadvantage being, Tory.., in all that.
consevatives, pftt throw 30 million at an Arab sheik with more money than sense but moan like fuck at any national expenditure.
Don’t you lot see your own hypocracy?
🙂
I wasn’t trying to be rude, what’s your stuff and what stuff is the reply you got back ?
Also the media isn’t there to “keep the government honest”, they’re there to make money for the stake holders.
Ok, hence my smiley, neither was I.., lower BM, it was something macro had said, but all good, handle the jandal Tory 😉
“Also the media isn’t there to “keep the government honest”, ”
Very true BM…that job is the opposition’s i.e. Labour / Greens / NZF.
Your both wrong, it’s up to everyone to do their part in keeping an honest government, and ethical government a government for all NZ’ers.
Whether by the careful consideration of your vote, and that not being because of ..mmm what’s the word.. because your parents voted that way.
Because they have the best policies ethics, standards and abilities we hope.
I loathed the Lange government as much as I loathe this National government..
have you ever detested a tory government? And refused to vote for it?
Wrong. The job of the press has always been to hold power to account:
The problem is that the privately owned press actually want to hide that power rather than hold it to account because their owners happen to be that power.
The Role of DPMC wrt the PM:
So yes it does work for the PM.
Yes it does control information.
Yes it has expanded (almost doubled in funding and staff) – and not just because of CERA.
And it was from within this Department that the Official information with regards to the “israeli terrorists” (you remember that just before the 2014 election) suddenly reached a certain blogger of ill repute and gave the impression that the now mayor of Auckland was a liar with direct consequences for the election result. (something similar is now occurring over the big pond with the FBI.)
Thanks, I added that to my reply to David Fisher, i’ll be interested in his response specially after he wrote about the Terrorist threat .. evidence shown, but none..
pointing out subtly that there seems to be a pattern of this whenever Nationals in hot water..i’d be interested in his response but I suspect it’ll be how to palm someone off much like a ministerial reply.
Cheers macro.
Thanks for taking this up R R – It is a concern for me that the number of journalists in this country is steadily decreasing and with that the quality of information available to the general public. Too often journalist now rely on handouts from the PR people rather than to dig deeper and to garner the full facts.
Take the issue of NZ’s GHG emissions – Brian Fallow at the Herald has done some good work on this over the past few years, as has the Morgan Foundation, and a few others, but the concerns raised are just left to dangle in the air. It’s just all to difficult – much better to concentrate on the latest murder trial , or the price of houses. So the government continues to get away with doing nothing much, and the people of NZ are left to sleep on.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11741456
Rats deserting a sinking ship?
Nat list mp chucking it in after a year.
Probably told he’s not in the frame for any future advancement.
Dudes got enough brains and options to take the hint and move on.
Labour must just look on in envy.
It was the former mayor of Palmy that a little while ago Mr Key confidently predicted was going to take Palmerston North off Labour so I doubt that envy is what Labour’s feeling right now.
That’s another of Key’s round the barbecue endorsements gone up in smoke.
Yeah remember the great advances National was supposedly making in South Auckland?
Keep up with the program BW I was onto that post about 5 hours ago..ish ly.
🙂
*Macro*
“When John Key in 2008 established the “Ministry of Truth” aka Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet* (which now receives more funding than National Radio and has doubled its number of “spin doctors”, whilst over the same period, the number of full time journalists in the country has halved) reality went out the window and the majority of NZers now live on Planet Key.
For there to be an ethical judgement, the truth of the matter must be clear and understood, that situation is now beyond the reach of most ordinary citizens in this country who obtain their perception of reality from a daily dose of NZ’s TV “news”, provided mainly from the MoT. It is not surprising that ethics is now consigned to the dustbin of history.
*I know that the DoPMC has “always” been there – it is just that since 2008 – John Key has taken its role to new “heights” (or more correctly depths.) as evidenced by the fact that of all public departments it has never been subject to budgetary restrain or capping of personnel, and its funding has now increased to absurd levels.
Note that it was also involved in the 2014 electoral scam.”
So I wrote to the Herald asking them WTF? Especially the lack of budget constraints etc.
Macro..sort it out dude, it appears your skewed a little off centre pal.
A news item on Prime News 5.30 was about tourist going to Baldwin Street in Dunedin and complaining that there were no toilet facilities. Funny that Baldwin Street is a RESIDENTIAL area.
The tour operators are telling the tourist according to Prime to use people’s front gardens and public gardens as toilets. If I lived there I would invest in a high-pressure fireman’s hose and if I saw any prat using my front garden as a shithouse they would get it full bore. I wonder if the are tours round where the fucking spiv lives and if there are toilet facilities in his street and if not are the tourist told to use the fucking spivs front garden as a shithouse. Mind you if they did it would not make much difference it will just increase the depth of shit that is already there.
This country I love is fast becoming the shithouse for all and sundry created by the policies of this shit government we have.
LMFAO…pardon the pun.
Who is the spiv?
Tourism is set up to shit in people’s front and backyards. It’s been happening in the roadside wilderness for a long time, including beside lakes and rivers. When transnational corporations are allowed to run van rental companies for tourists and they encourage those tourists to ‘free camp’, then of course those tens of thousands of people are going to shit somewhere we don’t want. This is what we signed up for when we sanctioned industrial tourism as a way for us to make a living.
“Who is the spiv?”
Go figure your fucking self.
“This is what we signed up for when we sanctioned industrial tourism as a way for us to make a living.”
You may have signed up for that mate but I haven’t signed up for anyone shitting in people’s gardens. or on the side of the road or in the layby we stopped a few weeks ago and saw it and by the lakes or bush etc etc etc. I am also aware that it has been going on for awhile so you are not telling me something new,
I get the impression that you are in favour of the fucking spiv’s government allowing this. What kind of sewer do you want to turn this country into
With regards to the freedom campers, the government should have BANNED any camper van that did not have contained onboard toilet facilities. But they are not going to do that are they mate, too many fucking potential dollars involved. and we must not stop the flow of dollars. irrespective the harm it is doing to NZ and the people.
This country is fast becoming the sewer of the South Pacific with the over intensive dairying polluting all the streams and rivers and now affecting area’s like the Hauraki Gulf, tourist allowed to shit everywhere and in people’s gardens just, Quote you ” to make a living.”
“Tourism is set up to shit in people’s front and backyards.”
Let me make this absolutely clear mate MY backyard is not set up for anybody to shit in and if they do they will have a high pressure hose set on them.
Mate..it’s fucking horrible but I cannot stop cracking up at the thought of tourists squatting behind the bushes of someone’s front lawn.
and if some bus driver told me to do that i’d question why the fucking toilet in his bus wasn’t working????
I spent 2 days about ish on a bus London to Germany.. all for LUV..had a toilet, though if anyone’s ever tried to crap or piss on a moving bus.., they will know what I mean, good luck to them.
These coaches have toilets afaia aware?
Hey Richard that’s hilarious, had a larf at your use of English. Not the best of terminology “cracking up having a shit”. Possibly the bus didn’t have a shithouse on board except the one in the front telling them to use people’s gardens.
“I get the impression that you are in favour of the fucking spiv’s government allowing this.”
I have not idea what you mean by ‘spiv’, but don’t be a fuckwit. I’m arguing that industrial tourism is hugely damaging to NZ, and that shitting in people’s backyards wherever that may be is a natural consequence of us valuing tourism in the economy. Yes, National are doing this shit on steroids, but Labour are pro-industrial tourism too.
Precisely. Halfcrown – you need to understand more than half of what someone means before you leap in like that. If you look more carefully, you might perceive that Weka was on your side.
Bit late but first chance to reply
Yeah you are so right Vino, that was definitely a shot from the hip on my part, but I was infuriated to think New Zealanders have to and are putting up with this filth for the almighty dollar. Also, I have a soft spot for Dunedin though I would not like to see that done anywhere.
I broke a golden rule a lawyer friend told many many years ago, which is worth repeating here “If you ever get a communication that really angers you put it under your blotter for 48 hrs then re-read it before responding” OK we don’t have blotters in this modern age, and can’t wait 48 hrs but this snippet of wisdom is more valid today with the infernal net.
I take back that pal, but that is NOT what you came across about. You appeared to be in favour of it.
Spiv noun :- a man, typically a flashy dresser, who makes a living by disreputable dealings.
Actually, it is London backslang for VIPs
Spiv – cool!
Sometimes it pays to give people the benefit of the doubt and ask for clarification.
Is the spiv Key? I thought you were talking about the tourism operators in Baldwin St.
Yeah but you have to catch ’em at it.
One of the houses had a landlord present when a tourist took a dump in the yard – landlord bagged it up like dogshit and handed it right back to him.
The biggest hazard is trying to slalom down the hill when tourists don’t get off the fucking road.
On the occasions I go on holiday, living on Baldwin St certainly gave me a lot more consieration for the locals and not being a dickhead.
All because Dunedin has a longstanding tradition of having the dumbest city planners in the world. Seriously, who just draws a straight line across a contour like that? The forebears of those who put a $200million rugby stadium on reclaimed land right next to the harbour, that’s who.
rofl. Maybe the rah rah/brighter future brigade should run a national competition – who has the stupidest town planners, with examples?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11741466
jeez..dang and it’s just dandy for some 150k in a day weeeeeeeeee
Sometimes I feel like all we are doing is going backwards. I can’t believe that NZ is still like this. Good on the manager for being straight up about how appalling this is. Goff not so much.
The Tuesday evening ceremony was a proud moment for Efeso Collins, who was the first in his family with a university education and was sworn in as one of two representatives in the Manukau Ward in south Auckland.
He was one of those who read his oath in Māori.
But the joy wasn’t fully shared by his wife, daughter and elders, who were refused their allocated seating in the councillor’s family area at the Auckland Town Hall.
“My family was told that they couldn’t sit where they were because that was reserved for council guests, and that’s when my wife said ‘We are council guests’, but no one believed them,” he said.
In the formal atmosphere of a gala-style ceremony, Mr Collins had no doubt as to what happened to his Samoan relatives.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/317159/'racial-discrimination'-mars-councillor's-swearing-in
That is absolutely despicable.
I trust that the ushers are now coming to grips with their staggering racist prejudices. If so, maybe it will help a few more people to do the same. I believe the public deserves informative follow-up reporting. But I guess another All Black will do something saucy.
When you stand back a bit Goff looks like Shane Jones mkII. A government proxy.
I just can’t see Goff achieving anything except for the occupying of the seat. His response to Efeso Collins’ family’s hassle on the day they should have been most proud was weak when it could have been much stronger.
Goff blamed the contractor. Not the management and not the Council, he blamed the the worker, a default position for the current John Key government.
Goff has left central govt to continue his act styled beliefs as supershity mayor.
Remember Keystone cops… well here in NZ we have Keystone government.. it’s official.
Idiots are in charge of the system
http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/minister-backtracks-on-meth-eviction-review-comment/ar-AAjOAVO?li=AA521r&ocid=spartandhp
Bills starts 11am..scans first two cases, quickly realizes he liable for millions in compensation and his election bribes are gone burger..
by 11.15 it’s a yeah , nah wat ch ya.., talkin bout Willis?.
There was a dump of bad news yesterday and today; report on sheep-gate, Novopay still fubar, GCSB overstepping but doesn’t apologise for ‘by catch’, etc.
Of no great surprise then was the interference line run from the ninth floor, a non-story with no specific time relevance; ‘we’ve got terrorists in our midst!’
It is so predictable now.
And not working as well as it used to. Been all about Hekia today anyway. The likelihood of her getting shuffled out of Education in the New Year surely has gone up markedly.
No one cares
Ignorance is king these days, which does make it tough for the opposition, almost impossible to get any cut through.
I care.,..
so, not no one..
at all.
Seriously I think your wrong. I always write to the minister, PM whoever and make my points clear. a lot of the time my abuse of them remains unanswered, and I just don’t know why 🙂
However I do it every time. I won’t be the only one.., that’s all that matters statistically I won’t be alone and as the government becomes more and more inept more will write complaining to. So I doubt very much ignorance is king I suspect they count exactly how many negatives they receive..
Everyone should write BTW.. at least do something as well as moan here.
Ah, is that how you excuse your ongoing ignorance?
Good reply to obvious on-going trolling by BM. Boring Meathead?
I always liked Bowel Motion better!
Ignorance and apathy are hallmarks of kiwi voting patterns. The frog mentality.
Of course MB your spot on and if you had seen all the reporters huddled around Findlayson, he could barely contain his grin as they took him for his word, hook line and sinker.. I bet he wandered off chucking his sick little fart out.
We do though – it’s the National led government.
don’t forget the affiliates Act and ..a vary rarely seen terrorist organization, the UF.
hmm Where is dunny jeez that fuckers never about and then you suddenly remember him, like an old cobweb in the back of your mind.
McCully repeatedly says that a legal opinion was sought and given. We assumed that the legal opinion was a “go-ahead Murray.” He implies that it was. We know that the legal opinion will not be released.
But what if the legal opinion was, “Murray do not go ahead with your plan. It is a wrong move Murray. Don’t go there!”
You see? A legal opinion was sought and given. Tick.
The legal opinion will never be seen by the public. Tick.
McCully did all the right things. Tick.
Lets all cheer for our Murray!
McCully and Smith, quite frankly if national didn’t have them, Labour would be far worse off in the polls.
In a round about way The opposition is lucky to have them.
BTW before it happens I just want to warn the readers here, when key finally does reshuffle and hopefully clears some old oaks from his forest.. there’s a fella called Bridges coming along..
God help the Nation.
someone today lost 2.7 billion dollars in 2 hours on the stock market.
I feel for that man.
I say good job. That man is part of the problem and the sooner his attitude to getting rich in life is extinguished, the better.
email wars
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/world/europe/ukraine-russia-emails.html?mabReward=A1&recp=6&action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine&_r=0
Time William Gibson updated Neuromancer.
John Key’s brighter future:
500 000 Kiwis don’t see a doctor because of the cost. These are the families of people who are unable to work and the families of people who are stuck in part time work and low wages. These are the families of people who have been displaced from both state housing and private rental housing.
This underclass is blossoming under the current government.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/86049359/half-a-million-kiwis-not-receiving-healthcare-because-of-cost
New tobacco taxes would be a contributing factor.
Has John Key’s GCSB been caught hacking the nurses’ union?
Computer says yes.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11741644
Computer says no.
Imputed says that nurses union sent out personal details of thousands of people without even basic safe guards to their personal information.
Conehead is mad. Mr fixit didn’t fix it…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11741431
Question: Is this a strategy by the current government to deliberately unsettle teachers and distract them from the job the love thereby lowering their performance?
We’ve seen the current government degrade once high achieving public services as a pretence to restructuring and the selling of assets.
Conehead (that’s right, Mr dildo) is supposedly one of the three best ministers in the current government and he can’t even control the Australian based and owned payroll system he is in charge of.
#brighterfuture
Mike Hosking’s wingman Toni Street asks Boy George, “do you really want to hurt me?”
Boy George says yes.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/86080883/boy-george-cancels-christchurch-show