Daily Review 04/10/2018
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5:30 pm, October 4th, 2018 - 64 comments
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This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.
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- It’s Time to End Gender-Based Violence at Work
Everyone Deserves Safety and Respect at Work November 25 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. This day reminds us of the urgent need to take action against gender-based violence in workplaces across Aotearoa and the globe. C190 is the Path to Safer Workplaces ILO Convention ...3 hours ago - PM Luxon is house proud as David Seymour continues to push the edges of social division
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Luxon Is That Job Interviewee That’s All Sunshine And RainbowsCraig McCulloch (RNZ) has an unbeatable report this morning on Luxon’s reflections of his first year as PM.Allow me to replicate:On ...3 hours ago - Monday 25 November 2024
Maritime workers are joining opposition to the government’s plans for resuming live animal exports on the basis that the country “would benefit from being seen as a kind of modern and progressive exporter”. The TEU is slamming a proposal that would end an invaluable timber machining apprenticeship programme, while the ...4 hours ago
- PM ‘constructively dissatisfied’ with himself
“Look, I don’t really live with regrets,” Luxon said in one of the interviews marking his first year as PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, November 25: The news: COP29 ...7 hours ago - Team of One
Oh, it's a mystery to me We have a greed, with which we have agreed And you think you have to want more than you need Until you have it all, you won't be freeSongwriter: Eddie VedderToday is the last day to subscribe to Nick’s Kōrero at the original price ...8 hours ago - A Bad Day
9 hours ago - A visitor from the Hawkes Bay rides AT’s buses & trains.
This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, an examination on cruise control and speed limits, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. Greater Auckland is brought to you by a ...9 hours ago - Bridges challenges Luxon’s foreign policy
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon last Friday appeared to be starting to moderate his pivot to the United States under the foreign policy reset. Back in August he had told Australia’s Lowy Institute last August that New Zealand’s independent foreign policy was a “nonsense”. But in his latest foreign policy speech, ...12 hours ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 17, 2024 thru Sat, November 23, 2024. Story of the week This week, we again asked Gemini to create a topical summary of the articles we shared during ...18 hours ago - End Game
Related articles belowIntroductionRecently, I’ve been having some delays in putting pen to paper.It’s not because I’m short on words -Verbosity seems to be one of the banes of my life. And it’s not because there isn’t enough content: I just whipped up a long list from the past few days.So, ...1 day ago - Rowdy scrappers, beautiful birds
Who doesn't love to watch Tūī? Who doesn't love those colours, almost too good to be true - the deepest, glossiest, most lustrous of deep blue, the iridescent turquoise, the crisp-as-a-vicar's-collar white tuft?Who doesn't love the way they move, swooping as swift as a jet or occasionally bashing the hell ...1 day ago - Fact brief – Has human-caused climate change increased extreme weather?
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- What’s Been Happening? Political Roundup
For paid subscribersI’m currently writing an article in response to a promise to Bill about where everything is heading - and I included a ‘quick’ snapshot of political updates.However, as that list of updates got longer, I thought it made sense to send out as a separate article.So here it ...2 days ago - Bitch
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Property rights – which enable decisions over tangible and intangible assets – are critical to an economy as Why Nations Fail pointed out. Not just private property rights for, as we shall see, they are more complicated than that. Neoliberals argue that private property rights lead to the maximum economic ...3 days ago - The Hoon around the week to November 22
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with: on the US Presidential elections, Israel vs Gaza/Iran/Lebanon, Ukraine/Nato vs Russia/North Korea and whether NZ now joins AUKUS;Special guest Helen Clark on the issues above, ...3 days ago - Justice in Brazil
Following the 2022 Brazilian general election, election loser Jair Bolsonaro tried to do a Trump, attempting a coup to overturn the election. It failed. But unlike his American friend, he hasn't been allowed to get away with it: The former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and some of his closest ...3 days ago - Treasury warns deeper recession worsening Budget deficit
The gift that keeps giving: David Seymour has now opened a split in the coalition over the future of National’s promise to build a new medical school. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / TheKakaKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...3 days ago
- Weekly Roundup 22-November-2024
It’s another Friday and we’re inching closer to the end of the year. Here’s some of the stories that have caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and ...3 days ago
- Beyond Question?
Record Numbers: The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, which began at the tip of the North, and the tail of the South, on 11 November, culminated outside Parliament on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, in one of the largest demonstrations in New Zealand’s political history.ACCORDING TO TE ARA, the Ministry of Culture ...3 days ago - The Rush To Blame “The Activists”
Activists are such easy scapegoats. The right and center have been conditioned for decades to roll their eyes at all protests. The left are easily aggravated over students leading movements they see as belonging to grownups, who have more important concerns like the economy and whether the trains come on ...3 days ago - Cutting Through An Inundation of Dipshit Racists
Hi,Watching New Zealand from afar offers a strange perspective. It can be a good thing — distance from Aotearoa helped keep me sane while I reported on abuse at New Zealand’s biggest megachurch over the course of a year. It helps fuel my silly podcast. But it can also be ...3 days ago - This is bad news
The speech yesterday by Treasury’s Chief Economic Advisor warning that the books are in worse shape than forecasted looks like it’s part of a softening-up process for either more cuts or a longer wait to get back into surplus. The speech was a highly unusual public preview of Treasury’s Half-Yearly ...4 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024
Open access notables Projected increase in the frequency of extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons, Lopez et al., Science Advances: Future changes to the year-to-year swings between active and inactive North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) seasons have received little attention, yet may have great societal implications in areas prone to hurricane ...4 days ago
- Chicken Kiev
Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...4 days ago - The year is 2024 and it’s 1984
This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...4 days ago - The IPCA has failed
Back in 2022, RNZ took an in-depth look at the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority and its handling of killings by police. These are the most serious test of oversight, and you would expect the police's use of lethal force to receive the most severe scrutiny. But despite the police regularly ...4 days ago
- Thursday 21 November 2024
The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...4 days ago
- ‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’
I spoke to former Productivity Chair Nana this morning about the letter he and a group of other economists sent to PM Christopher Luxon to urge the Government to urgently suspend cuts to spending and investment for the sake of the economy, struggling businesses and the wellbeing of vulnerable ...4 days ago
- ACT’s Astroturfing & A Co-ordinated Attack on Te Pati Māori
Unity on the Streets / Unity at the TableAfter the Hīkoi, all three right wing Coalition leaders came together to push the idea that the 42,000 - 50,000 + strong Hikoi was somehow less potent and brave, and more illegitimate than the energy and crowd displayed.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 20-November: ...4 days ago - Durability of carbon dioxide removal is critical for stabilizing temperatures
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink The world is emitting over 40 gigatons of CO2 per year, contributing to an accelerating warming of the planet. The world needs to cut emissions rapidly to be remotely on track to meet our Paris Agreement goals of limiting warming to well-below 2C, and we ...4 days ago
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With Auckland Transport’s future up in the air under Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed CCO reform, we’ve dug way back into the archives, to unearth this post originally published in March 2010. As you’ll see, many of the debates that were being had when AT was first proposed continue to ...4 days ago
- Economists call on PM to suspend budget cuts for the sake of the economy
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- The end of policing by consent
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NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa. “The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for ...5 days ago
- 27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year
One in four Kiwi children live in households where food runs out often or sometimes. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, November 20: The lead: The official annual Health Survey found sharp ...5 days ago - Transport modelling is an illusion
This guest post by Tim Adriaansen, an advocate for accessibility and sustainable transport, originally published on LinkedIn and cross posted here with permission. People prefer cars, right? Probably not. Here’s why. Granted, most people in English-speaking countries use a car to get around. This simple reality underpins our transport ...5 days ago
- Young Maori take over
Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...6 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Aftermath
The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. Lest that momentum be lost, the organisers will no doubt be ...6 days ago - Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills
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Mr David Seymour crawling up to the ceilingThe sun don't shine the sun don't shine the sun don't shine at allMamma Pappa say you should go to school, I don't know what forNow that I've grown up and seen the world and all its liesSong: Southside of Bombay"Ake, ake, ake" ...6 days ago - Submit to defend te Tiriti!
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on National's racist and constitutionally radical Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Submissions can be made at the link above or by post, and are due by Tuesday, 7 January 2025. But I'd get in quick, in case National grows a spine ...6 days ago
- We need to talk about Kevin
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family has a Drunk Uncle Kevin in there somewhere. If your Kevin is anything like the ones I know, he was getting along happily enough without having to think too much about the Treaty Principles Bill apart from bloody good job, onya guys ...6 days ago - The hikoi
Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...6 days ago
- Why Govt & NZ Inc should boycott & regulate Facebook
6 days ago - How should we talk about change?
A better world isn’t just possible, it’s desirable. And that’s how we should frame a lot of our conversations around making a greater Auckland. As an example take urban climate action. A climate friendly Auckland: Is free from congestion Enables people to travel how they choose Is filled with ...6 days ago
- AMA + Holiday Webworm Merch!
6 days ago - Discount Code for Webworm Merch!
Hi,So there’s a bunch of new stuff on the Webworm store (www.webworm.store) — just in time for the Holidays. Read more ...6 days ago - Trying to defuse the tension
There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...7 days ago
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7 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers
Politicians like to bang on all about the need to heal society’s racial/economic divisions, but in their actions they’re more keen on stoking those divisions, with the Treaty Principles Bill being the classic example. The Bill seeks to dilute the Crown’s responsibilities to Māori at the same time as it ...7 days ago
- Socially Backwards and Fiscally Forwards: the False Ideological Divide and the “Conservative” Li...
7 days ago - Kaamos: Accepted
I appreciate that A Phuulish Fellow has been fairly quiet recently. That’s a combination of two things – comparatively little in the way of relevant material to discuss (at least until The War of the Rohirrim comes out next month), and my general work on The Secret Non-Fiction Writing Project. ...7 days ago - Here’s how governments could fix their Paris climate commitment failures
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Governments around the world face a conundrum. Virtually none are on track to meet their Paris climate commitments. That includes the United States, which committed to cut its emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 but is only on track for 32-43% cuts ...1 week ago
- Unstoppable.
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The era of neoliberalism has been destructive on so many levels, with a huge growth in wealth and privilege for the one percent. A hollowing out of the state; fraying of the safety net; inadequate government investment in infrastructure; and continued environmental degradation has resulted in damage on a vast ...1 week ago - In a Manner of Speaking
In a manner of speakingI just want to sayThat I could never forget the wayYou told me everythingBy saying nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me everythingSongwriter: Winston TongNext Tuesday, the subscription price for Nick’s Kōrero will ...1 week ago - Monday 18 November 2024
The NZNO have announced a nationwide strike for December over its pay dispute with Health NZ, who have put a 1 per cent cap on pay rises. The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and Treaty Principles Bill remain front and centre in the media, with the impacts of the Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke-led ...1 week ago
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The divisive Treaty Principles Bill is not just a risk for the National Party, it’s a risk to civil order and unity, warns a National Party grandee. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on ...1 week ago - A clearer network for the City Rail Link?
This post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission. Auckland is now just a year or so away from having the keystone of its urban rail network complete. As I wrote about here, the City Rail Link will be a literal game changer for ...1 week ago
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If ACT leader David Seymour intended the Treaty Principles Bill to drive a wedge into National’s support base, he may well already be succeeding. By midnight on Thursday after the Maori Party haka in Parliament, National MPs were being deluged with emails and messages from their members calling them out ...1 week ago
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A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 10, 2024 thru Sat, November 16, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is completely "meta" (no, not that Meta). It's about our exploring how ...1 week ago
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..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Self-appointed “Bishop” and proto-fascist, Brian Tamaki was at it again on 16 November, blocking Auckland’s southern motorway, SH1.This time, the target of his ire wasn’t the Civil Unions Act; covid lock-downs; mask mandates; or ...1 week ago - Rip up a bill, lead a haka are words to live by
I cannot stop grabbing people by the lapels, or shoulders, or similar, and raving at them about the tiny miracles in my ears.I can hear again! There could not be a more satisfied customer in all the world.In a noisy cafe I am even catching words that Karren cannot, she ...1 week ago - Unintended Consequences
Take the baitYou pay the priceIt's much too lateFor good adviceYou know and I know that our good things' throughBecause there's consequences for what we doConsequences for me and youWriters: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.Fallout from the first readingOne News began last night by saying that tens ...1 week ago - Thank you, driver!
Today, Saturday 16th of November, is Auckland Transport’s Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Saturday 16 November marks the third annual Auckland Transport (AT) ‘Bus Driver Appreciation Day’, and this year we are encouraging all of New Zealand to thank their driver or let the bus go first if you are in ...1 week ago
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Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...1 week ago - We Are Not Listening
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
1 week ago - More lawlessness from National
On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...1 week ago
- National’s tyrannical “foreign interference” law
Yesterday, under cover the the biggest political fight of the year, National quietly - covertly, even - introduced anti-foreign interference legislation. The bill is the product of a years-long work-program aimed at countering shit like this and this, and there's unquestionably a need to do something to counter foreign states' ...1 week ago
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A few months ago, I was in an audience watching a Haka-Kapa and as I watched children dance and sing and sway and shout and beat, I couldn’t help but think “The Haka represents the best of us.”Yes, yes - there will be a thousand voices that rush forth to ...1 week ago
- Adding up the climate cost
St Mary’s Bay housing left hanging: Climate risk is systemically underestimated in the climate scenarios used by central banks, and a new report warns 10,000 houses are set to become uninsurable in Aotearoa. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in ...1 week ago
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One of the major problems the Government has in implementing its ‘going for housing growth’ strategy is that it isn’t giving much funding help to councils. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...1 week ago
- Release: Government should be transparent on live exports
Targeted consultation on reinstating live cattle exports by sea won’t allow the New Zealand public to have their say. ...3 days ago - NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS
The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...4 days ago - Failed boot camp experiment must end
As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...4 days ago
- Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing
The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...4 days ago
- Release: National doesn’t care about manufacturing
The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...4 days ago
- Release: David Parker speech – Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change
David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...4 days ago
- Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister
Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...4 days ago
- Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards
National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...4 days ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...4 days ago
- Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’
The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...4 days ago
- Release: A historic win for Samoan communities
Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...4 days ago
- Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”
The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...5 days ago
- Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading
Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...5 days ago
- Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills
The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...5 days ago
- Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach
A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...5 days ago
- Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch
National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...5 days ago
- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...5 days ago
- Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions
Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...6 days ago
- Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament
Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...6 days ago
- Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons
Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...1 week ago
- Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill
The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...1 week ago
- Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope
The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...1 week ago
- Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...2 weeks ago
- Stand Up for Te Tiriti
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon
As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation
The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors
...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors
Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care
Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect
The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
- Without action, an apology will be empty air
For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference
Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent wake-up call on climate
The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...2 weeks ago
- Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world
Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...3 weeks ago
- Raising awareness of child exploitation
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The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
Some evening music from Project 86.
Song: The Spy Hunter.
Album: Songs to Burn your Bridges By.
Judith and friends…
Rocky Horror Time Warp – YouTube
Great to see National desperately scrambling to catch a ride on Jacinda Ardern’s vision, and compassionate and popular style of leadership.
Here they are supporting her child poverty bill despite having been responsible for the truly awful rise in hardship among vulnerable families the last time they were in power. Funny how they’ve changed their tune when it suits them, the snakes.
David Seymour of course will be the only MP voting against this bill and one wonders whether he and the people of Epsom enjoy seeing as many children in poverty as possible.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107612392/national-will-support-child-poverty-bill
Also, I heard on the radio this morning National were again trying to get some of JA’s gloss by asking for cross party efforts on mental health. David Clark rightly referenced their reluctance to even admit there was an issue and their cutting of mental health services over 9 long years.
He told them to get stuffed and let the adults get on with it.
Crusher Collins would have Ardern for breakfast!
But seriously if I were Jacdina I would be more worried of Judith than Simon.
If Collins does somehow manage to Macbeth her way to the National Party leadership she won’t last a year.
She’ll say or do something so remarkably unpalatable to most of the New Zealand public (you’ll approve of course) National’s numbers will collapse.
She’s a monster and most people rightly just don’t trust her, or like her.
Crusher dirty politics collins.
The fan boys of hate, worship her.
“The fan boys of hate, worship her.”
Hey, adam keep your fantasies to your self-mate!
I don’t indulge in hating on people chunk, that you and your mates.
Chuck is just a foreign hack Adam, best way is to totally ignore the ‘chuck’s of this world.
chuck = foreign troll.
Yey, I would kind of agree…Collins unleashed as and when required. But not so much in a leadership role.
You call her a monster, fair enough…she does leave her opposition (Govt) bloody and bruised after she has finished with them.
Bollocks – she is all hiss and blow. Did she actually ever crush a car? And her ‘Zip it, Sweetie’ now rings hollow: we knew little of Jacinda then.
From what both have shown us since, I would say that Judith is not eloquent – only aggressive. Jacinda will talk her off the table, and then out from under it. Crusher is basically a plodder, like Bull English.
Remember the pathetic whining when she was confronted over Oravida. Nothing genuinely strong going on in there.
Collins is a lot of things, but a plodder she is not.
In terms of linguistic expression, you are wrong, shadrach. But you may not be very aware of that area. She makes big aggressive noises in policy, but eloquent she is not. In eloquence, she is a plodder just like Blinglish.
And that has already proven to be a failing. English was stricken dumb by Jacinda – no impact.
Thanks, I had thought you meant ‘plodder’ in so far as work rate. I’m not sure I agree with you about eloquence, however. Collins is good with the sound bites that are so much a part of political conversation today, and she can be quite witty. She’s worked hard to soften her persona as well. She’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.
A greater contrast would be hard to find, between Jacinda and Judith.
That would be a pleasant offer from Judith to Jacinda, … a rare offer indeed from the witchypoo of National,… but Melba toast and espresso would be appreciated by Jacinda for sure.
But I think they’d best not talk politics,… the age of Dirty Politics was not a particularly happy ending for MS Collins… as we all know. The backbenches were rather hard , so I hear…
Chuckwit
I don’t think Jacinda is worried about anyone. Why would she?
I agree that Judith Collins would be far more effective than Simon Bridges as Leader of the Opposition in a combative sense. The question is whether she is just too polarising to attract the level of support National need to form a government with little or no second party support.
My take on it is that Collins has been quietly rebuilding her support in Caucus, by behaving herself and showing loyalty to the elected leader. When the time is right, she’ll bite Simon’s head off.
That woman WOULD eat her young chucky.
I can just see the blood dripping off those fangs, and off her chin.
A great picture to start the evening off in the right direction.
The beautiful Mature Judith Collins about to become leader of the National Party
Judith’s trying really hard to hide her double chin.
But more importantly , she has an alopecia around her forehead that shows she frequently tied her hair back when young like a Harpy , … but perhaps what really gives it away is that IS NOT red nail polish on her talons…
Soimon had best tread carefully …
My thoughts exactly Fireblade.
Not working though.
I find these physical insults belittling of those who make them.
My criticism of her is that she speaks only ordinarily. She is not a mercurial Lange, not a truly crushing Muldoon. For those reasons, she will not be able to compete with Jacinda, whose eloquence is more important than her looks, just in case you had not noticed..
“I find these physical insults belittling of those who make them.”
Agree In Vino, unfortunately, its the default response for many. I don’t like that person so let us make fun of their physical appearance etc.
Jacinda’s strength is her eloquence as you put it. However, it will become much harder for Jacinda when she has to defend her (sorry Winstons) Government achievements (or lack of them) as the next election cycle nears.
Interviews I have heard Jacinda does not perform well when the hard questions are asked.
OK then , try shes a nasty , unpopular bag of a woman who is lampooned as oafish , self seeking , belligerent , compromised, Dirty Politicking , with contempt for the voting people of NZ who only demonstrates an interest in what people think when it serves her pecuniary interests with the Peoples Republic of China .
There. That oughta do it.
And as for a debate between Adern and Collins ?
Collins could try to criticize this govt all she likes but all of the above hangs around her neck like a stinking, rotting piece of roadkill , and the reasons why the public voted out such a lying , corrupt, anti democratic, anti worker govt like John Keys in the first place.
That’s all people will ever see in Judith Collins.
Judith’s just a devil woman with evil on her mind.
The Sparkling Pony is very nimble on her feet and can change direction very quickly in a tight field.
Yes Fireblade. – And Ms Collins is also trying to hide her bulging midriff also.
Might be pregnant, going for the female/baby votes, she want’s a fashion accessory like the Sparkling Pony.
Awwwe shucks! Ain’t Hirrily and Maddy just the most gorgiss specimens you could find on MSM broadcast media at the moment?.
Just so honest and personable! The new ‘mother of the Nation’ guiding her cadet towards a great future.
Fuck I am in awe!!!! Jealous even! Whoar!
I met Hilary often when I worked security at TV3,… and I can say ,… as she is on TV, she is in real life. A light hearted, pleasant and fun loving individual. Yet very professional in a very human sort of way.
Its no act at all.
A real gem.
🙂
“A new radical left group has formed with the goal of making socialism a reality in New Zealand.” https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/04-10-2018/socialism-is-back-baby-and-it-doesnt-want-your-vote/
There’s “a new generation of self-described communists, anarchists and socialists who have coalesced into a new group called Organise Aotearoa.” How ought Aotearoa be organised? We await their explanation (since they didn’t inform the reporter). One also wonders how the large (majority?) portion of Aotearoans who hate being organised will react to the prospect.
The spokesperson did say this: “We’re working directly with oppressed, exploited and dispossessed communities to directly build political power for the working class.” Gosh, the working class will be so relieved. How long since Labour abandoned that task? WWII??
“Academic Tyler West, who wrote his Master’s Thesis on the extra-parliamentary left between 1999-2008, says there is still a constellation of other small leftist groups in New Zealand. He also says the radical left really does often become bogged down and split over questions of positions on various bouts of historical fratricide, in keeping with the Monty Pythonesque ‘People’s Front of Judea’ stereotype. In an announcement episode put out by the Shit Hot People’s Politburo, a podcast that shares members with with Organise Aotearoa, the panelists pre-emptively responded to some of the criticisms they expected, including from other far left groups.” Yeah, could make an entertaining reality tv show…
Bubble politics, what a waste of time.
The Standard’s a political bubble of its own, too BM, but you seem to like generating plenty of froth inside it.
Yes,… ‘ bubbles’…. like the housing bubble exacerbated under Key and English…
And yet me ole son, you will be seeing more and more movements such as those which in time, with those who stay the course , will mature into viable political forces , some may join the mainstream , others will tarry ,… but this is what happens when an oppressive globalist materialistically motivated far right wing party like National are defeated,… human creativity and possibility is set free.
I’m forever blowing bubbles,…
OI ! OI ! OI !
too many puffs today wk?
Nah mate… don’t do the ‘ puffs’.
However, maybe you need a shot or two to even see the political imagery I’m implying… I get tired of flying over the heads of peoples like you ,… read up a bit more on cultures , sociology and politics, please.
Hey… I’ll help a philistine out a bit.
Hence the OI ! OI ! OI !
Oh , and get a sense of satire about you mate, your boring me.
Cockney Rejects – I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles – YouTube
Oh look our resident idiot has nothing constructive to say so goes for abuse.
Predictable as it is sad BM – you’re like a scratch on a record, annoying so just scroll past.
He’s been winding KB up commenting as brett68. From his username there we can conclude his name is Brett and he’s 50 this year.
No wonder he’s angry.
Brett Munter, major claim to fame is splattering the ceiling within ten seconds.
All from renewables – who would have thought it…
Wow. Thanks Adam. Telsa will continue to innovate.
adam, 100% mate.
After being in the electricity trade for 48 yrs; – I’m blown away with tesla’s innovation here!!
We should now be incorporating this battery storage; – with the new type of energy power system Germany is using to power the cleanest freight transport system in the world, “hydrogen power engines in locomotives and building ‘hydrogen electrolyser plant’s.’
“New evidenced based ‘zero emissions train’ developed in Germany that scientists claim are the best transport option.
https://futurism.com/the-byte/hydrogen-powered-trains
SEPTEMBER 17TH 18__KRISTIN HOUSER__FILED UNDER: EARTH & ENERGY
ALL ABOARD
Hydrogen fuel cells are a greener way to power vehicles. But they have also been cost-prohibitive.
Today, though, that’s starting to change — on Monday, German passengers boarded the world’s first hydrogen-powered trains.
“Sure, buying a hydrogen train is somewhat more expensive than a diesel train,” said Stefan Schrank, a project manager at locomotive company Alstom, which built the trains, in an interview with Agence France-Presse, “but it is cheaper to run.”
‘Edited.’ – End.
My feeling now is; – NZ also may be easily able to develop our own ‘manufacturing Hydrogen plant’ here to supply the transport of rail freight and passenger services as South Australia is doing currently.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/s-a-to-host-australias-first-green-hydrogen-power-plant-89447/
S.A. to host Australia’s first green hydrogen power plant
Giles Parkinson12 February 2018
QUOTE ;The South Australia government has announced funding for what will be Australia’s first renewable-hydrogen electrolyser plant – a 15MW facility to be built near the end of the grid at Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula.
The “green hydrogen” plant – to be built by Hydrogen Utility (H2U), working with Germany’s thyssenkrupp – will include a 10MW hydrogen-fired gas turbine, fuelled by local wind and solar power, and a 5MW hydrogen fuel cell.
When things settle down in this household and there’s peace and quiet I’m going to watch that… Tesla was a man way ahead of his time,… and typically,… hounded for his innovations.
tRump’s first presidential message sent in the new US nationwide wireless emergency alert system.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dommo5vXkAEziu7.jpg
Jimmy Kimmel usually doesn’t do much for me, but this one’s a goody …
Joe 90. phallacious news.
Nah, this is more what your looking for….
Freemasonry and Phallic Symbolism–Part 2 – YouTube
but hopefully not this……
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Uk-grable2.jpg
He’s keeping his Reichstag dry.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-04/u-s-navy-drafting-plan-to-deter-chinese-military-cnn-reports?
Or deterring the Blue Dragons and a Chinese spy…
These people are fucking morons.
Phones across the country buzzed Wednesday afternoon for the first national test of FEMA’s presidential-level emergency alert system.
For most people, the test, which resembled a text message, passed with nothing more than a quick glance at their phones and a mocking tweet about it. But believers in the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory, the moment had titanic implications.
Believers in QAnon—a conspiracy theory based on a series of internet clues posted by an anonymous character named “Q” that posits a world in which Trump and the military are engaged in ceaseless, secret war with globalist Democratic pedophiles—think the text could mark the start of “The Storm,” a fantastical MAGA dream in which Trump’s political enemies will be arrested and tried at military tribunals.
“That is how we will receive orders if all else fails,” wrote one QAnon believer on the 8Chan internet forum. “We are the next generation Minutemen! Standing by Sir!”
“SO HAPPY!” wrote another. “THANK YOU 45!”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/qanoners-cheer-trumps-text-alert-test-see-it-as-a-step-towards-martial-law/
Powerful
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/03/trump-mockery-christine-blasey-ford-sexual-assault-script-male-dominance
I’m usually a dry, laid back human but watching Huckabooboo’s stating the facts defence of the moran in chief had me yelling at the teevee.
And comes now this hopeless, vicious buffoon, and the audience of equally hopeless and vicious buffoons who laughed and cheered when he made sport of a woman whose lasting memory of the trauma she suffered is the laughter of the perpetrators. Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House.
The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23579738/donald-trump-mock-christine-blasey-ford-sexual-assault/
Penny Bright has passed away.
Condolences to her loved ones.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12129427
+ 1. Respect.
Damn !- we’ve lost a real campaigner in her.
She gave no heed to anyone- least of all the slimy treacherous Key.
A unique character and a real loss. She had an incredible energy, determination and no doubt was as irritating as all hell when she wanted to be.
Her numerous cut and paste diatribes dropped here at TS, despite many warnings was just Penny being true to her own vision. And this I think is what I admired most; we didn’t have to agree with her, or even like her, but we did have to respect her iron-clad integrity of character.
This is the most you can say of anyone.
Well said RL, I would add courage to integrity.
A true ‘kiwi battler’.
Let your spirit free to now enrich the universe Penny we will always love you in our memory with external warmness.