Daily Review 05/09/2018
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5:30 pm, September 5th, 2018 - 72 comments
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- Ukraine’s air force has survived. Taiwan’s almost certainly couldn’t
The Ukrainian air force went to war against invading Russian forces in February 2022 with just 125 combat aircraft concentrated at around a dozen large bases. Given Russia’s overwhelming deep-strike advantage—hundreds of deployed warplanes and ...51 minutes ago - Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes on Wednesday, April 30
Briefly this morning: Nicola Willis rules out charities tax or any tax hike to reduce budget deficit. She’s focused instead on spending cuts. There are 1,000 at-risk kids without a social worker, NZ Herald reports.Housing shortages are a factor in high-risk sex offenders being put out early into uncontrolled community ...1 hour ago - Bad advice on public sector discount rates
A couple of months ago now I wrote a post about the new set of discount rates government agencies are supposed to use in undertaking cost-benefit analysis, whether for new spending projects or for regulatory initiatives. The new, radically altered, framework had come into effect from 1 October last year, ...15 hours ago - Indonesia is hooked on Huawei
Huawei dominates Indonesia’s telecommunication network infrastructure. It won over Indonesia mainly through cost competitiveness and by generating favour through capacity-building programs and strategic relationships with the government, and telecommunication operators. But Huawei’s dominance poses risks. ...15 hours ago
- Bookshelf: The myth of American liberalism
Democracy and the liberal tradition have long been seen as among the most basic tenets of the American way of life. They are also the main reason the West has for the past 80 years ...17 hours ago
- Cutting even deeper against the grain
Nicola Willis continues to compare the economy to a household needing to tighten its belt to survive. Photo: Getty Images The key long stories short in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, April 29 are: Nicola Willis today announced a cut in the Government’s new spending ...17 hours ago - Gas is dead
The Herald had another announcement today about a new solar farm being officially opened - this time the 63MW Lauriston solar farm in Canterbury. It is of course briefly "NZ’s biggest solar farm", but it will soon be overtaken by Kōwhai park at Christchurch airport (168MW) and Tauhei (202MW), both ...17 hours ago - Shoving the future aside
I woke this morning to the shock news that Tory Whanau was no longer contesting the Wellington mayoralty, having stepped aside to leave the field clear for Andrew Little. Its like a perverse reversal of Little's 2017 decision to step aside for Jacinda - the stale, pale past rudely shoving ...18 hours ago
- A pre-Budget speech
In a pre-Budget speech this morning the Minister of Finance announced that this year’s operating allowance – the net amount available for new initiatives – was being reduced from $2.4 billion to $1.3 billion (speech here, RNZ story here). Operating allowance numbers in isolation don’t mean a great deal (what ...22 hours ago
- Weak tax revenue is a national security issue
Of the two things in life that are certain, defence and national security concern themselves with death but need to pay more attention to taxes. Australia’s national security, defence and domestic policy obligations all need ...22 hours ago
- Chris Penk’s Leaky Homes 2.0
The Coalition of Chaos is at it again with another half-baked underwhelming scheme that smells suspiciously like a rerun of New Zealand’s infamous leaky homes disaster. Their latest brainwave? Letting tradies self-certify their own work on so-called low-risk residential builds. Sounds like a great way to cut red tape to ...23 hours ago - Assumed Competence
Perfect by natureIcons of self indulgenceJust what we all needMore lies about a world thatNever was and never will beHave you no shame don't you see meYou know you've got everybody fooledSongwriters: Amy Lee / Ben Moody / David Hodges.“Vote National”, they said. The economic managers par excellence who will ...1 day ago - The ADF isn’t nearly fast enough. It must rush into the cheap-drone revolution
The Australian Defence Force isn’t doing enough to adopt cheap drones. It needs to be training with these tools today, at every echelon, which it cannot do if it continues to drag its feet. Cheap drones ...1 day ago
- “You and me need to hang out. As in, just us 2!”
Hi,Just over a year ago — in March of 2024 — I got an email from Jake. He had a story he wanted to tell, and he wanted to find a way to tell it that could help others. A warning, of sorts. And so over the last year, as ...1 day ago - National Has Mismanaged The Economy
Back in the dark days of the pandemic, when the world was locked down and businesses were gasping for air, Labour’s quick thinking and economic management kept New Zealand afloat. Under Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson, the Wage Subsidy Scheme saved 1.7 million jobs, pumping billions into businesses to stop ...1 day ago
- Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes at 6am on Tuesday, April 29
The Big Six at 6am on Tuesday, April 29Politics news by NZ Herald: Tory Whanau exits Wellington mayoral race, reveals why she's not running again & RNZ: Tory Whanau quits Wellington mayoral raceHealth news scoop by Marc Daalder for Newsroom Pro-$: Weekly data reveals scale of Govt’s waiting list crisis.’ ...1 day ago - No going back
When I was fifteen I discovered the joy of a free bar. All you had to do was say Bacardi and Coke, thanks to the guy in the white shirt and bow tie. I watched my cousin, all private school confidence, get the drinks in, and followed his lead. Another, ...1 day ago - Beijing finally slices off Sandy Cay
The Financial Times reported last week that China’s coast guard has declared China’s sovereignty over Sandy Cay, posting pictures of personnel holding a Chinese flag on a strip of sand. The landing apparently took place ...2 days ago
- National’s Stalling New Zealand’s Electric Future
You might not know this, but New Zealand’s at the bottom of the global league table for electric vehicle (EV) chargers, and the National government’s policies are ensuring we stay there, choking the life out of our clean energy transition.According to the International Energy Agency’s 2024 Global EV Outlook, we’ve ...2 days ago
- EGU2025 – Presentation about our collaborations
As mentioned in the recently published prolog to EGU2025 article, I submitted an abstract to talk about some of the collaborations we've had with other groups and websites over the years. This blog post is a "companion article" to that presentation in session EOS1.1 Science and Society: Science Communication Practice, Research, and ...2 days ago - Rudd and Shearer aren’t enough. Washington needs to see more Australian heavy hitters
We need more than two Australians who are well-known in Washington. We do have two who are remarkably well-known, but they alone aren’t enough in a political scene that’s increasingly influenced by personal connections and ...2 days ago
- “Protecting frontline services”
When National embarked on slash and burn cuts to the public service, Prime Minister Chris Luxon was clear that he expected frontline services to be protected. He lied: The government has scrapped part of a work programme designed to prevent people ending up in emergency housing because the social ...2 days ago
- Climate Change: National supports pollution subsidies
When the Emissions Trading Scheme was originally introduced, way back in 2008, it included a generous transitional subsidy scheme, which saw "trade exposed" polluters given free carbon credits while they supposedly stopped polluting. That scheme was made more generous and effectively permanent under the Key National government, and while Labour ...2 days ago
- Atlas Network Makes Australian Mainstream
Australia Shows The WayAustralian media and their investigative journalists have published two articles on the Atlas Network’s modus operandi in recent weeks:‘Copied the MAGA model’: The ‘grassroots’ lobby group funded by some of Australia’s richestHow Atlas Network amassed a global network of free market think tanks and reached into Australia ...2 days ago - Australia’s defence readiness—a critical assessment
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...2 days ago
- The Suspicious Death of Virginia Giuffre
The news of Virginia Giuffre’s untimely death has been a shock, especially for those still seeking justice for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims. Giuffre, a key figure in exposing Epstein’s depraved network and its ties to powerful figures like Prince Andrew, was reportedly struck by a bus in Australia. She then apparently ...2 days ago
- Bernard’s Dawn Chorus & Pick ‘n’ Mix for Monday, April 28
An official briefing to the Health Minister warns “demand for acute services has outstripped hospital capacity”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThe key long stories short in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, April 28 are: There’s a nationwide shortage of 500 hospital beds and 200,000 ...2 days ago - Deep sea mining is the new front in Pacific competition
We should have been thinking about the seabed, not so much the cables. When a Chinese research vessel was spotted near Australia’s southern coast in late March, opposition leader Peter Dutton warned the ship was ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On A Neglected, Enduring Aspect Of The Francis Era
Now that the formalities of saying goodbye to Pope Francis are over, the process of selecting his successor can begin in earnest. Framing the choice in terms of “liberal v conservative” is somewhat misleading, given that all members of the College of Cardinals uphold the core Catholic doctrines – which ...2 days ago - 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
A listing of 30 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 20, 2025 thru Sat, April 26, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...3 days ago
- Governments Are Letting Big Tech Trash Our Planet
Let’s rip the shiny plastic wrapping off a festering truth: planned obsolescence is a deliberate scam, and governments worldwide, including New Zealand’s, are complicit in letting tech giants churn out disposable junk. From flimsy smartphones that croak after two years to laptops with glued-in batteries, the tech industry’s business model ...3 days ago
- In Loving Memory Of Kyle Whorrall
When I first saw press photos of Mr Whorrall, an America PhD entomology student & researcher who had been living out a dream to finish out his studies in Auckland, my first impression, besides sadness, was how gentle he appeared.Press released the middle photo from Mr Whorrall’s Facebook pageBy all ...3 days ago - National’s Betrayal of Renters and First-Time Buyers
It's definitely not a renters market in New Zealand, as reported by 1 News last night. In fact the housing crisis has metastasised into a full-blown catastrophe in 2025, and the National Party Government’s policies are pouring petrol on the flames. Renters are being crushed under skyrocketing costs, first-time buyers ...3 days ago
- Would I Lie to You?
Would I lie to you? (oh yeah)Would I lie to you honey? (oh, no, no no)Now would I say something that wasn't true?I'm asking you sugar, would I lie to you?Writer(s): David Allan Stewart, Annie Lennox.Opinions issue forth from car radios or the daily news…They demand a bluer National, with ...3 days ago - Fact brief – Do the 31,000 signatures of the OISM Petition Project invalidate the scientific c...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Do the 31,000 signatures of the OISM Petition Project invalidate the scientific consensus on climate change? Climatologists made up only 0.1% of signatories ...4 days ago
- A culture of cruelty.
In the 1980s and early 1990s when I wrote about Argentine and South American authoritarianism, I borrowed the phrase “cultura del miedo” (culture of fear) from Juan Corradi, Guillermo O’Donnell, Norberto Lechner and others to characterise the social anomaly that exists in a country ruled by a state terror regime ...4 days ago - Northern Australia: fortress, gateway and resource powerhouse
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...4 days ago
- Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to April 26
Chris Bishop has unveiled plans for new roads in Tauranga, Auckland and Northland that will cost up to a combined $10 billion. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short from Aotearoa political economy around housing, poverty and climate in the week to Saturday, April 26:Chris Bishop ploughed ahead this week with spending ...4 days ago - Debt Is A Form Of Government Control
Unless you've been living under a rock, you would have noticed that New Zealand’s government, under the guise of economic stewardship, is tightening the screws on its citizens, and using debt as a tool of control. This isn’t just a conspiracy theory whispered in pub corners...it’s backed by hard data ...4 days ago
- The 2025 Budget in a World of Trade Warfare
The budget runup is far from easy.Budget 2025 day is Thursday 22 May. About a month earlier in a normal year, the macroeconomic forecasts would be completed (the fiscal ones would still be tidying up) and the main policy decisions would have been made (but there would still be a ...5 days ago - EGU2025 – Presentation about our translation activities
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- The drums of war revisited
On 25 April 2021, I published an internal all-staff Anzac Day message. I did so as the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for Australia’s civil defence, and its resilience in ...5 days ago
- Cameron Slater’s New Website: Same Old Defamation
You’ve likely noticed that the disgraced blogger of Whale Oil Beef Hooked infamy, Cameron Slater, is still slithering around the internet, peddling his bile on a shiny new blogsite calling itself The Good Oil. If you thought bankruptcy, defamation rulings, and a near-fatal health scare would teach this idiot a ...5 days ago
- David Seymour’s Atlas Network Receiving Unwanted Attention
The Atlas Network, a sprawling web of libertarian think tanks funded by fossil fuel barons and corporate elites, has sunk its claws into New Zealand’s political landscape. At the forefront of this insidious influence is David Seymour, the ACT Party leader, whose ties to Atlas run deep.With the National Party’s ...5 days ago
- Nicola Willis To Blame For Family Boost Debacle
Nicola Willis, National’s supposed Finance Minister, has delivered another policy failure with the Family Boost scheme, a childcare rebate that was big on promises but has been very small on delivery. Only 56,000 families have signed up, a far cry from the 130,000 Willis personally championed in National’s campaign. This ...5 days ago
- Editors’ pick: ‘On the value of military service’
This article was first published on 7 February 2025. In January, I crossed the milestone of 24 years of service in two militaries—the British and Australian armies. It is fair to say that I am ...5 days ago
- Rest easy, my friend.
He shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.Age shall not weary him, nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun and in the morningI will remember him.My mate Keith died yesterday, peacefully in the early hours. My dear friend in Rotorua, whom I’ve been ...5 days ago - The Hoon around the week to April 25
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on news New Zealand abstained from a vote on a global shipping levy on climate emissions and downgraded the importance ...5 days ago
- The Men Commenting on Lorde
Hi,In case you missed it, New Zealand icon Lorde has a new single out. It’s called “What Was That”, and has a very low key music video that was filmed around her impromptu performance in New York’s Washington Square Park. When police shut down the initial popup, one of my ...5 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2025
Open access notables Internal variability effect doped by climate change drove the 2023 marine heat extreme in the North Atlantic, Guinaldo et al., Communications Earth & Environment The year 2023 shattered numerous heat records both globally and regionally. We here focus on the drivers of the unprecedented warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies which started in ...6 days ago
- Military denial: the basis of deterrence, and of response if deterrence fails
A strategy of denial is now the cornerstone concept for Australia’s National Defence Strategy. The term’s use as an overarching guide to defence policy, however, has led to some confusion on what it actually means ...6 days ago
- Fiscal failure
The IMF’s twice-yearly World Economic Outlook and Fiscal Monitor publications have come out in the last couple of days. If there is gloom in the GDP numbers (eg this chart for the advanced countries, and we don’t score a lot better on the comparable one for the 2019 to ...6 days ago
- Climate Change: Fucking the ETS again
For a while, it looked like the government had unfucked the ETS, at least insofar as unit settings were concerned. They had to be forced into it by a court case, but at least it got done, and when National came to power, it learned the lesson (and then fucked ...6 days ago
- What’s secret? When is it secret? Well, that’s complicated
The argument over US officials’ misuse of secure but non-governmental messaging platform Signal falls into two camps. Either it is a gross error that undermines national security, or it is a bit of a blunder ...6 days ago
- Today’s Headlines: David Seymour’s ECE Risks & Coalition Government Lies
Cost of living ~1/3 of Kiwis needed help with food as cost of living pressures continue to increase - turning to friends, family, food banks or Work and Income in the past year, to find food. 40% of Kiwis also said they felt schemes offered little or no benefit, according ...6 days ago - Is The NZ Media Awards Sponsored By a Conspiracy Theorist?
Hi,Perhaps in 2025 it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the CEO and owner of Voyager Internet — the major sponsor of the New Zealand Media Awards — has taken to sharing a variety of Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories to his 1.2 million followers.This included sharing a post from ...6 days ago - Australia-India defence cooperation should be about more than navies
In the sprint to deepen Australia-India defence cooperation, navy links have shot ahead of ties between the two countries’ air forces and armies. That’s largely a good thing: maritime security is at the heart of ...6 days ago
- When in Rome
'Cause you and me, were meant to be,Walking free, in harmony,One fine day, we'll fly away,Don't you know that Rome wasn't built in a day?Songwriters: Paul David Godfrey / Ross Godfrey / Skye Edwards.I was half expecting to see photos this morning of National Party supporters with wads of cotton ...6 days ago - Thursday 24 April
The PSA says a settlement with Health New Zealand over the agency’s proposed restructure of its Data and Digital and Pacific Health teams has saved around 200 roles from being cut. A third of New Zealanders have needed help accessing food in the past year, according to Consumer NZ, and ...6 days ago - John Campbell Investigates Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church
John Campbell’s Under His Command, a five-part TVNZ+ investigation series starting today, rips the veil off Destiny Church, exposing the rot festering under Brian Tamaki’s self-proclaimed apostolic throne. This isn’t just a church; it’s a fiefdom, built on fear, manipulation, and a trail of scandals that make your stomach churn. ...6 days ago
- Decrypting tomorrow’s threats: critical infrastructure needs post-quantum protection today
Some argue we still have time, since quantum computing capable of breaking today’s encryption is a decade or more away. But breakthrough capabilities, especially in domains tied to strategic advantage, rarely follow predictable timelines. Just ...6 days ago
- Inside my quest for a climate-friendly bank
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Pearl Marvell (Photo credit: Pearl Marvell. Image credit: Samantha Harrington. Dollar bill vector image: by pch.vector on Freepik) Igrew up knowing that when you had extra money, you put it under a bed, stashed it in a book or a clock, or, ...6 days ago
- Winston Peters Has Lost The Plot
The political petrified piece of wood, Winston Peters, who refuses to retire gracefully, has had an eventful couple of weeks peddling transphobia, pushing bigoted policies, undertaking his unrelenting war on wokeness and slinging vile accusations like calling Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick a “groomer”.At 80, the hypocritical NZ First leader’s latest ...6 days ago
- The one who left
It's raining in Cockermouth and we're following our host up the stairs. We’re telling her it’s a lovely building and she’s explaining that it used to be a pub and a nightclub and a backpackers, but no more.There were floods in 2009 and 2015 along the main street, huge floods, ...6 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Trump Upside, And Peters Persecution Of Trans People
A recurring aspect of the Trump tariff coverage is that it normalises – or even sanctifies – a status quo that in many respects has been a disaster for working class families. No doubt, Donald Trump is an uncertainty machine that is tanking the stock market and the growth prospects ...6 days ago
- Is Mark Mitchell a racist?
The National Party’s Minister of Police, Corrections, and Ethnic Communities (irony alert) has stumbled into yet another racist quagmire, proving that when it comes to bigotry, the right wing’s playbook is as predictable as it is vile. This time, Mitchell’s office reposted an Instagram reel falsely claiming that Te Pāti ...7 days ago
- Australian statecraft must restore the link between deterrence and non-proliferation to survive in t...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...7 days ago
- J.K. Rowling – Arsehole of the Week
In a world crying out for empathy, J.K. Rowling has once again proven she’s more interested in stoking division than building bridges. The once-beloved author of Harry Potter has cemented her place as this week’s Arsehole of the Week, a title earned through her relentless, tone-deaf crusade against transgender rights. ...7 days ago
- The rotten, unaccountable crown
Between 1950 and 1993 the New Zealand government tortured and abused up to 250,000 children in residential care facilities. They then proceeded to cover it up in order to minimise their liability, dragging out cases, slandering their victims and ultimately denying redress. In its final report, the Inquiry into Abuse ...7 days ago
- To prepare for future threats, treat health security as national security
Health security is often seen as a peripheral security domain, and as a problem that is difficult to address. These perceptions weaken our capacity to respond to borderless threats. With the wind back of Covid-19 ...7 days ago
- What’s on the Label -vs- What’s in the Tin.
Would our political parties pass muster under the Fair Trading Act?WHAT IF OUR POLITICAL PARTIES were subject to the Fair Trading Act? What if they, like the nation’s businesses, were prohibited from misleading their consumers – i.e. the voters – about the nature, characteristics, suitability, or quantity of the products ...7 days ago - Simeon Brown Doesn’t Consider Abortion To Be Healthcare As Services Scaled Back
Rod EmmersonThank you to my subscribers and readers - you make it all possible. Tui.Subscribe nowSix updates today from around the world and locally here in Aoteaora New Zealand -1. RFK Jnr’s Autism CrusadeAmerica plans to create a registry of people with autism in the United States. RFK Jr’s department ...7 days ago - Another Munich crisis? Understanding the limits of policymaking by analogy
We see it often enough. A democracy deals with an authoritarian state, and those who oppose concessions cite the lesson of Munich 1938: make none to dictators; take a firm stand. And so we hear ...7 days ago
- Wednesday 23 April
370 perioperative nurses working at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre will strike for two hours on 1 May – the same day senior doctors are striking. This is part of nationwide events to mark May Day on 1 May, including rallies outside public hospitals, organised by ...7 days ago
- Auckland character rules stop building on 20,000 sections
Character protections for Auckland’s villas have stymied past development. Now moves afoot to strip character protection from a bunch of inner-city villas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest from our political economy on Wednesday, April 23:Special Character Areas designed to protect villas are stopping 20,000 sites near Auckland’s ...7 days ago
- Release: Simeon Brown hid Dunedin Hospital downgrade
Simeon Brown needs to come clean to the people of Dunedin about why he hid plans to downgrade their new hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. ...19 hours ago - Release: Govt cuts will cost jobs, health, and homes
Nicola Willis announced that funding for almost every Government department will be frozen in this year’s budget, costing jobs, making access to public services harder, and fuelling an exodus of nurses, teachers, and other public servants. ...19 hours ago
- Govt’s austerity Budget to cause real harm in communities
The Government’s Budget looks set to usher in a new age of austerity. This morning, Minister of Finance Nicola Willis said new spending would be limited to $1.4 billion, cut back from the original intended $2.4 billion, which itself was already $100 million below what Treasury said was needed to ...24 hours ago - Ban on engineered stone essential to protect workers
The Green Party has renewed its call for the Government to ban the use, supply, and manufacture of engineered stone products, as the CTU launches a petition for the implementation of a full ban. ...2 days ago
- Release: Anzac Day a time to recommit to veterans
This Anzac Day, Labour recognises veterans and the service they have given to our country. ...5 days ago
- Education Should be Led by Experts-Not Economists
Te Pāti Māori are appalled by Cabinet's decision to agree to 15 recommendations to the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector following the regulatory review by the Ministry of Regulation. We emphasise the need to prioritise tamariki Māori in Early Childhood Education, conducted by education experts- not economists. “Our mokopuna deserve ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt’s flagship cost of living policy a failure
After promising $250 a fortnight to many families, the Government has been forced to admit just a couple hundred families are receiving it. ...6 days ago
- Release: Transparency needed on changes to early childhood education
The Government is putting children at risk in early childhood education (ECE) by proposing to loosen the requirement for qualified teachers. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt funding needed to combat invasive seaweed
The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment. ...1 week ago
- New Zealand First Introduces Bill Defining ‘Woman’ and ‘Man’ in Law
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law. “This is not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything. This is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the ...1 week ago - Release: Labour marks the passing of Pope Francis
Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins joins those mourning the passing of Pope Francis. ...1 week ago
- Release: Boot camps blog post fails to provide clarity
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Inflation rises and families feel the squeeze
Inflation is rising again and it’s landing hardest on families already stretched thin. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt doesn’t know how to fund new hospitals
The Government’s health infrastructure plan is big on promises but coy on where the money is coming from. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: $10 million for only 215 students in charter schools
David Seymour is pouring $10 million into charter schools that only have 215 students enrolled. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Food prices further stretching the family budget
Families already stretched by rising costs will struggle with the news food prices are going up again. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Mental health staff and patients at risk without plan
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Driver licensing proposal doesn’t put safety first
The Government’s proposal to change driver licensing rules is a mixed bag of sensible and careless. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Students struggling as Govt sits on hands
The Government is continuing to sit on its hands as students struggle to pay rent due to delays with StudyLink. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: More must be done to stop children going hungry
More children are going hungry and statistics showing children in material hardship continue to get worse. ...3 weeks ago
- Greens continue to call for Pacific Visa Waiver
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...3 weeks ago
- More children going hungry under Coalition govt
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Longer wait for treatment under National
New Zealanders have waited longer to get an appointment with a specialist and to get elective surgery under the National Government. ...3 weeks ago
- Ka mate te Pire- Ka ora te mana o Te Tiriti o Waitangi me te iwi Māori
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...3 weeks ago
- Chris Hipkins speech: Treaty Principles Bill second reading
Normally, when I rise in this House to speak on a bill, I say it's a great privilege to speak on the bill. That is not the case today. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: End to the Treaty Principles Bill, but challenges remain ahead for Aotearoa
Ka mate te pire I te rā neiThe bill dies today ...3 weeks ago
- Ka mate te Pire, ka ora Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty Principles Bill dead, Te Tiriti o Waitangi m...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...3 weeks ago
- Member’s Bill an opportunity for climate action
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Bill to make trading laws fairer passes first hurdle
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...3 weeks ago
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- Australian election on a knife edge, thanks to Donald Trump
Analysis - Nothing is certain in politics, and Labor could still lose the election as polls are known to get it wrong in Australia, writes Corin Dann. ...56 minutes ago - Prisoner voting ban to be brought back – Paul Goldmsith
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says Cabinet has agreed to reinstate a total ban. ...1 hour ago
- Seymour’s truancy call to mayors met with confusion and exasperation
The associate education minister has appealed for mayors’ support on improving school attendance. But should it really be part of their job, asks Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Mayors unimpressed by Seymour’s call to arms Associate education ...1 hour ago - Willis warns of a ‘tight’ budget to come, but NZ should be going for productivity, not austerity
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis Wesselbaum, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Otago Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images Finance Minister Nicola Willis has warned her 2025 “Growth Budget” will be “one of the tightest budgets in a decade”, with plans to reduce spending by billions. It’s ...2 hours ago - ‘Parallel universe stuff’ -Former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull on Winston Peters downp...
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Should bosses be held accountable legally for remotely disabling a car and putting an employee in danger? Is there some legislation that would already cover this? If not this kind of thing should surely be illegal due to the very real risk to a driver if they are stopped remotely in a dangerous place on the road or in a dangerous area.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/no-control-blenheim-womans-vehicle-stopped-remotely-by-boss/ar-BBMTdj2?li=BBqdg4K
Boss should be rethinking this one
Lawyers wil have a field day …
😀
The risk is not just employees.
Another car could have swerved to avoid the stopped vehicle and plowed into pedestrians or some such.
Should be charged with dangerous driving and stripped of their remote, and have their ACC levy upped to cover the next idiotic thing they come up with.
The woman was also concerned that this highly controlling boss would fire her if identification occurred. It seems it is not the first time this has happened.
In another post I mused that psychopathy is strong in businesspeople. And that is a worry with them having control of this tech. Mac1 has put the comment that confirms my concerns, which should be everyone’s.
Another failure of the government to properly regulate products on the market.
It shouldn’t even be possible as it’s too friggen dangerous.
That’s not a reason – it’s an excuse. All products, mandatory or not, need to be regulated before they go on the market.
THere’s so much of the car functions that are connected to the key and the ignition that when the ignition is turned off simply stop working. Power steering and power brakes spring to mind and when they stop working the person who’s driving the car may find that they can’t actually drive it.
Here is some good graft available in this frantic money-mad market without limits.
A tow truck driver races to the scene of the immobilised car, names a high fee to drag the car out of the way which police might say has to be accepted or the driver will be charged for obstructing the highway, so the driver agrees, but the employer says he/she won’t pay as they never agreed to pay this large sum.
It is a scenario that well could arise giving the shitty attitude of money first and people don’t that is prevalent under neo lib. And what’s more it could be a gold rush situation and lots of stinging wasps, otherwise known as rogue tow truck drivers, might gather and fight over this creating major mayhem.
The technology is a good idea ie. preventing a car being stolen or not being able to be started, but the way it was used here by the boss is way out of line.
Any workplace that is characterised by such high levels of distrust that this technology is used, shouldn’t exist.
It’s not very different from dropping a concrete block off an overbridge is it.
Isnt it ‘careless use of a vehicle’ if she had remote control ?
So, so many possibilities.
Employer is breaking workplace safety laws.
Careless use. Failing to stay in lane. Dangerous driving. Obstruction of the road.
General nuisance/negligence laws.
And that’s when nobody is hurt and nothing is damaged.
Yep. The boss should be going to jail for this.
can you add harassment of the driver?
oh jeez, personal greivance grounds maybe…
“Thinktank calls for major overhaul of Britain’s economy” – a step in the right direction, but not radical. “It argues that the shareholder-driven model of capitalism is outmoded”. Better late than never, I suppose.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/05/thinktank-calls-for-major-overhaul-of-britains-economy
Shareholders are the worlds biggest bludgers.
Ah shit – this really does suck.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12119799
Yes. That sucks.
Love and respect to Penny and her whanau.
Pull through Penny!
x
Sad news.
Penny and the issues are a lot removed from me and mine.
I applaud and celebrate the likes of Penny, those who have the courage of their convictions.
Too many of us piss and moan to each other in pathetic futile gestures, only succeeding in annoying those closest to us.
Penny Bright and her ilk, stick it to the man.
Kia kaha Penny, I look forward to the next time you irritate the powers that be.
This, that woman has an elephant-sized pair, shame what she was fighting against got lost within the factionalism of politics.
Go well.
Well put.
Even as somebody who strongly disagrees with her positions on most things – admire her for “walking the walk” when most of us wouldn’t have the courage to.
The world will be poorer without her in it.
That was also well put James
That’s nice. You’ll follow that with a hearty ‘I admire Ed for walking the walk when most of us wouldn’t have the courage to’.
I wonder if your mates at Kiwisewer will have a kind word for Penny Bright.
I wonder if the rat-in-chief, David Farrar, will do a post on her plight.
Ed walks the walk?
Well said James.
Yes sending healing thoughts and energy to you Penny.
You have to respect the battlers in this world. Great work Penny.
Clare Curran might be a nice person and a capable one but one thing she doesn’t seem to be very good at, well out of her depth at actually, is being a politician.
Unfortunately she’s in the bear pit and looking like a stuffed panda.
This is beltway stuff really. Who the hell gives a shit if she used gmail for work. Several hundred million people do this every single minute of every single day.
Better to find out who within the public service is leaking to that racist, Melissa Lee.
That’s the real news.
Ha! Having a gmail account to conduct Ministerial work when you are the Minister of Open Government is considered “beltway”.
Have you lost your mind?
Well it is beltway. No-one except enemies of the government give two shits about this.
Nope. We all deserve a government that embraces sound governance. Dodging basic official information requirements is not OK from any Minister, let alone the holder of that particular portfolio. Half-arsed is not good enough.
Didn’t BXXXXXXXe get nailed for something similar?
And Curran still didn’t learn.
edit: my mistake, McCully was the one. And Labour had fun with it.
Yet Brownlee is still at the very top off the Nats. What does that tell you about that lot?
Sorry. How is her gmail account not under the OIA? I’m sure it is accessible to her ministry.
Do you think she deliberately uses it to be covert or something?
I doubt that. And for reference, her meeting with Hirshfeld was in a packed Wellington bureaucrat cafe at mid morning, and the meting with Handley was in her fucking office, ffs.
Curran is not hiding any more than any other minister, she’s just doing it her way. I don’t believe she is corrupt in any way shape or form at all.
Nobody is talking about corruption. All her correspondence as Minister or MP must be properly tracked and recorded. Basic part of the job.
+111
I give two shits. No MP should be doing govt business on a gmail account. She is either 1) doing something dodgy / wrong and hiding it or 2) is very stupid and is too dumb to be an MP
Which is it?
Making Melissa Lee look like a competent opponent even briefly surely deserves a resignation.
There’s that. She’s an appalling human being as evidenced by her ‘brown people racing up the motorway to rob you’ comment so the outfit which is leaking Curran’s info to her should be ashamed.
She made Curran look and sound like a chump. If she is a bigot she will have lots of company in parliament. Curran looked very shaky indeed.
I do. Politicians work emails need to be done through the governments servers and be publicly available.
I’m sure she’d be happy to have her gmails accessed by the public, or are you charging her with using gmail deliberately to circumvent the OIA process?
Thats a very big accusation from you if so.
You’re seriously swimming upstream on this one, Muttonbird.
Her actions are sneaky. Ardern needs to bin her. Sooner rather than later. This story has more legs in it yet.
I don’t believe she is being sneaky – just stupid.
There’s nothing sneaky about it. She’s just trying to get stuff done quickly and efficiently. You RWNJs are all about that anyway, are you not?
And yet failing to do it properly.
It’s actually the Public Records Act she could be breaching: the emails must be kept properly so they are available when needed under the OIA or other laws. I doubt that the Minister’s staff being able to login to her personal Gmail account is enough to satisfy that requirement.
I’m not accusing her of anything. I didn’t even mention her.
I’m making a statement that the business of politicians is public business and that the public thus needs to know.
Clare Curran is the weakest link “Goodbye”
I’m not claiming anything sinister, that it’s trivial, beltway or the end of the world. I think that when you want to present as professional, onto it and competent laying yourself open as Curan has done is ‘criminal’.
Serious followers might think it means nothing but the great unwashed who hear the story and see the video will gain an impression of incompetence and lack of confidence. Those on here with a grasp of how things should work with the proper protocols won’t have their views on the government affected probably but it’s the attitudes being formed in the masses which is important.
Curran’s contribution is one of putting termites in the foundations. That Melissa Lee might be a bitch is irrelevant.
Melissa Lee is simply going for the “low hanging fruit”.
what the hellis going on at Radio New Zealand. allmorning I was assailed on channel 50 with crap from gruyon espiner caliming that Jacinda Ardern deosn’t know what she is doing. I find this childish politicking on the state broadcasters dime a horrible abuse of the good name of RNZ and cannot even begin to think how the editors and managers and producers of the country’s primary news sources can allow this to happen
This is exactly why Jacinda needs to act quickly and decisively on Clare Curran. One rotten apple in the bunch…..it spreads. Now people are looking at Jacinda who being PM is letting Curran do this and thinking “is she really in control?”
I’m picking after Brexit, Brtain will no longer be able to appeal to the European court to arrest two random Russian men for a crime they’d like to think was committed.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/106860746/britain-charges-two-russians-over-novichok-poisoning
The evidence will be presented won’t it? They are saying they have sufficient – I’d imagine many will be going through it with a fine tooth comb when presented. Of course all the vladfans will already be formulating their conspiracies.
Charged in absentia. What a joke. This is a poster campaign because they have nothing at all with which to bring a conclusion.
It’s just spin from a very very desperate Britain.
You may be right. I’m hopeful evidence will be put down for scrutiny but I probably am naive about that.
War: what is it good for?
Absolutely something.
A cold war that is. with all this sabre rattling from Bolton and the stupid White house I wonder if a cold war where the US and her interests is shut out of Syria permanently would be a great thing for peace in the region.
The Sauds are always going to bend over to be anally raped by US interests but if that’s as far as US hegemony abroad goes then all for the better, I say.
Lets have a proper line which shall not be crossed in the region, drop the fucking sanctions, and I bet people on the ground will benefit no end.
Cold War: what is it good for?
Absolutely something.
Not sure if you have seen this on the telly? This is so cool and sweet from the SPF hosts.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-05/naurus-president-sings-for-jacinda-ardern-at-pacific-summit/10205548
Yep. Exactly why we should continue to have strong representation in the Pacific. Not only do these people rely on us a relatively wealthy country and a country which got rich from imported cheap labour from them, but we are duty bound to be a leader in the region, and it’s also wise to be across developments in the region by players outside the region and you have to be friends to be able to do that.
I would like to see the NZ Government throw a bit towards the NZDF and NZ Aid at having a more permanent presence in the SP atm.
MFAT using the AB’s as a form of soft power in the region to help counter the increasing pressure of China’s influences in the region. Using the AB’s is not a silly idea, it might been that NZG might have to unwrite the games and I know a few here and elsewhere will have issues of this.
But they need to stop thinking short term and start looking the bigger picture within the SP Region as it’s no longer a sleeper hollow as it used to be or in the case of a famous NZ PM said a “We live in a Benign Region and we don’t need to spend much on Defence”. There is a new ball game in town called Climate Change and a emerging power jocking for influence and challenging the current rules base order.
Chase in point, the head of the Chinese delegation got the boot from the SFP as he didn’t follow the SPF protocol in which only SP Nation leaders or their Ministers can speak and as a result of this DH from China he got the boot for insulting the Host Nation and the rest of the SP leaders and ministers which is a bloody big no no.
Talking about losing face at that event for our Chinese friend where protocol is and means a lot within SP Region. Clearly this muppet either forgot what he was told prior to attending or just didn’t give a flying **** about SPF Nations as I’m from big China and I can throw weight around as I feel free etc etc.
Jeez, watching Al jazeera of an evening…
Two Russians have been named with a European arrest warrant on them in regards to the double spy novachok poisoning. The poison was found in hotel rooms they had occupied…
Then… the Israeli high court approves demolition of Bedouin village in West Bank.
What next?
Hopefully the takeover over by a legitimate Palestinian state of all Israeli settlements built within pre ’67 lines.
Here’s hoping.
Rumour of the day: McCain’s death wasn’t brain-tumour, it was execution for treason. Just one of many such removals world wide, especially in financial sector. The clean-out is happening, mob losing control. A new financial system has been approved. Plenty of detail to come in the next few months. Blessing to those working hard at the front line – peaceful transition in motion.
Links
“Years of doomsday talk at Silicon Valley dinner parties has turned to action.
In recent months, two 150-ton survival bunkers journeyed by land and sea from a Texas warehouse to the shores of New Zealand, where they’re buried 11 feet underground.
Seven Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have purchased bunkers from Rising S Co. and planted them in New Zealand in the past two years, said Gary Lynch, the manufacturer’s general manager. At the first sign of an apocalypse — nuclear war, a killer germ, a French Revolution-style uprising targeting the 1 percent — the Californians plan to hop on a private jet and hunker down, he said.
……The nation allows emigres to essentially buy residency through investor visas, and rich Americans have poured a fortune into the country, often by acquiring palatial estates.
Billionaire hedge-fund honcho Julian Robertson owns a lodge overlooking Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, the South Island’s luxury resort destination. Fidelity National Financial Inc. Chairman Bill Foley has a homestead in the Wairarapa region, north of Wellington, and Titanic director James Cameron bought a mansion nearby at Lake Pounui.
The Investor Plus Visa, which requires a minimum investment of NZD$10 million ($6.7 million) over three years, attracted 17 U.S. applicants in fiscal 2017, after President Donald Trump’s election. Previously, it averaged six applicants a year.
……A spokeswoman for the New Zealand Customs Service declined to confirm that the bunkers had arrived in the country, citing privacy reasons.
It takes about two weeks to excavate the land and bury the average bunker, Lynch said. It’s all done secretly so local residents aren’t aware. Once installed, passersby would have no way of knowing it’s there.
“There’s no clue left behind, not even a door,” Lynch said.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2018-rich-new-zealand-doomsday-preppers/
WFT, Customs and Police would have a few issues over the illegal importation of firearms and a wee matter over firearms licensing. As there is an awful lot of paperwork required to bring in firearms especially to bring them in and the issue of licensing requirements at short notice.