There was the pretty good photo actually of Muller and co. at Cardrona the other day announcing one of the few policies they have, the 'Tourism Accelerator". Ruining it was one guy in a cap who looked like a naughty schoolboy – Hamish Walker.
He hasn't sacked him, he's given the portfolios to someone else while the Inquiry is happening, at the same time minimising the seriousness of Walker's actions.
Given Walker's racist press statement the other day, it's bizarre he hasn't been permanently demoted. Might be time for National to look for another Clutha/Southland candidate, but I won't hold my breath.
National leader Todd Muller says he's waiting for the results of the government's inquiry into Walker's "error of judgement" and won't comment further Has stripped him of his shadow portfolios. pic.twitter.com/OcOKINRiW3
Fair enough. Given that Walker will hold the seat anyway, Muller has under-reacted there. No loss to him if Walker is on the back benches for 2 months, he's hardly a Bridges.
Have a listen to RNZ this morning,Privacy commissioner say politicans have some sort of immunity re- leaking info,not just parlimentary privilage.
Also how about supporting people with dis-ablitys on this site and have a spell check,it is 2020. Dyslexic count, do you know how long it can take just too write a wee note like this,or shall I give up,is that the idea.
I have dyslexia and use the Grammarly addon for chrome which works here. It's also available for other platforms too. I only use the free version and it suits my needs. Hope it helps.
Pressing Ctrl and right clicking on words marked as spelling errors should bring up the browsers usual menu. In most browsers that will bring up the browsers dictionary support. Just found that gem…
Being a programmer and mildly dyslexic myself, I have been using the "Source" when I want to fix words because the right click context menu works well there.
But I’ll have a look around for other server side tools that may help.
Amy Adams is probably looking for a seat to get back in after the election. She has a house in Cromwell which is now in Clutha Southland after the boundary changes this year.
Ought we to feel some compassion for the true-blue Nats of Clutha-Southland, who must be feeling sick to their stomachs with this latest exposure; Todd Barclay, Sarah Dowie, and now Hamish Walker?
bout time they did something about it then. National have the same dilemma as Labour now, their party has been taken over and it will take a lot to set it right.
Council staff are often referred to as 'the orcs', especially when they have their enforcement hats on. I've seen a couple of instances, fires mainly, where it was quite apt. Fortunately not directly on the receiving end. A few texts do the rounds warning of orcs abroad or at the gate….
Acquired in her role as acting CEO of the rescue helicopter trust.
There's still the question as to why the trust had patient-identifed data sent to it, e.g. was it an analyst screw up or did it have a genuine need for that information.
And if the trust got the data in error, did Boag or anyone else report this to the data supplier, or did she run straight to her party? lol even odds either way?
It depends on how big the admin team is, I suspect. If it's five tiers below her, there might be vertical compartmentalisation issues for the trust to look at.
But if the acting CEO was actually working for a living in a small team and helping develop the staffing plans if any of those folk need air transport, she might have reasonably legitimate access. Or maybe someone emailed her going "I got sent this, seems to be more than I should receive, what should I do?" And her response speaks for itself.
I would have thought the people who would need the list ahead of time would be whoever manages the call outs, and the staff that go on call outs. I guess Boag could be hands on in that management.
The second scenario makes sense, although the person emailing shouldn't have emailed the information, but described it instead.
I mean, if I got something I felt completely out of my depth on and the boss says "give it all to me, I'll handle it", suddenly all my problems are solved because the managers will be the ones doing battle.
But those are the causes of the train:car collision, and investigators need to confirm that all the signals are working, the car was functioning normally, the drivers were all sob – holy crap, that train had three wagonloads of illegal ammunition and weapons?! And they belonged to the people who reported the crash to make a point about the safety of that level crossing?! WTF???
That's the sort of vibe I'm having at the moment, lol.
I am guessing burner phone, so not work related at all.
From lines about the spreadsheet not being protected, an external to work hack is inferred. Of course that might be to protect a NP source at some level within the public service or management regime.
"Under the Electoral Act, party advertisements require a promoter statement and the written authorisation of the party," the commission spokesman said.
Obvious answer is to put the required "promoter statement and the written authorisation of the party" on it and stick them up on every street corner!
Similar to the, 'Let's do this' moment, she grabbed something real, popular and already in existence and ran with it. Do the same here, Hayden!
Boag gave the info to Walker who passed it on to media.
How Boag got it is now the issue – she says it came to her as CEO of Auckland of Rescue HelicopterTrust. I am not sure if this credible, time will tell.
And why was it sent to her private email address if it was related to her role as CEO of that Trust?
Heron needs to identify the sender of that email before Boag accidently deletes it. And if the sender used a burner phone etc and Boag could not identify who sent it …., why would she think it was related to her work …
My suspicion is she is protecting a National Party asset, the question is where MOH, or in the border security system, or …
Maybe the MOH needs to look at a system for monitoring the Apple and Android apps that have come out about a month back.
In this regard, one should note the USA is no longer taking in Indian IT migrants under their H-1B visa, and the government should look at bringing in IT expertise – US IT workers (leaving a commmunity spread environment) and a few of the Indian migrant workers (around 60,000 a year) shut out of the US employment market.
Walker said he had received legal advice that he had not committed any criminal offence.
"The information that I received was not password-protected by the Government. It was not stored on a secure system where authorised people needed to log on. There was no redaction to protect patient details, and no confidentiality statement on the document. "By exposing a significant privacy issue I hope the Government will improve its protocols and get its safeguards right."
They are running the same line they did with the Treasury leak, the Bishop snoop. The racist dog whistler is now claiming he was doing us a service.
His defence is that the information was not secure. Yet Boag is claiming it came to her on a private email to her in her work capacity. Something does not add up.
The information that I received was not password-protected by the Government. It was not stored on a secure system where authorised people needed to log on.
Yeah, I'd say that the lawyer giving that advice needs to go back to school.
Stealing from an open house is still stealing. Same would apply here.
And I'd say that it propably was stored on a secure system – until it was removed from that system and sent to Boag.
Any boy who graduated from a Good School should know what is correct behaviour and not look for excuses for exposing people's private information to others, that’s nasty hacking stuff. . Or was he home-schooled? There is no excuse Walker, get your boots on and go. And take your granny dolly with you.
Bridges relieved he lost to Muller – let the resignations flow. Anyone feeling for Hooton?
Maybe there’s a book in it: The Hollow Men – Dirty Politics – Dirtier Politics: How attack politics is stillpoisoning New Zealand’s political environment
Have felt for some time that Boag is naturally 100% pure poison – surely now Wallace can finally stop inviting her back to appear on The Panel.
Many of us foresaw that Dirty Politics was going to be rife this year. The Nats will go to any lengths to grab the reins of power. Not the least bit surprised Michelle Boag is implicated.
And no thought for the distress it must have caused the targeted individuals.
I had a nasty feeling that Muller would be manoeuvred out and it would be Nikki Kaye as leader in a head-on with Jacinda… replicating Labour's manoeuvre last election.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Why did someone supply Boag with the list? Why did she pass the list on to Walker, and who else – apart from the media – received a copy of the list?
If Boag is telling the truth (?) and she didn't know Walker had given it to the media then what was the original plan of action? Was it just going be left lying around in strategic places?
Walker is saying he made claims about govt covid systems and needed to back that up so gave the details to the media. So it's conceivable Boag hadn't intended that esp given Walker is a loose unit. Otoh, it's inconceivable the statements today weren't coordinated, so why should we trust anything any of them say? Boag makes a better apology but she made this bed so will have to lie in it either way.
If to her in her work role, why by email to her private email?
And if Walker's claim the spreadsheep was not protected, why presume the person who accessed it did so in their official work role?
Now let's go back to the snooping on Treasury budget information before the official release.
Synergy – like twins born the same day – lets illuminate. Barclay and Bishop came from the same background. Both from uni to work in parliament then onto the same job corporate affairs for an Auckland based international tobacco corporate (where there is dirty smoke …) before to parliament as MP's in the same year 2014. Barclay has since been replaced by Walker. For mine Heron should invite Bishop to speak to him.
The leak might not be illegal but wasn't there something in the Privacy Act that it was illegal to disseminate information which you had no legal right to have – or something?
Seems to also be a likely breach of s92U of the Health Act 1956, but again I can't find any penalty for it:
Despite anything in the Privacy Act 1993, information provided or obtained under a direction under this Part may not be used or disclosed by anyone except for the effective management of infectious diseases, but nothing in this section limits the right of an individual to access or disclose information about him or her under that Act or any other Act.
The suspicious thing to me is that it turned up in her personal email by itself, even though it was part of her role (apparently). So she didn't actually steal the data, because she didn't remove it from the Trust's systems herself. Wasn't that lucky for her? /sarc
I think we need to borrow one of those Police Helicopters until election time and have it hovering over various National Party people – as you would with potential criminals. Just think of the loot that the police could restrain? – lots of deckchairs and lounges and nice cars and expensive clothes and properties and….
What 'indiscretion' needs distraction by a cheetah-sized dead cat in the guise of a former President of the National Party, heavily involved in former dirty tricks campaigns, passing on sensitive and private information on patients to an MP who had recently been sanctioned for inappropriate behaviour by his leader, who then passed it onto the media, purely for political advantage in a bid to discredit a successful and popular government.
Well that one will rebound on them, like a very live tom cat with claws sharpened and feral instincts aroused, spitting fury and retribution.
A short story in which captain 'Sully' Sullenberger is bringing his powerless plane down to the Hudson River and irate passenger Todd Muller keeps knocking on the door & telling passengers "Well no I don't have a better suggestion right now but this is an utter shambles"
Who were they talking about/? The Herald reports……
"On Saturday, before they knew Walker's involvement, Muller and National's health spokesman Michael Woodhouse were damning of the privacy breach.
"This is unconscionable and unacceptable that those suffering from the incredibly dangerous virus now have to suffer further with their private details being leaked," Woodhouse said.
"The Government needs to get to the bottom of this, and quickly."
Muller told RNZ the breach was "quite staggering" and "unacceptable".
"Is it a deliberate leak or is it accidental? It doesn't really matter at a level … it's loose, it's shabby and it's a reminder these guys can't manage important things well."
It points to National's failings. Decency? Fail. Hypocrisy? Fail. Management? Fail. Leadership? Fail. Credibility? Fail. Political nous? Fail.
Sat at the table beside Muller, Woodhouse and Penk? at the Otago Museum cafe today. They were being hosted by what seemed to be a gaggle of starry-eyed Young Nats (guessing), none of whom were/seemed to be Maori. No sign of Hamish Walker. A bloke approached one of the cafe staff once the group had left to ask what the occasion was. He seemed infuriated by the response.
The rumours are true! I’m (re)defecting! So much love for @nzherald but so excited to join @nzstuff at this very exciting time in its history 😍 https://t.co/i1th3YG50t
National has known for some time that the only chance they had of making inroads into Labours support was to discredit it on the Covid19 issue. Clearly this whole appalling saga has been master-minded by the the Crosby-Textor brigade and, this time, it has back-fired spectacularly in the most ham-fisted way. First there was the Bishop-Woodhouse "expose" which was clearly orchestrated. Then there was the "man who never was" fabricated by Woodhouse ("can't possibly disclose my source" ) and now this debacle. This is "attack" politics of the first order. The Nats bought into the C/T scheme several elections ago. It is their Party that has lost all credibility.
Don't call it ham-fisted and run it down. It has turned out just fine. It is really funny that people start acting like coaches for the Opposition and advise them what they should do to succeed. I want the buggers to fail so all of you coaches go back to your day jobs. You will be doing some good there I hope. I am interested in what is happening and any thing useful we learn perhaps go direct to Labour or the Greens to make sure they don't step in the smelly stuff themselves.
Workers Now is a new slate of candidates contesting this year’s general election. James Robb and Don Franks are the people behind this initiative and they are hoping to put the spotlight on working people’s interests. Both are seasoned activists who have campaigned for workers’ rights over many decades. Here is ...
Buzz from the Beehive Politicians keen to curry favour with Māori tribal leaders have headed north for Waitangi weekend. More than a few million dollars of public funding are headed north, too. Not all of this money is being trumpeted on the Beehive website, the Government’s official website. ...
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The (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding.Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It refers to ‘government’ on ...
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In March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...
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How much confidence should the public have in authorities managing natural disasters? Not much, judging by the farcical way in which the civil defence emergence in Auckland has played out. The way authorities dealt with Auckland’s extreme weather on Friday illustrated how hit-and-miss our civil defence emergency system is. In ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
Mayor Wayne Brown, under fire for his communication failures, quietly visited the scene of the fatal Remuera slip on Sunday, with his staff taking photos for social media updates. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: The cleanup and the post-mortem have begun, even though the rain just keeps falling in Auckland after ...
We’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Enshrining a constitutional Voice to parliament will bring better practical outcomes and give the best chance for Closing the Gap, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will say in a major address on the referendum on Sunday. ...
By Jamie Tahana, RNZ News Te Ao Māori journalist at Waitangi, and Russell Palmer, digital political journalist Iwi leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand have accused opposition parties National and ACT of “fanning the flames of racism”, urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on Three ...
By Phoebe Gwangilo in Port Moresby Higher Education Minister Don Polye has condemned a decision by the administration of the University of Papua New Guinea to treat a PNG-born and bred grade 12 school leaver as an “international” student. Roselyn Alog, 19, whose parents are Filipinos, was born and raised ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s former Elections Supervisor Mohammed Saneem is under investigation by the country’s anti-corruption agency for alleged abuse of office and has been stopped from fleeing the country. The Fijian Elections Office (FEO) said Saneem was alleged to have “on numerous occasions . . . unlawfully authorised payments of ...
Labour's position has alternated over the past few days: first Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would speak, then he wouldn't, and then he would again. ...
Te Pāti Māori Co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer are announcing a transformative defence and foreign affairs policy which asserts the Mana Māori Motuhake and Tino Rangatiratanga of tangata whenua in Aotearoa at their Party’s ...
The Prime Minister will no longer speak at Waitangi commemorations after the organising trust moved the political leaders to a panel away from the main event The Waitangi National Trust wrote to political parties last month saying they didn’t want political leaders to speak at the pōwhiri held on the eve ...
The Prime Minister once again has a speaking slot at the pōwhiri in Waitangi after earlier on Saturday saying he would respect the wishes of the trust organisers by not doing so The Waitangi National Trust has given the green light for Chris Hipkins and other political leaders to speak ...
It’s been exactly a decade since Seven Sharp first appeared on our screens. Remember the first episode? We’ve unearthed the tapes. On this day in 2013, a bombshell was thrown into the New Zealand television landscape. “Time for us to make way, because you’re here to see what everyone’s talking ...
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris has fronted endless media requests and live crosses this week. Is he getting it right? Lewis Ferris is trying to find his weather map. “This week’s been so insane” he mutters as he closes multiple tabs on the three screens across his Wellington desk. He’s ...
After four years, executive director Max Tweedie has stepped down from Auckland Pride. He tells Sam Brooks about shepherding the festival through a tumultuous few years, and where he’s going from here.This year’s Auckland Pride Festival is set to be the biggest one yet. Over the course of more ...
A flailing mayor was only the public face of a multifaceted flooding communications failure. Duncan Greive examines the mess, and asks what can be done to improve it.It’s a chilling timeline. Stuff’s Kelly Dennett catalogued, beat-by-beat, the 12 hours in which Auckland was pummelled by a catastrophic deluge, interspersing ...
The Dunedin branch of the Green Party has selected Francisco Hernandez as its candidate for the Dunedin electorate in this year’s general election. Francisco Hernandez was the Otago University Students Association President in 2013. He has held a number ...
Waitangi organisers are trying to push political leaders to the side at Sunday's pōwhiri, but Labour's deputy leader says it's not for them to decide who speaks. Te Tai Tokerau MP and Labour’s deputy leader, Kelvin Davis, says the Prime Minister will speak at Sunday’s pōwhiri at Waitangi, in defiance of local ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we spoke to an aid worker who had made the trip to the war zone in Ukraine, looked at why Carmel Sepuloni was picked to be the new deputy prime minister, visited the flood-torn streets of Titirangi in West ...
Schools play an integral but often unrecognised and unacknowledged role in helping communities respond to and recover from disastersOpinion: Schools in Auckland and other flood-affected areas are about to re-open after a delayed start to the new school year. Students will return to school having experienced wide-ranging impacts. While some ...
A very short story for Waitangi weekend The pā is a lonely place nowadays. Gorse has marched on it like the British troops of old, consuming the hills and leaving the marae looking a bald patch on the head of the earth mother herself. Even the roads have worn thin, ...
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's The School Away From School written by Bill Morris and published in NZ Geographic's January/February 2023 issue. You can find the entire article, with photos from Lottie Hedley, on the NZ Geographic website. One hundred years since its ...
COMMENTARY:By Kayt Davies in Perth I wasn’t good at French in my final year of high school. My classmates had five years of language studies behind them. I had three. As a result of my woeful grip on the language, I wrote a terribly bad essay in my final ...
RNZ Pacific Journalist Victor Mambor, who is the chief editor of the West Papuan newspaper and websiteJubi, has received the Oktovianus Pogau Award from the Indonesian-based Pantau Foundation for courage in journalism. The foundation’s Andreas Harsono said Mambor’s decision to return to his father’s homeland and defend the rights ...
RNZ News Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick is brushing off concerns a temporary rent freeze in flood-hit Auckland would just see landlords hike rents even more when the controls were lifted — arguing they should stay permanently. More than 20 organisations have signed a letter urging Minister for Auckland Michael ...
Iwi leaders have accused National and ACT of "fanning the flames of racism", urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on three waters. ...
About this time last week it had become apparent that Auckland was in for a bit more than just a wet Friday. While the state of emergency remains in place for another seven days, it appears the worst should now be behind us. Last night, Niwa shared a fascinating thread ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra ShutterstockIndigenous Australians are respectfully advised that the following includes the names and images of some people who are now deceased. The Reserve Bank of Australia ...
The government has confirmed the money will be spent in Northland, including unlocking greenfields land and transport upgrades like a new bridge in Kamo. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW Sydney Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that sometime between August and November this year, the Australian people will go to a referendum for the first time since 1999. We’ll be asked whether we support ...
They can be environmentally unsound and are a symbol used to shame millennials, but everyone still loves an avo. I love avocados, always have, always will. The buttery golden-green flesh from a perfectly ripe avocado is a culinary blessing. Today I’d love to simply wax poetic about twisting open a ...
Viewers across the United States were today shown a slice of New Zealand, with a reporter for Good Morning America broadcasting live from Rotorua. Robin Roberts, a co-anchor for the popular morning TV show, has been touring the country this week. During her visit to Rotorua’s Te Puia centre, she ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Penguin Press, $50) The beautiful ...
A new poem by Robin Peace. To the kahikatea I see from my bed Thinking inside the square, the ellipse, the round of what life is, I only see the trees. Not only as if that were the only thing I see, but only as if the tree matters more. ...
A week ago, Elton John’s first Auckland show was called off at the last minute. What was it like getting there, being there, and trying to return home afterwards?Elton John has long been a blessing for our ears, but in recent years his Auckland shows have been cursed. His ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Auckland’s Wayne Brown, as his response to last week’s flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Auckland’s Wayne Brown, as his response to last week’s flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
Ours Not Mines is cautiously excited about reporting that the Government is drafting legislation to ban new mines on conservation land. The anti-mining group's spokesperson, Morgan Donoghue says: "The Government has been promising us some action for ...
People who enjoy the outdoors for recreation, fishing and hunting will lose rights under the Natural and Built Environments Bill. Fish & Game New Zealand chief executive Corina Jordan says the proposed replacement for the Resource Management ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has conceded he “dropped the ball” during last Friday’s major flooding event. The state of emergency in the super city has today been extended for a further seven days, though Brown said he expects it will be lifted early. After a week of defensiveness over his ...
As the reality TV juggernaut returns for a new season, Tara Ward steps into the minds of the show’s relationship experts to assess the compatibility of this year’s brides and grooms. Married at First Sight: Australia returns on Monday night, and by season ten, you’d think the show’s relationship experts ...
Auckland’s state of emergency is expected to be extended for another seven days, according to the Herald. It was due to expire overnight after being declared a week ago, the day of the worst flooding in the super city. While weather conditions have improved, the city is continuing to experience ...
Proposed pay equity claim settlements for school librarians and science technicians have been reached between the Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa, Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted and NZEI Te Riu Roa president, Mark Potter, announced ...
Members of NZEI Te Riu Roa negotiating on behalf of school librarians, library assistants and science technicians are excited to announce that proposed pay equity settlements are ready to be voted on by their colleagues. They include pay increases of up to ...
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is calling for Michael Wood, the Minister of Transport, and now Auckland, to cancel the light rail project immediately. Auckland Light Rail was never going to happen, as our group has repeatedly said dozens of ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been asked to intervene following confirmation today that the Government plans to implement a ban on all extractive sector activities on the conservation estate. Wayne Scott, CEO of the Aggregate and Quarry Association, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images The heated (and often confused) debate about “co-governance” in Aotearoa New Zealand inevitably leads back to its source, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. But, as its long-contested meanings demonstrate, very little ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Hunter, Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University Jodie Hutchinson/Red StitchReview: Wittenoom, directed by Susie Dee, Red Stitch Deep in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, the town of Wittenoom lies empty, desolate … and contaminated. Wittenoom ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Oliver Bown, Postdoctoral fellow, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock The past few years have seen an explosion in applications of artificial intelligence to creative fields. A new generation of image and text generators is delivering impressiveresults. Now AI has also found ...
Now demolished, the First Church of Christ Scientist was a masterclass of architectural imagination. Kate Linzey visits the site on which it once stood, to learn more. The object is delicate and small. Small enough to sit in the palm of my hand and weighing less than 300 grams. It ...
New Zealand’s egg shortage is hitting cruise ships too – forcing the crew of one vessel to hatch a poaching plan. This story was first published on Stuff. On the hunt for eggs, a crew from a luxury cruise ship got cracking and hatched a cunning plan. Earlier this week, Stuff ...
When your food parcel arrives before the emergency alert, you know something’s not working properly.This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. I’ve spent the last week desperately and at times fruitlessly attempting to drain and then sweep my whānau home of knee-deep water, pull up ...
Drongo-gate continues for another day with the Herald reporting that Auckland’s mayor has been caught out using the slang term for a second time. It comes this time from a former minor mayoral candidate, Mike Kampkes, who said he received a message from Brown in response to a media release ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how venture capitalists are funding Aotearoa’s fastest growing, least-polluting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Guastella, Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, University of Sydney Shutterstock With childcare and schools starting the new year, parents might be anxiously wondering how their child will adapt in a new ...
I am delighted to announce the appointment of John Price ONZM as the new Director Civil Defence Emergency Management and Deputy Chief Executive Emergency Management for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). John has been a member of the ...
Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki are calling on the new Prime Minister and new Minister of Conservation Willow Jean Prime to immediately implement the 2017 promise to ban new mining activity on conservation lands. “ The mining industry group Straterra ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. In the latest episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how ...
There’s a fear that highlighting menopause will undermine women, especially at work. But what have centuries of secrecy achieved for us? Are you sick of hearing about menopause? Kim Hill is. The living legend of Aotearoa broadcasting told actor Robyn Malcolm (also a legend) on her Saturday Morning show on RNZ ...
Dunedin city council has reached an agreement to save Foulden Maar from commercial mining. The maar is the site of a crater lake from 23 million years ago with the diatomite of the lake preserving fossils and a climate record covering 100,000 years from that period. It is fantastic news for Otago University ...
Some are speculating whether the Auckland Mayor's leadership is circling the drain. James Elliott hopes they're right. There’s never been a week quite like it. It was the week when the rains came. All of them. Even the rain from Spain that was supposed to fall mainly on the plain, came. ...
The Bus and Coach Association supports the Government’s decision to continue half-price fares on public transport services. The fare reduction was set to expire on 31 March 2023, but will now continue to 30 June 2023. “Half-price fares have cost ten-times ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Hipkins’ bread and butter reshufflePolitical scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Chris Hipkins hires a lobbyist to run the BeehiveNew Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, speaking when Minister of Education, at NZEI Te Riu Roa strike rally on the steps of the New Zealand Parliament, 15th August 2018. Image; Wiki Commons. New Zealand is ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance todayCO-GOVERNANCE, WAITANGI, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Tweed, Senior lecturer, Massey University Shutterstock/Renata Apanaviciene As we approach another Waitangi Day, we should be thinking again about what Te Tiriti o Waitangi means. As the late Moana Jackson commented, the meaning of Te Tiriti will be ...
Even prime ministers get caught in bad weather. It’s a week on from the devastating flooding that hit Auckland and Northland and Chris Hipkins has been forced to drive north for the start of Waitangi weekend commemorations after his plan was turned away from Kerikeri airport (twice). Today will see ...
Less than a year ago, co-governance had a future, at least as potentially accepted terminology. Now some iwi leaders want the label removed and replaced, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
“The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to not replace the late Queen with Charles on the Aussie $5 note should indicate to our Reserve Bank that it’s time to change the NZ $20 note” said Lewis Holden, campaign chair of New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Wolf, Associate Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University Somchat Parkaythong/Shutterstock Black holes are bizarre things, even by the standards of astronomers. Their mass is so great, it bends space around them so tightly that nothing can escape, even ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Revell, Associate Professor in Environmental Physics, University of Canterbury Getty Images The ozone layer is on track to heal within four decades, according to a recent UN report, but this progress could be undone by an upsurge in rocket ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Clune, Honorary Associate, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney At the New South Wales election on March 25 a 12-year-old Coalition government will be seeking re-election. Hoping to return as premier is Liberal leader Dominic Perrottet – a political conservative ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Trauer, Associate Professor, Monash University Anastelfy/Shutterstock The XBB.1.5 subvariant, known informally as “Kraken”, is the latest in a menagerie of Omicron subvariants to dominate the headlines, following increasing detection in the United States and United Kingdom. But there ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Combe, Doctoral student, University of Technology Sydney Shutterstock As the economist Herman Daly pithily said, the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment – not the reverse. Nature makes our lives possible through what scientists call ecosystem ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Jefferson, Lecturer in Education, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock Grit. Don’t quit. That’s the mantra many parents may have in mind when they, like me, spend what feels like years ferrying children to a seemingly endless variety of sports and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW Sydney Sam Shere/Wikimedia Commons A few weeks ago, Gautam Adani was indisputably India’s richest man. Now his fortune is slipping away as the stocks of his many companies crash, thanks to the ...
So it turns out that Hamish Walker might just be a contemptible little weasel's arsehole. Who'd have thought it.
Muller has sacked him, it's not at all shambolic, strong team.
He gets to look like strong decisive leader. Woodlouse next.
Not quite Gabby, Muller sez "while awaiting the results of the inquiry", weak leader, what a shambles.
Really?
There was the pretty good photo actually of Muller and co. at Cardrona the other day announcing one of the few policies they have, the 'Tourism Accelerator". Ruining it was one guy in a cap who looked like a naughty schoolboy – Hamish Walker.
He hasn't sacked him, he's given the portfolios to someone else while the Inquiry is happening, at the same time minimising the seriousness of Walker's actions.
Given Walker's racist press statement the other day, it's bizarre he hasn't been permanently demoted. Might be time for National to look for another Clutha/Southland candidate, but I won't hold my breath.
@weka
Fair enough. Given that Walker will hold the seat anyway, Muller has under-reacted there. No loss to him if Walker is on the back benches for 2 months, he's hardly a Bridges.
I guess it shows us what to expect. Bennett had form on this, she's gone, but obviously National consider privacy breaches to be a minor matter.
@weka
Have a listen to RNZ this morning,Privacy commissioner say politicans have some sort of immunity re- leaking info,not just parlimentary privilage.
Also how about supporting people with dis-ablitys on this site and have a spell check,it is 2020. Dyslexic count, do you know how long it can take just too write a wee note like this,or shall I give up,is that the idea.
regards Alex
thanks, will have a listen when I get the chance. Am pretty happy that the PC is very unhappy about what has happened, both Walker and Boag.
I agree about the spell check, I will ask Lynn when he is around.
Thank you
if you don't hear anything, please feel free to remind me (reply to my most recent comment on anything).
Hi LFD,
I have dyslexia and use the Grammarly addon for chrome which works here. It's also available for other platforms too. I only use the free version and it suits my needs. Hope it helps.
The chrome browser extension is here
And for other platforms etc check it out here.
Hi Alex,
This may or may not help.
Pressing Ctrl and right clicking on words marked as spelling errors should bring up the browsers usual menu. In most browsers that will bring up the browsers dictionary support. Just found that gem…
Being a programmer and mildly dyslexic myself, I have been using the "Source" when I want to fix words because the right click context menu works well there.
But I’ll have a look around for other server side tools that may help.
Muller doesn’t need to sack Walker. They will all be sagged in September.
Clutha Southland, I'm not so sure about that. Although after young Toddy as well, maybe there will be a swing.
Amy Adams is probably looking for a seat to get back in after the election. She has a house in Cromwell which is now in Clutha Southland after the boundary changes this year.
that would be the smart move from Nat. Don't know what their nomination process is.
He was re-selected earlier this year after a challenge With hindsight it looks rather murky, bit like Toddles.
Suppose they can change candidate up until Nomination Day, 21/8
Bit sad for Jon MItchell, he could be in for a chance against Walker.
Ought we to feel some compassion for the true-blue Nats of Clutha-Southland, who must be feeling sick to their stomachs with this latest exposure; Todd Barclay, Sarah Dowie, and now Hamish Walker?
Or not?
I know a few where it goes a way beyond the stomach. Not happy with the ol' party.
bout time they did something about it then. National have the same dilemma as Labour now, their party has been taken over and it will take a lot to set it right.
Brought it to the attention of my fellow councillors – met resistance to the idea that the behaviour of MPs is of concern to local body politicians
No, they'll line up like good little troopers and vote for the next swede in a suit.
just the ones they know 😉
Are you following what's happening with the ORC and Hobbs?
(lol, I feel there should be a LotR pun in there somewhere).
Council staff are often referred to as 'the orcs', especially when they have their enforcement hats on. I've seen a couple of instances, fires mainly, where it was quite apt. Fortunately not directly on the receiving end. A few texts do the rounds warning of orcs abroad or at the gate….
…and on RNZ just now …it was leaked to Walker by Michelle Boag.
Same old Dirty Politics.
Way past time to put RNZ on notice as well.
Apart from Jim Mora, what has RNZ done wrong?
Yes exactly…RNZ simply reported the facts, and did this fairly.
I prefer to think of it as "leaking" facts in this case …says Michelle Boag…
Not much at all. Jeez, I dunno – get a gift of a juicy story and turn it into a cause for complaining some more. Tedious, really.
Try Kim Hill and Nicola Willis this morning. Now that's RNZ quality.
Boag was on The Panel this afternoon. They really need to stop using her as a commentator.
She was answering emails too and this was commented on. She said she was multitasking. Obviously she was getting ready for the storm.
I missed that but was listening while doing other things. Do you know what prompted the confessions?
can you please have a look at the comment in Pending?
Yep left a note.
At what time in the programme?
About 4:30 or so. Wallace Chapman made a comment about her emails making a sound and she said she was multitasking.
Wallace and other hand wringers,wrecking a once proud network.
Acquired in her role as acting CEO of the rescue helicopter trust.
There's still the question as to why the trust had patient-identifed data sent to it, e.g. was it an analyst screw up or did it have a genuine need for that information.
And if the trust got the data in error, did Boag or anyone else report this to the data supplier, or did she run straight to her party? lol even odds either way?
I'm assuming they had it in case they needed to transport someone fro quarantine.
why would Boag have access to it though?
It depends on how big the admin team is, I suspect. If it's five tiers below her, there might be vertical compartmentalisation issues for the trust to look at.
But if the acting CEO was actually working for a living in a small team and helping develop the staffing plans if any of those folk need air transport, she might have reasonably legitimate access. Or maybe someone emailed her going "I got sent this, seems to be more than I should receive, what should I do?" And her response speaks for itself.
I would have thought the people who would need the list ahead of time would be whoever manages the call outs, and the staff that go on call outs. I guess Boag could be hands on in that management.
The second scenario makes sense, although the person emailing shouldn't have emailed the information, but described it instead.
I mean, if I got something I felt completely out of my depth on and the boss says "give it all to me, I'll handle it", suddenly all my problems are solved because the managers will be the ones doing battle.
But those are the causes of the train:car collision, and investigators need to confirm that all the signals are working, the car was functioning normally, the drivers were all sob – holy crap, that train had three wagonloads of illegal ammunition and weapons?! And they belonged to the people who reported the crash to make a point about the safety of that level crossing?! WTF???
That's the sort of vibe I'm having at the moment, lol.
Just sacked from his current shadow cabinet roles or dumped as the candidate as well hopefuilly?
Only his
shadyshadow roles.Apparently it's a shambles, a National disgrace.
There are some idiots around 😱
Pity there is not stronger support for the 3 strikes rules, from my reckoning that this is his 2nd.
It's OK, he belongs to the 'personal rsponsibility' party. I am sure his leader will sort it out. /sarc.
Nah, it's his third, lying about door knocking, a bloody strange guy.
The news says ( Acting chief executive of Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust Michelle Boag has confirmed she gave the patient details to Walker. )
So it was National people all the way trying to do a hit job on the current government.
She has fallen on her sword according to the news article, but I think should face charges for using her position to access those detail.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/national-mp-hamish-walker-admits-leaking-covid-19-patient-details/ar-BB16q0uY?li=BBqdg4K
The info went to her private email, until we know who sent it to her I am not buying her story at all.
Forensic examination of her e-mails will tell.
But her e-mails …
I am guessing burner phone, so not work related at all.
From lines about the spreadsheet not being protected, an external to work hack is inferred. Of course that might be to protect a NP source at some level within the public service or management regime.
Still investigate. If it was sent as an attachment there could be metadata that hold clues.
The Electoral Commission once again bowing to the powerful elite.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/07/election-2020-electoral-commission-finds-jacinda-ardern-aroha-posters-are-political-ads-not-art.html
Obvious answer is to put the required "promoter statement and the written authorisation of the party" on it and stick them up on every street corner!
Similar to the, 'Let's do this' moment, she grabbed something real, popular and already in existence and ran with it. Do the same here, Hayden!
And get them in the Labour shop, I'll buy one.
The Electoral Commission was found to be wrong in banning Darren Watson's Planet Key song.
To my mind this poster is way more apolitical than the song.
And Michelle Boag. What a shocker. Errors of judgment all around apparently. Nothing to do with being vile little shits. Horrible, horrible people.
Boag gave the info to Walker who passed it on to media.
How Boag got it is now the issue – she says it came to her as CEO of Auckland of Rescue HelicopterTrust. I am not sure if this credible, time will tell.
As in, who's her connected friend who thought she could use the info?
And why was it sent to her private email address if it was related to her role as CEO of that Trust?
Heron needs to identify the sender of that email before Boag accidently deletes it. And if the sender used a burner phone etc and Boag could not identify who sent it …., why would she think it was related to her work …
My suspicion is she is protecting a National Party asset, the question is where MOH, or in the border security system, or …
How well do she and Gormless get on?
Clearly shows there is a Nat plant in the ministry. Got to get them out as they must have breached all those forms they signed when they were hired.
Spot on!
Read these statements by Walker, Muller, Boag – incredible.
Party meltdown.
https://twitter.com/henrycooke/status/1280375155223478272
Charge them and jail them. Contemptible shits!
Labour to govern alone.
Reckon Boag need to do some time for sure.
On track and trace monitoring.
Maybe the MOH needs to look at a system for monitoring the Apple and Android apps that have come out about a month back.
In this regard, one should note the USA is no longer taking in Indian IT migrants under their H-1B visa, and the government should look at bringing in IT expertise – US IT workers (leaving a commmunity spread environment) and a few of the Indian migrant workers (around 60,000 a year) shut out of the US employment market.
Wonder if Muller knew earlier in thw week when he was failing to comment on the matter?
What a shambles and lack of Leadership in the National Party.
They tried to dismiss an investigation as politics to deter it, but once Heron had those powers to question people they were done.
New name for Covid-19 National-Party-style – Shambolic Colic?
They were very, very, very quiet, weren't they?
What a bloody outrage. This should mean single digit polling. Finally Nats caught out
Clutha Southland will still go Gnatsy. The prick would probably get credit for his 'honesty' as well as his racism.
Dirty National Party scum.
Farrar watch:
Farrar attempted to soften this earlier on today. He went down the avenue that the real crime is that the information wasn't password protected.
I see that Nats are now using this line.
Farrar = Dirty Politics.
Not password protected, Bishop sent the email to Boag's private email address?
Probably!
Article link: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12346280
They are running the same line they did with the Treasury leak, the Bishop snoop. The racist dog whistler is now claiming he was doing us a service.
His defence is that the information was not secure. Yet Boag is claiming it came to her on a private email to her in her work capacity. Something does not add up.
Their lines are NOT in synch.
Pretty legal.
Yeah, I'd say that the lawyer giving that advice needs to go back to school.
Stealing from an open house is still stealing. Same would apply here.
And I'd say that it propably was stored on a secure system – until it was removed from that system and sent to Boag.
It's also personal information relating to a patient of our health system, which I thought was about as private and confidential as it comes.
Any boy who graduated from a Good School should know what is correct behaviour and not look for excuses for exposing people's private information to others, that’s nasty hacking stuff. . Or was he home-schooled? There is no excuse Walker, get your boots on and go. And take your granny dolly with you.
Wonder how he knows that.
Still nothing on the story at the Herald, don't want to know, don't want to tell – waiting for National to prepare a cover up they can run with?
On the main page currently as "Outrageous' breach: Nat MP, Boag leaked Covid patients' details", updated 6:02pm.
Article link: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12346280
It was not not the main story at 6.09. And the updates referred to the new cases in Victoria.
Don't be silly, it's been there since before 6.
Too many commenters here buy into media conspiracies. It's a big story so it gets covered.
The opining idiots (Hosking et al) are not the reporters.
When I posted the main story was the one on Trump's twitter post. And the only breaking news was the new cases in Victoriaa.
Bridges relieved he lost to Muller – let the resignations flow. Anyone feeling for Hooton?
Maybe there’s a book in it: The Hollow Men – Dirty Politics – Dirtier Politics: How attack politics is still poisoning New Zealand’s political environment
Have felt for some time that Boag is naturally 100% pure poison – surely now Wallace can finally stop inviting her back to appear on The Panel.
Well, well, well. Sleaze, dishonesty, sheer nastiness – the adjectives coming like a tsunami.
To see Muller and the Woodhouse twerp on the news tonight trying to be so serious was pathetic and laughable.
And speaking of Woodhouse, his toilet seat with Clare Curran on it is disgusting. And now he says he can't remember it. Despicable.
Many of us foresaw that Dirty Politics was going to be rife this year. The Nats will go to any lengths to grab the reins of power. Not the least bit surprised Michelle Boag is implicated.
And no thought for the distress it must have caused the targeted individuals.
dirty lady…
Clean out your mess before you leave your dirty dirty scene – National Girl !
Hose out the Helicopter and disinfect it before you leave it – Mrs dirty Boag
I had a nasty feeling that Muller would be manoeuvred out and it would be Nikki Kaye as leader in a head-on with Jacinda… replicating Labour's manoeuvre last election.
Of course, I may be wrong…
"National- Putting the Shame in Shambles".
Unbelievable. From the top down. I hope the enquiry hunts them all the miscreants down and sheets the responsibility home.
Resignations, repudiations, renewal.
National needs time in the wilderness to reassess, to discover its soul, to reflect and repent.
And discover decency.
Wonder how Boag got the spreadsheet? If it was done in a way that looks / is malicious (as opposed to ‘shambles’), then Nats are done for. Yay!
Todmunter will be disappointed that Winsterfirst seemingly has bagsies on Arron Banks and his crew of lying little shits.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Why did someone supply Boag with the list? Why did she pass the list on to Walker, and who else – apart from the media – received a copy of the list?
If Boag is telling the truth (?) and she didn't know Walker had given it to the media then what was the original plan of action? Was it just going be left lying around in strategic places?
The mind boggles at the potential scenarios. 😮
Walker is saying he made claims about govt covid systems and needed to back that up so gave the details to the media. So it's conceivable Boag hadn't intended that esp given Walker is a loose unit. Otoh, it's inconceivable the statements today weren't coordinated, so why should we trust anything any of them say? Boag makes a better apology but she made this bed so will have to lie in it either way.
If to her in her work role, why by email to her private email?
And if Walker's claim the spreadsheep was not protected, why presume the person who accessed it did so in their official work role?
Now let's go back to the snooping on Treasury budget information before the official release.
Synergy – like twins born the same day – lets illuminate. Barclay and Bishop came from the same background. Both from uni to work in parliament then onto the same job corporate affairs for an Auckland based international tobacco corporate (where there is dirty smoke …) before to parliament as MP's in the same year 2014. Barclay has since been replaced by Walker. For mine Heron should invite Bishop to speak to him.
Hard to pick the top tweet, has to be close…
https://twitter.com/ZippyGonzales/status/1280390396997062657
that is good. This one too,
The leak might not be illegal but wasn't there something in the Privacy Act that it was illegal to disseminate information which you had no legal right to have – or something?
on the face of it, it looks like a straight out breach of the Privacy Act to me.
The only offences under the Privacy Act relate to failing to provide information to the Commissioner. It is probably illegal but not criminal.
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0028/latest/DLM298435.html
Is Walker saying 'not criminal' National spinning?
Seems to also be a likely breach of s92U of the Health Act 1956, but again I can't find any penalty for it:
The suspicious thing to me is that it turned up in her personal email by itself, even though it was part of her role (apparently). So she didn't actually steal the data, because she didn't remove it from the Trust's systems herself. Wasn't that lucky for her? /sarc
Boag said she got it in her role of Rescue Helicopter, yet the info went to her private email – from whom we do not yet know.
I think we need to borrow one of those Police Helicopters until election time and have it hovering over various National Party people – as you would with potential criminals. Just think of the loot that the police could restrain? – lots of deckchairs and lounges and nice cars and expensive clothes and properties and….
Privacy Commissioner:
"Edwards believed the deliberate leak of the information was illegal and in breach of the privacy act, he said."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12346280
National needs a big dead cat on the table.
Careful. You're starting to sound like Ad.
Would that be a bad thing?
Yep. It means you are more interested in the game than peoples lives.
False dichotomy. I’m interested in the game of blogging because I’m interested in people’s lives.
That statement shows to me you are leaning toward the contempt which Ad shows others.
That comment shows how poorly you understand some people and consequently how poorly you judge them.
Ah, well you and Ad also need to have a think about how you are perceived by others.
Maybe this is the dead cat.
Hoo boy, weka! as a distraction from what?
What 'indiscretion' needs distraction by a cheetah-sized dead cat in the guise of a former President of the National Party, heavily involved in former dirty tricks campaigns, passing on sensitive and private information on patients to an MP who had recently been sanctioned for inappropriate behaviour by his leader, who then passed it onto the media, purely for political advantage in a bid to discredit a successful and popular government.
Well that one will rebound on them, like a very live tom cat with claws sharpened and feral instincts aroused, spitting fury and retribution.
What's still hidden in the closet, weka?
Heh, I was trying to be funny, but who knows!?
It's that or this is Hooton's master plan.
The dead cat is on Muller's top lip. He is growing a moustache, trying to put a new face on National.
People will also forget the other stuff when they notice the moustache- the old 'putting on a wig for the first time' trick.
Perhaps that's it. Muller is about to start wearing a wig. It's a well-known political fact that 'big hair' pleases the punters!
The story is weirder than weird and that’s pretty weird.
Lol, true, and then there's all the stuff we don't know yet.
That may be the late great miss catty Boag…meow!!!
There's always Rodney.
Hoots David!
@DavidSlack
I added quotes 🙂
Who were they talking about/? The Herald reports……
"On Saturday, before they knew Walker's involvement, Muller and National's health spokesman Michael Woodhouse were damning of the privacy breach.
"This is unconscionable and unacceptable that those suffering from the incredibly dangerous virus now have to suffer further with their private details being leaked," Woodhouse said.
"The Government needs to get to the bottom of this, and quickly."
Muller told RNZ the breach was "quite staggering" and "unacceptable".
"Is it a deliberate leak or is it accidental? It doesn't really matter at a level … it's loose, it's shabby and it's a reminder these guys can't manage important things well."
It points to National's failings. Decency? Fail. Hypocrisy? Fail. Management? Fail. Leadership? Fail. Credibility? Fail. Political nous? Fail.
What comes around goes….. or is it Karma.
Wonder if those keen "journalists" will quote Muller's words back to him?
Woodlouse will be thrilled that the bottom of it is being got to so quickly.
Sat at the table beside Muller, Woodhouse and Penk? at the Otago Museum cafe today. They were being hosted by what seemed to be a gaggle of starry-eyed Young Nats (guessing), none of whom were/seemed to be Maori. No sign of Hamish Walker. A bloke approached one of the cafe staff once the group had left to ask what the occasion was. He seemed infuriated by the response.
National has known for some time that the only chance they had of making inroads into Labours support was to discredit it on the Covid19 issue. Clearly this whole appalling saga has been master-minded by the the Crosby-Textor brigade and, this time, it has back-fired spectacularly in the most ham-fisted way. First there was the Bishop-Woodhouse "expose" which was clearly orchestrated. Then there was the "man who never was" fabricated by Woodhouse ("can't possibly disclose my source" ) and now this debacle. This is "attack" politics of the first order. The Nats bought into the C/T scheme several elections ago. It is their Party that has lost all credibility.
Don't call it ham-fisted and run it down. It has turned out just fine. It is really funny that people start acting like coaches for the Opposition and advise them what they should do to succeed. I want the buggers to fail so all of you coaches go back to your day jobs. You will be doing some good there I hope. I am interested in what is happening and any thing useful we learn perhaps go direct to Labour or the Greens to make sure they don't step in the smelly stuff themselves.