Seems a direct (if partial) rejection of Ireland's medium term history of accomodating tax-dodging multinationals. Where those multinationals find a cheap haven, the poor in other tax jurisdictions suffer. Pretty selfish behaviour from Ireland’s right wing governments but who is surprised?
Also heartening is the increased support for Sinn Fein's mission – Irish reunification. Hope to see this in 5 years.
Soon Britain will consist of just England and Wales!
They only fielded 42 candidates in the 40 multi-member seats out of a possible 160 TDs in the Dail. So while they have a higher primary vote than either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil they won’t have as many TDs when it’s all counted.
Nothing wrong with getting the most first preference votes. But they cannot form a government if they have less than 40 seats and need 81 to have a majority.
Only Fianna Fail (most elected) can form the next government, they have 3 choices for coalition Fine Gael, Sinn Fein or everyone else (Greens, Labour, Social Democrats and a lot of independents – a lot of cats to herd together).
There has been a curious development in right wing social media campaigning led by the likes of Topham Guerin who assisted with Scomo's and Bojo's campaigns.
One of the tactics is to dumb down their social media posts and memes, deliberately using poor or overly simple grammar, and employing the dreaded comic sans font.
It's been suggested that this is a way to pit working class left-wing folk against the so called liberal elite. It’s a way to appeal to under-educated people.
I have wondered in my own way (and been suspended for it) whether you deliberately employ this practice also.
Do you deliberately mis-spell and post dumb stuff for effect?
I suspect that Muttonbird @ 2.1.1.1.1 has a good point. James is not as semi-literate as he looks ('Your a liar') Watch carefully for this, please, Moderators.
It's also the behaviour of many people posting online from a phone, which is what James' comments look more like to me, but thanks for the general headsup.
Who knows she might. She wouldn’t answer is she trusted Winston this afternoon instead saying that they had an excellent working relationship (or words to that effect).
At some point sure, but at this stage it seems reasonable to let due process happen (police/SFO). All her not answering tells me is that she's smart enough to choose to wait for the full picture. It's not like our macho political system allows for her to be bluntly honest.
The Electoral Commission could have just said these matters need further investigation. But they have categorically stated it is their belief that donation returns from NZ First broke the law.
Which is untrue.
“The Commission does not have the investigative powers to form a view about whether this failure to transmit and the non-disclosure means offences have been committed.”
Based on the information available, we have formed the view that the New Zealand First Foundation has received donations which should have been treated as party donations for the New Zealand First Party. In the Commission’s view, the donations were not properly transmitted to the Party and not disclosed as required by the Electoral Act 1993.
so they are clear they believe their actions were not in keeping with the act
The Commission does not have the investigative powers to form a view about whether this failure to transmit and the non-disclosure means offences have been committed. These matters have therefore been referred to the New Zealand Police, which have the necessary powers to investigate the knowledge and intent of those involved in fundraising, donating, and reporting donations.
so it looks like they are investing who had knowledge and the intent. There could be some very worried Nz first people.
thinknof all those ex insiders who are happily going to throw Winston under the bus.
to help this is what NZFirst are accused of – can you show where They refused to charge bridges for the identical situation?
”Based on the information available, we have formed the view that the New Zealand First Foundation has received donations which should have been treated as party donations for the New Zealand First Party. In the Commission’s view, the donations were not properly transmitted to the Party and not disclosed as required by the Electoral Act 1993.”
[you’re in premod until I see links for quotes in two comment now, as requested below. Long term commenters shouldn’t need reminding about this, and my patience is wearing thin having to spend moderator time on this and putting out a flame war. – weka]
I had thought that you were asking quotes where muttonbird was making claims that are demonstrably false. I offered him to back them up with a bet of a months ban but s/he seems to have gone quite when asked to back it up.
both came from the same statement. I did not link it as it was the statement specifically being discussed. Where I was replying to SPC who also quoted from here (without linking).
Thanks. I’m basically at the end of my patience with this stuff, and pretty fucked off that the time spent on various moderations last night could have been used to put a post up. Making notes in the back end so that if regulars do this stuff again, I’ll just be issuing short bans. Everyone knows what the deal is with quoting and linking, Incog and I have been giving direction on this for months. The onus is on commenters to read through comments and check what is going on so we don’t have to. Commenting here is a privilege, not a personal argument platform.
The first was from the DPF Kiwiblog post Muttonbird was referring to.
The second was from the EC's media statement (quoted in the said blogpost) – which should have informed anyone reading it carefully not to presume too much from their referring the matter on for investigation.
Bit difficult to argue you weren't trying to dodge the law when you're copying the nats:
"The precedent is clear. It is the National Party's National Foundation. In essence this proposal suggests a cloning of that model into the New Zealand First Foundation," the document says. "There can be little doubt that the model is legally sound and is operated in a manner that meets all legal and ethical obligations."
We know how the nats love to meet their legal and ethical obligations, lol. "legally sound" or merely "pretty legal"?
Pretty sure the Nat one only passes interest on donations to the party (thus thwarting the electoral law), whereas Winnie's one even seems to pay party expenses directly from what we've heard so far. One party has the luxury of not needing immediate cash, perhaps?
And answer me this. Why is Mr Bob Jones allowed to use emotive language in his testimony, yet the defendant is constrained to official lawyer terms (at this point)?
"Despite my life-long involvement with writing, I have enormous difficulty expressing the sheer degree of anger I feel about Maihi's unforgivable and disgraceful, personal attention-seeking efforts at my expense."
"Despite my life-long involvement with writing, I have enormous difficulty expressing the sheer degree of anger I feel about Maihi's unforgivable and disgraceful, personal attention-seeking efforts at my expense."
Sabine, you're not causing offense, it's just that there are two different Sabine comments going on, from two different email addresses and IP addresses. I need to know if you are the other one i.e. are you also commenting from a different device using a different email and internet access. Please see here (link was missing from my last comment sorry).
You can also see that the gravatars (coloured design beside your name) are two different colours. The system is recognising two different IDs because of the email addresses.
again Weka, it is me. It is my comment. I wrote it. and for some reason there was a 2 next to my name and i have no idea how that happened.
This is exactly what i have already told you.
And fwiw, i suggest that next time rather then put a commentator in moderation simply leave your questions as to the person under the comment and allow for a public answer – after all you are publicly commenting. Also you should be able to check IP adresses and email addresses if you suspect foul play.
Last, The tap 'reply' that allows us to see if someone answered does not always show replys in real time and thus it can be a hard time finding several comments of several thread by a moderator as we are all aware as this is often enough discussed.
As for the gravatars i have no idea i don't pay attention to them.
And yes, sometimes i comment from home and sometimes i comment from work and these are the only two devices i have and thus you should have two IP adresses with my name and one email address – and even if there is a second email address i would guess that one two starts with ‘Sabine’.. Good Grief.
I have used this name here ever since i started, it is my name and sometimes accidents happen, but this is no reason to keep a poster who is not accused of an infraction in purgatory just because not enough mea culpa and chest beating has been given. [Snip. Peace and mungbeans to you all. Sabine the machine automatically puts comments into moderation if it detects a change in the email or commenter’s name – MS]
I’m pretty unwell this week, I don’t have the energy to read that sorry. It’s a pretty simple request: are you using two different email addresses to comment on TS or not? If so, this caused some problems because we can’t initially tell if it’s a new commenter using the same name. We don’t allow two people to use the same commenting handle. My request is a routine moderator request trying to sort that out.
Moderation for many of us basically comes down to not having to spend time on moderation. You ended up in premod because I was spending too much time in the clunky back end system on my slow internet connection trying to figure out what was going on.
My suggestion is people start taking moderation seriously. I don’t take moderation action lightly and I’m pretty good at explaining what is going on for those that ask. When people do that things can get cleared up quickly. Reacting against something that isn’t happening and having a go at me just prolongs things and makes me way less likely to spend the time helping someone out.
This isn’t personal to you and wasn’t any kind of punishment. I am however getting increasingly frustated at the long term regulars here thinking that somehow moderation or the site rules don’t apply to them. My tendency atm is to moderate to lessen the work for moderation.
Ok, it looks to me like you are the same person. I'm going to link and show you what I mean. Please choose ONE email address and stick to it. If you need help with that, ask, but it looks like you are commenting from two different devices that have the different email addresses pre-loaded.
I'm enjoying seeing Minister Fa'afoi growing in stature and responsibility, but this is a real bad'un. I'd like to blame it on Stiassny's involvement, since he was the one who precipitated the ongoing tragedy at NZTA as Chair.
Ardern is moving fast because RNZ is the loyal older segment with a massive collective voting base … and we are pissed.
RNZ and TVNZ have been working with the Minister on several reviews including one big Cabinet options paper last year, and another one this year.
So there is utterly no excuse for RNZ to make a massive programming change while the terms of the review are getting clarified, and the business case for (whatever it is) is just getting underway.
IMHO this must necessitate the RNZ Chair being called to the office for a Please Explain, followed by a public You Are On Notice.
The whole of RNZ and its Board must surely see what is at stake at the moment.
If they don't understand that, then it's time to remove and refresh the lot of them.
Yes. 3 CEOs in 3 years. 0 senior management remaining through that. Perpetual and fast and violent restructures. Spectacular waste of decades of I.P.
And to "solve" the regulatory issues, NZTA are now fully captured by Meredith Connell. They can't get rid of them. Meredith Connell were personally required to come in by Michael Stiassny.
The only place public transport has improved in NZ in this entire term as far as I'm aware is the Queenstown Airport-Queenstown bus. Otherwise it's become more expensive and no more reliable.
A more corporate RNZ – broken in by funding restraint under the last government, aware of possible merger with the commercial TVNZ and thus armed with a focus on the future/youth market (another cutting back of historical RNZ) and presenting themselves ready and competent for the BRAND new world to come – just imagine the added value to their CV if they are in at the ground floor of this merged MEDIA giant.
If they noticed the Labour manifesto, they must have thought they and Cabinet were above petty partisan politics – they were GOVERNMENT media.
To prepare for merged services with TVNZ they also need to move more operations to Auckland – such as a new youth channel team, just up the road from TVNZ's recording studios!
Supposedly radio and tv will remain separate entities.
But like you I'm deeply suspicious.
The government has taken so long to gets its shit together on this and being just 7 months from election and 5 from its campaign, and taken two goes at Cabinet for it already, and will need to come back to Cabinet for a couple more.
So no wonder people are already up in arms generating petitions.
If they've got 20,000 on a petition just for Concert FM, imagine the beast they will awaken if they dick around with RNZ proper.
My bet this whole idea gets well and truly kicked to the next government.
If National gets in, it's dead as a doorknob.
If Labour get back in, it will stay last on the legislative agenda for a fair old while.
"If Labour get back in, it will stay last on the legislative agenda for a fair old while."
Labour did not "get in" at the last election without two other parties – we do have three parties in Government. I believe that it has worked remarkably well, largely due to enough Leaders and MPs working hard to make it work. But when something controversial is put forward, it must satisfy three parties. That sometimes makes things a little slower than some would like, but it has been said that it is not just a "feature"of MMP, but is an advantage, as the need for discussion and compromise means that we get legislation that is more likely to represent the balance of views of New Zealanders. National lost support parties as they could not handle negotiations for support – they still think the largest party has a right to govern. Perhaps the words should have been "If Labour / NZ First / Greens get back in, it will stay . . ."
Like you, I'm pleased to see Faafoi gain in stature as you suggest. Being charitable though, it's possible he's had a bit too much on his plate – like a couple of others and/or doesn't have that good a bullshit/trust detector.
I'm not sure as far as broadcasting in general goes, the can can be kicked down the road for much longer especially when there are some viable solutions.
At the back of my mind I'm wondering whether Jane Wrightson (formerly NZonAir) chose to get the hell out of it while the getting is good.
Yesterday, I also came across a couple of other life-long Labour suppotas considering jumping ship over this whole debacle. The change in language/spin didn't go unnoticed either. 'Age' will be replaced by 'life-stages' for example, as either the back-peddling or doubling down begins
I'm pissed and I don't even listen to CFM. My parents do though, and I expect the optics of replacing the oldies with the young 'uns isn't going to play well for many either, nor dumping that shit into the generation war. Mindboggling that the board or management thought this was a goer.
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Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
The protest outside the White House correspondents’ dinner hotel. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR More than two dozen Palestinian journalists had called for a boycott of the dinner, writing an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend. “You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
A historian with a track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Looking good for Sinn Féin. Left wing populism winning – who would have thought it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51432660
Great news.
Seems a direct (if partial) rejection of Ireland's medium term history of accomodating tax-dodging multinationals. Where those multinationals find a cheap haven, the poor in other tax jurisdictions suffer. Pretty selfish behaviour from Ireland’s right wing governments but who is surprised?
Also heartening is the increased support for Sinn Fein's mission – Irish reunification. Hope to see this in 5 years.
Soon Britain will consist of just England and Wales!
Your problem is a lot of the people in your dream united Ireland don't.
Yay. Back to the troubles and rioting
It only takes a majority. The pendulum seems to be swinging in that respect.
Momentum is a wonderful thing. And I think England's decision to Brexit accelerated that momentum.
Seriously though, Ireland should be united. The circumstances behind the partition simply do not apply now.
Not if the united Ireland retained a NI parliament and allowed people to retain a British passport.
They only fielded 42 candidates in the 40 multi-member seats out of a possible 160 TDs in the Dail. So while they have a higher primary vote than either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil they won’t have as many TDs when it’s all counted.
Nothing wrong with getting the most first preference votes. But they cannot form a government if they have less than 40 seats and need 81 to have a majority.
Only Fianna Fail (most elected) can form the next government, they have 3 choices for coalition Fine Gael, Sinn Fein or everyone else (Greens, Labour, Social Democrats and a lot of independents – a lot of cats to herd together).
Farrar watch:
This clown is losing it. He's asking for the Prime Minister to suspend Winston Peters, "as he is now under Police investigation."
A bare-faced lie.
Actually – you are the bare faced liar.
Hes not asking for the PM to do anything
He asked "Will the Prime Minister suspend the Deputy Prime Minister as he is now under Police investigation? Of course not."
You cant even lie well – fakenewsMcMutton
He is by asking the question, of course.
Farrar is claiming Winston Peters is under Police investigation.
That is a lie for political gain.
Try spin your way out of it if you must.
Nope he’s not asking for the prime minister to do anything.
you rant and rave and lie – but it’s there for all to see. Your a liar.
just like you were happy to call a guy who never raped anyone a rapist.
you should try being more honest.
[a bit less of the abuse please. There’s plenty of politics to address instead – weka]
There has been a curious development in right wing social media campaigning led by the likes of Topham Guerin who assisted with Scomo's and Bojo's campaigns.
One of the tactics is to dumb down their social media posts and memes, deliberately using poor or overly simple grammar, and employing the dreaded comic sans font.
It's been suggested that this is a way to pit working class left-wing folk against the so called liberal elite. It’s a way to appeal to under-educated people.
I have wondered in my own way (and been suspended for it) whether you deliberately employ this practice also.
Do you deliberately mis-spell and post dumb stuff for effect?
Or is that just you?
mod note for you James.
Got it. Thank you weka.
Cheers James.
I suspect that Muttonbird @ 2.1.1.1.1 has a good point. James is not as semi-literate as he looks ('Your a liar') Watch carefully for this, please, Moderators.
It's also the behaviour of many people posting online from a phone, which is what James' comments look more like to me, but thanks for the general headsup.
Farrar is claiming the PM will not. Speculation. Designed to undermined the PM's credibility.
"Will the Prime Minister suspend the Deputy Prime Minister as he is now under Police investigation? Of course not."
My bold.
Who knows she might. She wouldn’t answer is she trusted Winston this afternoon instead saying that they had an excellent working relationship (or words to that effect).
wonder why she won’t say if she trust him ?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/02/jacinda-ardern-refuses-to-say-she-trusts-winston-peters-amid-new-zealand-first-donation-allegations.html
Jacinda refusal to say she trust Winston.
Why would she be trusting Peters at this point?
If the prime minister does not trust the deputy prime minister or finds him I trustworthy- we have a problem.
ita telling she does not have the courage or conviction to answer the question.
At some point sure, but at this stage it seems reasonable to let due process happen (police/SFO). All her not answering tells me is that she's smart enough to choose to wait for the full picture. It's not like our macho political system allows for her to be bluntly honest.
Wouldn't you say she has learned to be cautious from Winnie's previous dance with Helen Clark?
She doesnt have to trust him dummy . She has to work with him it's an mmp government in a real democracy. She didnt choose nzf the people of nz did .
He said that Peters was under police investigation.
The investigation is over the NZF party’s handling of donations.
The police investigation did not last long, however.
No, the police do not do rich people – unless the money itself is from the proceeds of crime.
The wrong rich people.
Yes, very nice.
Which is untrue.
“The Commission does not have the investigative powers to form a view about whether this failure to transmit and the non-disclosure means offences have been committed.”
Not quite. They clearly said:
so they are clear they believe their actions were not in keeping with the act
so it looks like they are investing who had knowledge and the intent. There could be some very worried Nz first people.
thinknof all those ex insiders who are happily going to throw Winston under the bus.
Yet Farrar, and yourself dutifully following him, is claiming already Peters had knowledge and intent and that he is under Police investigation.
The SFO has set itself a very high bar indeed when they refused to charge Simon Bridges over an identical situation.
Refused to charge bridges over an identical situation??
really. Back it up – I tell you what – I’ll bet you a months ban you can’t back that up.
Edit – just seem weka’s comment. I won’t edit comment as we know how much you like that.
Hey muttonbird – you seem to have gone quiet.
to help this is what NZFirst are accused of – can you show where They refused to charge bridges for the identical situation?
”Based on the information available, we have formed the view that the New Zealand First Foundation has received donations which should have been treated as party donations for the New Zealand First Party. In the Commission’s view, the donations were not properly transmitted to the Party and not disclosed as required by the Electoral Act 1993.”
[you’re in premod until I see links for quotes in two comment now, as requested below. Long term commenters shouldn’t need reminding about this, and my patience is wearing thin having to spend moderator time on this and putting out a flame war. – weka]
Why oh why won't the SFO listen to David Farrar??
Why????
another mod note.
I had thought that you were asking quotes where muttonbird was making claims that are demonstrably false. I offered him to back them up with a bet of a months ban but s/he seems to have gone quite when asked to back it up.
as for backing up my quotes. Apologies for not putting the link https://elections.nz/media-and-news/2020/statement-on-donations-enquiries/
both came from the same statement. I did not link it as it was the statement specifically being discussed. Where I was replying to SPC who also quoted from here (without linking).
Thanks. I’m basically at the end of my patience with this stuff, and pretty fucked off that the time spent on various moderations last night could have been used to put a post up. Making notes in the back end so that if regulars do this stuff again, I’ll just be issuing short bans. Everyone knows what the deal is with quoting and linking, Incog and I have been giving direction on this for months. The onus is on commenters to read through comments and check what is going on so we don’t have to. Commenting here is a privilege, not a personal argument platform.
If you're going to quote, you have to provide a link. Please do so now for both quotes.
They certainly did not categorically say that there had been a breaking of the law – given they were not sure that offences were committed
Which does not establish the legs of an offence under that dratted law, including intent.
Nice try on Farrar's part though. Must have been some foaming Natbois out there today splunking all over their keyboards.
I made a bit of a mess on that blogpost. I felt it a public service to prevent them from getting their hopes back up after the latest poll … .
If you're going to quote, you have to provide a link. Please do so now for both quotes.
Quotes seem to be from the Electoral Commission's brief media release: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2002/S00073/statement-on-donations-enquiries.htm
The first was from the DPF Kiwiblog post Muttonbird was referring to.
The second was from the EC's media statement (quoted in the said blogpost) – which should have informed anyone reading it carefully not to presume too much from their referring the matter on for investigation.
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2020/02/winston_first_party_referred_to_the_police.html
thanks. In future, please put links with your quotes.
SPC did not supply the quotes. James has not supplied the links.
Ah, I see you have added a mod note for him above.
SPC's comment at 2.2 has quotes in it.
Oops. My apologies.
Their biggest crime seems to have been being explicit in modelling it on the nats' fundraising mechanisms.
Bit difficult to argue you weren't trying to dodge the law when you're copying the nats:
We know how the nats love to meet their legal and ethical obligations, lol. "legally sound" or merely "pretty legal"?
Pretty sure the Nat one only passes interest on donations to the party (thus thwarting the electoral law), whereas Winnie's one even seems to pay party expenses directly from what we've heard so far. One party has the luxury of not needing immediate cash, perhaps?
As I understand it any donation to the Nats foundation is treated as a party donation and declared as such. That's likely the key difference.
Good point. One party is being way more careful than the other – about this, anyway.
interesting – so that's their dodge.
And there it is on Day 1. The 'some of my best friends are Maori(s)' line.
Could this walking skeleton be any more unaware? Any less relevant?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/409187/sir-bob-jones-maori-gratitude-day-column-clearly-tongue-in-cheek-lawyer
Total dick move. What a stale arsehole.
And answer me this. Why is Mr Bob Jones allowed to use emotive language in his testimony, yet the defendant is constrained to official lawyer terms (at this point)?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/409187/sir-bob-jones-maori-gratitude-day-column-clearly-tongue-in-cheek-lawyer
As for the reference to attention-seeking, what has Mr Bob Jones done absolutely all his life?
To me this is and open and shut case for the defence but the justice system is heavily weighted in favour of the powerful…
Jones has a good record in defamation cases.
His connections are impeccable.
I always think of all the investors he stiffed in RJI and the ludicrous excuses he offered.
As for philandering…well …best we wait till the litigious old hypocrite tips over before we ..expand.
I might be a little naive but the court of public opinion may indeed have a part to play in this.
Not sure Mr Jones has taken on the New Zealand public before.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Party
"Despite my life-long involvement with writing, I have enormous difficulty expressing the sheer degree of anger I feel about Maihi's unforgivable and disgraceful, personal attention-seeking efforts at my expense."
And yet, he believes in free speech.
Why is Simon wearing a cycle helmet with feathers stuck on it?
How on earth would..he..know!
Is he showing what the serious fraud office will do over Winston's dodgy donations.
Kind of a tar and feathered reference?
Presumably he is now for gay marriage and gay pride cos he might get some press coverage (having voted against it in 2012 or whenever it was).
Yep. Simon's a try-hard hypocrite.
https://www.twitter.com/ProgressAoteroa/status/1226326267646996480
Is it what he was wearing at the Big Gay Out?
I'm guessing he rode a bike there in some sort of lame attempt to upstage The Greens?
Trying to avoid a head injury when he trips over his tongue?
@ weka
i have answered one of your comments on the offending comment of mine.
I stated that it was my comment, and that i had no idea where the 2 came from. It is clearly a comment of mine considering the tone and comment. 🙂
i will not wait several days for the reply system to work to show me where you have left three comments as that would be a bit much.
essentially you can leave my comments in moderation or you can release them.
Sabine, you're not causing offense, it's just that there are two different Sabine comments going on, from two different email addresses and IP addresses. I need to know if you are the other one i.e. are you also commenting from a different device using a different email and internet access. Please see here (link was missing from my last comment sorry).
https://thestandard.org.nz/will-bernie-sanders-unseat-donald-trump/#comment-1683703
In the meantime, because this is driving me nuts, I will amend the other commenter to Other Sabine, so we can all tell the difference.
You can also see that the gravatars (coloured design beside your name) are two different colours. The system is recognising two different IDs because of the email addresses.
again Weka, it is me. It is my comment. I wrote it. and for some reason there was a 2 next to my name and i have no idea how that happened.
This is exactly what i have already told you.
And fwiw, i suggest that next time rather then put a commentator in moderation simply leave your questions as to the person under the comment and allow for a public answer – after all you are publicly commenting. Also you should be able to check IP adresses and email addresses if you suspect foul play.
Last, The tap 'reply' that allows us to see if someone answered does not always show replys in real time and thus it can be a hard time finding several comments of several thread by a moderator as we are all aware as this is often enough discussed.
As for the gravatars i have no idea i don't pay attention to them.
And yes, sometimes i comment from home and sometimes i comment from work and these are the only two devices i have and thus you should have two IP adresses with my name and one email address – and even if there is a second email address i would guess that one two starts with ‘Sabine’.. Good Grief.
I have used this name here ever since i started, it is my name and sometimes accidents happen, but this is no reason to keep a poster who is not accused of an infraction in purgatory just because not enough mea culpa and chest beating has been given.
[Snip. Peace and mungbeans to you all. Sabine the machine automatically puts comments into moderation if it detects a change in the email or commenter’s name – MS]
I’m pretty unwell this week, I don’t have the energy to read that sorry. It’s a pretty simple request: are you using two different email addresses to comment on TS or not? If so, this caused some problems because we can’t initially tell if it’s a new commenter using the same name. We don’t allow two people to use the same commenting handle. My request is a routine moderator request trying to sort that out.
Moderation for many of us basically comes down to not having to spend time on moderation. You ended up in premod because I was spending too much time in the clunky back end system on my slow internet connection trying to figure out what was going on.
My suggestion is people start taking moderation seriously. I don’t take moderation action lightly and I’m pretty good at explaining what is going on for those that ask. When people do that things can get cleared up quickly. Reacting against something that isn’t happening and having a go at me just prolongs things and makes me way less likely to spend the time helping someone out.
This isn’t personal to you and wasn’t any kind of punishment. I am however getting increasingly frustated at the long term regulars here thinking that somehow moderation or the site rules don’t apply to them. My tendency atm is to moderate to lessen the work for moderation.
Ok, it looks to me like you are the same person. I'm going to link and show you what I mean. Please choose ONE email address and stick to it. If you need help with that, ask, but it looks like you are commenting from two different devices that have the different email addresses pre-loaded.
Lavender Sabine,
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-10-02-2020/#comment-1683954
Marine Sabine,
https://thestandard.org.nz/will-bernie-sanders-unseat-donald-trump/#comment-1683501
Latest (text-only) summary from RNZ News on Concert FM saga: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/409210/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-frustrated-by-rnz-concert-proposal-timing
Ends with lawyer Chris Finlayson citing those well-known NZ musicians Brahms and Amy Winehouse.
I'm enjoying seeing Minister Fa'afoi growing in stature and responsibility, but this is a real bad'un. I'd like to blame it on Stiassny's involvement, since he was the one who precipitated the ongoing tragedy at NZTA as Chair.
Ardern is moving fast because RNZ is the loyal older segment with a massive collective voting base … and we are pissed.
RNZ and TVNZ have been working with the Minister on several reviews including one big Cabinet options paper last year, and another one this year.
So there is utterly no excuse for RNZ to make a massive programming change while the terms of the review are getting clarified, and the business case for (whatever it is) is just getting underway.
IMHO this must necessitate the RNZ Chair being called to the office for a Please Explain, followed by a public You Are On Notice.
The whole of RNZ and its Board must surely see what is at stake at the moment.
If they don't understand that, then it's time to remove and refresh the lot of them.
Nope. He was brought in to clean up the mess.
Nope he made it far, far worse and it's still only starting to recover. Very slowly.
Worse than years of not performing their regulatory function?
Yes. 3 CEOs in 3 years. 0 senior management remaining through that. Perpetual and fast and violent restructures. Spectacular waste of decades of I.P.
And to "solve" the regulatory issues, NZTA are now fully captured by Meredith Connell. They can't get rid of them. Meredith Connell were personally required to come in by Michael Stiassny.
The only place public transport has improved in NZ in this entire term as far as I'm aware is the Queenstown Airport-Queenstown bus. Otherwise it's become more expensive and no more reliable.
And yes, that's this term.
Sounds rough. Was he there for 3 years?
No. He made that amount of mess in an even shorter time.
He was brought in as a saviour and just fucked things up.
I would agree RNZ's Board are skating on thin ice.
A more corporate RNZ – broken in by funding restraint under the last government, aware of possible merger with the commercial TVNZ and thus armed with a focus on the future/youth market (another cutting back of historical RNZ) and presenting themselves ready and competent for the BRAND new world to come – just imagine the added value to their CV if they are in at the ground floor of this merged MEDIA giant.
If they noticed the Labour manifesto, they must have thought they and Cabinet were above petty partisan politics – they were GOVERNMENT media.
To prepare for merged services with TVNZ they also need to move more operations to Auckland – such as a new youth channel team, just up the road from TVNZ's recording studios!
Supposedly radio and tv will remain separate entities.
But like you I'm deeply suspicious.
The government has taken so long to gets its shit together on this and being just 7 months from election and 5 from its campaign, and taken two goes at Cabinet for it already, and will need to come back to Cabinet for a couple more.
So no wonder people are already up in arms generating petitions.
If they've got 20,000 on a petition just for Concert FM, imagine the beast they will awaken if they dick around with RNZ proper.
My bet this whole idea gets well and truly kicked to the next government.
If National gets in, it's dead as a doorknob.
If Labour get back in, it will stay last on the legislative agenda for a fair old while.
Thanks, Clare Curran.
"If Labour get back in, it will stay last on the legislative agenda for a fair old while."
Labour did not "get in" at the last election without two other parties – we do have three parties in Government. I believe that it has worked remarkably well, largely due to enough Leaders and MPs working hard to make it work. But when something controversial is put forward, it must satisfy three parties. That sometimes makes things a little slower than some would like, but it has been said that it is not just a "feature"of MMP, but is an advantage, as the need for discussion and compromise means that we get legislation that is more likely to represent the balance of views of New Zealanders. National lost support parties as they could not handle negotiations for support – they still think the largest party has a right to govern. Perhaps the words should have been "If Labour / NZ First / Greens get back in, it will stay . . ."
Like you, I'm pleased to see Faafoi gain in stature as you suggest. Being charitable though, it's possible he's had a bit too much on his plate – like a couple of others and/or doesn't have that good a bullshit/trust detector.
I'm not sure as far as broadcasting in general goes, the can can be kicked down the road for much longer especially when there are some viable solutions.
At the back of my mind I'm wondering whether Jane Wrightson (formerly NZonAir) chose to get the hell out of it while the getting is good.
Yesterday, I also came across a couple of other life-long Labour suppotas considering jumping ship over this whole debacle. The change in language/spin didn't go unnoticed either. 'Age' will be replaced by 'life-stages' for example, as either the back-peddling or doubling down begins
I'm pissed and I don't even listen to CFM. My parents do though, and I expect the optics of replacing the oldies with the young 'uns isn't going to play well for many either, nor dumping that shit into the generation war. Mindboggling that the board or management thought this was a goer.
Toby Manhire on smells that linger: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/10-02-2020/as-sfo-probes-nz-first-donations-ardern-is-visited-by-the-ghost-of-scandals-past/
http://alugy.com/news/mr-beans-doppelganger-refuses-to-leave-wuhan-and-becomes-an-internet-star/
Mr Pea is now an internet star in China