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notices and features - Date published:
5:32 pm, May 11th, 2018 - 26 comments
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The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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They have Hopkins.
We have Hosking.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/103818511/mike-hosking-named-new-zealands-best-talk-show-presenter-at-radio-awards
“irreverence’ is one word for it, I suppose.
irreverence
noun
a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously.
Others might call it “disrespect, lack of respect, disdain, scorn, contempt, derision, mockery, ridicule, disparagement.”
You pays your money (in his case far too much) and you takes your choice (in my case, not to view).
Hosking was labelled positively as being “irreverent” by a fellow co-host, who happened to be his wife.
I’m no fan of Clare Curran but true to form, Hosking delivered an all time low.
What’s the bet he and his “loving” wife Kate Hawkesby are laughing their heads off at their collective witticisms. (sarc)
Credit where credit is due… Clare Curran appears to have maintained her dignity and did not respond in kind.
“Clare Curran appears to have maintained her dignity and did not respond in kind”
In fairness Claire Curran dosnt respond to a lot of things
She probably meant “irrelevant” – they’re a low vocabulary family.
LOL Appreciate that.
“Irreverence” is an absurd word for Hosking. He is so totally puffed up with worship of the standard right-wing pieties that he’s become a caricature. His adoration of John Key showed not an ounce of irreverence towards the rich and powerful.
Northcote campaign launch
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Story about funding being withdrawn for children’s camp in Roxburgh and another in Otaki. They want $3 million funding to be continued. It sounds to me like some local trust with not-for-profit basis providing a good income for family or small group in trust. This is what happens when government withdraws from running a balanced social welfare system, and hives it off to charity. There are good pickings for the middle class showing the poverty-hit strugglers the era of their ways.
There are two mayors who I think are brothers, and it would be interesting if they are National voters. They are pushing these schemes which are providing something that government should be doing as in the Health Camps of the past. In this era of depression-like poor conditions for so many it is time for government to step up to do the heavy lifting again, especially as they have been the ones most at fault in blighting the country.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/354428/children-s-mental-health-service-to-close-villages-in-june-if-it-can-t-get-funding 8/4/2018
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018644192/otago-mayors-plead-govt-to-fund-children-s-village 9/5/2018
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/356993/gutting-decision-as-at-risk-kids-service-denied-funding 9/5/2018
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018644570/girl-s-emotional-testimony-on-why-village-needs-to-stay 11/5/2018
It is the type of thing that produces an emotional response. Pushing buttons about children in need like this is going to be frequent if the Labour coalition don’t introduce more steps to help woman gain strength and skills to manage their parenthood and suitable part paid or volunteer work with case managers able to support them to make changes that will help.
“Labour coalition don’t introduce more steps to help woman gain strength and skills to manage their parenthood…”
? Maybe the only help needed is a crackdown on non custodial parents paying what they owe regardless of clever accounting.
AWW
It is sad to see this sort of comment which shows no understanding of the factors at all. Merely getting money from a father is not enough to be the ‘help a woman gain strength and skills to manage their parenthood’. It takes more than money to be a good parent. Fathers paying for their children is an obsession with some people. Money is all that matters to people like that, it is more important than caring about the development of the parent and child.
Money doesn’t hurt but.
Money facilitates, responsible kind parenting with support where useful capacitates.
Playcentre used to be able to do a lot of good work in parenting education and still does for some people who are able to use this service. Unfortunately beneficiaries who used to be able to take their children to Playcentre and do Playcentre education including parenting courses and experience in running the Playcentre as well as developing confidence and building friendships with other parents are now forced to put their children in low cost often low quality childcare while they go and do stupid WINZ courses.
… while they go and do stupid WINZ courses.
When I was on the DPB looking after my aged mother in the late 1990s, I received a WINZ letter ordering me to attend a course on how to handle a job interview which included lessons on how to dress and how to talk properly. I sent them copies of my qualifications and certificates together with a run-down of my fairly extensive professional work experiences and advised them I would not be attending this course. Never heard another word from them.
Looks like Greens are getting royally screwed over the Kermadecs.
C’mon Sage stand up.
Gordon Campbell has good reading on Trumps claims on the Iran agreement:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1805/S00056/gordon-campbell-on-nine-trump-lies-about-the-iran-deal.htm
Last week Hamish Fletcher wrote a piece in the Business Section of the Herald under the heading which suggested that the Superannuation Fund should not become a slush fund (with reference to the funding of light rail for Auckland) and John Roughen continued the theme in the Herald today. I found the terminology most unfortunate and wrote the following letter to Mr Fletcher. I have yet to receive a reply and doubt that I ever will. However I feel that the issue is so important that I have had the temerity to publish it below:
Dear Hamish Fletcher
I am writing to you in reply to your most unfortunate and politically loaded response to the news that the Superfund (I note you didn’t label it the Cullen fund and so imply credit where credit is most certainly due) will assist with the funding of Auckland’s Light Rail. It is becoming increasing clear that National Party cheer leaders, and you are clearly one, are naming much needed projects such as this and the light rail to the airport after the politicians who are championing them. The intent is obvious – to suggest that these are “pet” projects that are not necessarily good ones.
Some months ago Bryan Gaynor published an excellent article on the folly and and horrendous (continuing) cost of Muldoon’s stupendous bribe to win the 1975 election. Here is a link to that article :
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11940232
At the time it was published, I looked in vain for any comment from people such as yourself.
As Brian Gaynor points out, had Labour’s scheme been allowed to run, we would indeed have been enjoying a “rock star” economy for decades, not the charade that has been the focus over the last nine years. It is about time the true cost of National Superannuation was made part of a public debate so that New Zealanders can be informed re the effect it is having (and has had) on the economy and to shed light on the reality of the National Parties economic management skills.
On this same theme I suggest you read the section in former cabinet minister Hugh Templeton’s book “All Honourable Men” where he exposes the machinations which went on at the highest level of the National Party in the promulgation of that disastrous but highly effective election strategy.
Yours etc.
Here is the link to Hamish Fletcher’s article:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=12048258
I don’t know if you are suggesting that we shouldn’t have superannuation
which is not a big income for most. If it does result in people who have managed their money prudently being better off, it should still be affordable if people pay their taxes in a progressive way. Unfortunately the progress has been downward. T
ypically the NZs don’t want to accept responsibility like decent citizens and want the cake of a good reliable and fair superannuation scheme but also to eat it by holding back the taxes, reducing, minimising, avoiding so that others who don’t have such clever accountants and such obsessive greed are paying a full share out of smaller income, and that isn’t enough to pay for the services we need and want.
Good morning GWS. No I am not suggesting for a moment that we don’t have the National super. It is a very significant part, but not the only one, of the retirement income that my wife and I share. I agree totally with the rest of your comment.
That is an excellent letter Marcus Morris. Good on you for reproducing it here. I doubt you will get a reply from Fletcher but that could be a compliment because he will be hard pressed to find any fault with your analysis.
I remember the 1975 election very well having only a year or two earlier joined the Labour Party. I knew quite a lot of middle aged people (at that time) who had never voted National before but they fell for the bribe.
And we have all been paying for their selfish greed ever since.
Thanks for that Anne. The most catastrophic aspect of Muldoon’s policy was that it literally killed off the Government Super scheme. Thousands of public servants withdrew from that Fund using their contributions to help pay off mortgages (yours truly was one) in the misguided belief that National promises would hold true. Many of my colleagues did the same and most of us deeply regret our decision. The awful irony is that Labour’s 1974 plan was to afford all New Zealanders the same guaranteed retirement income that State Servants enjoyed as well as providing much needed funding for infrastructure within the nation. I do have friends who had the foresight to stay with the original scheme and they are enjoying a very comfortable and secure retirement.
Re your note about “middle aged people”. My father turned 60 (the original qualification age) in 1975. Guess who he voted for that year and I strongly suspect that it was the only time he ever voted for the National party in his life. He received the payment as soon as it was available and did so for the rest of his twenty nine years including the five when he continued to work until his retirement (on top of the Government super he had contributed to). He had no problem with the surtax when it was introduced and used to say that those who objected were merely indicating publicly just how well off they were.
News today.
1 The Australian family shooting. It appeared to me that we were hearing all about this in a leagues table way – we have to know about the biggest and best shooting tragedy of a family in Australia so far. I didn’t hear any NZ connection.
It makes my heart ache to think of all the other tragedies in the world that we have been denied information on because they haven’t broken any new record. Another way of looking at it would be that it is ghoulish in the extreme for Radionz and other media to be gloating over Australian tragic statistics and reports from locals about how the family was regarded, and how shocked, sad people are.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/357220/australian-murder-suicide-three-firearms-recovered
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/103850615/margaret-river-tragedy-police-brace-for-extensive-investigation
2 Girl Guides are going to stop raising money by selling biscuits. It isn’t their core business. Sounds very neolib econ, mixed with middle class superiority.
We don’t go from door to door, who knows what grubby people, literally, our lily white hands may touch. The line of thinking probably is: ‘And the girls should be studying so they can become economists and meet a better class of person.’
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/103850898/girl-guides-to-stop-selling-biscuits