"There are so many senior people within the Prime Minister's office and other senior ministers that know and knew the extent of it that it is inconceivable that [Ardern] wasn't told," Bennett told reporters.
Very senior members of Arderns office are named, along with Grant Robinson. If Ardern is to be believed (that no one told her) her closest advisors do not trust her ability to lead. She needs to purge her office to regain control.
Bennett is dishonest and so is her leader. Bennett is deceitful and she's attempting to project her own image on Jacinda Ardern. Bennett is spiteful and she should have resigned 10 years ago after she sought and released the personal information of two women who (politely) disagreed with her over the axing of night classes for solo mums who were trying to ready themselves for the workforce by gaining a qualification.
She's also a pernicious leaker… eg. the Winston Peters Super muck-up by Winz of which he had no way of knowing about.
Believing anything that woman says is like believing in the tooth fairy.
yep bennett is not to be trusted – she is completely amoral imo where personal information and political point scoring are concerned. She is not showering herself with glory.
To grant Robinson Crusoe his due, no man alone is an island. And no man walks alone in a foe cult society where everyone knows whether your name is Daniel or Michel.
This is getting very ugly for Labour. Sounds as if they all knew about it and it was someone right in amongst the politburo heirarchy good friends with them all. Talk about a cover up. Very very untidy #Laboursmetoomoment
[I have approved this comment because the system took it to come from a first-time user. However, I have good reason to believe that you are simply trolling here. Permanent ban – Incognito]
This whole “Labour sex scandal” smells like "dirty politics" revenge courtesy of Natz leading muck raker PB, aka dirt agent 000. Can't see this hurting the PM, quite the opposite as she will be seen to act decisively following receiving QC report…..and with a fizz the wee scandal melts into the beltway sunset.
Meanwhile Winston has a present for PB, and it ain't dead flowers.
Whatever one might say about Jamie Lee Ross’s ethics and morals, no one has suggested that it was non consensual. That is not the case in the present case.
While that was not a case of assault, which normally is judged in a court of law, it could be wondered how ethical and moral the spouses of the two MPs saw it when they found out what most of the National Party knew and they didn't?
You seem to be unable to see the situation Anne. It’s always Nationals fault. Or they have done worse things. What’s wrong with you and some of your like minded commenters. This is Labour’s fuck up not Nationals. If National make political capital out of this that’s politics. Labour is made up of the same sort of people as National. Different philosophy that’s all. The people are no better no worse. At best JA doesn’t know what’s going on in the Labour Party. Worst scenario she does. Take your pick. I had to listen to comments on the project tonight that insinuated that JA is a nice person so could not have known about the situation. If this was happening to National, SB would be called a lying Arse hole I suspect. I could be wrong of course!!? A bit of balance and realism in your comments would be great.
A bit of balance and realism in your comments would be great.
Aha, you hit the nail on the head. A bit of balance is exactly what I've been doing. At the moment it's a massive attack on Labour as if this situation has not occurred before. We've seen National go through exactly the same process in the past year without anything like the same hullabaloo.
The corporate media is behaving disgracefully and I will continue to bring some balance back into the picture whether 'newy viewy' likes it or not.
From what I have seen in the past two days it appears that the "media" are less interested in the "victim(s)", and those they sought to create, of this than their prospects, profiles and pay packets. From Bryce Edwards, to the Spin-Off and the cross matches of one of their writers to North and South the story has been spun, stretched and shared in many forms without any access or concern as to the facts.
The facts will come from the QC when they have them and have had the time to assess and seek any further details that are relevant. The disgraceful media as you rightly call them saw no need and had no interest in waiting for the truth, they are beyond belief and coming to an election year dangerous if they persist with this behaviour, they want and intend to get collateral damage any way they can.
Couldn't agree more Kat – it has all of the usual hallmarks of the political hit jobs that John Key's administration was very effective at, the fact that this ridiculous beat-up occupied Soimon's entire interview on Breakfast this morning when Haley lead us to believe they would be talking about Simon and former Chinese spy teacher Jian Yang chaperoning him in the mother country while Simon chatted to the Chinese Security service chief…but no, we had the agenda entirely set by those that would subvert it.
Jeez so you are telling me its a massive sting operation where young men and woman have gone under cover volunteering in the Labour party so they could invent a sex scandal as revenge for dirty politics.
Given our sex abuse statistics and rape culture i would say the story as it is being told is far more likely.
No small wonder we only have one active feminist author here…
I support the integrity of the Labour Party and believe that the flood of misinformation, allegations, inflated and conflated misinformation will hurt the instigators in the end.
Wouldn't it be great for the "victims" to meet the PM. Given the conflicting stories they would be free to explain eye to eye. (I read somewhere that the sexual victim said she was too scared to speak up about her problem.)
What comes around goes around I would hope for Bennett.
I think it was Iprent who wrote that those with a complaint such as assault should be shown that the Party cannot process such criminal matters. A victim of say a sexual assault might expect the President or Secretary to investigate and action but they cannot. What if such a victim believed that Harworth would just spring into action and fix everything. When he couldn't, imagine the victim disappointment.
What I understood Lynn to be saying was that the *legal actions available are via the Crimes Act and employment legislation and this is not something Labour can do. There is nothing to stop Labour from also doing its own internal investigation separate from anything that the police or parlimentary services may or may not do. This is what the victims were asking for imo, for Labour to take action about its own organisation, culture and policies. A complaint to the police or PS isn't necessary for that to happen.
It's also not true imo that Labour could do nothing about the staffer. They could for instance change his duties so he is not doing things like accompanying young members to events. It sounds like some of his job had already changed.
If you are interested in the Tasman District Council election. Meet the candidates in Richmond is currently being live streamed. Mayoral candidates are also there.
Why was it necessary to go to Paula Bennett about the alleged assaults and offences, instead of the police? Although I am not judging the complaints of the victims at this stage, not my place to do so, but really, Paula Bennett as the first port of call to seek help???
With Bennett's involvement, I'm getting a strong stench of dirty Blue politics permeating the air once more as the 2020 election approaches.
Agree the process is brutal for women/girls. I have been at the coal face supporting victims of abuse, it is just not a case of making a statement to the police that's the easy part (not that any part of the process is easy).
If Labour had listened and supported the victims/s then as you say weka no need to involve the opposition and media.
Yeah. The process at the police and the legal structures around it needs to be looked at.
I’d really like to find out what it is like now with the police handling of rape and sexual assualt cases – most of my referential anecdotes are now decades old. More in the Louise Nicholas era.
There is still a basic problem is that there has to be enough evidence to get the courts to be able to convict and that does require either some corroborating evidence or some kind of adversarial process. I can’t see too many ways that the latter can’t be brutal to the complainant when we’re looking at custodial sentences.
But I think that complaints or (at the very least) statements should always be made to the police because otherwise people are effectively just encouraging dickheads to do the same thing again. They should also make sure that there is a hard copy from the police about the interview. This keeps the police honest because they seem not file information on the persistent computer systems otherwise.
Normally this shows up as being done as part of job – then you can hit up their employers. The problem is (as I have been pointing out) the allegations made are that the person involved isn’t an employee of the NZLP and has been doing stuff outside of even party. Which makes this kind of complicated. But that would have been the good avenue – to approach Parliamentary Services if this was being a workplace issue.
Even if it was a party issue, then there is virtually nothing done lawfully without a clear smoking gun by the NZLP. Besides, they simply don’t have the required resources to even evaluate the evidence. Which is why sending it off to a QC was a mildly good idea.
Personally I’d like to just do some basic changes to the law.
Firstly to make confidential settlements a crime. As far as I am concerned they are just encourage awful behaviour by the affluent.
Secondly to make it so that anyone can report probable assaults and sexual assaults for the police to investigate. We already have laws about wasting police time so I don’t think that would be too much of an issue. But it’d probably help to increase the reporting considerably and help with the power imbalances. This is already the case for a number of crimes like murder and aggravated assaults that the complainant isn’t expected to be the victim.
I know that whenever I have run across some of these in the past (mostly when I was a barman) that my biggest problem is that I’d like to report it and to trigger an investigation because I knew damn well that the victim was unlikely to do so. I also knew that the arsehole perp would just do it again. It is one of the most irritating aspects of our justice system.
I’d really like to find out what it is like now with the police handling of rape and sexual assualt cases – most of my referential anecdotes are now decades old. More in the Louise Nicholas era.
Kirsty Johnston has done considerable work on this issue…
But I think that complaints or (at the very least) statements should always be made to the police because otherwise people are effectively just encouraging dickheads to do the same thing again.
Unless the laws are changed so that some other body apart from the police are entitled to and (in theory) required to track complaints and offenses about predators, the perpetrators of any kind of assault will just move, change jobs, and do it again. If they do get pulled up at some point, then they claim that it was a momentary problem and walk under some kind of diversion and/or name suppression.
One of the best bits of evidence for a court would be to show a history of previous complainants and have that admissible by the police / crown. It would clearly show a pattern of behaviour that needs to be dealt with.
In order for more women to take complaints to the police, the culture needs to change. Not just in the police and justice system, but wider. This is why, while I understand what you are saying about the current situation and that Labour can't do anything via the Crimes Act or employment law, I disagree that they can't do anything.
Had the processes and culture in Labour been different, it's possible that a formal complaint to either the police or parliamentary services may have followed. But to make a complaint when Labour are either making things harder from ignorance, or actively putting barriers in the way, that's too much to ask imo. Women know that going to the police is unlikely to do them good and will mostly likely harm them further, so there is a direct conflict between the wellbeing of victims and the wellbeing of society. That's not on women who have been assaulted to remedy. It's for everyone else to sort out.
There is an argument to be made that rape cases should have their own set of rules because it is unlike pretty much any other crime in important regards. To get any change to process and outcome in the justice system you need lawmakers that understand the dynamics of rape and why it is done, and how systems are complicit in that. The one thing about this case that gives me some hope is that if Labour do step up now and sort their culture out internally, there is potential for them to then foster good lawmakers in the future.
I haven't followed the story this week very closely, but it's clear that the allegations were handled badly. Not because Labour should have fired the staffer or whatever, but because they should have listened to and engaged with the people making the complaints in a way that protected them and gave them support so that a way to deal with the situation could have been worked out. Even the fact that Labour met with one of the victims on her own is a red flag for me. At the least someone should have been there and written up the meeting and made sure that copies were given to Labour and victim. That's just basic stuff.
Likewise the whole mess with the emails.
My advice to anyone engaging with any organisation that has power like this is to always take a witness to any conversation, preferably one that can take good notes. Hopefully now processes will develop/be adopted for getting confirmation that emails have been received (and that Labour will do this with regard for people making complaints, not just setting up systems to protect themselves).
The onus shouldn't be on the people making the complaint but on the organisation with the resources. That Labour didn't do these things suggests either incompetence or worse. I suspect its incompetence (esp given what Ardern has said), but I think it's also likely there has been some protection of Labour going on by some of the people involved.
Imagine counselling a victim of sexual assault and encouraging them to take their claims to court. The risk is a replay of vivid trauma and the reopening of psychological wounds still raw and tender.
The reward? A 50:50 shot at justice.
That's the reality for the few victims brave enough to take their case to court and front the alleged perpetrator of their pain.
Statistics show barely half of all sexual crimes taken through the judicial process in 2018 resulted in a conviction. In some years the rate has been much lower.
Ministry of Justice figures show the cases that end up in court are a tiny percentage of sex crimes, the great majority of which (up to 90 per cent) are believed to go unreported. Of that small catchment, less than 10 per cent make it as far as a courtroom.
Given this brutal distillation process, it would be fair to assume that any case left standing would involve robust evidence and the best possible opportunity for conviction. Sadly, the numbers tell quite a different story.
The figures suggest that, for every 100 sexual crimes in this country, 99 perpetrators escape justice, many without even needing to face their accuser in court.
One possible solution…
There is currently no incentive (due to the risk of imprisonment) for any perpetrator to acknowledge the sexual violence that occurred, nor is there any protection for those perpetrators who do wish to acknowledge what occurred and make redress," it noted.
Victims did not always want an intimidating court setting, and a prison sentence was not always the priority: in many cases, they wanted acknowledgement of the wrong done and appropriate treatment for the wrong-doer.
That would involve a significant shift in our understanding of what victims want, although clearly it would not be appropriate for the most serious cases.
It would also involve doing something even more challenging and significant: listening to victims and empowering them in the process.
One of the things she said was that cops weren't being critical enough when investigating sexual assault complaints, giving an advantage to the defense lawyers to present the evidence in a more critical light.
In a "my word against yours" trial, that means poking holes in the other person's testimony, saying they are unreliable, etc etc etc. And then emphasising "reasonable doubt".
I just can't help thinking that our adversarial system is particularly unsuited to determining the truth of these cases.
One idea I have heard of if that there is an independent authority that women can make complaints to but nothing is taken further until a certain number of other people make a complaint about the same person. That way the person making a complaint doesn't have to go it alone and the strength in numbers make a conviction more likely.
TBH – expecting there to be a good outcome from people with no/limited investigative powers, no expertise, experience and constrained by employment and privacy laws it a big ask.
On the victims side it can go from:
Lying, mistaken, offensive but not criminal, criminal offending occurred, criminal offending occurred with long-last consequnces
And on the alleged offenders it can go from:
Innocent, unintentional, offensive but not criminal, criminal, criminal with pycho/sociopathic tendancies
(And probably options I can't even think of. ) And each of those people can have honest differences about where the offending was on that spectrum.
If the justice system can only get it right in a small number of cases with all its resources, it's no wonder highly constrained amateurs are not going to be able to make decisions that are just even with the very best of intentions.
First link is behind the paywall that I can’t justify paying for.
Second link is good it sounds like they’re now at least starting to code sexual assault complaints as sexual assaults rather “not a crime” and it shows in the stats.
Third link is accessible and kind of alarming. 12 adult sexual assault detectives for the whole of Auckland? WTF…
It looks more like Bennett was a last resort after various attempts within Labour had been unsuccessful and re-traumatising.
In Parliament today Bennett said that a former chief of staff of Ardern's knew about the allegations, and also her chief press secretary. And two victims claim to have made a complaint around Christmas time to the director of the leader's office.
It is also well documented that they made submissions and had brief interviews with the investigation panel (comprising three people from the Labour Party council). And they claim to have had contacted the now resigned party president Nigel Haworth.
It seems to have taken getting Bennett involved to get an acceptance that Labour had done a very poor job for the complainants.
She put a bunch of questions to Ardern expecting to tie her in knots and all Jacinda did was answer "yes" or "no". It was all over in just over 2 mins. at which point Madam B had achieved nothing:
Maybe it wasn't Bennett's intent to achieve anything but set up a possible problem for Ardern. The final question and answer:
Hon Paula Bennett: Does she stand by her previous statements that victims should go to one of their line managers and that no senior people in her office had received a complaint?
Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: At the time that I made the statement, yes.
Soon after in General Debate Bennett claimed that two victims went to a line manager (about Christmas time). If Ardern "made the statement" after this she could have talked into a trap.
The sexual assault media damage just wipes out the momentum that Ardern had assiduously manufactured over the previous 10 days with a slew of announcements.
These include the suicide prevention launch, Te Reo Week, the freshwater NPS discussion document, the Team New Zealand boat launch, the DIRA draft legislation, and bunches of other smaller ones.
So I know they mean well.
But this lot have 8 months of government left before they are in full campaign mode for 2020.
It completely beggars belief to me that after 9 years in opposition and 2 years in power they are still generating little groups with think-pieces. It means when actual news hits such as sexual assault claims, there's very little public goodwill built up from delivering hard results to New Zealand, so the PM looks brittle again.
I'm less convinced that this is a government that is good for New Zealand.
I'm starting to think a massive clean out is needed to fix what is looking like a toxic culture.
I'm going to take the victims word and if their complaints had been covered up to the point where Jacinda Ardern was directly lied to by senior party officials (as it seems by her comments) things are very wrong.
Thinking about Auckland i was looking at the local political groups and read about City Vision and saw that Mike Lee is not seeking backing from them this time.
I wonder if he is still going on, he may be getting tired of the eternal roundabout.
They would be pretty much opposites in their views I take it. Pity about Mike Lee but he has been fighting battles for so long and seen the tatty results when he has lost that his winning opponents produced so I guess that has soured him.
Dirty politics is not going to help the person who has raised the sexual assault.
National failed all the children who were sexually assaulted in Social Welfare care and faith based care. At least Labour is trying to address the damage to then young lives and not sweep it under the carpet or expect people to not be affected .
What National did to people who had a sensitive ACC claim was disgusting for the 9 years they governed. I had to wait 8 years to resume my claim because of how little faith I had in the National government regarding a sensitive claim. The woman I spoke to at ACC understood. Basically the last government could not be trusted to understand the personal cost and I was not going to waste my precious energy on their bull shit.
Goodness gracious me! Health Select Committee grows some balls and delivers right (or is that more rightly 'left'?) royal bollocking to Pharmac, Medsafe and the Misery of Health.
It would seem that a common anti -depressant was replaced with a generic prompting 500 complaints of adverse effects. None of which raised safety or quality problems.
Members not happy, Chair Louisa Wall…
… questioned whether patients who were stable for years should have had their medications changed in the first place.
"It seems that for me some of the patients on these drugs, they've been used as guinea pigs, 'lets just switch them, lets just see what happens to them and if they're adverse maybe we can switch them back,' that's really unacceptable to be honest," she said.
and Michael Woodhouse was none too pleased…
"It's fair to say the Select Committee were disappointed with the lack of empathy from Medsafe and the Ministry of Health and the finger pointing that went on between three government agencies effectively that said that there were certain things that could been done, but it's not our responsibly.
"That's a frustration," he said.
Mr Woodhouse said the committee will make sure the right thing is done by the petitioner.
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What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
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 Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
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"There are so many senior people within the Prime Minister's office and other senior ministers that know and knew the extent of it that it is inconceivable that [Ardern] wasn't told," Bennett told reporters.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12266753
Very senior members of Arderns office are named, along with Grant Robinson. If Ardern is to be believed (that no one told her) her closest advisors do not trust her ability to lead. She needs to purge her office to regain control.
certainly there are plenty in the LP that need to move on, This just might be a great opportunity for Ardern to clear the decks of some dross
By any chance do you mean the right-leaning neo-liberals that Chuck might approve of? Quelle horreure!
I would not trust anything Bennett says without independent verification.
Me neither.
Me neither.
The whole matter should not have been dealt with in such a political point scoring manner.
May those needing support now be receiving it.
+ 1
Bennetts source is the same Ardern relied on today to terminate her President.
[lprent: If you don’t want to comment related to the comment you are replying to, then you are trolling and don’t want to be here. Bye. ]
For clarity then, Bennett confirmed she was given the names and timelines by the complainants who came to her.
Verification is simply silence from the complainants i.e. Bennett accurately presented their information.
Would the complainant saying that she told Robertson in person be enough verification?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/09/complainants-reveal-details-of-how-much-grant-robertson-nigel-haworth-knew-about-sexual-assault-allegations.html
+1 mickysavage
Bennett is dishonest and so is her leader. Bennett is deceitful and she's attempting to project her own image on Jacinda Ardern. Bennett is spiteful and she should have resigned 10 years ago after she sought and released the personal information of two women who (politely) disagreed with her over the axing of night classes for solo mums who were trying to ready themselves for the workforce by gaining a qualification.
She's also a pernicious leaker… eg. the Winston Peters Super muck-up by Winz of which he had no way of knowing about.
Believing anything that woman says is like believing in the tooth fairy.
yep bennett is not to be trusted – she is completely amoral imo where personal information and political point scoring are concerned. She is not showering herself with glory.
"like believing in the tooth fairy"
But much less innocent.
Adern could of course do what Key did when it was discovered "dirty politics" was being run out of his office and LIE.
Key Key Key = Lie Lie Lie
Key the liar
Bennett the liar
And of course Bennett dropped those two citizens in hot tar by intentionally releasing their private personal details.
Appalling all round she is
To grant Robinson Crusoe his due, no man alone is an island. And no man walks alone in a foe cult society where everyone knows whether your name is Daniel or Michel.
Knowledge is power and power is not shared.
This is getting very ugly for Labour. Sounds as if they all knew about it and it was someone right in amongst the politburo heirarchy good friends with them all. Talk about a cover up. Very very untidy #Laboursmetoomoment
[I have approved this comment because the system took it to come from a first-time user. However, I have good reason to believe that you are simply trolling here. Permanent ban – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 6:10 PM.
This whole “Labour sex scandal” smells like "dirty politics" revenge courtesy of Natz leading muck raker PB, aka dirt agent 000. Can't see this hurting the PM, quite the opposite as she will be seen to act decisively following receiving QC report…..and with a fizz the wee scandal melts into the beltway sunset.
Meanwhile Winston has a present for PB, and it ain't dead flowers.
Yeah its all a national conspiracy. Get a grip there is a sexual pest in labour who needs to be delt with so kicu for #Metoo eh.
Did you get upset about the sexual pests in National?
Jamie Lee Ross is an alleged scumbag, this bloke is an alleged scumbag.
Only one has been turfed.
Turfed?? I understand he is still in parliament, still being overpaid as such.
I wish I could suffer such a 'turfing'.
Whatever one might say about Jamie Lee Ross’s ethics and morals, no one has suggested that it was non consensual. That is not the case in the present case.
So there is no equivalence.
While that was not a case of assault, which normally is judged in a court of law, it could be wondered how ethical and moral the spouses of the two MPs saw it when they found out what most of the National Party knew and they didn't?
Only one has been turfed – do you mean Mr Sabin?
You seem to be unable to see the situation Anne. It’s always Nationals fault. Or they have done worse things. What’s wrong with you and some of your like minded commenters. This is Labour’s fuck up not Nationals. If National make political capital out of this that’s politics. Labour is made up of the same sort of people as National. Different philosophy that’s all. The people are no better no worse. At best JA doesn’t know what’s going on in the Labour Party. Worst scenario she does. Take your pick. I had to listen to comments on the project tonight that insinuated that JA is a nice person so could not have known about the situation. If this was happening to National, SB would be called a lying Arse hole I suspect. I could be wrong of course!!? A bit of balance and realism in your comments would be great.
A bit of balance and realism in your comments would be great.
Aha, you hit the nail on the head. A bit of balance is exactly what I've been doing. At the moment it's a massive attack on Labour as if this situation has not occurred before. We've seen National go through exactly the same process in the past year without anything like the same hullabaloo.
The corporate media is behaving disgracefully and I will continue to bring some balance back into the picture whether 'newy viewy' likes it or not.
From what I have seen in the past two days it appears that the "media" are less interested in the "victim(s)", and those they sought to create, of this than their prospects, profiles and pay packets. From Bryce Edwards, to the Spin-Off and the cross matches of one of their writers to North and South the story has been spun, stretched and shared in many forms without any access or concern as to the facts.
The facts will come from the QC when they have them and have had the time to assess and seek any further details that are relevant. The disgraceful media as you rightly call them saw no need and had no interest in waiting for the truth, they are beyond belief and coming to an election year dangerous if they persist with this behaviour, they want and intend to get collateral damage any way they can.
you must have been on holiday when Nationals JLR hit the headlines. For weeks.
Couldn't agree more Kat – it has all of the usual hallmarks of the political hit jobs that John Key's administration was very effective at, the fact that this ridiculous beat-up occupied Soimon's entire interview on Breakfast this morning when Haley lead us to believe they would be talking about Simon and former Chinese spy teacher Jian Yang chaperoning him in the mother country while Simon chatted to the Chinese Security service chief…but no, we had the agenda entirely set by those that would subvert it.
Jeez so you are telling me its a massive sting operation where young men and woman have gone under cover volunteering in the Labour party so they could invent a sex scandal as revenge for dirty politics.
Given our sex abuse statistics and rape culture i would say the story as it is being told is far more likely.
No small wonder we only have one active feminist author here…
Even Bradbury on The Daily Blog mentions Ardern would seek process and then deal with or to.
That's been done.
It's getting harder to believe in a NZ that follows the innocent until proven guilty rule, esp in the media.
I support the integrity of the Labour Party and believe that the flood of misinformation, allegations, inflated and conflated misinformation will hurt the instigators in the end.
Wouldn't it be great for the "victims" to meet the PM. Given the conflicting stories they would be free to explain eye to eye. (I read somewhere that the sexual victim said she was too scared to speak up about her problem.)
What comes around goes around I would hope for Bennett.
whats up with “victims” in commas?
Its attitudes like that put sexual abuse survivors off making themselves heard.
It would be good for the PM and her team to meet these poor people and listen to their stories so we don’t have these issues again.
I think it was Iprent who wrote that those with a complaint such as assault should be shown that the Party cannot process such criminal matters. A victim of say a sexual assault might expect the President or Secretary to investigate and action but they cannot. What if such a victim believed that Harworth would just spring into action and fix everything. When he couldn't, imagine the victim disappointment.
I thought that McFlock's comment in OM at 10.2.1.1 was helpful in presenting a model that could have been followed.
What I understood Lynn to be saying was that the *legal actions available are via the Crimes Act and employment legislation and this is not something Labour can do. There is nothing to stop Labour from also doing its own internal investigation separate from anything that the police or parlimentary services may or may not do. This is what the victims were asking for imo, for Labour to take action about its own organisation, culture and policies. A complaint to the police or PS isn't necessary for that to happen.
It's also not true imo that Labour could do nothing about the staffer. They could for instance change his duties so he is not doing things like accompanying young members to events. It sounds like some of his job had already changed.
https://www.metromag.co.nz/society/society-politics/labour-sexual-assault-allegations-jacinda-ardern-morgan-godfery
Whatever the problem is here, it's pretty clear that Labour handled this badly at the process and natural justice level.
Mac1. How about this:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12266874
[link added. Getting sick of having to ask regulars to do this. If you are cutting and pasting/quoting, please provide the source – weka]
mod note
Simon Bridges upholding National's long promotion of rape culture, what a surprise.
ianmac. nonsensical first sentencesays it all. Direct quote.
"Simon Bridges says the resignation of Labour President Nigel Haworth the sex scandal gripping the party is just the start."
Paddy Gower on Weed 🕺
Tonight 8.30 pm TV3
https://www.threenow.co.nz/live-tv-guide/three
that's a rather disturbing image.
Lmao 🙂
It was a pretty awesome watch, am looking forward to part 2 tonight.
unfortunately I can't stand his whole 'pay attention! because I just discovered this important thing' schtick.
I hope he does some good with the debate.
If you are interested in the Tasman District Council election. Meet the candidates in Richmond is currently being live streamed. Mayoral candidates are also there.
Tune in here
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/115491064/live-richmond-ward-and-mayoral-candidates-meeting
Why was it necessary to go to Paula Bennett about the alleged assaults and offences, instead of the police? Although I am not judging the complaints of the victims at this stage, not my place to do so, but really, Paula Bennett as the first port of call to seek help???
With Bennett's involvement, I'm getting a strong stench of dirty Blue politics permeating the air once more as the 2020 election approaches.
they first went to Labour, got treated badly, so went to the media and opposition.
Lots of women don't take rape complaints to the police, because of low conviction rates and and often brutal process.
Agree the process is brutal for women/girls. I have been at the coal face supporting victims of abuse, it is just not a case of making a statement to the police that's the easy part (not that any part of the process is easy).
If Labour had listened and supported the victims/s then as you say weka no need to involve the opposition and media.
Yeah. The process at the police and the legal structures around it needs to be looked at.
I’d really like to find out what it is like now with the police handling of rape and sexual assualt cases – most of my referential anecdotes are now decades old. More in the Louise Nicholas era.
There is still a basic problem is that there has to be enough evidence to get the courts to be able to convict and that does require either some corroborating evidence or some kind of adversarial process. I can’t see too many ways that the latter can’t be brutal to the complainant when we’re looking at custodial sentences.
But I think that complaints or (at the very least) statements should always be made to the police because otherwise people are effectively just encouraging dickheads to do the same thing again. They should also make sure that there is a hard copy from the police about the interview. This keeps the police honest because they seem not file information on the persistent computer systems otherwise.
Normally this shows up as being done as part of job – then you can hit up their employers. The problem is (as I have been pointing out) the allegations made are that the person involved isn’t an employee of the NZLP and has been doing stuff outside of even party. Which makes this kind of complicated. But that would have been the good avenue – to approach Parliamentary Services if this was being a workplace issue.
Even if it was a party issue, then there is virtually nothing done lawfully without a clear smoking gun by the NZLP. Besides, they simply don’t have the required resources to even evaluate the evidence. Which is why sending it off to a QC was a mildly good idea.
Personally I’d like to just do some basic changes to the law.
Firstly to make confidential settlements a crime. As far as I am concerned they are just encourage awful behaviour by the affluent.
Secondly to make it so that anyone can report probable assaults and sexual assaults for the police to investigate. We already have laws about wasting police time so I don’t think that would be too much of an issue. But it’d probably help to increase the reporting considerably and help with the power imbalances. This is already the case for a number of crimes like murder and aggravated assaults that the complainant isn’t expected to be the victim.
I know that whenever I have run across some of these in the past (mostly when I was a barman) that my biggest problem is that I’d like to report it and to trigger an investigation because I knew damn well that the victim was unlikely to do so. I also knew that the arsehole perp would just do it again. It is one of the most irritating aspects of our justice system.
I’d really like to find out what it is like now with the police handling of rape and sexual assualt cases – most of my referential anecdotes are now decades old. More in the Louise Nicholas era.
Kirsty Johnston has done considerable work on this issue…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12042963
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12043031
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12146421
But I think that complaints or (at the very least) statements should always be made to the police because otherwise people are effectively just encouraging dickheads to do the same thing again.
Seriously?
Thanks, and yeah seriously…
Unless the laws are changed so that some other body apart from the police are entitled to and (in theory) required to track complaints and offenses about predators, the perpetrators of any kind of assault will just move, change jobs, and do it again. If they do get pulled up at some point, then they claim that it was a momentary problem and walk under some kind of diversion and/or name suppression.
One of the best bits of evidence for a court would be to show a history of previous complainants and have that admissible by the police / crown. It would clearly show a pattern of behaviour that needs to be dealt with.
In order for more women to take complaints to the police, the culture needs to change. Not just in the police and justice system, but wider. This is why, while I understand what you are saying about the current situation and that Labour can't do anything via the Crimes Act or employment law, I disagree that they can't do anything.
Had the processes and culture in Labour been different, it's possible that a formal complaint to either the police or parliamentary services may have followed. But to make a complaint when Labour are either making things harder from ignorance, or actively putting barriers in the way, that's too much to ask imo. Women know that going to the police is unlikely to do them good and will mostly likely harm them further, so there is a direct conflict between the wellbeing of victims and the wellbeing of society. That's not on women who have been assaulted to remedy. It's for everyone else to sort out.
There is an argument to be made that rape cases should have their own set of rules because it is unlike pretty much any other crime in important regards. To get any change to process and outcome in the justice system you need lawmakers that understand the dynamics of rape and why it is done, and how systems are complicit in that. The one thing about this case that gives me some hope is that if Labour do step up now and sort their culture out internally, there is potential for them to then foster good lawmakers in the future.
I haven't followed the story this week very closely, but it's clear that the allegations were handled badly. Not because Labour should have fired the staffer or whatever, but because they should have listened to and engaged with the people making the complaints in a way that protected them and gave them support so that a way to deal with the situation could have been worked out. Even the fact that Labour met with one of the victims on her own is a red flag for me. At the least someone should have been there and written up the meeting and made sure that copies were given to Labour and victim. That's just basic stuff.
Likewise the whole mess with the emails.
My advice to anyone engaging with any organisation that has power like this is to always take a witness to any conversation, preferably one that can take good notes. Hopefully now processes will develop/be adopted for getting confirmation that emails have been received (and that Labour will do this with regard for people making complaints, not just setting up systems to protect themselves).
The onus shouldn't be on the people making the complaint but on the organisation with the resources. That Labour didn't do these things suggests either incompetence or worse. I suspect its incompetence (esp given what Ardern has said), but I think it's also likely there has been some protection of Labour going on by some of the people involved.
Imagine counselling a victim of sexual assault and encouraging them to take their claims to court. The risk is a replay of vivid trauma and the reopening of psychological wounds still raw and tender.
The reward? A 50:50 shot at justice.
That's the reality for the few victims brave enough to take their case to court and front the alleged perpetrator of their pain.
Statistics show barely half of all sexual crimes taken through the judicial process in 2018 resulted in a conviction. In some years the rate has been much lower.
Ministry of Justice figures show the cases that end up in court are a tiny percentage of sex crimes, the great majority of which (up to 90 per cent) are believed to go unreported. Of that small catchment, less than 10 per cent make it as far as a courtroom.
Given this brutal distillation process, it would be fair to assume that any case left standing would involve robust evidence and the best possible opportunity for conviction. Sadly, the numbers tell quite a different story.
The figures suggest that, for every 100 sexual crimes in this country, 99 perpetrators escape justice, many without even needing to face their accuser in court.
One possible solution…
There is currently no incentive (due to the risk of imprisonment) for any perpetrator to acknowledge the sexual violence that occurred, nor is there any protection for those perpetrators who do wish to acknowledge what occurred and make redress," it noted.
Victims did not always want an intimidating court setting, and a prison sentence was not always the priority: in many cases, they wanted acknowledgement of the wrong done and appropriate treatment for the wrong-doer.
That would involve a significant shift in our understanding of what victims want, although clearly it would not be appropriate for the most serious cases.
It would also involve doing something even more challenging and significant: listening to victims and empowering them in the process.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/112634934/its-time-to-better-the-odds-for-victims-of-sexual-crime
Here is an article from last year focussing on a defence lawyer who had a string of acquittals for sexual assault trials.
One of the things she said was that cops weren't being critical enough when investigating sexual assault complaints, giving an advantage to the defense lawyers to present the evidence in a more critical light.
In a "my word against yours" trial, that means poking holes in the other person's testimony, saying they are unreliable, etc etc etc. And then emphasising "reasonable doubt".
I just can't help thinking that our adversarial system is particularly unsuited to determining the truth of these cases.
One idea I have heard of if that there is an independent authority that women can make complaints to but nothing is taken further until a certain number of other people make a complaint about the same person. That way the person making a complaint doesn't have to go it alone and the strength in numbers make a conviction more likely.
TBH – expecting there to be a good outcome from people with no/limited investigative powers, no expertise, experience and constrained by employment and privacy laws it a big ask.
On the victims side it can go from:
Lying, mistaken, offensive but not criminal, criminal offending occurred, criminal offending occurred with long-last consequnces
And on the alleged offenders it can go from:
Innocent, unintentional, offensive but not criminal, criminal, criminal with pycho/sociopathic tendancies
(And probably options I can't even think of. ) And each of those people can have honest differences about where the offending was on that spectrum.
If the justice system can only get it right in a small number of cases with all its resources, it's no wonder highly constrained amateurs are not going to be able to make decisions that are just even with the very best of intentions.
First link is behind the paywall that I can’t justify paying for.
Second link is good it sounds like they’re now at least starting to code sexual assault complaints as sexual assaults rather “not a crime” and it shows in the stats.
Third link is accessible and kind of alarming. 12 adult sexual assault detectives for the whole of Auckland? WTF…
Good series..
It looks more like Bennett was a last resort after various attempts within Labour had been unsuccessful and re-traumatising.
In Parliament today Bennett said that a former chief of staff of Ardern's knew about the allegations, and also her chief press secretary. And two victims claim to have made a complaint around Christmas time to the director of the leader's office.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/document/HansS_20190911_053250000/bennett-paula-mallard-trevor
It is also well documented that they made submissions and had brief interviews with the investigation panel (comprising three people from the Labour Party council). And they claim to have had contacted the now resigned party president Nigel Haworth.
It seems to have taken getting Bennett involved to get an acceptance that Labour had done a very poor job for the complainants.
If dealing with Bennett is the same thing as coming across as evasive I agree.
Mary A, I really wonder about that too, i.e. going to Paula Bennett….
Ardern dealt to Bennett today at QT.
She put a bunch of questions to Ardern expecting to tie her in knots and all Jacinda did was answer "yes" or "no". It was all over in just over 2 mins. at which point Madam B had achieved nothing:
https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=208737
Maybe it wasn't Bennett's intent to achieve anything but set up a possible problem for Ardern. The final question and answer:
Soon after in General Debate Bennett claimed that two victims went to a line manager (about Christmas time). If Ardern "made the statement" after this she could have talked into a trap.
The sexual assault media damage just wipes out the momentum that Ardern had assiduously manufactured over the previous 10 days with a slew of announcements.
These include the suicide prevention launch, Te Reo Week, the freshwater NPS discussion document, the Team New Zealand boat launch, the DIRA draft legislation, and bunches of other smaller ones.
So I know they mean well.
But this lot have 8 months of government left before they are in full campaign mode for 2020.
It completely beggars belief to me that after 9 years in opposition and 2 years in power they are still generating little groups with think-pieces. It means when actual news hits such as sexual assault claims, there's very little public goodwill built up from delivering hard results to New Zealand, so the PM looks brittle again.
I'm less convinced that this is a government that is good for New Zealand.
still better than anything else on offer, although I still hold out some hope that a L/G govt would bring out the best in Labour.
I'm starting to think a massive clean out is needed to fix what is looking like a toxic culture.
I'm going to take the victims word and if their complaints had been covered up to the point where Jacinda Ardern was directly lied to by senior party officials (as it seems by her comments) things are very wrong.
It's really sad.
An opportunity here for her to make some good changes, fingers crossed.
National being arseholes won't be helping that of course.
Auckland's mayoral 'race' continues to produce more crap than gold – as RNZ's Tuesday head-to-head between the two main candidates showed.
Reading the transcript is way better for the blood pressure than listening to the trainwreck, but only for the brave in any case: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018712681/auckland-mayoral-debate-phil-goff-v-john-tamihere
Thinking about Auckland i was looking at the local political groups and read about City Vision and saw that Mike Lee is not seeking backing from them this time.
I wonder if he is still going on, he may be getting tired of the eternal roundabout.
He and Christine Fletcher are two of the most bitter people I have ever met.
They were both not too bad in their day.
At Council meetings they are just destructive, but they will of course both get back in because their name recognition is strong.
They would be pretty much opposites in their views I take it. Pity about Mike Lee but he has been fighting battles for so long and seen the tatty results when he has lost that his winning opponents produced so I guess that has soured him.
Trump fired Bolton before he could resign, OK.
Dirty politics is not going to help the person who has raised the sexual assault.
National failed all the children who were sexually assaulted in Social Welfare care and faith based care. At least Labour is trying to address the damage to then young lives and not sweep it under the carpet or expect people to not be affected .
What National did to people who had a sensitive ACC claim was disgusting for the 9 years they governed. I had to wait 8 years to resume my claim because of how little faith I had in the National government regarding a sensitive claim. The woman I spoke to at ACC understood. Basically the last government could not be trusted to understand the personal cost and I was not going to waste my precious energy on their bull shit.
Sobering : https://www.rt.com/op-ed/468508-hong-kong-protests-violent/
Goodness gracious me! Health Select Committee grows some balls and delivers right (or is that more rightly 'left'?) royal bollocking to Pharmac, Medsafe and the Misery of Health.
It would seem that a common anti -depressant was replaced with a generic prompting 500 complaints of adverse effects. None of which raised safety or quality problems.
Members not happy, Chair Louisa Wall…
… questioned whether patients who were stable for years should have had their medications changed in the first place.
"It seems that for me some of the patients on these drugs, they've been used as guinea pigs, 'lets just switch them, lets just see what happens to them and if they're adverse maybe we can switch them back,' that's really unacceptable to be honest," she said.
and Michael Woodhouse was none too pleased…
"It's fair to say the Select Committee were disappointed with the lack of empathy from Medsafe and the Ministry of Health and the finger pointing that went on between three government agencies effectively that said that there were certain things that could been done, but it's not our responsibly.
"That's a frustration," he said.
Mr Woodhouse said the committee will make sure the right thing is done by the petitioner.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/398580/ministry-of-health-medsafe-grilled-over-med-brand-switch
It seems that Boris's suspension was unlawful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK8Dm7_YAko