Newsroom is doing no-one any favours – least of all the victims – by handling this story in a semi-salacious way. It looks to me like a typical teenage party and nothing more than that – apart from what appears to have happened later.
Yes weka. I made a mistake there. Newsroom outed the story yesterday… TVNZ have just made it a damm sight worse for the victims and their Young Labour associates.
Well, if you are correct – which I doubt – then they are making matters far worse for themselves. Salacious takes on what happened are so not in the interest of the victims.
I think it is more likely a political move to embarrass Labour. Even more shameful if that proves to be so.
Yes. Back in the 1970s when I was an innocent young political novice, I was befriended by one of them. I took her to be a genuine friend until I discovered otherwise well down the track. A devastating experience.
“The Spinoff pursues a Whaleoil business model, launching hit pieces on individuals it deems politically unacceptable. The theft of this business idea from our founder Jordan Williams is an outrage.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listicle
“In journalism and blogging, a listicle is a short-form of writing that uses a list as its thematic structure, but is fleshed out with sufficient copy to be published as an article. … The word is a combination of list and article.”
An excellent article on Tui Motu on food security in New Zealand.
CHRIS FARRELLY reflects on the hope of the City Mission to realise the Maori proverb: Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou, ka ora ai te iwi. With your food basket and my food basket, the people will be well.
For the three weeks leading up to Christmas, hundreds of people queued for food parcels every day outside the Auckland City Mission. Some slept on the footpath overnight, waiting up to nine hours in all weathers — in the glare of the public and the media — on one of Auckland’s busiest streets. They were days of shame, questioning, generosity, gratitude and pain. In those three weeks the Mission gave out 4,677 food parcels — 64,000 individual meals.
Each individual in the queue was part of a greater family unit. There were always children involved somewhere. Usually they were waiting at home with another family member, but sometimes — desperately — they stood in line with their mothers.
….
Food Insecurity
Next to the Salvation Army (nationwide), the Auckland City Mission is the second largest charitable distributor of food in New Zealand. Through our assessments and research last year, we learned that for families receiving our food assistance on average each family member had just $21.94 per week available for grocery items, including toiletries, cleaners and other items. That is $3.13 per day.
This is food insecurity and food poverty and it is widespread. The University of Otago 2016 Food Survey estimates basic weekly food costs are $64 per week for a man, $55 for a woman, $67 for an adolescent boy, $40 for a five-year-old and $27 for a one-year-old.
Food insecurity is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food on a day-to-day basis, and an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways, for example, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, begging or stealing as other coping strategies.
The rest of the article examines the responsibilities of Central Government – which as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, recently noted – that governments are in danger of failing in their duty “to project” under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (IESCR), which states that all citizens should have access to an adequate diet without having to compromise other basic needs.
As the article points out – the problem of food insecurity is especially difficult for Māori and in complete contravention of the country’s obligations under Te Triti.
In our country Te Tiriti o Waitangi offers an added dimension of protection for Māori and protection of their treasures — of which food is one of the greatest. We cannot focus on food insecurity without addressing the terrible reality that those suffering most are Māori, and as such Te Tiriti is being violated. And the problem has deep-seated roots; in his book Whaiora Professor Sir Mason Durie has linked food insecurity for Māori to early colonial policies.
It was this very real canker that lies at the heart of our society that lead Metiria Turei to campaign on the real need to eliminate poverty in this country. We need to continue to press hard for social justice to roll down like a river, and in doing so –
As we address the unjust issue of food insecurity in Aotearoa New Zealand, we must ask what gifts are we bringing in our food basket and how can we enable others to contribute in a way that restores voice, dignity and mana.
There’s a domestic terrorist on the loose in Texas.
Blasts from two package bombs killed a teenage boy and injured two women Monday in Austin, Texas, in what police are investigating as possible hate crimes committed by a serial bomber.
A third exploding package killed an African-American man and wounded another on March 2.
Monday’s blast went off at 6:45 a.m., police said, after the 17-year-old boy brought the package into his home in the Spring Hill neighborhood and started to open it.
The mother of a daughter who was at the camp says her daughter was not aware of any of this stuff or of any drinking. I would love to know who is driving this. It might be gossip or inuendo. There were 25 at the camp.
I said not aware of it. Maybe the drinking was not done in the open and not everyone was involved. Could be the organisers were not aware of it either. Sometimes young people do things in secret.
@ Anne (6) … Wayne Mapp might be able to do some explaining about this new, but unsurprising information, as I believe he was Minister of Defence in the Key led government at the time.
Keating has to be dismissed after what’s just been revealed. He lied to the public and to media, disputing NZDF were in the area at the time of the raid(s), stating they were elsewhere.
And last but certainly not least, the part John Key as National PM played, authorising the raid(s), as well as the lies, deception and cover up that followed. Key must be held up to hard scrutiny over this now.
I don’t recall the actual details but my recollection is: Wayne Mapp didn’t dispute Hager’s and Stephenson’s claims, but he did reveal he had accepted the Defence Force’s version of events at the time. Something like that.
I read that book – parts of it twice – and there’s no way the authors made up any of it. Apart from a minor geographical error – which was actually an error made by the interpreter they were using when interviewing the villagers – the events described were obviously correct.
Bill English conveniently didn’t read the book and relied solely on what we now know was a D.F. cover-up.
With the NZSAS being a Force Level unit in the Gan and as I believe at time it wasn’t under OPCON (operational command) of the NZ National Senior Commander at time, only for Admin and log reasons. So any go or no go operational orders at the Force Level has to be signed off the PM and his or her’s inner circle depending on the task at hand.
Mr Mapp’s role would’ve to sight the operational order and Initial the Op ORD while at the same time he would be or should’ve been asking questions like legal, possible civilian casualties / deaths, most likely course of action and worst likely course of action by the Assaulting Troops etc. etc. before its given to the PM for the final signing off and again the PM should be asking questions as well.
Any possible operational taskings etc. should come from the PM and or his or her inner circle, but in saying that there may be the odd time an Op Ord/ Tasking etc. may possibly coming from the Special Forces Advisor attach from within the Force Element Command from within the Operational Theatre for approval to further advance the rough plan into a more formal Op Ord for the final go or no go by the PM.
There are a lot of checks and balances along the way like legal, Admin and Log, Most likely COA and Worst likely COA. But the Buck starts, stops and Ends with the PM at Force Level Operations.
Note: When the NZSAS/ Special Forces are use in a Tactical role like in East Timor they would be assigned to the Force Commander or to the Tactical Commander depending on the Task at hand with oversight from the overall National Commander who would then report to someone in back in NZ.
The NZSAS was in Gan at the time were undertaking Counter Terrorist Ops/ Training the Host Nation in Counter Terrorist Training in Kabul. So the only way the NZSAS could be diverted from its current tasking at the time had to come from the PM under the advice of his Military advisors or SF advisor or by himself and then it should’ve the role of his military advisors etc to pull him into line before things get very untidy. A good example of this happening is when David Large tried to order the NZSAS into Fiji in 1984 Coup. Going in half cock without all the facts is a no- no regardless who’s in charge. I’ve told the odd commander to go and f*** himself or words to that effect when I’ve felt something wasn’t right, dodgy or when you get the seventh or eighth sense that something isn’t quite right.
Thanks, it’s good to know what the correct procedures would be?
Just as an aside, do you think there has been a culture change in the NZDF since Coleman did the civilianisation project? And with the influx of British officers and military in the last few years?
Coleman was Key’s and Bill English’s hatchet man (remember what he did to Health) as they and along with the wonks in the Treasury Dept want to make further cuts to Defence as the then MofD Mr Mapp and his 2ic Ms H Roy along with old Jonesy the then CDF at time, said the cuts won’t work as it would unlikely achieve the Value for Money that saying Treasury saying it would’ve achieve.
Also it undo the work of Phil Goff and Jonesy did after the Coles Report into the Project Protector, the three Auditor General Reports/ Inquiry’s into the LAV’s, NH-90’s and the C-130 upgrade and rebuilding the NZDF after the train wreck left by the Muppets Mark Burton and the Fergie, Dodson and Jerry Show which did untold damage to the NZDF. But in saying that some that damage can also be traced back to the last National Government from 91-99 defence cut and lack of investment into the NZDF.
As for the influx of ex Brit Officers/ SNCO’s/ OR’s (should be all Commonwealth nations) has been going on for years since the end of the WW2 and even then it has a careful and strict vetting/ selection process IRT our values both as country and the NZDF. For the Army it has been the through the Regiment links between NZ and the Commonwealth ie. the Light Infantry Regiments and Royal Marines. RNZAF its been the relative to the Flying SQN’s ie Maritime/ Strike/ CAS (When we had the Strike Wing), Fixed and Rotor Wing Airlift, Maritime Patrol and of late the ex RAF Regiment in the RNZAF Force Protection FLTs. Unsure about the Senior Service. Any bad apples are sent home or pensioned off but I believe they very few and far between.
The real problem has been the Mandarins from the UK Civil Service infecting the likes of the MOD, Health Dept etc when they bring their crap ideas (like the Salami Cuts aka Cuts by stealth) and Policy ideas which have already failed in the UK ie the MOD NHS etc. etc.
There are few good books out about the British MOD/ Foreign Office/ Government and the Military during the Iraq and Afghan Wars.
I’ve just finish this Kindle Book called “High Command, British Military Leadership in the Iraq and Afghan Wars” and about to buy one called Blair and his Generals. Talk about major policy fails (before, during and after), intelligence failures/ cock ups, cock ups and going in half cock.
That’s before we even get to the cover ups by the civil service with the MOD etc. As some of my mates in the Brit Army and RAF Regt said we were really not sure who our enemy was sometimes the Locals in Iraq, Afghan or the Muppets within the MOD, the Foreign Office etc or in Whitehall.
The authors said the raid – in response to the death of Lieutenant Tim O’Donnell from a roadside bomb – New Zealand’s first combat death in Afghanistan – was given the green light by Prime Minister John Key in person but it was based on flimsy intelligence.
Other sources say Key made the decision after being briefed by Wayne Mapp.
How backwards can you get. trump is now calling for the death penalty for drug traffickers. How many in the killing in Singapore and the Philippines have been a cover for removing political opposition? China does it, they just label someone a trafficker after they shoot them. Lets not forget this will be used against people of colour first.
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
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NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
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Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
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AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
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And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
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What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
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The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
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Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
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Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
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Who is feeding Newsroom with all this information about the Young Labour Camp incident?
It’s got to be someone who was actually present or someone who has been given information by someone who was present and is passing it on:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/watch-young-people-dance-labour-party-summer-camp-which-sexual-assault-allegations-emerged
Newsroom is doing no-one any favours – least of all the victims – by handling this story in a semi-salacious way. It looks to me like a typical teenage party and nothing more than that – apart from what appears to have happened later.
Shame on them!
I can’t believe that TVNZ are running that video.
(It’s possible that there are photos and videos on social media from that weekend).
Yes weka. I made a mistake there. Newsroom outed the story yesterday… TVNZ have just made it a damm sight worse for the victims and their Young Labour associates.
They are the absolute pits.
“Who is feeding Newsroom with all this information about the Young Labour Camp incident?”
Possibly one of the victims or their friends family who feel somewhat perturbed by what has occurred ?
Well, if you are correct – which I doubt – then they are making matters far worse for themselves. Salacious takes on what happened are so not in the interest of the victims.
I think it is more likely a political move to embarrass Labour. Even more shameful if that proves to be so.
🙄 I find the ongoing outrage regarding the coverage from a number of commenters on this site to be of overpowering redolence.
“The word redolence almost always refers to the very best odors and scents.”
SPIT IT OUT THERE Young fellow…is there something you are failing to say?
Darren Watson | National Guy – YouTube
Video for Darren Watson – National Guy (from Too Many Millionaires)▶ 5:05
there’s been quite a bit of criticism of TVNZ on twitter for showing and posting that video.
TV One tweet and responses below it.
I like the tweet that features this link:
https://bsa.govt.nz/complaints/making-a-complaint
Been taken down by twitter?
I said earlier, they probably have plants in all parties.
Yes. Back in the 1970s when I was an innocent young political novice, I was befriended by one of them. I took her to be a genuine friend until I discovered otherwise well down the track. A devastating experience.
Russell Brown
@publicaddress
Russell Brown Retweeted Taxpayers’ Union
“The Spinoff pursues a Whaleoil business model, launching hit pieces on individuals it deems politically unacceptable. The theft of this business idea from our founder Jordan Williams is an outrage.”
https://twitter.com/publicaddress/status/973394379300790272
😉
What’s a “listicle”?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listicle
“In journalism and blogging, a listicle is a short-form of writing that uses a list as its thematic structure, but is fleshed out with sufficient copy to be published as an article. … The word is a combination of list and article.”
Hadn’t picked that was something that The Spinoff do a lot of.
rofl 🙂
An excellent article on Tui Motu on food security in New Zealand.
….
The rest of the article examines the responsibilities of Central Government – which as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, recently noted – that governments are in danger of failing in their duty “to project” under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (IESCR), which states that all citizens should have access to an adequate diet without having to compromise other basic needs.
As the article points out – the problem of food insecurity is especially difficult for Māori and in complete contravention of the country’s obligations under Te Triti.
It was this very real canker that lies at the heart of our society that lead Metiria Turei to campaign on the real need to eliminate poverty in this country. We need to continue to press hard for social justice to roll down like a river, and in doing so –
I recommend reading the whole article here:
Very good Macro.
(that would make a great Guest Post, as is. Would you be ok if I put it up?).
Yes Please.
thanks!!
There’s a domestic terrorist on the loose in Texas.
Blasts from two package bombs killed a teenage boy and injured two women Monday in Austin, Texas, in what police are investigating as possible hate crimes committed by a serial bomber.
A third exploding package killed an African-American man and wounded another on March 2.
Monday’s blast went off at 6:45 a.m., police said, after the 17-year-old boy brought the package into his home in the Spring Hill neighborhood and started to open it.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/killed-wounded-explosions-strike-austin-homes-article-1.3870217?
The mother of a daughter who was at the camp says her daughter was not aware of any of this stuff or of any drinking. I would love to know who is driving this. It might be gossip or inuendo. There were 25 at the camp.
“black ops are good ” DPF…./sarc
Is there something you know you are not letting on. Tell me more or buzz off to another pile of manure.
It’s possible the sexual assaults weren’t spread around the camp.
No drinking at all? Do you know if the daughter recognised anyone in the video and can confirm if they attended?
I said not aware of it. Maybe the drinking was not done in the open and not everyone was involved. Could be the organisers were not aware of it either. Sometimes young people do things in secret.
Yes – it seemed very quiet and hushed.
Its a small camp – you heard the noise in the video.
An official inquiry into the incidents described in Nicky Hager’s book “Hit and Run” must surely be inevitable now:
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2018/03/nzdf-admits-they-lied.html
@ Anne (6) … Wayne Mapp might be able to do some explaining about this new, but unsurprising information, as I believe he was Minister of Defence in the Key led government at the time.
Keating has to be dismissed after what’s just been revealed. He lied to the public and to media, disputing NZDF were in the area at the time of the raid(s), stating they were elsewhere.
And last but certainly not least, the part John Key as National PM played, authorising the raid(s), as well as the lies, deception and cover up that followed. Key must be held up to hard scrutiny over this now.
I don’t recall the actual details but my recollection is: Wayne Mapp didn’t dispute Hager’s and Stephenson’s claims, but he did reveal he had accepted the Defence Force’s version of events at the time. Something like that.
I read that book – parts of it twice – and there’s no way the authors made up any of it. Apart from a minor geographical error – which was actually an error made by the interpreter they were using when interviewing the villagers – the events described were obviously correct.
Bill English conveniently didn’t read the book and relied solely on what we now know was a D.F. cover-up.
With the NZSAS being a Force Level unit in the Gan and as I believe at time it wasn’t under OPCON (operational command) of the NZ National Senior Commander at time, only for Admin and log reasons. So any go or no go operational orders at the Force Level has to be signed off the PM and his or her’s inner circle depending on the task at hand.
Mr Mapp’s role would’ve to sight the operational order and Initial the Op ORD while at the same time he would be or should’ve been asking questions like legal, possible civilian casualties / deaths, most likely course of action and worst likely course of action by the Assaulting Troops etc. etc. before its given to the PM for the final signing off and again the PM should be asking questions as well.
Any possible operational taskings etc. should come from the PM and or his or her inner circle, but in saying that there may be the odd time an Op Ord/ Tasking etc. may possibly coming from the Special Forces Advisor attach from within the Force Element Command from within the Operational Theatre for approval to further advance the rough plan into a more formal Op Ord for the final go or no go by the PM.
There are a lot of checks and balances along the way like legal, Admin and Log, Most likely COA and Worst likely COA. But the Buck starts, stops and Ends with the PM at Force Level Operations.
Note: When the NZSAS/ Special Forces are use in a Tactical role like in East Timor they would be assigned to the Force Commander or to the Tactical Commander depending on the Task at hand with oversight from the overall National Commander who would then report to someone in back in NZ.
The NZSAS was in Gan at the time were undertaking Counter Terrorist Ops/ Training the Host Nation in Counter Terrorist Training in Kabul. So the only way the NZSAS could be diverted from its current tasking at the time had to come from the PM under the advice of his Military advisors or SF advisor or by himself and then it should’ve the role of his military advisors etc to pull him into line before things get very untidy. A good example of this happening is when David Large tried to order the NZSAS into Fiji in 1984 Coup. Going in half cock without all the facts is a no- no regardless who’s in charge. I’ve told the odd commander to go and f*** himself or words to that effect when I’ve felt something wasn’t right, dodgy or when you get the seventh or eighth sense that something isn’t quite right.
Thanks, it’s good to know what the correct procedures would be?
Just as an aside, do you think there has been a culture change in the NZDF since Coleman did the civilianisation project? And with the influx of British officers and military in the last few years?
To answer your questions:-
Coleman was Key’s and Bill English’s hatchet man (remember what he did to Health) as they and along with the wonks in the Treasury Dept want to make further cuts to Defence as the then MofD Mr Mapp and his 2ic Ms H Roy along with old Jonesy the then CDF at time, said the cuts won’t work as it would unlikely achieve the Value for Money that saying Treasury saying it would’ve achieve.
Also it undo the work of Phil Goff and Jonesy did after the Coles Report into the Project Protector, the three Auditor General Reports/ Inquiry’s into the LAV’s, NH-90’s and the C-130 upgrade and rebuilding the NZDF after the train wreck left by the Muppets Mark Burton and the Fergie, Dodson and Jerry Show which did untold damage to the NZDF. But in saying that some that damage can also be traced back to the last National Government from 91-99 defence cut and lack of investment into the NZDF.
As for the influx of ex Brit Officers/ SNCO’s/ OR’s (should be all Commonwealth nations) has been going on for years since the end of the WW2 and even then it has a careful and strict vetting/ selection process IRT our values both as country and the NZDF. For the Army it has been the through the Regiment links between NZ and the Commonwealth ie. the Light Infantry Regiments and Royal Marines. RNZAF its been the relative to the Flying SQN’s ie Maritime/ Strike/ CAS (When we had the Strike Wing), Fixed and Rotor Wing Airlift, Maritime Patrol and of late the ex RAF Regiment in the RNZAF Force Protection FLTs. Unsure about the Senior Service. Any bad apples are sent home or pensioned off but I believe they very few and far between.
The real problem has been the Mandarins from the UK Civil Service infecting the likes of the MOD, Health Dept etc when they bring their crap ideas (like the Salami Cuts aka Cuts by stealth) and Policy ideas which have already failed in the UK ie the MOD NHS etc. etc.
There are few good books out about the British MOD/ Foreign Office/ Government and the Military during the Iraq and Afghan Wars.
I’ve just finish this Kindle Book called “High Command, British Military Leadership in the Iraq and Afghan Wars” and about to buy one called Blair and his Generals. Talk about major policy fails (before, during and after), intelligence failures/ cock ups, cock ups and going in half cock.
That’s before we even get to the cover ups by the civil service with the MOD etc. As some of my mates in the Brit Army and RAF Regt said we were really not sure who our enemy was sometimes the Locals in Iraq, Afghan or the Muppets within the MOD, the Foreign Office etc or in Whitehall.
Thanks, didn’t have a chance to get back to this before now.
I did understand a bit beforehand, but that has given me more detail about the changes.
No worries Molly
The book claims John Key gave the green light to the raid.
Other sources say Key made the decision after being briefed by Wayne Mapp.
An informative article by Brian Eastern, particularly the history of our welfare system.
I would say a “must read” for anyone who cares about beneficiaries.
https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/redesigning-the-welfare-state
Work and Income ignoring a Social Security Appeals Authority decision – action Minister?
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1803/S00165/work-and-income-ignores-duty-to-assist-people.htm
Those managers need to be fired for dereliction of duty.
Show that there are consequences for managers for ignoring the law.
How backwards can you get. trump is now calling for the death penalty for drug traffickers. How many in the killing in Singapore and the Philippines have been a cover for removing political opposition? China does it, they just label someone a trafficker after they shoot them. Lets not forget this will be used against people of colour first.
https://freespeech.org/stories/death-to-drug-dealers-trump-threatens-to-ramp-up-drug-war-praising-efforts-in-philippines-china/