RNZ is now the channel for national supporters not Labour Coalition supporters as it boasts all about National MP’s and not about the current Government.
Good that John Campbell has left the national ‘pasty pit’ RNZ now so he can concentrate on the things that matter to ordinary kiwis.
Lisa Owen to replace him – seriously!
I remember the Herald Insider saying we didn’t really need an investigative journalist; I was so excited to know someone with real journalistic integrity was coming to NZ. I’m no longer sure about that having watched her in action on The Nation. I can only hope she wants to provide a more unbiased respected view of what New Zealanders want to hear about re both sides of the political sphere. Anything less she can stay at home!
What did you do last year to get rid of hard-right liberal economics?
Oh, that’s right, you did nothing. You chose to make yourself utterly irrelevant. Oops, that’s not quite true, it’s worse than that. Of all the options available to you, you chose the second-friendliest option for returning the Nats to a fourth term.
You asked “who is keeping this fubar economic ideology well in place”.
Those that won’t even take the simplest of actions to change the government have a fair bit of responsibility for keeping the fubar economic ideology in place.
Elected representative democracy is only one form of democracy. And if the US republic is anything to go by, one that can be simply corrupted by money.
and as for economics, it is not just liberalism if your left wing.
Here somthing to think about, your voting did absolutely nothing – the economic conditions are exactly the same, people are still killing themselves in droves, people are still living in cars, and winz are still stuffing over disabled and the poor.
But hey I’m wrong, I’m the bad guy for point it out right!!?! – as worse I didn’t do what you think is the right thing to do, because you can’t think of any other way to do politics.
Good luck John. I’ve forgiven that dreadful black out studio scene I stumbled upon by accident when John Campbell interviewed Helen Clark re the corn saga. Was she invited to visit the tv studio knowing she would probably wear black or a dark colour outfit? The marketing of the interview was typical National attack.
I was appalled then and I am appalled now. This stunt was never exercised on John Key (pulling pony tails of powerless workers) or Bill English when there were so many times when they were seriously at odds with the working people of NZ with the Nationalk/English/Key belief in low wages for workers, to maximise profit for the already well-off.
I have always hoped John was never part of that setup. He is too nice; just like Jacinda Ardern.
John Oliver did a better job of Key’s creepiness than our own media. That tells me so much about the media bias in favour of National/Act/greed than anything else.
I noticed that Campbell started out saying they had asked Key to appear ” a number of times” but he had declined……..
I would say Key had a couple of days intensive media coaching to prepare for this one… and his fanboys think being half prepared and not talking in his typical word salad was a triumph.
“Yanis Varoufakis is the former Greek finance minister and co-founder of DiEM25 whose New Deal for Europe will be put to European voters in the May 2019 European Parliament elections.” He’s calling for a progressive international political movement.
Response from Bernie Sanders: “Yanis Varoufakis is exactly right. At a time of massive global wealth and income inequality, oligarchy, rising authoritarianism and militarism, we need a Progressive International movement to counter these threats.” “The solution, as Varoufakis points out, is an international progressive agenda that brings working people together around a vision of shared prosperity, security and dignity for all people.” But no organising network, no way to join.. same old same old..
A Progressive International, sounds good…, guess that’s TS in NZ.
But Bernie in the USA? As part of the Democratic establishment? I don’t think he fits the Progressive profile. Here is a hard quote on Bernie from Chris Hedges:
“He (Bernie) was one of 100 Senators who stood up like AIPAC wind up dolls and approved Israel’s 51-day slaughter last summer of Palestinians in Gaza…”
A Progressive International was formed in Germany this year, “Stand Up” or “Äufstehen”. Main impulse was from the Left politician Sahra Wagenknecht. She, like Yanis, good folk. Her Die Links party isn’t like NZ’s Labour Party, it’s more like NZ’s old New Labour Party.
This Stand Up movement, actually tries to work with folk who might vote for the popularist party AfD (Alternative for Deutschland). Unfortunately the Greens in Germany have a strong tradition of working against popularism, it’s even in their Charter, due to their history from the West/East divide. This error by the German Greens (NZ Greens do positivism, not negativism), creates a strong niche for the progressive left party, Die Links. But it’s obvious to me (and Sahra), that bringing the “left” and the “right” together, is the answer for progressive change.
I don’t understand why the government allowed the Clare Curran saga to drag on for so long. The media are blaming Jacinda Ardern but I’m more inclined to blame the caucus.
I’ve had my head cut off by some in Labour for daring – yes daring – to challenge the mandatory closing of the gender gap policy. The notable feature was: the gap between male and female representation at all levels was naturally closing anyway. It’s true the gap will fluctuate as individuals come and go, but that is normal for any organisation. To attempt to compulsorily create the 50/50 scenario can only lead to problems.
The most recent events have served to convince me I was right from the start.
Edit: For anyone who doesn’t know how it works in Labour… it is the caucus who decide who will be in the Cabinet. The Prime Minister allocates the portfolios.
The current problems are simply a sign of piss poor political management. None of the issues in themselves are that bad, but on a daily basis those issues are being mis managed.
That is why Jacinda is getting blamed. It is her job to manage this government and in the past month she has been seriously lacking.
I think the alleged assault and the dude moving his family all the way back from NY for a job Labour gave him that doesn’t exist might count as “that bad”.
That’s not to say that there’s quite a few awfully solid wind cellars around the Queenstown area. Generally belonging to people who may have reason to be paranoid.
Iran make the best bunkers, and the exchange rate is favourable at the moment. Though not sure about the shipping costs on that concrete, said to be the world’s hardest.
I hope they not using the same French geezer that built Saddam’s and the Kuwaiti bunkers before the Gulf war of 91 because those GBU’s sure made a mess to those bunkers especially the ones I’ve seen in those two countries.
The German ones from WW1 and WW2 provide far better value for money as some are being used today either by the various government agencies or by the private sector as they are too well builted and awfully expensive to demolish.
For example, La Cupola the Static V2 Base in Northern France the RAF Bomber Command only managed to move the ground foundations of that wee monster of a bunker and that’s after they had dropped the Tallboy’s and GrandSlam bombs on the place. A wonderful piece of engineering I may add, but it came at a huge cost to the force labourers that built it. Worth a visit if you are in that part of the country.
Sad. Miss him on tv, he was great during the debates, quakes and while he did some fluff he talked about poverty, the gcsb bill more than any other kiwi journalist.
The project is garbage non news.
The fact he was hated by labour and national supporters and had firey exchanges with both is good… journalists shouldn’t be friends with any party.
The state of the current economy may be similar to when National left office in 2017.In December, a couple of days after the Treasury released its 2024 Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HEYFU24), Statistics New Zealand reported its estimate for volume GDP for the previous September 24 quarter. Instead ...
So what becomes of you, my love?When they have finally stripped you ofThe handbags and the gladragsThat your poor old granddadHad to sweat to buy you, babySongwriter: Mike D'aboIn yesterday’s newsletter, I expressed sadness at seeing Golriz Ghahraman back on the front pages for shoplifting. As someone who is no ...
It’s Friday and time for another roundup of things that caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans. If you’d like to support our work, you can join ...
Note: This Webworm discusses sexual assault and rape. Please read with care.Hi,A few weeks ago I reported on how one of New Zealand’s richest men, Nick Mowbray (he and his brother own Zuru and are worth an estimated $20 billion), had taken to sharing posts by a British man called ...
The final Atlas Network playbook puzzle piece is here, and it slipped in to Aotearoa New Zealand with little fan fare or attention. The implications are stark.Today, writes Dr Bex, the submission for the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill closes: 11:59pm January 16, 2025.As usual, the language of the ...
Excitement in the seaside village! Look what might be coming! 400 million dollars worth of investment! In the very beating heart of the village! Are we excited and eager to see this happen, what with every last bank branch gone and shops sitting forlornly quiet awaiting a customer?Yes please, apply ...
Much discussion has been held over the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB), the latest in a series of rightwing attempts to enshrine into law pro-market precepts such as the primacy of private property ownership. Underneath the good governance and economic efficiency gobbledegook language of the Bill is an interest to strip ...
We are concerned that the Amendment Bill, as proposed, could impair the operations and legitimate interests of the NZ Trade Union movement. It is also likely to negatively impact the ability of other civil society actors to conduct their affairs without the threat of criminal sanctions. We ask that ...
I can't take itHow could I fake it?How could I fake it?And I can't take itHow could I fake it?How could I fake it?Song: The Lonely Biscuits.“A bit nippy”, I thought when I woke this morning, and then, soon after that, I wondered whether hell had frozen over. Dear friends, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Asheville, North Carolina, was once widely considered a climate haven thanks to its elevated, inland location and cooler temperatures than much of the Southeast. Then came the catastrophic floods of Hurricane Helene in September 2024. It was a stark reminder that nowhere is safe from ...
Early reports indicate that the temporary Israel/Hamas ceasefire deal (due to take effect on Sunday) will allow for the gradual release of groups of Israeli hostages, the release of an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails (likely only a fraction of the total incarcerated population), and the withdrawal ...
My daily news diet is not what it once was.It was the TV news that lost me first. Too infantilising, too breathless, too frustrating.The Herald was next. You could look past the reactionary framing while it was being a decent newspaper of record, but once Shayne Currie began unleashing all ...
Hit the road Jack and don't you come backNo more, no more, no more, no moreHit the road Jack and don't you come back no moreWhat you say?Songwriters: Percy MayfieldMorena,I keep many of my posts, like this one, paywall-free so that everyone can read them.However, please consider supporting me as ...
This might be the longest delay between reading (or in this case re-reading) a work, and actually writing a review of it I have ever managed. Indeed, when I last read these books in December 2022, I was not planning on writing anything about them… but as A Phuulish Fellow ...
Kia Ora,I try to keep most my posts without a paywall for public interest journalism purposes. However, if you can afford to, please consider supporting me as a paid subscriber and/or supporting over at Ko-Fi. That will help me to continue, and to keep spending time on the work. Embarrassingly, ...
There was a time when Google was the best thing in my world. I was an early adopter of their AdWords program and boy did I like what it did for my business. It put rocket fuel in it, is what it did. For every dollar I spent, those ads ...
A while back I was engaged in an unpleasant exchange with a leader of the most well-known NZ anti-vax group and several like-minded trolls. I had responded to a racist meme on social media in which a rightwing podcaster in the US interviewed one of the leaders of the Proud ...
Hi,If you’ve been reading Webworm for a while, you’ll be familiar with Anna Wilding. Between 2020 and 2021 I looked at how the New Zealander had managed to weasel her way into countless news stories over the years, often with very little proof any of it had actually happened. When ...
It's a long white cloud for you, baby; staying together alwaysSummertime in AotearoaWhere the sunshine kisses the water, we will find it alwaysSummertime in AotearoaYeah, it′s SummertimeIt's SummertimeWriters: Codi Wehi Ngatai, Moresby Kainuku, Pipiwharauroa Campbell, Taulutoa Michael Schuster, Rebekah Jane Brady, Te Naawe Jordan Muturangi Tupe, Thomas Edward Scrase.Many of ...
Last year, 292 people died unnecessarily on our roads. That is the lowest result in over a decade and only the fourth time in the last 70 years we’ve seen fewer than 300 deaths in a calendar year. Yet, while it is 292 people too many, with each death being ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob HensonFlames from the Palisades Fire burn a building at Sunset Boulevard amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The fast-moving wildfire had destroyed thousands of structures and ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Regulatory Standards Bill, as I understand it, seeks to bind parliament to a specific range of law-making.For example, it seems to ensure primacy of individual rights over that of community, environment, te Tiriti ...
Happy New Year!I had a lovely break, thanks very much for asking: friends, family, sunshine, books, podcasts, refreshing swims, barbecues, bike rides. So good to step away from the firehose for a while, to have less Trump and Seymour in your day. Who needs the Luxons in their risible PJs ...
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the Auckland City Centre Advisory Panel and a director of Greater Auckland In 2003, after much argument, including the election of a Mayor in 2001 who ran on stopping it, Britomart train station in downtown Auckland opened. A mere 1km twin track terminating branch ...
For the first time in a decade, a New Zealand Prime Minister is heading to the Middle East. The trip is more than just a courtesy call. New Zealand PMs frequently change planes in Dubai en route to destinations elsewhere. But Christopher Luxon’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 5, 2025 thru Sat, January 11, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The decade between 1952 and the early 1960s was the peak period for the style of music we now call doo wop, after which it got dissolved into soul music, girl groups, and within pop music in general. Basically, doo wop was a form of small group harmonising with a ...
The future teaches you to be aloneThe present to be afraid and coldSo if I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists…And if you tolerate thisThen your children will be nextSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Do you remember at school, studying the rise ...
When National won the New Zealand election in 2023, one of the first to congratulate Luxon was tech-billionaire and entrepreneur extraordinaire Elon Musk.And last year, after Luxon posted a video about a trip to Malaysia, Musk came forward again to heap praise on Christopher:So it was perhaps par for the ...
Hi,Today’s Webworm features a new short film from documentary maker Giorgio Angelini. It’s about Luigi Mangione — but it’s also, really, about everything in America right now.Bear with me.Shortly after I sent out my last missive from the fires on Wednesday, one broke out a little too close to home ...
So soon just after you've goneMy senses sharpenBut it always takes so damn longBefore I feel how much my eyes have darkenedFear hangs in a plane of gun smokeDrifting in our roomSo easy to disturb, with a thought, with a whisperWith a careless memorySongwriters: Andy Taylor / John Taylor / ...
Can we trust the Trump cabinet to act in the public interest?Nine of Trump’s closest advisers are billionaires. Their total net worth is in excess of $US375b (providing there is not a share-market crash). In contrast, the total net worth of Trump’s first Cabinet was about $6b. (Joe Biden’s Cabinet ...
Welcome back to our weekly roundup. We hope you had a good break (if you had one). Here’s a few of the stories that caught our attention over the last few weeks. This holiday period on Greater Auckland Since our last roundup we’ve: Taken a look back at ...
Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partnerSometimes I feel like my only friendIs the city I live in, The City of AngelsLonely as I am together we crySong: Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, Flea, John Frusciante.A home is engulfed in flames during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area. ...
Open access notablesLarge emissions of CO2 and CH4 due to active-layer warming in Arctic tundra, Torn et al., Nature Communications:Climate warming may accelerate decomposition of Arctic soil carbon, but few controlled experiments have manipulated the entire active layer. To determine surface-atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide and ...
It's election year for Wellington City Council and for the Regional Council. What have the progressive councillors achieved over the last couple of years. What were the blocks and failures? What's with the targeting of the mayor and city council by the Post and by central government? Why does the ...
Over the holidays, there was a rising tide of calls for people to submit on National's repulsive, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, along with a wave of advice and examples of what to say. And it looks like people rose to the occasion, with over 300,000 ...
The lie is my expenseThe scope of my desireThe Party blessed me with its futureAnd I protect it with fireI am the Nina The Pinta The Santa MariaThe noose and the rapistAnd the fields overseerThe agents of orangeThe priests of HiroshimaThe cost of my desire…Sleep now in the fireSongwriters: Brad ...
This is a re-post from the Climate BrinkGlobal surface temperatures have risen around 1.3C since the preindustrial (1850-1900) period as a result of human activity.1 However, this aggregate number masks a lot of underlying factors that contribute to global surface temperature changes over time.These include CO2, which is the primary ...
There are times when movement around us seems to slow down. And the faster things get, the slower it all appears.And so it is with the whirlwind of early year political activity.They are harbingers for what is to come:Video: Wayne Wright Jnr, funder of Sean Plunket, talk growing power and ...
Hi,Right now the power is out, so I’m just relying on the laptop battery and tethering to my phone’s 5G which is dropping in and out. We’ll see how we go.First up — I’m fine. I can’t see any flames out the window. I live in the greater Hollywood area ...
2024 was a tough year for working Kiwis. But together we’ve been able to fight back for a just and fair New Zealand and in 2025 we need to keep standing up for what’s right and having our voices heard. That starts with our Mood of the Workforce Survey. It’s your ...
Time is never time at allYou can never ever leaveWithout leaving a piece of youthAnd our lives are forever changedWe will never be the sameThe more you change, the less you feelSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan.Babinden - Baba’s DayToday, January 8th, 2025, is Babinden, “The Day of the baba” or “The ...
..I/We wish to make the following comments:I oppose the Treaty Principles Bill."5. Act binds the CrownThis Act binds the Crown."How does this Act "bind the Crown" when Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which the Act refers to, has been violated by the Crown on numerous occassions, resulting in massive loss of ...
Everything is good and brownI'm here againWith a sunshine smile upon my faceMy friends are close at handAnd all my inhibitions have disappeared without a traceI'm glad, oh, that I found oohSomebody who I can rely onSongwriter: Jay KayGood morning, all you lovely people. Today, I’ve got nothing except a ...
Welcome to 2025. After wrapping up 2024, here’s a look at some of the things we can expect to see this year along with a few predictions. Council and Elections Elections One of the biggest things this year will be local body elections in October. Will Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Canadians can take a while to get angry – but when they finally do, watch out. Canada has been falling out of love with Justin Trudeau for years, and his exit has to be the least surprising news event of the New Year. On recent polling, Trudeau’s Liberal party has ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Much like 2023, many climate and energy records were broken in 2024. It was Earth’s hottest year on record by a wide margin, breaking the previous record that was set just last year by an even larger margin. Human-caused climate-warming pollution and ...
Submissions on National's racist, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill are due tomorrow! So today, after a good long holiday from all that bullshit, I finally got my shit together to submit on it. As I noted here, people should write their own submissions in their own ...
Ooh, baby (ooh, baby)It's making me crazy (it's making me crazy)Every time I look around (look around)Every time I look around (every time I look around)Every time I look aroundIt's in my faceSongwriters: Alan Leo Jansson / Paul Lawrence L. Fuemana.Today, I’ll be talking about rich, middle-aged men who’ve made ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 29, 2024 thru Sat, January 4, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Hi,The thing that stood out at me while shopping for Christmas presents in New Zealand was how hard it was to avoid Zuru products. Toy manufacturer Zuru is a bit like Netflix, in that it has so much data on what people want they can flood the market with so ...
And when a child is born into this worldIt has no conceptOf the tone of skin it's living inAnd there's a million voicesAnd there's a million voicesTo tell you what you should be thinkingSong by Neneh Cherry and Youssou N'Dour.The moment you see that face, you can hear her voice; ...
While we may not always have quality political leadership, a couple of recently published autobiographies indicate sometimes we strike it lucky. When ranking our prime ministers, retired professor of history Erik Olssen commented that ‘neither Holland nor Nash was especially effective as prime minister – even his private secretary thought ...
Baby, be the class clownI'll be the beauty queen in tearsIt's a new art form, showin' people how little we care (yeah)We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fearLet's go down to the tennis court and talk it up like, yeah (yeah)Songwriters: Joel Little / Ella Yelich O ...
Open access notables Why Misinformation Must Not Be Ignored, Ecker et al., American Psychologist:Recent academic debate has seen the emergence of the claim that misinformation is not a significant societal problem. We argue that the arguments used to support this minimizing position are flawed, particularly if interpreted (e.g., by policymakers or the public) as suggesting ...
What I’ve Been Doing: I buried a close family member.What I’ve Been Watching: Andor, Jack Reacher, Xmas movies.What I’ve Been Reflecting On: The Usefulness of Writing and the Worthiness of Doing So — especially as things become more transparent on their own.I also hate competing on any day, and if ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by John Wihbey. A version of this article first appeared on Yale Climate Connections on Nov. 11, 2008. (Image credits: The White House, Jonathan Cutrer / CC BY 2.0; President Jimmy Carter, Trikosko/Library of Congress; Solar dedication, Bill Fitz-Patrick / Jimmy Carter Library; Solar ...
Morena folks,We’re having a good break, recharging the batteries. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday period. I’m not feeling terribly inspired by much at the moment, I’m afraid—not from a writing point of view, anyway.So, today, we’re travelling back in time. You’ll have to imagine the wavy lines and sci-fi sound ...
Completed reads for 2024: Oration on the Dignity of Man, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola A Platonic Discourse Upon Love, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Of Being and Unity, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola The Life of Pico della Mirandola, by Giovanni Francesco Pico Three Letters Written by Pico ...
Welcome to 2025, Aotearoa. Well… what can one really say? 2024 was a story of a bad beginning, an infernal middle and an indescribably farcical end. But to chart a course for a real future, it does pay to know where we’ve been… so we know where we need ...
Welcome to the official half-way point of the 2020s. Anyway, as per my New Years tradition, here’s where A Phuulish Fellow’s blog traffic came from in 2024: United States United Kingdom New Zealand Canada Sweden Australia Germany Spain Brazil Finland The top four are the same as 2023, ...
Completed reads for December: Be A Wolf!, by Brian Strickland The Magic Flute [libretto], by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder The Invisible Eye, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Owl’s Ear, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Waters of Death, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Spider, by Hanns Heinz Ewers Who Knows?, by Guy de Maupassant ...
Well, it’s the last day of the year, so it’s time for a quick wrap-up of the most important things that happened in 2024 for urbanism and transport in our city. A huge thank you to everyone who has visited the blog and supported us in our mission to make ...
Leave your office, run past your funeralLeave your home, car, leave your pulpitJoin us in the streets where weJoin us in the streets where weDon't belong, don't belongHere under the starsThrowing light…Song: Jeffery BuckleyToday, I’ll discuss the standout politicians of the last 12 months. Each party will receive three awards, ...
Hi,A lot’s happened this year in the world of Webworm, and as 2024 comes to an end I thought I’d look back at a few of the things that popped. Maybe you missed them, or you might want to revisit some of these essay and podcast episodes over your break ...
Hi,I wanted to share this piece by film editor Dan Kircher about what cinema has been up to in 2024.Dan edited my documentary Mister Organ, as well as this year’s excellent crowd-pleasing Bookworm.Dan adores movies. He gets the language of cinema, he knows what he loves, and writes accordingly. And ...
Without delving into personal details but in order to give readers a sense of the year that was, I thought I would offer the study in contrasts that are Xmas 2023 and Xmas 2024: Xmas 2023 in Starship Children’s Hospital (after third of four surgeries). Even opening presents was an ...
Heavy disclaimer: Alpha/beta/omega dynamics is a popular trope that’s used in a wide range of stories and my thoughts on it do not apply to all cases. I’m most familiar with it through the lens of male-focused fanfic, typically m/m but sometimes also featuring m/f and that’s the situation I’m ...
Hi,Webworm has been pretty heavy this year — mainly because the world is pretty heavy. But as we sprint (or limp, you choose) through the final days of 2024, I wanted to keep Webworm a little lighter.So today I wanted to look at one of the biggest and weirdest elements ...
The Green Party has welcomed the provisional ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and reiterated its call for New Zealand to push for an end to the unlawful occupation of Palestine. ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
Uia te pō, rangahaua te pō, whakamāramatia mai he aha tō tango, he aha tō kāwhaki? Whitirere ki te ao, tirotiro kau au, kei hea taku rātā whakamarumaru i te au o te pakanga mo te mana motuhake? Au te pō, ngū te pō, ue hā! E te kahurangi māreikura, ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says people with diabetes and other painful conditions will benefit from a significant new qualification to boost training in foot care. “It sounds simple, but quality and regular foot and nail care is vital in preventing potentially serious complications from diabetes, like blisters or sores, which can take a long time to heal ...
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour is pleased to see Pharmac continue to increase availability of medicines for Kiwis with the government’s largest ever investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the government,” says Mr Seymour. “When this government assumed ...
Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora e mua - Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those who follow give life to those who lead. Māori recipients in the New Year 2025 Honours list show comprehensive dedication to improving communities across the motu that ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is wishing all New Zealanders a great holiday season as Kiwis prepare for gatherings with friends and families to see in the New Year. It is a great time of year to remind everyone to stay fire safe over the summer. “I know ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Blazevich, Professor of Biomechanics, Edith Cowan University We’re nearing the halfway point of this year’s Australian Open and players like the United States’ Reilly Opelka (ranked 170th in the world ) and France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (ranked 30th) captured plenty of ...
Asia Pacific Report Four researchers and authors from the Asia-Pacific region have provided diverse perspectives on the media in a new global book on intercultural communication. The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Communication published this week offers a global, interdisciplinary, and contextual approach to understanding the complexities of intercultural communication in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin T. Jones, Senior Lecturer in History, CQUniversity Australia In his farewell address, outgoing US President Joe Biden warned “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy”. The comment suggests ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hrvoje Tkalčić, Professor, Head of Geophysics, Director of Warramunga Array, Australian National University A map showing the ‘Martian dichotomy’: the southern highlands are in yellows and oranges, the northern lowlands in blues and greens.NASA / JPL / USGS Mars is home ...
A new poem by Niamh Hollis-Locke.Field-notes: Midsummer, 9pm, walking barefoot in the reserve after a storm, the sky still light, the city strung out across backs of the hills Dunes of last week’s cut grass washed downslope against the bracken, drifts of pale wet stems rotting into one ...
The poll, conducted between 9-13 January, shows National down 4.6 points to 29.6%, while Labour have risen 4.0 points from last month, overtaking them with30.9%. ...
As the world farewells visionary director David Lynch, we return to this 2017 piece by Angela Cuming about escaping into the haunting world of Twin Peaks. I was only 10 years old when Twin Peaks – and the real world – found me.Once a week, in the dark, I ...
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Very sorry to hear it’s John Campbell’s last day at RNZ.
He did a good job.
Sure hope he can bring something good to TVNZ news reporting.
However I’ll be sticking to RNZ.
He’s turned me to radio and there’s no going back I think.
Love to listen to Checkpoint as I finish up other stuff online. I will miss his interviews and gentle humor.
The online show has been a revelation. Perfect low brow broadcasting cost and backed up by quality reporting and gutsy investigative work.
RNZ is now the channel for national supporters not Labour Coalition supporters as it boasts all about National MP’s and not about the current Government.
Good that John Campbell has left the national ‘pasty pit’ RNZ now so he can concentrate on the things that matter to ordinary kiwis.
Lisa Owen to replace him – seriously!
I remember the Herald Insider saying we didn’t really need an investigative journalist; I was so excited to know someone with real journalistic integrity was coming to NZ. I’m no longer sure about that having watched her in action on The Nation. I can only hope she wants to provide a more unbiased respected view of what New Zealanders want to hear about re both sides of the political sphere. Anything less she can stay at home!
Another day, and still we live under hard right liberal economics.
I thought NZ1st wanted it gone, oh wait they do.
I thought the Greens wanted it gone, well the members do.
So who is keeping this fubar economic ideology well in place…
What did you do last year to get rid of hard-right liberal economics?
Oh, that’s right, you did nothing. You chose to make yourself utterly irrelevant. Oops, that’s not quite true, it’s worse than that. Of all the options available to you, you chose the second-friendliest option for returning the Nats to a fourth term.
https://thestandard.org.nz/is-nz-doomed-to-lying-politics-now/#comment-1389259
You got nothing, so it’s a personal attack.
That said, I’d say I’ve been proven right. An independent Māori voice would be better for Māori rather than this B.S. coming from labour.
Edit:
What is it with the devotees of liberalism on this site who just can’t handle economic discussions?
You asked “who is keeping this fubar economic ideology well in place”.
Those that won’t even take the simplest of actions to change the government have a fair bit of responsibility for keeping the fubar economic ideology in place.
Politics is not voting.
Democracy is not voting.
Elected representative democracy is only one form of democracy. And if the US republic is anything to go by, one that can be simply corrupted by money.
and as for economics, it is not just liberalism if your left wing.
Here somthing to think about, your voting did absolutely nothing – the economic conditions are exactly the same, people are still killing themselves in droves, people are still living in cars, and winz are still stuffing over disabled and the poor.
But hey I’m wrong, I’m the bad guy for point it out right!!?! – as worse I didn’t do what you think is the right thing to do, because you can’t think of any other way to do politics.
100% Andre
Good luck John. I’ve forgiven that dreadful black out studio scene I stumbled upon by accident when John Campbell interviewed Helen Clark re the corn saga. Was she invited to visit the tv studio knowing she would probably wear black or a dark colour outfit? The marketing of the interview was typical National attack.
I was appalled then and I am appalled now. This stunt was never exercised on John Key (pulling pony tails of powerless workers) or Bill English when there were so many times when they were seriously at odds with the working people of NZ with the Nationalk/English/Key belief in low wages for workers, to maximise profit for the already well-off.
I have always hoped John was never part of that setup. He is too nice; just like Jacinda Ardern.
John Oliver did a better job of Key’s creepiness than our own media. That tells me so much about the media bias in favour of National/Act/greed than anything else.
“This stunt was never exercised on John Key ”
Yes it was
Campbell tried to hammer Key over the GCSB
With his 10 odd pages of “notes” spread in front of him, Campbell went in for the kill
And then Key just made him look like a fool
Was funny to watch
Key’s gone. Campbell is still here. Suck that one up.
So why do many commentators here keep bringing him up if has gone.
I don’t know if you have. But hope you call out those who do like you did here.
Indeed Key was all over Campbell…even the most rabid anti Key would have to grunt however difficult to.
Pfft – Key was a pathetic disgrace who couldn’t answer a straight question.
Totally agree with you Stuart;
John Key was a slime ball and a rapid liar.
And the veracity of what Key said was subsequently shown to be a pile of kaka.
I noticed that Campbell started out saying they had asked Key to appear ” a number of times” but he had declined……..
I would say Key had a couple of days intensive media coaching to prepare for this one… and his fanboys think being half prepared and not talking in his typical word salad was a triumph.
You’ve never met him in person then. He can do this pretty easy. As can English. In fact, English is better.
infused = confused.
A great victory won on a collection of lies.
Yeap that about sums up NZ politics.
Key was a good talker. Pity he had no other skills, apart from stealing from New Zealanders, by playing with our dollar.
“Future of the international left: Our new international movement will fight rising fascism and globalists.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/ng-interactive/2018/sep/13/our-new-international-movement-will-fight-rising-fascism-and-globalists
“Yanis Varoufakis is the former Greek finance minister and co-founder of DiEM25 whose New Deal for Europe will be put to European voters in the May 2019 European Parliament elections.” He’s calling for a progressive international political movement.
Response from Bernie Sanders: “Yanis Varoufakis is exactly right. At a time of massive global wealth and income inequality, oligarchy, rising authoritarianism and militarism, we need a Progressive International movement to counter these threats.” “The solution, as Varoufakis points out, is an international progressive agenda that brings working people together around a vision of shared prosperity, security and dignity for all people.” But no organising network, no way to join.. same old same old..
A Progressive International, sounds good…, guess that’s TS in NZ.
But Bernie in the USA? As part of the Democratic establishment? I don’t think he fits the Progressive profile. Here is a hard quote on Bernie from Chris Hedges:
“He (Bernie) was one of 100 Senators who stood up like AIPAC wind up dolls and approved Israel’s 51-day slaughter last summer of Palestinians in Gaza…”
A Progressive International was formed in Germany this year, “Stand Up” or “Äufstehen”. Main impulse was from the Left politician Sahra Wagenknecht. She, like Yanis, good folk. Her Die Links party isn’t like NZ’s Labour Party, it’s more like NZ’s old New Labour Party.
This Stand Up movement, actually tries to work with folk who might vote for the popularist party AfD (Alternative for Deutschland). Unfortunately the Greens in Germany have a strong tradition of working against popularism, it’s even in their Charter, due to their history from the West/East divide. This error by the German Greens (NZ Greens do positivism, not negativism), creates a strong niche for the progressive left party, Die Links. But it’s obvious to me (and Sahra), that bringing the “left” and the “right” together, is the answer for progressive change.
http://deutchnews.de/2018/08/13/germany-new-aufstehen-movement-of-sahra-wagenknecht-is-shaking-up-leftists/
My dog ate my diary so I don’t know what I am doing this weekend….
I don’t understand why the government allowed the Clare Curran saga to drag on for so long. The media are blaming Jacinda Ardern but I’m more inclined to blame the caucus.
I’ve had my head cut off by some in Labour for daring – yes daring – to challenge the mandatory closing of the gender gap policy. The notable feature was: the gap between male and female representation at all levels was naturally closing anyway. It’s true the gap will fluctuate as individuals come and go, but that is normal for any organisation. To attempt to compulsorily create the 50/50 scenario can only lead to problems.
The most recent events have served to convince me I was right from the start.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/1-news-political-reporter-katie-bradford-says-recent-scandals-not-good-look-government
Edit: For anyone who doesn’t know how it works in Labour… it is the caucus who decide who will be in the Cabinet. The Prime Minister allocates the portfolios.
The current problems are simply a sign of piss poor political management. None of the issues in themselves are that bad, but on a daily basis those issues are being mis managed.
That is why Jacinda is getting blamed. It is her job to manage this government and in the past month she has been seriously lacking.
I think the alleged assault and the dude moving his family all the way back from NY for a job Labour gave him that doesn’t exist might count as “that bad”.
But agree the rest is a bit perceptiony
Thank you anne for that bit of common sense amidst the rabble raising
Sounds like this bunker business is a complete load of bollocks according to the local councils mentioned in the article.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/106980695/mystery-surrounds-secret-kiwi-survival-bunker-claims
That’s not to say that there’s quite a few awfully solid wind cellars around the Queenstown area. Generally belonging to people who may have reason to be paranoid.
Sounds like my type bunker, getting pissed on last yrs vintage while the outside goes to shit. 🍷
Iran make the best bunkers, and the exchange rate is favourable at the moment. Though not sure about the shipping costs on that concrete, said to be the world’s hardest.
I hope they not using the same French geezer that built Saddam’s and the Kuwaiti bunkers before the Gulf war of 91 because those GBU’s sure made a mess to those bunkers especially the ones I’ve seen in those two countries.
The German ones from WW1 and WW2 provide far better value for money as some are being used today either by the various government agencies or by the private sector as they are too well builted and awfully expensive to demolish.
For example, La Cupola the Static V2 Base in Northern France the RAF Bomber Command only managed to move the ground foundations of that wee monster of a bunker and that’s after they had dropped the Tallboy’s and GrandSlam bombs on the place. A wonderful piece of engineering I may add, but it came at a huge cost to the force labourers that built it. Worth a visit if you are in that part of the country.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12125424
Meridian axing prompt payment discounts and reducing prices accordingly. About time, but credit where it’s due for being the first to move.
Australian Royal Commision on banking and Insurance Industry had some startling …yes again… revelations about how one company persued a claimant who won their case through the Ombudsman
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-13/insurer-tal-dirt-digging-campaign-to-deny-mental-illness-claim/10244216
We definitely need this sort of thing for ACC especially . They are a law unto themselves
The CEO for TAL has been in the job for only 9mths and His Justice wasn’t all that happy at her replies from his assisting consul.
Sad. Miss him on tv, he was great during the debates, quakes and while he did some fluff he talked about poverty, the gcsb bill more than any other kiwi journalist.
The project is garbage non news.
The fact he was hated by labour and national supporters and had firey exchanges with both is good… journalists shouldn’t be friends with any party.
‘ journalists shouldn’t be friends with any party.’ Agree totally.
John Campbell,
John ; -now stick it to them big time on NZTV one; – Good luck.