Sadly, too many people will skip or skim over that Adam.
Reporting on Venezuela, as Abby Martin points out, is coming from the same play-book as that used in the Ukraine and Syria. It’s all fucking fucked and I can’t really see a solution. People ‘don’t want to know’ and immediately go on a kind of rabid offensive against any common sense or any pointing to ‘small t’ truths.
Things are only going to change if or when a critical mass of people hesitate long enough to realise that those who push these “official enemy” lines are the ones who are most assuredly not on our side; that the ones they push these lines against often have interests far more in tune with our own than they do.
Referring to the original use of the screenshot, the Blackadder punchline is something like:
“My husband sits on a spike, and I sit on my husband… because two spikes would be indulgent”.
Anyone else wondering when the Lib Dems will rise up like comic book heroes to “save” Britain from a DUP/Tory deal?
And wondering how many of those liberal lackeys in UK Labour will jump ship and join with them to give the whole shit sandwich a dusting of vomit inducing centrist pragmatism?
The Lib Dems only said they would do no deals…I’m fairly sure they didn’t say they wouldn’t back either party. Two entirely different kettles of fish and deals aren’t necessary under the current UK Parliamentary system.
Yes, the LIb Dems would be dicing with oblivion if they backed the Tories in any way whatsoever after their coalition of the recent past.
But the liberal play book…hold up the fear (DUP + NI hitting the fan) and then the “grown up” solution of heroically disaffected Labour MPs + Lib Dems ride in at the last minute; the lesser evil defeating the fearful one.
What’s the bet when all has been said and done, we will learn that since the advent of this neo-liberal age… the loosening of building regulations, cost cutting measures, poorer quality materials and a lack of fire alarms and sprinklers were the basic cause of this horrific inferno in London:
So, the building was built in 1974. but there’s also this in the article you linked to.
Grenfell Tower underwent a two-year £10m refurbishment as part of a wider transformation of the estate, that was completed last year.
Work included new exterior cladding and a communal heating system.
The 24-storey tower, containing 120 flats, is managed by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) on behalf of the council.
The local Grenfell Action Group had claimed, before and during the refurbishment, the block constituted a fire risk and residents had warned that access to the site for emergency vehicles was “severely restricted”.
The BBC has been unable to contact the property’s management company in the hours since the fire.
The local resident group had a far greater understanding of the risks than the managers/authorities or anyone supposedly in charge. Just one of the damning statements they made. So tragic.
ACM cladding. That stuff is cheap nasty shit. Council fuckwits saving a buck.
Oh ACM is basically two thin layers of ali with polyethylene core. well know for fires. Easy and cheap to use. Looks great too.
by using it as overcladding it sounds like they formed a chimney for the fire to spead up the outside of the building within the cladding, while the fire was feeding on the cladding itself.
I think there is good and bad ACM cladding. The good stuff has a core that is at least a 70% incombustible makimg it hard to burn and the bad stuff like you say.
Could have written this myself; albeit from the pov of a kiwi who has moved to Aus:
I always knew New Zealand was not as economically robust as Australia, and I did expect to experience a slight change in my general financial state of affairs. However, I wasn’t prepared for the poverty and ever-growing inequality that I see around me – in my own backyard and, no doubt, throughout the whole country.
A lot of people do it tough here. Wages are far lower than in Australia – fact – and the cost of living is higher, in my experience. The job market seems tougher and the “assistance” from the Government less effective and harder to obtain for people in genuine need (again, my perception – I’m sure there will be plenty of opposing commenters on this one – judge away!).
The most difficult and bitter pill to swallow for me is the dreadful housing situation and the fact that thousands of New Zealanders do not have a roof over their heads and a place to call home.
Get that … lower wages AND a higher cost of living. That lines up directly with my experience; every trip we make back home is a bit of a shocker in the wallet dept.
It’s not all a whinge .. far from it. The writer also sees some very profound positives that makes it worthwhile:
Before moving here, I idealised New Zealand as an almost-perfect country and thought I knew exactly what it would be like to live here. Whilst this picture-perfect mirage was shattered and my ignorance revealed a beautiful but flawed reality, I would not take back my choice to move here for the world.
I love this country and I am extremely proud to now be a citizen of New Zealand. At the same time, I also acknowledge that it is not perfect and we have a long way to go in some areas to address our social and economic issues.
We Kiwis need to roll our sleeves up – all of us. We have work to do!
The Australian economy isn’t looking too good at the moment though, I reckon the Aussies are about to go through a massive change similar to what we went through in the 1980’s.
Living far beyond their means the Aussies, those halcyon days of the Chinese buying everything Australia could dig out of the ground has finished and they ain’t coming back.
Yes, it’s a trap for governments and individuals. The golden rule is to live within your means and they were. Like an individual, they needed a ‘get out with your shirt if the wheels fall off.” plan. It’s tricky to get that right, to seamlessly scale down. Most of us find preparing for crap times in the future tough. ‘Crack another bottle.’
Dracoland is a great idea, we’ve tried lots of variations, when it’s overlaid with human nature it fails.
The way we’re doing things now is not right either, capitalism is not fabulous Draco, far from it. Looking around the globe, thumbing through the history books, so far it looks like the best of a bad bunch.
We just need to adjust it so that the honey is more widespread. That doesn’t mean chucking it out, it means sculpting it to suit us all.
Instinct does not apply to a species that can make intelligent choices.
The way we’re doing things now is not right either, capitalism is not fabulous Draco, far from it. Looking around the globe, thumbing through the history books, so far it looks like the best of a bad bunch.
You’re obviously not actually reading them. Capitalism, throughout the last 5000 years of recorded history, has destroyed every single society that it arose in and it’s doing the same again because of the greed and hubris of the capitalists – the greed and hubris you display on a daily basis.
We are all tuned into our unique frequency of W11 FM. What’s in it for me? We are all subjected to the pull of greed, it’s just the scale that varies.
I’m sure you can quote passages that support your views all day long Draco, it doesn’t make them the universal truth. If I was so inclined I could provide counter claims and we could bounce other peoples’ opinions between us ad infinitum.
Where and when do you think your model for our society has worked best? Capitalism eventually fails, yes all things have a life span. But jeeez things are crook in Venezuela. I’d suggest we’re seeing human instinct at play.
My greed? Being a capitalist doesn’t make me any more or less greedy than you. Outcomes geared to inputs does not necessarily lead to greed. I haven’t got your money Draco, you’ll need to organise your own, you’ll die waiting for our society to bankroll your ‘nice to haves’.
I reckon that a person living willingly in a capitalist society, behaving as a capitalist is greedier by definition that someone living in certain non-capitalist societies, particularly tribal societies that value sharing highly and actively discourage greedy behaviour.
Yes, I see your point but I wonder if in a tribal setting the outcome sought is more one of survival. Warm clothes, a roof and a full belly. Where as in our society we’re concerned about replacing cambelts and getting to a family Xmas gathering in Wellington.
I suspect tribal communities over the eons have enjoyed far more opportunities for leisure and the pursuit of entertainment than we enjoy now, meaning they could have coveted stuff, but didn’t, as their society was mature and had worked out that greed and acquisition equals eventual destruction. We’ve not cottoned on to that yet, but we will, ’cause, eventual destruction. Some can see it already, but their voices are being drowned out by those with a vested interest and those who have become addicted.
Moderated and regulated ‘ capitalism’ is not an evil , however , neo liberalism / globalism is. And that’s where so much of this division happens.
I prefer moderate nationalism – the bane of both the neo liberal and the extreme left – such as Draco.
And to understand how both camps have been royally played like fools , – perhaps we should be directing our attention towards those who really are the culprits.
This , on an annual meeting of the Bilderbergers in Virginia , USA , for example. Something for everyone here , – both the leftist and the capitalist to take home. Watch and learn.
Bilderberg Elites Panic As Trump Dismantles Climate Change Hoax …
Video for climate change bilderberg you tube▶ 7:48
There are more ways for our nation to plug into vibrant inflation in the housing sector than applying taxes. The word ‘tax’ induces those that could vote left to offer a tiny reflex gasp.
If our government is going to help out those that had no insurance on their place, doesn’t it make sense for them to hold the book on the lot? Another 2 bob in the sock.
Put the house on a massive flip flop by Bling and his zero government cronies on royalties for water exporters.
They are getting a hiding in the polls on this and this government is a poll driven government; always was, and always will be.
I do hope a reporter asks Bling why the massive turn-around in their belief that ‘no-one owns water’. Not holding my breath, in fact Jenna Lynch will probably gush over the government’s rethink, calling it savvy politics.
Muttonhead,
Jenna Lynch, blah,blah,blah, Jenna Lynch blah,blah, blah. This article was not even written by her. You have an uneasy fascination about her, as I said yesterday stop your bullying and grow the fuck up.
People go to university for years to study this stuff so at the risk of being a dummy.
Does the problem shape up like this: We spend our money, it flits offshore and becomes an asset elsewhere.
Do we turn neoliberalism around by making our spend do more for our nation? Is that the issue? Is that why our nation is supposedly travelling really well and we’re all eating dogfood?
It’s really the banks. Inflating the capital value of everything makes us all broke by generations. Farmers are debt slaves to the banks. Fishermen were wiped out by the capitalization of their asset as quota, and even the companies who acquired the asset struggle to pay for it. Ordinary city folk are looking at 30 years of two incomes to pay off a house, when the halflife of a good job is about 18 months. And all the margins on that – the profits – flow overseas – they are not reinvested here except at extractive interest rates.
The cure is Candide’s – il faut cultiver notre jardin. No cut for the neoliberals in that – but good health, local employment, environmental sustainability.
Certainly – restrict the market access of foreign banks & make local ones socially responsible. But the amount of capital rorted out of NZ will take generations to rebuild or replace if more strenuous measures are not taken.
Fascinating story in the Guardian, a study of the distribution of tax evasion according to wealth (something that is inherently difficult to study, but the authors have put some real effort in).
The more wealthy you are, the more you evade tax. While most reports on inequality only look at tax data. So inequality is considerably worse than generally reported, when tax evasion is included in the calculation.
Are we see nation states begin looking at the wealthiest globally and asking why they don’t live where they earn? First they came for the migrants the the rustication for going after the richest?
Westminster voting intention:CON: 44% (+3)LAB: 28% (-1)LDEM: 14% (-1)BREX: 6% (-)via @OpiniumResearch, surveyed this weekChgs. w/ 08 Nov— Britain Elects (@britainelects) 16 November 2019 This, of course, doesn't look good. Labour have been chucking big, headline grabbing policies left, right and centre ... Well, maybe not right. Left, left ...
Some readers may remember that I mentioned last year that I was applying for NZ citizenship. I filled out the paperwork and had my original citizenship interview in February. Everything went well until they discovered that, because I had spent five months in the US in 2017, I had not ...
by Deirdre O’Neill It is becoming quite acceptable for certain sections of the left to declare that people like me – women who are ‘gender critical’ – should not be allowed in leftist or anarchist spaces. Leaving aside the arrogance and implicit authoritarianism of this claim, its lack of critical ...
There is an article in The Conversation, written by Jeremy P. Shapiro (Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University), about what he sees as the psychologically-based underpinnings of three main matters that seem to vex people all around the planet. The article is titled “The Thinking ...
. . Blogger Martyn Bradbury has won his case against unreasonable search and surveillance against the NZ Police; and subsequent Police attempts to produce evidence in secrecy, in a closed Court. His case highlights a disturbing growing trend in Aotearoa New Zealand for State power to be used against ...
The Committee of Disobedient Women has intercepted an email from Dr Emma Eejut, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Massey University to the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Jan Thomas. Dear Jan, Thank you for your courageous move. I think 10 pages of blether** should tie any of the students game enough to try holding ...
That's the only response to the findings of the Ombudsman's investigation into LGOIMA practices at the Christchurch City Council:My investigation identified serious concerns about the Council’s leadership and culture, and its commitment to openness and transparency. In particular, Council staff raised concerns with me about various methods employed by some ...
NZ First seems to be nakedly trying to enrich itself from public office:A powerful New Zealand First figure helped establish a forestry company that then pushed for money from two key funding streams controlled by a New Zealand First Minister. An RNZ investigation has found Brian Henry, lawyer for Winston ...
Behrouz Boochani is an award winning author and journalist. He is also a refugee, who for the past six years has been detained in Australia's offshore gulag on Manus Island, and in Papua New Guinea. But last night, with the cooperation of the WORD Christchurch festival and Amnesty International, he ...
Different Strokes: If a multicultural immigration policy imposes no obligation on immigrant communities to acknowledge and ultimately embrace their host nation’s most cherished traditions and values, then how is that nation to prevent itself from being reduced to a collection of inward-looking and self-replicating ethnic and cultural enclaves?THE COALITION GOVERNMENT’S ...
Protective Zone: Reading the rules and guidelines released by Massey University, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that its governing body considers the whole concept of free speech a disruptive threat to the orderly imparting of orthodox academic knowledge.IN TRUE ORWELLIAN fashion, Massey University has announced its commitment to ...
Farmers held a hate-march on Parliament today, complete with MAGA hats, gun-nut signs, and gendered insults. While supposedly about a grab-bag of issues - including, weirdly, mental health - it was clear that the protest was about one thing, and one thing only: climate change. And specifically, forestry "destroying" rural ...
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security released their annual report today, and I've been busy reading through it. In amongst the usual review of what they've been doing all year, there's a few interesting bits. For example, a discussion on "agency retention and disposal of information", which points out that ...
Recently more than 150 post-graduate students and young scientists presented an open letter to the Green Party via The Spinoff, encouraging them to reconsider their position on genetic modification. Their target is tackling climate change issues.[1] Can any party continue to be dismissive about genetic modification (GM) contributing to ...
by Deirdre O’Neill Under Thatcher and then Blair and continuing up until our contemporary moment, the working class has seen its culture slowly and progressively destroyed. The change from an industrial society to a service society produced a marked shift in focus from the working class as the backbone of ...
Since 2013, the Australian government has detained refugees without trial in Pacific gulags, where they are abused, tortured, and driven to suicide. The policy is not just an abuse of human rights and possible crime against humanity; it has also had a corrosive effect on the states Australia uses as ...
It seems fair to say that we currently live in a problematic political moment in world history. Democracies are in decline and dictatorships are on the rise. Primordial, sectarian and post-modern divisions have re-emerged, are on the rise or have been accentuated by political evolutions of the moment such as ...
Last month, Greenpeace head Russel Norman surrendered his speaking slot at an EPA conference to student climate activist Sorcha Carr, who told the EPA exactly what she thought of them. It was a bold move, which confronted both regulators and polluters (or, as the EPA calls them, "stakeholders") with the ...
The core principle supposedly underlying New Zealand's electoral finance regime is transparency: parties can accept large donations from rich people wanting to buy policy, but only if they tell the public they've been bought. Most parties abide by this, so we know that TOP was wholly-owned by Gareth Morgan, and ...
Today is a Member's Day, probably the second-to-last one of the year, and its a big one, with the Third Reading of David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill. last Member's Day it was reported back from committee, after MPs voted narrowly to make it subject to a (rules TBA) ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzThe growth of the human population over the last 70 ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women In her excellent oral submission to the Abortion reform select committee on 31st October on behalf of Otago University’s Department of Public Health, historian and public health researcher Hera Cook stated: “We would ask that the committee not use the term ‘pregnant persons’ and ...
by Don Franks In 1957, E M Forster wrote, of his greatest work: “The India described in ‘A Passage to India’ no longer exists either politically or socially. Change had begun even at the time the book was published ( 1924) and during the following quarter of a century it ...
The Referendums Framework Bill was due back from select committee today. But there's no report on it. Instead, the bill has been bounced back to the House under Standing order 29593) because the Committee didn't bother to produce one. They probably tried. But given the membership of the committee (which ...
Two years into New Zealand’s Labour-led government, the long-delayed Zero Carbon Bill became law on 7 November. Passed essentially unanimously, the lengthy public debates and political manoeuvring faded away until the final passage was even anticlimactic: Flipping through the @nzstuff@DomPost I was starting to wonder if I’d dreamt ...
Now the Zero Carbon Bill is law, what's next? Obviously, the ETS changes currently before select committee are going to be the next battleground. But we're also going to get a good idea of where we're going, and if the progress the Zero Carbon Act promises is good enough, during ...
Grant PearceThe effects of the current Australian bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland (and also again in California) are devastating and far-reaching. To date, the fires have resulted in several lives being lost and many homes and properties destroyed. Here in New Zealand, the impacts have been only ...
A passing comment in a post the other day about the labour force participation rates of older people prompted me to pull down the fuller data and see what we could see about various participation rates over the decades since the HLFS began in 1986. As it happens, the ...
Distract And Divert: The rise of what we have come to call “Identity Politics” represents the ideological manifestation of the ruling class’s objective need to destroy class politics, and of the middle-class’s subjective need to justify their participation in the process.THE RELIEF of the ruling class can only be imagined. ...
"I saw a newspaper picture,From the political campaignA woman was kissing a child,Who was obviously in pain.She spills with compassion,As that young child'sFace in her hands she gripsCan you imagine all that greed and avariceComing down on that child's lips?" ...
Dr Matt Boyd, Prof Michael Baker, Prof Nick WilsonThe Global Health Security Index which considers pandemic threats has just been published. Unfortunately, NZ scores approximately half marks (54/100), coming in 35th in the world rankings – far behind Australia. This poor result suggests that the NZ Government needs to ...
The Zero Carbon Act is inadequate, with a weak methane target designed to give farmers a free ride. But it turns out it could have been worse: Climate Change Minister James Shaw was so desperate to get National on board, he wanted to gut that target, and leave it in ...
The Herald reprints an Australian story on a couple of tragic deaths in Bali from drinking cocktails that had methanol in them. The story argues that methanol is likely the result of home distillation. But what the young tourists were experiencing was far from a hangover. They’d consumed a toxic cocktail ...
Last month, the police announced a trial of specialist roaming armed units, which would drive round (poor, brown) areas in armoured SUVs, armed to the teeth. When they announced the trial, they told us it was about having armed police "ready to attend major incidents at any time if needed". ...
Spain went to the polls today in the second elections this year, after the Socialists (who had come to power in a confidence vote, then gone to the polls in April) rejected the offer of a coalition with the left-wing PoDemos, and instead decided to gamble n a better outcome ...
A couple of days ago I attended (and spoke at) the University of Waikato’s “LearnFest” event. There were lots of talks and sessions on very diverse aspects of teaching, mostly at tertiary level. One was by Myra Williamson from Te Piringa Faculty of Law here at Waikato, on Contract Cheating ...
There will be a transit of Mercury – the planet Mercury will pass across the face of the Sun – taking place at sunrise in New Zealand on Tuesday, 12th November. It was by observing such an event 250 years ago that James Cook and his scientist colleagues were able ...
Since becoming the world’s first openly transexual mayor and member of parliament, Georgina Beyer has been recognised as a trailblazer for trans rights. Daphna Whitmore talks with her about where she sees the current trans movement We start out talking about legislation the government put on hold that would have ...
If FFNZ really put their faith in “Top Medical Journals” they would now be amending their billboards to recognise new research results. Image from FFNZ but updated to agree with the latest research. ...
National Messiah? Chris Luxon identifies himself as an evangelical Christian. If he is genuine in this self-characterisation, then he will take every opportunity his public office provides to proselytise on behalf of his faith. He will also feel obliged to bear witness against beliefs and practices he believes to be ...
I'm going to make a Reckless Prediction™ that the Tories have 'topped out' in the 'poll of polls' / Britain Elects multipoll tracker at about 38%, and in the next week we will start to see Labour creep up on them.In fact, we might just be seeing the start of ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Lizzie Marvelly: “I may have missed this… has @afterellen gone all terf-y? Or am I reading something incorrectly? “ https://twitter.com/LizzieMarvelly/status/1191840059105742849 After Ellen is a lesbian website that is unashamedly pro-lesbian, as you’d expect. So why is Ms Marvelly so bothered about lesbians having their ...
Did you know there once was a time when it was illegal to be a gypsy (aka Romani) in Britain?That was between 1530, when the Egyptians Act was passed, and 1856, when it was repealed.Amongst other things, the act forbade the entry of 'Egyptians' into England, ordered those already there ...
Some days I sit and think, “what will I write…?” What do you say when you get to 1000 posts? Maybe you just start where you are, diverge to where this all began, then offer a collection of reader’s favourite posts, and a few of your own? (And throw in ...
Counter-Puncher: The “activists” and “radicals” (his own words) from the Indian community who took such strong exception to Shane Jones’ remarks about Immigration NZ’s treatment of arranged marriages, may end up bitterly regretting their intervention. Jones is not the sort of person who turns the other cheek to his critics.SHANE ...
In the spirit of Remember, remember the fifth of November, let's keep this in mind FOREVER.
Oh dear. Extraordinary interview on PM with Andrew Bridgen and @EvanHD just now. Bridgen was defending Jacob Rees Mogg’s Grenfell comments. Evan asked him if JRM had meant to say he would have left ...
Collision Course? In conditions of ideological white-out, the international bankers’ “Woop-Woop! Pull Up!” warning may have come too late to save global capitalism.WHAT DOES IT MEAN when international bankers are more willing to embrace radical solutions than our politicians and their electors? At both the International Monetary Fund and the ...
Pertussis (whooping cough) is a conundrum. It is a disease that was described hundreds of years ago and the bacteria that causes it (Bordetella pertussis) isolated in 1906. We have had vaccines for about 80 years but this disease is defiant in the face of human immunity. I wanted to ...
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Dr Lindsay Robertson, Dr Jerram Bateman, Professor Janet HoekMembers of the public health community hold divergent views on how access to vaping products or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products should be arranged. Some believe ENDS should be as widely available as smoked tobacco and argue for liberal ...
When the Police were trying to cover up for the National Party over Dirty Politics, they went all-in with their abuses of power. They illegally search Nicky Hager's house, violating his journalistic privilege and invading his privacy. They unlawfully acquired Hager's bank records. They did the same to left-wing blogger ...
Last month, in response to a wave of protests by Extinction Rebellion, the British government purported to ban their protests from the whole of London. It was a significant interference with the freedoms of expression and assembly, and another sign of the country's decline into tyranny. But now, a court ...
Last year, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security reported on significant problems with the intelligence warrant system. While they were unwilling to declare any warrant "irregular" (meaning unlawful) due to the recent law change, they were also not willing to give the system a clean bill of health. Now, they've ...
The National Party has come out in support of encouraging greater vaccination uptake. But it sure isn’t the way I’d do it. National’s suggested docking the benefits of those on benefit whose kids aren’t keeping up with their vaccinations. Some in National have suggested extending that to payments under Working ...
Feeding The Flames: It is simply not enough to demand an end to “corruption”, or “inequality”, or the overbearing influence of the authorities in Beijing. These are just “lowest common denominator” demands: the sort of slogans that pull people onto the streets. They are not a plan.WHERE’S THE PLAN? Across ...
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The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has called for submissions on Andrew Little's tyrannicalTerrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill. Normally I encourage participation in the democratic process. I am not doing so in this case. Instead, I encourage all of you to boycott this submissions process, and to post ...
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Aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and within it, one of the fastest sources is elite travel: billionaires flitting around the world in their private jets, spewing excessive pollution into the atmosphere just so they can avoid mixing with us dirty peasants. But in ...
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by Phil Duncan Here’s just a few of the kind of threats issued day in and day out against gender-critical women – feminists, marxists, etc – overwhelmingly by MEN (albeit men identifying as women). “Kill all Terfs”. “Shoot a Terf today”. “All terfs deserve to be shot in the head”. ...
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Tom MooreTraditionally a food source and cutting tool, freshwater mussels/kākahi are now widely valued as water filters that help clean our waterbodies and maintain ecosystem health throughout Aotearoa. The improvement they provide in water quality can make it easier for other animals to live in streams and rivers, as ...
And to think he gave all the potential goodwill away with that moronic, cult-like statement (repeated ad nauseam by many National hardliners) that Key is quite simply “the greatest PM we ever had”…Installation complete: this was nothing ...
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Murray CoxDo I have to finish my favourite genome? That’s an often-asked question. Geneticists generally strive to produce high-quality genomes that sequence every last gene, making full use of the state-of-the-art technologies coming on stream. Sequencing DNA means determining the order of the four chemical building blocks – called ...
Transformative Politics: The idea is to turn each recipient into an unwitting accomplice in their own transformation. From interested observer to hyped-up activist, sharing our messages promiscuously with ‘friends’. You’ll be part of an ever-expanding circulatory system, Jennifer, for the ideas that will win us the election.”JENNIFER SKITTERED her chair ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First backs the public to decide on the End of Life Choice Bill via a referendum at the 2020 General Election. The Bill, with New Zealand First’s referendum provision incorporated, passed its final reading in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Justice New Zealand First is proud that a key Coalition Agreement commitment which will provide for a more transparent and effective criminal justice system has been realised. Legislation to establish the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body focused on identifying and responding to possible miscarriages of ...
"Today we have made a choice that will leave a legacy... I hope that means that future generations will see that we, in New Zealand, were on the right side of history." - Jacinda Ardern, Third Reading of the Zero Carbon Bill ...
Darroch Ball, New Zealand First List MP A Member’s bill has been proposed that would provide income tax exemptions for all New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel while on operational deployment overseas. The Income Tax (Exemption for Salary or Wages of NZDF Members on Active Deployment) Amendment Bill proposed by New Zealand First ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have brought common sense to the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill, which passed its final reading in Parliament today. Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters says months of hard work went into negotiating a balanced ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First has listened to calls to recognise paramedics as registered health professionals under the Health Practitioners’ Competence Assurance Act (the Act).Today, the Coalition Government announced plans for paramedics to be registered as health practitioners under the Act, and the establishment of a ...
We began the week by commemorating the New Zealand Wars and celebrating a major increase in the number of teachers. Then, we were busy supporting offenders into work and getting our rail back on track after years of underinvestment. And that's just the start! ...
In October I was sworn in as the Mayor of Lower Hutt.It’s the privilege of my life to serve Hutt people as their Mayor. There is something really special to be able to serve the community where I was raised, and where I live. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters met with Korea Racing Authority Chairperson Nak Soon Kim in Seoul today to discuss closer cooperation between the New Zealand and Korean horse racing industries. As part of the visit to the Seoul Racecourse, Mr Peters witnessed ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $10 million to establish Otago as the centre of New Zealand’s creative digital industry over the next ten years, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “The initiative will bring us closer to the vision of ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)’s skills and employment programme will help young Otago people into long-term forestry careers, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. Te Ara Mahi will invest $63,000 in the 2020 school year to support eight 17 and 18 ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will support local plans to revitalise and stimulate economic development opportunities in Otago, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The four Regional Economic Development Ministers have approved an in-principle investment of $19.9 million towards the region’s ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is pleased to have received the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) report on the Coalition Government’s Mycoplasma bovis eradication efforts, which shows significant progress in the fight against the disease. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, says the report’s findings ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Hon David Parker, Minister for Trade and Export Growth The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing to support economic growth opportunities for Otago’s engineering and manufacturing sectors, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Trade and Export Minister David Parker announced today. Almost $20 million ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, discussed in Seoul today opportunities to work more closely in the Pacific and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Mr Peters and Minister Kang confirmed New Zealand and the ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta, Minister for Māori Development The three marae in the historic Parihaka Pa complex in Taranaki have been upgraded to high speed broadband with the support of the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Connecting the ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence Minister of Defence Ron Mark will today launch the Advancing Pacific Partnerships 2019 Defence Assessment during a speech at Te Papa. The Assessment outlines how Defence will partner with our Pacific Island neighbours and invest in Pacific regional security architecture. The Plan aligns with the Coalition ...
A new Provincial Growth Fund investment could create about 80 new jobs in Gisborne over the next two years, turning a local small business into a “beacon of employment” in the process. Regional Economic Development Parliamentary Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau said the PGF’s Te Ara Mahi funding stream would provide $1.6m ...
The Government has delivered on its promise to the over one million New Zealanders who now rent to make it fairer and more secure, Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing) Kris Faafoi has announced today. Both renters and landlords will benefit from the suite of practical changes to the Residential ...
The Government is asking the food industry to step up work to tackle obesity including reducing sugar, fat and salt in their products, better information for consumers, and tighter restrictions on advertising to children. Health Minister David Clark and Food Safety Minister Damien O’Connor have responded to a ...
ew, modern emergency department and outpatient facilities at Queenstown’s Lakes District Hospital mean better emergency care for the growing tourist mecca’s visitors and locals, says Health Minister David Clark. Today Dr Clark officially opened the hospital’s redeveloped Emergency Department and Outpatient facilities. The new facilities include: • An extended Emergency Department ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter says today’s release of sexual and reproductive health data reinforces the significance of the Government’s commitment to providing free or very low-cost contraception. The Ministry of Health today published statistics from the Ministry of Health’s 2014/15 Health Survey. “It is important people can make ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced that at the request of the Samoan Government, New Zealand will be providing further support to Samoa as it faces a worsening measles outbreak. “In response to a request from the people of Samoa, New Zealand is providing 3000 measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) ...
“The new Disability Action Plan 2019–2023 moves us towards the inclusive and accessible New Zealand that this government has committed to,” Minister for Disability Issues Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “The Action Plan was designed by disabled people, their family and supporters, the disability sector and government agencies. It will ensure ...
Third Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting 14 November 2019 Joint Statement 1. Defence Ministers Ron Mark and Dr Ng Eng Hen today conducted their third annual Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore. 2. Building on the Enhanced Partnership signed between both countries in May this year, this annual meeting ...
A Bill to improve the court system’s response to sexual violence has passed its first reading in Parliament today. Justice Minister Andrew Little says the Sexual Violence Legislation Bill will reduce the trauma sexual violence complainants experience in court, while maintaining defendants’ fundamental rights and making sure the trial process ...
Streamlined payment practices are a step closer for Kiwi businesses with the formal launch of New Zealand’s e-Invoicing framework. Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says the government has now established the structure to enable automated and direct data exchange between the accounting systems of buyers and sellers. “The move to ...
Another 51 quarantine officers and four new biosecurity detector dog teams will help protect New Zealand from invasive pests and diseases this summer, says Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor. “The Government is delivering on its commitment to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity system and support our valuable primary sector “New Zealand’s flora, fauna ...
A new report has found New Zealand’s space sector contributed $1.69 billion to the economy in the last financial year and employs 12,000 people, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. The report by Deloitte was commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and shows New Zealand ...
Judge Coral Shaw has been appointed as the new Chair of the Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today. "Judge Shaw, who is currently one of the inquiry commissioners, is extremely well qualified for the ...
The Government has confirmed its third major mental health facility upgrade since the Budget, this time at Palmerston North Hospital. The Prime Minister and Health Minister today visited MidCentral DHB to announce that $30 million has been allocated to upgrade its acute mental health facility. It follows earlier announcements in ...
The roll out of the National Bowel Screening Programme has reached the halfway mark, with 10 out of 20 District Health Boards now part of the programme. MidCentral DHB, which covers Palmerston North, Manawatu and surrounding districts, this week became the latest to DHB to offer free bowel screening to ...
The Government welcomes PHARMAC’s decision to fund a vaccine to protect young people from meningococcal disease from 1 December this year. “Meningococcal disease is a serious threat which people at higher risk should be protected from,” says Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter. “The combined pharmaceutical budget was increased by ...
Groups involved with innovative fisheries research projects are encouraged to apply for government support in the latest funding round from the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures programme. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash says the SFF Futures funding is designed to be flexible enough to support small or large projects across a ...
The Government has fixed an issue affecting how Immigration New Zealand has processed visa applications for culturally arranged marriages, which will now see a consistent process applied which ensures people with legitimate arranged marriages can visit New Zealand while also preventing any rorting of the system. Earlier this year Immigration ...
The Royal Commission into the Attacks on Christchurch Mosques will report back on 30 April 2020 to give it more time to hear submissions and consider information, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Royal Commission was originally scheduled to report back to Government by 10 December 2019. “There has ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Washington DC today to attend a ministerial meeting focused on defeating ISIS, and to continue pursuing New Zealand’s trade opportunities. Mr Peters will participate in a meeting of Foreign and Defence Ministers from key countries contributing to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. ...
The recently crowned Bird of the Year, the hoiho/yellow eyed penguin, is getting a much needed helping hand alongside more than 168 other community conservation projects announced Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage today. 168 community conservation projects throughout New Zealand are benefiting from $8 million in government grants, including $500,000 ...
Controls on assault rifles and semi-automatic firearms are to be broadened to include some types of pistols, under changes to a bill currently making its way through Parliament. Police Minister Stuart Nash has tabled a Supplementary Order Paper to the Arms Legislation Bill, which is currently before a Select Committee ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark will travel to Singapore today to conduct a counterpart visit and to co-chair the third annual Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting with his counterpart, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen. “Singapore is one of our most important defence partners in the region, and our ...
Nelson’s Salisbury School is to be rebuilt, creating a modern and suitable learning environment for students at the residential special school, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The school for girls aged 8-15, in Richmond, was earmarked for closure by National until the process ...
The panel undertaking a comprehensive review of the Resource Management Act has identified the main issues to be addressed and options for reform and is calling for feedback to inform its final report. In July the Government announced the comprehensive review of the resource management system, including the RMA - ...
An important safety valve has been added to New Zealand’s criminal justice system with the third reading of the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill today. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) will investigate claimed miscarriages of justice. “We’ve seen how our justice system can very occasionally get things spectacularly wrong, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters welcomes the tabling of the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) 2019 Annual Report in Parliament today. He says the 2019 Annual Report marks the point when New Zealand’s racing industry’s decline was arrested and a turnaround started. RITA’s 2019 Annual Report recorded an industry net profit ...
The New Zealand Government is today sending 21 firefighters to help fight the ongoing catastrophic Australian bushfires. “The fires in Australia are in some of the toughest, most challenging conditions ever,” says Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin. “As of yesterday morning, there were 100 active bushfire-related incidents across Queensland and ...
More frontline support for schools through a new education agency, as part of a redesigned Ministry of Education More support for principals and school boards including through a new centre of leadership and local leadership advisor roles New independent disputes panels for parents and students Management of school property ...
The Government’s reform of the Tomorrow’s Schools system is a watershed moment in education and an opportunity to create meaningful change for ākonga Māori and their whānau, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis said today. “Last year through Kōrero Mātauranga | Education Conversation, Māori teachers, parents, ākonga, whānau, hapū and iwi ...
Infrastructure Minister is welcoming the first of many updated project pipelines from the newly established New Zealand Infrastructure Commission today. The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga, has released an expanded pipeline of major capital projects – another crucial step towards delivering better infrastructure outcomes. “The first iteration of the ...
Tougher gun laws designed to improve public safety through firearms prohibition orders are proposed in a new document released for public input. Police Minister Stuart Nash says firearms prohibition orders (FPOs) would give new powers to Police to ensure high-risk individuals come nowhere near firearms. “We have already prohibited the ...
Andy Coupe has been confirmed as TVNZ’s new Board Chair. “Mr Coupe has strong commercial and capital markets experience and TVNZ has benefited from his technical knowledge of business and finance, as well as his extensive governance experience,” the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Kris Faafoi said. Andy ...
Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter today officially opened a separated pathway, following the completion of the Kaiwharawhara Stream bridge, which will improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians along Hutt Road. The $6.8m Hutt Road project provides a separated path for cycling and pedestrians, the replacement of informal parking ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced the appointment of career diplomat Si’alei van Toor as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Russia. “I’m pleased to appoint Ms van Toor to this position. She brings a wealth of experience to the role having previously served as Senior Trade Adviser to the ...
The Treasury’s 2019 Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) will be released on Wednesday December 11, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Coalition Government will publish the 2020 Budget Policy Statement at the same time, outlining the priorities for Budget 2020. Further details on arrangements for the release will ...
A new initiative to better support small businesses through hands-on mentoring and advice has been launched by the Minister for Small Business. The first event in the Kiwi Business Boost series of regional workshops and online tools has been launched in Wairoa by Stuart Nash. “The Business Boost initiative combines ...
The latest Quarterly Connectivity Report shows that more and more New Zealanders are moving to Ultra-fast Broadband (UFB), with Rolleston having the highest uptake at 74 per cent, as at the end of September. “This means that nearly three quarters of Rolleston’s households and businesses have moved to ultra-fast services. ...
The passing of the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill will help ensure a safe planet for our kids and grandkids, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw said today. The landmark legislation which provides a framework to support New Zealanders to prepare for, and adapt to, the effects ...
The review of Oranga Tamariki practice around the planned uplift of a Hastings baby in May shows significant failings by the Ministry and that the planned and funded changes to shift from a child crisis service to a proper care and protection service need to be accelerated, Children’s Minister Tracey ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins has wished students the best of luck for this year’s NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship exams which start tomorrow. Around 140,000 students will have participated in 119 NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship exams by the end of the exam period on 3 December. “I want to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Chinese embassy has lashed out at two Liberal members of parliament, Andrew Hastie and James Paterson, saying they would need to “repent and redress their mistakes” before they would be welcome in China. The ...
Tim Costley National’s new candidate in Otaki Local party members have selected Tim Costley as National’s candidate in Ōtaki for the 2020 General Election. Mr Costley is replacing retiring MP Nathan Guy, who is standing down after five terms. ...
“Compelling research out of the UK reaffirms vaping’s life-saving role. Here’s hoping our Government’s pending legislation reflects vaping’s increasingly documented health benefits for smokers,” say Ben Pryor, co-owner of the largest Kiwi-owned ...
Government has announced a raft of changes to the Residential Tenancies Act. The Minister has said he does not want to be seen to unduly punishing landlords. These changes do more than punish landlords however. They will punish anyone living next ...
Democracy under Fire on Firearms Law Reform - COLFO SUNDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2019 The Government supposedly wants to “hear from all New Zealanders” about firearms law reform – unless you happen to be a licenced firearms owner. ...
From Monday 18 November New Zealand women are working for free until the end of the year because of the gender pay imbalance between men and women. ...
Award-winning investigative team Stuff Circuit is releasing its most hard-hitting documentary yet, exposing a secret the NZ Defence Force doesn’t want Kiwis to know. ...
The government has announced a suite of practical changes to the Residential Tenancies Act in its bid to make renting fairer and more secure. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happening?A number of changes to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) has just been announced by associate minister of housing Kris ...
US Trumpian Inspired Rhetoric From Anti-Trans Group Not a Good Fit with Nz Society Trans-rights support groups around the country have been dismayed by recent divisive and repellent comments by Stand Up For Women (SUFW), a group calling itself feminist ...
Sam Brooks reviews the third season of The Crown, a show that can’t decide whether it wants to humanise the monarchy or tear it all down.This review contains very mild spoilers for world history, 1964-1977.Three seasons in, there’s no doubt that The Crown is the, well, crown jewel in Netflix’s ...
An easy, flavour-packed noodle recipe from Bounty – Cooking With Vegetables, the new cookbook from national food education charity the Garden to Table Trust.The fresh flavours of these noodles are less complex than many Thai dishes, as the simple spice paste uses just a few ingredients. If you’d rather not ...
Part 2: In this excerpt from the evidence of Sir Maarten Wevers in the High Court case of Winston Peters over his superannuation leak, the former head of the Prime Minister's Department explains what ministers should be told by public servants ...
In this excerpt from the evidence of Sir Maarten Wevers in the High Court case of Winston Peters over his superannuation leak, the former head of the Prime Minister's Department summarises our governing arrangements. ...
With the 2020 cannabis referendum fast approaching, New Zealanders have a unique opportunity to let the government know what they want from drug reform. It will then be up to our policy makers to decide whether drug reform will focus on changing outcomes for those struggling under historically racist policy.By ...
It breaks my heart to think of young queer and trans people seeing this sign, and thinking there are no spaces where they will ever belong, writes Hadassah Grace. The first time I ventured into a gay bar, I vowed never to go back.It was a vulnerable time in my life. ...
It breaks my heart to think of young queer and trans people seeing this sign, and thinking there are no spaces where they will ever belong, writes Hadassah Grace. The first time I ventured into a gay bar, I vowed never to go back.It was a vulnerable time in my life. ...
Hayden Donnell looks for inspiration and innovation on how to house the city’s future.Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan has enabled a building boom. More than 14,600 building consents were issued in the city in the year to September. Despite that, houses remain extremely expensive and out-of-reach for many first home buyers. ...
Simon Shepherd: David Seymour's euthanasia bill passed this week, and next week he will be putting the finishing touches on his next bill. Is he just a very hard-working politician or is this the longest one-person election campaign known to mankind? ...
Simon Shepherd: It's Transgender Awareness Week, the same week a feminist group, Speak Up For Women, has brought Megan Murphy from Canada to speak in New Zealand. Murphy is a radical feminist who believes trans women aren't women, views that have ...
As a follow-up to our post about police station office hours for the public and in the cause of balance, we bring positive news – or rather, we are passing on the positive news which the police delivered in a press statement, It’s all about the productivity gains achieved – it ...
Books editor Catherine Woulfe follows Wellington author Lawrence Patchett into his extraordinary story of heat and humanity and history repeating. The Burning River begins like the best kind of yarn. “Someone had been there. Someone strange. In the centre of his camp, a new circle of sooted rocks. A campfire, with ...
SPECIAL REPORT: By Philip Cass in BrisbaneMelanesian Media Freedom Forum – Day two –The second day of the Melanesian Media Freedom Forum began with praise for the work of young Pacific journalists by Professor David Robie and ended with a warning that threats to journalism in the ...
In this special episode of The Real Pod, brought to you by Nando’s, we chat to the champions of My Restaurant Rules NZ 2019.In the afterglow of Rustic Kitchen’s historic win on My Restaurant Rules NZ, Duncan and Alex got on the blower with Tyson and Denise. Then we forgot ...
Hannah Kronast attends a women’s empowerment panel focused on the huge disparities in training and employment within science and technology. In the far back left-hand corner of a women’s equality and empowerment event, a male stuck up his hand. “What can men do to help?” he asked.It was at a panel ...
Our recent Spinoff Art survey provided a snapshot on gender equality in the local art scene, but it wasn’t the full story. Anna Knox continues the conversation by asking some gallery owners and directors for their responses to our findings.The Spinoff’s survey of gender bias in visual arts found that ...
Based on their study of trans wellbeing Aotearoa, the research team at Counting Ourselves find six data points that highlight the strength of our trans and non-binary community.Last month the first comprehensive national survey on transgender health and wellbeing in Aotearoa was published by the academics and researchers at Counting ...
The SpinoffBy Dr Jaimie Veale, Jack Byrne and Ahi Wi-Hongi
Ten thousand years ago, roasted hares and figs were flat-layed on Levantine flax leaves. Now, we drape prosciutto over strawberries on computer desks. Josie Adams mourns the death of the platter.Three days ago I stumbled on an accidental recreation of a 1950s platter: a giant ham, a cake that was ...
India’s decision not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership promoted by China is politically significant. But its impact on trade and prosperity is more nuanced, as Bloomberg explains.It avoids some market opening on both sides (India to agriculture; others to services) that would have been economically beneficial. But ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Geoff Crisp discusses the the week in politics the government’s response to the bush fires as well as the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action. They also talk about ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The proposed acquisition of infant formula producer Bellamy’s Australia Ltd by China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited has been given approval by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Strict, legally enforceable conditions, have been set by the treasurer, which ...
The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) is condemning the All Saints Day evening raid on 31 October. With the arrest of over 60 union organisers, human rights defenders and activists in the Philippines province of Negros. The 16th of November is an international ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Assistant professor, University of Canberra What’s happening? Suddenly, at the level of central banks, Australia is regarded as an investment risk. On Wednesday Martin Flodén, the deputy governor of Sweden’s central bank, announced that because Australia and Canada were “not ...
SPECIAL REPORT: By Philip Cass in Brisbane Opening session – Day OneThe problems of operating in the Pacific and the impact of online news and the emergence of ‘citizen journalists’ were common concerns for all delegates to this week’s Melanesian Media Freedom Forum.The forum, held at Griffith ...
Standoff between protesters and the police at Yeung Uk Road, Hong Kong. Image by Studio Incendo – 20190825 Tsuen Wan March. CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81751531.The recent surge in social protests world-wide is quantitatively and qualitatively different than in previous ages. The advent of individualised mass communications technologies and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is going to start asking internet service providers to block certain offshore gambling websites. The decision follows former New South Wales premier ...
The Zero Carbon Act (ZCA) is over a week old, but it’s still being heavily debated and analysed. After all, depending on who you listen to, it’s the most significant new law of the year, of this Government, or even of some people’s lifetime. And it deals with a giant ...
Green MP and refugee Golriz Ghahraman was there last night when the former Manus Island detainee and acclaimed writer arrived in New Zealand.Last night, quietly and without fanfare a small group made up of human rights activists, literary folk, and just two journalists, came together at Auckland Airport to welcome ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra D’urso, Researcher, The Australian Centre, University of Melbourne To perform an exit is not as simple as it sounds. In fact, exiting a situation can be almost impossible for some. Exit Strategies is a new production by indie performer and theatre ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niro Kandasamy, Tutor, University of Melbourne Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Saturday comes at a critical time for the country. The government has been in turmoil since President Maithripala Sirisena sacked the prime minister last year and replaced him with former strongman ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Hansen, Chief of Staff, The Conversation If you have kids, chances are you’ve worried about their presence on social media. Who are they talking to? What are they posting? Are they being bullied? Do they spend too much time on it? ...
New Zealand Police has won a prestigious World Class Policing Award for its ‘more street than station approach’ Mobility programme, which has saved millions of hours of officers’ time. ...
SEA-Unite SkyCity workers are expected to strike this weekend after 50 called in sick with symptoms linked to smoke inhalation from the convention centre fire. ...
In a powerful rebuff to critics who question whether the prime minister is willing to use her political capital, this morning she powerfully demonstrated her commitment to New Zealand culture.For two years, my professional life has been devoted to winning respect for the lowbrow, beaten-up, off-brand artefacts that truly define ...
MPs and staffers will likely begin moving out of their Bowen House offices over the next six months, so the building can undergo earthquake strengthening work. ...
The party that sold off the BNZ, NZ Rail, Petrocorp, Postbank, the Shipping Corporation, Air New Zealand, the State Insurance Office, the Tourist Hotel Corporation and a host of other New Zealand assets is at it again – with the assistance of its coalition ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trent Penman, Associate professor, University of Melbourne As sure as night follows day, this week’s bushfires prompted inevitable debate about whether fire authorities should have carried out more hazard reduction burning, and whether opposition from conservationists prevented this. There are two key ...
A new poem by writer and performer Freya Daly Sadgrove.TURDUCKEN I blow my body around like the huge clump of brown hairthat I once saw blowing up Cuba StreetI follow its movements with interestI put a video of it on the internet my favourite bragis that a groundskeeper ...
PHARMAC has backed down on a controversial drug brand switch affecting patients with epilepsy and mental health conditions after three people died following the change. ...
Tara Ward reviews Goodnight Kiwi, a new series that features well-known New Zealanders reading bedtime stories to kids. It’s strange to think that New Zealand television wasn’t always the 24-hour, infomercial-tastic extravangza that it is today. Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, our televisions used to go dark every night at ...
FIRST Union members at Countdown have ratified a new agreement that will set their supermarket team on a path towards a living wage, and significantly raise the pay of 15,000 workers across the country. ...
13 moments that prove the music awards are so much > than all other award showsBENEE cleaned up, every performance was somewhere between an eight and a ten, there was an unfeasible quantity of award presenter awkwardness and many nights ended very late. The music awards are over 50 and ...
While the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Commission are examining whether New Zealand laws properly balance the issues of freedom of speech and hate speech (whatever that might be), taxpayers are helping to finance Chinese propaganda. Hateful propaganda, we suggest. The Screen Production Grant has handed a $243,000 subsidy to a ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Media Peter Thompson (Stuff): A new model for public media – but have the old ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (Viking Penguin $35)“Olive struggles to figure herself out, and has an urgent ...
After more than seven months of trying to end a tenancy to protect neighbours, a Rotorua property manager has finally received approval from the High Court to end the tenancy. ...
We agree with the Ombudsman Peter Boshier in his new report on councils QUOTE ; “leaders, officials lack of action to "ensure an approach is adopted that is consistent with openness and transparency" Un-quote. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1911/S00186/chief-ombudsman-new-report-wakeup-call-for-council-leaders.htm ...
Māori food systems are rich with potential, and whānau-based food producers across the country are looking to traditional ways to ensure their communities thrive in the future. Alice Neville reports from the Eat New Zealand Food Hui.In recent years there has been much talk – in food business, hospitality, tourism ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) commends the Government’s proposal to take school zoning responsibilities out of the hands of school boards and principals and instead have these taken up by a new Education Service Agency. ...
SINGAPORE, Nov 15, 2019 - (ACN Newswire) - Global BioLife Inc, the U.S. subsidiary of Singapore eDevelopment Ltd (SeD), will present its 3F Antimicrobial Fragrance as a new method to prevent and treat Tuberculosis at the ASM Biothreats Conference, ...
The National Party is calling for the Auditor General to investigate a bid for tax payer money made by a forestry company set up by a senior New Zealand First figure; and an award-winning author detained on Manus Island by Australia for six years has touched down in Auckland ...
Responding to news that the Screen Production Grant handed a $243,000 subsidy to a propaganda film produced by Chinese state-owned enterprises, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Louis Houlbrooke says: “Taxpayers have all been made complicit ...
The campaign to take more colour coded bins into the regions has been developed by The Packaging Forum which promotes recycling under the Government’s Love NZ brand and The Auckland Litter Prevention Steering Group which manages the Be a Tidy Kiwi ...
Shane Jones calls protesting farmers 'rednecks' following rowdy march on Parliament; and top council staff 'manipulated' reports to hide bad news from councillors and public. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodie Bradby, Professor of Physics, Australian National University There’s a lot of uncertainty in a research career. Most funding – and most jobs – are doled out by the project, or in chunks of a few years at a time. Recently, however, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wanning Sun, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Technology Sydney The Australian government has indicated that “diaspora communities” are crucial to Australia’s public diplomacy mission to promote the country abroad. It has also identified online and social media as essential ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bright, Senior Lecturer of Addiction, Edith Cowan University For many parents whose teenage children are completing Year 12, this time of year means mixed emotions. Parents might feel proud, exhausted and excited. And as young people start heading to schoolies and ...
Daily Review 14/06/2017 
Some readers may remember that I mentioned last year that I was applying for NZ citizenship. I filled out the paperwork and had my original citizenship interview in February. Everything went well until they discovered that, because I had spent five months in the US in 2017, I had not ...13 hours ago
by Deirdre O’Neill It is becoming quite acceptable for certain sections of the left to declare that people like me – women who are ‘gender critical’ – should not be allowed in leftist or anarchist spaces. Leaving aside the arrogance and implicit authoritarianism of this claim, its lack of critical ...14 hours ago
There is an article in The Conversation, written by Jeremy P. Shapiro (Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University), about what he sees as the psychologically-based underpinnings of three main matters that seem to vex people all around the planet. The article is titled “The Thinking ...1 day ago
. . Blogger Martyn Bradbury has won his case against unreasonable search and surveillance against the NZ Police; and subsequent Police attempts to produce evidence in secrecy, in a closed Court. His case highlights a disturbing growing trend in Aotearoa New Zealand for State power to be used against ...2 days ago
That's the only response to the findings of the Ombudsman's investigation into LGOIMA practices at the Christchurch City Council:My investigation identified serious concerns about the Council’s leadership and culture, and its commitment to openness and transparency. In particular, Council staff raised concerns with me about various methods employed by some ...2 days ago
Different Strokes: If a multicultural immigration policy imposes no obligation on immigrant communities to acknowledge and ultimately embrace their host nation’s most cherished traditions and values, then how is that nation to prevent itself from being reduced to a collection of inward-looking and self-replicating ethnic and cultural enclaves?THE COALITION GOVERNMENT’S ...3 days ago
Recently more than 150 post-graduate students and young scientists presented an open letter to the Green Party via The Spinoff, encouraging them to reconsider their position on genetic modification. Their target is tackling climate change issues.[1] Can any party continue to be dismissive about genetic modification (GM) contributing to ...4 days ago
by The Council of Disobedient Women In her excellent oral submission to the Abortion reform select committee on 31st October on behalf of Otago University’s Department of Public Health, historian and public health researcher Hera Cook stated: “We would ask that the committee not use the term ‘pregnant persons’ and ...5 days ago
If FFNZ really put their faith in “Top Medical Journals” they would now be amending their billboards to recognise new research results. Image from FFNZ but updated to agree with the latest research. ... 1 week ago
And to think he gave all the potential goodwill away with that moronic, cult-like statement (repeated ad nauseam by many National hardliners) that Key is quite simply “the greatest PM we ever had”…
Installation complete: this was nothing ... 2 weeks ago
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This is a very scary piece.
Abby Martin: World Ignores Opposition Violence at Venezuela Protests
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=19279#.WT5LgWzBrWZ.twitter
Sadly, too many people will skip or skim over that Adam.
Reporting on Venezuela, as Abby Martin points out, is coming from the same play-book as that used in the Ukraine and Syria. It’s all fucking fucked and I can’t really see a solution. People ‘don’t want to know’ and immediately go on a kind of rabid offensive against any common sense or any pointing to ‘small t’ truths.
Things are only going to change if or when a critical mass of people hesitate long enough to realise that those who push these “official enemy” lines are the ones who are most assuredly not on our side; that the ones they push these lines against often have interests far more in tune with our own than they do.
Take a deep breath. But don’t hold it.
I won’t hold my breath.
It’s the toilet paper lie gone large.
Referring to the original use of the screenshot, the Blackadder punchline is something like:
“My husband sits on a spike, and I sit on my husband… because two spikes would be indulgent”.
Yep I cracked up when I saw the use of the image.
Someone recently commented that the DUP are the political wing of the 17th century …
“I sit on Nathaniel — two spikes would be an extravagance”. 🙂
Anyone else wondering when the Lib Dems will rise up like comic book heroes to “save” Britain from a DUP/Tory deal?
And wondering how many of those liberal lackeys in UK Labour will jump ship and join with them to give the whole shit sandwich a dusting of vomit inducing centrist pragmatism?
The Lib Dems only said they would do no deals…I’m fairly sure they didn’t say they wouldn’t back either party. Two entirely different kettles of fish and deals aren’t necessary under the current UK Parliamentary system.
Yes, the LIb Dems would be dicing with oblivion if they backed the Tories in any way whatsoever after their coalition of the recent past.
But the liberal play book…hold up the fear (DUP + NI hitting the fan) and then the “grown up” solution of heroically disaffected Labour MPs + Lib Dems ride in at the last minute; the lesser evil defeating the fearful one.
Just a thought….
What’s the bet when all has been said and done, we will learn that since the advent of this neo-liberal age… the loosening of building regulations, cost cutting measures, poorer quality materials and a lack of fire alarms and sprinklers were the basic cause of this horrific inferno in London:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-40269625
So, the building was built in 1974. but there’s also this in the article you linked to.
Edit: The Guardian has more on the concerns raised in the last few years about safety , poor management, fire hazards, faulty wiring, and lack of adequate escape routes for tenants.
The local resident group had a far greater understanding of the risks than the managers/authorities or anyone supposedly in charge. Just one of the damning statements they made. So tragic.
https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/kctmo-playing-with-fire/
Wow.
Damning.
The power and permanence of blog posts.
Privatisation strikes again.
um no it is a body collective made up resident stakeholders and council.
http://www.kctmo.org.uk/main/8/about-us
That’s absolutely horrendous. No way a regular fire should be able to spread like that in any building, let alone a residential one.
Poor buggers.
ACM cladding. That stuff is cheap nasty shit. Council fuckwits saving a buck.
Oh ACM is basically two thin layers of ali with polyethylene core. well know for fires. Easy and cheap to use. Looks great too.
by using it as overcladding it sounds like they formed a chimney for the fire to spead up the outside of the building within the cladding, while the fire was feeding on the cladding itself.
I think there is good and bad ACM cladding. The good stuff has a core that is at least a 70% incombustible makimg it hard to burn and the bad stuff like you say.
How much money would we be able to tuck into our sock if every mortgage in NZ as of 2019 had to go through Kiwibank?
What direction are you suggesting here?
“Wicked child! Using Mrs implies fornication”.
Brilliant image and caption.
The 17th century quip raised a giggle too.
We certainly live in interesting times.
Edit:oops sausage fingers. This belongs up thread.
Could have written this myself; albeit from the pov of a kiwi who has moved to Aus:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/93441299/moving-to-nz-was-a-culture-shock-even-for-an-aussie
Get that … lower wages AND a higher cost of living. That lines up directly with my experience; every trip we make back home is a bit of a shocker in the wallet dept.
It’s not all a whinge .. far from it. The writer also sees some very profound positives that makes it worthwhile:
Yes Red. “I have a job” used to mean “I’m rising”. For too many “I have a job” now means “I’ve got my nostrils above the waterline.”
It’s not right, it’s not balanced. We’ll get it sorted.
What gets me is that it was all so avoidable.
Not in a capitalist system. In a capitalist system it’s inevitable.
The Australian economy isn’t looking too good at the moment though, I reckon the Aussies are about to go through a massive change similar to what we went through in the 1980’s.
Living far beyond their means the Aussies, those halcyon days of the Chinese buying everything Australia could dig out of the ground has finished and they ain’t coming back.
Yes, it’s a trap for governments and individuals. The golden rule is to live within your means and they were. Like an individual, they needed a ‘get out with your shirt if the wheels fall off.” plan. It’s tricky to get that right, to seamlessly scale down. Most of us find preparing for crap times in the future tough. ‘Crack another bottle.’
Except that they weren’t. They were digging up their means and selling it as fast as they could. Still are and so are we.
So are Venezuela, I’ll stick where I am thanks.
Dracoland is a great idea, we’ve tried lots of variations, when it’s overlaid with human nature it fails.
The way we’re doing things now is not right either, capitalism is not fabulous Draco, far from it. Looking around the globe, thumbing through the history books, so far it looks like the best of a bad bunch.
We just need to adjust it so that the honey is more widespread. That doesn’t mean chucking it out, it means sculpting it to suit us all.
Appeal to Nature
Instinct does not apply to a species that can make intelligent choices.
You’re obviously not actually reading them. Capitalism, throughout the last 5000 years of recorded history, has destroyed every single society that it arose in and it’s doing the same again because of the greed and hubris of the capitalists – the greed and hubris you display on a daily basis.
We are all tuned into our unique frequency of W11 FM. What’s in it for me? We are all subjected to the pull of greed, it’s just the scale that varies.
I’m sure you can quote passages that support your views all day long Draco, it doesn’t make them the universal truth. If I was so inclined I could provide counter claims and we could bounce other peoples’ opinions between us ad infinitum.
Where and when do you think your model for our society has worked best? Capitalism eventually fails, yes all things have a life span. But jeeez things are crook in Venezuela. I’d suggest we’re seeing human instinct at play.
My greed? Being a capitalist doesn’t make me any more or less greedy than you. Outcomes geared to inputs does not necessarily lead to greed. I haven’t got your money Draco, you’ll need to organise your own, you’ll die waiting for our society to bankroll your ‘nice to haves’.
I think I saw capitalism at it’s best when I lived in Sweden in the late 90’s.
I reckon that a person living willingly in a capitalist society, behaving as a capitalist is greedier by definition that someone living in certain non-capitalist societies, particularly tribal societies that value sharing highly and actively discourage greedy behaviour.
Yes, I see your point but I wonder if in a tribal setting the outcome sought is more one of survival. Warm clothes, a roof and a full belly. Where as in our society we’re concerned about replacing cambelts and getting to a family Xmas gathering in Wellington.
I suspect tribal communities over the eons have enjoyed far more opportunities for leisure and the pursuit of entertainment than we enjoy now, meaning they could have coveted stuff, but didn’t, as their society was mature and had worked out that greed and acquisition equals eventual destruction. We’ve not cottoned on to that yet, but we will, ’cause, eventual destruction. Some can see it already, but their voices are being drowned out by those with a vested interest and those who have become addicted.
Moderated and regulated ‘ capitalism’ is not an evil , however , neo liberalism / globalism is. And that’s where so much of this division happens.
I prefer moderate nationalism – the bane of both the neo liberal and the extreme left – such as Draco.
And to understand how both camps have been royally played like fools , – perhaps we should be directing our attention towards those who really are the culprits.
This , on an annual meeting of the Bilderbergers in Virginia , USA , for example. Something for everyone here , – both the leftist and the capitalist to take home. Watch and learn.
Bilderberg Elites Panic As Trump Dismantles Climate Change Hoax …
Video for climate change bilderberg you tube▶ 7:48
Or offer a rate that competitors can’t equal. Govts get $ at a keen %.
There are more ways for our nation to plug into vibrant inflation in the housing sector than applying taxes. The word ‘tax’ induces those that could vote left to offer a tiny reflex gasp.
If our government is going to help out those that had no insurance on their place, doesn’t it make sense for them to hold the book on the lot? Another 2 bob in the sock.
Newshub poll: 87% say charge royalties on water
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/newshub-poll-87-say-charge-royalties-on-water.html
I’m not surprised that a majority support it but I am surprised it being so high.
There is a lot to love about spiders
https://www.treehugger.com/animals/spiders-eat-800-million-tons-insects-year.html
personally always been a bit frightened and got through that to loving them – 8 eyes!!! That alone is mega.
Put the house on a massive flip flop by Bling and his zero government cronies on royalties for water exporters.
They are getting a hiding in the polls on this and this government is a poll driven government; always was, and always will be.
I do hope a reporter asks Bling why the massive turn-around in their belief that ‘no-one owns water’. Not holding my breath, in fact Jenna Lynch will probably gush over the government’s rethink, calling it savvy politics.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/newshub-poll-87-say-charge-royalties-on-water.html
Until we abandon neo-liberalism, the looting of this country’s resources will continue..
Muttonhead,
Jenna Lynch, blah,blah,blah, Jenna Lynch blah,blah, blah. This article was not even written by her. You have an uneasy fascination about her, as I said yesterday stop your bullying and grow the fuck up.
Free speech, bro. Suck it up.
Muttonhead,
This reminds me of you.
https://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2017/06/official-weak-men-prefer-socialism/
Linking to whale oil. Says it all.
Free speech Bro, suck it up.
People go to university for years to study this stuff so at the risk of being a dummy.
Does the problem shape up like this: We spend our money, it flits offshore and becomes an asset elsewhere.
Do we turn neoliberalism around by making our spend do more for our nation? Is that the issue? Is that why our nation is supposedly travelling really well and we’re all eating dogfood?
It’s really the banks. Inflating the capital value of everything makes us all broke by generations. Farmers are debt slaves to the banks. Fishermen were wiped out by the capitalization of their asset as quota, and even the companies who acquired the asset struggle to pay for it. Ordinary city folk are looking at 30 years of two incomes to pay off a house, when the halflife of a good job is about 18 months. And all the margins on that – the profits – flow overseas – they are not reinvested here except at extractive interest rates.
The cure is Candide’s – il faut cultiver notre jardin. No cut for the neoliberals in that – but good health, local employment, environmental sustainability.
If it’s the banks, is there a way Government leverage and the retail face of Kiwibank could make a difference?
Certainly – restrict the market access of foreign banks & make local ones socially responsible. But the amount of capital rorted out of NZ will take generations to rebuild or replace if more strenuous measures are not taken.
Fascinating story in the Guardian, a study of the distribution of tax evasion according to wealth (something that is inherently difficult to study, but the authors have put some real effort in).
The more wealthy you are, the more you evade tax. While most reports on inequality only look at tax data. So inequality is considerably worse than generally reported, when tax evasion is included in the calculation.
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/jun/14/tax-evaders-exposed-why-super-rich-are-even-richer-than-we-thought
Worth a guest post here, this one.
So, the capitalists are going through their standard motions that destroy society.
I’ll look forward to reading it once you’ve got it put up.
NZ is third on this list.
Given increasing regionism and nationalism over migration. And stories like https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/jun/14/tax-evaders-exposed-why-super-rich-are-even-richer-than-we-thought
Are the Arab countries looking to their own region for wealth centers and does this explain the current regional spat over the regional economic power house?
Are we see nation states begin looking at the wealthiest globally and asking why they don’t live where they earn? First they came for the migrants the the rustication for going after the richest?