Ever take a loan, then tell the lender to **** off?
How do you think that works out?
Bloody good job – I hope they go after them all as hard as possible.
All they have to do is make their loan payments like everybody else. Now – just like the real world – they are seeing there are consequences for their (lack of) action and dishonesty.
Ever take a loan, then tell the lender to **** off?
Yep.
How do you think that works out?
Fine. It’s why we have laws for defaulting.
All they have to do is make their loan payments like everybody else.
Except for the fact that they can’t afford to. That’s the real point here. The government is demanding that these people do something that they can’t afford.
Paul, these people have stolen from the collective, if you’re any sort of socialist you’d be appalled at their flagrant dishonesty and be demanding they pay the money back.
So what is this?…. a new found respect for socialism / the collective ?
Very impressed with the use of the word collective. Very impressed.
So building on that idea I say we should now be released to take the former Business Roundtable (now the New Zealand Institute ) to court for charges of social malfeasance , obtaining pecuniary advantage ,and treason.
Additionally , we can also charge the neo liberal leaders of the last 32 years retrospectively with the same criminal charges with the added charges of collusion and being complicit in a crime.
There.
That would solve the issue of those stealing from the collective.
Well done , BM , thank you very much for your input.
“So building on that idea I say we should now be released to take the former Business Roundtable (now the New Zealand Institute ) to court for charges of social malfeasance , obtaining pecuniary advantage ,and treason.”
Yeah – thats a rational response to asking someone to pay their student loan.
Like Whittall who set up a company in Wellington during the Royal Commission of Inquiry called ‘ Whittall and Associates ‘ which specialized in among other things ‘ mining safety ‘….
Didnt work for a few years after that because no one would seek his services the lazy bludging bastard – and we paid for that !.
So off he went and packed his bags back to Australia without so much as a buy you or leave to budge off the Aussie’s Centrelink..
Yep – but you guys seem to have an issue with the laws for defaulting on student loans.
“Except for the fact that they can’t afford to. That’s the real point here. The government is demanding that these people do something that they can’t afford.”
citation please?
There are plently that are just trying to get away with it – unfortunately they cause more issues for the ones with genuine problems.
” There are plently that are just trying to get away with it – unfortunately they cause more issues for the ones with genuine problems.”
I heartily agree !
And so to add to that and following along that line of logic,…. these govt depts that are in collusion with the National party and particularly with ex PM John Key ,…. and also the Pike River Coal Mining company who said they didn’t have any funds left to stand trial….should be taking responsibilities for their actions, reentering Pike River and being manned up enough to accept the consequences of any evidence found and of a renewed High Court trial by which a significant number would be convicted…
Stop em at the airport if they try to get away and throw the book at em , eh James? –
Ooooooooo , yes but dear Jamsey Wamsey ,… but it does…
especially in a liberal social democracy where we are all supposed to be equal under the law… or are you now changing your tune and resorting back to selectivity ?
Oh Jamsey …. Im so disappointed in you…. and here I really thought you’d started to develop a small sliver of humanity and common sense…
See Draco’s comments about their ability to pay back. I agree with him/her on that.
I also believe in justice above the law. It was unjust that the generation after us paid for education when we did not.
Your right wing ‘consumer’ view of education I guess is exemplified by your use of private education.
You have much to learn of the benefits of a civil society, I sense.
Here’s a clue.
It’s not all about you.
Don’t be an ass, when you went to Uni in the 1950’s probably about 5% of the population went onto higher education, the rest entered the workforce.
The country could easily afford that and anyway higher educated people paid their “free” education back in spades when the top tax rate was around 60%.
I received a free education. I have always thought I should pay it back somehow. I also think that my kids and my nephews and nieces should get a free education as well. Things work better when we educate all of our kids, no matter how poor they are.
The country could easily afford that and anyway higher educated people paid their “free” education back in spades when the top tax rate was around 60%.
Yep and we could do the same if we raised the top tax rate back up to 60%+
Thank you for your support for social inclusiveness.
Ah, National going the punitive route rather than making things better.
It would be much better, easier and cheaper just to forgive all student debt, drop the fees, give proper Student Allowance and develop our economy so that when students are ready there’s jobs for them.
compassion and empathy does not come into it – they took a loan, entered a contract and bolted and didnt pay it.
Thieves – and they deserve anything they get.
You see – entering an agreement and taking all the “good stuff” and not paying money for it is theft. There are consequences – its a basic concept that you seem to be lacking Paul
Now look , I’ve already told you about that principle… and that I agree with it. And you also know that nasty Mr Douglas and all his naughty little friends need to be hauled up before the class and given a jolly good talking to..
And yes I agree… taking money that doesn’t belong to you IS theft.
Now wipe that spaghetti from the side of your mouth , please.
And of course James you are so bloody perfect, people like you are a constant irritant – what was so wrong with a public education for your kids that you had to lose an arm and a leg to send them to a private school. Just because you didn’t avail yourself of a tertiary education after your school years doesn’t mean to say it would fail your kids. Your kids might have more sense than you. What an angry man you are. What a waste of money paying out for a private school. Kids can come back and kick you in the bum no matter what you do for then, I hope they do not disappoint you after all that investment. Happy days.
Thanks Kate for your concern. Again not angry – quite happy in life all in all.
As for the private education- it was a choice – and we are happy with it. I’m happy with the education they received. They enjoyed their school years and to me that’s worth it.
amyway – kids are happy, well rounded and contributing members of society. I’m proud of them.
It would be far better for us all if you acted to make yourself proud of our state education system as well. But I suspect you are devoid of such altruism.
“It would be much better, easier and cheaper just to forgive all student debt, drop the fees, give proper Student Allowance and develop our economy so that when students are ready there’s jobs for them.”
Hear hear!
This would apply to ALL fees…including trade training, Class 2+ driving licences etc.
As an aside…how hard would it have been to have some kind of CET arrangement with Australia so NZ student loan repayments could have been collected through the Aussie tax system? If Aus has the capacity to identify and then exclude Kiwis paying tax in Aussie from entitlement to benefits and disability supports….surely their tax computer can perform a NZ student loan repayment function.
Rosemary
You should have added as part of your plan of free tertiary education for everyone and for all course, plus forgiving all existing debt that you have just increased govt spending by about 4% of GDP, since around 70% of the population get some form of tertiary ed.
All you have to do is increase taxes. It will require personal rates to go up by 25% across the board. However presumably you don’t want bottom tax rates to increase so the top rate will need to go to 66% as it was prior to 1984..
Good luck with selling that idea.
“All you have to do is increase taxes. It will require personal rates to go up by 25% across the board. However presumably you don’t want bottom tax rates to increase so the top rate will need to go to 66% as it was prior to 1984..
Good luck with selling that idea.’
absolute bollocks…..what was the rate of GST prior to 1984 Wayne? …it might however require the enforcement of existing tax law and /or closing of a few of those convenient loopholes….IRD funding will likely need increasing as well while we are at it.
Wayne
How much did you pay to enroll for your first degree?
How much did you have to pay for accommodation and living expenses.
How much did you have to borrow from the government to pay for your university education?
You may just have known someone who trained for a trade while you were studying…law, was it? Anyway…how much did apprentices have to pay to train during the time you were studying?
Funny. don’t you think, that the loudest voices demanding today’s youth mortgage potentially their entire future to pay for their education are the privileged who got their education for free.
I firmly hope there is an especially hot zone in hell for those New Zealanders over fifty years old who do not hang their heads in shame at this betrayal of today’s youth.
You live in a fixed wee world with your own fixed wee parameters. That’s how the right present their facts. The right’s position assumes so much is unchangeable. Was Labour’s introduction of user pays in education inevitable? That’s what you’re saying and it’s not true. How about we start with the unnecessary increases in defence spend? And no doubt, true to form, you won’t say a word. That’s because what you all too often do is spray and walk away. You are a coward.
Most – if not all- of Ministry of Ed goals is to get people to leave school with Level 2 NCEA which will allow them entry into basic tertiary education.
School students are told that tertiary qualifications are the goal for success, and many of them have made that choice under that belief. Of course, others have chosen it because entry level job remuneration does not provide them with independence, it often is not enough for covering basic living costs (unless they have support – financial or otherwise).
Our universities have now become oriented around collecting student fees (domestic and international) rather than being sufficiently funded by government. Both policy changes and tax cuts have contributed to this, and let’s stay aware of the debacle of international students that is finally being told in the media.
Along with failure to support local business and local workers, our graduates find that despite following all the rules it was all a big lie. There is no work for graduates. There are limited jobs for young people at all. Housing costs and high immigration alongside an atrophy of workers rights and pay, have resulted in a work environment that will sink them further in the financial mire, at the beginning of their working life. So they head to Australia.
Their home government, despite being able to provide that loan interest free – because let’s face it – they could create that money and tax it out – instead charges an interest rate higher than some retail banks.
Let’s list it in sequence about what has happened in the last couple of decades:
1. Government has Increased student fees and removed access for many to student allowances.
2. Funding has been reduced significantly and this shortfall has been covered by the increased domestic fees charged and the large influx of international students.
3. Ministry of Education continues to lie about the security offered by tertiary education all the way through the schooling years, then issues loans under that fallacy to many students that have no other method of meeting the increased financial costs,
4. Meanwhile, workers rights and housing access continues to worsen, while the economy is reduced to disaster payments and inflated housing and polluting industries,
5. Graduates discover that tertiary qualifications and entry level positions in NZ, do not provide enough to meeting living costs, let alone pay an extra 10% in repayments to their loan.
6. They travel to our nearest neighbour to try and get some kind of life while they are still young, and find they can do so, but sometimes not enough to pay back the required amounts that is requested.
7. They resign themselves to being student loan exiles from their own country. And the debt piles up.
James, our education system should be free.
We have coerced a large demographic of our young people into getting out loans that provide them with a major financial burden at the beginning of their independent lives.
Yes, they did take on that debt. But we ensured that the most financially strapped students had to do so in order to get a tertiary education. Others are lucky enough to have support (financial or otherwise) from friends and family.
In NZ, we are creating an education system where if you are not able to be assisted financially by friends and family, you will be financially penalised for many years to come for getting that degree.
So low paid professions will be disregarded – although they may be in high need.
I personally consider the student loan system to be a big marketing lie, and because of that – I really don’t care if it is collected.
And for that reason would forgive any interest, and the loan itself if the graduates return to NZ to utilise that learning for the benefit of NZ for at least five years.
Go after the avoided tax (on profits) that is avoided by many multi-nationals.
Go after the avoided tax in our immoral tax havens.
Don’t go after those investments in society that an educated repatriated graduate demographic would bring.
Yep. Agree totally – and I am an oldie who had some free tertiary education (mostly part time) and some I did in later years with a student loan I have since paid back. Happy for a student loan write-off, and return to free tertiary education.
Education (vocational or for personal/social/scientific,etc understanding and knowledge) is an investment for the whole of society. Helps serve democracy.
“”And $430 million of that is in default. Inland Revenue will now start chasing up these borrowers and taking action to get their student loan repayments back on track.””
Not asking that much is it Paul – they just need to get their repayments back on track.
And I jolly well hope they chase up all those naughty little brats who put all their stolen lollies from overseas into that precocious little Johnnie Keys piggy banks as well , Jamsey Wamsey…
You know how we all feel about this , Jamsey Wamsey ,… we do our best to look after you children but we cant feed all the neighborhoods children lollies as well…
Angry Kaikoura coast locals vent their quake frustrations at PM Bill English, Gerry Brownlee
English landed in a Defence Force chopper on the lawn of Kekerengu café The Store this afternoon, to be met with around 40 furious and frustrated locals.
One local Clarence farmer, John Murray, told English: “We had a meeting here three weeks ago and Gerry was here, and we left full of hope that something was going to happen … we have sat down there for three weeks and nothing has bloody well happened and its shocking, it is the absolute pits.”
He said progress on opening roads was too slow.
“No-one has attacked this northern end, the road’s been open from Blenheim, no one’s started tidying this road up at all, they’ve made patch-up repairs all the way through and the roads from Ward and Waipapa Bay should have been upgraded and ready to go so we could just go into the next stage.
“Nothing has been done except patch up and I reckon it’s p*** poor and if that’s what our Government feels about us and how they deal with emergencies then I’m afraid you have lost a lot of votes and a lot of confidence in this area.”
Hopefully. And yes, you are right to recognize the public display of arrogance. Hopefully it will be seared on the minds of the locals cometh election day.
“We had a meeting here three weeks ago and Gerry was here, and we left full of hope that something was going to happen … we have sat down there for three weeks and nothing has bloody well happened and its shocking, it is the absolute pits.”
…
“Nothing has been done except patch up and I reckon it’s p*** poor and if that’s what our Government feels about us and how they deal with emergencies then I’m afraid you have lost a lot of votes and a lot of confidence in this area.”
I’m sorry, but Kaikoura isn’t that far from Chch. What on earth made them think that what came out of Brownlee’s mouth was going to be real? And great if they’re not going to vote National now, but what about the last election when this shit was already playing out for several years in Canterbury?
Exactly, and often media are a little too selective on the locals they ask, hence the Nat supporter at the end of the herald article praising them, pushing the echo. Meanwhile the majority of public there are not so happy and I can’t say i blame them, very proud of them for making it known. Well done, speak your mind and tell us all like it really is.
Far out, the arrogance of Brownlee, and the locals won’t forget today and they will be talking about it for sometime afterwards.
I’m sure locals will be thrilled about them stopping at a vineyard aka class b drug manufacturing plantation to inspect their ‘cracked tanks’ on the way back home. Ho fucken ho ho ho.
Dearest Opposition parties, maybe some of your MP’s or people could spend a couple of days here and there in Kaikoura just helping out over the summer holidays, an awesome opportunity to really get to know the locals there, support their community and walk the talk, show you care. Some of us have not the means to go there. Now it’s summer and a great place for a holiday, maybe go help them out. No need to make a media frenzy about it, that would be shallow. Just boots on the ground, no announcement, just stop in and help a bit.
Key was a phenomenon. You really think the nats can win without him? Just look at Bennett. Pure shit comes out of her mouth every time she opens it. And poor old Bill’s just a plodder. The nats need to stay in the late 40% til the next election. Slipping just a bit and it’s curtains. You really think English and Bennett can keep things where Key had them? They made the nats look hopeless at their first press conference. It can only get worse. They’re history.
they are appalling and Key certainly held many in a trance (MSM included) but the opposition parties cannot sleep walk to an election win….they need to up their own game at the same time as the Nats crash
Yes, that’s the trouble. My guess, though, is that Labour’s lack of depth or oomph (or whatever you want to call it), together with the “Key’s gone” factor will mean the nats will lose next year rather than Labour winning. The margins over the last three elections have been slim and MMP at the moment gives the left, as well as Labour, the advantage in that regard. The difference will be whether Labour starts doing stupid things like it’s done over the last couple of elections. They just need to stay boringly steady and let the nats’ cringe factor, led by Bennett, do the work for them.
Why did he have the compulsive need to waste 30 million of the commons money on HIS personal vanity project ?
When the little fucker knew damn well after consulting with his little mate David Farrar no one wanted it and that 30 million could have been better put to 41000 homeless or the poor bastards having to sleep in their cars?
What sort of idiot are you buddy?
You’ve just negated your whole argument about student loans and personal responsibility in deference to those who hold a position of political privilege yet still squander the public purse without any personal responsibility or accountability.
Ha! – the neo liberal is only ever any good when their using someone else’s money – in the classic case above of Jame’s hero John Key spending the commons wealth on his own ego gratification projects – that in itself negates the whole notion of ‘ personal responsibility ‘ they like to crap on about.
Sickening.
What a pathetic two faced hypocritical dogma neo liberalism really and truly is.
Exactly….shonkey knew the Flag was something no-one even thought about, but his Ego said FUCK NZ I AM THE MAN (he fund out he wasnt, but too late, the money was burned)…..and while were at it MCScummy can pay back his Multi million $$ bribe gone wrong Saudi farm….eh James…..the Natz list just goes on and on……
” HIS personal vanity project ?”.
Really?
Actually he was simply being kind to the benighted Labour Party.
Knowing that they were never going to become the Government he very kindly gave the Public a chance to accept or reject one of the core items in Labour’s 2014 manifesto.
There policy was not merely to give the public a chance to change the flag. It was to change it, regardless of what the public thought.
Key very kindly gave the public a chance to give their view on the matter.
They didn’t think very highly of the Labour Party policy, did they?
Nat’s love to pinch policy karma on them if that’s the case.
Keys choice of flag was the vanity
i saw Keys flag the other day, up a pole, looking tatty and torn just like the outgoing government, and thought to myself that’s Keys flag, and Key has gone, must say it was a good feeling.
Yeah and your another idiot alwyn . Along with about 4 or 5 other morons who post here that just cant accept neo liberalism is dying its cancerous death.
Yes , and conveniently for you far right wing neo liberals you like to have a bob each way.
As the ‘change the flag ‘ debacle only pertains to those types of agitators- who have their people in both party’s – and to those who wish to rewrite NZ history.
Kekerengu is Tory heartland, how stupid is Brownlie.
As you say , they are just getting a taste of what everybody else has been putting up with from these bastards.
BTW, the vineyard they visited is Yealands now owned collectively by everyone in Marlborough through the local lines trust. Please don’t bag it too much.
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Paul,
Possibly because the reporting accurately reflects the fact that the two situations are different. As indeed the quote you used illustrates that point (although I do realise it is a Fisk quote meant as irony).
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The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
The Green Party is already delivering on its commitment for cleaner, climate-friendly transport through our Cooperation Agreement with the Government. ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
The Government is investing up to $10 million to support 30 of the country’s top early-career researchers to develop their research skills. “The pandemic has had widespread impacts across the science system, including the research workforce. After completing their PhD, researchers often travel overseas to gain experience but in the ...
A Waitomo-based Jobs for Nature project will keep up to ten people employed in the village as the tourism sector recovers post Covid-19 Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “This $500,000 project will save ten local jobs by deploying workers from Discover Waitomo into nature-based jobs. They will be undertaking local ...
Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw spoke yesterday with President Biden’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. “I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Kerry this morning about the urgency with which our governments must confront the climate emergency. I am grateful to him and ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today announced three diplomatic appointments: Alana Hudson as Ambassador to Poland John Riley as Consul-General to Hong Kong Stephen Wong as Consul-General to Shanghai Poland “New Zealand’s relationship with Poland is built on enduring personal, economic and historical connections. Poland is also an important ...
Work begins today at Wainuiomata High School to ensure buildings and teaching spaces are fit for purpose, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. The Minister joined principal Janette Melrose and board chair Lynda Koia to kick off demolition for the project, which is worth close to $40 million, as the site ...
A skilled and experienced group of people have been named as the newly established Oranga Tamariki Ministerial Advisory Board by Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis today. The Board will provide independent advice and assurance to the Minister for Children across three key areas of Oranga Tamariki: relationships with families, whānau, and ...
The green light for New Zealand’s first COVID-19 vaccine could be granted in just over a week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today. “We’re making swift progress towards vaccinating New Zealanders against the virus, but we’re also absolutely committed to ensuring the vaccines are safe and effective,” Jacinda Ardern said. ...
The Minister for ACC is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to join the Board of ACC on 1 February 2021. “All three bring diverse skills and experience to provide strong governance oversight to lead the direction of ACC” said Hon Carmel Sepuloni. Bella Takiari-Brame from Hamilton ...
The Government is investing $9 million to upgrade a significant community facility in Invercargill, creating economic stimulus and jobs, Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson and Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene have announced. The grant for Waihōpai Rūnaka Inc to make improvements to Murihiku Marae comes from the $3 billion set ...
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...
The Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...
Border workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
Upscaling work already underway to restore two iconic ecosystems will deliver jobs and a lasting legacy, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The Jobs for Nature programme provides $1.25 billion over four years to offer employment opportunities for people whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 recession. “Two new projects ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rice, Professor of Management, University of New England Elon Musk is now the world’s richest person, edging out previous title holder Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. His rocketing fortune is due to the booming share price of Tesla, the maker of electric vehicles ...
There are now three returnees who contracted the virus in the Auckland isolation facility then left into the community while positive. These are some of the questions that need to be resolved. At 10.20pm last night the Ministry of Health confirmed that the two cases they’d been treating as probable ...
Having a hard time remembering to scan in on the NZ Covid Tracer app when you’re out and about? Get this song stuck in your head and you’ll never forget again.Learn the lyrics:Aotearoa, it’s time to get scanning!I mean if you think about it, it never really wasn’t time we ...
We conclude our week-long examination of New Zealand writer Roderick Finlayson with a review of his stories by John Newton Roger Hickin’s Cold Hub Press is one of the small miracles of contemporary New Zealand publishing. Over the last decade, on what can only be a shoe-string budget, the ...
Thursday 28th January, AUCKLAND: Drive Electric, the not-for-profit with one mission – making electric vehicle uptake in New Zealand mainstream, welcomes the announcement by the Government today as a sign of what’s to come through 2021, and we are confident ...
The Government announced today key policy decisions on the proposed clean car policies. The MIA has stated on many occasions that we support well thought out and constructive policies that will lead to an increased rate in the reduction of CO2 emissions from ...
Get wild, get cultured, get fed and then get to bed: the essential guide to a perfect few days in the southern city. There’s one thing that preoccupies the staff of The Spinoff almost as much as arranging popular food items into arbitrary lists, and that’s Dunedin. A quite remarkable ...
John Banks’ racist exchange with a Magic Talk listener on Tuesday was the latest in nearly 50 years of talkback controversies. Donna Chisholm has the receipts.John Banks axed over Māori ‘stone age culture’ comments on Magic Talk1972: On Radio I, sports talkback host Tim Bickerstaff launches a “Punch a Pom ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission.Two new community Covid-19 cases have been identified as the more infectious South African variant, but Auckland Mayor Phil Goff sayit would be "premature to go into lockdown now". The two new cases of Covid-19 identified in the ...
Today, for the second time in two months Dunedin climate protectors have locked themselves to the railway tracks outside the Dunedin Railway station to stop the KiwiRail coal train from Bathurst Resources’ Takitimu mine in Southland to Fonterra’s ...
KiwiRail STOP Hauling COAL Today, for the second time in two months Dunedin climate protectors have locked themselves to the railway tracks outside the Dunedin Railway station to stop the KiwiRail coal train from Bathurst Resources’ Takitimu mine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Dunn, Associate professor, University of Sydney The government is rolling out a new public information campaign this week to reassure the public about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, which one expert has said “couldn’t be more crucial” to people actually getting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Therese O’Sullivan, Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University The COVID vaccine rollout has placed the issue of vaccination firmly in the spotlight. A successful rollout will depend on a variety of factors, one of which is vaccine acceptance. One potential hurdle to vaccine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bernard Walker, Associate Professor in Organisations and Leadership, University of Canterbury Kiwis know what it’s like when life throws curveballs. We’ve had major quakes, floods, fires, an eruption, a terrorist attack and now a pandemic. In those situations, it’s the ability to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Irwin, Emeritus professor, Murdoch University While we continue to be occupied with the COVID pandemic, another life-threatening disease has emerged in northern Australia, one that’s cause for considerable alarm for the millions of dog owners around the country. This disease — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cath Ferguson, Academic, Edith Cowan University Almost half of Australian adults struggle with reading. Similar levels of struggling readers are reported in the United Kingdom and United States. This does not mean all struggling readers are illiterate. It means they often struggle ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abbas Shieh, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Islamic Azad University The industrial revolution transformed cities, resulting in places of residence and work becoming more distant than ever before. This spatial segregation is still largely embedded in the design of our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Review: Occupation: Rainfall, written and directed by Luke Sparke Historically, when a sequel to a film was greenlit, you could rest assured this was because the first film made a ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 28, keeping you up to date with the latest local and international news. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nzOur members make The Spinoff happen! Every dollar contributed directly funds our editorial team – click here to learn more about how you can support us ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tourism suffers in the shadow of Covid-19, two new positive cases in Auckland confirmed, and National will contest the Māori electorates.The front page of the January 4 Greymouth Star carried grim tidings for several of the glacier towns on the ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Two people who left managed isolation on January 15 have been confirmed as positive Covid-19 cases, with the Ministry of Health urging anyone who visited the same locations during the same time period as the infected pair in Auckland to ...
The watchlist of 'offensive or unreasonable' babies' names is to be reviewed, to include more names from other languages. Generations of the Īhaka family have played a meaningful role in bringing Te Reo and stories of Māori to our wider community. Archdeacon Sir Kīngi Matutaera Īhaka (Te Aupōuri, 1921-93) was known as the orator of ...
After Morocco’s flagrant violation of the terms of the ceasefire in Western Sahara on Friday 13 November 2020 war broke out between the two sides. In the midst of this war Tauranga based Ballance Agri-Nutrients has decided to carry on importing phosphate ...
Nicholas Agar suggests that our handling of the pandemic could be partly down to our distinctive Treaty of Waitangi relationship, and Māori ideas that enabled us to make it through without tens of thousands of deaths A mission for universities in the coming decade will be a deep understanding of the meaning ...
A young girl who once sent $5 to an embattled America's Cup team is now among the women on the water helping run the contest for the Auld Mug. As an eager and generous nine-year-old, Melanie Roberts posted a letter, with a $5 note, to OneAustralia’s America’s Cup team. It was 1995, ...
At 5am today, cock’s crow, the embargo lifted on the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist. Here are the books in the race, followed by thoughts from poetry editor Chris Tse and books editor Catherine Woulfe. A shortlist of four books in each category will be announced March 3, with ...
Ignoring those QR codes when you drop into the supermarket? Can’t be bothered when you grab a coffee? The people serving you notice, and you’re freaking them out.So far, New Zealanders’ use of the Covid-19 Tracer app has been notably woeful. Food industry workers who’ve watched streams of customers walk ...
Steve Braunias reveals the longlist of the 2021 Ockham New Zealand book awards Apart from one or two unfortunate omissions which cast doubt on the sanity and intellectual acumen of judges, especially the nobodies who judged this year's non-fiction, the longlist for the 2021 Ockham New Zealand book awards is ...
By Lulu Mark in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea’s biggest hospital is straining to provide medical services to the growing population of the capital Port Moresby – with an estimated growth rate of 3 percent annually, a medical executive says. Port Moresby General Hospital chief executive officer Dr Paki Molumi ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Nationals who attend Thursday’s memorial service in Tweed Heads for Doug Anthony, who died last month aged 90, may muse on the contrast between the state of their party when he led it and now. ...
Returning to quarantine-free travel in 2021 doesn't just need a vaccine, but a way to check whether arriving passengers are actually immune to the virus. A smart Kiwi science start-up is working with a global biometrics giant to make that happen. A deal signed between Kiwi research and development company Orbis Diagnostics, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlyn Forster, PhD Candidate, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney This summer’s wetter conditions have created great conditions for flowering plants. Flowers provide sweet nectar and protein-rich pollen, attracting many insects, including bees. Commercial honey bees are also thriving: ...
Lotto scratchie tickets featuring the pop band Six60 are being withdrawn after a public backlash. In a statement, Lotto NZ said there had been a mutual decision made with the band to remove the tickets from sale following the negative feedback, and it offered an apology. The band faced criticism, both ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Russell Dean Christopher Bicknell, Post-doctoral researcher in Palaeobiology , University of New England Shell-crushing predation was already in full swing half a billion years ago, as our new research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals. A hyena devouring ...
Vodafone has suspended advertising on the radio station amid calls for talkback host John Banks to be taken off air after yet another racist outburst. Alex Braae reports. In an alarming segment of talkback radio, former Auckland mayor John Banks endorsed the views of a caller who described Māori as a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Welch, Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland When a COVID-19 case was found in Northland last Sunday, Aotearoa’s second-longest period with no detected community case came to an end. ESR scientists worked late into Sunday night to obtain a whole genome sequence ...
He has the perfect moustache, an exceptional mullet, and he uses terms like ‘face hole’ on national TV. Who or what is Dr Joel Rindelaub?I was drawn in by the moustache, but it was the mullet that really kept me there. Watching TVNZ’s Breakfast yesterday morning I was fixated. Often, ...
We’ll never be royals with nearly a quarter of declined baby names featuring “Royal” in some form or another. Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs has released the list of names declined in 2020 by the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and ...
After a raft of inquiries delving into and recommending what should be done about the politically beleaguered Orangi Tamaraki, along with the briefing papers we suppose he has been given, we imagined Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis would have no more need for expert advice. Wrong. He has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University There’s a common assumption men take longer than women to poo. People say so on Twitter, in memes, and elsewhereonline. But is that right? What could explain it? And if ...
Just as sexuality is a spectrum, so too is asexuality. In Ace of Hearts, members of New Zealand’s asexual community talk about the challenges and misconceptions of identifying as ace.First published November 17, 2020.Ace of Hearts is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by Wrestler for The Spinoff.“A ...
Sam Brooks wasn’t allowed to watch kids TV as a kid. Now, as a 30 year old man, he watches it for the first time.My mother’s approach to parenting was unorthodox. I wrote weekly book reports on top of my actual homework, I did maths equations in Roman numerals and ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk More leading Indonesian figures have made racial slurs against Natalius Pigai, former chair of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) – and all West Papuans, says United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) interim president Benny Wenda. “Since the illegal Indonesian invasion in 1963, Indonesian ...
“The Government’s failure to even conduct a standard cost-benefit analysis for the most expensive infrastructure project in New Zealand’s history is mind-bogglingly arrogant,” says New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke. “A ...
The Ministry of Health is today drawing backlash from the local New Zealand vaping industry following its release of proposed regulations for the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act. Vaping Trade Association New Zealand (VTANZ) President, ...
Sophie Gilmour and Simon Day are joined by special guest Hugo Baird, co-owner of Grey Lynn’s Honey Bones and Lilian, to talk about opening new pub Hotel Ponsonby.Auckland is a city of many bars but few really good pubs – the kind of places you’d be just as comfortable going ...
The appointment of an advisory board for Oranga Tamariki is welcome and should be a step toward a total transformation of the care and protection system to a by Māori, for Māori approach, Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft said today. Minister ...
Taking control of your financial wellbeing can have cascading positive impacts for your life and it can also be fun. With the help of the team at Kiwi Wealth, we’ve compiled some simple tricks for balancing your books in 2021. There’s something about the beginning of a new year, especially after ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of Technology As we know, getting into New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult. There are practicalities, such as high airfare and managed isolation costs. And there are legal requirements, including pre-flight testing, mandatory ...
New Zealand faces the risk of a generation being locked out of the housing market unless land is freed up and more houses built, National Party leader Judith Collins says. ...
On Sunday, Stuff published a months-long investigation by Alison Mau detailing allegations of harassment and exploitation within the local music industry.The piece, ‘Music industry professionals demand change after speaking out about its dark side’, includes allegations of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power by male artists, international acts and executives; ...
“The Government is all at sea on timelines for Australia and New Zealand’s respective vaccine roll-outs, with the worst news coming from the mouth of Pfizer Australia CEO Anne Harris,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “Yesterday, under increasing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Higgins, Senior Research Fellow, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised the US would demonstrate “global leadership on refugees”. Once elected, he pledged to vastly increase refugee resettlement in the US. If history is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Baumann, Casual Academic, School of Social Sciences & Psychology, Western Sydney University Among the many hard truths exposed by COVID-19 is the huge disparity between the world’s rich and poor. As economies went into freefall, the world’s billionaires increased their already ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jan Lanicek, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History and Jewish History, UNSW On January 27 communities worldwide commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz — the largest complex of concentration camps and extermination centres during the Holocaust. This is the first year the International ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lorinda Cramer, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Australian Catholic University The summer break is over, marking a return to the office. For some, this ends almost a year of working from home in lockdown. Some analysts are predicting it might also mark an enduring ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 27, keeping you up to date with the latest local and international news. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nzOur members make The Spinoff happen! Every dollar contributed directly funds our editorial team – click here to learn more about how you can support us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato New Zealand has a strong history of protecting and promoting human rights at home and internationally, and prides itself on being an outspoken critic and global leader in this area. So, when the most ...
Good morning and welcome to the Bulletin. In today’s edition: Collins outlines the plan forward for National, no spread of Covid spotted yet in Northland, and students return for climate protest.In front of a Rotary Club at the Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, National leader Judith Collins yesterday set out her ...
*This articlefirst appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. The tourism industry isn't holding its breath for a trans-Tasman travel bubble being in place after Australia temporarily closed its borders to New Zealand. New Zealanders could be waiting even longer for a full trans-Tasman bubble, with the ...
We continue our week-long examination of New Zealand writer Roderick Finlayson with an essay by Anahera Gildea on cultural appropriation Every night at 7pm sharp, my Irish Catholic father and his eight siblings would have to kneel on the carpet of the living room, facing the freshly polished nudity of ...
Children's Minister Kelvin Davis will have independent eyes and ears across Oranga Tamariki over the next five months as the Government tries to change the work and practices of the ministry. The Government has created a Māori-led watchdog to oversee how the children's ministry, Oranga Tamariki, deals with parents and ...
A Covid reset will force costly and inflexible cities to take a hard look at their planning systems, or people will vote with their feet. Broken urban planning systems make for misery even in the best of times. If land use and housing regulations prevent metropolitan areas from growing up or out as ...
Corrina Gage has represented New Zealand in a trio of water sports. But it's her love for waka ama - and the opportunities it gives paddlers from 5 to 85 - that keeps her racing and coaching around the world. Lake Karāpiro is quiet and still now. But last week, it was all noise ...
Great news – we are all going to get some of our tax $$ back.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11767791
Did you get a free education?
Pull the ladder up after you?
Ever take a loan, then tell the lender to **** off?
How do you think that works out?
Bloody good job – I hope they go after them all as hard as possible.
All they have to do is make their loan payments like everybody else. Now – just like the real world – they are seeing there are consequences for their (lack of) action and dishonesty.
Yep.
Fine. It’s why we have laws for defaulting.
Except for the fact that they can’t afford to. That’s the real point here. The government is demanding that these people do something that they can’t afford.
Would these kiwis be living in Oz if they didn’t have a job? bludging fuckers need to pay back the money they stole from the taxpayer.
I hope they nail their arses to the wall.
You Tories are so angry.
Paul, these people have stolen from the collective, if you’re any sort of socialist you’d be appalled at their flagrant dishonesty and be demanding they pay the money back.
So what is this?…. a new found respect for socialism / the collective ?
Very impressed with the use of the word collective. Very impressed.
So building on that idea I say we should now be released to take the former Business Roundtable (now the New Zealand Institute ) to court for charges of social malfeasance , obtaining pecuniary advantage ,and treason.
Additionally , we can also charge the neo liberal leaders of the last 32 years retrospectively with the same criminal charges with the added charges of collusion and being complicit in a crime.
There.
That would solve the issue of those stealing from the collective.
Well done , BM , thank you very much for your input.
“So building on that idea I say we should now be released to take the former Business Roundtable (now the New Zealand Institute ) to court for charges of social malfeasance , obtaining pecuniary advantage ,and treason.”
Yeah – thats a rational response to asking someone to pay their student loan.
Oh Jamsey wamsey… we dont want to be seen as having a case of ‘whats good for the goose is NOT good for the gander ‘ , do we now , dearie?
Actually – not angry at all – this makes me happy.
I hope they arrest 100’s of them at the airport after xmas holidays.
Yeah I agree…
Like Whittall who set up a company in Wellington during the Royal Commission of Inquiry called ‘ Whittall and Associates ‘ which specialized in among other things ‘ mining safety ‘….
Didnt work for a few years after that because no one would seek his services the lazy bludging bastard – and we paid for that !.
So off he went and packed his bags back to Australia without so much as a buy you or leave to budge off the Aussie’s Centrelink..
“Fine. It’s why we have laws for defaulting.”
Yep – but you guys seem to have an issue with the laws for defaulting on student loans.
“Except for the fact that they can’t afford to. That’s the real point here. The government is demanding that these people do something that they can’t afford.”
citation please?
There are plently that are just trying to get away with it – unfortunately they cause more issues for the ones with genuine problems.
So some yes – all nope.
” There are plently that are just trying to get away with it – unfortunately they cause more issues for the ones with genuine problems.”
I heartily agree !
And so to add to that and following along that line of logic,…. these govt depts that are in collusion with the National party and particularly with ex PM John Key ,…. and also the Pike River Coal Mining company who said they didn’t have any funds left to stand trial….should be taking responsibilities for their actions, reentering Pike River and being manned up enough to accept the consequences of any evidence found and of a renewed High Court trial by which a significant number would be convicted…
Stop em at the airport if they try to get away and throw the book at em , eh James? –
That’s the spirit !!!
I like what I’m hearing so far.
Keep it up.
Your logic is flawed and hysterical.
Its a pretty basic item – people who take loans need to pay them back or suffer consequences.
Nothing to do with Pike River FFS.
Ooooooooo , yes but dear Jamsey Wamsey ,… but it does…
especially in a liberal social democracy where we are all supposed to be equal under the law… or are you now changing your tune and resorting back to selectivity ?
Oh Jamsey …. Im so disappointed in you…. and here I really thought you’d started to develop a small sliver of humanity and common sense…
Oh well…. never mind…
Nope – I have been pretty consistent about accountability for actions.
Its just your argument is stupid.
Oh dearest Jamsey,… not the little philosopher , are we , dearie?
Never mind snookums,… one bright sunny day when the cognitive processes switch on past puberty , you’ll understand the correlation.
Oh sorry , dearest … correlation is a rather large word… lest say…
‘ things that look quite the same even though not quite the same circumstances’…
Oh darn ,… done it again.
Did you get a free education?
Do you pay your debts?
I benefited from a free tertiary education. I think following generations should too.
Did you? You appear reluctant to answer. I wonder why?
It is because you are only to happy to pull the ladder up after you, like Key, Hosking and Bennett ?
Actually – no I have no uni education.
My kids went to private school – which cost me a blimmin arm and a leg.
So I answered you – how about you teling me – do you pay your debts?
Of course.
Of course – yet here you are arguing that others should not.
So why not expect others to do so?
They entered into an agreement right?
They knew the terms right?
So why let them off?
See Draco’s comments about their ability to pay back. I agree with him/her on that.
I also believe in justice above the law. It was unjust that the generation after us paid for education when we did not.
Your right wing ‘consumer’ view of education I guess is exemplified by your use of private education.
You have much to learn of the benefits of a civil society, I sense.
Here’s a clue.
It’s not all about you.
Don’t be an ass, when you went to Uni in the 1950’s probably about 5% of the population went onto higher education, the rest entered the workforce.
The country could easily afford that and anyway higher educated people paid their “free” education back in spades when the top tax rate was around 60%.
I received a free education. I have always thought I should pay it back somehow. I also think that my kids and my nephews and nieces should get a free education as well. Things work better when we educate all of our kids, no matter how poor they are.
Would you be happy to see a top tax rate of 60% ms?.
Because that’s the only way we could afford free tertiary education.
Yep and we could do the same if we raised the top tax rate back up to 60%+
Thank you for your support for social inclusiveness.
“I benefited from a free tertiary education”.
Really? You disguise it very well. I would never have guessed that you had got that far.
What an unpleasant and unnecessary comment.
Diddums.
alwyn maintains his form as a highly eloquent egg.
Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner , Jamsey – go wash up now and sit up straight at the table like a good boy.
Ah, National going the punitive route rather than making things better.
It would be much better, easier and cheaper just to forgive all student debt, drop the fees, give proper Student Allowance and develop our economy so that when students are ready there’s jobs for them.
Yes, and that requires compassion and empathy, something James appear to lack.
compassion and empathy does not come into it – they took a loan, entered a contract and bolted and didnt pay it.
Thieves – and they deserve anything they get.
You see – entering an agreement and taking all the “good stuff” and not paying money for it is theft. There are consequences – its a basic concept that you seem to be lacking Paul
You RWNJs really get off when people get attacked and threatened …
Jamsey Diddums !!!
Stop that language this instance !!!
Now look , I’ve already told you about that principle… and that I agree with it. And you also know that nasty Mr Douglas and all his naughty little friends need to be hauled up before the class and given a jolly good talking to..
And yes I agree… taking money that doesn’t belong to you IS theft.
Now wipe that spaghetti from the side of your mouth , please.
And of course James you are so bloody perfect, people like you are a constant irritant – what was so wrong with a public education for your kids that you had to lose an arm and a leg to send them to a private school. Just because you didn’t avail yourself of a tertiary education after your school years doesn’t mean to say it would fail your kids. Your kids might have more sense than you. What an angry man you are. What a waste of money paying out for a private school. Kids can come back and kick you in the bum no matter what you do for then, I hope they do not disappoint you after all that investment. Happy days.
Thanks Kate for your concern. Again not angry – quite happy in life all in all.
As for the private education- it was a choice – and we are happy with it. I’m happy with the education they received. They enjoyed their school years and to me that’s worth it.
amyway – kids are happy, well rounded and contributing members of society. I’m proud of them.
It would be far better for us all if you acted to make yourself proud of our state education system as well. But I suspect you are devoid of such altruism.
“It would be much better, easier and cheaper just to forgive all student debt, drop the fees, give proper Student Allowance and develop our economy so that when students are ready there’s jobs for them.”
Hear hear!
This would apply to ALL fees…including trade training, Class 2+ driving licences etc.
As an aside…how hard would it have been to have some kind of CET arrangement with Australia so NZ student loan repayments could have been collected through the Aussie tax system? If Aus has the capacity to identify and then exclude Kiwis paying tax in Aussie from entitlement to benefits and disability supports….surely their tax computer can perform a NZ student loan repayment function.
Rosemary
You should have added as part of your plan of free tertiary education for everyone and for all course, plus forgiving all existing debt that you have just increased govt spending by about 4% of GDP, since around 70% of the population get some form of tertiary ed.
All you have to do is increase taxes. It will require personal rates to go up by 25% across the board. However presumably you don’t want bottom tax rates to increase so the top rate will need to go to 66% as it was prior to 1984..
Good luck with selling that idea.
“the top rate will need to go to 66% as it was prior to 1984..
Good luck with selling that idea.”
Don’t worry Rosemary.
I’ll buy that. After all, how much is enough?
“All you have to do is increase taxes. It will require personal rates to go up by 25% across the board. However presumably you don’t want bottom tax rates to increase so the top rate will need to go to 66% as it was prior to 1984..
Good luck with selling that idea.’
absolute bollocks…..what was the rate of GST prior to 1984 Wayne? …it might however require the enforcement of existing tax law and /or closing of a few of those convenient loopholes….IRD funding will likely need increasing as well while we are at it.
Parmjeet, is that you?
Wayne
How much did you pay to enroll for your first degree?
How much did you have to pay for accommodation and living expenses.
How much did you have to borrow from the government to pay for your university education?
You may just have known someone who trained for a trade while you were studying…law, was it? Anyway…how much did apprentices have to pay to train during the time you were studying?
Funny. don’t you think, that the loudest voices demanding today’s youth mortgage potentially their entire future to pay for their education are the privileged who got their education for free.
I firmly hope there is an especially hot zone in hell for those New Zealanders over fifty years old who do not hang their heads in shame at this betrayal of today’s youth.
You live in a fixed wee world with your own fixed wee parameters. That’s how the right present their facts. The right’s position assumes so much is unchangeable. Was Labour’s introduction of user pays in education inevitable? That’s what you’re saying and it’s not true. How about we start with the unnecessary increases in defence spend? And no doubt, true to form, you won’t say a word. That’s because what you all too often do is spray and walk away. You are a coward.
Most – if not all- of Ministry of Ed goals is to get people to leave school with Level 2 NCEA which will allow them entry into basic tertiary education.
School students are told that tertiary qualifications are the goal for success, and many of them have made that choice under that belief. Of course, others have chosen it because entry level job remuneration does not provide them with independence, it often is not enough for covering basic living costs (unless they have support – financial or otherwise).
Our universities have now become oriented around collecting student fees (domestic and international) rather than being sufficiently funded by government. Both policy changes and tax cuts have contributed to this, and let’s stay aware of the debacle of international students that is finally being told in the media.
Along with failure to support local business and local workers, our graduates find that despite following all the rules it was all a big lie. There is no work for graduates. There are limited jobs for young people at all. Housing costs and high immigration alongside an atrophy of workers rights and pay, have resulted in a work environment that will sink them further in the financial mire, at the beginning of their working life. So they head to Australia.
Their home government, despite being able to provide that loan interest free – because let’s face it – they could create that money and tax it out – instead charges an interest rate higher than some retail banks.
Let’s list it in sequence about what has happened in the last couple of decades:
1. Government has Increased student fees and removed access for many to student allowances.
2. Funding has been reduced significantly and this shortfall has been covered by the increased domestic fees charged and the large influx of international students.
3. Ministry of Education continues to lie about the security offered by tertiary education all the way through the schooling years, then issues loans under that fallacy to many students that have no other method of meeting the increased financial costs,
4. Meanwhile, workers rights and housing access continues to worsen, while the economy is reduced to disaster payments and inflated housing and polluting industries,
5. Graduates discover that tertiary qualifications and entry level positions in NZ, do not provide enough to meeting living costs, let alone pay an extra 10% in repayments to their loan.
6. They travel to our nearest neighbour to try and get some kind of life while they are still young, and find they can do so, but sometimes not enough to pay back the required amounts that is requested.
7. They resign themselves to being student loan exiles from their own country. And the debt piles up.
James, our education system should be free.
We have coerced a large demographic of our young people into getting out loans that provide them with a major financial burden at the beginning of their independent lives.
Yes, they did take on that debt. But we ensured that the most financially strapped students had to do so in order to get a tertiary education. Others are lucky enough to have support (financial or otherwise) from friends and family.
In NZ, we are creating an education system where if you are not able to be assisted financially by friends and family, you will be financially penalised for many years to come for getting that degree.
So low paid professions will be disregarded – although they may be in high need.
I personally consider the student loan system to be a big marketing lie, and because of that – I really don’t care if it is collected.
And for that reason would forgive any interest, and the loan itself if the graduates return to NZ to utilise that learning for the benefit of NZ for at least five years.
Go after the avoided tax (on profits) that is avoided by many multi-nationals.
Go after the avoided tax in our immoral tax havens.
Don’t go after those investments in society that an educated repatriated graduate demographic would bring.
Yep. Agree totally – and I am an oldie who had some free tertiary education (mostly part time) and some I did in later years with a student loan I have since paid back. Happy for a student loan write-off, and return to free tertiary education.
Education (vocational or for personal/social/scientific,etc understanding and knowledge) is an investment for the whole of society. Helps serve democracy.
Molly.
I agree that govt should be making everyone pay a fair share of tax. Google etc included.
But.
Why should an accountancy practice be able to hire a recent graduate for $20/hr?
Why should a librarian with a masters degree get $45,000/yr
Why is a worker on $15/hr paying tax for these people to get trained ?
Salaries need to rise thru demand for staf and this will only happen when graduate numbers in some skill areas drop.
Over training is just wasting precious resources.
Neo liberal translation :
‘Lets keep em all thick and controllable ‘
Education includes not only degrees, but community education and apprenticeship training.
Was replying to James in respect of student loans – also accessible to apprentices as far as I know.
“”And $430 million of that is in default. Inland Revenue will now start chasing up these borrowers and taking action to get their student loan repayments back on track.””
Not asking that much is it Paul – they just need to get their repayments back on track.
And I jolly well hope they chase up all those naughty little brats who put all their stolen lollies from overseas into that precocious little Johnnie Keys piggy banks as well , Jamsey Wamsey…
You know how we all feel about this , Jamsey Wamsey ,… we do our best to look after you children but we cant feed all the neighborhoods children lollies as well…
Angry Kaikoura coast locals vent their quake frustrations at PM Bill English, Gerry Brownlee
English landed in a Defence Force chopper on the lawn of Kekerengu café The Store this afternoon, to be met with around 40 furious and frustrated locals.
One local Clarence farmer, John Murray, told English: “We had a meeting here three weeks ago and Gerry was here, and we left full of hope that something was going to happen … we have sat down there for three weeks and nothing has bloody well happened and its shocking, it is the absolute pits.”
He said progress on opening roads was too slow.
“No-one has attacked this northern end, the road’s been open from Blenheim, no one’s started tidying this road up at all, they’ve made patch-up repairs all the way through and the roads from Ward and Waipapa Bay should have been upgraded and ready to go so we could just go into the next stage.
“Nothing has been done except patch up and I reckon it’s p*** poor and if that’s what our Government feels about us and how they deal with emergencies then I’m afraid you have lost a lot of votes and a lot of confidence in this area.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11767842
Also on TVNZ – Gerry Brownlie displaying his usual bullying asshole personality.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/gerry-brownlee-visits-kaikoura-and-tells-fed-up-local-im-pissed-off-you-took-attitude-after-being-confronted
Great they are showing their born to rule arrogance so publicly.
Wouldn’t have happened with Key.
Are the wheels coming off?
Hopefully. And yes, you are right to recognize the public display of arrogance. Hopefully it will be seared on the minds of the locals cometh election day.
Swearing at a voter – not a good look
only thing new about this is it is now being reported…..maybe I wasn’t imagining things after all
“We had a meeting here three weeks ago and Gerry was here, and we left full of hope that something was going to happen … we have sat down there for three weeks and nothing has bloody well happened and its shocking, it is the absolute pits.”
…
“Nothing has been done except patch up and I reckon it’s p*** poor and if that’s what our Government feels about us and how they deal with emergencies then I’m afraid you have lost a lot of votes and a lot of confidence in this area.”
I’m sorry, but Kaikoura isn’t that far from Chch. What on earth made them think that what came out of Brownlee’s mouth was going to be real? And great if they’re not going to vote National now, but what about the last election when this shit was already playing out for several years in Canterbury?
Some people only get it when it happens to them.
“Are the wheels coming off?”
Nope.
I’d be more interested in what the people of Kaikoura think.
Exactly, and often media are a little too selective on the locals they ask, hence the Nat supporter at the end of the herald article praising them, pushing the echo. Meanwhile the majority of public there are not so happy and I can’t say i blame them, very proud of them for making it known. Well done, speak your mind and tell us all like it really is.
Far out, the arrogance of Brownlee, and the locals won’t forget today and they will be talking about it for sometime afterwards.
I’m sure locals will be thrilled about them stopping at a vineyard aka class b drug manufacturing plantation to inspect their ‘cracked tanks’ on the way back home. Ho fucken ho ho ho.
Dearest Opposition parties, maybe some of your MP’s or people could spend a couple of days here and there in Kaikoura just helping out over the summer holidays, an awesome opportunity to really get to know the locals there, support their community and walk the talk, show you care. Some of us have not the means to go there. Now it’s summer and a great place for a holiday, maybe go help them out. No need to make a media frenzy about it, that would be shallow. Just boots on the ground, no announcement, just stop in and help a bit.
Key was a phenomenon. You really think the nats can win without him? Just look at Bennett. Pure shit comes out of her mouth every time she opens it. And poor old Bill’s just a plodder. The nats need to stay in the late 40% til the next election. Slipping just a bit and it’s curtains. You really think English and Bennett can keep things where Key had them? They made the nats look hopeless at their first press conference. It can only get worse. They’re history.
they are appalling and Key certainly held many in a trance (MSM included) but the opposition parties cannot sleep walk to an election win….they need to up their own game at the same time as the Nats crash
Yes, that’s the trouble. My guess, though, is that Labour’s lack of depth or oomph (or whatever you want to call it), together with the “Key’s gone” factor will mean the nats will lose next year rather than Labour winning. The margins over the last three elections have been slim and MMP at the moment gives the left, as well as Labour, the advantage in that regard. The difference will be whether Labour starts doing stupid things like it’s done over the last couple of elections. They just need to stay boringly steady and let the nats’ cringe factor, led by Bennett, do the work for them.
Labour would benefit for continuing to (re)introduce more candidates like Michael Wood and Laila Harre.
Fucking Askimet, what a piece of fucking shit it is, whoever coded this, needs to be fucked up the arse repeatedly with the sharp end of a pineapple.
Choice set of vocabulary from an advocate of the far right wing neo liberals.
Well done , cherub.
how about $30 Million for a flag referendum / flight of fancy by an ex-PMp – Shonkey should pay that back
Why?
Why did he have the compulsive need to waste 30 million of the commons money on HIS personal vanity project ?
When the little fucker knew damn well after consulting with his little mate David Farrar no one wanted it and that 30 million could have been better put to 41000 homeless or the poor bastards having to sleep in their cars?
What sort of idiot are you buddy?
You’ve just negated your whole argument about student loans and personal responsibility in deference to those who hold a position of political privilege yet still squander the public purse without any personal responsibility or accountability.
Moron.
I think a boycott of James is in order.
James should also pay back his Standard loans (everyone here has spent a lot on his education) too much actually
Ha! – the neo liberal is only ever any good when their using someone else’s money – in the classic case above of Jame’s hero John Key spending the commons wealth on his own ego gratification projects – that in itself negates the whole notion of ‘ personal responsibility ‘ they like to crap on about.
Sickening.
What a pathetic two faced hypocritical dogma neo liberalism really and truly is.
Exactly….shonkey knew the Flag was something no-one even thought about, but his Ego said FUCK NZ I AM THE MAN (he fund out he wasnt, but too late, the money was burned)…..and while were at it MCScummy can pay back his Multi million $$ bribe gone wrong Saudi farm….eh James…..the Natz list just goes on and on……
” HIS personal vanity project ?”.
Really?
Actually he was simply being kind to the benighted Labour Party.
Knowing that they were never going to become the Government he very kindly gave the Public a chance to accept or reject one of the core items in Labour’s 2014 manifesto.
There policy was not merely to give the public a chance to change the flag. It was to change it, regardless of what the public thought.
Key very kindly gave the public a chance to give their view on the matter.
They didn’t think very highly of the Labour Party policy, did they?
Nat’s love to pinch policy karma on them if that’s the case.
Keys choice of flag was the vanity
i saw Keys flag the other day, up a pole, looking tatty and torn just like the outgoing government, and thought to myself that’s Keys flag, and Key has gone, must say it was a good feeling.
Yeah and your another idiot alwyn . Along with about 4 or 5 other morons who post here that just cant accept neo liberalism is dying its cancerous death.
Go back to your knitting.
“” HIS personal vanity project ?”.
Really?”
yes – really. There has never been a popular, public based push for changing the flag. (people have tried but its always been a fizzer)
then from day one he proceeded to put his own view into the debate at every oppourtunity
its pathetic to try and blame labour for the choices key made – grow up
What was labours policy on the flag – scarily similar to keys – just a chance in execution- so hardly HIS vanity project.
Yes , and conveniently for you far right wing neo liberals you like to have a bob each way.
As the ‘change the flag ‘ debacle only pertains to those types of agitators- who have their people in both party’s – and to those who wish to rewrite NZ history.
You’ll never win using that line of attack, bud.
Back to the knitting you go.
Kekerengu is Tory heartland, how stupid is Brownlie.
As you say , they are just getting a taste of what everybody else has been putting up with from these bastards.
BTW, the vineyard they visited is Yealands now owned collectively by everyone in Marlborough through the local lines trust. Please don’t bag it too much.
Wtf is a lines trust doing buying a vineyard…..sounds very dodgy to me given the inherent risk profile in the wine business.
Why is it ok to bomb Mosul but not Aleppo?
http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/11/youre-not-hearing-the-whole-story-about-aleppo/
‘For the past few weeks, British news-papers have been informing their readers about two contrasting battles in the killing grounds of the Middle East. One is Mosul, in northern Iraq, where western reporters are accompanying an army of liberation as it frees a joyful population from terrorist control. The other concerns Aleppo, just a few hundred miles to the west. This, apparently, is the exact opposite. Here, a murderous dictator, hellbent on destruction, is waging war on his own people.’
Paul,
Possibly because the reporting accurately reflects the fact that the two situations are different. As indeed the quote you used illustrates that point (although I do realise it is a Fisk quote meant as irony).
The situations are the same
Iraq and Syria have both suffered destruction directly and indirectly by western forces. Others are in ruins and others still being reduced to rubble…
Semantics are for the weak, cowardly and dishonest!
It’s only different if you are a US lackey, like you Wayne