Daily review 16/11/2023
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5:30 pm, November 16th, 2023 - 27 comments
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Daily review is also your post.
This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.
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Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
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- The Right Are Furious That Abuse Doesn’t Work
We must have sympathy for the right.After all, it’s difficult being a conservative these days. Progressive politics are proceeding at a rapid pace. World leaders preaching kindness and compassion are lavished with praise and acclamations. You can’t hit your kids anymore, you can’t hit your dog, you can’t hit your ...27 mins ago - The Dunedin hospital crisis may be about more than just a hospital
The news that the University of Waikato med school proposal has passed its cost-benefit analysis just two days after the Dunedin Hospital funding crisis announcement may not be linked, but one certainly impacts the other. POLITIK understands that ACT opposes the Waikato proposal and NZ First is lukewarm, but somehow, ...1 hour ago - 2024 Reading Summary: September (+ Writing Update)
Completed reads for September: Old English Genesis A & B (poetry), by Anonymous Old English Exodus (poetry), by Anonymous The Life of St Guthlac of Crowland (poetry), by Anonymous The Death of St Guthlac (poetry), by Anonymous Maxims I [The Exeter Book Maxims] (poetry), by Anonymous Maxims II [The ...6 hours ago - Hayden Donnell raises my ‘grim’ Hamish to ‘furious’ Hamish
Delightful piece from Hayden Donnell at The Spinoff (how did I miss it?) — Huge opportunity: Could you be the guy standing behind the PM looking furious? OK, so I thought ‘grim’, right? But Hayden has brought receipts, as the saying goes… and his view is ‘absolutely ropeable’. Lol. “Usually ...13 hours ago - The problem, and the solution
Reader Pete Hodgson was in touch after Saturday’s edition to offer his speech notes from the Dunedin rally. They are excellent, they deserve the widest audience. My name is Pete Hodgson, and I chaired or served on the governance group of the new hospital for 6 years until last Xmas. ...14 hours ago - Climate Change: The end of coal in the UK
It's official: coal has been eliminated from the UK's electricity system: Britain’s only remaining coal power plant at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire will generate electricity for the last time on Monday after powering the UK for 57 years. The power plant will come to the end of its life in ...14 hours ago - The Bewildering World of Chris Luxon – Broken Promises, An Angry Country, and a Govt on Life S...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.National Party leader (current), Christopher Luxon, speaking at a public meeting in Gore, in January last year:“Now lets be clear, Dunedin Hospital, started under a National Government, mucked around under a Labour Government for ...15 hours ago - A tipping point?
The National Party has been promising Dunedin - and the lower South Island - a new hospital since 2008. Despite those promises, the Key government did nothing during its nine years in office, and it was left to Labour to actually start the process in 2017. National promptly criticised them ...16 hours ago
- Wake Me Up When September Ends
A bit disoriented this morning. I’ll blame Daylight Savings; I slept late. To be fair, it was probably the new mattress. After going to Rotorua the other week, we realised just how terrible ours was.“Scalloped” is a term that will be familiar to guitarists. It describes how some guitars have ...18 hours ago - Rays of Sunshine – Bravo, Bravo !
Cartoon: Guy BodySam Sharpe Studio brought “Wrecking Ball Luxon” to the marchPlease consider supporting my work and subscribing. Thanks, Tui.Oliver Mould provided an exciting statistic yesterday.He wrote in the comments:Source: Why Civil Resistance Works The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent ConflictAnd I paused…It was exciting to read that. Thanks, OM. A ...18 hours ago - Is this our least worldly Minister of Transport?
Over the weekend, the Minister of Transport Simeon Brown proudly announced his new speed-setting rule, a decision that will undoubtedly lead to greater harm on our roads. It’s a tragically predictable decision by a Minister who seems to be on only nodding acquaintance with both evidence and international norms. Fueled ...22 hours ago - One in four march against Govt in Dunedin
Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, September 30:Over 35,000 people marched in Dunedin on Saturday to protest against the Government’s plans to downgrade the new hospital being built there.In the scoop of the ...23 hours ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #39
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But what a fool believes, he seesNo wise man has the power to reason awayWhat seems to beIs always better than nothingThan nothing at allSongwriters: Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonaldWe begin.“Welcome to Q&A, I’m Jack Tame. Today, for a government that says it’s fixated on waste, what’s the point in a ...2 days ago - Kiwi Power !
35,000 strong march in Dunedin to protest Government hospital cuts - showing us how it’s done. Thank you Dunedin!IN PICTURES Photo Credits : RNZ, ODT, Debunking Conspiracies Aotearoa, BHN, NZH, Stuff Related Reading:Bye Bye Health Verrall to Levy: "Health NZ NDAs are North Korean - Get rid of it."Lester Levy ...2 days ago - Stranded in paradise
Oh, you should have seen Reefton in 1888. It glowed. It was illuminated by the future.In August of that year — and I am confident I have my facts right because I am quoting directly from the town's own website — Reefton became the first place in New Zealand and ...2 days ago - Dunedin Protests Against Hospital Cuts
Dunedin is not a happy city at the moment. We are used to being ignored in the nationwide New Zealand media – wrong end of the country and all – but the Government’s recent announcement on the Dunedin Hospital rebuild has got people motivated. How motivated? Well, I couldn’t make ...3 days ago - The One Who Saw Too Much: accepted
A nice bit of news. I can report that I have had a short story success – my 3,600 word gothic horror piece, The One Who Saw Too Much, has been accepted ... 3 days ago - Broken Stone
And another pitch shattersAnother little bit gets lostTell me what else really mattersOh, such a costLike pebbles on a beachKicked around, displaced by feetOh, like broken stonesThey're all trying to get homeSong by Paul WellerDoes it feel as though your country has been hijacked? That terrible people have taken the ...3 days ago - I’m Glad The Right Wing Coalition Won
Dame Jacinda Adern would not accept “acceptable death rates” during Covid. But in the UK the Tory government said “Let them die”.Additions belowYesterday, when I saw the news that a Timaru factory with hundreds of jobs on the line was going to close, I couldn't help but think:"I'm so glad ...3 days ago - We will never give you up, let you down, or Rickroll you
1. What did the National party promise Dunedin last election?a. We will build the hospital you needb. We will never give you up, let you down, or Rickroll you c. We will bring back John Keyd. Pandas2. What is the National party promising Dunedin now?a. A sawn-off half-pint watery version of ...3 days ago - The 48 Hours Leading Up To An Execution
Note: This is obviously a very heavy topic — it took me three days to manage to write it — so please read with care. In saying that, in amongst the awfulness I think this piece also contains some hope, and plenty of humanity. Thanks to those of you who ...3 days ago - Remembering our friend John Mason
We are extremely sad to say that our esteemed Skeptical Science colleague— and good friend to many of us— John Mason passed away on Friday September 20, 2024. Only last week, we blew a horn of appreciation for John's remarkable gift for telling stories about science. Our expectation was that ...3 days ago
- How has the New Zealand economy been doing?
Stagnation and ContractionIn this column I use the less familiar measure of GDP per capita instead of the GDP measure favoured by the commentariat. I became familiar with it when I began doing international comparisons because of the population differences between countries, while I depended upon the measure while working ...3 days ago - Luxon taking his cues from Amazon
This is embarrassing: I just had to google who Andrew Jassy is.I come to substack to learn terrible thingsIn my defence, they promoted him during the pandemic and I had other things on my mind. Also watching Amazon injure their workers at a rate of over four times the US ...4 days ago - The Hoon around the week to Sept 27
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including research suggesting a doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could trigger 8° of warming ...4 days ago
- Could a doubling of Co2 trigger 8° of warming?
Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:A seventh planetary boundary, for ocean acidification will soon be breached, and may have already done so, according to ...4 days ago
- Trust Us, Luxon Said
Just a little something for the painHospital food getting you down?Honey now I'm not one to complainBut this hangin' aroundIs wearing me outSong by David Gray.Yesterday, Dr Shane Reti, the Minister of Health, and Chris Bishop, the duty Minister for looking sad, sincere and determined, announced that Dunedin’s promised new ...4 days ago - Treasury warns of unprecedented cuts in real spending per capita to achieve surplus
Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September 27:Treasury’s Chief Economics Adviser Dominick Stephens gave the year’s most important speech yesterday, saying real and per-capita cuts in public spending implied by the Government’s surplus ...4 days ago - Weekly Roundup 27-September-2024
Welcome to the end of the week and the end of the month. Ready to “spring forward” to Daylight Saving Time this weekend? As always, this post is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew. If you’d like to support our work and keep the posts coming, we welcome ...4 days ago
- Please consider submitting on the offshore mining bill: We have 4 full days left
The National led Coalition government intends to bring back offshore oil and gas mining. Shane Jones made that clear as soon as he got into power last year:“Mining is coming back!” he declared in Parliament in December.And this year: “Drill, Baby, Drill!”It’s his brand of politics.It feels futile but I ...4 days ago - The Long and the Short: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
“While a nationwide vote to confirm, or not, the public’s understanding of our foundational constitutional document would be ‘divisive’, ‘racist’, a ‘blunt instrument’, and therefore completely out of the question, a referendum to extend the life expectancy of elected politicians, which no one not deeply involved with the governing process ...4 days ago - Procedures, Processes and Principles: Is It Possible To Defend The Treaty Of Waitangi And Democracy?
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- Has Government Become A Public-Private Partnership?
Dirty Deals Done In The Dark: There will be times when it is to the considerable advantage of both National and Labour to be able to shrug philosophically and pardon themselves for cooperating in the introduction of controversial and divisive policies by explaining to an outraged public that this is simply ...4 days ago
- Is National A White Supremacist Party?
By Their Deeds Shall Ye Know Them: When the defeated Reform and United parties were persuaded to unite under the rubric of “National” in 1936, the values advanced were unashamedly imperialist and white supremacist. Eighty-eight years later, National is at pains to distance itself (coalition agreements permitting) from the most obvious ...4 days ago
- On the way to another “Mother of All Budgets”?
Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday dismissed a grim warning from the Treasury that the country was headed for a fiscal crisis. Treasury Deputy Secretary Dominick Stephens said that fulfilling the Government’s promise to get the country’s books back to surplus by 2027-28 would require cuts to Government services “unprecedented in ...4 days ago
- The Three-Headed Taniwha Has Begun Biting Itself
When ACT, National, and New Zealand First joined together in a three-way coalition at the end of the last year, it was met with predictions of backstabbing, stonewalling, and inter-party politics. Many seemed convinced this government would get little done with such a diverse agenda. If only that had been ...4 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2024
Open access notables Refined Estimates of Global Ocean Deep and Abyssal Decadal Warming Trends, Johnson & Purkey, Geophysical Research Letters: Deep and abyssal layer decadal temperature trends from the mid-1980s to the mid-2010s are mapped globally using Deep Argo and historical ship-based Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) instrument data. Abyssal warming trends are widespread, ...4 days ago
- Embrace the heresy, touch the third rail
Let’s examine some numbers.This is a public transport number.3% And this is an invitation to make an educated guess: In the morning rush hour in Wellington on Thorndon Quay, what proportion of the vehicles are buses?Yes indeed …the answer is:3% However, what do we find if we look inside those buses? Care ...5 days ago - Another abuse of democracy
This week National introduced its long-threatened bill to repeal the offshore drilling ban and promote the fossil fuel industry, and rammed it through to select committee. Today the select committee opened for submissions. If you have an opinion on this corrupt, ecocidal legislation, you will need to speak up quick ...5 days ago
- Bye, Bye Health !
Bye, Bye hospital plans.Today Rachel Thomas reported - $3.2 billion is sleighted to come out of “hospital and mental health infrastructure projects”, and it seems the first formal casualty is Dunedin hospital, South Island.ODT reports former Labour Cabinet minister Pete Hodgson saying:“At the end of the day, the question is ...5 days ago - Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s trade deal with the UAE could unlock Middle East
New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are moving closer together – at record pace. Just a year after agreeing to enter initial talks, Wellington and Abu Dhabi have concluded negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (or CEPA for short). The deal will go down as one of ...5 days ago - Things That Make You Go… Dang
Pull up like a shipwreck in reverseYeah, I do, yeah, I doMaybe it's foreverMaybe it's just shampooDangSong by Caroline PolachekToday, a few things that, depending on your age, might make you go - that’s outrageous, or hmm, maybe WTAF, or just plain old dang.Specifically, I’ll be covering:When Press Secretaries resign, ...5 days ago - Minister ignored widespread concern about GPS, official documents confirm
Two weeks ago, the Ministry of Transport proactively released two tranches of documents that show the advice officials provided to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown as he directed the shaping of his draft and final Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport. You can find the documents via the MoT ...5 days ago
- An attack ‘unbecoming of a leader’
Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 26:Days after realising hundreds of thousands of tax-free gains on the sale of one of his rental properties, PM Christopher Luxon responded yesterday to ANZ CEO ...5 days ago - On The Government’s Bizarre Hostility To A Capital Gains Tax
Oyez oyez, CEO Antonia Watson, CEO of the biggest bank in New Zealand has come out in favour of a capital gains tax! Actually, this is not a daring new idea. Over the past three decades the IMF, the World Bank, the expert Tax Working Group and most mainstream economists ...5 days ago
- Hamish is out. Has had enough of Luxon role
Following on from my earlier post … ‘Hamish Rutherford always looks grim these days‘, well, it seems that enough is enough for Hamish Rutherford (and fair enough too). Stuff reports: [Rutherford’s] message said: “It has been an absolute honour to work for Christopher Luxon both in Opposition and for the ...5 days ago
- Climate Adam: Turning the Tide on Climate Change
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). As the world heats, we face the consequences from rising seas, extreme weather, and the spread of disease. But what can ...6 days ago
- Reasons to feel positive
Reason to feel positive # 1The next of Life's Little Victories could be just around the cornerSince I got back I have been hearing a wheezing choking rasping sound coming from the Number One Boss element of our gas stove. Wheezy gas is never something you want to hear coming ...6 days ago - David Seymour Got His Wish – Charter Schools Are Back. Who Is Getting the $$$ ?
OPINIONThis morning I wrote that the Charter Schools Bill had passed its final reading. Jan Tinetti called it a “sad, sad day for New Zealand education”. And Green Party MP Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan said the move is “not about education, it’s about privatisation”.$153mn for charter schools in what teachers and ...6 days ago - David Seymour: “The Government is Broke” & Other Politics Headlines
Note: Video of the fricken’ targets and a nanny state mentality at end. Read more ...6 days ago - Climate Change: We can’t afford the gas industry
Yesterday, National finally introduced its long-threatened bill to repeal the offshore drilling ban and promote the fossil fuel industry to the House. They'll be ramming it through its first reading under urgency this afternoon, and while it will go to select committee, they will almost certainly try their usual stunt ...6 days ago
- Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
In your mind you have capacities, you knowTo telepath messages through the vast unknownPlease close your eyes and concentrateWith every thought you thinkUpon the recitation we're about to singCalling occupants of interplanetary craftCalling occupants of interplanetary, most extraordinary craftSongwriters: John Woloschuk / Terry DraperThink of the capabilities of the human ...6 days ago - Nine public transit lessons from Perth
This guest post by Darren Davis originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, and is republished here by kind permission. A while ago, I wrote about Perth’s public transport journey, outlining how Perth got to where it is now. I recommend reading that piece if you haven’t already, ...6 days ago
- ANZ CEO says ‘it’s time’ for a Capital Gains Tax
Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 25:Ad agency climate activist group Comms Declare today launched the New Zealand version of the globally compiled ‘F list,’ which names 14 local agencies “which have ...6 days ago - Parliament to get its own police force
Parliament yesterday moved to give its security staff powers of search, seizure and arrest. In effect it is establishing a quasi Parliamentary police force which will have the power to handcuff and detain offenders. But it will be a force with some heavy restrictions on what it can do. Most ...6 days ago
- How to complain about a delayed OIA release
A few years back, Te Kawa Mataaho / Public Service Commission started releasing OIA statitistics, on the theory that this would allow failure to be identified and managed, and so improve performance. It may have done so initially, but then the iron laws of bureaucracy (and specifically, Goodhart's and Campbell's) ...6 days ago
- Just have a think: Arctic Sea Ice minimum 2024. Three degrees Celsius warming now baked in?
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- Let them eat glue
What is real, what is fake? Do we really know any more?Let's say you want to make tonight’s dinner a bit more appealing by trying something new.Why don't I google it? You say.You type: Idea for fresh and exciting meal.Google tells you: Pizza! Here's a topping combo that will wow ...7 days ago - The Narcissist in Life
OPINIONYesterday, after the Polkinghorne case verdict, Philip Polkinghorne told reporters:"Now we can grieve and let Pauline rest in peace. That is the best gift we can possibly give her."And today his defence lawyer Elizabeth Hall said the case showed the justice system was working as intended.Jurors could not land the ...7 days ago - Do you know what the Coalition Government has done for you in its first 100 days? Here’s a lis...
I decided to finally write my “About Mountain Tui” page and found some of my old posts that I wanted to transfer here. This won’t be distributed by email, but will serve as a record of my writing.Here is one of them:Repealed under urgency No more Fair Pay Agreements, a ...7 days ago - Back in the Office
These things that I've been told can rearrangeMy world, my doubt in time but inside outThis is the working hourWe are paid by those who learn by our mistakesSongwriters: Ian Stanley / Roland Orzabal / Immanuel Franklin EliasSince Covid, life has been tough for many central city businesses. As you ...7 days ago - The Mayor’s Plan for Bridging the Harbour
Discussion of another harbour crossing has been in the news a lot recently as a result of Mayor Wayne Brown pushing for a bridge from Point Chev to Birkenhead. While I believe his proposal is bad, at least some of his reasoning behind his push for a bridge is correct. ...7 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On Nicola Willis’ Perverse Hostility To Working From Home
Vaccine work mandates, no. Work-in-the-office mandates? Hell yes, Finance Minister Nicola Willis is all for them. Given half the chance, she believes, “some people but not all” will just skive off, otherwise. Sigh. But here’s the thing. Normally, when the media wants to query Cabinet Ministers about events in their ...7 days ago
- ACCC accuses Woolworths of misleading pricing
Up then down: Australia’s competition watchdog alleges both Woolworths Australia and main competitor Coles Myer put the price of hundreds of products up before dropping them again and advertising ‘everyday low prices’. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy ...7 days ago - A World Full of Potential Cult Leaders
Hi,In this Webworm podcast episode, I bring you a conversation with someone I found endlessly fascinating to talk to — one of my favourite authors, Jason Pargin. He’s perhaps most well known for writing John Dies At The End, or a host of other books that all have amazing titles ...7 days ago
- Nicola Willis’s Catch-22
Would you like to get paid more and have your work get worse, or have your pay decrease in real terms but when you’re saving lives or raising the next generation of workers, you get to keep your head juuuust above the water level during this flood of fiscally unnecessary ...1 week ago - Luxon Is THAT Asshole Boss
After firing half the capital’s public servants, Luxon and Willis are now trying to blame the remaining few for sending Wellington’s cafes bankrupt. It couldn’t possibly be the economic downturn that resulted from him pulling all the money out of the system and giving it to the wealthy to bank. ...1 week ago - Nicola’s destruction
Today, Stuff led with a headline claiming that forcing public servants to return to the office was “the number one” fix for Wellington’s ‘icy’ economy.No mention until much later of the 6500+ positions the Government culled or its slashing of government programs and spend.That’s been the key differentiator in Wellington, ...1 week ago - Media Link: ” A View from Afar” on multidimensional hybrid warfare and the ineffectiveness of mu...
This week’s “A View from Afar” podcast addresses the issue of multidimensional hybrid warfare using the Israeli pager attacks in Lebanon as a starting point before moving on to discuss the failures of multilateral institutions, the UN in particular, when … Continue reading ...1 week ago - Priorities
Back in 2018 the then-Labour government legislated formal targets to reduce child poverty with the Child Poverty Reduction Act - and took actual steps to achieve them, with a $5.5 billion families package to boost incomes and a school lunches scheme to ensure kids didn't go hungry. While a lot ...1 week ago
- The Dead-End Options Of Political Decay.
Dark Times: Denied the state’s leadership and resources, New Zealand’s economy has been hollowed out and taken over. More importantly, so has its democracy.WHAT’S WRONG WITH NATIONAL? New Zealand’s “natural party of government” (since its formation in 1936 the National Party has won 17 out of 28 general elections) has ...1 week ago
- Fixing child poverty would cost <1% of GDP
The previous Government set a goal of reducing the number of children experiencing “material hardship” from 13.3% down to 6% by mid-2028. But Upston says sticking to that, or even the suggested ‘lower ambition targets’, wasn’t realistic. Photo: Lynn GrievesonKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to ...1 week ago - If I Only Had a Brain
I would not be just a nuffin'My head all full of stuffin'My heart all full of painI would dance and be merryLife would be a ding-a-derryIf I only had a brainSongwriters: Harold Arlen / Yip HarburgNot much happens in the world of politics on a Monday. I mentioned that recently ...1 week ago - A vision for Swimmable Cities
This is a guest post by Nikki Goodson, a self-proclaimed urbanist and Independent Marketer for businesses building a better world. Looking for projects to connect on, she found the global movement Swimmable Cities and thought advocacy for urban swimming sounded like a pretty good idea. (The header image of ...1 week ago
- End of free RAT tests means more exposure to virus
The end of free Rapid Antigen Tests today is another sign the Government is giving up on the challenge of protecting the community from Covid-19. ...15 hours ago - Release: Government breaks promise on ferry plan
Time has run out for Nicola Willis who has failed to keep her promise to deliver a solution to replace the Interislander ferries by today. ...16 hours ago - Release: Labour supports marches for better health
Labour supports Buller and Dunedin communities who are marching today and calling on the Government to act urgently to fix the health crisis. ...21 hours ago
- Raising speed limits will cost our communities
The Government’s move to disregard all evidence and increase speed limits will result in serious harm. ...3 days ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Buller community
The Green Party stands in solidarity with the Buller community in its silent protest for better healthcare. ...3 days ago
- Release: Proposed job losses devastating for Timaru
News that the Smithfield meatworks could close is devastating for the hundreds of people who work there, Timaru and the wider region. ...4 days ago
- Release: Question mark over financial sustainability of Polytechs
The Government is taking tertiary education down a worrying path with new reporting finding that fourteen of the country’s sixteen polytechnics couldn’t survive on their own,” Labour’s tertiary education spokesperson Dr Deborah Russell says. ...4 days ago
- TPM issues warning to Govt: Back down or prepare for the wrath of the million Māori
Today the government announced a $30m cut to Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori- a programme that develops te reo Māori among our kaiako. “This announcement is just the latest in an onslaught of attacks on te iwi Māori,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Rawiri Waititi. ...4 days ago
- Govt set to break promise on Dunedin Hospital
The Green Party is calling on the Government to honour its promise to Dunedin and build its new hospital to full capacity. ...5 days ago
- Release: Dunedin Hospital d-listed by Government
The non-announcement in Dunedin today had Ministers leaving broken promises and a likely severely diluted hospital build in their wake. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour welcomes UAE trade deal
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed today with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). ...5 days ago
- Release: Hundreds more jobs cuts on housing frontline
The Government has shown its true intentions for the public service and economy – it’s not to get more public servants back to the office, it’s more job losses. ...5 days ago
- Release: Govt not addressing health workforce crisis
The National Government is hiding the gaps in the health workforce from New Zealanders, by not producing a full workforce plan nearly a year into their tenure. ...5 days ago
- Release: Government cuts fair pay for bus drivers
The Government has cut funding for bus drivers to get paid fairly for the work they do, Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...5 days ago
- Crown Minerals Bill Advances Colonisation
Today, the Crown Mineral Amendment Bill was read for the first time, reversing the ban on oil exploration off the coast of Taranaki. It was no accident that this proposed law change was read directly after the Government started to unravel the ability of iwi and hapū Māori to have ...5 days ago
- Landlord govt finds new way to undermine public housing
Proposed cuts to Kāinga Ora reflect a failure to fully commit to fixing the housing crisis. ...6 days ago
- Crown should prove their rights to Foreshore & Seabed – Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Justice, Tākuta Ferris, has hit out at the Government, demanding the Crown prove its rights to the foreshore, following the Marine and Coastal Area Amendment Bill, passing its first reading. "Māori rights to the foreshore pre-exist the Declaration of Independence, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and ...6 days ago
- NZ must urgently help whanau in Lebanon
The Government must immediately help evacuate New Zealanders and Lebanese whanau caught up in the current conflict unfolding across south Lebanon. ...6 days ago
- Green Government will revoke oil and gas permits
The Green Party vows to reinstate the oil and gas ban and revoke permits when it returns to government following the coalition’s introduction of legislation to reopen offshore oil and gas exploration this afternoon. ...7 days ago
- Government introduces controversial MACA legislation
The Government’s introduction of its interventions in the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act threatens to throw relations between Māori and Crown into deeper disharmony. ...7 days ago
- Release: Gun lobby bill removes regulation at ranges
Gun lobbyist Nicole McKee and her conflict of interest has struck again, this time removing safety regulations from shooting clubs and ranges in New Zealand. ...7 days ago
- Release: Govt forgetting the 6000 jobs they’ve cut
The real problem in the public sector is ongoing job losses and cuts to the front line. ...7 days ago
- Government undermines public service with WFH crackdown
The Green Party says the Government’s retrograde move to tighten up on Work from Home arrangements is the latest in a series of blows to the Public Service. ...1 week ago
- Release: Ministers oblivious to cuts’ effect on families
The National Government is oblivious to the impact cuts to services will have on New Zealanders who are doing the hard yards caring for mentally ill family members. ...1 week ago
- Release: Public service set up to fail under National
Nicola Willis has set up the public service to fail to pay for reckless tax cuts for landlords and the tobacco industry. ...1 week ago
- Release: Coalition cooking up costly RMA replacement
National continues to dismantle environmental protections in the interests of rushing through unsustainable development that will ultimately cost communities. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National red-faced as benefit numbers skyrocket
The economy has stagnated and the National Government is having to face the consequences of its atrocious lawmaking, as beneficiary numbers skyrocket past even Treasury’s predictions. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National allocating police officers not hired yet
There are 104 fewer police officers now than there were when National came into Government. ...2 weeks ago
- Economic decline further cause for tax transformation
Today’s GDP figures combined with the injustice of our tax system will mean more pain for our lowest-income households while those at the top remain relatively unscathed. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: No growth under National, just cuts
The National Government’s decisions have hindered, not helped the economy. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt must act to avoid the worst of NIWA’s climate projections
New climate projections from NIWA underscore how urgently climate action is needed. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: More job losses as Government fails on manufacturing
The Government is failing the manufacturing sector with no plan for its future. ...2 weeks ago
- Tāmaki-Makaurau MP Urges Immediate Support for Families Impacted by Mill Closure
Te Pāti Māori Member of Parliament for Tāmaki Makaurau is urging a full wraparound of services to intervene quickly with families affected by today's announced closure of the Penrose Mill. Seventy-five people are set to lose their jobs right on the eve of Christmas. "I want to extend my thoughts ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Sentencing package misses the mark by a mile
Sentencing policy announced by Minister Paul Goldsmith today is anything but new, merely window dressing to make up for backwards violent crime statistics under the National Government. ...2 weeks ago
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David Seymour doesn’t stick to his own standards of good regulation despite having a multimillion-dollar vanity ministry set up to do so. ...2 weeks ago
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Labour Leader Chris Hipkins will travel to the United Kingdom this week to attend the annual UK Labour Party conference in Liverpool and meet with members of the new Labour Government. ...2 weeks ago
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An imminent decision to increase the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) for snapper would be a direct violation of the first-ever Treaty Settlement and inevitably breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi, says Te Pāti Māori. Te Ohu Kaimoana has sought a High Court declaration to prevent the Minister of Oceans and ...2 weeks ago
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Today’s announcement from the Minister of Workplace Relations emphasises how deep in the pocket of big business this Government really is. ...2 weeks ago
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Scrapping the Progressive Procurement programme designed to support and grow Māori businesses is a missed opportunity. ...2 weeks ago
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- Reforming the building consent system
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- Minister to meet with Pacific Island climate leaders
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts is travelling to Fiji on Monday to attend a Ministerial Meeting (Talanoa) with Pacific Island Countries, Australia, and New Zealand. “Attending the Talanoa will reinforce New Zealand’s commitment to supporting climate resilience in the Pacific and advancing action in the areas of climate change,” Mr ...3 days ago
- Human rights recommendations accepted
The Government is accepting the majority of human rights recommendations received at the fourth Universal Period Review in Geneva, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “We have considered all 259 recommendations from the United Nations. We are supporting 168 and partially supporting 12 of these recommendations. “Recommendations related to women’s rights, ...4 days ago
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- Free mental health resources for business owners
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- Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission board appointment announced
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Mr. President Nearly four score years ago, nations exhausted from a cataclysmic World War came together in San Francisco to create the United Nations Charter. Forged in the immediate aftermath of that war, then New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser held “the greatest hopes” for the Charter’s success, which he ...4 days ago
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- Peer Mental Health Service Launched, Further Support Planned
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- Significant progress on SH1/29 intersection upgrade
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National’s broken election promise – that it would build back Dunedin Hospital to its original capacity before Labour downscaled plans – has raised issues of the country’s priorities when it comes to infrastructure.The Government says costs on the project have ballooned to $3 billion, and that’s too much. Infrastructure minister ...1 hour ago
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 1 October appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 hour ago
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A Senator from Oklahoma calls out someone at a Committee hearing for a fist fight. Sanders reminds him – you're a Senator.
(from 7 min 30 seconds)
He does a celebrity tour – Fox News News Max etc saying he is of the old values – Andrew Jackson punched someone at a dinner, had many duels and advocated the caning of other politicians.
He says he will bite in a fight.
A GOP Congressman accuses the former Speaker McCarthy of a rabbit punch to the kidneys with an elbow as he is going past, chases after him and calls him names in front of journalists.
The GOP has gone down the rabbit hole in support of Trump for so long it does not know how to behave in public places anymore.
Maybe a new Warren Commission is required so that the death of the Great Society does not become the epitaph of democracy in America, the ultimate outcome of the southern strategy – the undead in white race nation Christian dominionism fascism hoods.
Basically Late Night Shows are finding that they do not need Trump as POTUS to write their scripts for them, just the undead GOP legacy.
Great to see the union leader never backed down.
We need more of this standup and in your face from the Democrat side, not more weak outrage from "activists" who do nothing more than type vegan outrage on their phones like that's useful.
Optics of the next government conducting their government forming deals in 4.5 star hotel boardrooms instead of the halls of parliament are there for all to see.
If you want an idea about how the next three years will go, have a look at the last three weeks.
I see that Newshub is airing more complaints about Ginny Andersen. Is Ginny as bad as these (anonymous) people make out or is it an orchestrated campaign against her. Amelia Wade has certainly got her knickers in a big knot about this. I do have issues about anonymous complaints being made about a relatively high profile person – I realise it's often justified in extreme cases, but is this getting out of hand.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/11/ginny-andersen-two-former-staffers-make-fresh-allegations-against-labour-mp.html
Red herring……..smokescreen………storm in a gnats lonely braincell…….
All she has to do is apologise, get the story behind her, and move on.
Some of these people appear to have had no media training at all.
She's done that Ad – at least twice. Too tired and too late to go looking for the items but I can assure you she has apologised. How many times is she expected to do it ffs.
Here you go: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/502320/labour-mp-ginny-andersen-formally-apologises-after-bullying-accusation [4 days ago]
Looks like more is coming.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/labour-mp-ginny-andersen-denies-fresh-bullying-body-shaming-rumours/6PUXW6GYAZHFFBCSGMTBOK7Y6I/
cui bono?
From Ad's link:
I was in that situation once. Anonymous false claims that ended up causing much trouble – serious enough to have me fearing for my safety. Its hard to respond when you don't know the source. I did find out in the end but too late…the damage was done.
I wonder where Chris Bishop fits into this picture and who is next on the hit list?
Indeed, it’s an underhand tactic aimed at causing maximal (reputational) damage. It is similar to pig-fucker or wife-beater accusations.
Bit hollow to apologise (prospectively?) for all historical and anonymous accusations that might or might not come out of the woodworks and that might or might not have any substance.
An orchestrated litany of reputational sabotage on Labour politicians. As someone said to me today "they are picking off Labour MPs one by one". Women MPs are the primary targets starting with Jacinda Ardern. And if you happen to be brown as well then its a double dose… see Nanaia Mahuta.
I'm surprised Auckland Council has voted 18-2 in favour of investigating Brown Wayne's $5 a trip congestion charging between Greenlane and Te Atatu on SH1.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/11/auckland-council-agrees-to-bring-in-congestion-charges-here-s-how-it-will-affect-you.html
Basically, they’re saying to workers we are going to make your lives and the lives of your kids that much harder because we can’t work out a way to get hundreds of thousands of low skilled immigrants in without fucking the network.
This city can get in the sea as far as I'm concerned.
State highways are a Central Government responsibility – let's see how the Tory government likes that idea as they will be the ones that have to implement it.
The right and especially the hard right love a flat tax. User pays, they say, because it allows businesses and the wealthy reduce costs at the expense of their workers.
This is one example where each vehicle is taxed a flat amount regardless of size, purpose, or profit.
The other one I think these clowns (Simian Brown) want to introduce is RUC for everyone, replacing petrol taxes.
I suspect that the congestion charging cameras will be on the CBD motorway exits. Which would make it a Council, rather than a NZTA operational issue.
However, who knows….. It sounds as though there is quite a lot of planning and 'consulting' to do before they actually have a proposal to critique.
Given the current progress rate on Council projects, I'd regard this as a highly optimistic timeframe.
If you get a chance, go visit ATOC.
This is the integrated command centre of Auckland Transport and NZTA which has a very large bank of screens something akin to the Starship Enterprise. The local-central transport networks are fully integrated from every bus way and motorway right down to every sequence of traffic light.
So it's pretty easy to operationalise the camera operations.
But to your point of who would do the revenue collection: disabuse yourself of any notion that central government would ever let local government collect this scale of revenue. This is going to be an NZTA gig start to finish.
Agree.
Pretty tiring to hear Auckland's business leaders on RNZ say the tax was better than requiring freight to move only at night because the warehouses weren't open at night.
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg requires trucks to only go at night. Takes that ;health and safety risk completely away, and yes warehouses open at night.
But no, tax the workers an socialise your costs before business does anything.
Not for the tired trickiest that tip over late at night because they fall asleep at the wheel, and the terrible affects longterm night shift work has on health.
Well no, for those in the EU regulated areas, the risk stems from poorly planned and irregular working times. Which is the opposite of a very poorly regulated system that we have here.
https://www.etf-europe.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Driver-Fatigue-in-European-Road-Transport-Report.pdf
And yes, there are plenty of studies on the very large decrease in road injuries and fatalities to the whole public due to this EU regulated system.
You did well deciphering my gibberish must remember to wear glasses.
That's truckies for people without ads code cracking abilities
Several of the traditionally 'left' councillors, have definitely voted in favour of the congestion charge (e.g Richard Hills & Alf Filipaina).
I think that the rich most certainly do use the motorways at peak times – they also have ‘free’ company provided parking – and will be delighted if their commute is quicker – because others have been forced to change. An extra $50/week is nothing off the salary of a corporate lawyer.
If this desperately flawed concept is to encourage commuters onto a desperately flawed public transport system network then perhaps along with the congestion charge a penalty is paid by AT back to users every single time a service is delayed even by a minute.
Surely there's an app for that.
South Africa is 42-4 off 14 overs. But there is rain. It is likely though that they will have the time to come back and finish the innings before it rains again.
But they would have to use the reserve day for the Oz innings – the chance of play tomorrow is not good.
This is going to end TMO'ed out and the Yappies winning.
Deja vu.