Well if Shipley knew nothing about construction (+) or finance(+) or architecture (+) or engineering (+) and could so easily have the wool pulled over her eyes- the trading while insolvent wasn’t just weeks but some years- what the bloody hell was she doing there.
She didn’t even have the nous to know that she needed to leave
Dear Jenny and co aren’t the only directors being pursued by liquidators at present. Our beloved mayor is being made to answer for the Stonewood collapse.
Unusual to discover a media story acknowledging that Winston was right, but he fails to notice that the original headlines were caused by Labour ministers announcing policies as if they were government-originated when they hadn’t actually obtained the agreement of NZF.
Ardern failed to account for that pattern of behaviour when announcing her reset for the coalition yesterday. His take: “much like the columnists saying that the coalition was falling apart because of comments from Winston, this new “plan” was words. And words are meaningless until we see the actions that come from them.”
Rare to see political scientist Dr Bryce Edwards getting it wrong. He told TVNZ breakfast viewers this: “PM’s speech didn’t say much but it reduced damage of NZ First ‘going a bit rogue’.” He hasn’t been paying attention. Winston’s responses to the rogue Labour ministers attempting an end-run around him was simply to point out that NZF hadn’t endorsed their policy initiatives. Obviously that was because the PM hadn’t yet called the necessary meeting to establish coalition consensus.
The media goad Winston and Winston goads the media back, I just didn’t expect this goading from the usually polished Kim Hill and she got the deserved reaction from him on Morning Retort today.
I thought they both performed poorly. I understand his irritation, but he ought to have just been more patient with her and explained that the media reportage failures were due to lack of comprehension of the need for consensus decision-making in the coalition. Not sure why Kim hasn’t been able to grasp this yet, but she needs help.
Kim was clearly articulating and continuing the false media narrative of disunity in the coalition. Kim may have got the desired ratings response but it was unhelpful, amateurish and she is better than that. My observation over the years is that Winston doesn’t appreciate being wound up in early morning interviews so why do it. Kim could have been more aware as she is in the drivers seat behind the radio mic.
I thought they both went to the edge and pulled it back.
It may be the romantic in me but I sensed mutual respect between them after the early exchanges.
Yeah, it’s a bit sad that the commercial media reduces our democracy, and the ordering and conduct of our society, to the level of a sporting contest or reality show in order to sell their advertiser’s product.
Everything has to be presented as a binary winner / looser situation to fit the format and presentation of nuance and comparative concepts isn’t possible. No wonder the media can’t handle MMP and coalition government, they can’t make it fir the format.
MMP in NZ doesn’t work very well in NZ because we have two parties around 40% and a couple of small parties that fluctuate between the threshold and 10%
For MMP to work properly the largest party need to have no more than 30-35% of the market share.
The fact you have to suck him to this old prick on 7% and lick his balls tells me the system isn’t quite working the way it should.
You could try thinking about how battles have often been one throughout history by a small force joining one side to help ensure victory. Winston has been using NZF in precisely the same manner. In fact, that why we ditched first past the post, because a critical mass of voters alienated by Lab/Nat cluelessness had formed.
Blatantly Misogynist MMP is working just fine.
What’s happened to smaller parties who go into coalition and just become yes minister to the main party is evidence BM your theory is a load of crap.
Smaller parties get swallowed up and Peter’s knows this and is making an effort to show his party is different.
National are implementing their strategy – drive NZF below 5% by smearing Peters as just out for himself (‘baubles’) or uncontrollable, or senile (BM’s favourite angle).
Then scaremonger like crazy about a Lab/Green coalition.
If that doesn’t work (or even if it does), go all out to destroy MMP itself – a good chance they’ll promise another referendum on it.
Toby Manhire’s take on the coalition reset yesterday: “The prime minister sought to rally the troops and assert unity among the three parties of government today, but there wasn’t much substance to get your teeth into. The question hanging in the air after Jacinda Ardern’s big speech this afternoon: what even was that?”
“It had been trailed as “Next steps in Government’s Plan for NZ”. The folder handed out read simply “Our Plan”. The press release was headlined, “Priorities for a modern and fairer NZ”. The speech itself took the title “Our plan for a modern and prosperous New Zealand”. It was, said the prime minister, “a road map”. It was a “coalition blueprint”, it was “our blueprint for New Zealand”. It was “our cabinet mandated, coalition government work plan”.
Today, in the suburb where I grew up, I want to talk about what I consider to be an important part of The Kiwi Way. I want to talk about opportunity, and hope, and how we can bring these to some of the most struggling families and communities in New Zealand.
“Part of The Kiwi Way is a belief in opportunity and in giving people a fair go.
The above is some of Keys words of wisdom…….. So much for the claim we don’t do the fake bullshit
Dukeofurl
That should be written large, identified clearly, framed and put up on the wall for the left to look at and remember how words that speak of Mom and apple pie can bypass the part of the brain where scepticism and concern for others’ welfare lies.
Jacinda is doing great. Winnie and James are doing great. The only one not doing great is simon bridges – he has a mole that hates him and wants him gone and that person has NOT gone away.
Dunno if Marama Davidson attended the coalition reset – maybe she had other things to do. Does raise the question: what if she was excluded? Bad pr? If it was a deliberate exclusion, you can imagine the rationale:
“Symbolism is ultra-important in political communication. That’s why we must have a show of unity of the coalition. Total unity would require all four leaders to front – but three out of four ain’t bad! To present with both our Maori leaders would symbolise Maori unity. Maori have never been united. Wrong signal. Likewise with gender equity, to present with both female leaders as well as both male leaders would have made us seem dangerous radicals to the establishment. We must symbolise tradition.”
Could be she’s not in the government?
Isn’t that the rational for not being a minister, she could be more outspoken on various issues ithing being held back on unity issues.
Now you want her on the Coalition conoe rowing in unison?
I hear that there is an appendix prepared to go with the Plan. Not quite ready for public viewing but will show the detail to carry out the detail of How it will all work. Watch this space.
When the crash comes, New Zealand is in big trouble.
When, not if.
Sooner , not later.
Mark Lister: The ugly truth about our household debT.
“Should the economy run into trouble, we have the ability to dip into that war chest, as the Key Government did after the GFC and Christchurch earthquakes a decade ago.
However, when you consider household debt the picture gets a lot uglier.
As a proportion of GDP, our mortgage and consumer debt adds up to more than 90 per cent. Australia is even worse at 121 per cent.
Not only does that put us ahead of the US and UK, but our households are more indebted than those in Spain, Greece and Italy.
Our Reserve Bank talks about household debt as a proportion of disposable income. Today that ratio is at 166 per cent, above 2008 levels and well up from 100 per cent 20 years ago.
The authorities had a lot of firepower during the Lehman period. Our Official Cash Rate was 8.25 per cent, the US equivalent was 5.25 and in Australia it was 7.25.
That left plenty of room to slash interest rates and soften the blow to borrowers. Today, the world doesn’t have quite the same sort of ammunition.”
“Surely after the latest developments in #Salisbury -when another 2 people fall ill & become unconscious after dining in a faux Italian restaurant even the most compliant UK journalists will start to think ‘Something’s not quite right here?’ Or are they paid not to think?”
Yes, Neil.
They’re not paid to think.
They’re paid to parrot.
Personally, I suspect that a couple of Kiwis doing their OE innocently infected Salisbury with Tapanui Flu. Poor Poms and Russian fugitives have no resistance to it at all…
It’s the beer they serve in Salisbury as it’s so bloody terrible your tummy doesn’t know weather to throw it back up or wants to shoot it out the other end like AB’s on EE Lighting Fighter Jet at take off.
Thence why I drink old scrumpy when I’m in Salisbury which nudges around the 9- 15%, also cures everything from the cold and what happened last night.
An important article by Peter Hitchens.
Like George Galloway, he is fearful that Syria will lead to WW3.
“Are we on the brink of a new war? It looks very much like it. Will it be justified? I do not think so. Can we stop it? It is worth a try.
Almost everyone missed an amazing and worrying moment in Parliament last week, when Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt gave us a glimpse of the Government’s thinking. They will go to war without waiting for the facts to be checked, and without recalling Parliament.
In a very brief debate about the war in Syria, he was asked about plans – now being openly discussed at high levels in Washington – for a devastating attack on Damascus.
This will be in response to a supposed atrocity that has yet to take place but about which the Americans openly say they already have evidence – probably an alleged poison gas attack, in which we will see heartbreaking but unverified film of dead or dying children, from propaganda sources, and claims of multiple deaths from untraceable ‘eyewitnesses’.
In my view, these claims are very similar to the claims of ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ (WMD) in Iraq, used to bamboozle the British and American people into that catastrophic war; and also to the claims of mass rape and massacre, equally unproven, which were the excuse for David Cameron’s disastrous attack on Libya.
These two wars together created the great march of migrants from Asia and Africa into Europe, which is transforming the continent – and also led to the rebirth of Islamist terror. Yet those responsible do not learn, and continue to take us for fools.”
“In 2016, Labour promised that they would withdraw kiwi troops from Iraq if elected.
They lied:
New Zealand will extend its military presence in Iraq until June 2019, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced.
Cabinet signed off on five military deployments on Monday.
The deployment in Afghanistan has also been extended to September 2019 alongside three smaller peacekeeping missions.
Our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are neither moral nor necessary.”
Political buildings like the Beehive are not seen as efficient or useful by the people and to defray costs could be used as short-term accommodation in the weekends in Wellington. This letting proposition is common with accommodation providers in the City and of course the Beehive is very well sited near to buses and the railway.
To save money the Hotel Waterloo could handle the bookings having expertise in this matter. The rooms need not be emptied, just with large storage cupboards locked for the duration. The lifts would not be available so there would be no encroachment on the sacred upper floors, and only the first two floors would be used. A Parliamentary handtowel with crest would be included as a takeaway present.
/sarc
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Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
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Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other. One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the ...
A poll last August found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law. The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. ...
The solo show from Ana Scotney is both sprawling and intimate, and a must-see, writes Mad Chapman. In the opening moments of Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko, writer and performer Ana Scotney lays out the groundwork, literally. Silently moving around the square stage, Scotney is not so much dancing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University Who makes the words? Why are trees called trees and why are shoes called shoes and who makes the names? – Elliot, age 5, Eltham, Victoria Good question Elliot! Let’s start with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne at amRawpixel.com/Shutterstock Roles of health professionals are still unfortunately often stuck in the past. That is, before the ...
COMMENTARY:By Malcolm Evans Last week’s leaked New York Times staff directive, as to what words can and cannot be used to describe the carnage Israel is raining on Palestinians, is proof positive, since those reports are published verbatim here in New Zealand, that our understanding of the conflict is ...
In the case of New Zealand, the results confirm that there is no popular support for the vicious austerity program being imposed by the National Party-led government, which is backed in all fundamental respects by the opposition Labour Party. ...
The ‘Vampire’ singer has never visited our part of the world, but that might all be about to change. We assess the evidence.Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour is pulling in massive crowds as it whips around the US and Europe, even helping to catapult regular supporting act Chappell Roan ...
Testing of drinking water in rural Canterbury over the weekend by Greenpeace revealed that several public town supplies were reaching levels of nitrate above 5 mg/L - the threshold which a growing body of scientific evidence has linked to increased ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rohan Fisher, Information Technology for Development Researcher, Charles Darwin University It may come as a surprise to hear 2023 was Australia’s biggest bushfire season in more than a decade. Fires burned across an area eight times as big as the 2019–20 Black ...
Responding to the Government’s announcement of changes to resource management laws, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: “These changes are a step in the right direction in terms of removing ideological and unworkable ...
More than two years after the Human Rights Council called for the establishment of a national human rights commission, such a body has yet to be formed. ...
Comment:An emergency management system with wide variations in performance, significant capability gaps, funding shortfalls and above all a setup that is not meeting the needs of New Zealanders at times of crisis. The Government’s inquiry into the response to Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events in the North ...
Welcome to the whirring wonders of one brain trying to align its actions with its beliefs within a system it thinks is evil. My brain has been spiralling in a woke conundrum ever since I found out a bookshop I’ve never been to was shutting down. Good Books, a bookshop ...
We repeat our call for criminal justice policy to be based on evidence, something the three strikes regime neglects to recognise – with no evidence that it either reduces crime or assists with rehabilitation. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara With only four more seats in the 50-member Parliament yet to be officially declared, there is no outright winner in the Solomon Islands elections. As of Monday, the two largest blocs in the winner’s circle, independents and the incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh ...
Two/fiftyseven is a multi-purpose space hidden in the heart of Wellington that is paving a way for sustainable building and responsible landlording in Aotearoa and beyond.By 2060 the world is predicted to double its entire building stock, which equates to building an entire New York City every 34 days, ...
Popstars wasn’t just a reality television revolution, it was also a huge moment for Y2K fashion.It’s 25 years since girl group TrueBliss was formed on New Zealand national television, breaking new ground for both the reality television industry and the shiny clothing industry. With the first episode on NZ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Pepping, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, Griffith University Marvin / Shutterstock Are all single people insecure? When we think about people who have been single for a long time, we may assume it’s because single people have insecurities that make ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Geary, Lecturer in Quantitative Ecology & Biodiversity Conservation, The University of Melbourne Trismegist san, Shutterstock Landscapes that have escaped fire for decades or centuries tend to harbour vital structures for wildlife, such as tree hollows and large logs. But these ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher, Lecturer in Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Shutterstock/S Curtis Why are we crossing ecological boundaries that affect Earth’s fundamental life-supporting capacity? Is it because we don’t have enough information about how ecosystems respond to change? Or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Crocker, PhD Student in Economics, Deakin University Here’s something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a charity director outlines how she’s saving for retirement and buying secondhand. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 45 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Charity director, mum of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Yates, Research Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late last year. Now a ...
It’s been called a failed experiment and a judicial straightjacket but the government says the revised three strikes law will be a more workable regime, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Three ...
New Zealand’s Palestinian community and Palestinian Youth Aotearoa are voicing alarm and disappointment with the lack of factual rigour present during the Israeli Ambassador’s appearance as a guest on TVNZ’s Q+A With Jack Tame Sunday (21/04). ...
Both ACT leader David Seymour, who played a key role in drawing up the assisted dying law, and hospice leaders say it's time the legislation was changed. ...
Public submissions on proposed gang control laws are being heard today. Rising gang membership has been cited as rationale for a crackdown – but what do we actually know about how many people belong to gangs in New Zealand?What’s all this then?A rise in the number of gang ...
Climate activists are setting their sights on an unpopular target, and hoping to bring lots of the public with them. It’s hard to miss the Majestic Princess: the enormous cruise ship, docked at Auckland’s Prince’s Wharf, looms over the nearby buildings. The ship, which can fit nearly 6,000 people, ...
The following korero between Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku, author of the newly published memoir Hine Toa, one of the year’s most important books, and Dale Husband from e-tangata, was first published in October. It traverses her involvement with the activist group Ngā Tamatoa at Auckland University in the early 1970s, her ...
In the 16 years since it was bought by the government for $690 million, KiwiRail has had several overhauls and turnaround plans worth billions of dollars. Its ambitions as a successful, profitable operator of tourism, freight and ferries have often been derailed by disasters from earthquakes to cyclones, mine explosions ...
Black Ferns trailblazer Kendra Cocksedge was on the verge of tears when her young protégé, Hannah King, unassumingly broke the news. Three-time Rugby World Cup winner Cocksedge and Lincoln agriculture student King meet every few weeks over a hot chocolate, in an enduring mentorship that’s spanned years. “Before we even ...
Opinion: We’ve kicked the tyres on the perception NZ’s economy is in a parlous state compared to Australia. We take a quick tour of relative trends in GDP, housing markets, labour markets, trade, the fiscal situation, and the outlooks for inflation and interest rates. We find the cyclical positions of ...
Opinion: Making sure developers, local and central government, and landowners are all on the same page makes sense The post A new kind of city deal appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],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 23 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
By Russell Palmer, RNZ News digital political journalist New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters is putting off recognition of Palestine as a state, despite opposition Labour’s formal request that he make the move. Peters said diplomatic recognition of Palestine was a matter of “when not if”, but doing so now ...
The opposition has laid into the government's plan to reintroduce a "three strikes" regime, saying it's inequitable and there's very little evidence it works. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Nicholls, Senior research associate, University of Sydney Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has ordered social media platform “X” (formerly known as Twitter) to remove graphic videos of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in Sydney last week from the site. The incident ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Turnbull, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Sydney John Turnbull, CC BY-NC-ND In past bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef, the southern region has sometimes been spared worst of the bleaching. Not this time. This year’s intense underwater heat has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Austin, Lecturer in Theatre, The University of Melbourne Darren Gill/Mackey, Darling & Collaborators The relationship between witchcraft and teenage girls has been the subject of many books, films and television shows. Over time, the traditional image of witch as crone ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Becky Freeman, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of Sydney Andres Siimon/Unsplash There are no silver bullets, magic tricks or secret hacks to solving complex public health problems. Taking on the global tobacco industry and reducing the devastating consequences of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam B. Watts, Research Associate in galaxy evolution, The University of Western Australia ESO/A. Watts et al., CC BY We breathe oxygen and nitrogen gas in our atmosphere every day, but did you know that these gases also float through space, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Nielsen, Professor and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University Maxime Bhm/Unsplash A new group of drugs called nitazenes has been detected in Australia. They have been sold as heroin as well as other drugs like ketamine. Concerns ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor emerita, University of Sydney Image from Bradlow + Bock campaign Can the job of being a federal member of parliament be shared by two or more persons? Two prospective candidates for the inner-Melbourne federal seat of Higgins, Lucy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zoe Rathus, Senior Lecturer in Law, Griffith University Shutterstock In October 2023, the federal parliament passed major changes to how children’s cases are decided under the Family Law Act, which kick in next month. Among other things, they repeal a ...
Oh dear, Jenny Shipley in court, charged with incompetence in the Mainzeal failure.
How sad. Never mind. Perhaps she’ll get a jail sentence!
If found culpable she should at the very least she should be banned from being a director of any company for the maximum period under NZ law.
Who the fuck would want to be a director.
Directors only know what the CEO wants you to know.
Well if Shipley knew nothing about construction (+) or finance(+) or architecture (+) or engineering (+) and could so easily have the wool pulled over her eyes- the trading while insolvent wasn’t just weeks but some years- what the bloody hell was she doing there.
She didn’t even have the nous to know that she needed to leave
That’s the way it is in directorships, it’s not normally more than a week’s work for the whole year.
You get paid well for very little, the downside is that you end up being the fall guy/girl if the business turns to shit.
Those company directors, they’re just Ragged Trousered Philapthropists.
Dear Jenny and co aren’t the only directors being pursued by liquidators at present. Our beloved mayor is being made to answer for the Stonewood collapse.
https://crux.org.nz/national-news/liquidators-seek-millions-from-mayor-and-company-founder/
https://crux.org.nz/community/mayor-rejects-incorrect-25-million-stonewood-legal-claim/
David Cormack on how our MMP government might work: ‘Reports of the Government’s death have been greatly exaggerated’
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12126676
Yes Sacha. Read that. Refreshing and credible.
Advertisement for the government, wonder how much they for these sort of articles?
Ask National. They had lots. Still get them even though they’re no longer government.
Unusual to discover a media story acknowledging that Winston was right, but he fails to notice that the original headlines were caused by Labour ministers announcing policies as if they were government-originated when they hadn’t actually obtained the agreement of NZF.
Ardern failed to account for that pattern of behaviour when announcing her reset for the coalition yesterday. His take: “much like the columnists saying that the coalition was falling apart because of comments from Winston, this new “plan” was words. And words are meaningless until we see the actions that come from them.”
Rare to see political scientist Dr Bryce Edwards getting it wrong. He told TVNZ breakfast viewers this: “PM’s speech didn’t say much but it reduced damage of NZ First ‘going a bit rogue’.” He hasn’t been paying attention. Winston’s responses to the rogue Labour ministers attempting an end-run around him was simply to point out that NZF hadn’t endorsed their policy initiatives. Obviously that was because the PM hadn’t yet called the necessary meeting to establish coalition consensus.
The media goad Winston and Winston goads the media back, I just didn’t expect this goading from the usually polished Kim Hill and she got the deserved reaction from him on Morning Retort today.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018662804/coalition-govt-working-as-it-should-winston-peters
I thought they both performed poorly. I understand his irritation, but he ought to have just been more patient with her and explained that the media reportage failures were due to lack of comprehension of the need for consensus decision-making in the coalition. Not sure why Kim hasn’t been able to grasp this yet, but she needs help.
I thought my children were the world’s champion bickerers. Dammit Kim and Winnie proved what a bunch of amateurs they are
Kim was clearly articulating and continuing the false media narrative of disunity in the coalition. Kim may have got the desired ratings response but it was unhelpful, amateurish and she is better than that. My observation over the years is that Winston doesn’t appreciate being wound up in early morning interviews so why do it. Kim could have been more aware as she is in the drivers seat behind the radio mic.
I thought they both went to the edge and pulled it back.
It may be the romantic in me but I sensed mutual respect between them after the early exchanges.
The narrative has changed, from the government has spent all the money and can do little more,to Peters exercising power to stop Labour doing stuff.
Thus this what we agree on fluff (all they can do till they know if there is any money to spend in the 2019 budget) Ardern and co-hosts Talk.
And at a price, as media is now demanding that the PM reassure them that she will in future continue to go through them to talk to the public.
This is the real Curran issue, fear of the development of any other means by which the government communicates directly to the people. RNZ+ etc.
Yeah, it’s a bit sad that the commercial media reduces our democracy, and the ordering and conduct of our society, to the level of a sporting contest or reality show in order to sell their advertiser’s product.
Everything has to be presented as a binary winner / looser situation to fit the format and presentation of nuance and comparative concepts isn’t possible. No wonder the media can’t handle MMP and coalition government, they can’t make it fir the format.
Simon wouldn’t answer when asked how he would deal with Winston if he was in a true MMP Government.
MMP what do you expect?
MMP in NZ doesn’t work very well in NZ because we have two parties around 40% and a couple of small parties that fluctuate between the threshold and 10%
For MMP to work properly the largest party need to have no more than 30-35% of the market share.
The fact you have to suck him to this old prick on 7% and lick his balls tells me the system isn’t quite working the way it should.
Always interesting how BM uses metaphors of sexual submission when he gets angry. Watch out – civilisation is skin deep.
You could try thinking about how battles have often been one throughout history by a small force joining one side to help ensure victory. Winston has been using NZF in precisely the same manner. In fact, that why we ditched first past the post, because a critical mass of voters alienated by Lab/Nat cluelessness had formed.
Blatantly Misogynist MMP is working just fine.
What’s happened to smaller parties who go into coalition and just become yes minister to the main party is evidence BM your theory is a load of crap.
Smaller parties get swallowed up and Peter’s knows this and is making an effort to show his party is different.
lol
BM really has no idea how to work with equals rather than supplicants.
National are implementing their strategy – drive NZF below 5% by smearing Peters as just out for himself (‘baubles’) or uncontrollable, or senile (BM’s favourite angle).
Then scaremonger like crazy about a Lab/Green coalition.
If that doesn’t work (or even if it does), go all out to destroy MMP itself – a good chance they’ll promise another referendum on it.
Toby Manhire’s take on the coalition reset yesterday: “The prime minister sought to rally the troops and assert unity among the three parties of government today, but there wasn’t much substance to get your teeth into. The question hanging in the air after Jacinda Ardern’s big speech this afternoon: what even was that?”
“It had been trailed as “Next steps in Government’s Plan for NZ”. The folder handed out read simply “Our Plan”. The press release was headlined, “Priorities for a modern and fairer NZ”. The speech itself took the title “Our plan for a modern and prosperous New Zealand”. It was, said the prime minister, “a road map”. It was a “coalition blueprint”, it was “our blueprint for New Zealand”. It was “our cabinet mandated, coalition government work plan”.
When he opened the folder & read it, he couldn’t find plan or blueprint, just 12 priorities. “At best you might use that word returned to fashion by Anon of the White House, that it was a lodestar, a kind of navigational beacon for the ship of cabinet.”
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/16-09-2018/not-dysfunction-junction-what-was-jacinda-arderns-big-speech-really-about/
The PM should do more set pieces not less. They stabilise the converted, and stabilise the media for a week or two. That’s worthwhile.
We did get a sense of this “inner Cabinet” in the subtexts – this will stabilise concepts before they go to Cabinet subcommittees. That’s worthwhile.
It reminded me of the Men In Black memory-wipe pen. That was necessary.
Sometimes you just have to appreciate pure form and process over outcomes and content.
You really do live in some alternative universe.
New Zealanders don’t really do the fake marketing bullshit, we can smell it from a mile away,
From here out Ardern has to show she can be a decent PM and not some show pony/celeb gimmick.
Clocks ticking Ardern, time to show you’ve got the goods.
Today, in the suburb where I grew up, I want to talk about what I consider to be an important part of The Kiwi Way. I want to talk about opportunity, and hope, and how we can bring these to some of the most struggling families and communities in New Zealand.
“Part of The Kiwi Way is a belief in opportunity and in giving people a fair go.
The above is some of Keys words of wisdom…….. So much for the claim we don’t do the fake bullshit
Dukeofurl
That should be written large, identified clearly, framed and put up on the wall for the left to look at and remember how words that speak of Mom and apple pie can bypass the part of the brain where scepticism and concern for others’ welfare lies.
nah you’re just scared.
Jacinda is doing great. Winnie and James are doing great. The only one not doing great is simon bridges – he has a mole that hates him and wants him gone and that person has NOT gone away.
So why did bridges spend $120 000 doing fake marketing bullshit ?
😆 comedy gold Ad
Sparkle Pony 🙂
Lol, Excellent, you sucked me in.
Stablise the media, you mean wind them up … by going around them?
Something she should do more of once RNZ+ is up, and or deliver her own Beehive version …
Sometimes its about letting the b’st… know they are not entitled to state handouts.
Dunno if Marama Davidson attended the coalition reset – maybe she had other things to do. Does raise the question: what if she was excluded? Bad pr? If it was a deliberate exclusion, you can imagine the rationale:
“Symbolism is ultra-important in political communication. That’s why we must have a show of unity of the coalition. Total unity would require all four leaders to front – but three out of four ain’t bad! To present with both our Maori leaders would symbolise Maori unity. Maori have never been united. Wrong signal. Likewise with gender equity, to present with both female leaders as well as both male leaders would have made us seem dangerous radicals to the establishment. We must symbolise tradition.”
Could be she’s not in the government?
Isn’t that the rational for not being a minister, she could be more outspoken on various issues ithing being held back on unity issues.
Now you want her on the Coalition conoe rowing in unison?
lol Dennis had me at the “I don’t know if she was there” to “deliberate exclusion” pearl-clutching.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107119510/A-year-on-a-show-of-unity-with-Winston-Peters-as-Jacinda-Ardern-unveils-coalition-blueprint
phew, that’s lucky. lolz
Jimmoarer’s got a real bee in his bonnet about alcohol consumption and advertising, I’m beginning to think.
Did we ever establish where the description of the PM’s speech as a ‘reset’ came from?
Being eagerly regurgitated.
We used that word here … but it was not part of a deeply researched and resourced PR campaign …
I’ve heard this origin story: https://twitter.com/gwynncompton/status/1041144681403363330
and then of course there’s this one: https://twitter.com/PouTepou/status/1041393406943977472
🙂
To me, it’s a framing error for the left to repeat it, just like ‘taxpayer dollars’ is.
I hear that there is an appendix prepared to go with the Plan. Not quite ready for public viewing but will show the detail to carry out the detail of How it will all work. Watch this space.
When the crash comes, New Zealand is in big trouble.
When, not if.
Sooner , not later.
Mark Lister: The ugly truth about our household debT.
“Should the economy run into trouble, we have the ability to dip into that war chest, as the Key Government did after the GFC and Christchurch earthquakes a decade ago.
However, when you consider household debt the picture gets a lot uglier.
As a proportion of GDP, our mortgage and consumer debt adds up to more than 90 per cent. Australia is even worse at 121 per cent.
Not only does that put us ahead of the US and UK, but our households are more indebted than those in Spain, Greece and Italy.
Our Reserve Bank talks about household debt as a proportion of disposable income. Today that ratio is at 166 per cent, above 2008 levels and well up from 100 per cent 20 years ago.
The authorities had a lot of firepower during the Lehman period. Our Official Cash Rate was 8.25 per cent, the US equivalent was 5.25 and in Australia it was 7.25.
That left plenty of room to slash interest rates and soften the blow to borrowers. Today, the world doesn’t have quite the same sort of ammunition.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-finance/news/article.cfm?c_id=12&objectid=12126810
Neil Clark cuts to the truth on Twitter.
“Surely after the latest developments in #Salisbury -when another 2 people fall ill & become unconscious after dining in a faux Italian restaurant even the most compliant UK journalists will start to think ‘Something’s not quite right here?’ Or are they paid not to think?”
Yes, Neil.
They’re not paid to think.
They’re paid to parrot.
What made the two people fall unconscious? Novichok? Allergies? Bad drugs they took in the toilet?
Allergies, eh? Seems to be a lot of that going around in Salisbury right now.
I think I saw on RT that it was gluten intolerance…
Personally, I suspect that a couple of Kiwis doing their OE innocently infected Salisbury with Tapanui Flu. Poor Poms and Russian fugitives have no resistance to it at all…
I don’t want to cause a panic, but could it have been the dreaded “man-flu”???
Yikes!
Squawk-talk?
It’s the beer they serve in Salisbury as it’s so bloody terrible your tummy doesn’t know weather to throw it back up or wants to shoot it out the other end like AB’s on EE Lighting Fighter Jet at take off.
Thence why I drink old scrumpy when I’m in Salisbury which nudges around the 9- 15%, also cures everything from the cold and what happened last night.
An important article by Peter Hitchens.
Like George Galloway, he is fearful that Syria will lead to WW3.
“Are we on the brink of a new war? It looks very much like it. Will it be justified? I do not think so. Can we stop it? It is worth a try.
Almost everyone missed an amazing and worrying moment in Parliament last week, when Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt gave us a glimpse of the Government’s thinking. They will go to war without waiting for the facts to be checked, and without recalling Parliament.
In a very brief debate about the war in Syria, he was asked about plans – now being openly discussed at high levels in Washington – for a devastating attack on Damascus.
This will be in response to a supposed atrocity that has yet to take place but about which the Americans openly say they already have evidence – probably an alleged poison gas attack, in which we will see heartbreaking but unverified film of dead or dying children, from propaganda sources, and claims of multiple deaths from untraceable ‘eyewitnesses’.
In my view, these claims are very similar to the claims of ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ (WMD) in Iraq, used to bamboozle the British and American people into that catastrophic war; and also to the claims of mass rape and massacre, equally unproven, which were the excuse for David Cameron’s disastrous attack on Libya.
These two wars together created the great march of migrants from Asia and Africa into Europe, which is transforming the continent – and also led to the rebirth of Islamist terror. Yet those responsible do not learn, and continue to take us for fools.”
https://t.co/abQLPtq6ng?amp=1
Idiot/Savant nails it.
“In 2016, Labour promised that they would withdraw kiwi troops from Iraq if elected.
They lied:
New Zealand will extend its military presence in Iraq until June 2019, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced.
Cabinet signed off on five military deployments on Monday.
The deployment in Afghanistan has also been extended to September 2019 alongside three smaller peacekeeping missions.
Our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are neither moral nor necessary.”
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2018/09/bring-them-home.html
Sam Neill kicks Duplicity-Allan in the balls.
Why won’t she admit her mistake and apologise?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/107123961/sam-neill-denounces-heather-du-plessisallen-for-calling-pacific-people-leeches
Political buildings like the Beehive are not seen as efficient or useful by the people and to defray costs could be used as short-term accommodation in the weekends in Wellington. This letting proposition is common with accommodation providers in the City and of course the Beehive is very well sited near to buses and the railway.
To save money the Hotel Waterloo could handle the bookings having expertise in this matter. The rooms need not be emptied, just with large storage cupboards locked for the duration. The lifts would not be available so there would be no encroachment on the sacred upper floors, and only the first two floors would be used. A Parliamentary handtowel with crest would be included as a takeaway present.
/sarc