Daily Review 18/05/2017
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5:30 pm, May 18th, 2017 - 60 comments
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- At a glance – Tree ring proxies and the divergence problem
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...3 hours ago - Nothing to sneer at
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...5 hours ago - Still on their bullshit
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...7 hours ago - DrawnA ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...7 hours ago
- A nod and a wink that will unnecessarily cost Aucklanders tens of millions per year
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...9 hours ago - Correcting the Corrections announcement – a fiscal farce that should bother the OECD
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...10 hours ago - Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into ‘Pillar 2’ – or they are going to China
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...12 hours ago - A balanced and an unbalanced articleDavid Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...12 hours ago
- Deeply unserious countryEvery bit of this seems insane. And people wonder why productivity is falling through the floor. Energy News reports that the Environment Court finally threw out Allan Crafar’s appeal against a solar farm. From the story: Consent was granted in 2022. Crafar appealed November 2022. On what grounds? That ...12 hours ago
- Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law studentsThe tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied… Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...12 hours ago
- https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/?p=77196
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...14 hours ago - Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, May 7
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...14 hours ago - HM Prison Aotearoa.
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...14 hours ago - Get Your Webworm Merch!
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The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...17 hours ago - Media Link: “A View from Afar” on the moment of friction, and more.
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading ...1 day ago - Preposterous priorities – politicians preferred pastryNewsroom writer Aaron Smale, in an article triggered by the High Court’s ruling on whether a sitting MP must respond to a summons to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal, reports on issues underpinning the tribunal’s urgent inquiry into the Government’s intention to remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki ...1 day ago
- Climate Change: Forcing accountability in the UKIn 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...1 day ago
- Other councils are keen to be next to strike a water deal with govtBuzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report: District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...1 day ago
- Why India is key to heading off climate catastropheThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections A farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...1 day ago
- Meanwhile “… the disturbing trend of increasing violence towards children continues to worsen”Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...1 day ago
- New Zealand’s geopolitical friendly fire has its limitsGeoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...1 day ago
- The post-Covid economy: is it in another long stagnation – and if so, why?Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...1 day ago
- On the LTP 2024 FeedbackA few weeks ago Auckland Council released the results of consultation on the Long Term Plan (LTP) that occurred in March. With almost 28,000 submissions, it received the most feedback of any LTP in Auckland. It covered a wide range of topics soliciting feedback on different areas of council funded ...2 days ago
- Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, May 6
TL;DR: Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...2 days ago - Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s geopolitical friendly fire has its limits
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...2 days ago - I could be a Florist.
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...2 days ago - The Kaka’s diary for the week to May 12 and beyond
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...2 days ago - Willis on defenceThe price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...2 days ago
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- Fun minor grudgesEric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...3 days ago
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- The Dark Side and the Rebel Alliance.
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...4 days ago - Imaginary mandate, imaginary leadership
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.ShareVerity, Ilfracombe ...4 days ago - Winston Peters delivers a speech about NZ’s relationship with China but media focus on Bob Carr’...Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...4 days ago
- The Post-Covid Economy
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...4 days ago - An awkward coincidence!The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...4 days ago
- The Israel/Palestinian metastasis.In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading ...4 days ago
- 27,000That's the number of submissions received on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track legislation. Except its higher than that, because the number doesn't include form submissions, such as the 15,000 people who supported Forest & Bird's submission, or the 14,000 who supported Greenpeace. And so many people want to appear in person ...4 days ago
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- Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Friday, May 3
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- The Hoon around the week to May 35 days ago
- Pamphlets at Ten Paces.
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...5 days ago - A land without pier
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...5 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #18 2024Open access notables Generative AI tools can enhance climate literacy but must be checked for biases and inaccuracies, Atkins et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the face of climate change, climate literacy is becoming increasingly important. With wide access to generative AI tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, we explore the potential ...5 days ago
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TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 11:10 am on Thursday, May 2:Scoop: Government sits on official advice on fast-track consent. The Ombudsman is investigating after official briefings on the contentious regime were held back despite requests from Forest ...5 days ago - The Art of taking no ResponsibilityAlwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...5 days ago
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- Infrastructure & home building slumping on Govt funding freeze6 days ago
- Brainwashed People Think Everyone Else is Brainwashed
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...6 days ago - Peters’ real foreign policy threat is Helen ClarkWinston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...6 days ago
- NZ’s trans lobby is fighting a rearguard action
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...6 days ago - Your mandate is imaginary
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...6 days ago - 14,000 unemployed under NationalThe latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...6 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Discontent and gloom dominate NZ’s political moodThree opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...6 days ago
- Taking Tea with 42 & 38.
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...6 days ago - Beware political propaganda: statistics are pointing to Grant Robertson never protecting “Lives an...Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”. As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...6 days ago
- Winding back the hands of history’s clockChris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...6 days ago
- Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...6 days ago - Business confidence sliding into winter of discontentTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...6 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll resultsOver the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...7 days ago
- Members Bill will prevent Māori land confiscations
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...6 hours ago - TIKANGA IS NOT LAW. IT IS CULTURAL INDOCTRINATION.
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...7 hours ago - Release: National won’t commit to full Nelson Hospital upgrade
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...13 hours ago - Release: Labour calls for fast track list to be releasedMinisters must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...2 days ago
- Release: National gaslights women fighting for equal payNational has scrapped the pay equity taskforce that fights for equal pay for women and looks at ethnic pay gaps. ...5 days ago
- Release: More job cuts, fewer houses under NationalThe Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...5 days ago
- Release: Children fall deeper through the cracks in Govt cutsWith Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour honours memory of Sir Robert MartinThe Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...6 days ago
- Release: 130,000 cattle saved from live exportLabour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...6 days ago
- Central Bank makes clear Government is pouring fuel on housing crisis fireToday’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...6 days ago
- New unemployment figures paint bleak pictureThe Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...6 days ago
- Release: National’s job cuts already starting to bite as unemployment risesUnemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...6 days ago
- Release: National hiking transport costs for families and young New ZealandersWeekly expenses will grow for more than 1.6 million New Zealanders as the Government ends free and half price public transport fares tomorrow. ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour welcomes EU free trade agreementThe New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...1 week ago
- Surprise: Landlord tax cuts don’t trickle downThe Green Party is renewing its call for rent controls following reports of rental prices hitting an all-time high. ...1 week ago
- Release: $1.7b for no increase in access to medicineThe National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...1 week ago
- Release: National should heed Tribunal warning and scrap coalition commitment with ACTThis afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...1 week ago
- Release: More accountability for preventable workplace deaths this Workers’ Memorial DayLabour is calling for more accountability for preventable workplace deaths because everybody who goes to work deserves to come home safely. ...1 week ago
- Gaza: Aotearoa Must Support Independent Investigation into Mass GravesTe Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Working together on consistent support for veterans this Anzac DayOur two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Penny drops – but what about Seymour and Peters?Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...2 weeks ago
- Another ‘Stolen Generation’ enabled by court ruling on Waitangi Tribunal summonsTonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Budget blunder shows Nicola Willis could cut recovery fundingIt appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...2 weeks ago
- Further environmental mismanagement on the cardsThe Government’s resource management reforms will add to the heavy and ever-growing burden this Government is loading on to our environment. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: RMA changes will be a disaster for environmentThe Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour supports urgent changes to emergency management systemLabour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour calls for New Zealand to recognise PalestineThe Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Three strikes law political posturing of worst kindThe Government is bringing back a law that has little evidential backing just to look tough, Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Government cuts unbelievably target child exploitation, violent extremism, ports and airpor...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. ...2 weeks ago
- Three strikes has failed before and will fail againResurrecting the archaic three-strikes legislation is an unwelcome return to a failed American-style approach to justice. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Environmental protection vital, not ‘onerous’The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...2 weeks ago
- Ferris – Three Strikes targets those ‘too brown to be white’The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt cuts doctors and nurses in hiring freezeCuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...3 weeks ago
- Fast-track submissions period must be extendedThe Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Progress on climate will be undone by GovtNew Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...3 weeks ago
- Defence industry talent, commitment recognised
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...1 hour ago - Speech to the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for IndustryWelcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...2 hours ago
- Speech to the Sixth Annual New Zealand Government Data SummitIt is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...3 hours ago
- Ceasefire agreement needed now: PetersNew Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...8 hours ago
- Daily school attendance data now availableA new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...9 hours ago
- Ambassador to United States appointedForeign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...12 hours ago
- New permit proposed for recreational gold miningThe Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...13 hours ago
- NZ and the UAE launch FTA negotiationsMinister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...17 hours ago
- New Zealand Sign Language Week an opportunity for anyone to signNew Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...1 day ago
- Next stop NASA for New Zealand studentsSix tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...1 day ago
- $1.9 billion investment to keep NZ safe from crimeNew Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...1 day ago
- OECD reinforces need to control spendingThe OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...1 day ago
- Agreement delivers Local Water Done Well for AucklandThe Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...2 days ago
- Gaza and the Pacific on the agenda with GermanyForeign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...3 days ago
- Decision allows for housing growth in Western Bay of PlentyThe Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...4 days ago
- Speech to New Zealand China CouncilThank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...5 days ago
- Modern insurance law will protect Kiwi householdsThe Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...5 days ago
- Government recommits to equal payThe coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...5 days ago
- Transforming how our children learn to readStructured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...5 days ago
- NZ not backing down in Canada dairy disputeTrade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...5 days ago
- Stronger oversight for our most vulnerable childrenThe rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...5 days ago
- Streamlining Building Consent ChangesThe Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...6 days ago
- Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...6 days ago
- Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...6 days ago
- Accelerating airport security linesFrom today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...6 days ago
- Community hui to talk about kina barrensPeople with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...6 days ago
- Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into forceKiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...7 days ago
- Mining resurgence a welcome signThere are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...7 days ago
- Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first readingThe return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...1 week ago
- Government to boost public EV charging networkEnergy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...1 week ago
- Residential Property Managers Bill to not progressThe coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...1 week ago
- Independent review into disability support servicesThe Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...1 week ago
- Justice Minister updates UN on law & order planJustice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...1 week ago
- Ending emergency housing motels in RotoruaThe Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...1 week ago
- Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and DubaiTrade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...1 week ago
- Education priorities focused on lifting achievementEducation Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...1 week ago
- NZTA App first step towards digital driver licenceThe new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...1 week ago
- Supporting whānau out of emergency housingWhānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...1 week ago
- Tribute to Dave O'SullivanRacing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...1 week ago
- Speech – Eid al-FitrAssalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...1 week ago
- ‘Repair colonial violence’ and support Gaza ceasefire, say Otago academics
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...28 mins ago - Expelling students for bad behaviour seems like the obvious solution, but is it really a good idea?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...1 hour ago
- Green MP Julie Anne Genter responds after behaviour in the House, florist's accusations
"I can do better," she says, acknowledging the need to work on her de-escalation strategy. ...1 hour ago - If the RBA’s right, interest rates may not fall for another year. Here’s why – and what it mea...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...2 hours ago
- ‘Eye watering’ spending, growing debt make up surprisingly generous Victorian state budgetSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...2 hours ago
- Budgeting service cuts: 'It's like watching a train derail'With some services facing closure after missing out on the latest government funding, there are for some of NZ's most vulnerable. ...2 hours ago
- Coalition demands amendments to government’s deportation bill, as crucial High Court judgement set...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...2 hours ago
- MP's comments 'bang on' despite negative response from other parties – Te Pāti...Te Pāti Māori is standing by comments made by MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi which other parties have called inflammatory and offensive. ...5 hours ago
- A story of trauma, hope and regaining control, Nayika: A Dancing Girl is soul-stirring dance theatreSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...5 hours ago
- 'Pretty dire' situation for patients as junior doctors strike over pay cutsDisruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...6 hours ago
- How does the drug abemaciclib treat breast cancer?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...6 hours ago
- How a filmmaker, a pile of old shells and a bunch of amateurs are bringing our oyster reefs backSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...6 hours ago
- Official 2023 election result final check done in a few hours, under extreme pressureThe rushed assessment, which failed to identify multiple errors in the official results, would normally take two days. ...7 hours ago
- Curious Kids: what stops meteors hitting Earth and hurting people?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...7 hours ago
- From pride rounds to rainbow guernseys, sports can be smarter when it comes to diversity and inclusi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...7 hours ago
- Grand designs? Why many Australian architects say their career makes them unhappySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Naomi Stead, Director of the Design and Creative Practice Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT, RMIT University SORN340 Studio Images/Shutterstock For years there have been suggestions of widespread poor wellbeing among architects. In many ways this is not surprising. It’s well established the ...7 hours ago
- Don’t embarrass the boss
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...7 hours ago - Green MP Julie Anne Genter referred to Privileges CommitteeGerry Brownlee referred her to the Privileges Committee over complaints about her behaviour in the House. ...8 hours ago
- Six telling tidbits from the review of vote-counting errors at the 2023 election
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period during which we waited, and waited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...8 hours ago - Government begins weekly reporting of school attendance figuresSchools should aim to have 94 percent of their pupils in class every day, David Seymour says. ...8 hours ago
- A ‘blistering’ ‘tour de force’: Australia loves After the Party tooInternational audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party. When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...8 hours ago
- Iran is gaining credibility in the Muslim world and feeling emboldened. This doesn’t bode well for...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...8 hours ago
- ‘Uncanny notes that plague this place’: Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson, reviewedClaire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events. When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...9 hours ago
- Bougainville ‘other avenues’ report ‘sensationalised’, claims MakibaPNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...9 hours ago
- Government on track for increased deficit despite fall in spending – TreasuryThe government books are worsening as a fall in tax outpaces cuts to spending, leaving it on course to post a sizable deficit. ...10 hours ago
- Luxon and Mitchell weren’t mixed up, they were using girl mathsWhere some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game. Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.” Some think that’s ...11 hours ago
- Interim Financial Statements Of The Government Of New Zealand For The Nine Months Ended 31 March 20...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...11 hours ago - NZ First MP Jamie Arbuckle, who wanted to keep his pay as councillor pay too, changes his mindJamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...11 hours ago
- Jamie Arbuckle MP – Re: My Position As Marlborough District CouncillorThis is my fifth term as a Marlborough District Councillor, I am passionate about local issues, and I will continue to work hard for my community. ...11 hours ago
- Adding gender to the Human Rights Act – what’s the big deal?Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...11 hours ago
- Carmel Sepuloni believed to be contestant on new season's Celebrity Treasure IslandThe new season of Celebrity Treasure Island is due to hit New Zealand screens later this year. ...12 hours ago
- The cost of being: A flatting student who’s saving for more tattoosAs part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...13 hours ago
- 'He got it mixed up' – PM backs Corrections Minister despite announcement muddleThe prime minister is backing Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell, saying he "quickly clarified" a confusing media conference announcement. ...13 hours ago
- How the fast-track law could expose future NZ governments to expensive trade disputesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...13 hours ago
- Crisis of faith: why Australian women have so little trust in religious institutionsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...13 hours ago
- Terminal lucidity: why do loved ones with dementia sometimes ‘come back’ before death?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...13 hours ago
- Making merry: how we brought Melbourne’s Merri Creek back from pollution, neglect and weedsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...13 hours ago
- This group rid one Australian river of its privet problem – and strengthened community along the w...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sonia Graham, DECRA Fellow, University of Wollongong Lekali Studio/Shutterstock Privet is a popular garden hedge. It grows quickly and responds well to being pruned. But in natural areas, privet is a problem. Like 72% of weeds in Australia, privet escaped ...13 hours ago
- Australian artists only earn $23,200 a year from their art – and are key financial investors in ke...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...13 hours ago
- Experts Sign Open Letter To Legalise Drugs In New ZealandHarm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...13 hours ago
- Politics live: Mark Mitchell, Christopher Luxon face questions after Corrections confusionThe Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...14 hours ago
- Messy press conference prompts correction over Corrections fundingIt took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...15 hours ago
- Politics live: Mark Mitchell, Christopher Luxon face questions after confusion CorrectionsThe Prime Minister and Corrections Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about their $1.9 billion planned prison spend-up. ...15 hours ago
- Young Star burns bright for her Fiji familyLili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...15 hours ago
- Plucky Foodstuffs crushed by the iron fist of big bicycleThe beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...17 hours ago
- Seven graphs that show where New Zealand’s food comes from… and where it goesHow what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...17 hours ago
- Q&A – avian influenza H5N1Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...17 hours ago
- The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regimeThirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...17 hours ago
- World shines a light on NZ’s human rights breachesOpinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...17 hours ago
- The mutant bird flu lurking on our bordersHighly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...17 hours ago
- Meridian Energy: no need to ‘engage’ locals ahead of fast-track applicationsFor projects of national significance, the energy giant recommends applicants need only “notify” those potentially affected The post Meridian Energy: no need to ‘engage’ locals ahead of fast-track applications appeared first on Newsroom. ...17 hours ago
- How Kiwis are getting their families out of PalestineMohammed paid $70,000 to get his 10 family members into Egypt. They still don’t have a clear way into New Zealand. The post How Kiwis are getting their families out of Palestine appeared first on Newsroom. ...17 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 MayLoading…(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 7 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...17 hours ago
- On the legendary Phil Wood of Phil Wood Menswear, WestportThe following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...17 hours ago
- The economic case against conscriptionOpinion: How economists helped to end slavery and conscription in the US and elsewhere The post The economic case against conscription appeared first on Newsroom. ...17 hours ago
- Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money?A $1.8b funding boost for Pharmac still won’t enable it to buy more drugs, raising questions about the Government’s approach to the agency The post Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money? appeared first on Newsroom. ...17 hours ago
- National progressing changes to NZ Super’s ownership rulesLabour early last year introduced a bill to allow New Zealand’s pension fund to own more than half of a company or asset The post National progressing changes to NZ Super’s ownership rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...17 hours ago
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So it’s now this, Turkish Goons beat up US citizens in the USA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHxAeRwfyGs
Holy shit, that was in America! I like the way the host suggested Trump would be taking notes from Erdogan on how to become more authoritarian.
Have you never watched the TYT channel?
That is not the first time they have suggested that about Trump.
They are one of the few Independent News organizations left in the US not controlled by corporate money. A lot of the others are slowly being purged of most centrist and left-wing commentators.
Cenk Uygur the owner of TYT is actually Turkish/American born in Istanbul, Turkey and is not a very big fan of what the Turkish government has done to his birth country either. For some time now he has been trying to pull Republicans and Democrats togeather to get the money out of Politics in the US. He is a champion of wolf-pac.com who are slowly gathering a number of states together to get an amendment to the US constitution to do just that.
A couple of arrests.
.
A Turkish state news agency acknowledged that guards for Erdogan, who had earlier met with President Trump at the White House, had targeted demonstrators. Many of the aggressors seen on video were wearing dark suits and ties, and several had guns. At least two of the guns were seen on video being dropped and then picked up during skirmishes.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Turkish Embassy called the demonstration “unpermitted” and “provocative.” Officials alleged in the statement that the protesters were affiliated with the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and the United States. A protest leader denied that any of the participants were involved with the PKK or sympathized with the group.
“The demonstrators began aggressively provoking Turkish-American citizens” who had gathered to greet Erdogan, the statement said. “The Turkish-Americans responded in self defense and one of them was seriously injured.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/turkeys-presidential-guards-violently-clash-with-protesters-outside-embassy/2017/05/17/8420942a-3b05-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html
‘Nice’ to see that American cops understand the concept of never pulling up the guy in the suit. 👿
Pretty sure similar happened during his 2016 visit to the US. Not new.
edit – link
2nd edit. I guess the reaction will be much the same too 😉 Fatih Oke, a spokesperson for the Turkish embassy in Washington, said he arrived at the event after the alleged incidents. “I can’t comment on what I didn’t see,” he said. “The meeting was wonderful.”
they are using north korea as a boogie man to get tpp over the line now, wtf ,please explain
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11858289
Mr Little is starting to sound like a leader
That might be so but the real purpose of Treveeits article was to promote invented discord in the Labour Green MOU and to paint opposition parties as hysterical left wingers overly obsessed with Trump and bitter that he won. She was obviously disappointed Labour and Greens weren’t on the same page on this. Disappointed that the Greens brought up Hitler but she couldn’t get Labour to do the same.
I notice Farrar is all over it too, asking for Shaw to apologise. To who for fuck’s sake? Trump?
well Shaw needs to leave the mad talk for us fringe ranters , so a good lesson for him to.
Fair enough a bit naive, but he did reference that Backbenchers is a TV show filmed in a pub and pub talk is the whole point. Y’know, robust comedy, etc.
It’s not naive like menacingly threatening NGOs with funding cuts at a major party conference…
probably doesn’t hurt for the two parties to be seen to disagree and then keep working well together.
Plus, Tr*mp probably is the most dangerous person since Hitler. And no, Andrew, you don’t lose the argument by mentioning Hitler when it’s an actual historical reference.
Hitler had a whole set of institutional enthusiasm behind him…and an international tendency to feed from – fascism being in the ascendancy and supported by a failing and flailing liberal establishment (Spanish Revolution knee capped by supposed liberal “non- involvement” – fascist leaders receiving Times “man of the year” endorsements etc)…
Trump’s got none of that. Trump’s not dangerous. He’s an unpleasant and damaging flash in the pan is all.
What comes after Trump is what we should be looking to. That’s where the danger lies.
Well you and I will have to disagree on that. Both my own perception and the politicos I am following in the US see Tr*mp as legitimising a whole range of latent fascism in the US and the longer that goes on the harder it will be to roll back. There is also the issue of how fascism comes about and the process of normalising things that were even recently not considered normal. There’s plenty of commentary on that coming out of the US. ‘He’s not really fascist’ is part of how fascism comes about 😉
And he is not on his own. Not only does he have his team of seriously fucked in the head powermongers and deathmongers, but there are other dangerous Republicans who will be perceived as less extreme than Tr*mp but only because he’s set a new standard. So there is the institutional enthusiasm.
He has the nuclear launch codes, so that can’t be compared to Hitler’s time, but it’s one of the things that makes him so dangerous.
“fascist leaders receiving Times “man of the year” endorsements etc”
Tr*mp was Time’s ‘Person of Year’ last year.
http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump/
I didn’t take Shaw as comparing Tr*mp with Hitler, or their respective milieu, but instead saying that Tr*mp is the most dangerous person since Hitler, including in terms of potential impact globally. I’d be interested to hear examples of other individuals that fit that bill better.
So okay, a president – any president of the USA is influential on the world stage…if they have institutional backing. Trump doesn’t have that. Both the Republican establishment and the Democratic establishment – with all their media and intelligence community networks, are working to bring him down.
You want “normalisation” of fascism? Then look to how liberal msm report on the likes of UKIP or Le Pen.
Are you saying there is no normalising of fascism going on in the US?
Hopefully Tr*mp will be brought down, because he is actually that dangerous. I don’t think those forces are working against him because he’s an unpleasant flash in the pan.
As I said elsewhere…I commented in the run-up to the US election that if Trump won, the opportunity would be there for the left to organise and mobilise, and that the danger to that would be coming from the wound licking democrats and their fellow travelers seeking to rehabilitate themselves.
Seems that danger’s risen up now – eg, vacuous ‘Russia meddling’ reports, bullshit CW reports, endless stream of baseless accusations feeding into general jagged finger pointing…and no-one’s calling it.
Which is potentially going to leave us with a ‘nice’ situation in the US whereby the forces of “anything but Trump” (the ‘establishment’ as personified by Cain/Clinton et al) are aligned against the “anything but the status quo” (swathes of the electorate) and “the left” will be nowhere to be seen.
yes, and that’s not incompatible with Tr*mp being extremely dangerous.
There is complete over reaction to trump, if he would just shut his stupid mouth, close down his twitter account, act like a president it would simply be business as usual re US presidents
Except for the fascist bits.
The u.s.a has a long and brutal history of genocide, slavery and disregard of human rights towards those they consider untermensch ….
Their savagery is beyond normal http://withoutsanctuary.org/pics_38.html
Their rich in particular ….. have literally supported Nazis to the extent of helping exteriminate the jews and profiting from slave labour in the concentration camps …. not to mention supplying vital war material to the Nazis during the war.
Firms like IBM helped keep on top of the huge organisation which goes into killing millions and millions …..
I suspect they also made money from operation phoenix in vietnam ….
And operation Condor in south America…. when the generals ( with u.s.a backing ), had taken over Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and a few other countries …… In Nazi/facist style they killed unionist, intellectuals, land and human rights advocates etc .
u.s.a supplied the computers to keep track of all the unionists and those marked for death ….. no matter where they ran.
IBM computers probably,… as there were not to many computing companies in the early and mid 1970’s …..
Tax Havens are another thing with a strong Nazi association …. so most corporations ( IBM of course ), use them
The Nazis beat communisim/socialisim http://100photos.time.com/photos/kevin-carter-starving-child-vulture
This is what Victory looks like http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/world/82862438/banana-republic-the-ugly-story-behind-new-zealands-most-popular-fruit
http://www.foodispower.org/slavery-chocolate/
And at the end of this video …. we get a look at our new Allies ….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkuonQCw_jg ….. we are supporting nazis ….. just like Nato and the U.s.a
Trump is made in the u.s.a …..
The stories of dairy hold-ups now come daily and it is bad news for the National Party which cut police services, increased inequality, removed surety of work hours, and treated the unemployed like criminals.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11858552
There are a shitload of votes here for Labour which should be discussing loudly how they are going to reduce the crime and violence which has increased under National.
How about this, people know that robbing is wrong. If people didn’t think about robbing people, you wouldn’t need so much police as everyone behave harmoniously. But no, let’s make this a political issue, because a government doesn’t have enough police, that’s why there are so many robberies. Are you suggesting we need more police because people can’t help themselves? Instead of more police, let store keepers arm themselves. Then we’ll see how many people think about robbing someone else.
yeah, because places where storekeepers arm themselves are crime free. Totally works every time.
I agree McFlock, solutions need to be formed with the understanding that violence begets violence.
Any solution that doesn’t drill down to the core of the problem is a Band Aid, the infection rages. Young people choosing to stick a knife in someone’s face is fixed by giving them something better to do.
When one of our young people is sticking a knife in someone’s face, it’s our society, we created it, some of the buck stops with us. We’ve done a crap job of directing all that energy and adrenaline, geez it could be winning the Warriors games.
If I was PM I’d be creating a Department of ‘Sorry you got such crap parents, pull on this wetsuit, pick up that spear-gun and follow me.’
There will always be those people when you push policies that create poverty and hopelessness. Neo-liberalism has pushed us a long way down the path of creating a hell-hole of a society, and here you are putting up feeble, unrealistic arguments. Get real.
The answer lies in the —Budget.
It was a hell-hole of a society way back when Charles Dickens was writing. None of the fundamentals have changed – just some of the elastoplasts that had been applied have been stripped off these past decades.
The answer now is no different to what it was then…
“..none of the fundamentals have changed since dickensian times..”
I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt in that perhaps your definition of “the fundamentals” is quite narrow.
Market driven economy – capitalism. You think the rules have changed?
I’d suggest what Mayhew describes went a bit further than we’re used to.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/16/rereading-henry-mayhew-london-poor
Not for want of Gnats trying, or other parties failing to overturn their rorts mind.
Well, yes. What Mayhew describes is a situation that occurred in the absence of any welfare state.
But the economic rules that gave rise to that situation are the same rules our economy operates by today.
btw – ever been homeless without access to welfare, and tried hawking or peddling? You get lifted. Which offers an interesting twist in a situation where we’d dispensed with social welfare provisions – in some ways survival would be harder now than it was then, thanks to specific ‘regulations’ and ‘laws’…
How very basic of you.
Rather than employing more police, it would be a lot cheaper (and better in so many other ways) to reduce income inequality, and you don’t want to do that either, assuming you are capable, which I don’t.
And in shock breaking news, it seems the NZ Labour Party may have been paying attention to the SNP afterall!!!
http://www.labour.org.nz/kiwibuild 🙂
Why if Myrtle Rust has been randomly “wind blown” from Australia to the Kermadecs and the NZ mainland is it being detected only (I think) in plant nurseries? Surely with NZ’s westerlys it would be showing up in Western NZ native bush and feijoa orchards yet the only references I see is to plant nurseries.
Nurseries are probably good nurseries for MR if you get what I mean (i.e. ideal conditions).
With the severity of the violence with dairy owners and cigarettes. As nicotine is an addicting substance why doesn’t the Government place all cigarettes and tobacco into the same category as methadone, the heroin substitute and have dedicated places where people can go and buy their fags in a controlled and secure area. I remember years ago hearing from the guy who rang Kingseat Hospital that nicotine was as difficult as heroin to withdraw from – why on earth isn’t it a controlled substance?
I realise that supermarkets and dairies will loose a lot of income but surely with ingenuity they could come up with other ideas and products to get customers through the door. While I am on this I cannot see why booze can’t be also separated off from general food products in the supermarket like Australia does. To be honest – there could be a valid reason to separate off completely alcohol into secure areas like methadone and nicotine as well to do away with the numerous booze outlets.
I am not a whowser – I enjoy my wine, but if push came to shove I would be prepared to purchase my alcohol in a secure environment and maybe that would stop all this terrible violence occurring to shop owners.
Pigs might fly too.
Bill wrote a post about that once (nicotine addicts being able to register and have access to supply).
https://thestandard.org.nz/curing-tobacco/
Don’t think it will solve the dairy robberies, they’re stealing for shit to sell to make money, and they’re amped up on the violence as far as I can tell. Take away the tobacco and they’ll steal something else.
I have no problem with alcohol being restricted to licensed premises.
heh – I do believe that was before the advent of vapourising 🙂 (Nicotine habit satisfied for about $2 per week)
I should edit. Edit. Vapourising paraphernalia should be available on script. It’s presently illegal to sell or supply nicotine in solution in NZ, meaning…all the government subsidies goes to pharma selling bullshit patches, gums, and pills.
RIP Chris Cornell. For the rockers out there:
Fell on black days
Erdogan’s man in the White House succeeded.
The plan to arm the Kurdish fighters had been seven months in the making when it was presented to Flynn.
“Don’t approve it,” Flynn said, according to an account in The Washington Post that was included in a timeline prepared by the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. “We’ll make the decision.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article151149702.html
No, he didn’t succeed.
The sad truth is that no-one wants to see the autonomous regions’ experiment with substantive forms of democratic governance persist…
not the Turkish government.
nor the US government
nor the EU
nor the Syrian government
nor the traditional Arab structures of power in the region
nor the government of Iraqi Kurdistan…
Trump has finally agreed to supply light arms – oh, underwhelmed whoop. I think I may be right in saying that heavier weaponry will be supplied on a tightly monitored basis (ie – it gets ‘rented out’ for specific operations and then returned)
This shit is like the Spanish revolution gone horribly wrong if you can imagine such a thing 🙁
Just in case Steven Joyce is thinking of running with ‘Strong and Stable’ this year. The end part on here has so many elements which are ours; and his.
Was torturing myself trying to remember who else it was I’d seen punting on the “Strong and Stable” meme, then I remembered it was the “Brighter Future” meme being peddled by the UK’s Lib Dems …Go Teh Guardian! 😉
Water is still a huge issue. Damien Oconnor spoke well on backbenchers the other night – except on water where he was worse than weak. Greens were good, NZ first lady mostly looked proud of herself for showing up, Chester Borrows a pillock.
Everyone bar the greens patting themselves and fed farmers on the back about fencing watreways noone addressing the real issue of Nitrate leaching.
And today the Nats go for the half billion with irrigation subsidies by throwing another 90 million in there
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/92742733/government-90m-boost-for-irrigation-to-produce-economic-and-environment-gains
Incredibly this is spun as having environmental benefit by replenishing the aquifer!
” “At the same time these schemes can deliver real environmental benefits by maintaining river flows and recharging groundwater aquifers.””
Really?
Although his writing is a little academic/intellectual in style I like his thinking: Max Harris on the unavoidable centrality of environmental politics
https://impolitikal.com/2017/05/15/extract-max-harris-on-the-unavoidable-centrality-of-environmental-politics/
That’s very good.
Only about to read it.
But punting it’ll be making the obvious point that all these house building proposals from the Libuorish Party and the Narsty Party are just so much bullshit riding alongside all their other inadequate and “reality defying” bullshit, yes?
building housing is bullshit because of the environment?
Over 30 000 houses are under water according to Jan Wright’s (Commissioner for the Environment) report from 2015. Only 1000 odd of those fucked dwellings are in Auckland, yet the bulk of any party’s building programme is Auckland based.
These fucking clowns (the politicians) might as well don a Donald wig as far as I’m concerned.
Ah, CC. I’d gone down another track re housing and the environment.
30,000, but not for a while right? Not sure what you are saying. The reason they’re focussing on Ak is because so much pressure is there right now.
Depends on whether you want to go with IPCC reports or not. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is running on prelim figures they gleaned from research on Antarctica just prior to the US elections that point to a possible 1.5m by as soon as 2050. Regardless of whether that pans out, “no-one” takes the IPCC suggestion of 1m by 2100 seriously any more.
New Zealand assumes houses have to be around for 50 years.
Jan Wright’s figures that I added up to be over 30 000 were based on a 1.5m sea level rise.
edit. In the absence of serious measures being taken in other places that are ‘going under’, then the pressure in Auckland will be seriously exacerbated by what we might come to term as internal refugees.
Sure, and Labour and the Greens are looking at the housing crisis in NZ not just Ak, but I think everyone is very focussed on the people who are homeless this year.
Still not sure what your point is. Is it that no-one is taking CC seriously enough? (agreed). Is it that people are still building in stupid places (agreed, and Dunedin is at least making moves on this). Is it that Ak is too low lying?
The housing policies are nowhere near ambitious enough because they do not seem to be taking into account the huge and inevitable loss in housing stock that’s going to result from sea level rise.
We’re not looking at some distant tomorrow on that front and it’s going to be on-going. It’s a consideration that should be a part and parcel of any current housing policy.
edit – and a 10 year build as Labour proposes isn’t really doing much for those homeless today or this year.
That’s why I’m voting Green 😉
I’m less worried about the actual number of houses re CC, because NZ has shit loads of empty houses. Stats NZ has occupancy rates for most places, all cities have empty houses.
“There are 46,590 occupied dwellings and 3,915 unoccupied dwellings in Dunedin City.
…
There are 186 dwellings under construction in Dunedin City, and 9,756 under construction in New Zealand.”
“There are 11,508 occupied dwellings and 4,467 unoccupied dwellings in Queenstown-Lakes District.
…
There are 237 dwellings under construction in Queenstown-Lakes District, and 9,756 under construction in New Zealand.”
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-07042017/#comment-1318184
I’d put Dunedin at average and QLDC as high relative to NZ but normal relative to other tourist towns.
Lots of houses are under occupied too. And there will be a fair number of houses that can be moved. Which isn’t to say you aren’t right about political parties not designing policy around this properly (they’re not), just that I consider sea level rise to be one of NZ’s lesser problems (plenty of technical solutions for us and we have the wealth to do them, our problem is political and social).
Read it. Reaching for the puke bucket. Just another fluffy and clueless liberal seeking preservation through the variation of a theme that’s served them well.
Is that what you’re saying Bill? Because that’s what I think you’re saying but often I cannot tell …
I do honestly think that Max Harris is genuinely trying to come up with solutions just like many others but of course this doesn’t mean he or anybody else will have (all) the answers let alone answers that’ll please or satisfy everyone. He’s not a policy-maker; he’s trying to stimulate debate in an open, honest and brave way and I think he should be applauded for this even, or perhaps especially (!), when you don’t agree with him or his thinking & ideas.
Yeah – that was a rubbish and unfair comment. Retracted, withdrawn etc, etc.