To be fair though micky Labour need to shoulder some of the blame for this. They should have been expecting the attacks over tax and had it all shut down before the campaign started.
I’m struggling with the criticism. Basically your premise is they should have anticipated National would make shit up and should have been ready to reply. Parties should be punished for making shit up, not rewarded.
On the other hand with the crazy way the polls have been going we can expect equally mad swings in the final Newshub-Reid poll when it comes out. That one will have Labour up 7 from 37 to 44 and National down 7 from 47 to 40 or something like that.
They’ll also reverse the Green/NZF vote percentages.
Does anyone understand what is going on?
What kind of demented troll stalks a left leaning website at 6.01pm to gloat in unhinged and delirious glee at others’ potential misfortune? You should be ashamed of yourself and go book an appointment with a shrink
Not really. It puts them 1 percentage point ahead of Labour + Greens. Given the margin of error, that could just as easily be reversed. If National happen to be just a bit lower, and especially if NZ 1st don’t get in, they lose.
Having said that, the enrolment stats could equally mean that National will effectively poll higher. This poll really only says that it’s mighty close.
Don’t know 7% , Declined 6% , margin of error?
It’s One news Poll, they’ve been consistently 4 to 6% out with final poll versus Votes cast over the last 3 elections.
Kiwis are far thicker than Morgan could possibly imagine, if they elect a National government after their display of incompetence throughout this campaign.
Kiwis are far thicker than Morgan could possibly imagine, if they elect a National government after their display of incompetence throughout this campaign.
OK. I think CB is landline only. Few youth votes will be recorded except the tory twitletts still living at home with mummy and daddy. Add to that the Nat campaign of lying, cheating, deceiving, corrupt behaviour… and the moribund and ignorant voters fall for it yet again. As for the shallow, witless james’ of this world… karma will sort them in due course.
Sorry, stages of grief and all that, but you can’t keep smashing the voters like that and then expect them to vote for you.
IF (big if) the poll is realised on Saturday and we end up with English & Co back in charge again, then Labour have to think pretty hard about why it happened. Sneering at the electorate as ‘moribund and ignorant’ isn’t going to help.
You have to think why (if) they opted for National. After all, last week they were smart and engaged because the CB showed them supporting Labour.
Nah. Supporters of both parties are always calling each other idiots on no uncertain terms, and it’s nothing new. Unless they hold office or are running to do so, I don’t think it makes a blind bit of difference.
There’s a big problem with the “young people don’t have cellphones” argument – it ignores the fact that young people have ALWAYS been hard to reach for opinion polling, even before cellphones became commonplace.
The polling companies have had to deal with low response-rates amongst young people for many decades, and adjust their weightings and strategies accordingly. Cellphones probably make an already big problem a bit bigger, but if thats the main defence the left is going to rely on for polls today, it’s probably going to be a tough night on Saturday.
You’re entitled to be skeptical of whatever you want to be skeptical of, but the fact remains that the track record of polling companies in New Zealand, for at least the last couple of decades, has been pretty good.
Polling is hard, but these are experienced professional companies that have every incentive to be right (as in correct) not ‘right’ (as in skewed).
All I will say is this; if your belief that the left is going to win the election relies on believing polling is skewed against the left then, on balance of probabilities, you should prepare for a bad election night.
I may as well concede now. I knew this would happen. And it was the farmers wot won it.
Labour has some serious shit to sort out starting Monday. And the Greens can pay themselves on the back all they want about rising to 8%, they are still going to be in opposition.
All this poll shows is that thing are still really unstable. I would not give up yet. Besides Labour/Greens are neck and neck with National. Even on these figures there is everything to aim for.
Yep … It’s deflating – no question about that – but it sure as hell aint over.
Chin up, my bully-boys*. Jacinda’s got the vile sausage-sucking Tory Hun on the run ! Keep Fritzie in panic-mode and I’m sure we’ll all be in Berlin by lunchtime !
If the poll is right it would be the lies that National is telling which tip the balance. Fear and anxiety implemented by unscrupulous people seem to win in NZ.
If the poll is right.
We will do it yet!
Labour has some serious shit to sort out starting Monday,
The shit is: Labour don’t stand up and give back as good as they get. All this relentless positivity doesn’t work. The voters see it as a weakness. The majority of them are self promoting bigots and its time Labour woke up to reality. I’ve been banging on about it for years and so have plenty of others but they… just… won’t… listen.
Oh, and they are still producing policy that’s way too complex. In statistical terms, half the voters have an IQ that is below the average but they seem unable to take that into account. Helen Clark understood and produced the simplistic pledge card in 2005 was it? Whatever, It saved her bacon.
If Labour loses it’s because Labour fucked it up.
Nothing about not attacking or been too nice, it will be because you’re trying to change too much stuff all at once and have spooked the horses.
Have to agree here. Positivity in this neoliberal race to the top goes part way. Sadly, the soft vote wants (as Hosking might say “rightly or wrongly”) cuthroat displays of strength. Jacinda will need to attack to beat those that are expert in the craft of bullshitting soft voters. Meanwhile, those most affected will suffer more. Sorry to be pessimisstic.
Well, I for one Welcome our new National Party Overlords !
And I can assure Fräulein Bennett and Herr Joyce that I’m prepared to sing like a Canary, wildly naming names like an accused Communist at a 1951 McCarthyite Senate hearing.
Normally I’d be a lot more positive about this but my political antenna seems to be a bit wonKey at the moment however its probably not a good sign for Labour
I just hope Labour can keep it seemly and not go to desperate measures over the next couple of days
Full resilts:
1 News Colmar Brunton poll:
NAT 46% (+6),
LAB 37% (-7),
GRN 8% (+1),
NZF 5% (-1),
TOP 2% (NC),
MAO 1% (NC),
ACT 0.3%
Don’t know 7%, Refused 6% (+1). Fieldwork conducted 16-19 September
Oh, certainly not giving up – according to this poll, National’s on 46 % and Labour/Green on 45%. Only a mug would think they could pick the winner at this point.
Yup…..13% is a lot to play for…..who would be most inclined to refuse to say?
Don’t lose heart people….get on the phone and talk to someone and convince them to vote.
The Labour Party certainly don’t avoid it, do they?
They have parroted on most of the year on how National supposedly cut the expenditure on health below what Labour had been doing. It was a clever lie but it was a lie for all that. They did it by taking the first year of the National Government as the base line, rather than taking the last year of the Labour Government.
That way they could pretend that the massive increase in the 2009-2010 year never happened.
They have parroted on most of the year on how National supposedly cut the expenditure on health below what Labour had been doing. It was a clever lie but it was a lie for all that.
His analysis, carried out with the ASMS, indicated the health system’s publicly-funded mental health services in 2017/18 would receive just $18 million in extra funding. That’s an increase of about 1.2%, which works out to a cut in real terms. A 7.3% funding increase is needed in 2017/18 just to maintain the mental health services we already have, given client numbers are increasing at about 5% a year – and more money is needed if the Government wants to improve access to services.
You really can’t help yourself in your defence of National psychopathic policies can you? Typical authoritarian follower. You’re one of the sheep that National relies upon not only to not question them but to defend them and you do it without fail.
I have no idea what the situation is in this part of the health budget.
What I looked at was the total budget and what the Labour Party claims were.
They were false.
I don’t really have the time or inclination to look at this bit of the budget and the figures you are referring to, and you will note that I wasn’t talking about just this facet of the situation.
I was more interested in the whole picture.
The effect of this is to pretend that the first year of the National Government was the norm rather than comparing their numbers with the final year of the Labour Government.
The first year of the National government would be the last year of the Labour government’s final budget.
“The first year of the National government would be the last year of the Labour government’s final budget”
That is quite true. National was in Government for most of that year. However it wasn’t that year they used as the base, normal, year
The 2008 election was on November 8 2008.
The last year of the Labour Government was the 2008-2009 year. It covered the year from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. http://www.treasury.govt.nz/government/financialstatements/yearend
That was not the year they used as their base though. They used the expenditure in the 2009-2010 year which was the first year that the National Party budget of 2009 was in operation.
If you take the last Labour year as the base you find that the Health expenditure did rise under a National Government above the values for the end of the Labour one.
There was a very large increase in the 2009-2010 year even after you include inflation and demographic changes. National deserve the credit for that surely? Because of the way Labour requested the calculations all this increase was ignored.
Cunning isn’t it?
I didn’t actually claim that the Green Party had done that.
What I said was that they didn’t appear to like the environmental effects of the pipeline.
I also said that they were in favour of using coastal shipping to move goods around.
The Maori Party will win at least two seats, via Te Ururoa Flavell and Howie Tamati, who was 13 points ahead of Adrian Rurawhe a couple of weeks ago. They may get enough party votes to get Marama Fox in as well, but at this stage I would guess not.
If NZFirst don’t make it on those numbers there would be 7% wasted vote which would probably be enough for Nat/Act to govern alone. A sobering thought.
Everybody is better off if NZ1st don’t make it! Then nobody has to deal with Winston.
But in terms of who forms the government, that depends on whether Nats plus clingons or Labour/Greens get more of the votes above the threshold. The Maori Party may end up the deciders.
So if you’re tossing up whether to vote Nats or Winnie, go for Winnie. If you’re tossing up Labour or Greens vs Winnie, then Labour or Greens.
A phrase coined by my old friend Bob in our glory days at Stirling University in the 90s. He was trying to express his disapproval of Ecstasy, because it made you “Dance like a jalopy to really stupid music.”
Bob had a way with words, usually unintentionally.
Both participants in that conversation are now dead – the raver had some sort of bad reaction to E (Bob didn’t think to warn him of that) and Bob himself died a couple of years ago from blood poisoning in India.
.. all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
Ah, mortality! But at least Bob’s curious genius will live on a little longer.
Seeing it would immediately require an immediate SAN check. Failure would result in the loss of 1d100 San points, and even those passing would still lose 1d10 SAN.
And aliens could actually invade and enslave us into their galactic empire, but I’m picking neither of those highly unlikely events is going to happen in the near future.
“sometime late Saturday night”.
In terms of the election night result we will have a pretty good idea by about 8pm. There are so many early votes that will be counted before 7pm, and they tend to be similar to the final result.
With the closeness of these numbers though I think we may be sitting around wondering for another couple of weeks. There are all the specials and the overseas voting to come after that.
The official results aren’t due until 7 October. There could be a seat or two swinging then.
In the last few elections National has typically lost a seat to the Greens with the recounts and overseas votes. That could be crucial this time round.
Yes, the Green Party do have a unique pattern of results.
They have polling numbers of X% before the election. Then the drop to about 0.8X on election day. Then they go back up to 0.85X with the specials.
NB I haven’t actually calculated the multipliers but the pattern is accurate.
“That rather diminishes Labours chances as their only coalition party can be the greens.”
Really! – when NZ First is so needed to form a labour lead government rather than a sellout Government?? The last time Labour come to power in 1999 it was a coalition of labour greens/NZ First so you are way out there.
Didn’t you watch what Winston said at his interview with John Campbell the other night? – It was when John asked Winston if he could work with the greens – he said, “everythings negociable”.
I’m afraid your memory is failing you.
The Government after the !999 election was comprised of Labour and the Alliance. Neither New Zealand First nor the Green Party were part of the Government.
I am afraid you are way out there.
Is it possible to have James banned for at least two weeks. His empty triumphalism doesn’t add anything to the discourse. I don’t see why he should be able to sort of start a flame war, and be politely allowed to dance around on our hopes for the future of NZ. So please mods can he be revued and take his tap dancing off to Kiwiblog!
All the trolls seem to be creaming themselves tonight… Based on what? Yet another MSM Poll …
“In this month’s issue of Personality and Individual Differences, a study was published that confirms what we all suspected: internet trolls are horrible people.”
“In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll’s amusement.”
About that troll definition. If you get a coven of any gender and say something that doesn’t fit their rigid ideas, it can upset them like hell. Like an innocent insect getting caught in a web you suddenly get attacked so – 1 can invoke an irrational response also 2, and some acceptable etiquette and display of manners is called for before rushing to invoke Rule 109 section 32 (a)(i) or similar in the in-group’s exposition.
When the nuisance is repeated then irritation is justified.
On the other hand…perhaps it is better he is here, where we can keep an eye on him, rather than him roaming the streets getting up to all sorts of evil doings.
Cheer up folks….its a poll…and by definition
.
a hornless animal, especially one of a breed of hornless cattle.
She could have said the same thing in a different way and she’d still be (and the Greens would be on at least 15%) instead they might not even make it back and the parties image is forever tarnished
If she’d something like “I did this a long time ago and I’m sorry I felt I had to do it, I appreciated the support I received from the taxpayer and I paid the money back once I became a lawyer, I’m coming forward now to make sure no one else in my position has to do the same because something needs to change”
Instead she came off as unappreciative and somewhat flippant, perception is everything
interesting. For me she came across as standing her ground in solidarity with beneficiaries. Not saying she didn’t make any mistakes, but that this was more important than appeasing the so called middle NZ.
Paying the money back is very problematic. She wouldn’t have know how much it was, she could have been charged with fraud and had her law career put at risk. She still had a young child at that point. I think you’ve missed some critical parts of the story.
She should have got that stuff sorted before she went public.
The fact that she didn’t is the reason she’s now out of politics, she’s an idiot and the countries far better off not having her in any sort of position where she could have power over others.
What the hell is that about? You are totally out of line making such a comment. You should withdraw and apologise.
[lprent: Please spare me your unintelligent indignation. Please read his comment. There are many possible meanings to OAB’s statement.
It could just be his opinion of Judith Collins that if she is dealing with anything it will be dodgy as fuck. You only have to read Dirty Politics to come to that conclusion.
But certainly her orders as Minster or Energy have disrupted travel. For instance she could have put the priority on aircraft kerosene rather than 91 octane petrol and diesel. It is legitimate to query why a politician she would have done it this way.
It could also deal with the renamed Oravida operation around Ruakaka with a reputation for playing fast and loose with rules that uses diggers to dig Kauri stumps, the one that would be a prime suspect if a digger did damage and she has a family connection to it is another. I’d question if she should be involved in any enquiry myself.
That her husband operates Oravida and for whom she is known to have done what I consider amounts to a sales trip on the taxpayers dime for is another.
Now these are all legitimate political questions that will be raised.
I am sure that in the latter two that when the election is over and in the caretaker government that as a lawyer Judith Collins will see that she will properly recuse herself to allow a real investigation to take place as to the cause of the economic disaster of having the sole fuel line to Auckland cut.
If you had half a brain, you would have figured that out yourself, and not wasted my time. OAB specialises in doing the needle intelligently and so he doesn’t get banned. You could do well to study his opaque technique for revving up simple minded right wingers into defending against what their guilty consciences feel that he must have been meaning.
Keeping Stock -you were flushed out this time last election as an active player in National’s Dirty Politics campaign, to the extent that you had to kill of your own blog and scramble into damage control in your own community.
Why are you here now? What do you hope to achieve by commenting on The Standard at this point? Do you think readers here don’t know about your close association with Farrar and Slater?
Remember that National’s best ever result was 47.3% under Key in 2011. So we’re led to believe that after another 6 years and without Key, National has lost only 1%? I do admire the optimism of some Tories.
I’m not sure that the Labour Party is spending it’s advertising money very wisely.
I just had a look at KiwiBlog to see if Farrar had any comment on this result.
The first thing I got was an ad for the Labour Party.
I don’t think that there are really many votes Labour is going to gain from ads running there.
Oh, it’s well spent alright – how I laughed when I saw it! That phrase about capitalists being willing to sell you the rope you plan to hang them with came to mind.
I miss all the real funny hard case Kiwi comedians like Tui Teka and Billy T James The Laughing Samoans Eteuati Ete and Tofiga Fepulea Fred Dagg / John Clarke OUR Kiwi comedians like them bring a tear to my eyes and I get a sore face.
I’m just wondering why I have not seen these types of comedians on National TV in the last 8 years or so. Tammy Davis /Munter off Outrageous Fortune would make us laugh like them I’m sure there are many more out there Taika Waititi would be fucken funny but he is to busies . Maybe Taika could champion this cause to promote It. I’m sure Taika would have the influence to accomplish this.
The soon to be Queen Knows that we all have sorrows in OUR hearts for her loss we just don’t want to bother her or put her off her campaign.
I’m not even going to talk about what was first on the news as we all Know that come Saturday we will be celebrating a Labour Greens win so chin up I say everyone. Sorry I can not support Tops his policys don’t match my Ideals.
I follow Waititi on twitter, which is intermittent but humorous. Don’t have a TV so not sure what passes for Kiwi humour these days. I guess they’re all doing stand up somewhere. Or have their own whatever show that’s not straight comedy.
One would think that they could put a temporary fix on that pipe I have used them on water and kerosene is not that flammable WTF you just wrap it and band it up seen this fix many times It just has to be a fix till alternative supply is set up. There should have been a plan for this scenario. Some one needs to be sued over this because that is the only way we will find the truth on this fuck up.
Its not rocket science!!!!!!!!!
Yes, they spent lots of money on a web redesign to make it worse, and then refused to listen to complaints about how it was worse. It’s standard practice for state sector organisations these days.
Fancy that, a couple of days out from the election National gets a massive poll turn around signalling to the voters they now have a chance. Utter billshit.
Oh, come on. You can’t blame everything on the Malevolent Right Wing Space Lizards. Maybe a lot of New Zealanders just prefer the idea of Bill English being in charge of stuff?
Just using my intuition. You stated you haven’t voted Labour since the China FTA. This seems to be the crucial policy you have voted on for a decade or more yet you still back National’s import of Chinese capital.
You are anti-Labour, end of story. How do you propose to effect any social change in New Zealand while being so anti-Labour? You are fighting yourself.
I am not ‘anti-Labour.’ I don’t vote for them because they don’t match my politics. And I criticise them when they make mistakes, which – alas- they do with depressing frequency. And I have no time at all for mindless cheerleaders and naive fools.
Still waiting for you to evidence the claim that I am “back National’s import of Chinese capital.” Or were you just making shit up on the internet?
I’m going by your posts which are unfailingly critical of Labour policy. Given the importance of Labour to changing the government, the only logical conclusion is that you are against changing the government.
I imagine your argument will be the argument of all pretend lefties – ‘it’s complicated’
Back to ‘unfailingly critical,’ even though I’ve already disproved that claim.
Since you’re recycling your doggerel, I’ll recycle mine.
I am not ‘anti-Labour.’ I don’t vote for them because they don’t match my politics. I criticise them when they make mistakes. Given people hereabouts like to view their mistakes as brilliant strategic moves (“Let’s make Cunliffe the leader!”) I’m rather busy.
By some obscure alchemy, you seem to construe that that as support for National. That’s your problem. Maybe you’re not as clever at comprehending things, and your intuition is not as good, as you like to think.
Ardern’s worst debate performance.
Just when she needed to be seen fighting the good fight, she looks flat.
When asked about winston not supporting her water tax, why did she not counter about his super position and how that affects the nats?
Most of the pundits Carolyn_nth accept that the Mana/Internet Party/Dotcom Moment of Truth debacle pushed a couple of percent National’s way in the last days.
Probably. I’m not disputing the poll tonight really. It shows what we’ve always known – Lab/Greens pretty much equals National. The unknowables are what happens after that.
What an odious comment you made imodioum shame on you.
National have truly fucked up this country by conducting a mean arsed austerity scheme as bad as the Ruth Richarson black budget was damaging us then by copying that same style of mean cruel inhumanity where the poor are pushed to the gutter to die hungry and sick.
Pretty evident Hosking and English vs Adern.
Least balanced nz debate ive seen
English flat out lying re 11 billion dollar hole and not pulled by Hosking. Dirty politics, possibly working in the polls so he’s doubled down.
Here are some other intriguing headlines on NZ Herald.
NEW ZEALAND
Fake names: Chief referred to Solicitor-General
20 Sep, 2017 5:37pm
Ministry of Social Development found unlawfully using fake names on legal documents
and
NEW ZEALAND
Beneficiaries short-changed by millions
20 Sept 5.58 pm
Introducing e-therapy digital counselling. Bill’s answer to fixing mental health. No one knows what it is but its new, and more internet time will somehow address kid’s mental health.
Well anyone in NZ can call themselves a counsellor so robots it is.
Serves them right for fucking around and failing to ensure their profession is registered as health practitioners by doing something as basic as agreeing.
mauī; – It’s callled in the old fashioned term we all know as ‘Brainwashing’
National are so tied to the control of the mind as we have seen when they removed all our Public affairs programs like ‘close-up’ and they cousins as they were to focused on the negative stuff the current government was doing .
Radio NZ ‘National’is now a trumpet for the ‘National Party’ so on it goes until they will have us alll bowijng to the ‘National God’ himself.
Greatest one liner
” we can never afford poverty”
Responding to bill “now we can NOW afford to help due to government surpluses” , with jacindas response … priceless.
Mike excelled himself. Given his right leaning and anti left he was very impressive
Jacinda won that debate. Thank goodness for that.
As ex Min of Finance Bill can quote facts and figures for ever. Jacinda less so. But this time Mike didn’t allow Bill to run away with his usual Shouty Bill. Jacinda was concise and was able to express politely her concern about after 9 long years and about the “misleading” information that Bill has used.
Herald poll would disagree….I only saw about the last 5 mins….turnout will still be determining factor…..the 80% (?) of relatively disinterested will decide this
Yes. The Herald Poll had it 60% Bill, 34% Jacinda.
It was closer on the Stuff website though.
They had it Bill 56% and Jacinda 37%.
Don’t worry though. Labours little lovie on Stuff, Tracy Watkins, says that Jacinda won so that is all right.
It is hardly surprising the Stuff papers are going down the tubes.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/97025359/live-three-days-to-go-till-the-election
English says “we can make the positive choices now” because there’s been a couple of years of surplus and now they have the money. Ardern says “we could never afford poverty” and under National the situation has slid.
Magic one liner from J.A. In response
Sad for a govt to say that they can only make positive social choices when we are in surplus 🙁
“Filthy waterways, dying patients denied their pain relief of choice, and working families forced to live in their cars, these are some of the big issues that have got New Zealanders fired-up. They’ve also been the focus of political campaigning in the run up to the election. As voting day draws ever closer, we’ve gathered together some of our recent Insight podcasts, to help you get clued up on the big issues before you put pen to ballot paper.”
The list of undone work by Gnashional just makes it seem that they are incompetent or frozen and unable to make decisions for the good of the country. Constipated and can’t get off the pot. The long days till the main voting day only increases their unpleasant persona and aroma.
They are facing off the weight of ridicule and disgust at their connivance and sly lies to satisfy their backers and voters who are either soaked in past-its-date business theory or smarmy wealth craters with no scruples. With a fair unpwind they will be freed from their circular prison to go and dump in someone else’s yard like the poor and drugged derelicts already on the streets.
“Working families with young children and babies are being left homeless and sleeping in cars in Auckland, as they struggle to get into emergency housing, and are turned off or away from Housing New Zealand. Parents say even with accommodation supplement benefits, their wages can’t cover rising rents, and living in garages or spending nights on floors of friends and family are the only options they have.”
Bill and Jacinda stand on the same stair of a flight of stairs.
Bill : “Jacinda are you taking one step up?”
Jacinda: “No, I’m staying where I am.”
Upon which Bill takes one step down and exclaims “Hey Jacinda, I see you’ve taken one step up!”
It is difficult to have respect for a leader who clearly has scant respect for the most basic straight talk and truth.
Gower’s piece should make headlines in all our papers.
The poll must’ve gone well for National. It’s on Kiwiblog within an hour of being broadcast. The Great Informer has been nowhere near as quick when the story hasn’t suited him.
Marama Fox is all about “strategic voting”….’cos that’s what folk are telling her.
” “Since the weekend it’s almost like the bigger issues have started to take a side-step to the strategic voting as an issue. People are not talking to me about homelessness anymore. They are not talking to me about poverty.
“They are talking to me about who can form government and which is the best way to vote in order to make that happen.””
She pins her colours clearly to the mast…
” She said voters were starting to see the “holes” in Labour, including not making te reo Maori compulsory or moving to entrench the Maori seats. Personally, she was quietly confident she would return to Parliament.
“I know everywhere I speak I turn the entire room. I know people are starting to question the ability of Labour’s Maori MPs to affect any change inside their party.”
“We recognise the mood for change … there are Maori voters, a majority of when you are knocking on doors, who have said they want change, but they want us there.”
Ahem, Marama, after nine years snuggling up to National, supporting them to increase poverty and homelessness….. how’s that change going?
Stated earlier, but it seems like you’d like to have the last word James…
Persistent with your personality perhaps …
“In this month’s issue of Personality and Individual Differences, a study was published that confirms what we all suspected: internet trolls are horrible people.”
“In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll’s amusement.”
Our National-led government has been undermining New Zealand’s sovereignty and public service for 9 years, and they know what they’re doing – helping NZ millionaires, both established and newly minted, realise assets, including public assets.
How much did Key sell part of his Parnell property for, and who stumped up the cash?
The fact that you made that ridiculous comment James means that you know darn well that she will go the distance and be there when this pack of wankers leaves town and she will be there to make sure they do !!!
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The budget runup is far from easy.Budget 2025 day is Thursday 22 May. About a month earlier in a normal year, the macroeconomic forecasts would be completed (the fiscal ones would still be tidying up) and the main policy decisions would have been made (but there would still be a ...
On 25 April 2021, I published an internal all-staff Anzac Day message. I did so as the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for Australia’s civil defence, and its resilience in ...
You’ve likely noticed that the disgraced blogger of Whale Oil Beef Hooked infamy, Cameron Slater, is still slithering around the internet, peddling his bile on a shiny new blogsite calling itself The Good Oil. If you thought bankruptcy, defamation rulings, and a near-fatal health scare would teach this idiot a ...
The Atlas Network, a sprawling web of libertarian think tanks funded by fossil fuel barons and corporate elites, has sunk its claws into New Zealand’s political landscape. At the forefront of this insidious influence is David Seymour, the ACT Party leader, whose ties to Atlas run deep.With the National Party’s ...
Nicola Willis, National’s supposed Finance Minister, has delivered another policy failure with the Family Boost scheme, a childcare rebate that was big on promises but has been very small on delivery. Only 56,000 families have signed up, a far cry from the 130,000 Willis personally championed in National’s campaign. This ...
This article was first published on 7 February 2025. In January, I crossed the milestone of 24 years of service in two militaries—the British and Australian armies. It is fair to say that I am ...
He shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.Age shall not weary him, nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun and in the morningI will remember him.My mate Keith died yesterday, peacefully in the early hours. My dear friend in Rotorua, whom I’ve been ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on news New Zealand abstained from a vote on a global shipping levy on climate emissions and downgraded the importance ...
Hi,In case you missed it, New Zealand icon Lorde has a new single out. It’s called “What Was That”, and has a very low key music video that was filmed around her impromptu performance in New York’s Washington Square Park. When police shut down the initial popup, one of my ...
A strategy of denial is now the cornerstone concept for Australia’s National Defence Strategy. The term’s use as an overarching guide to defence policy, however, has led to some confusion on what it actually means ...
The IMF’s twice-yearly World Economic Outlook and Fiscal Monitor publications have come out in the last couple of days. If there is gloom in the GDP numbers (eg this chart for the advanced countries, and we don’t score a lot better on the comparable one for the 2019 to ...
For a while, it looked like the government had unfucked the ETS, at least insofar as unit settings were concerned. They had to be forced into it by a court case, but at least it got done, and when National came to power, it learned the lesson (and then fucked ...
The argument over US officials’ misuse of secure but non-governmental messaging platform Signal falls into two camps. Either it is a gross error that undermines national security, or it is a bit of a blunder ...
Cost of living ~1/3 of Kiwis needed help with food as cost of living pressures continue to increase - turning to friends, family, food banks or Work and Income in the past year, to find food. 40% of Kiwis also said they felt schemes offered little or no benefit, according ...
Hi,Perhaps in 2025 it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the CEO and owner of Voyager Internet — the major sponsor of the New Zealand Media Awards — has taken to sharing a variety of Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories to his 1.2 million followers.This included sharing a post from ...
In the sprint to deepen Australia-India defence cooperation, navy links have shot ahead of ties between the two countries’ air forces and armies. That’s largely a good thing: maritime security is at the heart of ...
'Cause you and me, were meant to be,Walking free, in harmony,One fine day, we'll fly away,Don't you know that Rome wasn't built in a day?Songwriters: Paul David Godfrey / Ross Godfrey / Skye Edwards.I was half expecting to see photos this morning of National Party supporters with wads of cotton ...
The PSA says a settlement with Health New Zealand over the agency’s proposed restructure of its Data and Digital and Pacific Health teams has saved around 200 roles from being cut. A third of New Zealanders have needed help accessing food in the past year, according to Consumer NZ, and ...
John Campbell’s Under His Command, a five-part TVNZ+ investigation series starting today, rips the veil off Destiny Church, exposing the rot festering under Brian Tamaki’s self-proclaimed apostolic throne. This isn’t just a church; it’s a fiefdom, built on fear, manipulation, and a trail of scandals that make your stomach churn. ...
Some argue we still have time, since quantum computing capable of breaking today’s encryption is a decade or more away. But breakthrough capabilities, especially in domains tied to strategic advantage, rarely follow predictable timelines. Just ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Pearl Marvell(Photo credit: Pearl Marvell. Image credit: Samantha Harrington. Dollar bill vector image: by pch.vector on Freepik) Igrew up knowing that when you had extra money, you put it under a bed, stashed it in a book or a clock, or, ...
The political petrified piece of wood, Winston Peters, who refuses to retire gracefully, has had an eventful couple of weeks peddling transphobia, pushing bigoted policies, undertaking his unrelenting war on wokeness and slinging vile accusations like calling Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick a “groomer”.At 80, the hypocritical NZ First leader’s latest ...
It's raining in Cockermouth and we're following our host up the stairs. We’re telling her it’s a lovely building and she’s explaining that it used to be a pub and a nightclub and a backpackers, but no more.There were floods in 2009 and 2015 along the main street, huge floods, ...
A recurring aspect of the Trump tariff coverage is that it normalises – or even sanctifies – a status quo that in many respects has been a disaster for working class families. No doubt, Donald Trump is an uncertainty machine that is tanking the stock market and the growth prospects ...
The National Party’s Minister of Police, Corrections, and Ethnic Communities (irony alert) has stumbled into yet another racist quagmire, proving that when it comes to bigotry, the right wing’s playbook is as predictable as it is vile. This time, Mitchell’s office reposted an Instagram reel falsely claiming that Te Pāti ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
In a world crying out for empathy, J.K. Rowling has once again proven she’s more interested in stoking division than building bridges. The once-beloved author of Harry Potter has cemented her place as this week’s Arsehole of the Week, a title earned through her relentless, tone-deaf crusade against transgender rights. ...
Health security is often seen as a peripheral security domain, and as a problem that is difficult to address. These perceptions weaken our capacity to respond to borderless threats. With the wind back of Covid-19 ...
Would our political parties pass muster under the Fair Trading Act?WHAT IF OUR POLITICAL PARTIES were subject to the Fair Trading Act? What if they, like the nation’s businesses, were prohibited from misleading their consumers – i.e. the voters – about the nature, characteristics, suitability, or quantity of the products ...
Rod EmmersonThank you to my subscribers and readers - you make it all possible. Tui.Subscribe nowSix updates today from around the world and locally here in Aoteaora New Zealand -1. RFK Jnr’s Autism CrusadeAmerica plans to create a registry of people with autism in the United States. RFK Jr’s department ...
We see it often enough. A democracy deals with an authoritarian state, and those who oppose concessions cite the lesson of Munich 1938: make none to dictators; take a firm stand. And so we hear ...
370 perioperative nurses working at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre will strike for two hours on 1 May – the same day senior doctors are striking. This is part of nationwide events to mark May Day on 1 May, including rallies outside public hospitals, organised by ...
Character protections for Auckland’s villas have stymied past development. Now moves afoot to strip character protection from a bunch of inner-city villas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest from our political economy on Wednesday, April 23:Special Character Areas designed to protect villas are stopping 20,000 sites near Auckland’s ...
Artificial intelligence is poised to significantly transform the Indo-Pacific maritime security landscape. It offers unprecedented situational awareness, decision-making speed and operational flexibility. But without clear rules, shared norms and mechanisms for risk reduction, AI could ...
For what is a man, what has he got?If not himself, then he has naughtTo say the things he truly feelsAnd not the words of one who kneelsThe record showsI took the blowsAnd did it my wayLyrics: Paul Anka.Morena folks, before we discuss Winston’s latest salvo in NZ First’s War ...
Britain once risked a reputation as the weak link in the trilateral AUKUS partnership. But now the appointment of an empowered senior official to drive the project forward and a new burst of British parliamentary ...
Australia’s ability to produce basic metals, including copper, lead, zinc, nickel and construction steel, is in jeopardy, with ageing plants struggling against Chinese competition. The multinational commodities company Trafigura has put its Australian operations under ...
There have been recent PPP debacles, both in New Zealand (think Transmission Gully) and globally, with numerous examples across both Australia and Britain of failed projects and extensive litigation by government agencies seeking redress for the failures.Rob Campbell is one of New Zealand’s sharpest critics of PPPs noting that; "There ...
On Twitter on Saturday I indicated that there had been a mistake in my post from last Thursday in which I attempted to step through the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement issues. Making mistakes (there are two) is annoying and I don’t fully understand how I did it (probably too much ...
Indonesia’s armed forces still have a lot of work to do in making proper use of drones. Two major challenges are pilot training and achieving interoperability between the services. Another is overcoming a predilection for ...
The StrategistBy Sandy Juda Pratama, Curie Maharani and Gautama Adi Kusuma
As a living breathing human being, you’ve likely seen the heart-wrenching images from Gaza...homes reduced to rubble, children burnt to cinders, families displaced, and a death toll that’s beyond comprehension. What is going on in Gaza is most definitely a genocide, the suffering is real, and it’s easy to feel ...
Donald Trump, who has called the Chair of the Federal Reserve “a major loser”. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories shortest from our political economy on Tuesday, April 22:US markets slump after Donald Trump threatens the Fed’s independence. China warns its trading partners not to side with the US. Trump says some ...
Last night, the news came through that Pope Francis had passed away at 7:35 am in Rome on Monday, the 21st of April, following a reported stroke and heart failure. Pope Francis. Photo: AP.Despite his obvious ill health, it still came as a shock, following so soon after the Easter ...
The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review found the NIC to be highly capable and performing well. So, it is not a surprise that most of the 67 recommendations are incremental adjustments and small but nevertheless important ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkThe world has made real progress toward tacking climate change in recent years, with spending on clean energy technologies skyrocketing from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars globally over the past decade, and global CO2 emissions plateauing.This has contributed to a reassessment of ...
Hi,I’ve been having a peaceful month of what I’d call “existential dread”, even more aware than usual that — at some point — this all ends.It was very specifically triggered by watching Pantheon, an animated sci-fi show that I’m filing away with all-time greats like Six Feet Under, Watchmen and ...
Once the formalities of honouring the late Pope wrap up in two to three weeks time, the conclave of Cardinals will go into seclusion. Some 253 of the current College of Cardinals can take part in the debate over choosing the next Pope, but only 138 of them are below ...
The National Party government is doubling down on a grim, regressive vision for the future: more prisons, more prisoners, and a society fractured by policies that punish rather than heal. This isn’t just a misstep; it’s a deliberate lurch toward a dystopian future where incarceration is the answer to every ...
The audacity of Don Brash never ceases to amaze. The former National Party and Hobson’s Pledge mouthpiece has now sunk his claws into NZME, the media giant behind the New Zealand Herald and half of our commercial radio stations. Don Brash has snapped up shares in NZME, aligning himself with ...
A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 13, 2025 thru Sat, April 19, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
“What I’d say to you is…” our Prime Minister might typically begin a sentence, when he’s about to obfuscate and attempt to derail the question you really, really want him to answer properly (even once would be okay, Christopher). Questions such as “Why is a literal election promise over ...
Ruth IrwinExponential Economic growth is the driver of Ecological degradation. It is driven by CO2 greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel extraction and burning for the plethora of polluting industries. Extreme weather disasters and Climate change will continue to get worse because governments subscribe to the current global economic system, ...
A man on telly tries to tell me what is realBut it's alright, I like the way that feelsAnd everybody singsWe are evolving from night to morningAnd I wanna believe in somethingWriter: Adam Duritz.The world is changing rapidly, over the last year or so, it has been out with the ...
MFB Co-Founder Cecilia Robinson runs Tend HealthcareSummary:Kieran McAnulty calls out National on healthcare lies and says Health Minister Simeon Brown is “dishonest and disingenuous”(video below)McAnulty says negotiation with doctors is standard practice, but this level of disrespect is not, especially when we need and want our valued doctors.National’s $20bn ...
Chris Luxon’s tenure as New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a masterclass in incompetence, marked by coalition chaos, economic lethargy, verbal gaffes, and a moral compass that seems to point wherever political expediency lies. The former Air New Zealand CEO (how could we forget?) was sold as a steady hand, ...
Has anybody else noticed Cameron Slater still obsessing over Jacinda Ardern? The disgraced Whale Oil blogger seems to have made it his life’s mission to shadow the former Prime Minister of New Zealand like some unhinged stalker lurking in the digital bushes.The man’s obsession with Ardern isn't just unhealthy...it’s downright ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is climate change a net benefit for society? Human-caused climate change has been a net detriment to society as measured by loss of ...
When the National Party hastily announced its “Local Water Done Well” policy, they touted it as the great saviour of New Zealand’s crumbling water infrastructure. But as time goes by it's looking more and more like a planning and fiscal lame duck...and one that’s going to cost ratepayers far more ...
Donald Trump, the orange-hued oligarch, is back at it again, wielding tariffs like a mob boss swinging a lead pipe. His latest economic edict; slapping hefty tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, has the stench of a protectionist shakedown, cooked up in the fevered minds of his sycophantic ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
One pill makes you largerAnd one pill makes you smallAnd the ones that mother gives youDon't do anything at allGo ask AliceWhen she's ten feet tallSongwriter: Grace Wing Slick.Morena, all, and a happy Bicycle Day to you.Today is an unofficial celebration of the dawning of the psychedelic era, commemorating the ...
It’s only been a few months since the Hollywood fires tore through Los Angeles, leaving a trail of devastation, numerous deaths, over 10,000 homes reduced to rubble, and a once glorious film industry on its knees. The Palisades and Eaton fires, fueled by climate-driven dry winds, didn’t just burn houses; ...
Four eighty-year-old books which are still vitally relevant today. Between 1942 and 1945, four refugees from Vienna each published a ground-breaking – seminal – book.* They left their country after Austria was taken over by fascists in 1934 and by Nazi Germany in 1938. Previously they had lived in ‘Red ...
Good Friday, 18th April, 2025: I can at last unveil the Secret Non-Fiction Project. The first complete Latin-to-English translation of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s twelve-book Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem (Disputations Against Divinatory Astrology). Amounting to some 174,000 words, total. Some context is probably in order. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) ...
National MP Hamish Campbell's pathetic attempt to downplay his deep ties to and involvement in the Two by Twos...a secretive religious sect under FBI and NZ Police investigation for child sexual abuse...isn’t just a misstep; it’s a calculated lie that insults the intelligence of every Kiwi voter.Campbell’s claim of being ...
New Zealand First’s Shane Jones has long styled himself as the “Prince of the Provinces,” a champion of regional development and economic growth. But beneath the bluster lies a troubling pattern of behaviour that reeks of cronyism and corruption, undermining the very democracy he claims to serve. Recent revelations and ...
Give me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundGive me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundSaid I don't want to leave you lonelyYou got to make me change my mindSongwriters: Tracy Chapman.Morena, and Happy Easter, whether that means to you. Hot cross buns, ...
New Zealand’s housing crisis is a sad indictment on the failures of right wing neoliberalism, and the National Party, under Chris Luxon’s shaky leadership, is trying to simply ignore it. The numbers don’t lie: Census data from 2023 revealed 112,496 Kiwis were severely housing deprived...couch-surfing, car-sleeping, or roughing it on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on a global survey of over 3,000 economists and scientists showing a significant divide in views on green growth; and ...
Te Pāti Māori are appalled by Cabinet's decision to agree to 15 recommendations to the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector following the regulatory review by the Ministry of Regulation. We emphasise the need to prioritise tamariki Māori in Early Childhood Education, conducted by education experts- not economists. “Our mokopuna deserve ...
The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law. “This is not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything. This is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the ...
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
By Susana Suisuiki, RNZ Pacific presenter The doors of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican have now been closed and the coffin sealed, ahead of preparations for tonight’s funeral of Pope Francis. The Vatican says a quarter of a million people have paid respects to Pope Francis in the last ...
By Susana Suisuiki, RNZ Pacific presenter The doors of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican have now been closed and the coffin sealed, ahead of preparations for tonight’s funeral of Pope Francis. The Vatican says a quarter of a million people have paid respects to Pope Francis in the last ...
Once or twice a week, Dr Margaret Henley rolls up the door on a windowless storage locker in central Auckland, pulls her plastic chair up to a picnic table and sifts through the history of netball in New Zealand.She works alongside netball archivist and statistician Todd Miller, together trawling through ...
Corin DannThe time is 7:36am on Wednesday, April 23, and you’re listening to Morning Report, New Zealand’s voice of the educated left on good incomes. I’m joined now by acting Prime Minister Winston Peters. Good morning Mr Peters.Winston PetersIt was, until I saw you. I much prefer your brother.Corin DannLiam ...
When Professor David Krofcheck got an email congratulating him on winning the Oscar of the science world, he dismissed it as a hoax.“I thought it was a scam, I thought it was a phishing email,” recalls Krofcheck, nuclear physicist at Auckland University.“Yeah right, I’ve won the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was.I’ve been re-watching Girls lately, the HBO classic that perfectly captures millennial women in the most painful way. I highly recommend it especially if you haven’t watched it before. Every character on the show is deeply flawed and frustrating in their own ...
With the double-header long weekend comes a welcome chance to escape streaming slop, writes Alex Casey. Over Easter I texted my husband Joe a sentence that perhaps nobody in human history has ever texted: “hurry up geostorm is starting”. No punctuation, no capitalisation, not because I was trying to ...
April 27 is Moehanga Day, the anniversary of the day in 1806 when Ngāpuhi warrior Moehanga became the first Māori to visit England. This is his story. The wooden ship sailed down the River Thames, past smoke stacks and brick factories, until it reached a wharf in industrial south London. ...
Heidi Thomson on how her husband’s illness and Daniel Kalderimis’s book Zest have enhanced her understanding of George Eliot’s great novel.Sometimes a book finds you at just the right time. In early December my husband John had a stroke. At the time we were both reading George Eliot’s Middlemarch, ...
The musician, actor and star of upcoming documentary Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds takes us through his life in television. Musician Marlon Williams has been on our My Life in TV wish list ever since he revealed during his My Boy tour that he wrote ‘Thinking ...
When she walked dripping into the lounge, hair wet from the shower, she took one look at Hamish and dropped her towel.He was holding her phone.—How long has it been going on for?His blue eyes blazed. She wanted to pluck them out and blow on them gently, cool them off. ...
A citizens’ assembly of 100 Porirua locals has provided the city council with more than a dozen recommendations about how to tackle climate change and make sure the region is resilient to worsening extreme weather events.Ranging from expanding access to renewable energy and incentivising the planting of native trees through ...
Comment: Democracy globally is in crisis. Around the world we are seeing the rise of nationalism and declining trust in democratic institutions. Politicians, even in Aotearoa, undermine the authority of core institutions like the media and the courts, which are critical for a functioning democracy. To live well together, in ...
Journalist Rod Oram, who died last year, would have been delighted to see the commitment to addressing climate change shown by the 23-year-old winner of a prize established in his memory.Mika Hervel, a student at Victoria University of Wellington, is today named winner of the Rod Oram Memorial Essay Prize, ...
COMMENTARY:By Nour Odeh There was faint hope that efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza would succeed. That hope is now all but gone, offering 2.1 million tormented and starved Palestinians dismal prospects for the days and weeks ahead. Last Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister once again affirmed ...
An ocean conservation non-profit has condemned the United States President’s latest executive order aimed at boosting the deep sea mining industry. President Donald Trump issued the “Unleashing America’s offshore critical minerals and resources” order on Thursday, directing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to allow deep sea mining. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In this election, voters are more distrustful than ever of politicians, and the political heroes of 2022 have fallen from grace, swept from favour by independent players. A Roy Morgan survey has found, for ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The former head of BenarNews’ Pacific bureau says a United States court ruling this week ordering the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to release congressionally approved funding to Radio Free Asia and its subsidiaries “makes us very happy”. However, Stefan Armbruster, who has ...
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 25, 2025. Labor takes large leads in YouGov and Morgan polls as surge continuesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With just eight days until the May 3 federal election, and with in-person early voting well under way, Labor has taken a ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35) Fictionalised true crime for foodies. 2 Sunrise on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Taneshka Kruger, UP ISMC: Project Manager and Coordinator, University of Pretoria Healthcare in Africa faces a perfect storm: high rates of infectious diseases like malaria and HIV, a rise in non-communicable diseases, and dwindling foreign aid. In 2021, nearly half of ...
Australia and New Zealand join forces once more to bring you the best films and TV shows to watch this weekend. This Anzac Day, our free-to-air TV channels will screen a variety of commemorative coverage. At 11am, TVNZ1 has live coverage of the Anzac Day National Commemorative Service in Wellington. ...
Our laws are leaving many veterans who served after 1974 out in the cold. I know, because I’m one of them.This Sunday Essay was made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.First published in 2024.As I write this story, I am in constant pain. My hands ...
An MP fighting for anti-trafficking legislation says it is hard for prosecutors to take cases to court - but he is hopeful his bill will turn the tide. ...
NONFICTION1 No Words for This by Ali Mau (HarperCollins, $39.99)2 Everyday Comfort Food by Vanya Insull (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)3 Three Wee Bookshops at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)
This Anzac Day marks 110 years since the Gallipoli landings by soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - the ANZACS. It signalled the beginning of a campaign that was to take the lives of so many of our young men - and would devastate the ...
The violent deportation of migrants is not new, and New Zealand forces had a hand in such a regime after World War II, writes historian Scott Hamilton. The world is watching the new Trump government wage a war against migrants it deems illegal. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.This Sunday Essay was made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
A new poem by Aperahama Hurihanganui, about the name of Aperahama and Abby Hauraki’s three-year-old son, Te Hono ki Īhipa (which translates to ‘The Connection to Egypt’). Te Hono ki Īhipa what’s in a name? te hono – the connection to your tīpuna, valiant soldiers of the 28th Māori Battalion ...
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Pacific Media Watch The Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network today condemned the Fiji government’s failure to stand up for international law and justice over the Israeli war on Gaza in their weekly Black Thursday protest. “For the past 18 months, we have made repeated requests to our government to do ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Michelle Grattan and Amanda Dunn discuss the fourth week of the 2025 election campaign. While the death of Pope Francis interrupted campaigning for a while, the leaders had another debate on Tuesday night and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Whatever the result on May 3, even people within the Liberals think they have run a very poor national campaign. Not just poor, but odd. Nothing makes the point more strongly than this week’s ...
The Finance Minister says the leftover funding from the unexpectedly low uptake of the FamilyBoost policy will be redistributed to families who need it. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Professor and Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney People who apply for asylum in Australia face significant delays in having their claims processed. These delays undermine the integrity of the asylum system, erode ...
Updated enrollment stats released today
http://www.elections.org.nz/research-statistics/enrolment-statistics-electorate
Still low enrolment for the younger people 🙁
Young people aren’t necessarily apathetic. We need something like Momentum here.
Does this include people who have enrolled and voted at early vote booths?
New poll and final debate on TV one tonite …
“If Winston Peters is part of a Labour-led government, his party won’t support plans to introduce new taxes, like the planned water tax”
https://twitter.com/NewshubPolitics/status/910320749264592896
WAHOO !!!!!!
One news poll shows a great position for National.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/new-poll-national-takes-huge-lead-in-bombshell-1-news-colmar-brunton
Nats up 6
Labour down 7
SO SO SO SO HAPPY !!!
Full resilts:
1 News Colmar Brunton poll:
NAT 46% (+6),
LAB 37% (-7),
GRN 8% (+1),
NZF 5% (-1),
TOP 2% (NC),
MAO 1% (NC),
ACT 0.3%
Don’t know 7%, Refused 6% (+1). Fieldwork conducted 16-19 September
And One news have said that this is in line with internal polling by both Labour and National.
Do you agree that in politics telling lies should be rewarded?
To be fair though micky Labour need to shoulder some of the blame for this. They should have been expecting the attacks over tax and had it all shut down before the campaign started.
I’m struggling with the criticism. Basically your premise is they should have anticipated National would make shit up and should have been ready to reply. Parties should be punished for making shit up, not rewarded.
Covering increasing taxes using working groups was bullshit and labour got called
Won’t answer…
Bugger.
Bolger had it best
“Bugger the pollsters”.
On the other hand with the crazy way the polls have been going we can expect equally mad swings in the final Newshub-Reid poll when it comes out. That one will have Labour up 7 from 37 to 44 and National down 7 from 47 to 40 or something like that.
They’ll also reverse the Green/NZF vote percentages.
Does anyone understand what is going on?
What kind of demented troll stalks a left leaning website at 6.01pm to gloat in unhinged and delirious glee at others’ potential misfortune? You should be ashamed of yourself and go book an appointment with a shrink
A Tory troll, the most despicable of them.
I think your colostomy bag has burst.
A leak perhaps – but again I remain cautious for the actual results on the day.
But this is a very positive sign.
Not really. It puts them 1 percentage point ahead of Labour + Greens. Given the margin of error, that could just as easily be reversed. If National happen to be just a bit lower, and especially if NZ 1st don’t get in, they lose.
Having said that, the enrolment stats could equally mean that National will effectively poll higher. This poll really only says that it’s mighty close.
I just think your use of capitals is embarrassing. You seem to have the emotions of a child.
Agreed. Signs of juvenility spoil what could have been more convincing.
Really positive for the homeless
Really positive for the mentally unwell
Really positive for the poor
Don’t know 7% , Declined 6% , margin of error?
It’s One news Poll, they’ve been consistently 4 to 6% out with final poll versus Votes cast over the last 3 elections.
What is up with the Aussie politicians, they seem dead set on being the last country in the west to enact marriage equality.
If the AFL, not exactly a bastion of progressive thinking is supporting why the heck are their politicians dragging their feet.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/09/19/afl-gives-huge-yes-to-marriage-equality-with-new-sign-outside-headqaurters_a_23215736/?ncid=edlinkauhpmg00000003?benref=watoday
Great wee video if you have the time, from a former leader of the liberal party (Tory) in Australia
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/gay-marriage/poll-shows-dip-in-gay-marriage-public-support-as-postal-survey-campaign-continues/news-story/d1685f813cf2592c367f7acfa4ce18b9
Kiwis not as thick as Morgan thought
Kiwis are far thicker than Morgan could possibly imagine, if they elect a National government after their display of incompetence throughout this campaign.
Kiwis are far thicker than Morgan could possibly imagine, if they elect a National government after their display of incompetence throughout this campaign.
In your ever so humble opinion.
OK. I think CB is landline only. Few youth votes will be recorded except the tory twitletts still living at home with mummy and daddy. Add to that the Nat campaign of lying, cheating, deceiving, corrupt behaviour… and the moribund and ignorant voters fall for it yet again. As for the shallow, witless james’ of this world… karma will sort them in due course.
So what if its landlines only – apparently in line with internal polling by both parties.
Karma may be rewarding me – I will know Saturday night !
not if you need nz1.
Might take a few days…
Very true that.
Im not counting any chickens yet – Have said could very be a labour lead government come sunday.
Sorry, stages of grief and all that, but you can’t keep smashing the voters like that and then expect them to vote for you.
IF (big if) the poll is realised on Saturday and we end up with English & Co back in charge again, then Labour have to think pretty hard about why it happened. Sneering at the electorate as ‘moribund and ignorant’ isn’t going to help.
You have to think why (if) they opted for National. After all, last week they were smart and engaged because the CB showed them supporting Labour.
Nah. Supporters of both parties are always calling each other idiots on no uncertain terms, and it’s nothing new. Unless they hold office or are running to do so, I don’t think it makes a blind bit of difference.
The only party that’s ever done that is National and they keep getting voted back in on it. Hell, they’ve done it again this campaign by openly lying.
It’s the trend that matters, not the method of polling
There’s a big problem with the “young people don’t have cellphones” argument – it ignores the fact that young people have ALWAYS been hard to reach for opinion polling, even before cellphones became commonplace.
The polling companies have had to deal with low response-rates amongst young people for many decades, and adjust their weightings and strategies accordingly. Cellphones probably make an already big problem a bit bigger, but if thats the main defence the left is going to rely on for polls today, it’s probably going to be a tough night on Saturday.
… and adjust their weightings and strategies accordingly.
So they say. I’m not convinced. If they do anything at all its highly questionable whether it is accurate.
You’re entitled to be skeptical of whatever you want to be skeptical of, but the fact remains that the track record of polling companies in New Zealand, for at least the last couple of decades, has been pretty good.
Polling is hard, but these are experienced professional companies that have every incentive to be right (as in correct) not ‘right’ (as in skewed).
All I will say is this; if your belief that the left is going to win the election relies on believing polling is skewed against the left then, on balance of probabilities, you should prepare for a bad election night.
3 more years I guess. All over Rover.
I may as well concede now. I knew this would happen. And it was the farmers wot won it.
Labour has some serious shit to sort out starting Monday. And the Greens can pay themselves on the back all they want about rising to 8%, they are still going to be in opposition.
I wish it was all over, but really I dont think you can write off a Labour lead government just yet.
All this poll shows is that thing are still really unstable. I would not give up yet. Besides Labour/Greens are neck and neck with National. Even on these figures there is everything to aim for.
Yep … It’s deflating – no question about that – but it sure as hell aint over.
Chin up, my bully-boys*. Jacinda’s got the vile sausage-sucking Tory Hun on the run ! Keep Fritzie in panic-mode and I’m sure we’ll all be in Berlin by lunchtime !
* As in ‘John Bull’.
If the poll is right it would be the lies that National is telling which tip the balance. Fear and anxiety implemented by unscrupulous people seem to win in NZ.
If the poll is right.
We will do it yet!
No telling if they are right or wrong – but they are all saying about the same thing now.
Labour has some serious shit to sort out starting Monday,
The shit is: Labour don’t stand up and give back as good as they get. All this relentless positivity doesn’t work. The voters see it as a weakness. The majority of them are self promoting bigots and its time Labour woke up to reality. I’ve been banging on about it for years and so have plenty of others but they… just… won’t… listen.
Oh, and they are still producing policy that’s way too complex. In statistical terms, half the voters have an IQ that is below the average but they seem unable to take that into account. Helen Clark understood and produced the simplistic pledge card in 2005 was it? Whatever, It saved her bacon.
”In statistical terms, half the voters have an IQ that is below the average”, these are the people that vote for the left.
MB has just proven my point.
Yes, the commentators on TS are well known for their relentless positivity…..Anyway lets just get out there and vote eh.
If Labour loses it’s because Labour fucked it up.
Nothing about not attacking or been too nice, it will be because you’re trying to change too much stuff all at once and have spooked the horses.
Exactly. Horses are stupid.
Have to agree here. Positivity in this neoliberal race to the top goes part way. Sadly, the soft vote wants (as Hosking might say “rightly or wrongly”) cuthroat displays of strength. Jacinda will need to attack to beat those that are expert in the craft of bullshitting soft voters. Meanwhile, those most affected will suffer more. Sorry to be pessimisstic.
Because it was weakness. Labour had no solid policies till jacinda gave labour a bump.
Well, I for one Welcome our new National Party Overlords !
And I can assure Fräulein Bennett and Herr Joyce that I’m prepared to sing like a Canary, wildly naming names like an accused Communist at a 1951 McCarthyite Senate hearing.
Normally I’d be a lot more positive about this but my political antenna seems to be a bit wonKey at the moment however its probably not a good sign for Labour
I just hope Labour can keep it seemly and not go to desperate measures over the next couple of days
Full resilts:
1 News Colmar Brunton poll:
NAT 46% (+6),
LAB 37% (-7),
GRN 8% (+1),
NZF 5% (-1),
TOP 2% (NC),
MAO 1% (NC),
ACT 0.3%
Don’t know 7%, Refused 6% (+1). Fieldwork conducted 16-19 September
I just hope Labour can keep it seemly and not go to desperate measures over the next couple of days
Like National did with their smear campaign of lies, you mean?
Labour made it far too easy for National, only have themselves to blame
It’s always easy for people who flat-out lie to make you look bad.
I wouldn’t be giving up so easily because the way this election has been going theres probably still time for something else to happen
Oh, certainly not giving up – according to this poll, National’s on 46 % and Labour/Green on 45%. Only a mug would think they could pick the winner at this point.
I’m inclined to agree with you on that.
Quite a hefty 13% Don’t Know/Refused though.
Yup…..13% is a lot to play for…..who would be most inclined to refuse to say?
Don’t lose heart people….get on the phone and talk to someone and convince them to vote.
Agreed, and whilst Jacinda wanting to “have a conversation” about everything was initially hip, it soon became code for ‘lack of coherent policy’.
Maybe its time for another…wait for it…here it comes…”captains call”
Interestingly enough a captains call is defined as (well by urbandictionary):
A decision made unilaterally by a team leader without consulting colleagues, often a massive clusterfuck
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=captain%27s%20call
Another Captain’s call like the one little made you mean?
I think it really is a bit to late to have another change of leader.
nah, it might give the nats some energy if they replaced bill with… whomever.
Ben
How about you spend time on the Labour site and see all of the policy that is there and then come back and say there is a lack of poverty.
Why do people think that lying is a valid political weapon?
The Labour Party certainly don’t avoid it, do they?
They have parroted on most of the year on how National supposedly cut the expenditure on health below what Labour had been doing. It was a clever lie but it was a lie for all that. They did it by taking the first year of the National Government as the base line, rather than taking the last year of the Labour Government.
That way they could pretend that the massive increase in the 2009-2010 year never happened.
And that would be you lying – again.
So-called Budget mental health funding boost is a cut in real terms
You really can’t help yourself in your defence of National psychopathic policies can you? Typical authoritarian follower. You’re one of the sheep that National relies upon not only to not question them but to defend them and you do it without fail.
I have no idea what the situation is in this part of the health budget.
What I looked at was the total budget and what the Labour Party claims were.
They were false.
I don’t really have the time or inclination to look at this bit of the budget and the figures you are referring to, and you will note that I wasn’t talking about just this facet of the situation.
I was more interested in the whole picture.
No, you’re simply defending National’s failure to provide enough health service, their cutting of the health budget in real terms.
I commented on this back in January, and what Labour had done to get their conclusion.
Have a look at these two links.
The first is Labours figures.
The second is what is wrong with their conclusions when they claim that National has cut spending from the levels Labour would have provided.
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/nzlabour/pages/3092/attachments/original/1438062842/Report_-_Estimated_Core_Crown_Health_Expenditure_(2).pdf?1438062842
https://thestandard.org.nz/the-labour-green-2017-campaign-launch/#comment-1293848
The CTU do the same thing
http://www.union.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Did-the-Budget-provide-enough-for-Health-2016.pdf
The effect of this is to pretend that the first year of the National Government was the norm rather than comparing their numbers with the final year of the Labour Government.
The first year of the National government would be the last year of the Labour government’s final budget.
For DTB 12.06am
“The first year of the National government would be the last year of the Labour government’s final budget”
That is quite true. National was in Government for most of that year. However it wasn’t that year they used as the base, normal, year
The 2008 election was on November 8 2008.
The last year of the Labour Government was the 2008-2009 year. It covered the year from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/government/financialstatements/yearend
That was not the year they used as their base though. They used the expenditure in the 2009-2010 year which was the first year that the National Party budget of 2009 was in operation.
If you take the last Labour year as the base you find that the Health expenditure did rise under a National Government above the values for the end of the Labour one.
There was a very large increase in the 2009-2010 year even after you include inflation and demographic changes. National deserve the credit for that surely? Because of the way Labour requested the calculations all this increase was ignored.
Cunning isn’t it?
This sounds a lot like your lie about the greens wanting the oil pipeline to Auckland to be replaced by shipping.
You never actually supported that claim with evidence, either – you just put a link against oil and a link in favour of shipping freight together.
I didn’t actually claim that the Green Party had done that.
What I said was that they didn’t appear to like the environmental effects of the pipeline.
I also said that they were in favour of using coastal shipping to move goods around.
After a reference to the Rena, which involved a significant oil spill.
oil spill + disliking oil pipeline + in favour of coastal shipping to move “goods” = another disingenuous tory lie.
Um, no – National’s lying is to blame.
What happens if NZ 1st don’t make it?
Serious question
Who is better off?
Andrew Chen reckons if NZF doesn’t make it
That assumes the Māori Party win at least one seat. If they don’t then their party vote gets wasted too.
The Maori Party will win at least two seats, via Te Ururoa Flavell and Howie Tamati, who was 13 points ahead of Adrian Rurawhe a couple of weeks ago. They may get enough party votes to get Marama Fox in as well, but at this stage I would guess not.
Gawd, what an awful (or great) outcome that would be. Imagine a dirty deal in Epsom to a clearly very stupid David Seymour balancing NZ’s parliament.
yeah, but if the 1% off nz1 goes to Labour, it’s a hung parliament.
And don’t forget the margin for error – it could be lab40% nat 44%.
A few days out, it’s too close to call. I certainly didn’t expect that when Little stepped down, that’s for damned sure.
If NZFirst don’t make it on those numbers there would be 7% wasted vote which would probably be enough for Nat/Act to govern alone. A sobering thought.
“Who is better off?”
That is a very easy one to answer.
NEW ZEALAND is.
And yes, I do think that would be worth shouting about.
Everybody is better off if NZ1st don’t make it! Then nobody has to deal with Winston.
But in terms of who forms the government, that depends on whether Nats plus clingons or Labour/Greens get more of the votes above the threshold. The Maori Party may end up the deciders.
So if you’re tossing up whether to vote Nats or Winnie, go for Winnie. If you’re tossing up Labour or Greens vs Winnie, then Labour or Greens.
I try very hard to lament the undemocratic wasted vote while punching the air and and dancing like a jalopy.
Dancing like a jalopy?
https://giphy.com/gifs/car-ILmTS0fYgVFEQ
A phrase coined by my old friend Bob in our glory days at Stirling University in the 90s. He was trying to express his disapproval of Ecstasy, because it made you “Dance like a jalopy to really stupid music.”
Bob had a way with words, usually unintentionally.
Both participants in that conversation are now dead – the raver had some sort of bad reaction to E (Bob didn’t think to warn him of that) and Bob himself died a couple of years ago from blood poisoning in India.
.. all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
Ah, mortality! But at least Bob’s curious genius will live on a little longer.
Bob lives on.
Hey Lurgee,
Put it up on Youtube so we can learn that dance.
Oh by the way I never believe polls and the only poll that counts is the once Saturday.
We all said that the UK and the US election polls got it all wrong so it is quite likely that it will hapen here too.
Seeing it would immediately require an immediate SAN check. Failure would result in the loss of 1d100 San points, and even those passing would still lose 1d10 SAN.
And they call it democracy? Would prefer STV.
Glen
If nzf don’t win northland then Nats get in alone
National could actually end up governing alone, how crazy is that the apprentice does better than the master.
Having said that no one has any idea until sometime late Saturday night.
Peters will get over 5% though having come out against farmers getting stung with water taxes,
That rather diminishes Labours chances as their only coalition party can be the greens.
And you will still be crawling around in the sewer as always.
No Compadre?
Are you trying to speak Spanish or something?
Sewers already rented out.
National could actually end up governing alone…
And aliens could actually invade and enslave us into their galactic empire, but I’m picking neither of those highly unlikely events is going to happen in the near future.
Am I guessing you’d probably prefer galactic alien enslavement to an outright win for National?
Have to say, fuck that would be crushing for the left 4 wins to National each election the margin getting bigger.
Haven’t we already had that? Key never did satisfactorily explain that shapeshifting reptilian thing he had going.
I don’t see any difference between a National Government and alien enslavement.
Am I guessing you’d probably prefer galactic alien enslavement to an outright win for National?
That is a tough one, now you mention it.
National could actually end up governing alone, how crazy is that the apprentice does better than the master
Would you like to put your money where your mouth is? 🙂
If you seriously think National could end up governing alone, I suggest you buy a Lotto ticket.
“sometime late Saturday night”.
In terms of the election night result we will have a pretty good idea by about 8pm. There are so many early votes that will be counted before 7pm, and they tend to be similar to the final result.
With the closeness of these numbers though I think we may be sitting around wondering for another couple of weeks. There are all the specials and the overseas voting to come after that.
The official results aren’t due until 7 October. There could be a seat or two swinging then.
In the last few elections National has typically lost a seat to the Greens with the recounts and overseas votes. That could be crucial this time round.
Yes, the Green Party do have a unique pattern of results.
They have polling numbers of X% before the election. Then the drop to about 0.8X on election day. Then they go back up to 0.85X with the specials.
NB I haven’t actually calculated the multipliers but the pattern is accurate.
“That rather diminishes Labours chances as their only coalition party can be the greens.”
Really! – when NZ First is so needed to form a labour lead government rather than a sellout Government?? The last time Labour come to power in 1999 it was a coalition of labour greens/NZ First so you are way out there.
Didn’t you watch what Winston said at his interview with John Campbell the other night? – It was when John asked Winston if he could work with the greens – he said, “everythings negociable”.
I’m afraid your memory is failing you.
The Government after the !999 election was comprised of Labour and the Alliance. Neither New Zealand First nor the Green Party were part of the Government.
I am afraid you are way out there.
To the drink,– the drink.
Is it possible to have James banned for at least two weeks. His empty triumphalism doesn’t add anything to the discourse. I don’t see why he should be able to sort of start a flame war, and be politely allowed to dance around on our hopes for the future of NZ. So please mods can he be revued and take his tap dancing off to Kiwiblog!
+100.
And others!
All the trolls seem to be creaming themselves tonight… Based on what? Yet another MSM Poll …
“In this month’s issue of Personality and Individual Differences, a study was published that confirms what we all suspected: internet trolls are horrible people.”
https://www.sott.net/article/286185-Internet-trolls-are-narcissists-psychopaths-and-sadists
“In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll’s amusement.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
About that troll definition. If you get a coven of any gender and say something that doesn’t fit their rigid ideas, it can upset them like hell. Like an innocent insect getting caught in a web you suddenly get attacked so – 1 can invoke an irrational response also 2, and some acceptable etiquette and display of manners is called for before rushing to invoke Rule 109 section 32 (a)(i) or similar in the in-group’s exposition.
When the nuisance is repeated then irritation is justified.
Whoa. Why do you think his tap dancing would be welcome at Kiwiblog? It is a place for serious debate, not for whooping and childish behaviour.
You’ve missed your calling. You would make an excellent comedian.
Funniest comment of the night!
+100000000000
Ed That’s so childish! Just kidding and other witticisms. Got to keep up the irony factor.
On the other hand…perhaps it is better he is here, where we can keep an eye on him, rather than him roaming the streets getting up to all sorts of evil doings.
Cheer up folks….its a poll…and by definition
.
a hornless animal, especially one of a breed of hornless cattle.
I think we should be Friesian’ him out.
At some stage more people have to realise that lying works. Being honest and truthful are old fashioned notions.
Unless being sprawled on the road with the boots of liars stomping in your face is still seen as a noble position to be in.
How did Turei’s honesty serve her and her party? How did the lack of honesty and hiding of the truth serve others?
It wasn’t the honesty of Turie, it was how she came across that did the Greens in
it was still the right thing to do.
She could have said the same thing in a different way and she’d still be (and the Greens would be on at least 15%) instead they might not even make it back and the parties image is forever tarnished
What do you mean in a different way?
If she’d something like “I did this a long time ago and I’m sorry I felt I had to do it, I appreciated the support I received from the taxpayer and I paid the money back once I became a lawyer, I’m coming forward now to make sure no one else in my position has to do the same because something needs to change”
Instead she came off as unappreciative and somewhat flippant, perception is everything
interesting. For me she came across as standing her ground in solidarity with beneficiaries. Not saying she didn’t make any mistakes, but that this was more important than appeasing the so called middle NZ.
Paying the money back is very problematic. She wouldn’t have know how much it was, she could have been charged with fraud and had her law career put at risk. She still had a young child at that point. I think you’ve missed some critical parts of the story.
She should have got that stuff sorted before she went public.
The fact that she didn’t is the reason she’s now out of politics, she’s an idiot and the countries far better off not having her in any sort of position where she could have power over others.
Turei well and truly darwined herself.
Does the poll cover Judith Collins’ greed and corruption disrupting thousands of people’s travel plans?
OAB
wot?
What the hell is that about? You are totally out of line making such a comment. You should withdraw and apologise.
[lprent: Please spare me your unintelligent indignation. Please read his comment. There are many possible meanings to OAB’s statement.
It could just be his opinion of Judith Collins that if she is dealing with anything it will be dodgy as fuck. You only have to read Dirty Politics to come to that conclusion.
But certainly her orders as Minster or Energy have disrupted travel. For instance she could have put the priority on aircraft kerosene rather than 91 octane petrol and diesel. It is legitimate to query why a politician she would have done it this way.
It could also deal with the renamed Oravida operation around Ruakaka with a reputation for playing fast and loose with rules that uses diggers to dig Kauri stumps, the one that would be a prime suspect if a digger did damage and she has a family connection to it is another. I’d question if she should be involved in any enquiry myself.
That her husband operates Oravida and for whom she is known to have done what I consider amounts to a sales trip on the taxpayers dime for is another.
Now these are all legitimate political questions that will be raised.
I am sure that in the latter two that when the election is over and in the caretaker government that as a lawyer Judith Collins will see that she will properly recuse herself to allow a real investigation to take place as to the cause of the economic disaster of having the sole fuel line to Auckland cut.
If you had half a brain, you would have figured that out yourself, and not wasted my time. OAB specialises in doing the needle intelligently and so he doesn’t get banned. You could do well to study his opaque technique for revving up simple minded right wingers into defending against what their guilty consciences feel that he must have been meaning.
Please don’t waste my time again. ]
[deleted]
[be a bit more careful please – weka]
You have evidence of that?
Keeping Stock -you were flushed out this time last election as an active player in National’s Dirty Politics campaign, to the extent that you had to kill of your own blog and scramble into damage control in your own community.
Why are you here now? What do you hope to achieve by commenting on The Standard at this point? Do you think readers here don’t know about your close association with Farrar and Slater?
Muttonhead, think before you comment.
I’m sure lprent will be stoked have defamation papers served on him.
[lprent: It isn’t defamation. Read it again. Where did he state a fact that was defamatory. Please don’t waste my time with billshit ]
Collins and co have already threatened to do that to one who saw the digger at work.
The fellow who was driving past on Wednesday 06 Sept – has he been threatened?
MPI “found” the files.
So much for threats. I suppose the next tool in the box is a bleach attack.
Lol. Not an expert but that log in pic 2 looks no more than a few days old matching eyewitness accounts.
Remember that National’s best ever result was 47.3% under Key in 2011. So we’re led to believe that after another 6 years and without Key, National has lost only 1%? I do admire the optimism of some Tories.
But 4% went to the Cons last time around, and most of those have probably drifted back to the Nats.
We will know on Saturday.
Its either the optimism of the National supporters, or the delusion of he left to refuse to recognise it.
I’m not sure that the Labour Party is spending it’s advertising money very wisely.
I just had a look at KiwiBlog to see if Farrar had any comment on this result.
The first thing I got was an ad for the Labour Party.
I don’t think that there are really many votes Labour is going to gain from ads running there.
You getting those ads because you troll here. The computer thinks you are socially conscious.
lol, it’s not an ad “on” kiwiblog.They facilitate a platform to target you……and based on your internet usage…..Labour’s algorithm fits your Bill!
Oh, it’s well spent alright – how I laughed when I saw it! That phrase about capitalists being willing to sell you the rope you plan to hang them with came to mind.
I miss all the real funny hard case Kiwi comedians like Tui Teka and Billy T James The Laughing Samoans Eteuati Ete and Tofiga Fepulea Fred Dagg / John Clarke OUR Kiwi comedians like them bring a tear to my eyes and I get a sore face.
I’m just wondering why I have not seen these types of comedians on National TV in the last 8 years or so. Tammy Davis /Munter off Outrageous Fortune would make us laugh like them I’m sure there are many more out there Taika Waititi would be fucken funny but he is to busies . Maybe Taika could champion this cause to promote It. I’m sure Taika would have the influence to accomplish this.
The soon to be Queen Knows that we all have sorrows in OUR hearts for her loss we just don’t want to bother her or put her off her campaign.
I’m not even going to talk about what was first on the news as we all Know that come Saturday we will be celebrating a Labour Greens win so chin up I say everyone. Sorry I can not support Tops his policys don’t match my Ideals.
I follow Waititi on twitter, which is intermittent but humorous. Don’t have a TV so not sure what passes for Kiwi humour these days. I guess they’re all doing stand up somewhere. Or have their own whatever show that’s not straight comedy.
Well its not as good as the Kiwi humour we had a few years ago I don’t want to say to much as someone mite start crying
Hi eco, try auckward love. It’s a webseries and its on tvnz on demand.
I have also enjoyed ‘the katering show’ and ‘get krackin’.
They are ozzy but still funny. The language can be a little savoury.
Just catching up on the quakes in Invercargill and Wellington today. Is it just me or is the Geonet website not as user friendly as it used to be?
When were the quakes?
mid afternoon in Invercargill. The Wellington one was later.
Thanks.
One would think that they could put a temporary fix on that pipe I have used them on water and kerosene is not that flammable WTF you just wrap it and band it up seen this fix many times It just has to be a fix till alternative supply is set up. There should have been a plan for this scenario. Some one needs to be sued over this because that is the only way we will find the truth on this fuck up.
Its not rocket science!!!!!!!!!
gas build up makes it dangerous apparently.
eco Maori/kiwi, It could be contaminated though, and not suitable for aviation.
The pipeline pressure is ~3000psi/ 200bar.
Agreed Weka it’s a mess.
Yes, they spent lots of money on a web redesign to make it worse, and then refused to listen to complaints about how it was worse. It’s standard practice for state sector organisations these days.
fuck. Was just going to say to Adrian glad it’s not just me and I might give them some feedback, lol.
I think the ways the public service has been monkey wrenched in the past 9 years is one of the biggest hurdles for a new govt.
To Weka and others,
Try this website if you are having problems Geonet.
http://quakelive.co.nz/
Fancy that, a couple of days out from the election National gets a massive poll turn around signalling to the voters they now have a chance. Utter billshit.
Oh, come on. You can’t blame everything on the Malevolent Right Wing Space Lizards. Maybe a lot of New Zealanders just prefer the idea of Bill English being in charge of stuff?
You do. That is for certain.
I do not.
Your commentary suggests otherwise.
That’s down to your interpretation of my comments.
You are what other people see you as…
Perhaps you are not good at communication online?
Nah, you’ve developed an idée fixe and ignore contrary evidence.
Just using my intuition. You stated you haven’t voted Labour since the China FTA. This seems to be the crucial policy you have voted on for a decade or more yet you still back National’s import of Chinese capital.
You know there are more than two parties in New Zealand?
Why do you think I “back National’s import of Chinese capital”?
Because you unfailingly criticise the only alternative option.
‘Unfailingly’?
I praised Ardern’s commitment to an inquiry into abuse of children in state care.
Go on. You’re just getting started now.
You said ‘unfailingly.’
I showed that wasn’t true.
Perhaps you are not good at communication online?
You are anti-Labour, end of story. How do you propose to effect any social change in New Zealand while being so anti-Labour? You are fighting yourself.
I am not ‘anti-Labour.’ I don’t vote for them because they don’t match my politics. And I criticise them when they make mistakes, which – alas- they do with depressing frequency. And I have no time at all for mindless cheerleaders and naive fools.
Still waiting for you to evidence the claim that I am “back National’s import of Chinese capital.” Or were you just making shit up on the internet?
I’m going by your posts which are unfailingly critical of Labour policy. Given the importance of Labour to changing the government, the only logical conclusion is that you are against changing the government.
I imagine your argument will be the argument of all pretend lefties – ‘it’s complicated’
Back to ‘unfailingly critical,’ even though I’ve already disproved that claim.
Since you’re recycling your doggerel, I’ll recycle mine.
I am not ‘anti-Labour.’ I don’t vote for them because they don’t match my politics. I criticise them when they make mistakes. Given people hereabouts like to view their mistakes as brilliant strategic moves (“Let’s make Cunliffe the leader!”) I’m rather busy.
By some obscure alchemy, you seem to construe that that as support for National. That’s your problem. Maybe you’re not as clever at comprehending things, and your intuition is not as good, as you like to think.
lurgee – I also see you as a conundrum. How do you want us to see you?
Tell you what Hosking is giving English a hard time in the leaders debate, I reckon he has had a recent epiphany!
Hes always been fair, in debates
Dont trust him. Hes only hedging his bets for his job.
Maybe WK but when did you last see this level of “hedging” from Hosking ?
Anyone watch Newshub? Gower gave an absolute slating to NAT. Comparisons with Trump and extreme in angle.
They won’t be used to that.
(Pity half the country’s voted, but oh well.)
Not quite half the country, more like a quarter.
Why doesn’t Hosking just ask English to leave and do the debating for National himself TVNZ – So biased.
Thank goodness we don’t have exit polls.
Ardern’s worst debate performance.
Just when she needed to be seen fighting the good fight, she looks flat.
When asked about winston not supporting her water tax, why did she not counter about his super position and how that affects the nats?
Final Colmar Brunton poll before 2014 election:
Nat = 45
Lab =25
GP = 12
NZF = 8
Con = 4.5
Maori = 1.6
ACT =0.6
Election result
Nat = 47.04
Lab =25.13
GP = 10.7
NZF = 8.66
Con = 3.97
Maori = 1.32
ACT =0.69
Most of the pundits Carolyn_nth accept that the Mana/Internet Party/Dotcom Moment of Truth debacle pushed a couple of percent National’s way in the last days.
OK. So then CB was pretty accurate.
Probably. I’m not disputing the poll tonight really. It shows what we’ve always known – Lab/Greens pretty much equals National. The unknowables are what happens after that.
My memory is that the final 2014 election result was pretty close between Government bloc (Nat-ACT-Mao-UF and Lab-Gp and NZF on cross benches.
So Lab-GP go into this election closer to Nats, and a lot depends on which way NZF swings – as has been indicated in polls all this term.
how so?
weka let’s not go there FFS. Shall we concentrate on the poll that’s coming up – not the one’s we’ve already lost.
A cynic would suggest they are one and the same.
ok. I just thought it was an interesting theory but didn’t really understand the rationale.
yes but there was the damaging moment of truth after that poll
I keep hearing how National have had 9 years to fix everything -this would imply everything was broken when they took over from labour????
No. That they started fucking it up from day one.
What an odious comment you made imodioum shame on you.
National have truly fucked up this country by conducting a mean arsed austerity scheme as bad as the Ruth Richarson black budget was damaging us then by copying that same style of mean cruel inhumanity where the poor are pushed to the gutter to die hungry and sick.
Bill the ‘ holey’ man , now , eh ?
Liar.
Hosking did well as the National spokesman.
Pretty evident Hosking and English vs Adern.
Least balanced nz debate ive seen
English flat out lying re 11 billion dollar hole and not pulled by Hosking. Dirty politics, possibly working in the polls so he’s doubled down.
Revealed: China’s network of influence in New Zealand – NZ Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz › Business
Here are some other intriguing headlines on NZ Herald.
NEW ZEALAND
Fake names: Chief referred to Solicitor-General
20 Sep, 2017 5:37pm
Ministry of Social Development found unlawfully using fake names on legal documents
and
NEW ZEALAND
Beneficiaries short-changed by millions
20 Sept 5.58 pm
Introducing e-therapy digital counselling. Bill’s answer to fixing mental health. No one knows what it is but its new, and more internet time will somehow address kid’s mental health.
Well anyone in NZ can call themselves a counsellor so robots it is.
Serves them right for fucking around and failing to ensure their profession is registered as health practitioners by doing something as basic as agreeing.
Bill doesn’t give a fuck for those in poverty, after all they don’t vote National.
mauī; – It’s callled in the old fashioned term we all know as ‘Brainwashing’
National are so tied to the control of the mind as we have seen when they removed all our Public affairs programs like ‘close-up’ and they cousins as they were to focused on the negative stuff the current government was doing .
Radio NZ ‘National’is now a trumpet for the ‘National Party’ so on it goes until they will have us alll bowijng to the ‘National God’ himself.
Greatest one liner
” we can never afford poverty”
Responding to bill “now we can NOW afford to help due to government surpluses” , with jacindas response … priceless.
For once Hosking has done a good job, and I rate Jacinda ahead of Bill on tonight . Well done.
Yep me too, and did you notice how smug English looked?
His paymasters certainly paid a lot for his cover of Crosby textor spin.
Bill’s smugness evaporated as time went on.
Why did Bill look a foot taller than anyone else on the show?
Me too garibaldi. I thought Hoskings did OK. And both leaders were fine too. It’s not going to make any difference really.
A few issues?
Bronwyn Hayward @BMHayward 37m
beyond shocked just angry at role Hosking & TVNZ playing in eroding public confidence in MMP democracy & the role of coalitions #decision17
Cameron Eade @cam_eade
Replying to @BMHayward
Watching Bill continue “$11b hole” lie, then Hosking saying “Let’s agree to disagree”, is astonishingly shameful for #nzpol 😠
Bronwyn Hayward @BMHayward
This was crucial- The host made one intervention then sat back as post truth politics was debated live in an otherwise managed interview
Hayward is a political science professor.
https://twitter.com/BMHayward/status/910414407636803585
Mike excelled himself. Given his right leaning and anti left he was very impressive
Jacinda won that debate. Thank goodness for that.
As ex Min of Finance Bill can quote facts and figures for ever. Jacinda less so. But this time Mike didn’t allow Bill to run away with his usual Shouty Bill. Jacinda was concise and was able to express politely her concern about after 9 long years and about the “misleading” information that Bill has used.
Jacinda 9 out of 10.
Bill 5 out of 10
Herald poll would disagree….I only saw about the last 5 mins….turnout will still be determining factor…..the 80% (?) of relatively disinterested will decide this
Yes. The Herald Poll had it 60% Bill, 34% Jacinda.
It was closer on the Stuff website though.
They had it Bill 56% and Jacinda 37%.
Don’t worry though. Labours little lovie on Stuff, Tracy Watkins, says that Jacinda won so that is all right.
It is hardly surprising the Stuff papers are going down the tubes.
meh…only 3 more sleeps and we will know
What the actual f**k? Tracy Watkins is the epitome of a National cheerleader. There is no NZ journalist who better qualifies for the description.
You have got the wrong one alwyn. Tracey is anti Labour and she is very pro National.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/97025359/live-three-days-to-go-till-the-election
English says “we can make the positive choices now” because there’s been a couple of years of surplus and now they have the money. Ardern says “we could never afford poverty” and under National the situation has slid.
Magic one liner from J.A. In response
Sad for a govt to say that they can only make positive social choices when we are in surplus 🙁
NEW ZEALAND
Debate: Ardern attacks ‘negative campaign from National’
20 Sep, 2017 7:42p
Latest from NZ Herald link above at 30
Jacinda was better than Bill tonight. He just spewed Bullshit.
Don’t you mean Billshit?
Unfortunately, it looks like New Zealanders are in the market for it.
“Filthy waterways, dying patients denied their pain relief of choice, and working families forced to live in their cars, these are some of the big issues that have got New Zealanders fired-up. They’ve also been the focus of political campaigning in the run up to the election. As voting day draws ever closer, we’ve gathered together some of our recent Insight podcasts, to help you get clued up on the big issues before you put pen to ballot paper.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201858527/your-big-election-listens-from-rnz-insight
The list of undone work by Gnashional just makes it seem that they are incompetent or frozen and unable to make decisions for the good of the country. Constipated and can’t get off the pot. The long days till the main voting day only increases their unpleasant persona and aroma.
They are facing off the weight of ridicule and disgust at their connivance and sly lies to satisfy their backers and voters who are either soaked in past-its-date business theory or smarmy wealth craters with no scruples. With a fair unpwind they will be freed from their circular prison to go and dump in someone else’s yard like the poor and drugged derelicts already on the streets.
Calm down everyone.
If Trump could win, so can Jacinda !
Roll on Saturday !
No. Jacinda wins on her merit. End of story.
Completely different.
Beneficiaries short changed by millions. MSD has known for a couple of years but did nothing
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11924050
Another of these WTF happened to NZ stories
“Working families with young children and babies are being left homeless and sleeping in cars in Auckland, as they struggle to get into emergency housing, and are turned off or away from Housing New Zealand. Parents say even with accommodation supplement benefits, their wages can’t cover rising rents, and living in garages or spending nights on floors of friends and family are the only options they have.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201787942/when-a-child-s-home-is-a-car
“Under my leadership there will be action …. no more autopilot.”
Great closing line from Jacinda . (TVNZ1 leaders’ debate tonight.)
Bill and Jacinda stand on the same stair of a flight of stairs.
Bill : “Jacinda are you taking one step up?”
Jacinda: “No, I’m staying where I am.”
Upon which Bill takes one step down and exclaims “Hey Jacinda, I see you’ve taken one step up!”
It is difficult to have respect for a leader who clearly has scant respect for the most basic straight talk and truth.
Gower’s piece should make headlines in all our papers.
The poll must’ve gone well for National. It’s on Kiwiblog within an hour of being broadcast. The Great Informer has been nowhere near as quick when the story hasn’t suited him.
If NZ First miss out (unlikely), Maori Party could end up with the balance of power.
Otherwise, even at 46%, the Nats can’t govern with just ACT and the Maori Party, so Winston gets to decide who the PM will be.
Marama Fox is all about “strategic voting”….’cos that’s what folk are telling her.
” “Since the weekend it’s almost like the bigger issues have started to take a side-step to the strategic voting as an issue. People are not talking to me about homelessness anymore. They are not talking to me about poverty.
“They are talking to me about who can form government and which is the best way to vote in order to make that happen.””
She pins her colours clearly to the mast…
” She said voters were starting to see the “holes” in Labour, including not making te reo Maori compulsory or moving to entrench the Maori seats. Personally, she was quietly confident she would return to Parliament.
“I know everywhere I speak I turn the entire room. I know people are starting to question the ability of Labour’s Maori MPs to affect any change inside their party.”
“We recognise the mood for change … there are Maori voters, a majority of when you are knocking on doors, who have said they want change, but they want us there.”
Ahem, Marama, after nine years snuggling up to National, supporting them to increase poverty and homelessness….. how’s that change going?
A vote for the Maori party is a vote for National. National will always be thier first choice.
IF National win the election – I wonder if Jacinda will bother staying on as leader for Labour.
Is it her choice – or does it go to the party to decide?
Stated earlier, but it seems like you’d like to have the last word James…
Persistent with your personality perhaps …
“In this month’s issue of Personality and Individual Differences, a study was published that confirms what we all suspected: internet trolls are horrible people.”
https://www.sott.net/article/286185-Internet-trolls-are-narcissists-psychopaths-and-sadists
“In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll’s amusement.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
Yeah – I reckon she will quit. Jacinda won’t be leading labour into the 2020 campaign if she loses this one.
Are you an exhibitionist James? Revealing yourself like that! Not for the first time either.
WTF??!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11924169
and
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11924498
Thanks for those links, Pat – WTF indeed.
Our National-led government has been undermining New Zealand’s sovereignty and public service for 9 years, and they know what they’re doing – helping NZ millionaires, both established and newly minted, realise assets, including public assets.
How much did Key sell part of his Parnell property for, and who stumped up the cash?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/celebrity-homes/96673228/sir-john-keys-sprawling-parnell-mansion-sold-for-20m
They’ll (Thiel?) be right, Jack.
The fact that you made that ridiculous comment James means that you know darn well that she will go the distance and be there when this pack of wankers leaves town and she will be there to make sure they do !!!