It needs to spread. For the people living in the region, the other forms of life and for even the land to be more secure this system needs to spread to incorporate a wide area.
-In Mr. Abdullah Öcalan’s Newroz message there was a lot of stress laid on the Middle East. How do you evaluate this message?
If we solve the problem in Turkey it can be a model of Syria, Iraq and even other regions. This is to say that before us there is the war model and the model of oppression and hegemony…and there is Öcalan’s model by which all peoples of the region would have every right to express their own identities.
Ad that played on a radio station in Malaysia, advertising apartment investments in Auckland.
I’m just going to transcribe the whole thing here:
…people in New Zealand, to give you around half their weekly wages. Now if you happen to own an apartment in Auckland New Zealand, the high rent returns, other people’s money – around half a week’s pay for most people, could be paid to you as rent every week.
Now many people invest in Auckland because of the high demand for rents, there’s no stamp duty, no land tax, and within New Zealand, generally no capital gains tax either. It’s an investors dream, and very affordable.
New apartments in the centre of Auckland can be purchased for as little as $390,000, that’s right, $390,000, and with as little as $2,000 initial deposit, you can secure one today, for yourself as an investment.
If the idea of having people in New Zealand going to work for you, giving you hundreds of dollars a week, paying for your apartment appeals to you – and I’m sure it does – then call 6238 0118 to find out how it’s done. that number again, 6238 0118 call now.”
I should think it would be difficult for the government to continue to deny overseas investment is driving up house prices in Auckland with this sort of advertisement going out on public radio in foreign countries.
Smart money’s on Ed Miliband becoming British PM in a few weeks time. Current polling (over last few days) suggests anything from a 3 point Labour lead to a 4 point Tory lead, but a clear majority of polls over the last fortnight say it’s neck-and-neck with only a percentage point or two between them.
Crucially, though, the arithmetic works against the Tories. The various seat forecast models all suggest that there’s likely to be an anti-Tory majority in the HoC even if the Conservatives beat Labour by up to 3 percentage points. Only the most optimistic (and unlikely) of scenarios (from a Tory point of view) would have Cameron cobbling together a working majority.
The Tories only hope may be to collapse the Ukip vote (a disproportionate number of whom are 2010 Tories) but that seems unlikely.
And all this despite the fact that Labour’s lost its Scottish heartland over the last 5 years and conspicuously failed to attract 2010 Tory voters.
I think the SNP factor is really important. Labour lost perhaps 3% of the vote (worth on a proportionate basis 19 seats) but the SNP may pick up 53 seats. This is Epsom on steroids. Of course Labour needs to do the deal and cancel Trident (please, please, please) and be less austerity minded.
Basically as long as Labour can responsibly deal with the Scots then there should be a solid progressive majority. Lefties should rejoice …
Basically shows a hung parliament if Labour can’t form a coalition with SNP (and I heard recent comments saying that they would not form a coalition – obviously pre-election speak trying to prop up the Labour vote).
by Don Franks Someone left a copy of “The Paying Guests” in the bus stop at the end of our street and made my day. What you get in these 564 pages is a beautifully touching love story, memorable characters, suspense and a healthy dose of class education. In early ...
A Dark Day: More than 40 years of affirming New Zealanders’ Right to Protest had left the NZ Police without the training or the equipment to “move on” hundreds of determined protesters (many of whom were working-class battlers and not at all averse to mixing-it-up with the cops). It took ...
Aristocratic Arithmetic: From whence comes the notion of “coming of age”. For many centuries, this was something men did at the age of 21. Why 21? Because it is 3 x7 – both of which are charmed numbers. Don’t laugh, for most of human history numbers have mattered – a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Democracy in New Zealand could and should be improved in so many ways. So it’s a pity that the Government has yet again produced a review of elections that has delivered a disparate and incomplete package of recommendations. Few of the recommendations will ...
What a saga it has been, the passing of Wayne Brown’s budget. A soap opera of leaked emails, bullying words, uninvited journalists, airport shares, and, no doubt, late night txts and phone calls.Yesterday I watched some of the budget meeting live, not all of it, it was as long as ...
Hello! This is the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the week.Here’s what you may have missed.Wednesday was about 30k speed limits. It also has a clip of Christopher Luxon on his Instagram actually sayingI'm incredibly proud that over the last few weeks we've announced ...
Was another IT debacle inevitable given the management arrangements?In February 20022, Archives New Zealand (ANZ) switched its electronic access to the nation’s public records from ‘Archway’ to the new Collections system, also known as ‘AIMS’ (Archives Integrated Management System). There was immediate outrage by users. As Archives New Zealand politely ...
1. Who got indicted today?a. Hillary but her emails Clintonb. Hillary lock her up Clintonc. Sleepy Joe Biden d. Treasonous former President Donald Trump 2. What does this graph show?a. Share trading by Michael Woodb. Rental investment properties bought and sold by MPsc. Volume of falsehoods peddled by National Party MPs in ...
Buzz from the Beehive A press statement from Finance Minister Grant Robertson (headed NZ well placed as economy affects Govt books) has not been posted on the government’s official website, but it says “the Government books are reflecting a further moderation in economic activity…” A speech from the Foreign Affairs Minister ...
Democracy in New Zealand could and should be improved in so many ways. So it’s a pity that the Government has yet again produced a review of elections that has delivered a disparate and incomplete package of recommendations. Few of the recommendations will ever see the light of day and, ...
Thomas Cranmer writes – They say that a week is a long time in politics and indeed that seems to be truer now than ever. But consider, for a moment, the ...
TL;DR: We’ve more than doubled The Kākā’s community of paying and free subscribers to almost 14,000 over the last year or so since our last State of The Kākā Nation report. Revenue growth hasn’t been quite so fast, partly because we’ve opened up more of our journalism to everyone in ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are supposed to be able to trust that there are adequate systems in place to ensure our politicians aren’t corrupt. There are mandatory systems of transparency requiring MPs and ministers to disclose all possible conflicts of interest, and yet we have ...
There are moments when one despairs – and those moments have come with increasing frequency over recent weeks. They have arisen as Christopher Luxon – with the apparent support of the Herald – has ventured into “dog-whistle” politics, and has sought to play “the race card” in his efforts to ...
Brown has accused his fellow councillors of being ‘financially illiterate.’ His own literacy needs improving. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: Finally, the Auckland City Council is fumbling its way towards understanding how to use its own balance sheet properly, as a buffer for its ‘rainy day,’ rather than as a ‘sinking ...
It’s Friday again so here’s our latest roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. The Week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday we ran a post from our friends at Bike Auckland on Liberating a lane on the Harbour Bridge. On Wednesday Cameron Pitches took a look ...
Yesterday’s hour-long inquiry by Parliament’s Privileges Committee into whether Education Minister Jan Tinetti misled the House or not must have felt a lot longer than that for her. Tinetti was called before the committee by Parliament’s speaker for telling the House that she didn’t have a role in releasing the ...
A great write-up of my campaign launch event appeared on Stuff today: Pole-dancing is not often used to launch political campaigns, but it seemed like a natural fit to Stephanie Rodgers – public servant, part-time pole dancing teacher, and Green candidate for the Wellington electorate of Ōhāriu. “I don’t think ...
Open access notables Back in April of 2020 Chi Xu et al. captivated some public attention with their paper Future of the human climate niche, which explained a reasonable case for its startling conclusion about routine habitability of large parts of our planet now supporting dense populations. Now come the same ...
National's fundamentalist christian leader is telling kiwis to breed for New Zealand: National Party leader Christopher Luxon has encouraged people at an infrastructure conference to have more babies in an effort to reverse the nation’s declining birthrate. In a question and answer session after the announcement, Luxon encouraged more ...
Pippa Coom was, until last October, an Auckland councillor, and a very good one indeed. I hope she will be again. She’s written this week on her site about the absolute state of things in Auckland civic governance. It’s clear and good. With her kind permission I’m running it here.It ...
These days, I make a point of reading the Herald for a particular reason – not, in order to get an accurate account of the day’s news, but to gain some insight into the mentality of those whose guiding principle is not accuracy or rationality but, rather, visceral hatred of ...
While there was no sign of an upswing in the wholemilk powder price at Fonterra’s latest Global Dairy Trade auction — the first of the new season — cheddar prices rose 7.4% to $US4,668/t . This confirmed the trend which Fonterra was exploiting last season.It told farmers in May ...
Buzz from the Beehive The weight being given to “Treaty of Waitangi” provisions in legislation drafted by the Labour government can be measured by a quick reading of the Emergency Management Bill. The bill has a Treaty clause. The legislation which it will replace – the Civil Defence Emergency Management ...
Since sport is our global religion, it isn’t surprising that the theocratic kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken the redemptive power of sportswashing very seriously indeed. To the point where the massive Saudi investment in all kinds of professional sport may be hoodwinking the West into overlooking the kingdom’s terrible ...
Walking down an Auckland street: the results of 30 years of magical thinking is far from magical in the housing, climate and poverty crises now threatening to overwhelm our hospital, justice and education systems. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has released its infrastructure policy for the election, opting ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Protection for Kiwisaver Members) Amendment Bill (Tracey McLellan) The bill is a nice little minor amendment which would prevent employers from discriminating against Kiwisaver members, restoring a protection repealed ...
New Zealanders are supposed to be able to trust that there are adequate systems in place to ensure our politicians aren’t corrupt. There are mandatory systems of transparency requiring MPs and ministers to disclose all possible conflicts of interest, and yet we have learnt that this integrity system has fallen ...
How many of you think Michael Wood is corrupt? I don’t mean whether he broke the rules, he did, but whether he’s acted in a way that could see him personally gain?Probably not a lot. I don’t think even the MPs and media people demanding his immediate crucifixion think that. ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk There are many good reasons to burn less coal: It’s polluting, expensive, damaging to human health, and emits more carbon pollution than any other form of electricity. But an oft-overlooked factor is that burning fuel to generate electricity is astonishingly ...
Auckland Transport have just launched consultation on a cycleway for a route fairly close to my heart as it’s part of my regular ride to work – Hobsonville Rd. The corridor has seen a lot of growth in the last decade or so with all the development at Hobsonville Point, ...
Hi,I was an obsessive kid. If I liked something, I really liked it. Nothing came in halves with me. It was all or nothing. And throughout the 90s — and into some of the 00s — The X-Files was my obsession. It was one of the first shows on network ...
For those with long memories, the declaration in Wellington yesterday by the Prime Minister of Fiji that economic development in Pacific Island states depended on democracy might have seemed, at best, ironic. The PM is, after all, Major General the Honourable Sitiveni Rabuka CF, OBE, MSD and leader of ...
Is anyone feeling sorry for the Prime Minister? Here, confronted once more by an errant minister, he has had to use his disciplinary powers, but not to the satisfaction of Opposition parties. Michael Wood may have been one of the more effective ministers in the current administration, though that ...
News of the indigenization of New Zealand’s Space Policy (here) has reached Jerry Coyne, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, whose analysis of it has been posted on Why Evolution is True(here). The National Space Policy (as Point of Order noted) ...
The numeral 30 comes from Latin, written as triginta. In our seaside village there are many aspirational people going forward in their utes and Audis but not all that many who had time for a classics education.So when the useless council put up this new sign, it seems most people ...
Yesterday Transport Minister Michael Wood was stood down after failing to properly declare a conflict of interest - namely his continued ownership of Auckland Airport shares while transport minister. Chris Hipkins and his Labour cronies tried to pass this off as Wood simply being forgetful, but this was somewhat undercut ...
Last year the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Solomon Islands signed a bilateral security agreement that includes police training and port visits by Chinese security advisors and naval vessels. This includes training in “crowd control” and protection of … Continue reading → ...
Yesterday’s revelation yesterday that Michael Wood’s ‘life admin’ got away on him and he didn't sell his Auckland Airport shares despite six warnings from the Cabinet Office was messy and 'unacceptable' enough for Hipkins to stand Wood down as Transport Minister until it was 'resolved'. Now it’s got even messier. ...
This is a guest post from Cameron Pitches is the former Convenor for the Campaign for Better Transport. These days he’s the Technology Manager at PortConnect It should be a surprise to nobody that cars are expensive to own and operate. Obviously they are an inherent part of the ...
You might’ve seen reports of the draft recommendations of the Electoral System review, released following a long public consultation. In this newsletter I’d like to offer some thoughts on those proposals, who they benefit, and a couple of other changes I think we need.It’s worth bearing in mind that these ...
Chris Hipkins must be starting to wonder whether any more Cabinet Ministers might embarrass him. The procession of Ministers this year making the headlines for the wrong reasons recalls the same sort of saga in the Key Government. Then, in 2014, Labour’s Chief Whip, Chris Hipkins said Key had ...
Hi,Thanks for the outpouring of advice and love over the weekend’s Wolves on the Roofpiece. I’m gonna throw some of your comments into a future newsletter, as I think there’s genuinely great advice in there for anyone suffering any kind of chronic pain, or battling the dark nighttime thoughts ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Socrates Takes The Rap: “Corrupting the youth”, the Athenian philosopher Socrates was convicted and executed for this offence more than 2,400 years ago. It is a sure sign of generational desperation: of the old order’s fear of the values and aspirations of its younger citizens; and of a generation no ...
Labour's "independent" review of the electoral system reported back today. You can read the full thing here, but most of it was basicly a rehash of the 2012 Electoral Commission review, and in response to the same questions, produced mostly the same answers: a lower threshold and removing the one-seat ...
ACT preens as party in waiting ahead of Election 2023, read an RNZ headline this morning. Foregone conclusions are totally the new black in election reporting this season. The article that followed was not quite so breathless, and concluded with the reminder that in the end it’s all up to the ...
ACT preens as party in waiting ahead of Election 2023, read an RNZ headline this morning. Foregone conclusions are totally the new black in election reporting this season. The article that followed was not quite so breathless, and concluded with the reminder that in the end it’s all up to the ...
Today transport Minister Michael Wood was stood down after failing to properly declare a conflict of interest. He'd bought shares in Auckland airport "as a teenager", hidden them in a trust when he became an MP, and failed to declare them for seven years, for three of which he was ...
Buzz from the Beehive At least one headline-grabbing ministerial announcement had not been posted on the government’s official website, when Point of Order checked early this afternoon. We learned from other sources that Michael Wood has been stood down as Transport Minister over over failing to properly disclose shares owned ...
Battered by storms, and soaring costs, New Zealand dairy farmers have countered by extracting higher production. As one commentator put it, end-of-season production “has been through the roof” . Westpac senior agri economist Nathan Penny notes in a report in the NZ Herald that we are probably looking at two ...
Not for the first time, David Seymour looks like an answer to a non-existent problem. Reportedly, ACT is promising to establish a Ministry of Regulations to cut through all that bureaucracy and red tape. Yep. To cut down on bureaucracy. Seymour is promising to create a whole new bureaucracy, presumably ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sara Peach In 1989, cartoonist Matt Groening told a reporter that his new television show, “The Simpsons,” would tackle the serious subjects in life. “It always amazes me how few cartoonists in print or animation go after the bigger issues, the kinds ...
This is a cross post from our friends at Bike Auckland. You can see the original post here.An Auckland for EverybodyIt’s 2024, and the Auckland Harbour Bridge is finally open and available to all modes of everyday transport. Using a dedicated lane protected from traffic, people walk, ...
It could be easy to shrug away Education Minister Jan Tinetti’s referral to the Privileges Committee as just another example of a Minister not following the rules of Parliament. But its significance should be recognised in the fact it is only the second time since 2008 that a Member of ...
Seeing is no longer believing. Surprisingly realistic – yet fake – images created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) are here. To date, most have seemed more like curiosities than genuine deception attempts. Last month, it was revealed that New Zealand’s National Party had used the AI image generation app Midjourney to ...
Young climate activists watch a livestream of Jacinda Ardern declaring a climate emergency in December 2020. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: There’s another call this morning to lower the voting age and to lower the threshold for parties to get into Parliament under MMP.Elsewhere, there’s news:most social homes ...
Interesting speech by Rowan Atkinson where he defends free speech. Timely too, as several countries are now facing the introduction of legislation which will be used to attack freedom of speech. New Zealand/Aotearoa is no exception. And this comes on top of actions of censorship, de-platforming and social pressure ...
The left has really been silent and allowed the traditional leftist commitment to free speech to erode and even fall out of favor. This has had an effect on a whole range of leftist issues, from journalism to environmental activism, worker’s rights, animal rights, etc. From June 17 to June ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – dominated today by announcements of who has been awarded King’s Birthday gongs – also carries news of a development in New Zealand’s relationship with Japan. This sits alongside the speech which Defence Minister Andrew Little delivered to the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue ...
The world is full of climate dashboards (and dashboards of dashboards), and so you might imagine that all datasets and comparisons are instantly available in whatever graphical form you like. Unfortunately, we often want graphics to emphasize a particular point or comparison, and generic graphs from the producers of ...
Not Even Close, Comrades! Occupy made it all the way to New Zealand, but its fate here did not differ substantially from its fate everywhere else around the world. The political praxis of identity politics, its extraordinary disintegrative power, made the organisation of any kind of credible threat to the ...
Take Me Home: Bowalley Road, North Otago. The long gravel road after which Chris Trotter’s blog is named. Near the road’s end is the farm where he spent the first nine years of his life.ONE OF THE JOYS of blogging is the instant feedback you get. Certainly, there are the trolls who ...
Steven Levitt, famous for his Freakanomics, shows that being an economist is not just mouthing supply and demand.Brian Easton writes – Anyone can call themselves an ‘economist’. Many do, despite having no qualifications in economics and hardly any formal training; they often make elementary errors. That is the ...
Today is New Zealand’s first King’s Birthday since 1951. It’s not Charlie’s actual birthday, any more than Queen’s Birthday was Liz’s, but it’s a public holiday nonetheless. Until the creation of Matariki, the monarch’s observed birthday marked the start of a black hole in New Zealand’s holiday calendar, stretching ...
All things change. Nations, sporting teams, individuals. All have a time of ascent, and, in time, of decline. Their time on the stage, in the spotlight - however brightly they shone, gone. A new generation in their place.We see it on this day, in what still sounds strange, King’s Birthday. ...
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your invitation to speak with you today. Many of you will remember acutely the New Zealand that used to be in comparison to what we have become today. For reasons best known to themselves, some critics consider any reference to the past ...
The Independent Electoral Review out today has included a recommendation to ‘affect the Treaty of Waitangi and its Principles’ and make it one of the Act’s ‘explicit objectives’. What ‘principles’ are they talking about exactly? Our Electoral Act is the foundation of unwavering equality for every New Zealander ...
The Green Party are today launching a campaign asking for people to submit their stories of subpar, substandard and downright awful experiences of renting in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the draft report of the Independent Electoral Review and challenging all political parties to commit to implementing its final recommendations after the 2023 general election. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori announce Takuta Ferris will contest the Te Tai Tonga seat at this year’s General Election. “Takura ran for the Te Tai Tonga seat for Te Pāti Māori in 2020. It takes tremendous courage and commitment to put your hand up for another round in the ring ...
Focussed immigration has always been essential to our future, but New Zealanders need to be aware of the immediate dire situation our government is putting us in with a predicted record of one hundred thousand new immigrants moving to New Zealand in this year alone. That means we will have ...
Today, President of Te Pāti Māori, John Tamihere has confirmed that Heather Te-Au Skipworth will stand for Te Pāti Māori in the Tukituki electorate this election. ...
During New Zealand First coalition negotiations our policy was to train and resource 1800 new frontline police. We secured this coalition policy win to ensure our streets had a police force that could tackle crime - after years of neglect. Remember those previous nine years of neglect saw a ‘tag ...
Katie Kenny from Stuff published an article today with a lazy attempt at so-called ‘fact checking’ my recent comments on the World Health Organisation’s concerning new regulations being developed. What is most surprising is that throughout this entire ‘fact checking’ process, Kenny never once rang me asking for my side ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jamie Arbuckle, Marlborough District Councillor, to stand as a candidate for the Kaikoura electorate at this year’s General Election. Jamie Arbuckle is an outstanding contributor to New Zealand First and his local community. Arbuckle, a local councillor for over 13 years, has represented ...
Good afternoon and thank you for taking the time to be here. Blenheim is at the heart of the Marlborough region and an important contributor to New Zealand’s wealth. We salute you for it. Today we launch the NZ First candidate Jamie Arbuckle, the highest polling local councilor, in whom ...
The National Party has released another confused and rushed policy that will only further worsen the inequality that is driven by unaffordable housing. ...
Welcome to sunny and calm Wellington, which I know those of you who are visiting would of course expect to be the case. It’s been a busy week since we put forward the 2023 Budget. Labour MPs have been out across the motu giving the good oil on the Budget. ...
Kia orana, Talofa lava, Mālo e lelei, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Noa’ia e mauri, Ni sa bula vinaka, Kia ora, Tena Koutou Katoa. Labour Party President Jill Day, Prime Minister Hipkins, Party faithful, delegates and comrades, whānau and friends, it’s a privilege to be here today. I begin my ...
One of my kaumātua up North stood before the Waitangi Tribunal and said: ‘He aha kē ahau, te tangata kore hara i mua i te Atua, e tu nei kia whakawaatia e koe, te tangata tāhae, te tangata hara, te tangata kore tikanga?Ko koe kē te tika, kia tū ...
New Zealanders will be highly concerned that the World Health Organisation proposes to effectively take control of independent decision making away from sovereign countries and place control with the Director General. W.H.O International Health Regulations on future outbreaks of disease aim to give the Director General extraordinary and wide-sweeping powers. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take responsibility for reducing inflation by taxing wealth instead of leaving RBNZ to continue hiking the Official Cash Rate. ...
The Government is backing a significant expansion of Wellington Regional Hospital’s Emergency Department, Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall has announced. “Government funding to expand Wellington ED will enable Te Whatu Ora to progress plans for a new, larger, fit-for-purpose facility, featuring an additional 35 spaces. Enabling works are due to ...
Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor is welcoming the election of New Zealand’s candidate, Dr John Barker, as Director General of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) at a meeting this evening in Spain. “This is a very good day for our wine industry. Dr Barker’s election marks ...
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment, Priyanca Radhakrishnan, has announced the reappointment of George Reedy as chair of Peke Waihanga – Artificial Limb Service. Mr Reedy has been appointed as chair until the end of 2024. “Mr Reedy is an experienced Chair, and I am confident that he will ...
Tania June Warburton, Tania Margaret Sharkey and Ali’imuamua Sandra Alofivae have been appointed as District Court Judges, Attorney-General David Parker said today. The appointees will take up their roles in July, August and September respectively, replacing judges who are about to retire. Tania June Warburton, solicitor of Wellington, has ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Dr Duncan Webb has today announced the appointment of Anne Callinan as the new Deputy Chair at the Commerce Commission. “Anne Callinan is a senior commercial litigation partner and the Chair of Simpson Grierson. She has over 30 years’ experience in commercial litigation, acting as ...
Introduction – mihi whakatau “Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki, Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi, Mānawa maiea re Mātahi o te Tau” "Celebrate the rising of Matariki, Celebrate the rising of the Ariki of the sky, Celebrate the rising of the New Year." This invitation to join you ...
The next step in improvements to the building consent system gets underway with the sector and public encouraged to have their say on how it could be improved, Minister for Building and Construction Dr Megan Woods says. “Following last year’s consultation, we have developed options to get a more efficient ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Climate Minister James Shaw have met in Wellington with their Australian counterparts, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, for the inaugural Australia–New Zealand Climate and Finance Ministers’ meeting. The Ministers discussed areas of enhanced cooperation, supporting accelerated climate action and once-in-a-generation ...
The Government is making a start on a more sustainable forestry industry with investments into a bioenergy plant, research into biomass and better forestry practices, Forestry Minister Peeni Henare announced today. “The Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use recognised current forest harvest practices are not sustainable. In some parts of the ...
Freshwater farm plans to help farmers improve local waterways will be progressively phased in across the country, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Environment Minister David Parker said today. Cabinet has confirmed the freshwater farm plan regulations, which are part of the Government’s Essential Freshwater package, to improve freshwater health and ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson and Disability Issues Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan have wished the 39-strong New Zealand Special Olympics squad heading to Berlin the best of luck. The New Zealand athletes departed for Germany today and will begin competing from next week. “The athletes heading to the Special Olympics ...
A proposed temporary law change would enable rural Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti landowners dealing with masses of cyclone and flood debris to burn mixed waste so they can replant and return their land to productivity, Environment Minister David Parker said today. The proposed short-term law change would ensure that any ...
Legislation introduced in Parliament today will ensure New Zealand’s emergency management system learns the lessons of recent and previous responses to natural disasters, including severe weather events and other emergencies. The Emergency Management Bill replaces the two decades old Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. “The strength of our emergency ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka met in Wellington this morning, reaffirming the strength and spirit of New Zealand and Fiji’s relationship, as outlined in the Duavata Relationship Statement of Partnership. “New Zealand and Fiji are connected by a kinship forged in Pacific culture, identity and interests, ...
Primary teachers have agreed to the Government’s pay offer which will see the top base salary step rise to $100,000 by December next year. The settlement will also see a number of improvements to primary teachers’ conditions, including more than double the classroom release time they currently have to ...
Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan has announced the construction plan for the bridge on State Highway 25A that will reconnect the Coromandel peninsula, bringing more certainty to the region’s recovery efforts. “The Government is committed to reconnecting Coromandel communities quickly, and this plan to repair the damage along the highway ...
Tena koutou katoa and welcome to Parliament. It is a great pleasure for me to host you here today, for the second New Zealand Seafood Sustainability Awards. The awards started in 2020 and officially, are to be held every two years. But as with so many things, COVID got in the ...
Representation for women on public sector boards and committees is the highest it’s ever been with wāhine now making up 53.1 percent of public board and committee members,” Minister for Women Jan Tinetti said. Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women’s 2022 stocktake of public sector boards and committees shows for the ...
A new law enabling sole parents on a benefit to receive child support payments for their tamariki was passed in Parliament today. “This change is estimated to lift as many as 14,000 children out of poverty and give families a median of $20 extra a week,” said Social Development and ...
Crack down on disposable vapes No new vape shops near schools or marae Restricted descriptions for product flavours The Government is taking action to reduce the number of young people taking up vaping, Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall has announced. “Too many young people are vaping, which is why we’re ...
Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka will visit New Zealand this week, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “Prime Minister Rabuka officially visited New Zealand in 1998, over 25 years ago, and we look forward to welcoming him here once again,” Chris Hipkins said. “New Zealand and Fiji have a long ...
The King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours List 2023 includes sporting stars and administrators who reflect the best of New Zealand’s sporting community. Sir Wayne Smith has been knighted for services to rugby. Sir Wayne was Assistant Coach of the All Blacks at the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups and ...
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa taki tini ‘My success is not mine alone, but that of the people” The King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours list 2023 celebrates Māori from all walks of life, reflecting the achievements of those who have made a significant contribution to ...
The strength and diversity of service in New Zealand is a standout feature of today’s King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours list, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said. “Each of today’s 182 recipients has contributed individually to our country. Viewed collectively, their efforts reflect an overwhelming commitment to service.” Chris Hipkins said. ...
The Defence Ministers of New Zealand and Japan have signed a statement of intent for closer defence cooperation between the two Pacific regional partners. Andrew Little and H. E. Yasukazu Hamada met to sign the ‘Statement of Intent on Defence Cooperation in Maritime Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and ...
New Zealand’s most recent defence assessment identified climate change and geostrategic competition as the two greatest security challenges to our place in the South Pacific. To the first issue, partners engaging and re-engaging with Pacific Island Countries are finding that climate change is a security and existential threat in our ...
The government is continuing to support rangatahi in providing more funding into Maori Trades training and new He Poutama Rangatahi programmes across Aotearoa. “We’re backing 30 new by Māori for Māori Kaupapa employment and training programmes, which will help iwi into sustainable employment or progress within their chosen careers” says ...
Murihiku Marae was officially reopened today, setting a gold standard in sustainable building practices as well as social outcomes for the people of Waihōpai Invercargill, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan says. “The marae has been a central hub for this community since the 1980’s. With the support of $9.65 million ...
The first major public housing development in Whangārei for decades has reached completion, with 37 new homes opened in the suburb of Maunu today. The project on Tapatahi Crescent and Puriri Park Road, consists of 15 one-bedroom, 4 two-bedroom, 7 three-bedroom, 8 four-bedroom and 3 five-bedroom homes, as well as ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damen O’Connor will depart tomorrow for London to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ Meeting and then to Paris to vice-chair the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. “My travel to the United Kingdom is well-timed, with the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (UK FTA) ...
The Fuel Industry (Improving Fuel Resilience) Amendment Bill would: boost New Zealand’s fuel supply resilience and economic security enable the minimum stockholding obligation regulations to be adapted as the energy and transport environment evolves. “Last November, I announced a six-point plan to improve the resiliency of our fuel supply from ...
The Government is making sure those on low incomes will no longer have to wait five weeks to get the minimum weekly rate of ACC, and improving the data collected to make the system fairer, Minister for ACC Peeni Henare said today. The Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) ...
A compulsory code of conduct will ensure school board members are crystal clear on their responsibilities and expected standard of behaviour, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti said. It’s the first time a compulsory code of conduct has been published for state and state-integrated school boards and comes into effect on ...
Tena koutou katoa and thank you, Mayor Nadine Taylor, for your welcome to Marlborough. Thanks also Doug Saunders-Loder and all of you for inviting me to your annual conference. As you might know, I’m quite new to this job – and I’m particularly pleased that the first organisation I’m giving a ...
The Government will enter into a funding arrangement with councils in cyclone and flood affected regions to support them to offer a voluntary buyout for owners of Category 3 designated residential properties. It will also co-fund work needed to protect Category 2 designated properties. “From the beginning of this process ...
The Government has announced changes to strengthen requirements in venues with pokie (gambling) machines will come into effect from 15 June. “Pokies are one of the most harmful forms of gambling. They can have a detrimental impact on individuals, their friends, whānau and communities,” Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds said. ...
The total Police workforce is now the largest it has ever been. Police constabulary stands at 10,700 officers – an increase of 21% since 2017 Māori officers have increased 40%, Pasifika 83%, Asian 157%, Women 61% Every district has got more Police under this Government The Government has delivered on ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Nanaia Mahuta met with Korea President Yoon, as well as Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna, during her recent visit to Korea. “It was an honour to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the first Korea – Pacific Leaders’ Summit. We discussed Pacific ambitions under the ...
The Government’s Research and Development Tax Incentive has supported more than $2 billion of New Zealand business innovation – an increase of around $1 billion in less than nine months. "Research and innovation are essential in helping us meet the biggest challenges and seize opportunities facing New Zealand. It’s fantastic ...
The next ‘giant leap’ in New Zealand’s space journey has been taken today with the launch of the National Space Policy, Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds announced. “Our space sector is growing rapidly. Each year New Zealand is becoming a more and more attractive place for launches, manufacturing space-related technology ...
As it works through the archive identifying further examples of syndicated stories published with “inappropriate editing” on its website, RNZ is now promising an external review of editing processes, and that its findings will be made public. At the latest count, the public broadcaster’s audit had turned up 15 examples ...
Jubi News The trial of three Papuan “free speech” students accused of treason has resumed at the Jayapura District Court this week. The defendants — Yoseph Ernesto Matuan, Devio Tekege, and Ambrosius Fransiskus Elopere — have been charged with treason for organising a free speech rally where they were accused ...
SATURDAY 10 JUNE 2023 NEW POLL: Centre Right would form Government while Greens see bump in support National increases 0.1 points on last month to 35.7% while Labour drops 0.9 points to 32.9%. ACT is unchanged on 12.7% while the Greens are up 2.7 ...
The Transport Agency has given out a quarter of a million dollars in bonuses, with much more of it going to its better-paid staff than to lower earners. ...
A new poll by Curia for the Taxpayers’ Union shows levels of support bedding in for the parties, with the exception of the Greens, who jump by 2.3 percentage points from a dismal showing last month to 9.7%. The combined support for National, up 0.1 points to 35.7% and Act, ...
The bard’s work is well and truly alive in Tāmaki Makaurau, with two very different new productions set to open next week. Shakespeare might be long dead, but his work is still well and truly alive. Just last week, the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival played in Wellington, to little media ...
As arcane as it is engrossing, competitive circle drawing has built a global fandom that borders on obsessive. And its global showpiece is about to be staged in Wellington. Le cercle, ça tourne. Almost everyone has heard the aphorism, but few could immediately pinpoint its origin. The words were ...
Fungi of Aotearoa: A curious forager’s field guide stormed the bestseller charts upon its release, clearly serving a local interest in the mushrooms around us. The following is an edited excerpt, along with some of the eye-poppingly beautiful photos you’ll find throughout the book. Fungi are medicine for usFungi ...
"A client in unmatching bra and knickers": God is always watching The front door is open, the impression of interior, dim. Along the right-hand wall the eye picks out the one solid fact, the fact of Connie, hunched over an industrial sewing machine, peering from garment to passing ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we looked at the magic numbers used to justify luring big, expensive events to a city, the places where bilingual signs are the norm, the great gaping holes in university funding, and men living on the fringes – how do ...
As part of a weekly showcase of future leaders and inspirational young New Zealanders from the Hyundai Pinnacle Programme, Isla Day wants to develop better connections between industry and academia in the field of drug development – and fight for climate justice | Content Partnership Although she calls herself a “science nerd”, ...
The doors to Pasture, a regular on local best restaurant lists, quietly closed last month, leaving many questions – and phone calls – unanswered. Visit Pasture’s Parnell Road site during opening hours this week and you’ll find the lights out and no sign of activity. A smattering of rubbish lies ...
This is The Detail's Long Read – one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's How Mike Wahrlich Became 'The Juggler', And The Lessons It Leaves Us, written by David Cohen and published on RNZ. Cohen has written extensively about the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, and ...
By Finn Blackwell, RNZ News reporter and Jordan Dunn, RNZ intern Auckland councillors crossed swords, singling out one another and raising impassioned concerns on debt borrowing, rates and selling council’s shares in Auckland Airport before deciding on their annual budget. Elected members ended yesterday’s meeting undecided but council reconvened this ...
By Marjorie Finkeo in Port Moresby The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary “has a gap” in its accountability and governance in the organisation, warns Police Commissioner David Manning. And the missing gap needs to be filled. Manning said that during the launch of a workshop for Governance and Accountability when ...
Love or hate the national broadcaster, we deserve to know how it happened. “This story was edited inappropriately and has been corrected. RNZ is concerned and takes this matter extremely seriously. We are investigating and have taken appropriate action.” The heart of any editor sinks in appending such words to ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards.Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Democracy in New Zealand could and should be improved in so many ways. So it’s a pity that the Government has yet again produced a review of elections that has delivered a disparate and incomplete package of recommendations. Few ...
The ‘dead rat’ Auckland Council budget of 2023 showed how sometimes politics is just like pulling teeth “It’s easy to forget just how long and tortuous this process has been,” Brown said this week opening up a two-day governing body meeting that resulted in a decision that passed 14 to six ...
14 councillors voted through the new yearly budget in the culmination of a lengthy process that green-lights a compromise on the Mayor’s original vision Seven percent of Auckland Airport is up for grabs, as Auckland’s councillors voted Mayor Wayne Brown’s budget proposal through today with an amendment for only a partial sale ...
RNZ is “investigating” after a story purporting to be from world news agency Reuters was subtly edited with a pro-Russian slant. The story – headlined “Increasing talk of ‘war’ in Russia worrying sign of escalation” – has since been amended and a tag at the bottom said the broadcaster was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martie-Louise Verreynne, Professor in Innovation and Associate Dean (Research), The University of Queensland Jeff Chiu/AP Apple’s new Vision Pro mixed reality headset has generated a significant amount of buzz. Announcing it at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, chief executive Tim ...
Multicultural New Zealand (MNZ), the oldest pan-ethnic organisation, with 25 regional multicultural councils around the country, strongly condemns the recent calls made for the abolition of demographic ministries. MNZ does not support the existence of ...
After a two-day meeting of the governing council, a budget for Auckland Council has been agreed, with councillors voting to support Wayne Brown’s “compromise” proposal, which the mayor described as “the most challenging and contentious annual budget in the history of Auckland Council”. The final vote for the plan, which ...
RNZ Pacific Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa has urged her fellow Pacific leaders to stop paying lip service to regionalism and walk the talk when making collective decisions. Fiame made the remarks last night as she welcomed the Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Henry Puna, to Apia. Fiame ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien Kingsbury, Emeritus Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has now been held hostage in West Papua for four months. Stalled attempts to negotiate his release, and an unsuccessful Indonesian military rescue attempt, suggest ...
Many of you will remember acutely the New Zealand that used to be in comparison to what we have become today. For reasons best known to themselves, some critics consider any reference to the past and a better yesteryear, as pandering to nostalgia. ...
A new poem by Te Aro Pā poet Hana Buchanan. Mary’s hands Mary’s hands were strong hands Worker’s hands Hands that had soothed and stroked Hands that had held and carried Hands that had prepared, planted, nourished, and harvested Kneaded, cut, sliced, mixed, served, and garnished Laid out, straightened out, cut ...
Beleaguered Gore District Council chief executive finally responds to bullying and toxic culture claims made by multiple ex-employees Gore District Council staff have been subjected to “a barrage of allegations and criticism” over recent weeks that has been “extremely hurtful and stressful”, under fire chief executive Stephen Parry said in 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 The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Canongate, $50)This review makes ...
* This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up for regular Friday dispatches here. Tom Holland is a bonafide movie star, a box office crowdpleaser who’s played Spider-Man in seven films now. He doesn’t have much time for television, but The Crowded Room (Apple ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By BJ Newton, Senior Research Fellow in Social Policy and Social Work, UNSW Sydney GettyImages Reducing the number of First Nations children in out-of-home care is a priority of the national Closing the Gap targets. However, child protection authorities have been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By BJ Newton, Senior Research Fellow in Social Policy and Social Work, UNSW Sydney GettyImages Reducing the number of First Nations children in out-of-home care is a priority of the national Closing the Gap targets. However, child protection authorities have been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shane Rogers, Lecturer in Psychology, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock In any household with children there is an inevitable accumulation of possessions. Birthdays, Christmas, the celebration events like sporting victories and random impulse buys bring in a stream of toys, clothes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shane Rogers, Lecturer in Psychology, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock In any household with children there is an inevitable accumulation of possessions. Birthdays, Christmas, the celebration events like sporting victories and random impulse buys bring in a stream of toys, clothes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Latty, Associate professor, University of Sydney Shutterstock Have you spotted a swarm of flying insects emerging from a wall? Or noticed a buzzing noise coming from inside the house? If this sounds familiar, a colony of European honeybees (Apis ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Latty, Associate professor, University of Sydney Shutterstock Have you spotted a swarm of flying insects emerging from a wall? Or noticed a buzzing noise coming from inside the house? If this sounds familiar, a colony of European honeybees (Apis ...
An amendment to Wayne Brown’s budget proposal that would have halted any sale of Auckand airport shares has been voted down by 13-8. Put by Manukau councillor Lotu Fuli, the amendment would have kicked consideration of any sale into the longterm plan process, with rates kept to an increase of ...
Why’d it take nearly a year for the critically-acclaimed slasher to make it here?This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up for regular Friday dispatches here. A few weeks ago, a friend sent me a breathless late night message. Standing outside Auckland’s Capitol ...
This page summarises the impacts of non-typical events during the quarter, including tropical cyclone Gabrielle, torrential rain and flooding, and teachers’ strikes on the Gross domestic product: March 2023 quarter and Balance of payments and international ...
Animal advocacy organisation Direct Animal Action is appalled that the Silver Collar Greyhound Race is going ahead this Sunday at Auckland Council’s Manukau Sports Bowl despite a damning report released last month which revealed the industry in ...
It’s Friday which means a new edition of Shayne Currie’s excellent Media Insider column for the Herald (possibly only exciting if you’re inside the media, I’m unsure). And today’s wrap has interesting insight into the efforts by former Today FM staff to get some compensation for the unceremonious way in ...
In the same week primary school teachers accepted a new pay deal, secondary school teachers have voted “overwhelmingly” to reject the latest government offer. The PPTA said members had given those on the negotiating teams a “clear mandate” to seek a better offer. “When negotiations began more than a year ...
Local authority financial statistics provide information on the annual performance of core non-trading activities of all New Zealand's territorial and regional councils. Data quality and suppression The Local Authority Census for the June 2022 year did ...
PPTA Te Wehengarua members have voted overwhelmingly to reject the Government’s recent offers for settlement of the secondary and area school teachers’ collective agreements. “Members have given national executive and the negotiating teams a ...
By Natalia Albert – TOP candidate for Wellington Central And hey, let’s address the elephant in the room—some of you might be thinking “Is voting for TOP just throwing my vote away?” Well, I’m here to tell you, absolutely not! In fact, ...
The National Party says it is not tenable that senior Labour MP Michael Wood stays on as a minister of anything, after this week's airport shares debacle. ...
Getting Lost is being played all over the world – and not always in the way its creator envisioned. Cat Macnaughtan is used to hearing from her fans. They write her messages, send her ideas and share photos of themselves. Often, those snaps are taken in far-flung places. “The photo ...
Wayne Brown will have a second chance to push through his amended budget proposal as councillors meet in central Auckland again this morning. Yesterday, after failing to reach consensus, Brown returned to the table with a new budget that would see the council retain about half of its current shareholding ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Today’s contentMICHAEL WOOD AIRPORT SHARES CONFLICT OF INTEREST Matthew Hooton (Herald): End of the line for lethally arrogant Labour — and Auckland light ...
A report laying out weaknesses in planning that have seen the deterioration of our high-country lakes should be compulsory reading for all regional councils as they develop their new regional plans according to academics. In the latest Public Health ...
AI is gearing to be as much of a cultural revolution as the birth of the iPhone, but it’s still yet to be seen how its implementation in the workplace will impact everything from efficiency to recruitment. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks to CK ...
Newmarket Tenpin is a one-star bowling alley and a five-star experience.“Just disgusting place. I didn’t want to even think what the bathroom would look like. Expensive. And yuck. Don’t go there!!! I just wanted to cry.”“The worst bowling experience ever. The lanes were not well maintained. It was ...
Did you remember that single-use plastic bags for fresh produce and other loose items will be banned from July 1? I’d totally forgotten, so thank you Stuff for this article on why the end of the ubiquitous roll of bags could end up costing you more at the supermarket checkout. Countdown says ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robbie Fordyce, Lecturer, Communications and Media Studies, Monash University Shutterstock “Splinternet” refers to the way the internet is being splintered – broken up, divided, separated, locked down, boxed up, or otherwise segmented. Whether for nation states or corporations, there’s money ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Nettelbeck, Professor of History, Australian Catholic University National Archives of AustraliaAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and/or images of deceased people. For many non-Indigenous Australians, it might seem the Voice to Parliament ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Kent, Professor and Laboratory Head, The University of Melbourne Alexander Grey/Unsplash While most people survive and recover from COVID, for some people symptoms can persist for months or years. When symptoms last longer than 12 weeks, the condition is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dylan McConnell, Senior Research Associate, Renewable Energy & Energy Systems Analyst, UNSW Sydney The Bureau of Meteorology this week declared a 70% chance of an El Niño developing this year. It’s bad timing for the electricity sector, and means Australians may face ...
The chief executive of Gore District Council has finally broken his silence, weeks after allegations of sustained bullying were raised in two major news stories. In early May, Newsroom reported that bullying claims dated back to the early 2000s, while an excellent Sunday investigation on TVNZ1 raised similar concerns. The ...
A sudden spate of controversies have thrust the airport into the media spotlight, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Michael Wood divests at last After 25 years and 12 reminders to ...
After a day of debate and questions, Auckland’s councillors have put off their budget votes until Friday A decision on Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s budget will have to wait another day as councillors adjourned their big budget meeting without having come to a decision - aside from it becoming clear ...
A new free-to-access sports hub is coming to TVNZ+ on July 1st. Duncan Greive analyses what that means for the network – and for Sky.What just happened?Last month marked 33 years since Sky TV arrived in New Zealand, and began the process of erecting the original paywall, one ...
What are the issues judged most important by New Zealanders – and which parties do we think are best equipped to deal with them? Across political debate, headlines and anecdata, crime has moved to the foreground over the last 18 months. That is reflected in a new Ipsos New Zealand ...
The latest Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list, described by Steve BrauniasFICTION 1 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35) Number one for third consecutive week, ever since the book was named winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the ...
Indiah-Paige Riley can lay claim to having played for both host nations at the FIFA Women's World Cup - but it's the black jersey she wants to wear come July, she tells Merryn Anderson. Indiah-Paige Riley is quick to stress she’s not Australian - even if the accent suggests it. One of ...
The fire at Loafers Lodge put the spotlight on where we house some of our most vulnerable people. The Detail looks at why men, in particular, fall into homelessness. The list of fatalities from the Loafers Lodge fire paints a grim picture. All men aged between 50 and 67, all vulnerable ...
Hooton hooted – http://thestandard.org.nz/dirty-politics-on-nine-to-noon/
That was shock-jock stuff, just like Paul Henry.
Stained Y-fronts, yes.
parp !
Is it just a Utopian fantasy as well as being an effective pragmatic response to Daesh and the Opthalmologist?
Let’s put pressure on Turkey to embrace, and come to terms with Kurdish ambitions. My emphases.
Ad that played on a radio station in Malaysia, advertising apartment investments in Auckland.
I’m just going to transcribe the whole thing here:
Hopefully the facebook link here works for others:
https://www.facebook.com/rachael.piha/videos/10153234098803834/?hc_location=ufi
I should think it would be difficult for the government to continue to deny overseas investment is driving up house prices in Auckland with this sort of advertisement going out on public radio in foreign countries.
Thanks Lanth.
Why there should be a residency requirement for local house/apartment purchases …
In Australia, they restrict non-resident purchases to new construction only, which makes perfect sense.
Thanks Lanth. Thank goodness the foreigners get it even though our politicians keep acting stupid.
Young Kiwi first home buyers are screwed.
I’ve forwarded it to Phil Twyford and Campbell Live. We’ll see if anything comes from it.
Thanks both for putting it up and forwarding it to the relevant people – it is simply jaw dropping.
The argument could be made that they are helping Kiwis who need to rent housing and we’re lucky they’re willing to invest. No doubt FJK will make it.
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Ahhh . . . just the thing I’ve been looking for from a reliable link. You win ten internets.
Smart money’s on Ed Miliband becoming British PM in a few weeks time. Current polling (over last few days) suggests anything from a 3 point Labour lead to a 4 point Tory lead, but a clear majority of polls over the last fortnight say it’s neck-and-neck with only a percentage point or two between them.
Crucially, though, the arithmetic works against the Tories. The various seat forecast models all suggest that there’s likely to be an anti-Tory majority in the HoC even if the Conservatives beat Labour by up to 3 percentage points. Only the most optimistic (and unlikely) of scenarios (from a Tory point of view) would have Cameron cobbling together a working majority.
The Tories only hope may be to collapse the Ukip vote (a disproportionate number of whom are 2010 Tories) but that seems unlikely.
And all this despite the fact that Labour’s lost its Scottish heartland over the last 5 years and conspicuously failed to attract 2010 Tory voters.
I think the SNP factor is really important. Labour lost perhaps 3% of the vote (worth on a proportionate basis 19 seats) but the SNP may pick up 53 seats. This is Epsom on steroids. Of course Labour needs to do the deal and cancel Trident (please, please, please) and be less austerity minded.
Basically as long as Labour can responsibly deal with the Scots then there should be a solid progressive majority. Lefties should rejoice …
Have you seen 538’s UK election model? http://fivethirtyeight.com/interactives/uk-general-election-predictions/
Basically shows a hung parliament if Labour can’t form a coalition with SNP (and I heard recent comments saying that they would not form a coalition – obviously pre-election speak trying to prop up the Labour vote).
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Who wants to bet a $100 donation to Wikileaks that The John Key and Tony Abbott Colonial Puppet Show turns up in Iraq on ANZAC Day , or the next day?