Duterte’s people signalled before APEC that he’d be coming to NZ so there’s certainly a sanctioning of the visit gone on, by McCully I presume – he’s that stupid.
I’d be interested how you intend to defend John Key’s government hosting Duterte and paying for his visit with our money…
Not sure what you are getting at. I’m just an ordinary punter and don’t know too much about the Hong Kong situation. What I do know is that Blinglish cancelled his meeting with Anson and Lee at 11:00pm the night before after being pressured by Beijing. The same Beijing which doesn’t allow its 1 Billion plus citizens the right to vote.
However you used Martin Lee and Anson Chan as way to somehow illustrate the current govt were ignoring ‘democracy seekers’ while “sucking up” to Durterte, who in your opinion is a [what]?
Then you say you don’t know much about the HK ‘situation’, yet you had used it anyway..
The HK ‘situation’ and primary actors are likely not what they sell themselves as
As far as I’m aware Anson and Lee haven’t carried out extra-judicial killings, and commanded a megalomaniacal breakdown in justice, in the name of a war on drugs like Duterte has.
Perhaps you have more information on this than I do?
Here’s a piece on Duterte, who you didn’t like me referring to when I contrasted the way the current government treated him and Anson and Lee.
In it he talks of admiring New Zealanders for following the law, which is surprising because he does not.
Without elaborating much you claimed dark forces were behind Anson and Lee and Blinglish presumably was warranted in snubbing them at the request of the Chinese Embassy.
I know about as much of Phillipines history as I do Hong Kong’s, but I know a bit and was interested in Duterte’s backers – the family of the late, brutal, and overthrown former president Ferdinand Marcos.
I do hope you will let the forum know what similar dark forces are behind Anson and Lee.
You asked what my opinion of Duterte was and I think he’s a dangerous man who will do a lot of damage to his country before being overthrown by popular uprising.
Yep all the dictators have been wonderful people, very misunderstood – sure they were selfish small handed idiots but hey at least they patted dogs and made the trains run on time //sarc
some actually believe that and guess what? They ain’t from the LEFT.
One day back, one more day of divisive misdirection and predictable antagonism.
I appreciate the notion of a melting pot of ideas and conversation, but clearly the situation with CV has reached an impasse and there can be no positive outcome. Someone has to make the call and stick by it. [deleted] is now just a troll, offering nothing but disunity and loaded, fractured soundbites, with even a moderator openly criticizing the exporting of ” lazily embraced ‘vile’” as a modus operandi.
Someone, for sanity’s sake, make the fucking call. Either CV goes forever or you ban every one else. There is no third way here. The way I see it, these are the only choices.
Fingers crossed for the sake of the site and it’s diminishing reputation the call gets made either way. This is nuts at the best of times, and suicide leading up to an election
Nothing to do with party lines, it’s all about why you are here and what you hope to achieve by doing so, and CV clearly has nothing to offer anyone but the shittiest end of the ugly stick. You feel free to dab yourself with it, but I’m expecting, hoping, someone somewhere will take the long term view and be brave in making the correct decision.
The half dozen suck ups and sycophants will just have to suck it up, get with the program or take the righteous way and fall on their +100 fuckwit swords.
You can lick and slurp ’til your hearts content, but it doesn’t mean I’m not 100% spot on.
All it really shows is your lips are accustomed to kissing that which I keep under wraps. 😀
hi peter, unless i have missed something, i haven’t seen you author a post.
do you do behind the scenes work?
do you contribute meaningfully, beyond commenting?
i get you may not like what cv posts, however that ain’t good enough for you to get your wish of a ban.
offence is only ever offered, it is up to you to accept it or not.
i am surprised that there wasn’t a big metaphorical uppercut coming at you, with telling the moderators what to do, how to run the site and attacking an author.
perhaps we all follow recent urgings and be a little kinder to each other.
The irony there is that while CV himself has authored posts (and done that well in the not-recent past), this year he has been one of the biggest net drains on the site. Rather than helping do the behind the scenes work, he’s been on various crusades of his own making that have not only obviously disrupted the front end, but have resulted in people leaving, created a huge amount of stress for the other authors, and created a large amount of extra work for moderators (which equates to posts not written).
As someone who writes posts, is active in the behind the scenes work and who has done the bulk of the moderating in the past month, I can state categorically that CV has a large negative influence on what happens here and that I am now at the point of seriously wondering wtf we are even doing here. More and more I see this as the point of what CV is doing.
This is not about not ‘liking’ what someone posts. Nor is it about taking offence. It’s about to what degree a community or website remains viable in the presence of someone who is hellbent on ignoring the wellbeing of the place and instead is incessantly destructive. Here I am talking about behaviour, although obviously CV’s recent politics contribute to that. I’ve been in enough groups (online and offline) to recognise what is going on here, the dynamics at play, and it’s a cluster fuck. Yes, the site will carry on (unless Lynn gets sick of the drama and pulls the plug), but it won’t be the vibrant, intellectually stimulating, progressive place it could be. Worse, it may well end up contributing to the demise of the left.
And yes, there is the huge problem of having had an author promote fascism on this site. Now that CV’s authoring rights have been dropped to Contributor (his posts will be vetted, but I don’t know by who), it leaves us with a complex problem in that people are actively avoiding the site because it is now perceived as supporting not robust debate but alt-right ideology, and see the same person is still spamming the site with his proto-fascist views. Why would progressives and lefties want to be here? Why would we want to write? Why would be try and get new authors or moderators?
Look at how many posts going up at the moment are Notices and Features. Look at who is not writing. Look at which commenters are no longer here. What do you think is going to happen here next year in the lead up to the election? It’s a hard enough place to be at the best of times. Currently I see it as untenable for many, and while I will continue to be an author I am seriously considering whether there is any point in putting effort into the running of the site when at the same time it’s being destroyed. No single person is worth that.
Note: Response to Weka but is not aimed at you specifically where it could be read as such…this is a general observation sent to you as a moderator
Without knowing the levels of awareness or content involved in backend conversation it’s not possible to gauge the veracity of your comment
If the drip drip of perception forming tid bits is going to continue to filter into the front end then there is unlikely to be ‘improvement’ and will continue to read like personal vendettas all round
I see no problem with CVs commentary, it is ‘no better or worse’ than any other here, yet in recent times has attracted a shameful amount of abuse from multiple handles, which have veered into negative relms far surpassing claims of CV being ‘responsible’ for degrading and denerating the site
The forked tongues and hypocrisy have stooped to levels which should have been contained instead of tacitly encouraged and cheered on (by the general audience)
Is there a way the back end opinions can be translated into appropriate front end response by way of enabling CV to share and clarify his position? I don’t see why he should need to, but as he has become such a ‘targetted focus’ on the blog, it seems like he should be given that option (if not already offered)
There are only a small number of outcomes and solutions available, and the current approach is blatantly not working, because the drip drip is still active and the insults are still flying in a unilateral direction (overwhelmingly) by commentators
like a few others here, i haven’t read anything too outrageous written by cv. sure i get that others have been mightily upset, i also think a lot of those were looking for upset.
t.b.h. many times i read a lot of provocation, which i don’t think was meritted.
in respect to front/back end goings-on, i have to plead ignorance and just once again thank-you for your labours.
this ‘cv scenario’ typifies for me a big problem for the left.
you and i, i assume, would stand shoulder to shoulder on many issues, however bring up cats and the protection of native birds, geckos, skinks etc and we would be on opposite sides of the battle lines.
rather than focus on where we are divided, what are our common causes, how do we bring change?, when do we bring change?
i enjoy having my beliefs, attitudes and opinions challenged, some of the rwnj can do this but not many.
the bigger threat to this site is having a homogenised, centre-left only dialogue occuring.
once again, thanks for your mahi, when not off grid, i am here most days.
“i am surprised that there wasn’t a big metaphorical uppercut coming at you, with telling the moderators what to do, how to run the site and attacking an author.”
Two things. One is that most authors probably agree with Peter’s assessment. Certainly in the backend most authors see CV as a huge problem.
Two, it’s fine to talk about the site and how people want it to be. Yes, there is a line re not telling authors what to do, or how the site should be run, but personally I welcome people talking about what the problems are, because that’s how we know.
I agree with your assessment above and appreciate there are now many here with a finger on the pulse of the CV situation and what it could mean long term for the standard.
It saddens me to say it but here’s my penny’s worth:
I have come to the conclusion that CV is deliberately trying to destroy this site. Once upon a time I held him in high regard but in recent times he has lost much of his credibility. A lot of regulars seem to have walked in the past six months or so, and it includes some of our best contributors. I refer to people like Pascal’s bookie, Felix, Gobsmacked and Puddleglum. BLiP is also conspicuous by his absence. It doesn’t follow they have all dropped out because of CV, but the very negative atmosphere that has been created is (imo) taking its toll.
All this butt hurt is irrelevant because Trump fucken won. That means every one failed. Short term winners will be short bond sellers, medium term manufacturing, long term those that can dominate the content wars will be the owners of the new world.
Thatcherism is official dead now that the 30 year bond which neoliberalism was financed on, has exploded.
Keep up love. It’s a brave new world. The factories are coming
You do realise that your comment was completely irrelevant to what Anne actually wrote? Did you mean to reply to another comment, maybe?
clue: the comment was about the the recent nature of TS (especially CV’s contributions) and the corresponding disappearance of long term contributors, and had nothing to do with trump.
The meme wars are over because trump won. Stop trying to breath life into a dead corps. Every one but the 50 million Americans got it all wrong, every ones well laid out globalism plans have been smashed. It’s no wonder people are hiding from this market, you just have to live and learn my boy
Go outside.
Look up.
If it’s a clear day, with very few clouds, you might see a small speck far up in the sky.
That’s the point going way over your head because you still seem to think the conversation is about Trump.
Back to the conversation. What Trump has done is pushed the left back over to the left. We use to say trade is bad, Trump literally destroyed the old rulz based idea of global trade. Another traditional left idea Trump took off the left is anti war, by anti war I mean anti Russian sentiment no longer exists. So the left is getting pushed over to issues of identity ie sexual behaviour, Trans/gay, workers rights as opposed to worker subsidies.
You just have to have a good honest look at the state of things my boy, rather than trying to deny the existance of trump.
I have a certain morbid fascination with just what depths CV will plumb – he’s currently writing off extrajudicial killings along the lines of some sort of cultural relativism, in a couple of years will he be excusing concentration camps or nuclear war?
Lord, save us from everyone who thinks they receive personal messages from the universe…
He’s a gone burger. A flame grilled whopper with extra cheese. Tasty, but full of nasty sh1t hidden on the inside.
When the pickle is the sweetener, it shows how bad it’s got.
A Muck nasty with sweet and sour sauce, hold the sweet. lol
Is that the best you can muster now Peter Swift? Gawd I hope Labour has a better chance next year. But I don’t think so. 4 to 1 against, verging on a guaranteed GR2020.
Intellectually moribund disguised as clever and witty. Just like you.
I hope CV sticks around to keep things lively. He’s a lot smarter than the predictable RW trolls, I will go to sleep if this place becomes an echo chamber like TDB or boringly mediocre like PublicAddress
Peter Swift – what do you want this site to be? An echo chamber for the neolib National lite Party? Surely we need the variety of ideas and opinions to flourish and not be stomped on? If you are going to ban CV why not ban the likes of Peter George and PR?
I don’t know if it’s deliberate, but you’re ignoring what’s being written. It’s a diversion tactic, but never mind, I have it covered.
Simple reply is that it’s not about what I want the site to be, but rather what it already is. CV offers nothing with his contributions, unless getting a reaction is the goal, in which case my view of him being nothing more than a troll figure is accurate enough.
I don’t take your point about echo chambers, especially about the neo lib lite party, especially when you’re supporting someone who is self proclaimed non left, so don’t make me laugh, slogan boy.
As for banning, the way I look at it is that it will happen sooner or later. There’s been enough negative examples to expose the trend. I say just bite the bullet and put us out of his misery.
And the funny thing about your last point is that PR is much less offensive to read that [deleted] is, and when the right wing trolls make less of an impact than he does, it’s sort of highlighting the narrative for us all.
[please don’t use someone’s RL name here if they themselves don’t. That’s a general principle designed to protect us all. If you have instances of behaviour or posts that definitely need a moderator’s attention, drop a note in front of an author/moderator. thanks – weka]
Sorry, I disagree. The rightwing trolls are more of a problem here than CV .Sure CV has ramped things up a lot, but that is mainly because of deliberate baiting. He used to be a real breath of fresh air, however I take your point of him heading into a ban if he doesn’t cool it considerably. Thanks for replying Peter.
@Weka I wouldn’t have used his name, wouldn’t have even known it, if he hadn’t have shared it with us all in the first place, but sure, I’ll put his genie back in the bottle and won’t ever do it again.
[deleted]
[he is posting under a pseudonym and that needs to be respected, not least because none of us can know the reasons for that at any given time – some pseudonyms aren’t absolutely private, but people still have a right to them. Otherwise anyone with a pseudonym becomes fair game. This isn’t about CV, it’s about the general principle as I already said. – weka]
Peter Swift – you apparently cannot stomach anything written by Chris Trotter, and now CV is in the same category? What is it about your nature that makes it so Stalinist?
I agree with Garibaldi that PR, Chuck, James, etc are a far worse distraction to debate on this site.
Just about any time Trotter posts on Daily Blog, you take to him with a cleaver. Not here on the Standard – but you have impressed me as a Lefty with a mind so narrow it could pass through the eye of a needle.
(You may make it to heaven!)
I request you link to those cleaver comments please. I’ve made less that a handful of comments there over the years, and from memory, none about Trotter and more importantly none under this handle.
Shouldn’t be as hard to do as the apology I’m expecting you’ll have to make.
You are right- on checking those TDB posts, I find that the guy I objected to was a Peter Wheeler, not you at all. Apology freely given – I must make doubly sure about surnames in future. This may increase your chances of getting to heaven..
Well yeah, obviously, but even so, it’s in the standard archive and all. It’s hardly a a secret, especially when posted by the person in question in the first place.
But I’m not questioning the ruling. Voldermort it is from now on. lol
Yes God forbid people post something peter swift disagrees with. All deserting post and comments must be purged to make the standard a safe place for him.
With that or ban every other person.
Really there is no possible option that you just ignore what you don’t like? Or perhaps attack his argument as opposed to the person.
Also – isn’t there some rule about naming people on this blog – I understand he is known by many – but is it right to put his name into this ??
You gotta admire the guy’s use of adjectives. Think he must’ve just started a creative writing course, or perhaps he’s just finished one. Either way it’s pretty damn funny.
What’s with you three monkeys? Up thread you have a moderator clearly outlining the present troubles on this site, writing about boycotts, contributors not submitting topics and you post like the stereotypical don’t see, hear or speak trio. And I’m having my capabilities questioned 🙄
We’re so lucky to have such astute chumps like you around to save the day lol
is CV really as annoying / destructive to this community as someone like the despicable dirty politics merchant Matthew Hooten? Or a boring threadjacker like Pete George?
CV obviously has issues with the current form of the political Left, his criticism can be cutting, but I haven’t seen him personally attack anyone, or indulge in Hooten like trolling.
Yes, he’s quite the spoiler, and by the looks of it, an increasing number of people view him not only as an agenda driven malcontent on a revenge mission, but a genuine threat to the long term well being and effectiveness of the standard.
That makes him much worse than a tory tool and a silly old man.
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How could government evolve over the next decades? Reports of democracy’s imminent demise are greatly exaggerated. However, satisfaction with political systems in many countries is low, so there is much to do for governments of all political stripes to improve relevance and trust. Digital technologies are seen as one ...
Two years have now gone by since the Friday afternoon when my university-student son and I headed out of our Barcelona flat to a nearby primary school, designated as a polling station for the vote that was to be held the following Sunday: the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain ...
Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Hassan Vally, La Trobe UniversityWho doesn’t want to know if drinking that second or third cup of coffee a day will improve your memory, or if sleeping too much increases your risk of a heart attack? We’re invested in staying healthy and many of us are interested in reading ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...
New Zealand has prided itself for decades with regard to its lack of pollution, and all will be aware that the ‘100% Pure New Zealand‘ meme is under threat through land, water and air pollution of various causes. There is another type of contamination that the country also faces: light ...
New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhy do people still think climate change isn’t real?David ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
Journalist Andrew Dickens, reporting from the 2019 New Zealand First Conference, states that the Party once again proved “they are more than a sideshow”. In his op-ed article for NewstalkZB, Mr Dickens said he has always been an admirer of the Party, saying they are “a true centrist party”. “[NZ ...
New Zealand First's potential policy of compulsory community service for ages 15-19 years old has been getting support from those in the industry. A policy remit was passed during their recent Conference in Christchurch, gaining the support of a majority of its membership. Party leader Winston Peters has been talking ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the Party hopes to decide it’s stance pill testing at music festivals "before the season of concern", with festivals generally held during the summer months. Mr Peters' comments come in an interview with TVNZ's Q+A and follow a remit from the party's youth ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says he has been told to be "alert" to potential cost blowouts for the light rail project in Auckland. Mr Peters said no such concerns were raised with him from ministerial colleagues, including Transport Minister Phil Twyford of the Labour Party. He suggested that ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters Leader of New Zealand First The Benefits of having New Zealand First in the Centre: Security, Experience & Balance 2.00pm, 20th October 2019 Ladies and Gentlemen Thank you all for your warm welcome to this, the party’s 26thConvention. Speaking on behalf of caucus colleagues, it’s great to ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Fletcher Tabuteau is travelling to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu this week to continue toadvance important bilateral relationships in our region consistent with thePacific Reset. Mr Tabuteau will engage in a range of bilateral meetings and visit New Zealand development ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...
Speaking at the Council of Trade Unions' (CTU) biennial conference, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told unionists that any future attacks on the Government won't work. "Now, we are being attacked by the union movement in this country. You can have your views but I'm here to say standing ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
A new education-to-employment brokerage service to strengthen connections between local employers and schools. Funding for more trades focused ‘speed-dating’ events to connect schools with employers. Promotional campaign to raise profile of vocational education. The Government is taking action to increase the number of young people taking up vocational education and ...
A Bill to improve prison security and ensure the fair, safe, and humane treatment of people in prison while upholding public safety has passed its third reading. Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says the Corrections Amendment Bill makes a number of changes to ensure the Corrections Act 2004 is fit for ...
Minister for Māori Development, Nanaia Mahuta, has selected Arihia Bennett MNZM, Chief Executive Officer of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, as the Te Puni Kōkiri appointed representative on the New Zealand-China Council. The New Zealand-China Council (the Council) was established in 2012 as a New Zealand led and funded organisation ...
Responsibility for processing the small number of Southern Response claims still to be settled will be transferred to EQC by the end of the year. “As claim numbers reduce, it no longer makes sense for the Crown to have two organisations processing the remaining Canterbury claims,” Grant Robertson says. “Since ...
Health Minister David Clark is encouraging Whanganui residents to take up the opportunity for free bowel screening, which can detect cancer early when it’s easier to treat. Over the next two years 12,000 Whanganui locals, aged 60 to 74 will be invited to participate in the National Bowel Screening ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio, heads to Oslo today to represent New Zealand at the sixth Our Ocean Conference, which is being hosted by the Norwegian Government from the 23-24 October. “The Our Ocean Conference mobilises real action on issues like marine plastic pollution and the impacts of ...
Two secondary-school initiatives are being expanded as part of the Government’s plan to see more young New Zealanders take up a trade to help close the skills gap. This includes the largest single increase in Trades Academy places in recent years. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris ...
Session 4: Pacific Connectivity – Youth, Media and New Opportunities Kia ora tatou katoa and Warm Pacific greetings to one and all. Representatives of Tainui, the local people of the land, or manawhenua – the indigenous peoples of this area – have welcomed you this morning in accordance with ...
The Government today announced its support for a project that could substantially reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. The announcement was made as part of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s visit to Nelson’s Cawthron Aquaculture Park. The Cawthron Institute will receive $100,000 from the Government’s ...
Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni has welcomed the first reading of the New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran’s Pension Legislation Amendment Bill. “Every New Zealander has a stake in New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran’s Pension,” says Carmel Sepuloni. “They are our most common form of social assistance – nearly 800,000 New ...
Babies in Auckland aged six months and over can receive a free vaccination and children will all have access to vaccines, Associate Minister of Health Julie Anne Genter announced today at Papatoetoe High School. The move comes as part of Government efforts to step up the fight against measles. ...
***Check against delivery*** Good morning. It is a pleasure to be here, and to have the honour of opening this important conference on behalf of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. Let us take the opportunity to acknowledge all the people who have helped make today possible, including our special ...
Police Minister Stuart Nash says the safety of frontline officers and members of the public will be the focus of a new trial of specialist Police response teams in three of our largest urban centres. Police have this morning released details of an initiative to be trialled in Counties Manukau, ...
The Minister of Fisheries is calling for entries for a new public award to celebrate innovation in our seafood sector. “I have established the Seafood Sustainability Awards to recognise and celebrate those throughout industry, tangata whenua and communities who demonstrate outstanding dedication and innovation towards the sustainability of New Zealand’s ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter welcomes leaders in the private sector taking action on closing their gender pay gaps to ensure a fairer workplace for all New Zealanders. Ms Genter today launched a new report, Addressing the gender pay gap and driving women’s representation in senior leadership, from the Champions for ...
Government Ministers today welcomed the release of a marine environment report highlighting the four key issues affecting our oceans, estuaries and coastlines. The release underlines the importance of government proposals to combat climate pollution, ensure clean freshwater, protect biodiversity, make land use more sustainable, and reduce waste and plastic. Environment ...
The Government has approved funding for a new acute mental health facility for Waikato which will provide better care and support to people with mental health and addiction issues. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Dr David Clark announced the $100 million project to replace the aging Henry Rongomau ...
The Government is making progress on its goal to integrate te reo Māori into education by 2025, with over 500 teachers and support staff already graduating from Te Ahu o te Reo Māori, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Kelvin Davis made the announcement at an awards ceremony in Waikanae today, for ...
Statistics Minister James Shaw has welcomed the first release of 2018 Census data. The first release of data today, 23 September, includes key data on population, regional growth, the number of homes and the size of different ethnic groups in New Zealand. Data from the 2018 Census will support the ...
Minister for Statistics James Shaw today announced a public consultation on a proposed algorithm charter for government agencies. The charter has been developed by the Government Chief Data Steward in response to growing calls for more transparency in government use of data. Computer algorithms – procedures or formulas for solving ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, Climate Change Minister James Shaw and visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte co-hosted a business roundtable in Auckland this morning focused on working together to address climate change. “The Netherlands is an important partner for New Zealand. We share a strong agricultural history. Sustainable agribusiness and ...
The Government is taking action to build an inclusive economy where more of us receive our fair share at work and businesses can compete on great products and services, not undercutting wages and conditions, Immigration and Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. Two consultations launched today seek feedback ...
The future for New Zealand’s threatened indigenous freshwater fish looks brighter with the passing of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill in Parliament today said Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “Until now, our freshwater fish legislation has been 20 years out of date. We have lacked effective tools to ...
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...
Kiwis are benefiting from higher wage growth and low inflation under the Coalition Government. Stats NZ data out today shows the rise in the cost of living remains low, as annual Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.5% in September from 1.7% in June. “The low inflation comes as ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Feedback sought– Lyttelton commercial zone parking The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to remove on-site car parking requirements for new developments in the Lyttelton commercial zone. The proposal, by Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section 71 of the Greater ...
Hon Minister Poto Williams Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration MEDIA STATEMENT Tuesday 15 October 2019 Feedback sought – Hagley Oval The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal about Hagley Oval. The proposal was developed by Regenerate Christchurch ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Shine, Robinson Fellow, University of Sydney Have you ever sat down to complete your morning crossword or Sudoku and wondered about what’s happening in your brain? Somewhere in the activity of the billions of neurons in your brain lies the code ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mehmet Ozalp, Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University The five-day ceasefire negotiated by US Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish President Recep Tayyib ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne The unprecedented blackout of front pages by Australia’s newspaper publishers this week is a highly significant event in Australian political and media history. It represents the completion of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Hansen, Chief of Staff, The Conversation In recent years coconut water has left the palm-treed shores of tropical islands where tourists on lounge chairs stick straws straight into the fruit, and exploded onto supermarket shelves – helped along by beverage giants ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Petterson, Professor of Geology, Auckland University of Technology CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University A Greenpeace video of me plugging a trackless tram that went viral with 4 million hits has caused a few eyebrows to be raised over whether I think light rail is dead. So let me ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Asher, Associate Professor, UNSW Here’s the boldest idea the government’s inquiry into retirement incomes should consider but might not: no longer exempting all of the value of each retiree’s home from the pension assets test. The test would merely exempt part ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Sernack-Chee Quee, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Design, Architecture & Building, University of Technology Sydney 1973 was a remarkable year for Sydney, with the opening of two major cultural icons. The first was the Sydney Opera House. The second, possibly more important ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: In today’s edition: Serious ramifications likely from SkyCity fire, dozens of partnership visas being denied, and yet another police pursuit death.The fire at the SkyCity Convention Centre construction site has continued to burn overnight. Fire crews were forced to abandon the roof, ...
Orange-fronted parakeets will still get protection but some mohua populations miss out as DoC reduces the area of forest being covered by 1080 poison. ...
The main way small countries like New Zealand can lead on climate change is through our ideas. Policies developed here may help other countries with similar issues, writes David Frame. ...
By Rebecca Ananian-Welsh Australians picked up their morning papers yesterday to find heavily blacked-out text instead of front-page headlines. This bold statement was instigated by the “Your Right to Know” campaign, an unlikely coalition of Australian media organisations fighting for press freedom and source protection. A key reform advocated by a ...
Surrounding sites evacuated and one reported hospitalised in serious condition as blaze rips through two floors of the under-construction building in the Auckland CBDLast updated: 6.30pmParts of central Auckland have been brought to a standstill this afternoon after a major fire broke out shortly after 1pm at the Sky City ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Phil McManus, Professor of Urban and Environmental Geography: Head of School of Geosciences, University of Sydney In the wake of a shocking ABC report on the dismal end of many racehorses’ lives in slaughterhouses, many Australians are questioning whether the horse racing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mohiuddin Ahmed, Lecturer of Computing & Security, Edith Cowan University Machines and the internet are woven into the fabric of our society. A growing number of users, devices and applications work together to produce what we now call “big data”. And this ...
After an unusually nasty campaign for their country, Canada has gone to the polls. They’ve decided that Justin Trudeau will continue as prime minister, but just like in New Zealand, he’ll have to work with coalition politics. What’s happened?After a brutal and at times humiliating campaign, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has ...
“The Prime Minister must publicly support an immediate ban on Gay Conversion Therapy . If I was Jacinda I would feel morally obligated to give more confidence on where I stand, when I have asked for, and received, support from that community.” ...
New abortion law marks significant and needed progress for reproductive rights in New Zealand Amnesty International has today made its submission to the Abortion Legislation Committee in Wellington. The rights at stake in the legislation include the rights ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Transport Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): NZ Transport Agency to Phil Twyford: We should have done better ...
Crisis of Safety and Confidence in our Engineering, Building and Construction Industries Please find attached a copy of an Open Letter from Professor Maan Alkaisi, Spokesperson CTV Families Group. This was sent a short time ago to the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, ...
Safe speed limits are survivable speed limits and this is what AT has endorsed in its step change decision today. This decision is a landmark that sets the scene for a new focus on road safety in New Zealand. ...
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) says the inadequate treatment of urology patients in Southern District Health Board is distressing and should serve as a broad reminder to DHB management to listen when specialists raise concerns. ...
Informed via telegram that Netflix has released a full trailer for the new season of The Crown, Tara Ward puts on her best boxhat and white gloves to find out what round three will bring. The good Lorde told us we’ll never be royals, so the first full trailer for the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Lecturer, University of Technology Sydney Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie has some sobering reading to do over the coming weeks: an 88-page Senate report into the government-sponsored bill to repeal the medevac law that allow refugees and asylum seekers in Papua ...
Eric Crampton has fun imagining a version of MBIE that worried it could be subject to cartel criminalisation provisions for the anticompetitive regimes it has established. ...
Criminologist Antje Deckert has just completed a two-year study of how women offenders are portrayed in New Zealand newspapers. The results show that journalists are telling very different stories abut Māori and Pākehā. That our criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform and that we need to reduce the ...
China continues its march into the Pacific with a China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum in Samoa this week. Ahead of the forum, Beijing has signed seven new agreements with Samoa covering education, trade, e-commerce, investment, infrastructure and agriculture. China’s Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua heads his delegation in Apia ...
It might be tempting to yell, but there are more effective ways to talk to doubters about the value of vaccines, write Julie Leask and Maryke Steffens.Your neighbour is telling you about his new baby. He feels nervous about vaccinating, and says he’s considering delaying Lucy’s vaccines.Your mother’s group is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debra Wain, Academic in Professional and Creaive Writing, Deakin University Why do we tell stories, and how are they crafted? In this series, we unpick the work of the writer on both page and screen. Anna Spargo-Ryan’s debut novel, The Paper House ...
The Movies, a documentary series that celebrates movies and their impact on culture, is available on TVNZ OnDemand today. Sam Brooks pulls some of the best quotes from its galaxy of stars.Ever wanted to get a snapshot of cinematic history without leaving the comfort of your couch, or even your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ronald F Pol, Senior researcher NZ, La Trobe University Money laundering rarely gets as literal as the case in Thailand last week, where police raided homes of a ring suspected of laundering a billion baht (about A$48 million) of drug proceeds and ...
The NZTA chair has acknowledged the agency dropped the ball in its early handling of Auckland's light rail project, as the NZ Infra proposal grips ministers. ...
On Friday it was announced that Armed Offenders Squad patrols will be trialled in Counties Manukau, Waikato and Canterbury over the next six months. The data suggests this will increase police violence and unfairly target Māori, writes Emilie Rākete.Police Commissioner Mike Bush announced on Friday that cars of Armed Offender ...
This summary is provided to assist in the understanding of the Court’s judgment. It does not comprise part of the reasons for that judgment. The full judgment with reasons is the only authoritative document. The full text of the judgment and reasons ...
There’s something about the feeling of wind whipping my face that brings me out of my head and into the moment. Once a month we pedal as a group: recreating the feeling of childlike glee riding our bikes together, writes Helen King.The first bike I learned to ride belonged to ...
More than 10,000 school support staff around the country have begun two weeks of paid union meetings to discuss progress on pay equity, and next steps following the Ministry of Education's failure to present a collective agreement offer. ...
Government ministers are adamant New Zealand’s economic fundamentals are solid, unemployment is at a record low, growth is faster than in Australia, and the surplus in the government accounts and low debt present further opportunities to strengthen the economy. Yet, across the road from the Beehive, the view from the ...
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Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wellington’s new mayor faces difficult three years, Zero Carbon bill select committee report comes back, and extremist preacher barred from NZPartly because it was a widely unexpected result, the opening days of Wellington mayor Andy Foster’s tenure have been gripping. He ...
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Love the image
With respect, but I think today is the 22nd. Easily done though and I have done similar things many a time.
Jeepers, Culverden had another quake an hour ago, shout out to all those in Canterbury, thinking of you’s. Cool photo and text on DR, timing huh? Dang
Intensity severe
Region intensity strong
NZDT Tue, Nov 22 2016, 6:13:34 pm
Depth 7 km
Magnitude 5.7
Location 15 km south-east of Culverden
Wonder if they could extend the Kaikoura airfield runway to take say 20 seater aircraft?
Great image. Hope its okay that I copied it to share with some friends !
We never mind…
Ug, it gets worse. We are now paying to have Duterte stay here.
Where McCully comes from, Hitler would be charming.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11752972
Hitler was charming. How do you think he sucked so many people in? More so than McCully, I would think.
Can see why they are running to his hotel and sucking up to this guy yet won’t meet Hong Kong democracy leaders.
These idiots Key and McCully are strengthening Duterte’s megalomania by inviting him here. Perhaps Key admires him for his actions.
Invited him here ??? I call bullshit on that.
Making shit up again.
What, he turned up here unannounced and McCully just happened to drop by to see if he was ok? Righto.
Since we hard-working Kiwi taxpayers are paying for this monster’s buffet, I’m sure some half decent journalist will OIA the relevant information.
You said it as a statement of fact – you cannot because he wasn’t invited and you are just pushing a bullshit lie.
How about a citation on you claim – or admit your bullshit.
Calm down, petal. The information will come out eventually.
So nothing – nothing at all.
So you lied.
Jaysus, you are more naive than I thought.
Yeah – You posted a comment – it was a bullshit lie.
Yet you say “it will come out”, or someone could do an OIA and that will prove what you said was fact, without anything to prove it.
So my questioning unsubstainated comments presented as fact is “naive”
I think that your tin foil hat is a little tight.
We’ll see.
Duterte’s people signalled before APEC that he’d be coming to NZ so there’s certainly a sanctioning of the visit gone on, by McCully I presume – he’s that stupid.
I’d be interested how you intend to defend John Key’s government hosting Duterte and paying for his visit with our money…
Which Hong Kong ‘democracy leaders’ are you referring to?
Former colonial chief secretary Anson Chan and Democratic Party founder Martin Lee.
Martin Lee is linked with Joshua Wong and Benny Tai
Still they use the word ‘democracy’
Must be all above board then!
Not sure what you are getting at. I’m just an ordinary punter and don’t know too much about the Hong Kong situation. What I do know is that Blinglish cancelled his meeting with Anson and Lee at 11:00pm the night before after being pressured by Beijing. The same Beijing which doesn’t allow its 1 Billion plus citizens the right to vote.
Yes, sure
However you used Martin Lee and Anson Chan as way to somehow illustrate the current govt were ignoring ‘democracy seekers’ while “sucking up” to Durterte, who in your opinion is a [what]?
Then you say you don’t know much about the HK ‘situation’, yet you had used it anyway..
The HK ‘situation’ and primary actors are likely not what they sell themselves as
Funding sources are ‘well known’
As far as I’m aware Anson and Lee haven’t carried out extra-judicial killings, and commanded a megalomaniacal breakdown in justice, in the name of a war on drugs like Duterte has.
Perhaps you have more information on this than I do?
Here’s a piece on Duterte, who you didn’t like me referring to when I contrasted the way the current government treated him and Anson and Lee.
In it he talks of admiring New Zealanders for following the law, which is surprising because he does not.
Without elaborating much you claimed dark forces were behind Anson and Lee and Blinglish presumably was warranted in snubbing them at the request of the Chinese Embassy.
I know about as much of Phillipines history as I do Hong Kong’s, but I know a bit and was interested in Duterte’s backers – the family of the late, brutal, and overthrown former president Ferdinand Marcos.
I do hope you will let the forum know what similar dark forces are behind Anson and Lee.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11753819
You asked what my opinion of Duterte was and I think he’s a dangerous man who will do a lot of damage to his country before being overthrown by popular uprising.
In short he is Marcos 2.0.
Psychopaths are. Despite not understanding social relations they can fake them very well.
Yep all the dictators have been wonderful people, very misunderstood – sure they were selfish small handed idiots but hey at least they patted dogs and made the trains run on time //sarc
some actually believe that and guess what? They ain’t from the LEFT.
One day back, one more day of divisive misdirection and predictable antagonism.
I appreciate the notion of a melting pot of ideas and conversation, but clearly the situation with CV has reached an impasse and there can be no positive outcome. Someone has to make the call and stick by it.
[deleted] is now just a troll, offering nothing but disunity and loaded, fractured soundbites, with even a moderator openly criticizing the exporting of ” lazily embraced ‘vile’” as a modus operandi.
Someone, for sanity’s sake, make the fucking call. Either CV goes forever or you ban every one else. There is no third way here. The way I see it, these are the only choices.
Fingers crossed for the sake of the site and it’s diminishing reputation the call gets made either way. This is nuts at the best of times, and suicide leading up to an election
[see moderator note below]
You’ll be sure to mark clearly the party line that is to be toed? Wouldn’t want to get toes trodden on.
Nothing to do with party lines, it’s all about why you are here and what you hope to achieve by doing so, and CV clearly has nothing to offer anyone but the shittiest end of the ugly stick. You feel free to dab yourself with it, but I’m expecting, hoping, someone somewhere will take the long term view and be brave in making the correct decision.
The half dozen suck ups and sycophants will just have to suck it up, get with the program or take the righteous way and fall on their +100 fuckwit swords.
Meh, if you don’t like being here Peter Swift, just remember that you can frak off with your literary talent somewhere else.
Nah time for you to go not Peter.
As your comments appear to be tolerated…..
Example being the repetitive projection tactics you seem incapable of developing any further
A sure sign of an internet juvenile pushing a trolley of arrested development
Were you attempting to be ironic?
Leaving aside you have replied to the wrong comment…
Why are you here spouting nothing but vitriol to the same few commentators?
Clearly you have an axe to grind, which given your comment would make you a hypocrite
One of the very worst traits a human being can have!
You can lick and slurp ’til your hearts content, but it doesn’t mean I’m not 100% spot on.
All it really shows is your lips are accustomed to kissing that which I keep under wraps. 😀
I enjoy your posts. Keep them coming! (BTW, are you on P?)
Probably on E (ego trip)
hi peter, unless i have missed something, i haven’t seen you author a post.
do you do behind the scenes work?
do you contribute meaningfully, beyond commenting?
i get you may not like what cv posts, however that ain’t good enough for you to get your wish of a ban.
offence is only ever offered, it is up to you to accept it or not.
i am surprised that there wasn’t a big metaphorical uppercut coming at you, with telling the moderators what to do, how to run the site and attacking an author.
perhaps we all follow recent urgings and be a little kinder to each other.
The irony there is that while CV himself has authored posts (and done that well in the not-recent past), this year he has been one of the biggest net drains on the site. Rather than helping do the behind the scenes work, he’s been on various crusades of his own making that have not only obviously disrupted the front end, but have resulted in people leaving, created a huge amount of stress for the other authors, and created a large amount of extra work for moderators (which equates to posts not written).
As someone who writes posts, is active in the behind the scenes work and who has done the bulk of the moderating in the past month, I can state categorically that CV has a large negative influence on what happens here and that I am now at the point of seriously wondering wtf we are even doing here. More and more I see this as the point of what CV is doing.
This is not about not ‘liking’ what someone posts. Nor is it about taking offence. It’s about to what degree a community or website remains viable in the presence of someone who is hellbent on ignoring the wellbeing of the place and instead is incessantly destructive. Here I am talking about behaviour, although obviously CV’s recent politics contribute to that. I’ve been in enough groups (online and offline) to recognise what is going on here, the dynamics at play, and it’s a cluster fuck. Yes, the site will carry on (unless Lynn gets sick of the drama and pulls the plug), but it won’t be the vibrant, intellectually stimulating, progressive place it could be. Worse, it may well end up contributing to the demise of the left.
And yes, there is the huge problem of having had an author promote fascism on this site. Now that CV’s authoring rights have been dropped to Contributor (his posts will be vetted, but I don’t know by who), it leaves us with a complex problem in that people are actively avoiding the site because it is now perceived as supporting not robust debate but alt-right ideology, and see the same person is still spamming the site with his proto-fascist views. Why would progressives and lefties want to be here? Why would we want to write? Why would be try and get new authors or moderators?
Look at how many posts going up at the moment are Notices and Features. Look at who is not writing. Look at which commenters are no longer here. What do you think is going to happen here next year in the lead up to the election? It’s a hard enough place to be at the best of times. Currently I see it as untenable for many, and while I will continue to be an author I am seriously considering whether there is any point in putting effort into the running of the site when at the same time it’s being destroyed. No single person is worth that.
Kia kaha.
What marty said.
Note: Response to Weka but is not aimed at you specifically where it could be read as such…this is a general observation sent to you as a moderator
Without knowing the levels of awareness or content involved in backend conversation it’s not possible to gauge the veracity of your comment
If the drip drip of perception forming tid bits is going to continue to filter into the front end then there is unlikely to be ‘improvement’ and will continue to read like personal vendettas all round
I see no problem with CVs commentary, it is ‘no better or worse’ than any other here, yet in recent times has attracted a shameful amount of abuse from multiple handles, which have veered into negative relms far surpassing claims of CV being ‘responsible’ for degrading and denerating the site
The forked tongues and hypocrisy have stooped to levels which should have been contained instead of tacitly encouraged and cheered on (by the general audience)
Is there a way the back end opinions can be translated into appropriate front end response by way of enabling CV to share and clarify his position? I don’t see why he should need to, but as he has become such a ‘targetted focus’ on the blog, it seems like he should be given that option (if not already offered)
There are only a small number of outcomes and solutions available, and the current approach is blatantly not working, because the drip drip is still active and the insults are still flying in a unilateral direction (overwhelmingly) by commentators
hi weka, thanks for your considered response.
like a few others here, i haven’t read anything too outrageous written by cv. sure i get that others have been mightily upset, i also think a lot of those were looking for upset.
t.b.h. many times i read a lot of provocation, which i don’t think was meritted.
in respect to front/back end goings-on, i have to plead ignorance and just once again thank-you for your labours.
this ‘cv scenario’ typifies for me a big problem for the left.
you and i, i assume, would stand shoulder to shoulder on many issues, however bring up cats and the protection of native birds, geckos, skinks etc and we would be on opposite sides of the battle lines.
rather than focus on where we are divided, what are our common causes, how do we bring change?, when do we bring change?
i enjoy having my beliefs, attitudes and opinions challenged, some of the rwnj can do this but not many.
the bigger threat to this site is having a homogenised, centre-left only dialogue occuring.
once again, thanks for your mahi, when not off grid, i am here most days.
“i am surprised that there wasn’t a big metaphorical uppercut coming at you, with telling the moderators what to do, how to run the site and attacking an author.”
Two things. One is that most authors probably agree with Peter’s assessment. Certainly in the backend most authors see CV as a huge problem.
Two, it’s fine to talk about the site and how people want it to be. Yes, there is a line re not telling authors what to do, or how the site should be run, but personally I welcome people talking about what the problems are, because that’s how we know.
I agree with your assessment above and appreciate there are now many here with a finger on the pulse of the CV situation and what it could mean long term for the standard.
It saddens me to say it but here’s my penny’s worth:
I have come to the conclusion that CV is deliberately trying to destroy this site. Once upon a time I held him in high regard but in recent times he has lost much of his credibility. A lot of regulars seem to have walked in the past six months or so, and it includes some of our best contributors. I refer to people like Pascal’s bookie, Felix, Gobsmacked and Puddleglum. BLiP is also conspicuous by his absence. It doesn’t follow they have all dropped out because of CV, but the very negative atmosphere that has been created is (imo) taking its toll.
All this butt hurt is irrelevant because Trump fucken won. That means every one failed. Short term winners will be short bond sellers, medium term manufacturing, long term those that can dominate the content wars will be the owners of the new world.
Thatcherism is official dead now that the 30 year bond which neoliberalism was financed on, has exploded.
Keep up love. It’s a brave new world. The factories are coming
You do realise that your comment was completely irrelevant to what Anne actually wrote? Did you mean to reply to another comment, maybe?
clue: the comment was about the the recent nature of TS (especially CV’s contributions) and the corresponding disappearance of long term contributors, and had nothing to do with trump.
The meme wars are over because trump won. Stop trying to breath life into a dead corps. Every one but the 50 million Americans got it all wrong, every ones well laid out globalism plans have been smashed. It’s no wonder people are hiding from this market, you just have to live and learn my boy
Go outside.
Look up.
If it’s a clear day, with very few clouds, you might see a small speck far up in the sky.
That’s the point going way over your head because you still seem to think the conversation is about Trump.
Grow up boy
plank from your own eye, and all that
Back to the conversation. What Trump has done is pushed the left back over to the left. We use to say trade is bad, Trump literally destroyed the old rulz based idea of global trade. Another traditional left idea Trump took off the left is anti war, by anti war I mean anti Russian sentiment no longer exists. So the left is getting pushed over to issues of identity ie sexual behaviour, Trans/gay, workers rights as opposed to worker subsidies.
You just have to have a good honest look at the state of things my boy, rather than trying to deny the existance of trump.
lol
It was worth a try, I suppose.
I have a certain morbid fascination with just what depths CV will plumb – he’s currently writing off extrajudicial killings along the lines of some sort of cultural relativism, in a couple of years will he be excusing concentration camps or nuclear war?
Lord, save us from everyone who thinks they receive personal messages from the universe…
He’s a gone burger. A flame grilled whopper with extra cheese. Tasty, but full of nasty sh1t hidden on the inside.
When the pickle is the sweetener, it shows how bad it’s got.
A Muck nasty with sweet and sour sauce, hold the sweet. lol
Personal attacks disguised as humour?
Really?
Is that the best you can muster now Peter Swift? Gawd I hope Labour has a better chance next year. But I don’t think so. 4 to 1 against, verging on a guaranteed GR2020.
Intellectually moribund disguised as clever and witty. Just like you.
good one Peter – yep the mouthpiece is foul – needs a bloody good rinse with disinfectant because, my gods, it is infected all right!
But like that elusive last dag it might take a few passes of the comb to get it off.
I hope CV sticks around to keep things lively. He’s a lot smarter than the predictable RW trolls, I will go to sleep if this place becomes an echo chamber like TDB or boringly mediocre like PublicAddress
Peter Swift – what do you want this site to be? An echo chamber for the neolib National lite Party? Surely we need the variety of ideas and opinions to flourish and not be stomped on? If you are going to ban CV why not ban the likes of Peter George and PR?
I don’t know if it’s deliberate, but you’re ignoring what’s being written. It’s a diversion tactic, but never mind, I have it covered.
Simple reply is that it’s not about what I want the site to be, but rather what it already is. CV offers nothing with his contributions, unless getting a reaction is the goal, in which case my view of him being nothing more than a troll figure is accurate enough.
I don’t take your point about echo chambers, especially about the neo lib lite party, especially when you’re supporting someone who is self proclaimed non left, so don’t make me laugh, slogan boy.
As for banning, the way I look at it is that it will happen sooner or later. There’s been enough negative examples to expose the trend. I say just bite the bullet and put us out of his misery.
And the funny thing about your last point is that PR is much less offensive to read that [deleted] is, and when the right wing trolls make less of an impact than he does, it’s sort of highlighting the narrative for us all.
[please don’t use someone’s RL name here if they themselves don’t. That’s a general principle designed to protect us all. If you have instances of behaviour or posts that definitely need a moderator’s attention, drop a note in front of an author/moderator. thanks – weka]
Sorry, I disagree. The rightwing trolls are more of a problem here than CV .Sure CV has ramped things up a lot, but that is mainly because of deliberate baiting. He used to be a real breath of fresh air, however I take your point of him heading into a ban if he doesn’t cool it considerably. Thanks for replying Peter.
@Weka I wouldn’t have used his name, wouldn’t have even known it, if he hadn’t have shared it with us all in the first place, but sure, I’ll put his genie back in the bottle and won’t ever do it again.
[deleted]
[he is posting under a pseudonym and that needs to be respected, not least because none of us can know the reasons for that at any given time – some pseudonyms aren’t absolutely private, but people still have a right to them. Otherwise anyone with a pseudonym becomes fair game. This isn’t about CV, it’s about the general principle as I already said. – weka]
Peter Swift – you apparently cannot stomach anything written by Chris Trotter, and now CV is in the same category? What is it about your nature that makes it so Stalinist?
I agree with Garibaldi that PR, Chuck, James, etc are a far worse distraction to debate on this site.
What’s that about Trotter? That’s not an opinion I’ve expressed, though of course, like most pundits, he’s written his fair share of sh1t.
And I wouldn’t put CV anywhere close to Trotters level of integrity and professionalism.
Just about any time Trotter posts on Daily Blog, you take to him with a cleaver. Not here on the Standard – but you have impressed me as a Lefty with a mind so narrow it could pass through the eye of a needle.
(You may make it to heaven!)
I request you link to those cleaver comments please. I’ve made less that a handful of comments there over the years, and from memory, none about Trotter and more importantly none under this handle.
Shouldn’t be as hard to do as the apology I’m expecting you’ll have to make.
You are right- on checking those TDB posts, I find that the guy I objected to was a Peter Wheeler, not you at all. Apology freely given – I must make doubly sure about surnames in future. This may increase your chances of getting to heaven..
I imagined there was no heaven. It’s easy if you try.
Apology accepted with almost 100% good grace. :polished halo:
First time I’ve seen a link to an actual ‘The Standard’ topic censored. Interesting times.
I’m sure you can figure out why it was deleted.
Well yeah, obviously, but even so, it’s in the standard archive and all. It’s hardly a a secret, especially when posted by the person in question in the first place.
But I’m not questioning the ruling. Voldermort it is from now on. lol
Yes God forbid people post something peter swift disagrees with. All deserting post and comments must be purged to make the standard a safe place for him.
With that or ban every other person.
Really there is no possible option that you just ignore what you don’t like? Or perhaps attack his argument as opposed to the person.
Also – isn’t there some rule about naming people on this blog – I understand he is known by many – but is it right to put his name into this ??
Hell’s bells, James wrote a comment I agree with!
Something weird is going on around here…
You gotta admire the guy’s use of adjectives. Think he must’ve just started a creative writing course, or perhaps he’s just finished one. Either way it’s pretty damn funny.
What’s with you three monkeys? Up thread you have a moderator clearly outlining the present troubles on this site, writing about boycotts, contributors not submitting topics and you post like the stereotypical don’t see, hear or speak trio. And I’m having my capabilities questioned 🙄
We’re so lucky to have such astute chumps like you around to save the day lol
is CV really as annoying / destructive to this community as someone like the despicable dirty politics merchant Matthew Hooten? Or a boring threadjacker like Pete George?
CV obviously has issues with the current form of the political Left, his criticism can be cutting, but I haven’t seen him personally attack anyone, or indulge in Hooten like trolling.
Yes, he’s quite the spoiler, and by the looks of it, an increasing number of people view him not only as an agenda driven malcontent on a revenge mission, but a genuine threat to the long term well being and effectiveness of the standard.
That makes him much worse than a tory tool and a silly old man.